Christian lowered his head and softly said, "Sorry, Anfey. It’s all my fault, I did not protect you well."
"No, Anfey, it’s my fault. Charles is my team member, but I couldn’t protect him. I am not qualified to be team leader," Blavi argued.
Anfey took a breath and stayed silent for awhile before saying, "Let it be. You just knew how to practice magic. For not knowing these things, I can forgive you. But you have to remember, it’s not scary to be naive. You will become mature enough to deal with it after a period of training. Nevertheless, if anyone still considers being childish to be an excuse, then don’t complain that I didn’t tell you!"
"No worries, Anfey. After this experience, I think everyone learned how treacherous a human’s mind is," Christian said with a wry smile.
"Blavi, can you go to the kitchen to see if there is any food for us? Take anything that can be taken away and divide it into portions. Everyone should bring some along," Anfey said slowly. He was ready to move on from what had happened today. "Whoever knows about Forest Clarm, please stay, and we’ll have a meeting. All others can leave to rest. Zubin, you can go get Sante down."
With a heart full of guilt, Blavi wanted to do something to redeem what he had done. He saw Anfey giving out assignments, so he quickly got up and brought along his only two team members, rushing to the kitchen.
"I have never been to Forest Clarm, but master brought me to a different magic beast forest. Are all magic beast forests similar? Anfey, what do you want to know?" Christian asked.
"We should not break into Forest Clarm abruptly. If anything needs to be prepared, we should get that ready first. Lagan is our last chance to get supplies, so I need to understand more to avoid missing anything," Anfey said.
"I’m glad that I can finally help you with something." Christian gave a self-deprecating laugh and then started pondering.
"Anfey, you were looking for me?" Sante and Zubin walked into the dining room together.
"You can carry those corpses down. Take them to the storage room along with these corpses here."
"Got it." Sante nodded his head.
Anfey thought Sante would ask him something, and he would get the chance to explain the reason and let these humans learn something. As a matter of fact, escaping with a group of naive children was very dangerous and exhausting. Anfey wished this group was more mature and grown up. Of course, humans could grow up quickly, and Anfey would just act as a guide for them. He hoped everyone would learn how to reflect and self-analyze.
Unfortunately, what he did and said had already established his authority, and Sante had already been convinced of his authority. Not to mention the others still in the midst of being ashamed, who would dare to step out and request the truth?
"I don’t know if you have ever heard the saying, ‘You can never be too prepared’?" Anfey started explaining, "Pile those corpses in the storage room, and then lock the door tight. That way, when the boat wrecks, it won’t bring us trouble because of the floating corpses. You don’t want to ignore it just because the chance of it happening is very slight. Up until today, there were many people who died from being careless! Furthermore, under normal circumstances, garrison troops will not intercept and examine merchant ships. But what if an accident happens? Hide these corpses away while we have the chance to handle them."
Anfey suddenly felt that he was being as wordy as an elementary school teacher, but he had no other choice. If possible, he wished he could safely pass these people over to Saul.
"Understood." Sante nodded.
"Zubin, you stay too. You provided the escape route, and I think you know more about Forest Clarm," Anfey said.
"In the magic beast forest, the most scary thing is the threat from the half-beast and half-human creatures. But as Riska said, Forest Clarm no longer has half-beast and half-human creatures, so we just need to focus on the beasts…" Christian already had a draft in his mind, so he spoke frankly and assuredly.
Anfey listened attentively, sometimes asking questions. Christian, Zubin, and the others answered individually. When one couldn’t explain it well enough, the others would supplement it.
Niya stepped into the dining room unnoticed. She quietly sat on the side to listen to their discussion. Anyone who had experienced the horror she had likely wouldn’t be able to sleep well, unless that person didn’t care at all.
Some people said that, when a man is acting serious, he will possess a unique charm. When Anfey was being serious, his charm was even more outstanding. Under no disguise, Anfey was filled with a confidence built upon numerous instances of anger, which wasn’t something that could be easily learned.
Most of the time, Niya’s sight was on Anfey. This man had changed dramatically from the weakling of the past. She could feel something that she used to feel from her father.
Before the industrial revolution matured, ships were the primary form of transportation for each civilization. Even in modern society, ship transportation was still the mainstay, remaining unshakable.
The magical world was not exceptional. Lagan was a large-scale transfer station. Although the area it occupied, scale, and architectural structure couldn’t be compared to the Sacred City, and it didn’t have the cultural scene of the big city, the quality of life was far beyond that of the Sacred City. The streets were crowded with people. The city was divided into four sections by two big streets, with one street going north-to-south and the other going east-to-west. Alongside the two streets were all kinds of stores. Lagan city also had a few large-scale trading markets, which had everything that one could wish for, from intelligent human beings to humble insects to strong magic beasts.
Anfey, Zubin, and Sante leisurely walked on the street of Lagan, and people from the temporarily small team arrived. For the purpose of not being noticed easily, the team had been divided into five different subgroups. The groups kept about twenty meters apart from each other, and they had booked a motel beforehand. Anfey worried that people would be separated by accident, so he required that they have a pre-set meeting location.
The boat had been sinking after the bloody lesson yesterday, so when Anfey ordered them to kill the remaining sailors, no one hesitated. The sailors only had enough time to implore them a bit before they were devoured by the current. After a detour to the west side of Lagan City, they entered the city in batches. Under Anfey’s command, no one was detected or aroused any suspicion.
Anfey often walked into a store, purchased a small item, and then found a relatively secluded place to let Zubin and Sante store the items in their space rings. Regular people walking around the city of Lagan would be able to purchase everything they needed, but not Anfey. He was in need of herbal medicine. Once they reached Forest Clarm, if anyone got sick, then those herbal medicines would be lifesavers, but they were not sold in the city of Lagan.
When talking about wilderness survival experience, these newbies were not comparable to Anfey. Christian kept everybody’s attention on the unknown magic beasts. Only Anfey knew the invisible killers would be more terrible. If not handled properly, even the most common cold could threaten a human’s life.
Turning at the street corner, Anfey walked into a floral shop, looked around, and then left, disappointed. The items he recognized had no value for healing. The items he didn’t recognize he couldn’t possibly taste before purchasing. Anfey didn’t think he had the courage to taste the herbs like Shennong[1] had, since Shennong had died from ingesting a poisonous herb…
Outside the store, Anfey suddenly heard laughter coming from the west side. He turned around, and a ridiculous scene popped into his view. It could be said to be ridiculous because it could be seen often; regardless of the location or the level of civilization, this scene was always a common one. The son of a noble family, along with his bodyguards, took liberties with two sisters. The two girls tried to run off but were firmly blocked by the bodyguards. They had nowhere to escape, but the law of the Maho Empire was quite restrictive. The man from the noble family had just touched the cheek and pinched the buttocks. Snatching girls off the street wouldn’t usually happen unless the person was out of their mind. Dallying and snatching had two very different natures. When Yolanthe had been on the throne, the law was very restrictive; people normally wouldn’t test it. Besides, to a noble family, as long as they didn’t mind spending money, they could get any kind of women they wished for. There was no need to take a risk, as dalliances were just a game for leisure time, something purely for fun.
The two sisters hugged each other tightly. The older one bit her lips tight while the younger one cried softly in her older sister’s arms. There were quite a number of people around watching the bustling scene, but no one dared to step out. Some people said it wasn’t their business, thus exposing their selfishness, but if it was viewed from another angle, it could be seen as self-protection.
Normally, Anfey was not interested in these kinds of incidents. However, when he was ready to leave, he suddenly heard an angry woman shout, "Bastard! Get your hands off!"
Actually, that nobleman was ready to leave when he heard this voice. He was in a daze for a moment then immediately looked into the crowd, surprised. Niya pushed away the crowd and walked in with large strides. Perhaps this reminded her of her encounter yesterday, since Niya seemed to be agitated. A pair of large, beautiful eyes were wide open, filled with a furious flame, and one hand was holding the handle of a sword.
The nobleman looked at Niya’s recklessness for a few seconds, eyes also wide open, but Niya’s were due to anger, whereas his were due to Niya’s stunning beauty. "Miss, what’s the matter?" the nobleman asked politely. At this moment, he had already forgotten those two sisters. In comparison with Niya, who was beautiful like a tender flower, those two sisters were like two unripe plums. If he was really out of his mind, then he would have snatched a women like Niya. Who would care about those two sisters?
Niya’s answer was neat and tidy. She took one step forward and slapped that man’s face, making the nobleman fall like a rolling gourd.
[1] The Farmer God, said to have tasted hundreds of herbs to test their medicinal value.