Chapter 1736 - 37 - 46

Chapter 37: Collections

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

"Anfey, what do you have planned?" Christian asked.

Anfey waved, suggesting that Christian follow him to the other side. Today's events were too sudden, so Anfey didn't have a plan prepared yet.

"Christian, take a few people to the lab and take as many things as possible. Here... It seems we cannot come back anytime soon," Anfey said.

"All of them?" Christian smiled. "Do you think we are all like you and have a one-of-a-kind dimensional ring?"

"Well, take the important or precious things with you, and be careful. There might still be some of Zeda's people left!" Anfey sighed. "As for the plan, we will talk about it when we leave the Sacred City."

"Okay." Christian nodded and then took a few students to the lab in the backyard.

"Zubin!" Anfey called, turning around.

Zubin strode over, looking inquiringly at Anfey. He was not used to talking too much, and now was no different.

"You go and get the carriage ready, and then take two people with you and bring Blavi to the carriage, ah... How many carriages do we have?" After all, Anfey had not been here too long, so he didn't know much about Saul's properties.

"Four. One belongs to the Professor, one belongs to Miss Niya, and the other two are—" Riska said.

"I know." Anfey nodded and interrupted Riska. Right now, he needed to make full use of every minute. He didn't have to know about all the carriages. "Four carriages, get them ready."

Zubin nodded and patted a student's shoulder, and they walked out of the living room with together.

"Riska, where are the housekeepers?"

"They should have been locked up."

"You take a person to find them, set them... free, so they will suffer from our involvement."

"Okay."

"What about me? You got me into trouble—" Troick barked. Before he even finished, Niya punched his heart. Troick squatted down in pain and couldn't make a sound.

Niya was really frightened. She was scared of a sudden reversal of fate. She was afraid of the ruthless Anfey, but she wouldn't be afraid of Troick in any way. When she saw Troick screaming for no reason, she certainly taught him a lesson.

At this point, from the backyard suddenly came a strong wave of magic fluctuations. Anfey shouted, "Sante, you take the rest and go help Christian immediately!"

"Come with me!" Sante called out, as he took the lead toward the outside of the living room with the rest of the students following behind him.

After experiencing this crisis, the students subconsciously considered Anfey to be the leader of the group. When they heard Anfey successively issue orders, no one raised any doubts. From the current situation, this small group was pretty stable.

"Christian will not have trouble, right?" Niya exposed a worried look.

"No." Anfey shook his head. Niya was their focus, so the strongest person in the group must be responsible for protecting Niya. The other people were nothing but small fries. Anyhow, Christian was a mage. Fighting against a group of small fries, he should be more than enough.

"Anfey, I... can I trust you?" Niya timidly asked. Looking very erratic, Niya avoided making eye contact with Anfey.

"This is also my doubt." Anfey smiled. In fact, he could've chosen to escape alone, disregarding the others' lives. His survival rate would be increased, but a man should always have some morals. Saul was very fond of him and trusted him. If he just ran away by himself in this case... he would be letting Saul down. How could he face Saul in person later on?

"You... what do you mean?"

"Miss Niya, to be honest, you are not a qualified swordswoman," Anfey said lightly.

"You! I was not ready, so I was caught by them! If I..."

"If you had worn those magic guards, you could beat the opponent, right?" Anfey shook his head. "If you rely on external forces, you will never become a master swordswoman!" Ernest and Anfey had previously held a conversation about Niya. If Niya could use every possible magic tool, along with her courage and combat power, she could compete with a junior swordmaster. But if Niya only had a regular straight sword, she would become an ordinary intermediate-level swordswoman. Winning was uncertain if she competed with opponents of the same level because she was lacking too many skills.

In Anfey's view, elderly people could be pampered, but if a child was too spoiled, he or she could be ruined! Niya was an example of this!

Niya blushed, lowering her head without a word.

"I am not trying to be mean. Please don't take it the wrong way." Anfey showed a smile.

Niya pondered for a long while with her head down. Then, as if she had made a decision, said, "Anfey, come with me!"

"Ah?" Anfey was a little surprised.

Niya walked outside without any explanation.

They went to Saul's bedroom. Niya bent over, searching for something behind the chair. With some gurgling sounds, a small tunnel appeared on the wall across from the bed corner. The tunnel would allow someone to pass through by crouching down.

Anfey looked very calm. In fact, he had thought about it earlier. Yagor, who stayed alone on the island, had so many possessions that it took Anfey a whole week to bury them all. As a court archmage, Saul's collections should be way beyond Yagor's! It was a good opportunity for Niya to reveal a secret, as Anfey had sent others away on assignments, leaving her alone.

"Come with me and be careful." Niya turned her head and said to Anfey, then turned into the black tunnel.

Anfey also followed Niya through the black tunnel. The tunnel didn't seem too long, as the door appeared to be only six or seven meters away, but Anfey didn't reach the door even after taking more than 20 steps. There were numerous stars in all directions, and the tunnel becoming blurred, gradually being covered by an endless darkness which made Anfey feel like he was walking through space. If he couldn't see Niya's figure, he wouldn't have dared to move forward.

"We are here!" Niya opened the door, a light red radiance appearing inside. The stars gradually faded in the light, and the tunnel became clearly visible.

Anfey had done a lot of mental preparation, but he still felt shocked! On the desk, the Chasm Dragon Crystal exuded a mysterious light. It seemed that, after the last incident, Saul was worried that the magic crystal would be stolen again, causing unnecessary trouble, so he specifically hid it here. There was a row of silver frames similar to the supermarket on the left and right side of the room. The top of the left silver frame was filled with magic scrolls in good condition. From the turbulent and horrifying magic fluctuations, Anfey did not think he could escape from any of the scrolls' attacks. The bottom of the silver frame was filled with dozens of small boxes. Anfey walked closer and picked one up, finding that it was made of Magic-Concealing Crystal. Anfey opened a box and found a light-blue magic crystal in it. Anfey had learned how to identify magic crystals. From its color and magic fluctuations, this was a one of a kind magic crystal! In fact, he did not need to identify them. Obviously, nothing that Saul collected here would be worthless.

"Magic crystals of different elements should not be placed together, otherwise they will cause a chain reaction," Niya whispered.

Marvelous! Anfey praised from the bottom of his heart. After the death of Yagor, three to five unique magic crystals were left behind, but now, Saul really had even more possessions! Putting aside the magic crystals, if he just sold the crystal boxes he wouldn't need to worry about money for the rest of his life.

"What is this?" Anfey saw a magic scroll placed separately on the top of the silver shelf, wrapped in an unknown leather, which seemed to really stand out.

"This is the Vacuum Confinement Scroll. Be careful and don't touch it! Many years ago, there were only three Vacuum Confinement Scrolls left in the Pan Continent. Now, this is the only one, as the other two are nowhere to be found."

Anfey carefully took the scroll down, looking it over. The magic fluctuations were not very strong, but with a kind of hidden nature. Anfey suddenly found it familiar, like he should have seen it somewhere. Pondering for a moment, Anfey finally recalled that it was at Yagor's place! Fortunately, he was very cautious at that time and buried the things he didn't understand. Otherwise he would regret it if they were casually discarded.

No one would think Yagor also had some real goods ah! Anfey laughed inside his heart while he turned his eyes to the right silver shelf. There were all kinds of magic books: some thick, some thin, some very old which seemed to have not been read for many years, and some that were only a few sheets of paper. But from his analysis of Saul's attitude, the information recorded on those pieces must be very important.

In the center of the wall in front of Anfey, there hung four magic wands. The leftmost magic wand was reddish, inlaid with a red magic crystal. It was obviously a fire magic wand. The second magic wand from the left was a bit strange, covered with a black and white circle pattern that looked like a silver ring snake. The third magic wand looked a little bit better than Anfey's. The one Anfey had was made purely of wood, with no magic crystal, while this one was like a piece of a grindstone with a very rough surface, with no splendor or magic crystal. The fourth magic wand was translucent, a light glow showing from time to time, and the handle looked like a hideous monster, like... the dragon in the books Anfey read in the library!

Niya opened her mouth but didn't saying anything. She knew the value of the four magic wands. Each one of them was a priceless, eye-catching treasure. She was afraid... afraid that Anfey would become greedy.

There was a magic robe hanging on each side of the magic wands. One was pale yellow, looked very refined. The other one was dark, ah... more spiritual. Based on Anfey's current understanding, he could only make such an analysis. If he did not put them on and use a few magics, he could not understand the real power of these two magic robes.

Chapter 38: Setting Out

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

"You see, I wasn't able to take all of them. There's too much stuff." Niya glanced at the seemingly-ordinary dimensional ring on Anfey's hand. "I need your help."

Niya's dimensional ring was not comparable to Anfey's, instead being several levels lower. It was not that Saul did not want to buy his daughter a nice dimensional ring, but that Niya liked to make trouble. One time she had even hid Yolanthe's scepter in her dimensional ring and taken it home. Yolanthe was furious and sent out a troop of palace guards to surround the whole palace, searching it inch by inch. Back then, Niya was only 13 years old. Saul confiscated Niya's dimensional ring afterwards and replaced it with a weak one with very limited space. Niya had always been jealous of Anfey' ring.

"Here… Who has come here before?" Anfey took a deep breath.

"You are the second one besides me."

"Have you told anyone else yet?"

"Do you think I'm that dumb?" Niya asked, rhetorically.

Anfey relaxed a bit. He looked at the items and couldn't help guessing that this was the reason that drew Prince Wester and his men to Saul's house. Between the choice of trying to win an archmage over to his side or taking said archmage's magic treasures, the prince was more likely to choose the latter.

Most likely, someone else knew about the treasures here. If that was the case, Anfey wouldn't dare to take anything away, or he would suffer endless assassination attempts. If someone wanted the treasure so badly that they weren't even afraid of an archmage, they must have made the decision to take down anyone in their way, and Anfey didn't want to get in their way.

Nothing was more important than one's life. Hope was meaningless if one was dead, and things could only be reclaimed if one was alive. Anfey always thought things through before he took action.

"Let's start. Don't let them wait too long."

"Huh…" Niya nodded, still unsure about her own decision. Niya had panicked and turned to whoever she could find. No one other than Niya could understand how valuable these items were; she had to take all of them with her. Anfey was her only choice, because he had not only saved her but also had a top-tier dimensional ring. This was a gamble. It was an even more serious gamble than whom she would marry. If a woman married the wrong man or gambled her life on the wrong man, that would only ruin her own life. If she bet wrong on Anfey, half of Saul's lifetime efforts would be ruined. She would spend the rest of her life in regret. However, Niya had no other choice than to give it a try.

Anfey filled his dimensional ring with almost everything in the secret chamber. Anything left was kept in a few cases Niya had found. After they returned to the living room, everybody had gathered there, waiting for him. On the way back, he asked a stupid question, "Why didn't the professor keep everything in his dimensional ring?" His subconscious was thinking, "Why did he make a secret chamber? Wasn't a dimensional ring the safest way to carry everything with him?"

"The space within a dimensional ring is limited. When my father went to find Yagor, he didn't bring anything in the chamber with him," Niya said flatly.

It took a second for Anfey to understand what Niya meant. Saul's dimensional ring was never empty. He was a nice old man most of the time, but if there was a bloody fight, endless magic tools would come out of his dimensional ring. Saul did not find what was in the secret chamber useful in battle.

"Anfey, where were you?" Christian hurriedly walked toward Anfey.

"We went to pack up the professor's stuff." Anfey smiled. "Zubin, Riska, the two of you go to the professor's bedroom. There are two big suitcases, the same size as this one. Go get them quickly." Anfey put down the big suitcase as he was talking. He was not a person that liked to give orders. Setting an example was a good habit of his. Although Anfey had not realized what this habit would bring him, it would show as time went on.

Zubin and Riska nodded and walked out with big strides.

"Is everyone ready?" Anfey asked.

"Yes, anytime."

"Huh… right. Do you have money with you?" Anfey suddenly remembered that money was an important thing, especially to people on the run. Money was going to be essential to them.

"Money? I have a couple of gold coins with me," Christian said.

Anfey couldn't help but roll his eyes. What could a couple of gold coins do? That would only last them two days!

"Niya, how much money do you have in the house?"

"I don't know."

Anfey already knew he asked the wrong person the moment the he raised the question. Of course, Niya's answer immediately proved that. Anfey smiled bitterly. "You all wait here. I'm going to look around."

"I have some money," one student responded.

Anfey turned around to look. It was Feller. Zubin and Feller were the quiet ones among the students, but in different ways. Zubin was cool and quiet, while Feller was timid and quiet. If Feller was in the Mage Academy, he would probably be bullied, but not at Saul's house.

"How much do you have?"

"Um… a lot."

"How much is a lot?" Anfey felt helpless.

"A lot is a lot…"

"Didn't you fill your dimensional ring?" Sante yelled. "Did you fill your dimensional ring with just the money and leave no space for your other stuff?"

Feller blushed right away. Anfey noticed that Feller's body had gotten a lot bigger than before, but it looked very weak. He seemed to wobble a little. Anfey went over and patted on the bulging part of his waist, and continuous clangs arose. Christian and his fellows all burst into laughter. It was supposed to be a dangerous time when everyone was serious, but they couldn't hold it in at that moment.

"You did very well." Anfey gave Feller a compliment, defying everyone's expectations. "Any more?"

"Yes, a lot more." Feller's eyes brightened.

"Take three people with you to pack. Only take gold coins, leave the rest alone."

Feller looked around, not sure whom he could call. He had never given orders to anyone before.

"Christian, can you help him?"

"Yes. Sante, and you, come with me." Christian picked two people.

Soon, Zubin and Riska each held a big suitcase. Christian turned around and ordered someone to walk two horses and follow him. Magic was a career that would burn a hole in the pocket. Saul exchanged almost all of his money for magic items, but there were some savings in the chamber. However, due to the physical weakness of a mage, it was not possible to carry them back with bare hands.

After everyone was settled, under normal circumstances, there was supposed to be a "Troop Inspection Ceremony" and some encouragement before they set out. However, to a group of escapees, most things were unnecessary. Anfey gave them a briefing and assigned each one with a temporary duty. Saul took three students to the frontier and there were 14 students left, besides Anfey. Of course, he had already struck Troick off the student list. Anfey, Niya, Christian, Riska, Zubin, and the unconscious Blavi, the six of them were riding Saul's carriage, which was the largest one among all the carriages. The rest of the nine people were divided into three groups, riding in three different carriages.

After getting into the carriage, the first thing Anfey did was to feel Blavi's forehead. Anfey found some herbs and, from them, made some pills which could help with blood circulation. The situation with Blavi was a little different. It was hard to predict what was going to happen to him since it was a mage's body that suffered a hard kick from a swordsman. In a couple of hours, if Blavi didn't have a fever, he should be fine. If he had a fever, it might be because his intestines were damaged and had gotten infected. Neither herbal medicine nor the current situation would effectively kill this type of bacteria. Even Anfey would not be able to help him.

"Anfey, where are we going?" Christian asked.

"I will tell you once we get out of the city. Which city gate has the laxest security?" Anfey knew nothing about Sacred City.

"All of them are the same."

"Go to the west gate, but… who here knows how to drive a carriage?" Anfey just thought of this problem. If everybody was in the carriage, who was going to drive it? If they were in BMW or Porsche, he would be the one to drive, but he had no idea how to drive a carriage.

"I will drive," Niya said.

"Miss, it's a matter of life and death." Anfey smiled bitterly.

"I can do it," Niya insisted.

"Anfey, don't worry. Miss Niya is a swordswoman, and she is good at riding a horse too," Riska said.

Good at it? Like her way with a sword? Anfey looked toward Christian in doubt. Christian nodded at him.

"Ok, Niya, be careful," Anfey said. Actually, Anfey felt Niya's behavior had been satisfactory. At least she had been controlling her temper so far. If she threw a fit, he had to manage it with firm control. Anfey didn't think too much about why Niya had been so good. How could Niya throw a temper tantrum when she knew Saul's possessions were all in Anfey's hands?

Chapter 39: Crisis

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

"No wonder Saul always said you're the most likely to become a master swordsman in the Pan Continent." Miorich was out of breath. "I lost!" His helmet was nowhere to be seen, and his pale yellow leather armor was tattered. His left boot was torn and showed his toes, and the right boot was covered with dark red patches. What looked funny was his side that had been hit by Ernest's combat power; the armor had been broken and his red undergarments were showing. But his lance was gleaming, and it was clear that he had enough energy to keep going, if necessary.

"Had we sparred a few days earlier, you wouldn't have lost," Ernest said, smiling. He looked slightly better than Miorich. While Ernest did look like he had just got beaten up, Miorich looked like a soldier that had escaped from the Monster Cave.

"You're saying you had a breakthrough in the past several days?"

"Yes."

"I should have challenged you earlier then," Miorich said with remorse.

"I didn't know you were one to take advantage of others," Ernest pleasantly commented. When he was sparring with Anfey, Anfey imposed too many rules on him. Although he had been inspired by Anfey's moves, Ernest hadn't fought like this in ages. The pure and unmasked clash between combat powers was something he had long missed.

"I lost, I have nothing else to say." Miorich smiled. "But who doesn't want to be the winner?" His smile wasn't as sincere as before, instead mixed with a hint of sorrow, but Ernest failed to notice.

Just then, two men dressed in soldier uniforms rushed over. They were shocked to see the condition the two men were in. Within several hundred meters, all the trees around them lay flat on the ground, and the formerly uniform grassland was now filled with ridges. There were leaves scattered around, and dark soil was sprinkled everywhere, as if a dragon had just ripped the area apart. Miorich looked so beaten that the two soldiers did not recognize their own general for a second.

"What is it?" Miorich asked, turning around.

One of the soldiers jumped off of his horse and hurried to Miorich's side, whispering something. Miorich frowned, and suddenly his eyes darkened. "Alright, then. Go right ahead."

"Yes, General." The two soldiers nodded, got back onto their horses, and rode away.

"You're busy? I'll stop bothering you then," Ernest said, sheathing his sword. "Are you free later?" Today, Miorich had invited him to spar on a whim, and he accepted without thinking too much. Now, he realized that this was a fruitful journey, and he was looking forward to the next time he sparred with Miorich.

"There… probably won't be another time." Miorich sighed.

"What do you mean?"

"Ernest, where are you going? To Saul's place?" Miorich didn't answer Ernest. He instead asked Ernest a question.

"Where else can I go?" Ernest looked at Mioirich, confused.

"I would say that you should not go back there."

"And why is that?"

"Because Niya isn't there anymore." Miorich smiled. "Let me just tell you, I had an ulterior motive in asking you to come with me today."

Ernest wasn't stupid, but because of their friendship, he hadn't thought about it too much. Now that Miorich had admitted that he had another purpose and told him he should not return, Ernest's face dropped. "Keep going," he said.

"Sorry that I can't tell you everything, but what I can tell you is that Niya has safely escaped the city."

Ernest, hearing Miorich say "escaped," felt his heart sinking. He couldn't imagine why something like this had happened, nor how it had happened.

"Anfey is your student?" Miorich asked.

Ernest shook his head.

"He was good. He killed a mage, two senior swordsmen and… Zeda. Oh, I forgot. You don't know Zeda is, do you?"

Ernest was silent, but his eyes were growing colder.

"You do know Old Phillip though, right? Poor man. Maybe because the many people he killed didn't want to let him be in peace, be couldn't keep his son, who died in his twenties. Going through all that work to raise the grandson who was now killed by Anfey. Cursed, I say. Cursed," Miorich said mockingly.

"Old Phillip?" Ernest said, frowning. After hearing the name Phillip, he could not keep calm any longer.

"Who else?" Miorich paused before continuing, "This is why I ask that you do not return. Zeda was an idiot, but Phillip treasured him. If I got the news, Philip should have gotten it as well. Unless you can fight four master swordsmen at the same time, don't go. You might have heard Phillip was a man of temper, but in reality, he was even worse than the rumors."

Ernest took a deep breath. Of course he knew Phillip. The Maho Empire had two major pillars. One was the mages, controlled by Saul, and the other was the swordsmen, controlled by Phillip. Phillip had a major disagreement with Yolanthe years back, and he had retreated into his home, turning away any visitors. Even then, he still had his reputation, and no one wanted to mess with Phillip. What was more was that he had many students, including three master swordsmen, and more than twenty swordmasters. This was not something Ernest could handle by himself.

Phillip was older than Saul by a more than a decade, and so his students were older than Saul's students by a decade as well. This decade allowed Phillip's students to grow far beyond the reach of Saul's students.

Saul's four best students were only senior mages, serving in two different mercenary groups. This was standard. Many mages didn't want to waste their talents in court, instead trying to polish their skills on the battlefield, just like swordsmen and knights. If Saul and Phillip summoned their students, and the two sides began a feud… Ernest could not image how it would end, but he knew for sure it would be destructive.

"Whose idea was this?"

"Who else?" Miorich smiled bitterly.

"If you hadn't asked me to come, none of this would have happened," Ernest said. "Should I congratulate you on having an idiot of a master, or should I pity you? If Saul and Phillip break off good relations, the Maho Empire will soon follow."

"I am obeying an order," Miorich said mildly. "I didn't know His Highness would send Zeda. Of course, none of this matters now."

"Miorich, you've mistreated my respect for you. I'll be back," Ernest said coldly.

"One day, maybe. You will want to find Niya before Phillip does, though, so you won't be interested in me for a while." Miorich had a faint smile on his face. "Here, one last piece of news I will share with you—Niya left through the west gate."

Ernest glanced at Miorich one last time, but didn't say anything. He used his combat power and flew toward the west.

Meanwhile, Anfey's face fell. Anfey was mentally superior to most and good at masking his emotions, so anything that could make his face fall was something major.

Everyone was looking at him. Christian had just told him who Zeda was, including everything from his relation to the famous Phillip to his family structure. He didn't want to scare Anfey; he just wanted him to know what they had to face.

"You know why Niya was so obedient?" Riska asked. "Because she was scared."

"Of Phillip?"

Riska nodded firmly.

"All of you left without complaint because you were also scared?"

Christian and the others glanced at each other and lowered their gazes.

"I knew my leadership skills weren't that sharp," Anfey said, shaking his head, looking wryly amused.

"What should we do, then?" Riska asked.

"We run," Anfey said. "As far as we can." Anfey was worried. He didn't know where Ernest was, but he had thought that Ernest was powerful enough to save himself. Now that he looked at it, perhaps he had been too optimistic. Ernest, please do not go back!

"Troick was an idiot," Zubin said coldly. "He thought he could redeem himself by not siding with you. He is probably in pieces by now."

Anfey remembered. When he killed the guards, everyone was shocked, but they were truly terrified when he killed Zeda. Now he desperately wished that he could summon a doctor from Earth and preserve some of Zeda's DNA. Maybe Phillip wouldn't be as angry in the face of some great-grandchildren, but now they could only face the consequences head on.

"All of you must hate me now," Anfey said.

"You were too fast. We couldn't stop you." Christian shook his head. "Plus, Zeda was already… even if he had lived, Phillip would hunt us down anyway."

"I hated you once, but I remembered what Master Saul said, that we were family. We need to bond together in time of crisis," Riska said. "Plus, Maris targeted you. You acted in self-defense. Anfey, you were in the right."

Chapter 40: Unexpected Help

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

Anfey was moved, but he was not the type of person that expressed his feelings easily, so he changed the topic. "Where should we head to next? Let's make a decision as a group."

"We should find the professor," Christian said.

"We can go anywhere except to the professor." Anfey shook his head.

"Why?" Christian was very confused.

"They will assume that we will seek out the professor, so they will just wait there for us," Zubin suddenly spoke.

"Nice guess." Anfey nodded and cast a quick glance at Zubin. "That's why we must go somewhere else. Once things are more settled, then we can figure out the best option."

"Where, then?"

"A desolate place. You guys, be prepared for some hardship," Anfey said.

"A desolate place… Anfey, are you talking about the magic beast forests?" Riska asked.

"Magic beast forests?"

"Yes. Except for the magic beast forests, I can't think of any other location with no people."

"Are there any nearby?"

"No. The closest one is eight hundred miles away from the Sacred City," Riska replied.

"Is that Forest Clarm?" Christian asked.

Zubin replied, "Yes. Forest Clarm isn't big. There used to be orcs there, but they were often caught by hunters and were traded in the market. Gradually, there were fewer and fewer orcs, until they were all gone. My home was near Forest Clarm, and our village was attacked by orcs quite frequently when my father was young. I never saw any orcs, though. In addition, there aren't any high-level magic beasts either. It's a relatively safe place."

"Well then, Forest Clarm it is! Let's find a spot to settle down first." Anfey nodded.

"Well, I will let Miss know to turn around and head south," Riska responded.

"Wait a second!" Anfey tipped his head to the side and focused on listening. "What is that sound?"

With four horse-drawn carriages and over ten horses running on the road, Christian and the others could not recognize any sounds besides clops. Everyone was now looking at Anfey, waiting for him to say something.

Anfey opened the curtain and went out of the carriage. His arrival startled Niya. "What's wrong?" Niya asked.

There was no time left for Anfey to respond to Niya. He stood up and looked back. There seemed to be some torches moving off in the distance. He knew that something wasn't right. Anfey sat down, thought for a while, and then said to Niya, "Pursuers are after us. Slow down a little. We will have to deal with them before we change direction."

Anfey was quite irritated. He was used to detailed action plans and really didn't appreciate the current situation that he had to play by ear. If he could go back in time and had more time to prepare, even if just one more day, there would be no way these chasers could find them.

As soon as Anfey finished his words, all of sudden, a blare of horns arose behind them. Niya's body trembled abruptly.

"Niya, are you ok?"

With desperation in her eyes, Niya exclaimed, "They are… the Flame Crusaders!"

"Flame Crusaders?"

These words meant nothing to Anfey, as he knew very little about this world. But soon he understood why Niya was so desperate. From the time Anfey looked back until now, within such a short time, those crusaders had almost caught up. Although Niya had slowed down the carriage to avoid potential accidents at Anfey's request, the fact that those knights could get close so quickly demonstrated their outstanding horsemanship.

What was more, the Flame Crusaders were now gathering their combat power. Anfey couldn't estimate their exact level, but undoubtedly, all seven of them were at least senior knights.

The knights rode past Anfey's group, stopped their rides, and formed a clear line about 20 meters ahead of the group. Niya was still in shock and forgot to control the carriage, but the horses sensed the danger and slowed down voluntarily, stopping six or seven meters away from the knights.

"Miss Niya, His Highness ordered us to bring you back." The chief knight spoke out.

"No! I won't go with you. Get out of my way! Now!" Niya was finally awoken from her daze, screaming aloud.

Christian and the others popped their heads out of the carriage and nervously stared at the soldiers.

"Forgive us, Miss Niya. We have to obey our orders, so you must come with us!" the knight responded. His tone was neither aggressive nor conciliatory.

"No way! I'd rather die here, then!" Niya shouted, pulling out her long sword.

The latter carriages had now arrived as well. Sante, Feller and the others all jumped out and were about to rush forward. Just then, they heard Anfey shout, "Go back to your carriages and stay there!"

Sante and Feller exchanged a look and returned to where they had been.

"Miss Niya, you were wrong. Please stop challenging our patience!" The lead knight started to get agitated.

"Pooh!" Zubin spat on the ground and got ready for a battle.

"Very nice. Your rudeness has done it." The knight sneered and gestured at his men. The other six crusaders moved as one man and pulled out something from the back of their horses, aiming to the front.

"A crossbow?!" Anfey's eyes were wide open, while Christian and the others turned pale. A crossbow was life threatening to mages at such a short distance. The speed of a crossbow was too fast for a mage to even cast an immediate spell. The problem was, crossbows were banned by the empire and no one should be allowed to use one. Why were these crusaders daring to publicly wield a crossbow?

"Miss Niya, your fellow will suffer due to your stubbornness," the Chief said coldly. "You have until the count of three to reconsider. One!"

Anfey felt Zubin reach his back and write two words there: "Earth Wall."

"Two!" the lead knight broke the silence and counted aloud again.

Around 60 meters away from the battlefield, a figure appeared out of nowhere. Under the light moonlight, one could tell this person was relatively young and quite handsome. He was the trusted mage of Prince Wester, Brufit. He quietly observed from far away and started to smile.

He could advise Wester and lead Wester to threaten Saul with Niya, but he could not let Niya die or be brought back to the Sacred City.

The original plan was ruined by Anfey. Brufit intended to rescue Niya from the palace after she was captured, so that he could win her trust. Then he would have his men accompany Niya back to Saul, and have her fill Saul in on what she had experienced. Furious, Saul would then be even more loyal to Granden. At that point, a civil war within Maho would be imminent.

Even though things did not happen as expected, it could still work. Brufit was not interested in women. His task could be completed as long as Niya returned to Saul.

"Three!" The chief finally launched the battle.

At the same time, Zubin threw a magic scroll out. An earth wall rose up and cut off the confrontation between the two sides. Anfey quickly dove onto the ground and began to charge forward while keeping himself low. As soon as the crusaders had released their arrows, Anfey would jump over the wall and start the fight.

Although his rivals were all very powerful, Anfey was still hopeful. He had three mighty mages on his side, one of whom was Christian, who partnered with Anfey perfectly. As long as the they utilized proper intervening magic, they still stood a good chance to win.

However, Anfey was shocked when he reached the wall, as was everyone else. Although they could not see beyond the earth wall, they could all sense the dramatic magic surge and the panic-stricken combat power.

A few moments later, the Earth Wall fell into shuddering elements and a terrifying scene was shown. All seven crusaders were dead, as were their rides. But the ways they were slaughtered were different. Some lost their heads by shaped blades, some were burned to ash, and others were turned into rotten flesh!

Brufit levitated and applied all the magic he could to fly back to the Sacred City. It was unbelievable! After he had cast a horror magic, Dead Bone's Touch, on these knights, a master swordsman also appeared in the middle of the battlefield and started attacking the same targets. Then, all of sudden, lava emerged and ended the bloodshed.

Brufit did figure out two things. First, that swordsman was short and thin, and most likely a woman. The one who cast the lava magic had to be a senior fire mage.

Second, the women and that fire mage were not together, because the woman was surprised and almost injured by the dual attack of Dead Bone's Touch and the lava.

Of course, they were not on his side either. But… who were they really? Brufit couldn't find a good explanation. He had used death magic, would this alert either of them? Did he expose himself by accident? Question after question flashed into his mind.

Chapter 41: An Omnipotent God

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

Anfey was supposed to be happy after being saved at a dangerous time, but the one who did a nice thing for Anfey was anonymous. He disappeared in the dark with no desire for fame or wealth. It was a respectful demeanor. However, Anfey did not feel happy at all.

Seeing Zeda bullying and stirring things up on purpose, Anfey had a weird feeling that Prince Wester did not want to make the situation too serious. Judging by the way Zeda had acted, he must have been told to do so or been involved in some conspiracy. What Zeda did would anger both Saul and Wester, and he wouldn't be able to get anything from either side. Who would benefit from it if things became bad? There should be a third person! Being saved was not always a good thing. Who knew whether the person who saved Anfey came here by following him or the knights? Which side was he on? It even proved that the person who saved Anfey wanted to use Saul's students to do something.

"Anfey, did you see who helped us?" Christian quickly walked towards Anfey.

"No." Anfey shook his head.

Seven knights quietly laid there. Some of them did not even have the shape of a human body anymore. Even the mature and confident Christian became panicked. He frowned. "Necromancer?" His eyes were looking at the two rotten bodies.

Anfey walked up slowly, picked up a string of clothing, and moved back a few steps. He stopped breathing for a moment before bringing the piece of clothing close to his nose and taking a breath. The first scent was a slight cosmetic fragrance, followed by a disgusting rotting smell. Anfey didn't know that the clothing came from the rotten body not far from him.

Anfey was in thought for a moment. He tossed the piece of clothing away, walked to the carriage, and jumped into it.

"Anfey, do we… continue forward?" Niya asked in a low voice. She had been in danger several times today. Her heart was numb.

Anfey asked, "No, who is familiar with the nearby roads? We should turn to the south now."

"We should continue to Green City. There's a crossroads to the south that is not far from Green City. After passing the crossroads, keep going straight. There we will find the city of Baidah, where we can take a boat at the ferry. The boat will take us down to Lagan, which is only a few miles away from Forest Clarm," Zubin said.

Everyone's eyes were on Zubin. He never had the chance to talk that much in one breath. It surprised everybody a little bit.

Anfey did not hesitate for a bit. He nodded. "Alright, let's take the route Zubin told us. Zubin, do you know how to drive a carriage?"

"Yes."

"Can you take over the carriage to let Miss Niya get some rest?"

Zubin held out his hands without any words, and Niya quietly passed the horse whip to Zubin and went inside the carriage. She actually felt a little tired.

"Zubin, how long does it take to get to Green City?" Anfey asked.

"We can get there before dusk if we do not stop on the way."

"Can you get us there?"

"No problem."

"Then let's go." Anfey took attention away from the surroundings in the dark. His sensing ability was limited. If the nice "powerful" person chose to follow them, there was no way Anfey would know where he was hiding. Saul had said that one's sensing ability depended on how strong their focus was. He needed to spend a lot more time practicing his focus later on. He had read a lot of magic books about it, but never found any specific training techniques for it. Mages improved their focus naturally through meditation. Right! Meditation…

※※※

In the palace on Mount St. Brunswick, on the first floor under the arch, a man and woman lay together on a bed in a bedroom. Their position was flirty. The woman's long legs wrapped around the guy's waist. She moved like she could not take any more sensations, moaning quietly. The guy reached his hand into her shirt while squeezing her round and curvy butt with his other hand.

A maid walked in. "My lord, Mr. Brufit wants to see you."

"This stupid guy…" That man muttered and sat up. He was Wester, the prince of the Maho Empire. He got off the bed and grabbed the crystal ball on the end table. He shook his head and bent down to take out a cup from under the end table, slamming it onto the wall. The cup crashed into the wall. Wester yelled with full strength, "Get out! All of you! I do not want to see any of you!"

Wester sounded furious, but his face had a smile. He winked at the maid after the yell.

That maid stuck her tongue out and walked out obediently.

"Haha… my lord, this is my first time seeing your temper, like that of a little kid. It was fun."

"I do not care if you think I am a kid or not. I do care if Brufit treats me like a kid." Wester said flatly.

"I am curious, my majesty. Aren't you worried? Philip was irritated. If he had any conflict with Archmage Saul, the Maho Empire would be greatly affected. Your throne… might experience some changes."

"Are you trying to find out my secrets?" Wester laughed.

"No, I am just curious. I will take back my words if you do not want to talk about it."

"You think too much." Wester laid down on the bed, touching her hair affectionately. "I can tell you if you want to know."

"Sure," the woman said with a smile. She was very pretty, with long light-green hair resting on her fair breasts. This temptation could not be described with words. Her small chin, snow-white teeth, the blush on her cheeks, the fine sweat on the tip of her nose, and a pair of big and clear eyes all gave out an innocent feeling.

"I made a mistake with Brufit. I did not want him to have any suspicion of me so I didn't send anyone to watch him. I didn't expect him to become familiar with Zeda in such a short time. He was also able to ask Zeda to work for him. Haha… but there is no time for regret." Wester was saying something which should make him unhappy, but he had a big smile on his face, as if he wasn't aware of the serious consequences involved. He affectionately kissed the woman's forehead.

"You underestimated Brufit too much." The woman put her face in Wester's hand. She looked satisfied, but was very nervous inside. The more time she spent with Wester, the more mature, cunning, and shrewd she found him to be. She could not control her nervousness when she was alone with Wester. Even when the looks on Wester's face were full of love and affection, she could not believe what she saw. Men like Wester only loved themselves and only cared about power; they weren't able to fall in love with anyone. She was confident in her look, but she knew who Wester was.

"It is the opposite. I overestimated Brufit too much," Wester said in a helpless tone.

"Huh?" The woman opened her eyes wide. She did not understand Wester.

"I did something before, hoping to get attention from Brufit. In fact, I failed."

"What was it?"

"Miorich was asked to take command of the Sacred City Garrison. I spent half a day to gain his trust and convinced him to take my orders unconditionally. If you heard about this, how would you see me?" Wester smiled.

"I will watch you more carefully and reevaluate your ability," the woman replied.

"I told Brufit in a showing-off tone that Miorich was willing to take my orders. I thought he would realize that he needed be careful of what he was doing. That idiot only had that boring plan on his mind. It was so disappointing."

"But… it already happened. You have to fix it!"

"Fix it? Why would I need to fix it?"

"Philip is a master swordsman with a hot temper. Three of his students have also reached the level of master swordsmen. If he has any conflict with Saul, no matter which side has casualties, it would be a huge loss to the empire!"

"Haha… My baby, not long ago, we were discussing how to deal with your brother in the negotiation. Didn't it sound familiar?"

"Your majesty, are you… insulting me?" The woman's face changed.

"No, no, no, baby, you still have that problem, thinking too much. I was just stating a fact. If the ties of family members and friendships can be changed at anytime, would the relationship between teacher and student last forever?" Wester smiled. "You think there are four master swordsmen under Philips. To me, there is only one. This is the difference between us."

"Do you think… Philip's students would betray him?"

"Of course, the key is how much I can offer them and whether what I offered was worth them betraying their teacher. Huh… I sort of hate the word "betray." I think they might feel the same way. What if Philip became a traitor? They would become heroes if they could kill their teacher for their country!"

Wester smiled. "Baby, do you understand now? This is the advantage of being a king. If you have the ultimate power of interpretation, you are an omnipotent god!"

Chapter 42: One Misfortune After Another

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

"Shawn, what did you see?" An old man stood quietly under the starry sky. It was hard to tell his age; his long white hair was blowing in the air, and his face was battered with deep wrinkles, looking like they were carved with knives. The folds of his eyelids were saggy, as if they couldn't hold the weight and were trying to squeeze his eyes into slits. He looked weak, but his voice was deep and as loud as a bell, putting pressure on others.

"It's weird. A fire mage, a swordsman, and… a necromancer. When did Saul start to work with a necromancer?" A guy named Shawn asked, standing up. "The ground is still warm from the lava. They must have left recently. Professor, we can still catch them."

"Ok, then…" The old man's face grew stern, and he turned to the side. Shawn also turned around at the same time.

A sword-light flashed in the dark to their side, about a hundred meters away from them, shooting directly at the old man.

The old man didn't even move slightly when he saw the sword-light shooting at him. He waved at it like he was waving away flies. The sword-light shattered into numerous specks of light and then disappeared.

Ernest slowly walked out of the darkness. Even though he was confident in his swordsmanship, sword-light would not be able to hurt a master swordsman from a hundred meters away. He was just warning the old man.

"Master, that's Ernest," Shawn said slowly.

Philip snorted and pulled his sword out from his waist. Normally, an old man would not have strong bones and flexible muscles. His sword looked a lot wider and a little longer than a regular sword, and its edge was three fingers thick. The sword seemed very heavy; it was good for an old man to exercise with, but strange to battle with. Undoubtedly, Philip was very confident in his strength and stamina.

A thick white cloud of combat power arose from Philip. His body shot out like a bullet toward Ernest. Shawn also pulled out a sword, standing right next to Philip, ready to protect him.

If they had met yesterday, Philip would've invited Ernest to his house without any hesitation to enjoy a conversation about sword skills. However, with only a single day's difference, their positions and attitudes had experienced dramatic changes. Philip immediately started the battle without a word.

Ernest gracelessly turned around and ran backwards. His cheeks were hot. If this had happened a few years ago, he would never have run away from a battle, no matter who he fought against or whether or not the situation allowed him to join the battle. After being with Anfey for the past few days, Ernest's personality had changed. Anfey had been telling Ernest the stories he heard from small villages. From the stories, Ernest found that plunging straight ahead was not the only way to arrive at the destination, Circuitous tactics could do the same job. Sometimes, circuitous tactics could even be the better choice.

Ernest had never lacked the ability to learn, otherwise he would not have been able to become a master swordsman. He just put most of his effort toward practicing the sword, so he seemed simple in other areas.

Philip stopped walking, sneering at Ernest's back. "Is this Ernest?"

"Yes, he is," Shawn said slowly.

"It was humiliating to even pull my sword out in front of such a coward." Philip put his sword back into its sheath. "Let's go. We do not have to worry about him!"

Shawn was deep in thought while he was watching Ernest's back. He felt that something was strange. He had heard about Ernest. Ernest wasn't supposed to be a coward!

Ernest suddenly threw himself toward them when they started turning around. Another sword-light shot out.

Philip, though irritable, had survived for seven or eight decades and immediately reacted to Ernest, who wanted to entangle them, shouting, "Shawn, you don't have to worry about me. Go now!"

"Master…"

"Go!" Philip jumped up, chasing after Ernest.

Shawn groaned inside. Ernest did not have a good reputation, but no one ever denied his swordsmanship. There were at least seven or eight master swordsmen who had received his challenges and were defeated by him one after another. He could not let his master fight Ernest alone!

At the same time, Brufit, in Sacred City, put down his quill. He thought he had come to Sacred City under a secret mission. He had done a good job so far. However, he had received an order from headquarters a few days ago. He was told to be careful of a guy named Anfey. In the order, it was said that they had failed in testing Anfey, and everyone they sent out for that mission had died. Headquarters had asked Brufit to find a way to get in contact with Anfey.

Brufit did not complain to headquarters. He understood that capable people had to bear more responsibilities. In fact, he was happy that headquarters had confidence and trust in him. He was deep in thought for a while, trying to kill two birds with one stone. It would have a very good ending. It would not only stir things up in the Maho Empire, but also test what Anfey could really do.

In the letter, Brufit guessed with certainty that Anfey did not have any combat power, but was able to use some weird and dangerous swordsmanship. Brufit suggested that headquarters send him several skilled men. He wanted to catch Anfey at any cost. He would use spirit magic to turn Anfey into a puppet and learn all about his swords skills.

Brufit emphasized in the letter that the power of the organization would increase dramatically if Anfey's swords skills could be taught in the organization, especially to the vampire mages, although vampire mages were already agile and strong without those sword skills.

Anfey was not Brufit's priority because he knew Saul had a Chasm Dragon Crystal, which was precious to a necromancer. He had searched for it at Saul's house after helping Niya and her fellows to escape. He had not found it, although he had found a secret chamber. He was not able to decode the magic array in the chamber, however. Brufit believed Niya and her fellows had taken Saul's possessions with them, judging from the messy bedrooms and how empty the chamber was.

Brufit asked headquarters to send people to join his force and stop Niya and her companions. Judging from the current situation on the Pan Continent, Niya had to be alive, but Saul's other students didn't matter. To make a compromise, he would catch Niya alive, obtain all of Saul's possessions, and find an opportunity to allow Niya to escape. The result would be the same.

※※※

"What are you thinking?" Anfey asked in a low voice, suddenly opening his eyes from his rest.

"Nothing." Christian turned sideways and quietly wiped his tears away.

Anfey pretended not to see it. "The sun is coming out soon, right?"

"Yes, the sun is coming out soon."

"Hmmm…" Niya turned around in her sleep, putting her left foot on Anfey's leg. She muttered a bit and fell asleep again.

Niya had refused to go to sleep when Anfey had asked her to do so, but later, she had been so tired that she fell asleep against the carriage wall. She changed her sleeping positions very often, curling up and sleeping on floor with legs and arms spread out. There was some room left for another person to sleep flat on the floor, but sleeping together with Niya would be too much. Christian and Riska had to fight off their sleepiness. Anfey wouldn't have a problem not sleeping for a couple of nights. He had been resting to save his energy and help him focus better in case of an emergency.

"Christian, can I ask you something?"

"What do you want to ask?"

"You are a junior mage. Riska and Zubin are pretty skilled too. How did you get cuffed by the anti-magic bracelets so easily?"

"That… We were too stupid." Christian blushed. "Zeda told us there were people who had reported us. One of them was a spy of the Alisen Empire. Zeda wanted to take us to the palace and investigate."

"Then you allowed him to cuff you with the bracelets?"

"They are the Palace Guards. We did not want to bring any trouble to the professor." Christian smiled bitterly.

"Alas… I just fell asleep, and you woke me up!" Riska opened his eyes.

"Did you sleep?"

"How can I sleep? Do you think everyone is like you?" Riska commented, "Anfey, I am admiring you more and more. How can you act like nothing happened in this kind of situation?"

"Eating is to have energy for the battle, sleeping is to make correct judgements. You can do so as well in the future."

"Then make a judgement. When are we going to see the professor?" Riska asked. They were saved by Anfey, but Riska did not feel safe with Anfey. It was Anfey who had trouble with the old-nut Philip. The difference in ability between the two parties was huge. Only if they could find the professor would they be protected and feel safe.

"Don't worry. We would be looking to get killed if we tried to find the professor with a group of people. You guys had better find a hidden place to settle first and let me look for the professor. This is a safer way." Anfey smiled.

"Ok. We will listen to you." Riska took out the water bladder and opened the cap as he was nodding. The carriage suddenly jolted. Riska had a strong headache from the lack of sleep and dropped the water bladder on the floor, causing water to spill out immediately.

The water did nothing to the others on the carriage. Niya was the unlucky one. Her eyes flew open and saw a few people "overlooking" her. Niya jumped up with a scream.

"Miss, are you awake?" Riska flattered her with a smile. He had hidden the water bladder behind him, afraid of Niya finding anything wrong with it.

"Yes." Niya rubbed her sleepy eyes. "Where are we now?"

"Zubin, Miss Niya asked you where we are now?" Riska became a mouthpiece.

"We will be at the crossroad soon."

"Come in and get some rest. I will be the driver." Riska crawled out of the carriage without waiting for Zubin's response.

Chapter 43: Mud

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

At noon, they saw the outline of the town, Baidah, ahead of them. Anfey urged Zubin to turn the carriage into the woods by the side of the road, and the other two carriages followed.

There were four carriages when they escaped from the Sacred City, but only three remained. Sante was the only one in his group that knew how to drive. Since no one else could take over for Sante, he was so tired that he fell asleep on the road. As a result, the carriage lost control and flipped over. Luckily, there were no serious injuries.

"Anfey, why are we stopping here?" Christian asked, confused.

"To let everybody rest a little bit." Anfey smiled.

"We can rest and find something to eat when we get to the town," Niya said. No one had brought food, so they were all hungry, having been on the road for almost half a day. However, everyone was too embarrassed to request food. Finally, they could almost see Baidah, and Niya could not hold back any longer.

"Feller!" Anfey called out.

"Right here." Feller ran, wobbling, toward Anfey.

"Take off your magic gown and put on a civilian outfit. Then go to the town and check to see if there's anything unusual. It would be even better if you can buy some food as well. You have to go by yourself to avoid attention. Any questions?"

"No! But… I only have what I am wearing." Feller had filled his dimensional ring with gold coins; he didn't even leave any room for his personal belongings, including any spare clothes.

"Feller, you can have mine," Sante shouted. "We wear almost the same size of clothes."

"Great," Feller answered, hurrying over to Sante.

"Everybody, get off the carriage! Take a break from resting to stretch a little," Anfey requested, "get off, get off!" Mages' physical builds were weak, so they had been curling up on the carriage. They would suffer from insufficient blood circulation if they went back to sleep right away. Anfey was experienced in escaping and was well aware of the most fatal threats—not policemen, not enemies, but diseases. Eating in the wild, sleeping without shelter, being on the road day and night, and stressing over the roadblocks ahead and the chasers behind all contributed to the increasing risk of illnesses. Being able to keep the body at the healthiest condition would allow them to fight for survival, but getting ill would leave no hope to win.

Anfey had now become the leader of the group. Even though everyone was exhausted, they got off the carriage and started to walk around.

"Anfey," Riska cheered in pleasant surprise, lifting up the carriage curtain, "Blavi woke up!"

"Where… am I?" Blavi's frail voice rose in the carriage.

"You are in the carriage." Riska laughed.

"What carriage?"

"Blavi, don't move!" Anfey crawled inside. He felt the temperature on Blavi's forehead, and gently pressed down on his belly. "Does it hurt?"

"No."

"How about here?" Anfey tried a different spot.

"Nope."

Anfey continued with several other places around his belly. Blavi did not scream in pain. Anfey was relieved. If the intestine was ruptured or wounded, it would be infected by now. As a result, the abdominal area would produce pressure and cause unbearable pain if pushed down.

Riska was curious, "Anfey, what are you doing?"

"I have some medical knowledge." Anfey smiled back at him.

"Is Blavi ok?"

"He should be alright."

"Yikes!" Riska said, "I wish Bright Priests were here."

"Bright Priests?" Anfey widened his eyes. "Can they cure disease?"

"Do not trust Bright Priests." Christian followed Riska into the carriage and sneered.

"Why? They lied?"

"They may not be lying, but diseases can't be cured for good with just a benediction. I have a friend. He was always very concerned by his poor health, so he went to the priest every time he got sick. Holy light had an immediate effect on relieving the pain, but he would get sick again, with the same symptoms, in less than two days. Then he had to go back to the Priest again."

"No matter what," Anfey said, intrigued by the profession of priest, "it did help with the pain. That is good."

"My fried ended up dying because the holy light wasn't able to help him anymore. That priest told him he had to see a Bright Priest for his problem."

"So?"

"He had been seeing the Priest intermittently for the past few years and donated almost all of his savings to the church. How could he have any money left to see a Bright Priest?"

"But… Bright Priests are the messengers of the God of Light here on earth. They are generous and kind-hearted. I've seen them in person…" Riska said hesitantly.

"They definitely need to do something nice," Zubin interrupted, "otherwise how could they make people believe in them? But think about it, how many people are suffering from sickness? Holy light is not able to cure them all. How could the Bright Priests help everyone?"

"Zubin is right." Christian took over the conversation. "Anfey, do you know who the richest people in this world are?"

"Businessmen?"

"No, they are the priests. Every time they use holy light, they charge a fortune! People getting sick is inevitable, so they go to the priests. If the priests can't help them, they have to see Bright Priests. Think about it, how much money could they make?"

"People can only go to priests for illnesses? Is there no other way to cure an illness?"

"There used to be a group of Life Messengers on the Pan Continent. They were committed to researching the secret of life, and they also helped to cure diseases. However, the way they treated patients was too scary. They even snuck into cemeteries to dig up dead people and cut them up into pieces to study. Later, they were condemned as heretics and slaughtered. They are almost extinct, even rarer than necromancers."

"I see," Anfey nodded.

"Hem… you are prejudiced toward priests. Not all of them are like that. My uncle is a priest, and I know him." Blavi coughed quietly. "Now could someone tell me where we are and what happened?"

Anfey, however, was still very interested in this topic. "Blavi, can you tell me a bit more about this? Can your uncle cure diseases?"

"Minor diseases can be cured, and there will be no relapse within a short period of time. But for more severe cases, holy light can only relieve some of the pain," Blavi said honestly.

"The professor did some research on this as well. He believed that diseases are caused by abnormal changes in the blood, bones, and muscles. The best way to treat it is to use your own body strength to modify the condition of those abnormalities and force them to recover."

"Holy light works in the same way!" Blavi argued.

"Alright, no more fighting!" Niya said loudly. "We have enough to worry about!"

"That's right." Blavi looked around. "I have asked a few times. Why hasn't anyone answered me? What happened?"

"Let me tell you," Riska started talking, vividly describing what happened at Saul's house. He exaggerated Anfey's capabilities while playing down the opponent's power with some thrilling scenes. What a great story teller!

Blavi was stunned. After a while, he turned to Anfey and asked, "Did you really kill Zeda?"

"Unfortunately, yes." Anfey nodded.

"Why? Blavi, are you scared?" Riska asked, dissatisfied.

"At this point, what good would fear do?" Blavi smiled bitterly. "Anfey, I thought I was too impulsive. You are even worse than me."

"Anfey was not impulsive," Christian said. "You did not see what happened. Maris wanted Anfey. If Anfey hadn't struck back, he would've been tortured to death by Maris."

"So, what's the plan now?" Blavi asked.

"To Forest Clarm."

Blavi struggled to sit up, but he failed. He was barely able to lean against the carriage, even with Riska's help. "I… don't have any strength in me. Sorry to be a burden."

"You are not a burden. Take a few days to rest and you will be fine." Anfey smiled, and took a dark pill out of his dimensional ring. "Take this pill first."

Blavi glanced at it and shook his head, hard. "No mud, please!"

"This is not mud." Anfey was amused. "It's a medicine I made. Smell it!"

Blavi sniffed. He did smell a slight fragrance, but he was still frowning and very hesitant.

"Come on! Why would I lie to you? It will be good for your recovery." Anfey smiled.

Chapter 44: Initial Stage

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

Blavi took the pill from Anfey. Anfey looked very sincere, but Blavi still wasn't sure if he should take it or not. This was understandable; no one wanted to ingest an unknown substance. It had nothing to do with trust.

Zubin suddenly grabbed Blavi's hand and forcefully shoved the pill into Blavi's mouth.

Blavi scrunched up his face, angrily staring at Zubin. However, he had no other options besides swallowing it down, since the pill was already in his mouth. If he spat it out, it would look like he was rejecting Anfey's kind gesture, and he didn't want to hurt Anfey's feelings.

"You'd better wait for me!" Blavi said with his teeth clenched.

Zubin made an apologetic gesture with both of his hands.

"Ok, since everyone is here now, I need to tell you something important." Anfey smiled.

"What is it?" Niya asked. She was the first one in the group to show curiosity toward Anfey's question.

"You don't think we are a disorderly group, do you? Without organization, responsibilities, and rules, it would be a mess if something happened to us. For example, right now, if we all go to rest, there will be no one on watch! Let's imagine. If someone attacked us by surprise, how could we effectively defend?"

"Anfey, you give us orders and tell us what to do. We trust you," Christian said.

"Time is really tight right now. I can only assign you some work. Hmm… We should divide into four groups. I am in direct command of the first group. Let us pick three people to be in charge of the other three groups." Anfey looked at Christian, "Christian, you are an entry-level mage. I recommend you be in charge of the second group. The first group will block our opponents when they appear. Your second group will quickly attack them with magic!"

"I got it." Christian nodded.

"Does anyone have any suggestions for the leaders of the other two groups?"

"I recommend Blavi be in charge of one group. He has a great grasp of various magics," Christian said.

"What do you guys think?" Anfey asked.

"Besides Christian and Melinda, Blavi is the best mage among us. The professor had already considered having Blavi take the mage exam, but there was suddenly a battle at the frontier, so he didn't get the chance to take the exam. I agree that Blavi is a good fit." Riska smiled.

"But my body…"

"Your body will be fine in a day," Anfey said. "Since everybody agreed, then it's set. Everybody, can you think of another leader candidate for the last group?"

"Zubin could be in charge of the fourth group," Christian said.

Zubin hesitated for a second. "I think I should be with Anfey. If there are mages among the opponents, someone in the first group should be able to fight them. This is for Anfey's safety, otherwise he will be in danger."

"Yes, Anfey does need a good assistant." Christian nodded.

"How about Sante?" Riska suggested.

"Sante is too impulsive. I think you are a good candidate," Blavi gave his own advice.

"Me? I'm too careless. I'm not a good candidate." Riska waved his hands.

"Then give a suggestion for the last candidate. We have to pick the strongest one among those remaining, so you are our best choice," Blavi said.

"What do you mean by that?" Riska was not happy about this.

"Habits can be changed, especially after you take on more responsibilities. When you think your forgetfulness may cause harm to your peers, you will know what you need to do."

"Can I not take that role?" Riska said with his face scrunched.

"That's it." Anfey didn't respond to Riska's response, instead making the decision that Riska would take the role of leading the fourth group.

"How about me?" Niya asked unhappily. Niya had waited quite a while to see if Anfey would give her the job, but now she was very upset.

Christian and his fellows gave each other a look, and then they all looked down. In their quiet and peaceful life, Niya was their dream girl. However, when in danger, they just hoped Niya would not bring them any trouble. It would be a joke to let her lead a team, but they could not say anything in front of her, so they quieted down instead.

"We will talk about you later." Anfey smiled.

"Oh…" Niya nodded and showed a hint of smile.

"I am going to announce the rules. There is only one rule today, but I will add more rules later on." Anfey's face became stern. "All orders come from me. Everyone should obey the orders, including the group leaders! If anyone fails to obey an order, that person has to leave our team immediately, or he will become our enemy! Any questions?" Anfey knew it was not practical to have everyone following his lead, so he had Christian and two other leaders make a "leadership team" to take some stress off him.

"No questions." Christian nodded. He was the first to agree.

Blavi and Riska followed him and nodded. Although neither of them had any combat experience or any sort of training, they had seen others fight. They would do just fine. To overcome this difficult time, everybody had to come together and be united. Discipline was the prerequisite for a united group. Without discipline, they would be a mess, because each of them had different ideas and opinions on how to do things.

"That's good. Christian, you guys go and find your group members. Whoever doesn't have a group will be in my first group." Anfey smiled.

"Anfey, what will Blavi's and my groups do?" Riska asked.

"Blavi's group will be the first responder team. Depending on the situation, your team might need to help the first group or protect Christian. You make the decision." Anfey looked at Riska. "Your team will remain at the back of the carriages. When the battle starts, no matter what happens in front of you, your team has to ensure no one will attack us from behind."

"I got it."

"Anfey, Sante should go to your team. He is hot tempered, but he is a good mage. He can provide a lot of help," Christian said. Among the four groups, Anfey's team would undoubtedly take the most stress and encounter the most danger. Christian thought that Anfey's team needed to be stronger.

"Okay," Anfey accepted Christian's suggestion, smiling. "Also, after you pick your team members, you and your team have to think about your strategies. You need to make plans for how to respond to opponents with starter attacks, how to collaborate with other teams, and how to intelligently fight against your opponents. You will have no time to rest for the next few days."

"Anfey, are the starter attacks you mentioned the magic my team could use to start the battle?" Riska asked.

"Yes! You know that my magic…" Anfey scoffed at himself, "so I cannot offer any useful advice on the techniques. You and your team will have to figure it out yourselves. Christian is very talented in magic! Do you still remember what happened at master's house? If Christian hadn't used electrical arcs instead of lightning to attack that person, the battle would not have ended so soon! You guys can ask him for advice."

"Haha, that was because your swordsmanship was too advanced. I have confidence in you." Christian blushed a little.

"Confidence? Right, that is the most important thing for us!" Anfey said. "Everyone has to have confidence in each of their team members, and each team has to have confidence in the other teams! Maybe we are not strong yet, but confidence will be an important weapon when fighting our enemies!"

"I got it!" Christian and the other two team leaders nodded sincerely.

"Okay, go ahead and pick your team members."

At the same time, Sante's voice arose outside the carriage. "Feller, did you bring any food back? Hurry up, I'm starving!"

Anfey lifted up the curtain. "Sante, hold on! Feller, come in!" Discipline started with the little things. Everybody should have dinner together. No one should just eat whenever they felt hungry.

Feller crawled into the carriage, wiping the sweat off his forehead. He said, "Anfey, thank you. If you did not ask me to take off my mage's gown, I would not have been able to come back."

"What happened?" Anfey grew tense.

"I saw us on a wanted poster!"

"A wanted poster? All of us?" Christian yelled.

"Yes! It said that we killed the Palace Guards and wanted to overthrow the king. They were offering large rewards; a gold coin for reporting our locations, and ten gold coins for killing any of us."

"Only ten gold coins? You call that a large reward?" Riska smiled. "Feller, have you ever seen a gold coin?"

"There was also a wanted poster from Philips!" Feller smiled bitterly. "They are giving one hundred gold coins for reporting our locations!"

"How could the information on the poster be passed to Baidah City so quickly?" Anfey asked.

"This should be credited to the Mage Union." Christian sighed. "Anfey, what should we do now?"

Chapter 45: Novice Bandits

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

It was getting so dark that normal people had locked their doors and gone to sleep; only some stray cats and dogs still wandered the streets.

A group of people quietly moved toward the harbor. This was the newly formed squad's first action. Anfey was up front, leading the first team, and followed by the second and third teams. Riska's fourth team kept the rear, with ten meters in between the groups.

Maybe all young people were like this. Once a well-behaved girl, who stayed at home most of the time, tasted rebellion, she would likely remember that adventure for a long time. After Anfey gave the order to take over a ship, these young people forgot about the dangerous situation they were in. They rolled up their sleeves and itched to have a go, which made Anfey snicker.

"Are you sure the ship is nearby?" Anfey hissed.

"It is here," Feller whispered. "That was a larger ship. The ferry won't arrive until dusk. Zubin said the next ferry is about 100 miles away from Baidah City. They are not able to sail the boat in the dark and should be resting here tonight."

"I see it now." Anfey nodded.

In a few moments, four groups gathered at a place about 100 meters away from the berth. Anfey observed their surroundings and ordered, "Execute the plan. This is the last chance for questions."

"I have one… What do we do if we hurt someone?" someone in the fourth group asked.

"I do not care if you kill or wound anyone, but you have to keep everything under control without drawing attention. This is my only request! As long as you can do that, I am fine with anything, even if you want to make peace with the people on the ship. However," Anfey said coldly, "you have to understand, we are one big team. If anyone hesitates and jeopardizes the safety of the team, I will have him leave right away! We do not need anyone who would put us in danger!"

No one said anything else. Anfey disappeared in the quiet darkness.

To be honest, Anfey did not want to bring a group of novices with him, but he had no other options. Training should be done when kids were young. The path of escape was dangerous. They needed to start learning and growing up. No matter what they would get out of the training in the end, at least it should increase their likelihood of surviving.

Yolanthe had ruled the country very well. Except for the latent dangers and threats between countries, people in the Maho Empire seemed to live a happy life, and the country enjoyed its peace. This commercial ship seemed to have sailed without danger for too long, so they had loosened their precautions. Not to mention having very few guards, there were only one or two men standing outside the cabin, sleeping against tarpaulins. In fact, they were more concerned with thieves than bandits. Right now, the boat was resting on the water, which could usually prevent thieves from getting aboard. Even if they were able to get on board, they would have no way to escape with the goods. As such, no one was willing to be on watch the whole night while knowing that nothing was going to happen.

Anfey walked around the boat twice, sneaking into the cabin and going upstairs and downstairs once. Nothing happened except that a business man who woke up early to pee saw Anfey.

Leading a group of novices to attack a group of ordinary people in surprise… sounded like decent training. A young dog would never be able to fight a tiger no matter how hard it was trained, because it wouldn't survive the first try, instead being killed by the tiger a long time ago.

Anfey returned to the cabin and sent out the signal. Over ten people levitated in the air in the dark. Only Niya did not know levitation magic—everyone else could float. The differences among them laid on the distance, speed, and stability. Christian was a junior mage, so he didn't have a problem flying a short distance with a person.

Soon, the squad landed on the deck. They all wore dark clothes. Anfey had requested everyone wear black, but at least two thirds of them didn't have black clothes, and it wasn't practical to make them immediately, so they substituted dark clothes instead.

Anfey waved, and then Christian quietly took two members from the second team forward. On the other side, Riska led the fourth team to the aft. Blavi was breathing heavily against the bulwark. He shouldn't have participated in this action due to his health, but he had insisted on coming, and Anfey had acquiesced.

"Get up!" Niya yelled in a low pitch.

The two men were sleeping so soundly that they did not wake up even when Christian and his team members walked across them. They also treated Niya's order as mosquito noise, until Niya stepped on them heavily.

"You…" one of them reached his hand out to grab the sword on his waist. Niya was quicker than him and laid her sword at his neck.

"Do not move. I do not want to hurt you!" Niya said in her crushing manner.

Anfey could not help shaking his head. Niya's words revealed her timidity. Even though her face and tone were vicious, it could only fool little kids. If Niya was threatening him with a sword at his neck, Anfey had millions of ways to kill her.

"Miss, what do you want to do? We are just business people! You.. "

Before he could finish his sentence, Anfey had already kicked his face. It didn't matter if he was interrogating or condemning, everything turned into moaning in pain.

"You have to understand you are our captive! If you dare to challenge my patience, I don't mind cutting off your hands and feet and then tossing you into the water!" Anfey said flatly. In fact, he was saying this to Niya. She should understand that she was a bandit and should not have said "I do not want to hurt you."

Anfey knew his action did little when he saw Niya's sympathetic and stunned look. The sound of fighting and the waves of magic surges came out from the cabin. It became quiet in a short while. With a good plan, it was a piece of cake to have a junior mage, a senior mage, and four intermediate mages beat a few normal guards and some businessmen. Moreover, Anfey had checked the ship inside and out beforehand. If, after all this preparation, the plan had still failed, Anfey would have left the group and wandered alone.

Soon, a few businessmen were taken out by Christian, followed by seven or eight bodyguards, two of which were wobbling, probably hurt by magic. Riska also took more than ten sailors out. The river was not as large as the ocean. Less than twenty sailors were definitely not enough to sail on the ocean, but this commercial boat was supposed to go on the river, so there was no need for a large crew, despite its size.

Just as Anfey anticipated, although Christian and others were rookie bandits, a huge difference in power meant that the battle ended quickly. At the beginning, there were two guards in a physical fight with Christian. In the next moment, they were hit by Christian's magic and fell to the floor. After that, the rest of them gave up immediately.

"Who is in charge?"

"It is me, Sir. How can I help you?" a businessman walked up, simpering. He was a little overweight with a wide face, intelligent eyes, plump lips, and an honest look.

"Name?"

"My name is Jesse, Sir."

"From now on, your ship will be our acquisition. If you do not want to see any bloodshed, just do what you are told!" Anfey said flatly. "Weigh anchor now."

"No problem, Sir." The businessman named Jesse was very cooperative. "Where are we going? North or south?"

"South."

"I got it." Jesse turned around, yelling, "Get to work, get to work. Why aren't you moving? Hurry up! Set sail!"

A couple of sailors looked around, walked carefully to the bulwark, and worked together to hoist the anchor.

Zubin and Sante landed on the deck and shook their heads at Anfey. Their duties were watching to ensure no one escaped.

The businessmen and bodyguards realized the bandits were all mages, grew even more uneasy, and crowded together, looking at Anfey with fear.

Anfey laid his eyes on Christian. "Besides the sailors, lock everyone else up in the storage room. You keep a good eye on them!"

"Yes." Christian took the order and nodded.

"Sir, let me stay. I am very familiar with this ship. If you need anything, I can help." Jesse flattered them with smiles.

Anfey glanced at Jesse from top to bottom. "Fine."

"Sir, where are you heading?"

"No more questions. You will know when we get there." No matter how beautiful and bright Jesse's smiles were, Anfey kept a stern look on his face.

"Of course, of course! I understand." Jesse behaved very obediently. Beggars couldn't be choosers. Jessica was worried about his goods, but dealing with a group of mages, he had no other choice besides praying to God.

※※※

Ernest stopped abruptly. He saw something familiar; a three-meter long white wax stick was laying in the grass. Ernest walked over and picked it up. No doubt, this was the weapon Anfey had used before!

He felt something wet from his left arm. He looked down and saw the blood from the wound again. He tore a piece of cloth from his shirt and wrapped the wound up. After thinking a bit, he walked toward the direction the white wax stick was pointing.

Before he walked long, Ernest paused again. A few withered, wild flowers were stuck on a trunk, waving with the wind. Wasn't that the herb Anfey had talked about before? Ernest strode to the tree and picked up the flowers. He observed the surroundings, and pulled out a paper ball from the hole where the flowers were. There was only one word on it: "La."

"What does it mean?" Ernest said to himself. He was confused and looked around to find more hints. Suddenly, he noticed a few more wild flowers waving in the wind. He went over, picked the flowers up, and easily found another paper ball in the hole with a stick. It said "Gan" on it.

Lagan? Ganla? Ernest looked around once again, but without any luck this time. He felt that "Lagan" sounded familiar. It seemed like the name of a place. After thinking for a while, he turned toward to the crossroad.

These were indeed left by Anfey to Ernest. The signs were hidden very well and no hint was given beforehand. The possibility of getting Ernest's attention was slim, but Anfey had to give it a shot. If Ernest were able to find them, they could meet earlier. If Ernest missed the signs or could not find them, it would not affect their escape. If they were found by others, they would probably not be able to decode them and cause trouble for Anfey in the foreseeable future. Anfey would not have left these signs if he thought there was any slight possibility that those would pose a threat on them.

Chapter 46: Escape

Translator: Nyoi_Bo_Studio Editor: Tennesh

Bang, bang, there were some knocks on the door.

"Who?"

"It's me, Zubin."

"Come on in." Anfey got up and kept doing what he had been doing.

Zubin looked around before he pushed the door open and entered, closing the door tightly afterward. "I feel, Anfey, that something isn't right."

"Oh, what's the matter?" Anfey stood up and smiled.

"That guy named Jesse is very good at speaking. He has already ingratiated himself with the others within just one day. He always talks with people and laughs with them, and people are less alerted around him." Zubin laughed bitterly. "Anfey, you should do something about it. You can't allow it to happen this way."

"I know." Anfey nodded.

"Anfey, how come you aren't doing anything about this? Did you forget our identities?" Zubin became anxious.

"Riska really sucks, as does Miss Niya. I guess they already know our identities, and they already know we are students of the Great Magician Saul. I was trying to wink at him, but he saw nothing. I couldn't talk any more and had to come to you!!"

"Oh, did Riska and Niya say anything about what we did in the Sacred City? En… Zubin, be quieter while talking."

"Not yet, although Riska is careless, he is not so stupid as to expose our identities. He said we were here to practice," Zubin said quietly, shaking his head. "He is pretty good at speaking; Riska and Niya were played tricks on and had many secrets seduced out. He would know nothing if I hadn't sent him to do things on the deck!"

"Very naive lies. Can't experienced magicians be thieves? Riska and Niya are treating him like a kid."

"Since you already know this, aren't you nervous?" Zubin asked quietly. "They will surely sell us out once they arrive at Lagan. Lagan is a very busy harbor and has its own delivery system. People from the Sacred City would surely stop us if we were sold out before we get to Forest Clarm.

"Do you think it's useful for me to speak to them?" Anfey asked.

"But you can't just stand there and do nothing about it. Don't forget you are the team leader!"

"How do you know that I did nothing?"

"…" Zubin looked at Anfey, surprised.

"Come over and listen this." Anfey shook the silver bottle in his hand.

This was a stethoscope Anfey had made by connecting two wine bottles using a gold wire.

"What's this used for?"

"Do you know why I choose this room to rest?" Anfey asked a new question instead of responding to Zubin's question.

"I have no idea."

"There is a warehouse beneath this room; although the soundproofing of the floor isn't good, you can hear them unless they talk quietly." Anfey laughed out. He put one end of the stethoscope near Zubin's ear and attached the other end to the floor.

"You've been listening to them!" Zubin said after listening a bit.

"Zubin, please get all free people here, we need to have a discussion." Anfey nodded to Zubin.

"Okay." Zubin answered and walked outside.

"Wait a second." Anfey stopped Zubin and whispered to him for a while, and Zubin's facial expression changed from amazement to anger to confusion to helplessness.

"Now you can go." Anfey patted Zubin.

Not much later, the majority of them had been called in, except for some that were monitoring the businessmen and sailors. They only encountered one dangerous moment where they were helped out by some "Good Person." At this moment, the destination was just right in front of them, and everyone was relaxed, especially Niya, who had put on some makeup. She didn't have any mood for makeup in the beginning when they had started escaping.

"Anfey, what's the matter?" Christian asked.

"We will be in Lagan tomorrow, I need to discuss something afterward with you guys," Anfey said. "Don't think we are safe now. Honestly, we won't be safe even when we are in Forest Clarm!"

"Something afterward? Anfey, what we need to do?" Christian said.

"After arriving at Lagan, we can't stop by the harbor; we must find some remote area where no one can see us. Then we must destroy all the evidence, including the boat!"

"Destroy the boat? What about the people on the boat?" Riska asked, surprised.

"I am your team leader. It's my duty to keep everyone safe. Nothing has to do with my business except this." Everyone was silent now as they understood that destroying the boat was not the purpose; the purpose was to eliminate all the evidence. Everyone now remembered how crude Anfey's sword skills were after he demonstrated in Saul's house. What Anfey wanted to do was clear enough without guessing.

"Anfey, there are dozens of lives on the boat! And they did no harm to us," Riska said hesitantly.

"How do you know…?" Zubin was trying to argue, and Anfey kicked him under the table.

"Anfey, there are still over dozens of miles between Forest Clarm and Lagan, we could still get into Forest Clarm before the chasers arrive if we act quickly, even if people on this boat sell us out. Considering the people on this boat are friendly to us, isn't it overreacting if we destroy the boat?" Blavi said.

Anfey fell into silence. No matter where they came from, whether ordinary people or nobles, there was one thing that they shared with each other: their lives were peaceful without life-or-death moments. Although they had some small conflicts among themselves, those were just childlike games, and they didn't really care who won or lost. They led a content life, and that's why they opposed such suggestions.

"Christian, what's your opinion?" Anfey looked at Christian.

"Why don't we compromise?" Christian suggested. "I could bind them. Only a dozen miles until we will be in Forest Clarm. Anfey, what do you think? They can't have a negative impact on us."

"That's fine. Since everyone here is against my opinion, then we will just do as Christian just said." Anfey nodded.

Christian was surprised that Anfey was convinced so easily. It was reasonable to think Anfey wasn't the type of person who could be easily convinced, considering Anfey was a rational and calm person.

"Does anyone have any ideas or want to say anything?" Anfey asked slowly.

Everybody shook their heads; they all thought Anfey's way was too cruel and merciless, while Christian's way could be acceptable.

"That's it. We will be in Lagan tomorrow. Have a good rest today and be well prepared for tomorrow!"

Everyone else was leaving Anfey's room except for Zubin. Zubin closed the door when everyone else left and spoke to Anfey, "Anfey, didn't you hear about the warrant that Jesse mentioned and how our identities were exposed? How could you let everyone here have other opinions?"

"Let's do it my way, Zubin. I trust you, that's why I have no reservations about you, and I hope you are worthy of my trust."

"Anfey…"

"Please go!"

Zubin looked Anfey deeply and then left without a word.

※※※

It was dark again. It was one of the do-nots for sailor to sail at night. Inland rivers were different from the ocean; there were so many invisible obstacles. Accidents could happen at any time if you were a little bit careless. But Anfey and the others were all amenable to sailing during the night.

The owner of this business boat was busy with all sorts of things. In Christian's eyes, Jesse was a good person. If Jesse wanted to plot against them, he could have sailed the boat to a shallow place and gotten the boat stuck somewhere, causing everyone trouble. Instead, Jesse was very serious about sailing and hoped to sail to Lagan soon, just like everyone else.

Due to Jesse's responsible attitude, everyone trusted him, and even Christian lost his alertness regarding Jesse after he talked with Anfey.

The dining room was usually dim but was very crowded today. Hundreds of candles were lit, and every corner was lit up. Everyone would go on with their own roads after tomorrow. Honest Jesse got to know this news from other, more honest students. That's why he held this farewell party.

Jesse was very good at speech, even better than Christian and all the others combined. He would go with Christian's team and experience more of the outside world, leaving his business, if only he had no family to support. Christian didn't think Jesse's idea was serious, but some of his students did, so the party's atmosphere was even more like that of a farewell party.

"Christian, where is your leader? I haven't seen him for a while." Jesse stood up shakily; he had drank enough already.

"Er… Oh, who saw Anfey?" Christian asked.

"Anfey got off the boat already…" Zubin replied. "He said he had to do something and will meet us in Lagan."

"How could he do this without even telling us?!" Christian was surprised.

"No worries, we will be at Lagan tomorrow morning, what's there to worry about?" Jesse moved his hand and laughed.

Christian put the wine glass down heavily on the table and could drink no more. He knew very well about their own business. Anfey was the only one who was able to bring everybody out of here. Christian felt lost. If Niya knew this, she would faint right away. She would think Anfey took all of her father's treasure away.