Chapter 521: Interrogation

Baery and Saul looked serious as they watched the interrogation of Eddy. Eddy was a necromancer, but Baery and the others at the scene did not mind him being the necromancer. They only cared about his stance, and which side he would take. Baery used to be friends with Golman. It was because Golman had betrayed Minos I. Baery could have killed Golman, if that was not the case. Back then, Baery had many opportunities to kill Golman, or at least Baery thought he had many chances.

Life was so unpredictable. Light Church and necromancers used to be enemies by nature. The fanatic followers of Light Church used to talk about killing all necromancers. Pope and archpriests would not use such strong words as would their followers. People in power usually had more education and experience than regular people. They seemed to have better and deeper understandings of life than regular people did. People in power could be hypocritical, or deceiving, but never naïve.

It’s believed that regular people were just the tools the people in powers used in many occasions. This view seemed upsetting, but it was undeniable that it was the truth. People in power needed regular people to provide and sustain their luxury lifestyles, and to help them achieve their dreams. Sometimes, people in power wanted to irritate them, while at other times, they wanted there to be harmony among them. It was called governing, but it also could be called playing games at the same time.

People definitely could be divided into good and bad, but the strategies they employed seemed to be the same. Baery criticized the evil things Shansa Empire did before the war started, and encouraged the soldiers to fight against them. After they got a good opportunity, he asked the soldiers to work and live with the soldiers from Shansa Empire in harmony in return. This was a good example of that notion.

The strategy Eddy employed was created by necromancers. When a person was about to turn into a death spirit, he would gradually lose consciousness. If this period of time was prolonged on purpose, it became the most torturing tool, since that person had lost his judgement, and while death spirits would treat “their builder” as their masters. That was why Marquis Djoser answered whatever Eddy asked of him, without holding anything back.

Miorich thought the way Anfey handled it was too crazy. He looked like he did not know if he should laugh or cry about it. He passed the poisoned wine to Christian. If Christian died after drinking the poisoned wine, what would he do with Marquis Djoser? If Djoser wanted to risk his life to kill Anfey, that would be fine for Miorich, but the target became Christian at this moment. It just seemed ridiculous. Except for Anfey, no one else wanted to see it.

Marquis Djoser did not want to leave on his own, but the oldest prince Wester wrote him a letter. Wester sounded really worried in the letter. This victory seemed to be able to change the situation on Pan Continent. Christian had contributed so much for building a Great Maho Empire, while all the officials would leave their glory in the history. Christian suddenly gained his fame and became more popular than Wester and Granden. Christian even became the topic among the girls in the upper class, and the dream guy for them. Wester slept with too many women when he was young, so he left people with a bad impression. It was well-known that Granden had been wooing Niya. Christian became the only option among the three princes in the empire. He was a very good potential pick for those girls. Queen was such an attractive title. No girls would not like to have it.

Wester was so anxious that he could not eat and sleep. He asked Marquis Djoser to go back to Sacred City immediately, and hinted for him to collect enough evidence to prove that Christian had done evil things. This deceit obviously showed Wester’s true intentions.

Jacob brought the poison to Djoser and pushed him to make a decision. Jacob was a archalchemist. Djoser trusted Jacob and believed that poison could take effect in a month. He gave the poisoned drink to Christian and had him drink it. He believed Christian would not die until a month later, and therefore, that no one would suspect him killing Christian. Christian was going to be killed. Saul was getting old. If he could help Wester to take the throne, it was time for Anfey to die.

Djoser could clearly see where this was going. It was going to be easy to attack and take over the Shansa Empire. It seemed the falling of the Ellison Empire became a necessary step in the whole plan. When Wester became the only prince on the Pan Continent, Anfey would not be able to fight against the whole continent, no matter how powerful he was.

Saul frowned harder and harder. He gave Anfey a look, signaling an asking of Anfey to walk out of the inspectorate group. Anfey hesitated for a second, then followed after Saul.

“Anfey, how did you get to know Djoser wants to kill Christian?” Saul asked after he checked to be sure that there was no one around them.

“I do not know.” Anfey shook his head.

“Really?” Saul asked.

“In fact, that is a setup Jacob and I planned,” Anfey said with a smile. “Master Jacob will tell Djoser in front of some servants that he made a miracle poison. Whether Djoser will be interested in it, will be his business. It has nothing to do with me.”

“What if he is not interested in it?” Saul asked.

“Then today’s interrogation will become very short. When we waited for you, Djoser has committed suicide when there was nobody around,” Anfey said.

“Did you set him up on purpose?” Saul had a faint bitter smile on his face. “Does it mean he will die today, no matter whether or not Djoser wanted to kill Christian?Am I right?”

“Well.” Anfey scratched his head and gave a brief splutter of a hollow laugh.

“Anfey, Djoser is still the duke of the empire. How did you…” Saul did not know how to handle Anfey. He could not think of Anfey as a bad kid, since he had been working for the empire and made big contributions to the empire by taking many risks. Anfey also took good care of his friends. Saul also believed that Anfey respected him from the bottom of his heart. However, Saul could not think of Anfey as a good kid either, since he had so many evil schemes in his head. Anfey was brutal towards his enemies and showed no mercy to them.

“Professor, I have no other options,” Anfey said slowly. “Djoser is going back, but I did not know where he was going. The previous citymaster Aroben became a cripple while Urter was missing. If he wanted to go back to Violet City and do something, professor, do you think Niya could handle him by herself? Besides, if Djoser dared to kill Christian, he might do something to Niya.”

“Killing is not the only way to solve problems. You could have asked Baery to keep Djoser in the legion. This way, we only need the king to give an order,” Saul said.

“How long do you think we could keep him from doing anything?” Anfey smiled. “If the hatred could not be diminished, it’s better to let all the troubles disappear. Professor, I don’t think I did anything wrong.”

“What else?” Saul heaved a sigh.

Anfey was shocked for a second and said, “What else?”

“You have gone out of your way to kill Djoser. You even asked Jacob to help. Is Djoser’s death all you want?” Saul asked.

“Hehehe, I might always leave people with an impression that I am really sophisticated. Wester was behind Djoser and asked him to do those things,” Anfey said with a smile. “I spent so much time playing with Djoser. He is going for the death himself.”

“Why couldn’t Granden be behind Djoser?” Saul asked in a low pitch.

“Huh?” Anfey looked up in surprise. He glimpsed Saul’s face and paused for a little bit before he said, “Professor, you must be kidding. Djoser has been very close to Wester. No one would believe me if I said Granden is behind Djoser. Besides, I have a good impression of Granden. He could have been more forgiving on Wester’s birthday last year, but he is good in general.”

“Do you differentiate a friend from an enemy by seeing whether that person could leave you with a good impression?”

“Yes, when it was before I got hurt. I used to believe Slanbrea.” Anfey mocked himself for his own mistake. At this moment, he sensed Saul had relaxed.

“I watched Granden and Christian growing up. They are both good kids. Granden is just not mature yet, because he has not experienced anything bad yet. Whenever he had any troubles, he would get stuck with the problem and throw some temper-tantrums.”

Anfey looked as if he was in deep thought. Anfey thought Granden threatened his league if he made Christian embarrassed. However, Saul’s stance and view were quite different than his. He heard it very well that Saul thought Granden was just a spoiled kid and just threw some temper-tantrums.

“Anfey, why are you targeting Wester?” Saul changed the topic.

“Because it is for Christian,” Anfey answered.

“Teacher, you have known Christian for so long and should know him well, right?” Anfey asked in a low pitch. “Christian is very nice. He might not know to fight back until Wester puts his sword on his throat. I am worried that would be too late when that happens,” Anfey said.

Saul frowned.

“I just want to remind him that peace is never created and kept by one side. What Christian is going to do will have nothing to do with what Wester will do,” Anfey said slowly. “If kitties and doggies know to fight for their milk, how could people not fight for their benefits? Even if Christian said he would not fight with Wester, I don’t think Wester would believe him.”

Anfey never mentioned Granden, even though he thought Saul had this hope or dream. Saul had treated Granden as a kid. This sounds so ridiculous to Anfey. Granden would not think himself as a kid at this moment.

“Anfey, the situation in the Sacred City is pretty messy. Do you really want to make it even worse?” Saul smiled bitterly.

“Professor, what you are doing is not fair for Christian,” Anfey said in a low pitch. “The mess was caused by Granden and Wester scheming against each other. Do you not want Christian to join the battle only because you don’t want any mess?”

Chapter 522: Desperate Attempt

“You see this?” Yolanther asked as he tossed the document onto the table and smiled.

“I apologize, Your Majesty, but I don’t see anything special about this,” the old man behind Yolanther said hesitantly.

“Look at this,” Yolanther said, laughing. “It says that Anfey is proposing assassinating Scarlet and causing Baery to lose the battle. It says that Anfey is a Shansa spy. They want me to summon him to Sacred City and interrogate him.”

“He is gaining fame,” the old man said. “He’s not good at socializing. The officials and noblemen aren’t fond of him.”

“Anything else?”

“I don’t think he likes the noble class,” the old man continued. “A lot of noblemen think that he is going to cause them to lose their power.”

“What about Alice?” Yolanther asked. “Alice has never done anything to them, has she?” He found another document and placed it on the table. “They say Alice is Edward the VIII’s daughter and should not be trusted. They want me to summon Alice here and question her publicly. They want me to imprison her!” Yolanther finished with another laugh.

“That… is strange,” the old man said.

“I’ve been striving for unification for years,” Yolanther said. “But for these noblemen, that’s not important. What is important to them is what they can get from it.”

The old man sighed but did not say anything.

“They want to use me to create an opportunity for them. If Alice is here, they can pressure her and use her as well. Do they really think I’m that stupid?”

“They underestimate her,” the old man said.

“Who do you think is behind this?”

“What do you mean?”

“Alice is very important. We need her to stabilize the Shansa Empire.” Yolanther paused and sighed. “Can you imagine how powerful they will be if they can control Alice?”

“They won’t,” the old man said. “I don’t know Alice, but I’m certain she won’t be controlled by the noblemen.”

“Let’s look at this another way; Alice can’t be a ruler. That would only make those from the Shansa Empire uncomfortable. But there is a way we can unite the two nations peacefully without angering anyone.”

“What is it?”

“Marrying Alice off to the right man will be the first step,” Yolanther said. “Her child will be the rightful person to take the throne. Of course, I have to be careful; I have to pick the right man for her because her husband will be my successor.” He turned to the old man and said, “This is why I am asking you. Who do you think would be best?”

“Christian is in the Country of Mercenaries. It has to be either Grandon or Wester.”

“Obviously.”

“I am not in the right position to comment on this,” the old man said with a shake of his head.

“What makes me angry is that the noblemen are not paying taxes,” Yolanther said. “They are stalling. Someone is telling them what to do. I’m too busy right now to do anything about them. What makes me so mad is that they are so careless. Even in the face of a common threat, the noblemen still only care about themselves.”

The old man sighed but did not say anything.

“Maybe it’s because they’ve forgotten that I am their ruler,” Yolanther said softly. “I didn’t punish Phillip; I allowed him to roam free. Maybe those noblemen thought I would be as forgiving with them as I was with Phillip.”

“You mean…”

“I cannot allow them to mess up my plan,” Yolanther said. “Did you say that some of the important members of my court are involved in avoiding paying taxes?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Do you have enough evidence?”

“I do.”

“Do what you must.”

The old man nodded.

“Another thing,” Yolanther said. “What do you know about Alice?”

“She is a capable woman, from what I’ve gathered,” the old man said. “Baery and Saul know her better than I do, but I am certain they will tell you the same thing. She expanded the League of Mercenaries tenfold in less than a year. Without her, Anfey never could have managed all those mercenaries.”

“What about her weaknesses?”

“She can be hesitant when it comes to making important decisions, but she is still young,” the old man said. “She works well with Anfey. He is determined and is capable of making quick decisions. She is much more considerate and can see things through a different perspective.”

“If I give her a chance, would she take it?”

“She may not,” the old man said. “Anfey did say she doesn’t trust us.”

“I see,” Yolanther said. “If she had other motives, she would try to gain our trust. Clearly, she doesn’t need us to get what she needs.”

“She cares very much about the League,” the old man said. “I think she thinks of the League as home now. Her dedication to it shows that she no longer thinks of the Shansa Empire as her home.”

“And she gets along with Anfey and Christian?”

The old man nodded. “They all respect her,” he said. “He doesn’t respect a lot of people, but I believe she is one of them. She is also well loved among the commoners. When she was still living in the Shansa Empire, there was a plague there. She went to the cities that were quarantined, against the wish of her advisors, to comfort the sick. Without her, the people in those cities might have rioted.”

“Wonderful,” Yolanther said. “I see that I can trust her with important issues.”

“Even if she has trouble with them, she will have the support of Saul and his students,” the old man said. He paused for a second and said, “The recent victory made a lot of people here restless, Your Majesty. Your support of Anfey will only make them even more so. They… they may try something against it.”

“As long as I am alive, they will never succeed,” Yolanther said with a laugh.

Chapter 523: Attack

When the flowers withered, the Maho Empire and Shansa Empire had arrived at Stormburg. They both had everything ready. All they needed to do was to take over the Shansa Empire. The Shansa Empire seemed ready to be conquered as well, as if waiting with its door open.

No one thought that King Yolanthe from the Maho Empire played such a such prank on everyone. Baery, Saul, and others all thought Alice would feel resentment against Yolanthe. They advised Yolanthe to deal with Alice with caution. However, Yolanthe did not seem to listen to the others’ suggestions. He gave orders one after another, which not only stunned Alice, but also Baery and Saul.

A minister in the Maho Empire did not handle the tax issue well. His peerage title was taken away by Yolanthe. That minister became a civilian and was put in jail. It seemed that Yolanthe could have killed the minister in order to set an example, but did not do it as he perhaps rightly should have. His influence could be much more far reaching if he had killed that minister. In fact, this showed the personality of Yolanthe. He liked to combine punishment and reward at the same time. That minister had worked a long time for the empire. Even though he made some mistakes in his administration job, it would appear brutal to kill him with judgement, and possibly even hurt the country’s interests. Some people with evil intention might use this opportunity to hurt Yolanthe’s reputation. In addition, there was no difference between keeping that minister in jail or killing him. After all, anything could happen while he was in jail. If Yolanthe gave a look, that minister might die out of “sickness” the next day. Each profession had its dark side. It was not difficult for a prison guard to kill a prisoner. The very first order Yolanthe gave was to appoint Alice as the Honorable Grand Duke. Baery and Saul were a little shocked by this. Alice’s face changed. It’s was not that she was overly thrilled. Instead, she did not appreciate Yolanthe titling her. She doubted Yolanthe’s intention, believing it was done merely to lure her to the Sacred City. She immediately went to look for Anfey, to see what he would say.

Anfey did not find anything inappropriate about Yolanthe titling Alice, but he could not convince Alice about it. Once women had suspicions about anything, they usually became very stubborn and only believed their own intuitions. Anfey and Alice talked for a long time, but they could not convince each other. Suddenly, Yolanthe’s second order came. Yolanthe decided to keep the seven states in the Shansa Empire, and also change the the name of the capital of Shansa Empire into Centrol Province, thereby appointing Alice as the Executive Governor for those eight states. Yolanthe did not give Alice the title of a king, but asked her instead to do the job of a king. Of course, the Executive Governor did not have any military power.

Alice stood there with a foolish look on on her face for a long time. She did not wake up from the shock until Anfey patted her. She really did not understand why Yolanthe gave her such a high title and important job.

Alice wanted to turn Yolanthe’s offers down, but she could not do it at this moment, since things had just gotten really serious. Yolanthe had made it clear in the letter that he would try his best to treat everyone the same way, no matter which country they were from, once the two countries were united. However, the followers of Yolanthe did not obey his order. Instead, they acted as conquerors and did bad things to the people in the Shansa Empire. To best way to protect the people from the Shansa Empire was to pick a capable person who did not only know the Shansa Empire well, but who also had Yolanthe’s trust. Besides these qualities, this person had to have some popularity within the Shansa Empire, or at lease among the civilians and a few royals. Only someone with all these qualities and experiences could effectively manage the issues in the Shansa Empire. Alice knew she was the best pick, since she had everything Yolanthe wanted, but she was still not sure if Yolanthe really trusted her. Alice did not think two people could build their trust without even seeing each other in person. If Yolanthe wanted a different person other than Alice for this job, there was actually no other candidate who fit better.

After Alice became the governor of the eight states in the Shansa Empire, it became unnecessary for her to go back to the Sacred City. Finally, Alice felt a little relaxed about it. A few days later, sensational news came from Sacred City. After Yolanthe gave out those orders to Alice, there were voices which rose up against it. Many officials and royals thought Yolanthe was deceived by Anfey, and they agreed to give the Shansa Empire to Alice. Generals in the Moho Empire felt they had contributed so much for the Maho Empire, but had returned with nothing. They did not find the meaning of joining the war at all due to this.

Many royals got together and targeted Anfey as being the cause of the issues. They fiercely attacked Anfey, who got blamed for it, but in fact, he did not do anything. Royals had their different views on it though. Anfey and Alice were the founders, with powers of the League of Mercenaries. They had worked for a long time. Anfey had kept Alice’s identity a secret for a long time. He did not give her identity out until now, so that she could get her reward from Yolanthe. Those royals thought Anfey even had asked Yolanthe to give the Shansa Empire to Alice. They believed Anfey and Alice had asked too much from the king.

A large, newly-controlled territory meant newly born royals, and an exponential growth in their land, wealth, and number of slaves. After the news of victory came back to the Maho Empire, all the royals were thrilled. They went around to get information about the states in the Shansa Empire. They were planning to build a paradise on the other land of the continent.

Yolanthe’s appointment hit them hard, knocking them off their game. The higher hopes they had, the more disappointment they felt. A person who wanted to claim all the benefits could not be tolerated, and should be taken out.

Anfey did not know if he should laugh or cry about all these things. He had no idea what happened afterwards. After Anfey left the Sacred City with his league, he had no information about the Sacred City, unless a person was sent to him with urgent mail.

Outside of the Stormburg, Baery gathered everyone, including Marino, to get them ready before they started their trip. Anfey ran away from the gathering, giving some excuses after he heard there was another meeting. He walked to the outside of the campground and saw Shinbela supervising mercenaries in setting up tents. Alice hid herself behind a tree, peeking at something with a weird look.

Anfey quietly walked over out of curiosity, careful to not make any noise. He even held his breath. After he stopped behind Alice and stuck his head out to look down at what was in Alice’s hand, Alice suddenly noticed him. She immediately folded the paper in her hand.

“Hey, what are you looking at so attentively?” Anfey asked.

“Do you want to read it?” Alice asked.

“Is it ok for me to read?” Anfey had seen clearly what was in Alice’s hand. It was a letter. He was curious who would write a letter to her.

Alice held the letter out to Anfey, who opened it and only read two lines before he folded it closed. “This is a love letter. I should not read it. Here you go.”

“What are you talking about?” Alice blushed. “The eldest Prince Wester asked someone to give me this letter.”

“Wester? Wester wrote you a letter?” Anfey asked.

“What’s wrong with that?” Alice asked.

“Then I do want to read it.” Anfey opened the letter again and started to read it carefully.

“I did not know Wester was so talented.” Alice smiled. “His writing is beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Are you kidding me? Beautiful?” Anfey skimmed the letter and looked up. “This is called flirty. It seems that he has known you for a long time. Besides, it is in question as to whether he personally wrote this letter.”

“Anfey, do you know Wester?” Alice asked.

“I met him a few times in the Sacred City,” Anfey said.

“What kind of a person is he?” Alice looked far in the distance as she asked this of Anfey.

“Do you really want to know how I see him?” Anfey asked.

“Yes,” Alice said.

“He is not a good guy,” Anfey snorted. “He wrote you this letter without good intentions.”

“Are you mad?” There was a big smile on Alice’s face. She turned around to look into Anfey’s eyes.

“Mad?” Anfey did not think this description was appropriate. But when he thought about the intentions of Wester, he did feel angry. “Yes, I am angry. I cannot believe that bastard wants to play that game with me.” Anfey took another look at the letter in his hand and tore it into pieces, tossing them on the ground.

Alice did not try to save the letter. She only looked at Anfey with smiles. “Wester is the oldest Prince. How could you call him a bastard? Then…”

“Alice, I am not joking.” Anfey sounded serious.

“I know.” Alice nodded. “I would not take these kind of things from others.”

Anfey blinked. This did not feel right to him. He immediately changed the topic. “Alice, who gave you this letter?”

Alice lifted her chin up and pointed in a direction. Anfey followed her and saw Shinbela.

“Shinbela?”

“She found the letter outside of my tent,” Alice said.

“I cannot believe Wester’s people are just around us.” Anfey snorted again.

Anfey seemed to show his emotion too much at this moment. He could not be blamed though. Wester had touched his buttons. He never treated Alice as his property, and he had many other reasons to be mad.

Alice was not only his good friend, but also a good assistant. However, the situation had changed. Alice had become an Executive Governor for the eight states. A governor would not help anyone to manage a mercenary group. Anfey felt upset and sad when he thought of this. He was not in a good mood already, and what Wester did had just made it worse.

“It’s nothing unusual,” Alice said with a smile. “Look over there. Thousands of people were over there. Isn’t it easy for him to arrange few people to get in?”

Anfey frowned a little, without commenting.

“But if that person could get close to my tent, he must be an official, or Shinbela’s mercenaries.”

Alice looked at Anfey and said: “Do you really want to find out who put the letter outside of my tent?”

“Of course,” Anfey said slowly. “If people could put the letter outside of your tent, then they could assassinate you, too. Don’t you remember the last assassination?” Anfey regretted what he said right away. He should not have mentioned the last assassination. Unfortunately, he could not take his words back.

Chapter 524: Lost Magic

The march was easy for the Maho army, and they did not run into any obstacles. The army was able to occupy the province of Moro within a week. The province was Marquis Legoya’s territory, but by the time the army arrived, Marquis had already fled. Marquis’ departure was what made the occupation of the province simple.

The League created a rumor that the Shansa Empire had lost to the necromancers. Everyone, including Edward the Eighth himself, had bent the knee to the necromancers and Scarlet’s revival was proof. Both Stan, a Priest of Light, and Fernando, a Knight of Light, began criticizing Edward the Eighth’s behavior. The Church was the authority when it came to necromancers. Stan and Fernando’s ties with the Church made the rumor more believable.

Most of the Knights of Light did not join the initial battle but quickly joined forces with the League after the major victory. Both Fernando and Stan were siding with Yolanther, but the Church was still split on the matter. Even the pope himself did not show a clear stance. One side believed that Yolanther was poised to unite the entire world and siding with him would be the right move. The opposition believed that if Yolanther took over the Shansa and Ellisen Empires, the Church would not survive any longer.

After the Shansa Empire’s loss, however, it was made clear that there was no one standing between Yolanther and global unification. The druids joined the war and the Church should not lag behind.

Alice made her first appearance in front of the people of the Shansa Empire. She was well loved and well respected among the commoners. A lot of people would have chosen Alice over her father, Edward the Eighth.

—

A dark figure approached a stately building in the Province of Moro’s capital city, Moonlight City. It was close to midnight, but the building was still heavily patrolled.

The dark figure watched the building for a while, then chanted a spell quietly and disappeared into the night.

A few minutes later, the door opened by itself on the third floor of the building. Inside the room, Suzanna’s eyes flickered open. She sat up in her bed, inspecting her room with a frown. She felt someone come into her room but could not see anyone. Then she yawned with a shrug and lied down on the bed again.

After more than half an hour, the door opened and closed again. A few moments later, another door down the hall opened and closed. The person was clearly searching for something and did not want any attention. By the time he finished searching the four buildings, dawn was breaking.

Another door opened by itself. A person was sleeping inside, and their face was concealed by the blanket. As if the person heard the door opening, they rolled over, revealing Shinbella. She did not wake up and kept sleeping.

The person quietly turned to leave the room. Before he could close the door, he heard a soft thud. He turned and inspected the room, realizing there was another, smaller room hidden in the first. He hurried over and pushed open the door, peering into the smaller room. To his surprise and joy, he saw Alice sleeping inside. The person stepped into the room and hurried towards her bed.

Before he could reach the bed, however, he suddenly ran into something. Before he could react, he was blinded by a sudden burst of light and the effects of the invisibility spell disappeared. A tall and thin man appeared in the room.

The man frowned. As soon as he regained his mobility, a dagger appeared in his hand and he lunged towards Alice.

A shrill howl broke the silence. An arrow flew through the window towards the man. The man raised his dagger and blocked the arrow but was struck by the wind blade attached to the arrow.

The man’s armor bursted into a light and he was unharmed by the wind blade. A few seconds later, Anfey broke through the window and swung his fist at the man.

Shinbella hurried into the room. Seeing that Anfey was already there, she quietly left. Alice was lying in her bed and did not say anything. She trusted Anfey to protect her and she knew that running and screaming would have only distracted him.

The man narrowed his eyes. He had heard of Anfey and what he was capable of, but he had a mission.

The man’s body began contorting in a strange way. He jumped back and fled towards the window.

Anfey swung his fist, the loose elements that had gathered around him surged forward and broke a hole in the wall. The man hesitated for a second but did not slow down.

Anfey chased after the assassin. He did not want to fight in Alice’s room because she could have become collateral damage. He needed to drive the assassin out.

The man suddenly disappeared and reappeared next to Alice’s bed. He swung his dagger at Alice, who was sitting in her bed.

Anfey spat angrily. He waved his hand, summoning a firebird. The firebird flew towards the assassin. He, however, did not stop. Anfey disappeared and reappeared next to Alice’s bed. A moment later, he kicked her bed out of the way. The assassin’s dagger narrowly missed her. He jumped out of the way of the firebird but was too late and it grazed his side.

The assassin grunted in pain. He chanted a spell and disappeared.

Anfey waved his hand and summoned a column of water. He slammed a fist into the water, sending droplets flying. The droplets allowed him to detect the location of the man. Then he summoned three firebirds quickly, sending the birds flying towards the invisible assassin. The three firebirds struck their target, turning a corner of the room into an inferno.

Suddenly, Anfey heard a cry from Alice. He turned and saw her bed and nightgown had caught fire and she was stuck.

Chapter 525: Dragon Man

Saving Alice was Anfey’s top priority. Anfey slid fast to Alice, like a ghost, and grabbed her burning skirt. A revolving water ball showed on the finger tips of Anfey’s left hand, as he pulled her up by her skirt. He tossed the water ball on Alice.

Alice’s sleep dress looked very strong. It looked like Alice’s bottom hung in the air, while her body bent into a bow shape. Unfortunately, no matter how strong the dress was, it could not be on par with Anfey’s power. With a tearing sound, the sleep dress was torn into two pieces at the waist.

Thinking did take some time. Even though Anfey chose the most effective way, he pulled the skirt off Alice before he could put out the fire on her. He forgot to think of the consequences of doing so.

Alice wore panties underneath her sleep dress, but they was the see-through kind. It was no different than as of she wearing nothing. Anfey was shocked, while Alice did not know how to react. She had dreamed of this same scene, but Anfey was more gentle in the dream, not as violent as in reality.

Anfey did not know how to respond, until he heard the scolding from Suzanna from outside. He immediately shook the blanket and covered Alice. The next second, he realized he had gotten Alice’s skirt in his hand, which became evidence. It was not appropriate to toss the skirt on the ground, but he did not have time to burn it. The water dripped down from the skirt, while he knew Suzanna could come in at any second.

Anfey hurriedly tucked the skirt underneath the blanket. Alice saw the light in the darkness, and turned around to face the light by instinct. She looked into Anfey’s eyes and immediately turned away, like she was being shocked.

The tidy room became very messy. All the people who were supposed to be there were, including Baery, Saul, and Jacob. In order to not have any unnecessary problems, Baery had his squad stationed outside of the city. They had not even entered the city yet.

There was a person with weak breath lying on the floor. They could not see his face clearly yet. A fire bird exploded on his face, bombed it. His nose was gone, two eye sockets were without eyeballs, and his lips were torn, which revealed his whole gums. He looked terrible.

“Anfey, you should not have hurt him so badly. This guy looked like he was going to die soon, anyway,” Baery said as he shook his head.

“He could make himself invisible. That scared me,” Anfey said with a smile. “I was afraid he would make other special moves to hurt Alice. I had to hit him hard.”

“Anfey, why don’t you let your subordinate try it?” Saul suddenly asked.

“Are you talking about Eddy?” Anfey asked.

“Yes.” Saul nodded. “In fact, I think I know who he is, but we’d better ask him to confirm it.”

“Professor, who do you think he works for?” Blavi asked timidly. He was on duty tonight, and then this just happened while he was on duty. If Anfey had not come in time, Alice might have died. Blavi felt ashamed.

“Edward IIIV,” Saul said slowly. “Killing Alice is the only way to regain the control of….” But before he could complete the sentence, Saul had shut his mouth. Doumingo jumped in from the window.

“Professor,” Alice called. She had put on a new outfit. She indeed had good control of her emotions. It was hard to tell if she was scared a few minutes ago. Of course, the so-called scare was partly from the fear of assassination, and partly from Anfey.

“Lord, you…” Doumingo said.

“Master, I am Alice. You can call me by my name.” Alice interrupted Doumingo. She insisted that Doumingo call her Alice, no matter how others tried to convince her otherwise. A name did not seem to matter much. Alice did not mind being called with any name. Anfey gave her the name of Alice. Alice became the name everyone knew and trusted, instead of lord. It seemed to sound too distant, if she was called lord.

Doumingo looked at Alice. He used to like Alice as strongly as Saul had affection toward Christian. After they met, He felt differently, much more distant to Alice.

“Alice, are you hurt?” Doumingo followed what Alice asked him to do at the end.

“No, luckily, Anfey came in time,” Alice said.

“Anfey, how did you notice the assassin?” Saul asked.

“I did not sense anything. I did not notice, until he triggered Christian’s magic array,” Anfey said with a bitter smile. He patted Blavi’s shoulder. “Blavi, you do not have to blame yourself. It’s not your fault.”

Blavi gave Anfey an appreciative smile. Saul looked shocked, “Then how did you save Alice in time?”

“Professor, Anfey has told me that the harder we push Edward VIII, the more danger Alice would be in,” Suzanna immediately explained. “After we came to Moro Province, Anfey has been protecting Alice every night.”

“Anfey, did you already know Edward VIII was going to try to assassinate Alice?” Baery said.

“I just felt it was the possibility,” Anfey smiled. He had heard so many stories from his peers. Even though it was dirty to assassinate the most important person in the other party, it always received the best effect. For example, Zhu Ge and Yao Li changed the situation in their countries with just their individual efforts. If Jin Ke could assassinate King Qin, he could have rewritten their entire history.

“Saul, it looks like we are all getting old. Your good student thinks more thoroughly than us,” Baery said with a smile.

“Anfey, why are you going out every day?” Alice laid her eyes on Anfey. Obviously, she cared about a different issue.

“What is wrong?” Anfey said with a smile.

“Thank you,” Alice said it politely, but she was touched. Her eyes were moist. In fact, Anfey was a typical doer. When he wanted to kill a person, he would not be stupid enough to show his hatred toward that person. When he wanted to protect a person, he would not say it out loud. Instead, he would just go out to protect that person.

“Anfey, you hit him way too hard,” Jacob commented. He had been squatting next to the attempted assassin.

“Jacob, let’s change the topic. Anfey just explained. Didn’t you hear it?” Baery said.

“Do you know what this is?” Jacob raised his hand.

A cloak, or a cloth that looked like a cloak, draped down from Jacob’s hand. It was dark red, with holes everywhere and some burnt markings.

“Do you think this could be the Magic Invisible Cloak?” Saul thought of the invisibility Anfey talked about before.

“It’s not likely. This is the Magic Invisible Cloak.” Jacob shook it a few times and smiled bitterly. “Unfortunately, this magic invisible cloak is destroyed really bad, and has lost its magic power.”

“You are an archchemist,” Anfey commented.

“You are right. I am an archchemist. If you give me enough ingredients, I can make a magic sword. However, if you give me shards of a magic sword, do you think I could repair it?” Jacob asked.

“Magic Invisible Cloak? Hold on!” Doumingo hurried over to the assassin. He checked him carefully, but his face was totally destroyed. There was no way to tell who he was. Doumingo squatted down to undress the armor on the assassin, and kept undressing him to reveal the clothes underneath the armor. The chest of the assassin showed, revealing a red lizard looking animal tattooed on his chest. Doumingo gasped.

“Master Doumingo, do you know him?” Baery asked immediately.

“You should have not hurt him.” Doumingo did not admit that he knew this assassin, but his face showed the fact clearly.

“Master Doumingo, I don’t think it is appropriate to say that.” Anfey said casually. “We did not hurt him. He should not have come here. Since he came, there is no point to discuss it.”

“Anfey, you do not know about it.” Doumingo smiled bitterly. “I heard you have a nickname, the Final Paladin?”

“Well…” Anfrey shrugged. “I do not know which bastard gave me that name.”

“I have to say, you well deserve your reputation.” Doumingo laid his eyes on Saul. “Saul, you know about Dragon man, right?”

“Dragon man?” Saul’s face immediately changed. “Are Dragon men still alive?”

“This Dragon man, or Dragon men, are they that good?” Anfey asked casually.

“Dragon men are the descendants of dragons and humans. We are talking about a group of people, but he is a dragon man, too.”

“Oh, I see. He is a bastard,” Anfey said.

“Anfey, it’s not a good time to be sarcastic,” Saul said.

“Master Doumingo, I am just curious. Did we seek them out to fight?” Anfey said casually. “I am not a good person, but I have my own principles. If people do not offend me, I would not bother with them. However, if they offend me first, I will fight back. If dragon men want to work for Edward VIII, there is no point to continue this talk. They will be my enemies. If dragon men do not want to work for Edward VIII, and things like this assassination happen, they have given us no options anyway. There is still no point to continue this talk.”

At a corner, underneath the moonlight, two people looked up at the same time. They looked at the sunrise in the east. One of them asked in a low pitch, “It’s getting bright. He is not coming back, is he?”

“Anfey kills people without mercy. He would not let him go,” the other answered.

“In fact, I hope he could have made it,” the first said.

“Why?” the other asked.

“I just feel that he is a fool, but a cute one.” He paused a second before he continued. “We’d better not continue to wait here. We should go back and report to the king.”

They looked at each other and giggled.