Chapter 1760 - 252 - 262

Chapter 253: Fight

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

It was getting dark and Anfey looked a little tired. He actually had never been tired before. After chatting with Christian for a while, he fell into a sound sleep. Christian did meditation for a while before he fell asleep. The chirping birds seemed to be influenced by them. They curled up in the corner of the cage and fell asleep.

After a while, Anfey and Christian both snored a little. A gold music box resting diagonally at the end of the bed suddenly moved. After a while, the top of the box opened. A pair of light blue light spots showed and then a small head peeked out from the opening.

At the same time, Anfey was talking in a dream and then turned over. His right foot accidentally pressed the top of the music box. The golden little puppet was stuck there. He could neither move back in nor come out. His hands waved in the air, trying to grab something. He also made a quiet but ear-piercing sound.

The little puppet seemed to receive an order from someone and suddenly stopped struggling. He lifted up his little head and looked at Christian across from him, and then weirdly turned half of his body to look at Anfey. Anfey was still sound asleep. The little puppet slowly held his hand out. There was a tiny fine needle on top of his finger, pointing at Anfey's ankle.

Without any wind, the door to the room suddenly opened. A person walked in. As he walked in, a dim light underneath his foot spread throughout the room. The little golden puppet suddenly frozen there, and the needle was less than one centimeter away from Anfey's ankle.

Another person quietly walked in. He looked at Anfey and noticed him still in sound sleep without knowing anything had happened. He could not help frowning. If they had been a little later, Anfey would surely have gotten hurt.

The person in the front waved his hand. The gold music box was lifted up by a layer of light and flew onto that person's palm. When he had the music box on his palm, he suddenly turned to the south to look. Obviously, he had sensed who controlled this puppet in his hand and from where.

The next moment, the two people disappeared one after another. The door was closed, and the room became as quiet as before.

Some thick and tall oak trees quietly stood under the moonlight, not far from the House of Mages Hotel. If frequent customers of the House of Mages Hotel saw these oak trees, they would have been shocked, since there were no trees before, not to mention such big and tall oak trees.

"I heard that guy hurt many of our people. Why are we here protecting him?" A low voice came from an oak tree.

"This is the order of the master. If you do not want to protect him and disobey the order, you can try to see what punishment you will receive," another person answered calmly.

"Shut up. All be quiet." Suddenly there was an inpatient voice from underground. Those few oak trees became quiet. Only their leaves made some sounds in the wind.

Christian's eyelids moved a little bit. He observed his surroundings with squinted eyes. He slowly sat up from the bed and saw Anfey in sound sleep. He tried to wake him up. "Anfey!"

Anfey responded to Christian just by moving his mouth and making some sounds.

"Man." Christian shook his head. If this had happened in the past, he would have barely notice anything unusual. He was experienced now and became very observant. Anfey had looked a little strange in the evening, so Christian had been suspicious and did not really fall asleep. Christian did not see the gold puppet because he only used his ears to listen to his surroundings. If he had known there was a puppet, he would already have killed it.

Christian rolled off the bed and walked up beside Anfey. He pushed Anfey a little. "Anfey, Anfey." Under the moonlight, he saw the cage on the floor. The two birds were sound asleep in very weird positions, curling up at the corners of the cage. Christian started to look serious and worried. He looked at Anfey and then at the two birds. He squatted down and poked one bird with his finger through the cage. The bird flipped over but still did not wake up.

Christian rushed to his bed and grabbed his wand. He rushed back to Anfey's side again. He grabbed Anfey's shoulder and shook him hard. "Anfey, wake up, wake up."

"You don't have to wake him up now. Without being baptized by the sunlight, he will not wake up," a coarse sound arose.

Christian was frozen to the ground for a second. Even an immature kid would turn around to ask who he was or pretend to be calm and ask who he was, but Christian raised his wand without any hesitation. With strong magic surges, a big fire ball shot out at the black shadow. At the same time, Christian yelled, "Suzanna!"

Anfey believed in preemption. If others took preemptive action first, they would be at a disadvantage. People in his legion were definitely influenced by his principles to some degree. Christian was okay to fight. He felt there was no point in talking too much.

The big fireball hit the target and exploded. After the explosion, the flames swallowed the black shadow, but soon the black shadow walked out from the flame. There was thick smog on his body. Christian also smelled something burning in the air.

Christian waved the wand in his hand. An electric arc shot out from the tip of the wand and then released the magic dome immediately after that. Christian immediately chanted.

Christian heard Suzanna's yelling and fighting sounds from the next room. It was obvious that Suzanna did not have the advantage in this fight. Christian's heart dropped. From the casual look on that black shadow, he knew it would not be easy, but he did not expect Suzanna could not get out of the fight quickly.

"No point," the black shadow shook his head and said with a playful tone.

Christian snorted and hit his wand hard on the floor. A heat wave spread out. Where the heat wave passed, the floor and chairs had turned into ashes. Even the roof was burned. Glass items had all exploded. The black shadow shook a little bit before he could steady himself. The smog on him got even thicker. He made some sizzling sound like meat cooked on a grill. The sound made Christian's hair stand up. Christian could even see some unknown liquid dripping from the black shadow.

"Move, Christian. I do not want to hurt you now, but only now," the black shadow said with a coarse voice. "My job is to take him with me. Don't even try to stop me."

Christian looked at Anfey and said calmly, "No!"

"You are very stubborn. I will give you one more chance, and this is your last chance." That black shadow slowly took two steps forward.

Christian slid one step to the side and blocked Anfey behind him. He used his action to show his determination.

"This is so touching." The coarse voice showed his intention to kill Christian now. A weird bone spear appeared as the black shadow waved his hand. The spear hit hard on the magic dome. As the bone spear disappeared, the magic dome disappeared as well.

At the same time, with a huge collapsing sound, a big hole was blasted in the wall between the two rooms. Christian could see a gigantic brown bear fighting with Suzanna through the hole. That brown bear had a similar size with the bear in the temple. The only difference was this brown bear was covered with stone scales. Every time Suzanna hit the bear, a large piece of stone scale would get hit away, but it would grow back immediately to block the next hit. Suzanna could not use all her powers because she had to take care of Niya in the corner. The brown bear kept moving forward with his gigantic body and hard stone scales. His momentum was terrifying. Christian was startled by what he saw.

Christian lost himself in thoughts for a short time. A cloud of smog floated against the burnt floor towards Christian as the black shadow causally shook his hand. The shocking look on Christian's face immediately disappeared. The magic dome radiant appeared and shocked the cloud of smog away. He pointed his wand forward. A wind blade shot out fast at the black shadow's head. That black shadow was knocked back with a whooshing sound. A fishy liquid splashed from the black shadow's head.

Christian waved his wand like he was twitching. Wind blades shot at that black shadow. Unfortunately, these attacks could not hurt him. A weird bone shield blocked him in front and absorbed the damage for him.

"Are you a necromancer?" Christian asked.

"You have made me very angry." That black shadow did not answer Christian's question. In fact, there was no point for him to answer Christian. That black shadow's voice sounded very cold.

"You are an unwelcomed robber and do not have a right to complain," Christian sneered. "Suzanna, don't worry. I can handle this guy. You only need to take care of that stupid bear."

"You handle me?" That black shadow grinned. When he came here, he indeed did not want to hurt Christian. He only wanted to take Anfey with him, but Christian did not understand his intention and pissed him off. Now he did not care whether or not he hurt Christian.

"Ok." Suzanna yelled. Bright sword radiant showed around the sword. She swung hard at the bear's head. The stone scales were hit into powder and splashed everywhere. She kicked the bear's chest. Even this bear, over three yards tall, could not take such a powerful kick and fell backwards. The door and the walls next to the door were knocked down by the bear.

Christian had finished his chanting. Unexpectedly, his wand pointed at the bear. At the same time, Suzanna had leaped forward with her sword toward the black shadow through the hole on the wall between the two rooms.

The fallen bear struggled to get back up, but its paws lost the grip. Under the gravity magic, the bear's weight increased several times to the point that the floor could not hold it. With a huge crashing sound, the bear disappeared.

Chapter 254: Childish

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The dark figure bellowed angrily, a short, dark staff appearing in his hand. He never expected that Christian could turn the situation around with such a simple trick.

Intermediate gravity spells were very common, and were hardly a threat to anyone. However, there were situations where it would be the perfect spell to use. After all, there were no bad spells, only bad mages.

The large bear had already fallen through several floors and fell to the bottom of the building. The effects of a gravity spell would last for a few minutes, and the bear could try with all his might, but he would not be able to join the fight.

Green liquid spouted from the man's black staff and shot towards Suzanna. With a loud crack, the sword in Suzanna's hand slashed out and her sword radiance blocked all the green liquid.

Christian and Suzanna quickly switched places. Neither knew how many enemies there were, but both Niya and Anfey were unconscious and needed protection.

Suzanna's sword radiance shattered the man's bone shield and left a deep slash on the man. The man groaned and took a few steps back. He waved his hand and released another spell. The whole room was filled with a dark glow, and Suzanna's movement suddenly became slower.

The man took advantage of this and recovered himself. He began whispering another spell. Suzanna bellowed and the light of her combat power became brighter and rippled around her body. She dashed forward. Swordsmasters needed to get close when fighting with a mage. A mage was usually not as physically fit as a swordsmaster, but a swordsmaster could not withstand magic for long. If a swordsmaster did not charge at his enemy, he might as well run away.

The man used another spell, and a light red glow appeared around Suzanna. However, even with the spell slowing her down, Suzanna was able to duck away from the red glow.

A large bone spear suddenly burst through the window and flew towards Suzanna. Suzanna was in midair, and she was going at a fast speed, making it harder for her to duck. She frowned and decided to focus on the man in front of her. She did not have another choice. She needed to protect her friends, and she couldn't do that unless she defeated the man in front of her. She did not have confidence to take on two mages.

The large spear struck Suzanna with a loud thud. The combat power around Suzanna quivered, and the spear disappeared upon impact. Combat power was not only a weapon for swordsmen, it was also their shield. An attack like this could not hurt Suzanna, but it was enough to put her off course.

The man waved his staff, and the light red glow moved with his staff. It enveloped Suzanna, and she was suddenly stopped in midair.

A dozen spikes appeared and formed a cylindrical cage with Suzanna inside. The bones shrank and trapped Suzanna.

Suzanna screamed in rage and slashed at the cage. She tried to wriggle out of the cage, but bone cages were one of necromancers' best weapons. It was practically impossible to escape from one. The bones that formed the cage were not only strong, but also very flexible. Suzanna would never be able to escape it.

For a mage, one of the most important things was the space to use the magic. Swordsmen were not much different. Suzanna's arms were trapped in the cage and there was not enough space to use her sword. She could not do much damage to the cage with her sword.

The man lowered his staff and turned to Christian. He chuckled lowly. He did not want to hurt Christian at first, but he changed his mind.

Christian could clearly see what was happening on the other side. He did not say anything, and quietly retrieved a magic scroll. Niya sighed and grabbed his arm, knowing exactly what he wanted to do. When the outcome of the fight was still unclear, Niya would panic and hide, but when it became obvious that the fight was lost, Niya found herself suddenly unafraid. She was Saul's daughter, and she knew she should not shy away from a fight like this.

Another figure appeared in the room. It was the man who had trapped Suzanna. Compared to the other man, the newcomer appeared much more ruthless. Unlike his companion, who hid himself in the shadows, the second man's white hair, sunken cheeks, and dark eyes were all exposed. Normally, a necromancer would hide his face. This necromancer clearly did not care if anyone found out who he was.

He reached over and grabbed Anfey. "This is the one Annunciata wants?"

"Yes," the other man said.

Suzanna couldn't turn around, but she knew what was happening behind her. She screamed angrily and managed to break two of the bones of her cage. This freed her right hand, and she slashed out against the other bones. If she was able to destroy the cage, the sword would hit her as well. Right now, however, she did not care.

"They are still children," the second necromancer said, raising the staff in his hand. "Too childish."

"Likewise," Anfey said, his eyes flickering open.

Before the necromancer could react, he was thrown onto the ground, his staff falling out of his hand.

Anfey grabbed the necromancer's head and kicked the man's back. The necromancer's body was very frail, and that was enough to separate his head from his body. The headless body fell to the ground, the staff rolling away.

"Anfey?" Niya whispered under her breath.

"I knew it," Christian said, shaking his head. He glanced at the scroll in his hand and returned it to his dimensional ring. He was only steps away from sacrificing himself to kill the necromancers.

The bone cage disappeared, releasing Suzanna. She did not try to attack the necromancer in front of her, and instead turned to look at Anfey. She stared at him, as if she had not seen him in years.

Anfey turned and kicked the necromancer's body and shook his head. "There's hardly any blood left in here," he said. "God knows how they maintained themselves."

The necromancer in the shadows froze. He did not know how Anfey was able to regain consciousness. Was he faking it all along?

Anfey walked towards the necromancer, playing with his dagger. "How should I call you? Should I call you Lord Necromancer? Or City Lord Nana?"

"City Lord Nana?" Niya asked, shocked.

"Perhaps not the real Nana, but one close enough," Anfey said. "You know what kind of person is the easiest to fake? One ordinary enough you would not give him a second look. Even though there might be a lot of flaws, a lot of people still won't notice."

"You knew all along?" Suzanna asked.

"You are too hasty," Anfey said. "Don't be so impulsive next time, got it?"

Suzanna flushed and nodded.

"Christian knew he should get the bear away, you should take note. Don't just focus on what's right in front of you," Anfey said. "Speaking of the bear, Lord Guardian, please, reveal yourself. There is no need for you to hide anymore."

Suzanna glanced at the floorboard and blinked. If she was trapped when fighting on solid ground, she was truly trapped. She was, however, standing on floorboards. She didn't need to struggle with the cage.

The ceiling was forced open by a strong middle-aged man. He jumped down and looked at Anfey. "How did you know it was me?"

"There were a few druids downstairs just now," Anfey said. "It's not hard to guess." He turned to the necromancer and said, "City Lord Nana, you made too many mistakes. The first time you met us, did you just happen to carry the gift with you? The guards you left with us did not appear at all, neither did the mages and the inn owner, despite the ruckus. The four of us are the only ones left in this inn. You are the only one, to my knowledge, that can make them leave so quietly."

Chapter 255: Deviant Necromancers

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The black shadow facing Anfey and the middle-aged man looked at each other, and both went quiet.

"I am just curious why a guardian of Goddess of Nature would be friends with a necromancer? Where are your peers? Did you kill them or kick them out?" Anfey asked calmly.

"You do not need to know any of them," the middle-aged man said coldly. His eyes had a layer of light golden shine and his body started to swell up. There were strong surges of Nature power.

"I actually never liked to talk bulls*^t. I do not know why I am talking so much with you," Anfey said.

"Why?" the man responded with an attitude showing he could care less. His body got bigger and bigger. His face changed as well. The most obvious change was on his nose. His nose did not only get longer, but also grew some bear whiskers. This should be the first step for a druid to transform into a bearman.

"It would bring trouble for me if I kill you," Anfey said, scratching his head. "I killed quite a few people in the temple. If I kill a guardian of the Goddess of Nature, it would be very hard for me to explain everything. Even if I got the chance to tell them the truth, it would be hard for them to believe me anyway. In addition, I do not know where your peers are? If you killed them, they would blame me for that."

"If this is the case, you had better behave and let me kill you," the man said with a grin. His head had almost transformed into a bear head while his body was in the process of transformation. Anfey was surprised that this half-human, half-beast could speak fluent human language, which gave him a weird feeling.

"This is not a good idea," Anfey shook his head with a smile. "I am pretty smart and chose to talk bulls*^t with you. At first, you were surprised how I saw through your set up. Now you are wondering why I am talking bulls*^t to you. In order for you to understand it, you gave me enough time. Of course, I appreciate your generosity."

"I do not want to hear your bulls*^t anymore," the middle-aged man said coldly. There was only one step left before he completed his transformation. His upper body had transformed into a bear. His eyes had changed from golden color into bloody red and looked very sharp.

"Late, too late." Anfey said calmly. He casually put his arm on Suzanna's shoulder. "With a spy like you, necromancers definitely knew of the existence of Bruzuryano and Slanbrea. You changed the plan on purpose to try to distract them, but don't you think they have noticed that?"

The brown bear slowly opened his arms, but froze there as he heard what Anfey said. He looked panicked instead of sharp now.

Suzanna was attentively looking at the transformed druid. She looked at Anfey's hand on her shoulder and said, "What if they have not noticed that?" They had worked together for so long, Suzanna already knew what Anfey wanted when he put his arm on her shoulder. Anfey hoped she could help him with the story to give him a chance to talk more.

"They are very experienced and knowledgeable people. I do not think they are that stupid," Anfey said.

Bruzuryano and Slanbrea had not shown up yet. The black shadow and the brown bear started to think about leaving after hearing what Anfey said. They were not only surprised that Anfey could wake up, but also shocked to know their peers were killed. They were responsible for carrying out the plan, so they knew their peers' fighting ability. They did not think lambs, as if Anfey could suddenly turn into a wolf while their wolf peers turned into lambs. In the blink of an eye, they had seen Anfey cut through their peers' necks with a knife and tear their peers' heads off. This was such a shock for them that they still could not believe it. They seemed to forget about the precious time they had and could not help listening to Anfey telling them the so-called secrets.

If they did not leave now, they might not be able to leave anytime soon. The black shadow and the brown bear could not help moving a step back. At the same time, a priest in a white gown with golden trim and a chubby middle-aged man appeared behind them. Holy light poured out from them in all directions. The brown bear seemed fine, but the black shadow screamed in pain as black smog arose from his back. His body seemed to be grilled.

"To prove I am indeed not stupid, I am here," the chubby, middle-aged man said calmly. He looked perplexed. He did not even look at his opponents. In other words, he did not care to look at them. He focused on Anfey.

"I am earlier than you. It seems that I am smarter than you." Bruzuryano had shown up earlier at the window. He was joking but his eyes did not smile at all. He stared at the brown bear with anger flaming in his eyes.

He had made the plan with Slanbrea. If something had gone wrong, Slanbrea and he had to be responsible for it. To ensure safety, Bruzuryano even sent six of the most powerful druids from the temple. He thought even those druids could not ensure the safety of Anfey, which would buy them some time. They did not know there was a traitor among them. Judging from the messy scene, he could tell they had a bad fight. If something had happened, they could not forgive themselves.

Slanbrea did not look like he was in good mood. The black shadow could not stand the holy light. He lay on the floor, screaming. Slanbrea did not stop shining the light on him. He even made the light brighter on purpose. The corners of his mouth curled up. He and Bruzuryano were in the same boat. If Bruzuryano felt he lost his face, Slanbrea felt the same way. He had hatred towards the black shadow and the brown bear.

This had nothing to do with forgiveness. Everyone had two values. The value of their own lives and the value of their experience, ability, friends, family, and fame. Which one was more precious varied. It was very personal. Some people would save their lives by sacrificing the other values. Some people would rather save the second value by giving up their lives. Slanbrea definitely belonged to the later group. He almost ruined everything he had. He did not look as angry as Bruzuryano. He had better control of himself.

Anfey frowned and wanted to say something, but swallowed his thought.

"Miss," the black shadow knew he did not have long to live. He suddenly lifted his head and yelled, "I never wanted to hurt you. These are the conditions I had to agree to in order to work with them."

"What?" Niya was shocked. She looked around to make sure the black shadow was talking to her. She hesitated a little before she said, "Are you a necromancer?"

"I have no other option," the black shadow yelled with a trembling voice.

"But why are you willing to be a necromancer?" Niya asked.

"I look even uglier than necromancers. No one would want to look at me, not even my wife. She did not want to be with me. Why can't I be a necromancer?" The black shadow seemed to look very pained, like someone had rubbed salt on his wound. His moaning sounded even sadder.

"That is not right." Niya shook her head. It was asking Niya too much to convince people. At most, she was able to tell whether something was right or wrong.

"Hahaha.. what is wrong with that? I only wanted them to look uglier than me!" The black shadow's eyes looked greener. He turned to look at Anfey. At that moment, Nana stepped out of the black shadow, but his image looked like it was melting. Black fluid kept dripping off. It looked scary.

"You have become a such deviant." Anfey shook his head and felt scared. There was nothing more scary than a person mentally unstable. He could understand how Nana thought. Most necromancers pursued unreasonable eternal lives, and that was the reason they became necromancers. Nana did not join them for that reason. He thought he was too ugly and too lonely. He wanted to turn others in the world into necromancers to make himself feel better. Nana lost that balance in him and became a deviant.

"What deviant?" Nana yelled. His body suddenly exploded. A string of black gas mixed with his deep hatred shot toward Anfey's face.

Anfey blocked Suzanna and reached his right hand out. Nana's spirit was filled with hatred but was not very powerful. If he were in Evil Abyss, he was only a low-level Ahriman. Anfey did not even care about his attack. As Anfey reached his hand out, he suddenly realized something and changed his mind. He shot out some milk white light radiant. When Nana's hatred clashed with the white light radiant, it just disappeared.

Slanbrea did not look so worried any more. The corners of his mouth curled into a smile.

"Canon, it is your turn now. Tell me, why did you betray us? Where are those druids?

Bruzuryano asked coldly.

"Hahaha." The brown bear laughed hard. White bubbles splashed everywhere under the rapid airflow. It looked disgusting. "Master, this is my last revenge. Do you think I will tell you?" The brown bear waved his claws and hit his head hard without any hesitation. With a huge bang, his gigantic body only had half a bear head left. The other half flew off. The gigantic bear body smashed on the floor like a landslide. Without gravitation magic, the gigantic bear body crashed through the floor.

Anfey heaved a sigh. He was not too happy with what had happened. It was too far from what he had expected.

Chapter 256: Fused

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Can you find those druids?" Bruzuryano asked. His eyes were filled with grief and regret. He must have known the guardian and liked him, or else he would not be so sad.

"I can try," Slanbrea promised. He turned to Anfey and said, "So we meet again."

"I'm very honored to see both of you again, my lords…"

"Save us from the formality," Slanbrea said and shook his head. "How did you know we're here?"

"I got lucky, I suppose," Anfey said. He tried to appear as natural as possible, but in reality he was very nervous. He couldn't even look at Bruzuryano, since he was scared that he would ask for the Heart of Nature. He didn't want to return the Heart of Nature because it had helped him so much, but it wasn't his, and he had no right to keep it if its real owner asked for it. He was hoping that Bruzuryano would simply forget about it, but the chance was slim.

"Whatever," Bruzuryano snapped and interrupted Slanbrea. "You must find those druids first."

Slanbrea shook his head. "Why are you asking me?"

"Who else would I ask?"

"Did you already forgot about the Heart of Nature?"

Anfey winced. He wished he could step in and stop Slanbrea from talking about the Heart of Nature, but he could not. Anfey sighed and turned to Bruzuryano. "My lord," he said, bowing. "I haven't seen you in days, and…"

"Oh, stop it," Bruzuryano said hurriedly. "Just give me the Heart."

Anfey sighed and fished out the chain around his neck. He wished that Saul and Ernest were with him; that way he could at least try to negotiate with Bruzuryano. Now, however, he had nothing else to offer to the man. He had no choice but to hand over the Heart. He didn't need to make Bruzuryano his enemy.

Anfey handed the necklace with Heart of Nature to Bruzuryano and felt sad, as if he had just seen the girl he liked with another boy.

Bruzuryano took the Heart and held it in his hands. He felt a sudden, storm-like surge of power within him, but that power disappeared within seconds. He opened his hands, and found the Heart of Nature gone.

"Where is it?" Bruzuryano bellowed angrily.

"I-I just handed it to you, sir," Anfey explained hurriedly. He did not know what had just happened and what Bruzuryano would do, and was scared.

Bruzuryano narrowed his eyes. He was very angry, and Anfey, who was standing in front of him, became the perfect target for his anger. His religion was already growing weak, and every follower mattered. Even if the missing druids were already dead, if he could find them sooner, they had a higher chance of surviving. A magic surge exploded from Bruzuryano and swept across the room, causing the furniture in the room to shake and move. The lamp that had survived the battle intact was shaking violently, the windows swung open and hit the wall of the building. Suzanna took a step back and had to summon her combat power. Even though she was only one level below Bruzuryano, she was significantly weaker than he was. He was hardly using his power, and she had to use her combat power to protective herself.

Anfey frowned. The respect and humility on his face disappeared, and his body became straight and rigid. His face was a stiff mask of coldness. When he was at a dead end, when all words lose their meaning and all actions seem useless, Anfey would show his true self. He did not care about what awaited him. Even if it was his doom, he would not waver.

Slanbrea frowned. He knew that Anfey had great potential, but when he straightened himself, Slanbrea felt as if he had grown several inches. He may not be powerful, but Anfey had the bearing of a powerful man.

Perhaps because he did not see Anfey as an enemy, Bruzuryano did not react to this change. "Tell me," he bellowed. "Where is the Heart?"

Anfey thought that Bruzuryano felt the synchronization between him and the Heart of Nature, and regretted giving the artifice to him. He thought that this would be Bruzuryano's way of taking it back and framing him for stealing it. Anfey forgot about the fact that he often would overthink situations. This was one of his problems, since overthinking a situation makes it easier to prepare for the worst. He did not know that although Bruzuryano appeared to be a simple man, he was still a good friend of Saul's. He would never try to frame Saul's students for anything. Anfey, however, did not know the relationship between those men, and made a decision based on his own judgement.

Anfey did not say anything, and only stared at Bruzuryano.

"Don't scare him, goodness, Bruzuryano, what has gotten into you?" Slanbrea asked, walking over. "Can't you feel it? The Heart of Nature is still here."

Bruzuryano and Anfey both frowned. Bruzuryano was surprised because he did feel surges from the Heart, and Anfey was surprised by the warmth he felt on his chest. He had already used all of his power to hold still in the face of Bruzuryano's rage. If their standoff continued, he would pass out even if Bruzuryano didn't do anything. The warmth from his chest was familiar and filled his body with power.

Anfey pulled his shirt back, and was shocked to find a green, glowing leaf on his left chest. Soft light was coursing through its veins. The Heart of Nature was only a leaf when Anfey handed it to Bruzuryano, but now it seemed to be a living thing.

"This is impossible," Bruzuryano said. The Heart of Nature was a treasure left to mankind by the Goddess of Nature, and had been passing between elves and druids for millennia. Except for the first elven queen, no one could make the Heart of Nature come to life. Anfey was neither a druid nor an elf, and this defied the basic law the Goddess of Nature laid down.

Anfey frowned and appeared perplexed. "I don't know, sir," he said timidly. "Can you take it? It feels strange."

Bruzuryano looked at Anfey and the glowing leaf and sighed. "Take it," he said. "Maybe it is all written in the stars."

"Can you take it?" Anfey asked.

"It's part of you now," Bruzuryano said with a sigh. "Just keep it." He turned and shook his head. "I will go down in history as a sinner."

"Or not," Slanbrea said. "Maybe you will be remembered as someone who catalyzed it." He knew why Bruzuryano was certain he was a sinner. The Heart of Nature was a holy artifice among the elves and the druids. Bruzuryano lost the artifice, and thought himself a sinner. Slanbrea knew very well what extent Bruzuryano would go to to retrieve the Heart, but he was good friends with Saul, and would not harm Saul's students. It was also believed that whoever that could fuse with the Heart of Nature was chosen by the Goddess, and it would be inappropriate. If the pope gave the Scepter of Angel to his successor and the successor was an evil man, Slanbrea could not do anything unless the successor began using death magic.

Bruzuryano sighed and shook his head.

Anfey, on the other hand, was relieved. He had to feign powerlessness, but in truth he was very happy.

"Quickly," Slanbrea said. "Use the Heart and try to find the missing druids." For someone belonging to the top level, it was hard to disturb the peacefulness of the mind. Once it was disturbed, however, it was hard to calm down again. Bruzuryano had too much on his mind, and his mind was no longer peaceful. Slanbrea needed him to calm down and gather himself.

"How do I use it?" Anfey asked. He was still trying to get more information.

"Use your heart," Bruzuryano said quietly. Slanbrea's words gave him a new idea. The missing druids were important, but an Arch Druid fused with the Heart of Nature was even more important. He wanted to find the missing druids still, but he was already thinking about a new plan.

Chapter 257: Not Talented

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"You really couldn't find it?" Bruzuryano looked disappointed.

"I cannot find it. Maybe I am not good enough." Anfey shook his head. He looked at Bruzuryano in sympathy. There was a whole system of teaching how to practice Samadhi and reach the unity of man and heaven in his family's martial art. What Bruzuryano taught him was way too simple. It was just a sample of his family's martial art system. No wonder Bruzuryano wanted to give the Heart of Nature away. He had never communicated with the Heart of Nature before; otherwise Bruzuryano instead of Anfey would be the one communicating with the Heart of Nature.

Bruzuryano turned to look at Slanbrea. Slanbrea sighed. "We had better let the temple know about it. With their help, it should be better." After the talk, Slanbrea turned sideways and saw a headless dry body. He was shocked for a second before he hurried over.

Bruzuryano calmed himself down a little and released a Nature magic. A vine appeared in Bruzuryano's hand. The vine crawled against the floor to the window. It passed through the window and crawled onto the floor again. It looked like a snake scrawling away.

"Did you kill him?" Slanbrea asked as he turned around, pointing to the headless body on the floor. He sounded very surprised.

"Yes, I did," Anfey said.

"How did you kill him?" Slanbrea asked.

"He was too careless." Anfey shrugged.

"Is he that nut?" Bruzuryano noticed the white bone staff as well.

"You are right." Slanbrea smiled with his head shaking. He chanted in a low pitch. Holy flame showed up again. It hovered over the top of the white bone staff. Under the Holy Flame, the white bone staff shook a little bit and turned into powder.

Bruzuryano gave a bitter smile as well. The nut he was talking about was far less powerful than Slanbrea and him, but he was much better than Anfey and his group. With common sense, Anfey and his group should have not killed the guy without any damage. He thought to himself that if Anfey could turn around the basic principles of the Goddess of Nature, Anfey could definitely brush aside common sense as well.

"Masters, I do not know if I should tell you this," Anfey said quietly.

Slanbrea and Bruzuryano looked at each other. "Anfey, it's fine. Go ahead."

"If this was to find the spy and kill Nana, you would not have to do so much. If this is to remove more bad guys from the world quicker, we should let them run away," Anfey said.

Slanbrea was shocked for a while and sighed, "I was too angry and did not think it through. Thanks for reminding me about that. You really can think through the details. Amazing."

"Did you say his name was Nana?" Bruzuryano asked as he pointed at the body which had been chopped into pieces.

"Yes, he is the city master of Punk City." Anfey said with a nod. "I think we should go and walk around the garrison residence. Maybe we could get some useful information."

"Yes. Let's go." Slanbrea suddenly got excited. It looked like he was not too happy with what had happened.

"Master, right now there is no city master for Punk City," Anfey said. "I am worried that someone would make rumors in the dark. The city could possibly have a lot of troubles later on. Bruzuryano was an arch-druid with high reputation and fame. There are many temples of the Goddess of Nature and her followers. If Bruzuryano can be in charge of the government of the city for the time being, those people could not make any trouble."

"I am getting old. I have to be reminded of this by a kid." Bruzuryano smiled. "Ok, you guys go with Slanbrea. I will take care of this mess."

It was already late at night, but there were still patrols on the streets. They randomly picked a patrol team. Without saying much, Slanbrea's priest gown with holy spirit had proved his identity. Patrol officers carefully and obediently escorted Anfey and his group to the garrison residence.

The few guards on watch on both sides of the gate walked up to them. They first carefully checked Slanbrea's priest gown in holy light. After they were convinced it was a real one, they respectful said, "Master, how can I help you?"

"Bulls*^t," Anfey said coldly as he waved the pass Black Eleven had left him.

In fact, those soldiers had no idea what that pass meant, but they felt Anfey and his group were important people. One guard could not stop pleasing them with smiles and said, "Master, wait for a second. Let me report to the city master that you are here."

"No need. We can just walk in," Anfey said.

"But…" one of the soldiers said.

"Move!" Anfey said impatiently.

Those soldiers on watch looked at each other and gave each other a bitter smile. They dared not mess with Anfey's group or the city master. They felt they were in such a dilemma. A smart soldier seemed to realize the key point of this issue. He ran over to the gate and pushed the gate open. If they gave trouble to Anfey's group as it stood in front of them right now, they had no idea what troubles they would get themselves into. If their city master would punish them later, they could just switch their jobs. It was not like they would be killed.

Once someone made an example of what to do, in other words, when there was already a scapegoat, other soldiers just followed him and could later step aside and suggest that they had nothing to do with this.

The garrison residence looked simple and clean. It showed that Nana was not a person of luxury. At least half of his residence was empty. A housekeeper, maids, cooks, servants and other bodyguards lived in half of the residence. Anfey did not know how to tell whether any of them were necromancers. That would be the job of Slanbrea. Under the light of Holy Flames, only the necromancers who had the same level of powers as Slanbrea's could pass Slanbrea's eyes. There was a reason the Light magic was called the natural enemy of necromancers' magic.

Once they had woken everyone up, the servants had to be tested by the Holy Flames before they could go anywhere else. Anfey had seen a few of the soldiers during the day. They hesitantly came over to ask Anfey what had happened. Anfey did not give them any explanation. He only signaled them to follow him.

Necromancers could lie to deceive others to work for them, but once they were found out, they started to ditch their friends and families. This was the weak point of the necromancers. Almost no one wanted to see the whole world being ruled by the dark power. Dislike of necromancers was beyond nationality and race. Everyone worked together to fight them, which was the reason that necromancers had never won any war. This was why Anfey did not worry about having those bodyguards follow him. They had been working for Nana, but once they knew the truth that Nana was a necromancer, they would not be on Nana's side. They would tell Anfey anything suspicious about Nana.

They went from the first floor to the second floor. Slanbrea did not find any useful information. Anfey took out a spear from a weapon holder. He hit things with the spear everywhere, especially in Nana's study and bedroom. He did not find anything either.

"Master, what on earth has happened? Where is our city master?" a bodyguard could not help asking. Other guards pricked up their ears to eavesdrop on the conversation. They wanted to know about it as well.

"Nana is a necromancer," Anfey said calmly.

"What?" the bodyguards yelled in surprise.

"This is the priest, Slanbrea. This is Palace Archmage Saul's daughter. I am a student of Master Saul. With us as the witness, don't you believe that your city master is a necromancer?" Anfey said.

"Is Master Nana really a necromancer?" a bodyguard said in disbelief. He raised his voice a little bit and a maid heard him. No one knew what she remembered at that moment, but she passed out on the floor.

"Would I joke something like this?" Anfey asked.

The bodyguards took a close look at Slanbrea and the serious look on Anfey's face. They went quiet without asking more questions.

"Wait, I heard Nana has a wife. Why are we not seeing her?" Anfey suddenly remembered the hatred Nana had towards his wife.

"Madam went back to her hometown for a visit. Hmm…she has not come back for about half a year. She took her son with her," a bodyguard answered.

"Does Nana have a good relationship with his wife?" Anfey asked.

"Not too good. Master, I mean the necromancer hated his wife and his son," the bodyguard responded.

"I do not think his wife went back to her hometown," another guard said.

"Huh?" Anfey raised his eyebrows. He turned around and laid his eyes on the bodyguard.

"The brother of the necromancer's wife came here two months ago. I eavesdropped on their conversation. He told the necromancer that he wanted to see his sister, so I don't think the wife went back to her hometown," the bodyguard explained.

"What happened afterwards?" Anfey asked further.

"Later...later I never saw his wife's brother again. He might have left," the bodyguard responded.

"Why would he leave if he never saw his sister?" another bodyguard asked.

"I do not know. I just never saw him again," the bodyguard said.

Anfey had planned to give up the matter. After hearing this, though, he felt something was unusual. He turned to look at Slanbrea. If there was anything hidden here by dark magic, only Slanbrea could find it.

Chapter 258: Ugliness of Humanity

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Light is constant and eternal…" Slanbrea said, holding out his hand slowly. Compared to a common believer, he appeared much more logical and less zealous. There were two distinct groups once people become as powerful as someone like Slanbrea. One type was filled with wisdom and treated everyone with justice and logic. The other type took their beliefs as everything they had, and they would do anything for it. The first type gained their power through tireless work and wisdom, the second through determination. It was hard to say which type was more powerful, but it was easy to tell which type had an easier time gaining respect. Slanbrea was from the former group, which could be seen judging by how respected he was.

A ball of light raised up from Slanbrea's hand and floated towards the second floor. The light hovered near the ceiling for a few seconds before exploding into thousands of tiny sparks. The room burst into light, columns of light shone through the walls and windows. The entire courtyard was lit up. Everyone in the room had to cover their eyes and cower under the light.

Anfey opened his eyes and glanced at Slanbrea after the light disappeared. He was confused. Usually, before a priest use large scale magic like this, he would warn everyone around him. Slanbrea did not warn anyone, which seemed out of character.

Everyone standing in the lobby slowly recovered from the shock. Some were stumbling around, but most were already adjusting. The woman who passed out earlier was awake, but she was curled into a fetal position and wailing, clutching her stomach.

"This is exactly what I was afraid of," Slanbrea said with a sigh.

What was he afraid of? Anfey frowned and looked at Slanbrea. Except for the woman who appeared to be in excruciating pain, nothing was too bad about the situation.

"Darkness shall not prevail against the light, and guiltless souls shall find peace within the walls of heaven…" Slanbrea whispered under his breath. He raised his arms and waved. A curved blade of light shot up and hit the wailing woman. Light magic did not have many attacking spells, but this was one of them. The woman was spliced into two pieces by the light blade, and thrown backwards. A dark, bloody thing crawled out of the woman's body, wailing like a child. Slanbrea raised his hand, and the thing turned to dust under strong light.

No one knew why Slanbrea had killed the woman, but now everyone knew what must have happened. Who would have thought that the person that lived with them was carrying a demon in her body?

The woman was still alive, however, though her eyes were dim. Her lips were closing and opening, as if she wanted to say something but couldn't make a sound. Slanbrea walked over and held the woman's body in his arms. "Be at peace, child," he said. "Leave your sufferings behind. May god be with you."

The woman looked at Slanbrea, and the corners of her lips twitched. Then she closed her eyes and stopped breathing.

Slanbrea placed the woman's body on the ground carefully and stood up. Everyone around him took a collective step back, as if they were afraid something else would crawl out of the woman's body.

Anfey sighed and turned away. Suddenly, he noticed something and frowned.

Anfey had very good short term memory, good enough to notice that something was off about the statue across the room.

When he first arrived, the statue was standing between two staircases. It had been holding its lance in its right hand, shield in left hand, and standing upright. Now, the statue was moved back a few feet, and was bent over as if it was getting ready to pounce on its prey. Anfey frowned. He grabbed his lance and threw it towards the statue. The spear struck the statue in the head and cracked the helmet. A dark figure jumped out of the statue and bolted towards the skylight.

Slanbrea was already looking at him when Anfey threw the spear. The shadow was fast, but not as fast as the light. Light flashed, and the shadow was on the ground, writhing and wailing.

It was a monster in the shape of a bat, but much larger. The light had clearly caused irreversible damage to its body, and its body was turning into dust. The more it struggled, the more its body withered away.

"What is that?" Anfey asked.

"A demon," a guard said, his voice shaking. "We've been living with demons!"

Slanbrea walked over to the statue and walked around it. "Move this over there," he turned to two guards and said, pointing at the statue. He was one of the most powerful men, but his magic wasn't omnipotent and he couldn't do heavy lifting.

The two guards walked over unwillingly and picked up the statue, moving it to where Slanbrea had indicated.

Anfey frowned. He walked over and grabbed a guard's longsword and joined Slanbrea at his side. He tapped the stone under the statue and said with a smile, "It's hollow."

"I know," Slanbrea said. "Why did you think there was a guard here?"

"This isn't a trap, is it?" Anfey frowned and turned to Suzanna. "Will you?"

Suzanna nodded. She walked over and drew her sword, slamming it into the ground. The stone shattered upon impact, and a dark hole in the ground appeared.

Suzanna drew a deep breath and the light from her combat power became brighter. She looked into the hole and was about to jump into it when she was stopped by Slanbrea. "Allow me," he said.

"But sir, you are a priest!"

"I'm so much more experienced than you with these things," Slanbrea said with a smile. "I've been dealing with them my whole life."

"Please be careful," Anfey said.

Slanbrea smiled and used a levitation spell. He floated down the hole, followed by Suzanna and Anfey. Christian had to protect Niya and did not follow them.

"I didn't realize you know how to use a levitation spell, my lord," Anfey said. He glanced at the cellar. There was no lamp in the dark cellar, but as long as Slanbrea was there, lamps were not necessary. Slanbrea himself, surrounded by holy flame, was more than enough to light up the entire cellar.

"Do farmers know how to grow flowers?" Slanbrea asked.

"I suppose."

"It's the same thing," Slanbrea said. He suddenly frowned and whispered, "There's dark magic at work down here. I can feel it."

Anfey gathered up fire elements and summoned his fire sword and shield. Suzanna positioned her sword and appeared very nervous.

The cellar was not wide, but had a long corridor. After a few minutes following the dark hallway, the three saw a dead end. There was an alchemist lab to their left with hundreds of bottles lining the shelves inside. To the right was a study with two bookshelves full of books. In the corner of the study was a cage with dark shadows inside.

Slanbrea walked into the study and the three saw clearly there were two zombies in the cage, one bigger than the other. The zombies wailed and tried to crawl away from the light. When they realized they could not run away from the light, they curled up in the corner.

The large zombie's body was riddled with wounds, puss dripped down from its rotten flesh. The smaller zombie was curled up next to the larger one, its body shaking.

Slanbrea frowned and glanced at Anfey and Suzanna. It wasn't hard to guess what had happened. Nana's wife and child went missing, and there in his basement were two zombies. The two zombies seemed to still have human emotions. What kind of man would turn his own wife and child into zombies just because he was lonely?

Chapter 259: The Key to Finding the Mystery

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Slanbrea was not pretentious at all. He released magic without any hesitation. The Holy Light, like a strict judge without any sympathy, held two bodies under it; one big, one small. The bodies were rotten, but they had stiffened swiftly under the light and turned into dust. The darkness and gloominess in the basement had gone, thanks to the Holy Light.

Because Anfey had been an assassin in his previous world and had bad experiences in the Evil Abyss, he did not like glory lights. He disliked mastering Light magic by accident even more. He thought this must have something to do with Slanbrea. If Slanbrea did not want to explain to Anfey, Anfey did not plan on asking him.

In choosing whether to be aggressive or passive, Anfey had always liked the former. When he spent time with Slanbrea, he had been in a passive position, whatever perspective he was looking at it from. If he asked Slanbrea before Slanbrea wanted to explain to him, Anfey had to spend some time figuring which part he said was true and which part was not. He also had to figure out Slanbrea's purpose for speaking as he did. Instead of spending too much time guessing and analyzing, Anfey would rather pretend nothing had happened. Even if Anfey needed to get those answers, he would not ask Slanbrea.

Anfey had trust issues. He was born with them. It was hard for him to trust anyone. He was very subjective about it. If there were anyone Anfey trusted, they had to be Saul and Ernest. Anfey would never forget what happened on the isolated island and the trip with Saul and Ernest. Anfey would rather ask Saul for help to get those answers. In addition, it was not urgent for him to get the answers now.

It was a big deal for Bruzuryano to lend his Heart of Nature to Anfey for the time being, but he still did not gain Anfey's trust. When Bruzuryano lost control of himself, Anfey used his actions to show his opposition and fight against him. If he had not been a student of Saul, if he had not taken his group with him to escape, or if he had not exposed the conspiracy of necromancers, Anfey did not think Bruzuryano would lend his Heart of Nature to him, otherwise Bruzuryano would be crazy. The help from Saul and Ernest was selfless. They did not have any evil intentions towards Anfey. The help from Saul and Ernest was quite different than from Bruzuryano.

Anfey slowly walked to the bookshelf. There were many books on it. The top two rows of books were tidy, while the bottom rows were a little messy. The books on the bottom rows were old and worn. With the blink of an eye, Anfey already knew the books on the top of the shelf were not important. They were only there when they were needed. The books on the bottom were the ones Nana read a lot.

Light magic and Death magic were indeed opposite from each other. The remaining flame, the pages on the books had started to get visibly yellow and torn. There were even a few pages which became so brittle that they broke into pieces. Anfey bent down and tried to read an open book. His desire for knowledge had always been strong. If he were in college, even the most strict professor would love to have a student like Anfey.

"Anfey, don't touch any of that filthy stuff," Slanbrea suddenly yelled at Anfey.

"Okay," Anfey obeyed. He looked around and laid his eyes on a cabinet next to the bookshelf. Anfey searched his memory. He remembered there was a hat made of white bone. It looked like a medieval time crown. Now that crown had turned into dust. Anfey looked down and reached his hand out and pulled slightly on the cabinet door.

With a huge sound, the stuff in the cabinet fell everywhere. They were all weird gadgets. They were able to survive the Light Flame only because the magic kekkai around the cabinet was ruined. Everything inside the cabinet was a mess, so when Anfey pulled the cabinet door open, it all poured out on the floor.

"Anfey, why are you acting like a little kid?" Slanbrea heaved a sigh as he walked over. He looked like a teacher, angry at a student who always made trouble in the class. He stomped hard on few gadgets. There were crushing sounds beneath Slanbrea's feet.

"I was just curious." Anfey smiled.

"Anfey, do not touch any of this filthy stuff. Do you understand?" Slanbrea said.

"Hey?" Slanbrea suddenly looked surprised. He kicked something. A little gadget rolled on the floor. It was a small medallion shaped as a round shield infantries would use. A woman with black wings was carved on it. With blood red as the background, it looked very special.

"Is that the badge of a Fallen Angel? It seemed that Nana had a pretty high position," Slanbrea snorted. A bright light showed up at the tip of his fingers.

"Master, wait a second," Anfey said quickly.

"What?" Slanbrea was shocked for a second before he turned to look at Anfey.

"This… this Fallen Angel badge is important to necromancers, isn't it?" Anfey asked.

"Very important," Slanbrea said.

"Master, necromancers are getting more powerful nowadays, aren't they?" Anfey said.

"Go ahead." Slanbrea slightly frowned.

"They are more powerful than before, which means they should have more secrets. These secrets need to be protected by more people. Nana, as a city master of Punk City, has provided a perfect disguise for himself. I think this place should be their base. A Fallen Angel badge should not be the only important stuff here. Those books must have many secrets that we do not know yet."

Slanbrea was quietly in thought for a while and nodded.

"Because of the spy, I think necromancers had already known that Bruzuryano has been secretly protecting us. After this loss, they might want to give up this mission. If we take their stuff and leave them some trace to let them know we took their stuff, to protect their secrets, they might pluck up enough courage to continue their mission with some change in their plan, even though they are scared by Bruzuryano and you." Anfey smiled. "Necromancers used to be in the dark, but now they have come out half in the public eye. They are seen everywhere. I think their leader should be able to have the courage to fight us."

"What you said made some sense, but is it 100% going to happen as you think?" Slanbrea asked.

"If it made some sense, I think we should try it. We have their important stuff so we can destroy them at any time," Anfey said in a low voice. "I do not think you are happy with things like this, are you?"

"Aren't you scared?" Slanbrea smiled.

"I have already offended them. They will come to kill me if they want to. It does not matter if I am scared of them or not. If that is the case, I'd better …" Anfey said.

"You'd better teach them a lesson while Bruzuryano and I are still here." Slanbrea smiled.

"Don't you agree?" Anfey said.

"If you, a kid, are not afraid of it, I do not have any reason to be afraid," Slanbrea said.

"I really want to see them desperate and scared if they could even make those faces." Anfey laughed as he tried to pick stuff up with his hands.

"Don't touch them!" Slanbrea suddenly yelled at Anfey.

"What?" Anfey was scared and jumped. He immediately took his hand back like he was shocked. He looked confusedly at Slanbrea.

"I just told you never to touch any of this filthy stuff." The seriousness and sadness flashed in his eyes.

"I got it. Thank you for reminding me." Anfey nodded and looked like he realized he made a mistake. "Then…who is going to take care of this stuff?"

Slanbrea frowned. In fact, he hated these things. He had been keeping himself from destroying the stuff necromancers had collected with magic.

"I will take care of them." Suzanna walked over.

"Ok." Slanbrea nodded. "You hold on. After I hand these things over to Bruzuryano, I will remove any filthy things off them."

Anfey stepped back to make a path for Suzanna. Anfey wanted to take Nana's things to shake up the necromancers' emotions. Necromancers would have to decide between continuing to carry out their plan and giving it up. Anfey added a bargaining chip to the former idea. This was Anfey's big plan that he had thought up in the moment, but he needed to do something more and could not let anybody know.

Anfey was good at finding the key to a mystery: in other words, he was good at finding a breakthrough for the problems. He would make plans based on the breakthroughs. Suzanna could touch those things, but he could not. Why was that? What was Slanbrea nervous about?

Slanbrea found about a dozen of magic books in different sizes, some ripped out pages, and necromancers' magic tools. He even noticed a small case. There were few regular grey magic crystals in the case. Slanbrea put everything in a leather bag. He even carefully sealed it with magic before he asked Suzanna to pick it up.

The rest of the stuff was not important. Slanbrea released light magic while Anfey shot out small fireballs like the Fire God in the legend. Unfortunately, there was not much flammable stuff in the basement. Anfey shot out many fireballs at the bookshelf and the cabinet. Now they created a firewall, which swallowed the magic books.

A small room across from the study suffered under Anfey's fireballs. Anfey was not interested in the chemicals of necromancers. He always thought about the chemicals in the movie Resident Evil. He did not have the courage the girl had in the movie. Even when he shot many fireballs at that room, he was standing far away from it. He did not stop shooting the fireballs until Slanbrea told him the chemicals had lost their effectiveness after being exposed to the light of Holy Flame.

When they passed the exit of the cave, the guards of the garrison residence all walked up to them. One of them saw the package in Suzanna's hand and timidly asked, "Master, inside…"

"There are some death spirits inside, but it should be fine since we have cleaned up. You don't have to worry about staying here," Slanbrea said calmly.

Anfey looked away from Slanbrea and wondered whether it was really fine for them to stay here. When necromancers came next time, the people staying here would probably have trouble, because necromancers would get information from them. If Anfey knew that, Slanbrea as an archpriest should understand that as well. From a different angle, what Slanbrea had done was nothing seriously bad. People showed different emotions towards different people in different situations. A civilian would not show his anger towards his king, neither would glory and rescue easily fall on a civilian. Even if Slanbrea asked them to leave, they probably would not escape from necromancers anyway because no one could protect them.

Chapter 260: Forbidden Books

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dawn was approaching, but except for Niya, no one had the intention of sleeping. Anfey, Suzanna, and Christian gathered in the hallway and were talking in hushed whispers. Slanbrea was downstairs in the courtyard, facing the east and muttering prayers quietly. A lot of people may not have understood that studying was like sailing a boat. Not progressing was regressing. People who actually live by this saying were much rarer. The most powerful men in the world were all very talented, but talent was not the only reason they became powerful. Hard work was another thing all these people had in common.

Everything came at a price, and even if a man was born into money and power, he would never become a powerful man without hard work. In this way, the world was just.

General Jerrofick from Ellisen Empire was once famous for his strength and was the youngest man to become a master swordsman. However, he stopped focusing on his skills and instead began focusing on political intrigues. So when he was challenged by Ernest, he knew that he was no match for him, and had resort to cheating to win the match. Without hard work, even powerful men could fall from grace.

Anfey tapped Suzanna on the shoulder.

"What is it?"

"Can you fetch that Fallen Angel Emblem for me?" Anfey asked, looking at Slanbrea.

"The Fallen Angel Emblem?" Christian asked, frowning. "What are you going to do with that?"

"Shh," Anfey said.

"Rude!" Christian snapped back.

"What are you going to do do with it?" Suzanna asked.

"I just want to look at it," Anfey said.

"Fine," Suzanna said with a sigh. She went into the room to look for her bag.

"You really have a Fallen Angel Emblem?" Christian asked.

Anfey nodded. "Do you know it?"

"Who doesn't?" Christian asked with a smile.

Suzanna returned but without the bag. She held out her hands and said, "There's a seal on the bag."

"You're a senior swordsmaster. Can't you destroy the seal?"

"Of course I can," Suzanna said and glared at Anfey. "Use your brain, for goodness sake."

Anfey frowned, then nodded. Suzanna could destroy the seal, but she couldn't fix it. Destroying the seal would also draw Slanbrea's attention.

Anfey sighed. "Next time, I suppose. Christian, tell me more about the Emblem."

"Well, do you know where necromancers came from?" Christian cleared his throat and asked.

"Not from this mansion, that's for sure," Anfey said.

Suzanna poked him and said, "Shhh."

"According to legend, there was an angel that fell in love with a mortal princess during the ancient War of the Gods."

"Cliche," Anfey interrupted. "That's nothing special. I fell in love with a princess too…" He glanced at Suzanna.

"Oh, shut up," Suzanna said, blushing.

"Do you want to hear about this or not?" Christian asked. "I'm tired. If you are not going to listen, I'm just going to go to sleep."

"Sorry, sorry," Anfey said. "I'll listen." He felt that Slanbrea was listening to their conversation, and wanted to pretend he was just asking the question out of curiosity.

"All legends are cliches," Christian said. "But this story should have at least some truth to it. The mortal princess's kingdom became involved in a battle. When the angel arrived at the battlefield, she was already dead, her body mingled with the other bodies and was gone. The angel was heartbroken and refused to believe the she was dead. In the end, he abandoned his creed and believed that it was God of Light who started the war and all his suffering was caused by the god.

"In order to see his lover again, he used the Great Resurrection on the battlefield. Perhaps it was because he was filled with bitterness, or perhaps it was because the power of the Light betrayed him after he betrayed it, or maybe it was simply because there were too many bodies, all the dead were revived. These revived bodies, however, were empty vessels without souls."

"Really? Zombies are created by light magic?" Anfey asked, shocked.

"Stop interrupting me," Christian scowled. "The angel couldn't find his lover, but he did not give up. He spent days with his creations, trying to find his lover. After a while, those beings he revived became intelligent as well. He did find his lover in the end, but she was already a witch.

"After learning what the angel had done, God of Light was furious. He condemned his actions and turned all the revived beings into dust. The angel and his lover, however, did not disappear. They became a gemstone. One side was an image of a male fallen angel, the other side was a female. The stone was found by an ordinary man many centuries later. He turned the gemstone into an emblem, and accidentally tapped into the angel's memory while doing so. That is the birth of death magic."

"This is the history of that emblem we found?"

"Not exactly," Christian said, shaking his head. "Necromancers all wore emblems like that to honor their founder. The more powerful ones would keep the emblem with the male angel on it. The others tended to keep the female emblem."

"So you're saying Nana was a good necromancer?"

Christian nodded. "I know, I am confused, too. Nana doesn't seem like a powerful one. He couldn't use magic or combat power, so I don't know how he became a necromancer. Maybe death magic is fundamentally different?"

"I think that's an answer only necromancers can give," Anfey said, shrugging.

"You're right," Christian said with a sigh.

"I've never heard about this before," Suzanna said.

"I remembered reading it when I was young," Christian said. "From a forbidden book. God knows how long it took me to find those books."

"I wish I had known you earlier," Anfey said with a smile.

"What do you mean?"

"I loved forbidden books too, when I was young."

"Really?" Christian asked. "Tell me about it."

"Heart of Maidens, heard of it?" Anfey asked. Of course, he was talking about a book from his old world that did not exist here.

"Heart of Maidens?" Christian repeated, frowning. "What is it about?"

"It's about creating lives," Anfey said.

"Creation myth?" Christian asked, his eyes lighting up.

"Close enough," Anfey said with a smile. He didn't have the heart to tell them that it was about something much more bawdy than what he brought up.

"Tell us more," Suzanna urged.

"A long time ago, I saw Suzanna," Anfey said with a grin.

Christian sighed and rolled his eyes. Suzanna scowled but it soon turned into a smile.

Anfey grinned and saw that Slanbrea was making his way upstairs.

"Did you really read it?"

"Of course I did," Anfey said, sighing. "You see the stars up there? What do you think those are?"

"Stars?" Christian repeated, frowning. "There are hundreds of theories, but no one has proposed a theory that convinced everyone yet."

"I think they are souls of our ancestors," Suzanna said. "Didn't the hero Brunswick turn into a star?"

"You are, unfortunately, wrong," Slanbrea walked over and said gently. "Stars are the tears of God of Light. Of course, the story Christian just told you was not entirely correct, either."

Chapter 261: Niya's Challenge

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"Master," Anfey glanced up at Slabrea with some respect, but mostly calm. He looked appropriate. If he looked completely respectful, it would have seemed too fake. Slanbrea was experienced and could tell what was fake and what was sincere. If he had looked completely calm, it would have seemed that he did not respect Slanbrea at all, which was not appropriate either.

Christian and Suzanna both turned to look at Slanbrea. They each had a headache. They were not too young anymore. They had developed their own worldviews and values with plenty of time and experiences they had had. They thought nothing was more boring than hearing a religious person preach. However, since it was Slanbrea, an archpriest, they had to listen to him even though they did not want to.

"If you want to learn about this world from these forbidden books, you are already wrong," Slanbrea said with a smile.

"I was just curious," Christian said, smiling bitterly.

Slanbrea wanted to say something but he hesitated for a second and swallowed it. He was aware of the situation. As an archpriest, preaching the principles of his religion and spreading the glory of the God of Light was his job. He knew Anfey, Christian and Suzanna did not believe in the God of Light. No matter how much and how deep he talked about his religion, they would not convert, but only dislike him. Slanbrea smiled and looked at Anfey. "Anfey, does the book of Hearts of Young Girls really tell stories of creation?"

"Huh…yes." Anfey was shocked for a second, then nodded.

"I read a similar book before, but it had a different name." Slanbrea squinted.

"What book did you read?" Anfey asked.

"Heart of A Saint Girl. After the God of Light created this world, it had neither light nor lives, only endless darkness, so…" Slanbrea said.

Christian and Suzanna felt they were going to have so much trouble. Christian even gave Anfey a dirty look to signal that it was all Anfey's fault that they were talking even more about religion. Anfey bit his lips and stared at the tips of his shoes. Nobody could tell whether he was listening to Slanbrea. Christian was shocked that Anfey's lips looked pale. It looked like Anfey was trying to control something.

There were footsteps from the staircase. Bruzuryano slowly walked upstairs. His steps sounded very slow and heavy. The floor even made squeaking sounds. He looked shaken and seemed nothing could make him perk up again.

Slanbrea stopped his preaching. He had been friends with Bruzuryano for a long time. They believed in different religions and sometimes they had fought for their own religion's sake. He knew Bruzuryano very well. "What happened? Did you find those druids?"

Bruzuryano nodded. "Get ready. We need leave soon, otherwise we will not be able to get to Mambo territory tomorrow."

Slanbrea could tell Bruzuryano did not want to talk about the druids. He sighed, "Ok."

"We actually do not have anything to pack. We can leave at any time." Anfey cleared his throat.

"I need go back." Slanbrea smiled. "I am not done with today's stories. I will continue when we have more time."

Anfey and his group stayed longer in the hotel, watching Slanbrea walking out of the back yard. Bruzuryano left the hotel as well. Christian scratched his head and frowned. "I hope he will never have any time. It was a torture to listen to him telling stories."

"You are right about that. So dry, not interesting at all. Once he started each story, I already knew the ending. At the end, it must be the God of Light and the Virgin Mary who created lives together." Anfey stressed "together."

"Together?" No matter how different their upbringings had been, Christian was a man who could easily pick up on these jokes.

"Yes, together," Anfey said.

"You! Don't let Slanbrea hear it. He would kill you," Christian said with a bitter smile.

"Why? What did Anfey do wrong?" Hearing Anfey might be in danger, Suzanna immediately stared, with her eyes wide open. She looked like she was ready to fight.

"Nothing. I was just joking with Anfey." Christian did not know how to explain. If he explained everything to Suzanna, he might get himself into trouble and get blamed for flirting with Suzanna.

With the sound of a door swinging open, the left side door was pushed open. Niya rubbed her eyes and yawned as she walked over. Her hair was messy and her clothes had many wrinkles. She looked like she went to sleep with clothes on.

"Niya, go sleep a little more. We have to be on the road during the day," Anfey said in a low voice. Whether his plan could escape his opponents' eyes depended on whether he could plan everything in detail. He had confiscated Nana's collections. If he travelled too slowly, the necromancers would suspect that Anfey was setting them up. Therefore, Anfey was not opposed when Bruzuryano suggested leaving soon.

"I could not fall asleep. I had nightmares whenever I fell asleep." Niya put her hands down. Her eyes had been rubbed red.

"Hehehe…you look like a rabbit." Anfey smiled. Niya looked way too nervous. He hoped Niya could be distracted and not be so tense.

"What rabbit?" Niya did not get it.

"Anfey was talking about you." Christian smiled.

Suzanna rolled her eyes at Anfey. She grabbed Niya and took her to their room. After a while, Niya looked clean and tidy again. Niya walked out in anger. To a woman, there was nothing more shameful than letting others see her with messy hair and clothes.

What made her even more angry was Anfey's comment. He even called her a rabbit. Any way you looked at it, a rabbit was not a pleasant way to describe a girl.

"Kids, time to go." As Niya was ready to yell at Anfey, Bruzuryano's voice came from downstairs.

"Let's go." Anfey smiled. He did not care if Niya understood that he cared about her and wanted to help her. He only cared if Niya could feel better.

Bruzuryano had obtained two wagons. One was a lot bigger than the other. He gave Slanbrea the bigger wagon considering his position and his living habits. The bigger wagon was very fancy. The wagon's five horses were all white. The horses Anfey and his group rode were around Bruzuryano. They looked close to him. Druids had the natural ability to easily gain the affection and trust from animals.

Bruzuryano patted the horse's muzzle and looked up. He said, "Kids, go sit with Slanbrea. My wagon is a little too small."

"Master, I have something to ask you. If it is not too much trouble, can I ride in the wagon with you?" Anfey always had the quickest response.

"Sure." Bruzuryano nodded. He also wanted to talk to Anfey. He gave the Heart of Nature to Anfey and now it had irreversible effects. The person who connected with the Heart of Nature also became the messenger of the Goddess of Nature. Whether for business or personal reasons, he had to accept that fact. Therefore, he needed to have Anfey promise to help sprites and druids in the future, otherwise he did not know how to explain what happened to the Heart of Nature.

"Master, I want to ask you about something too. I hope you could help me with it." Christian's response was just a little slower than Anfey's.

Suzanna did not react at all. In other words, she did not even care to react. She only wanted to be with Anfey.

"You are…" Bruzuryano did not understand at first why they acted this way. The corners of his mouth curled up immediately. This was the first time he smiled since he heard those druids had died. "Hehehe, do you guys dislike Priest Slanbrea?" Bruzuryano did not talk loud, but it was loud enough to let Slanbrea in the other wagon hear it.

"No!" Christian smiled bitterly. "We just have some questions to ask." They had to explain clearly here that they could not convert to God of Light, but they never doubted the God of Light and his religion. He could not show any dislike towards Slanbrea and his religion either, otherwise they would be causing troubles.

"Young men, you need tell the truth." Bruzuryano saw Christian being troubled and smiled. "Alright, if you do not mind being too crammed in, you can ride with me."

Niya looked around and did not get why they wanted to ride in a small wagon instead of the bigger one. The smaller wagon already looked crowded with four people in it. Even if she wanted to follow them, there would be no room for her. She hesitated for a second and walked to Slanbrea's wagon.

The two wagons travelled towards the city gate. It was still a little dark, but there were already many people on the streets. To most regular citizens, they had to wake up early for work. There was a famous saying that early birds get the worm, meaning only people who could wake up early for work had the best chance for success. It was ok for royal family members to wake up a little late. If regular people woke up late, they would starve to death.

The news that the city master was dead had not gotten out yet. The city was still in order. There were more followers of the Goddess of Nature on the streets. They volunteered to be the patrols, which was very surprising to Anfey.

Four druids quietly walked next to the wagons. Anfey lifted up the curtain to look out. He could sense those four druids were pretty powerful. They must work for Bruzuryano. The two druids in the front noticed Anfey looking at them. They both turned around to greet Anfey by slightly bowing to him. There was no hostility or hatred in their eyes, only respect. Anfey was relieved. It seemed that there was not much aftermath from the previous night's conflicts. In fact, it was not hard to deal with this kind of follower, as long as Anfey was protected by a God.

"Anfey, do you think Niya would be too naughty in that wagon?" Christian asked worriedly.

"No, you underestimate her." Anfey smiled. He still remembered the first time he met Niya. Ernest was not being very nice to her. She was not angry at him at all. Instead, she kissed his ass and showed how much affection she had towards him. She was stubborn, but she also knew the bottom line well. She would not be totally stubborn. It depended on the situation.

Chapter 262: One Thing After Another

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The carriage was going at a controlled speed. If it was too slow, it would seem suspicious. If it was going too fast, the necromancers may not react fast enough. Bruzuryano could only decide how fast the carriage should go based on his feelings.

Except for math, most things in the world lacked a proper formula. A general could predict his enemy's moves using thousands of pieces of information available to him. A merchant could find opportunity in an extremely competitive market. There was no formula to success. The only thing a man could do was to trust his instincts. No one knew exactly how they succeeded.

The carriage reached Buenos City by noon. Black Eleven and Apa appeared outside of the city and stopped the carriage. Their job was to stand guard and wait for Anfey, Suzanna, Christian, and Niya. When the four did not show up, they became worried. Buenos City did not have a transmission portal, and after the city gate was closed, the two were practically stranded in the city without any source of information. They did not have the authority to reopen the gate, and even if they did, they could not travel back during the night. In the morning, Black Eleven and Apa received the news of the four being involved in a conflict in Punk City, but did not know the details. They had been very worried about the safety of their four companions.

Even though they were no longer worried, the two were still frustrated. Christian, Niya, and Anfey were all very important, and if they were hurt, Black Eleven and Apa would be responsible. Whenever something went wrong, everyone wanted to contribute to overcoming it. Black Eleven and Apa felt left out and were frustrated.

The two greeted Bruzuryano first, then turned to Christian. "Are you hurt?" Black Eleven said. He knew that no one was seriously hurt, but he wanted to show that he did care about their wellbeing.

"Don't worry about me," Christian smiled. He glanced at Anfey and lifted an eyebrow. "I told you that would make them angry," he said.

"I think we should change our carriage," Bruzuryano said with a smile. He did not know how popular he was. Compared to Slanbrea, he was clearly winning.

What had happened earlier was already fading from Bruzuryano's mind. Since he was purposely trying to forget about it, it was not hard. He had seen too many deaths in his life, and knew that sadness could not bring the deceased back. He knew that it was better to prepare to avenge the dead than to keep thinking about the deaths.

"We've already prepared everything, my lord," Apa said quietly. He waved his hand, and two men in blue appeared with a carriage behind them. They handed the reins of the horses to Apa and disappeared into the crowd.

"You're efficient," Anfey praised.

This praise was intended to lighten the mood and work as an apology, but Black Eleven ignored it. Instead, he turned to Bruzuryano and said, "Please, my lord. After you."

Bruzuryano glanced at Anfey but did not wait for him. It was Anfey's fault for changing the plan and inconveniencing others, including Bruzuryano and Slanbrea. What made Bruzuryano even more unhappy was Anfey's clash with the believers of Goddess of Nature. Even though the keeper of the temple was a just woman, and she had explained the situation, Bruzuryano still felt uncomfortable.

Of course, Bruzuryano still did not want Christian, Niya, or Anfey to get hurt or die during the conflict. If if was them instead of those followers of Goddess of Nature, Saul, Ernest, and even Yolanthe would react badly. It could be disastrous to his religion.

The temple keeper also told Bruzuryano about Anfey using the Heart of Nature. Because of this, Bruzuryano decided that he could not talk to Anfey about it. Keeping everything in made Bruzuryano uneasy, however, and so he was happy to see the others getting angry at Anfey as well.

The conversation and changing of the carriage took only a few minutes. Soon, the carriage began moving again. Black Eleven thought that Anfey's actions were inappropriate, but he still trusted him. His attitude towards Anfey softened significantly before the carriage even left the city. He found a package in his bag and handed it to Anfey. "It's for you," he said curtly and gestured at Apa.

Anfey understood Black Eleven's gesture and nodded. He leaned back against the wall of the carriage and hid the scroll from Apa's sight.

The scroll contained information, though Anfey wasn't sure which information would be useful to him. He skimmed through the scroll, and a small paragraph on the last page drew his attention. He recognized Black Eleven's handwriting instantly.

Black Eleven did not write a lot. It was mostly about Marquis Djoser. A day after Shansa Empire withdrew its army, the marquis went to Sacred City with some of his guards and met with Yolanthe. He immediately returned to his own house after the meeting, and did not meet any other important nobles in the city. He appeared at a feast the eldest prince, Wester, hosted, and was seen speaking with the prince like an old friend. The two had a private meeting after the feast, and it was unclear what they had talked about. According to the marquis's servants, the marquis was happy enough that when he returned home that day, he was humming a song.

Black Eleven underlined the servants' words. It was not hard to imagine what made the marquis so happy. He had always wanted to be the city lord of Violet City, and the prince must have promised him that.

Anfey tapped the paper lightly and flipped back to the front. The last page had a different texture compared to the rest of the scroll. Clearly, Black Eleven added the last page by himself. This was not something Anfey should know, which was why Black Eleven did not want Apa to know.

Anfey frowned, then relaxed. He knew what to do. If he was in conflict with the emperor Yolanthe, Black Eleven would never take his side. If his opponent was the prince, he knew where Black Eleven's allegiance lied.

As long as he did not create any major conflicts, he was certain that he had Black Eleven's support. Anfey was not worried about this. No one wanted to follow the wrong leader. Anfey knew that Yolanthe was a wise king, and he would not change his mind, unless he ran out of options. Yolanthe was smart, and he was much better than Anfey at avoiding unnecessary conflicts.

"Did you finish?" Black Eleven asked under his breath. "Destroy it when you finish. This was delivered under the order of His Majesty." He paused and added, "He really trusts you, Anfey."

"Yes," Apa agreed. "Even the prime minister may not have access to that."

Anfey smiled and handed the scroll to Suzanna, who summoned her combat power and burned the scroll.

Anfey stretched himself on his seat, then closed his eyes. He did not realize how easy it would be to make himself an enemy of the prince. Even though Yolanthe had planned everything and he had nothing to do with it, Prince Wester would not blame his own father. Anfey was nothing more than a scapegoat.

The prince may not hate Anfey yet, but he must have disliked him. What would Prince Wester think when the news from Violet City reached him?

"Anfey, what's wrong?" Suzanna asked quietly. She was alarmed by Anfey's frown. "Are you unwell?"

"Don't worry," Anfey said. He looked at Suzanna and smiled at her. "I'm just tired. I think I'm going to take a nap. Don't worry about me." Whenever he was under pressure, he often chose not to think about it too much. He liked napping or meditating to temporarily avoiding dealing with the problem. He found it easier to find a new perspective if he was calm.

Anfey relaxed himself and let his mind float. He filtered out the sounds of conversation around him, and could not hear anything. Everyone was already used to Anfey's meditation and did not say anything, but Bruzuryano kept staring at Anfey.

After a while, Suzanna suddenly asked curiously, "Why did the carriage behind us stop?"

Bruzuryano peered through the curtains and glanced about. "Stop," he said quietly.

Anfey opened his eyes as the carriage came to a stop. He sat up and peered out the window.