"Sorry," Suzanna said quietly with her head down.
"Forget it." Anfey shook his head. He quickly realized he wasn’t acting normal. It was pretty rare for someone, especially for a girl, to be able to put her head down and apologize. He had seen a lot of girls who were stubborn, and because of their pride became unreasonable. "Actually you just need to really think hard about it and you will know that under the circumstance of being watched by different leveled swordsmen, Ernest and Jerrofick would not have use a poisoned sword in that battle. Is winning or honor more important?"
"If it were me…I wouldn’t. I’d still be a swordsman if I lost. If I used shameless tactics, I definitely would have to suffer the curses of countless people," Suzanna replied thoughtfully.
"It seems you are not so stupid. I tell you, in reality it’s Jerrofick who was afraid to fight. He gathered countless people who had been defeated by Ernest previously, master swordsmen who hated Ernest, and they besieged Ernest all together on Mount Torrebitz! And that’s not all. After the incident, they also defiled Ernest’s reputation. What you have heard are precisely the lies they’ve made up!"
"In this world, there are really… too many shameless people," Suzanna let out a wry smile.
Anfey glanced at Suzanna, and figured out the meaning behind what he heard. The reason Suzanna had been forced to escape into the forest of magic beasts must also be due to the actions of some shameless person.
"Alright, we will discuss these things in the future." Anfey’s demeanor had returned to normal. "Suzanna, what I worry about most is whether or not you can lure the manticore here. Don’t fret just yet. I am not questioning your ability, whether you believe me or not. I am just worried about your safety. After all, you are the strongest of all of our team. If we want to be able to safely survive in the forest of magic beasts, we absolutely need you."
"I will take care of myself well," Suzanna said quietly.
"How about this? I will have Riska accompany you. Riska!" Anfey called loudly.
"Coming." Having heard Anfey’s call, Riska quickly walked over.
"Hold this." Anfey took a magical scroll out of the dimensional ring with a flick of his hand, and handed it to Riska. "You can create an illusion right?"
"I can."
"Go to the nest of the manticore together with Suzanna, and look for a chance to kill the little manticore. Don’t take risks if the chances are slim. Put out an illusion for Suzanna, let the illusion lure the manticore away, and then Suzanna can make a move to kill the manticore. This way your safety will be ensured."
Suzanna’s heart was touched. When she initially heard Anfey’s words, she did not believe him. If she were so easily moved by others, she and her sister would both have died even before entering Forest Clarm. How could they have survived until now?! But seeing Anfey taking out the illusion scroll, Suzanna’s heart was moved. Could it be that this man really was nervous for her safety? Although the illusion scroll didn’t have much strength per se, it was the Pan Continent’s most sought after magical scroll. It is clearly priceless. It is the ultimate magic weapon for saving lives. During the most critical moments, it could bring about a miracle, and who wouldn’t want an extra life for himself?
"Even if I haven’t said it, you should have already guessed that we are all students of Archmage Saul." Anfey’s gaze fell upon Suzanna. "When we escaped, we brought some of our teacher’s valuably hidden magical scrolls with us, but the magical scrolls are limited after all. If we can find a suitable opportunity, it’s better if we don’t use the illusion. Um…it’s not that I’m unwilling to use the scroll, but…" If had had been talking to other people, Anfey would not have bothered to explain anything. But between Suzanna and him, there were already serious disagreements; he had no choice but to explain.
"Say no more, I understand what you mean." Suzanna revealed an indifferent smile. Although it was indifferent, she still smiled. "But I am very curious. Just what kind of trouble did you guys cause, that even your teacher can’t protect you?"
"I killed someone," Anfey laughed.
"Who is it?"
"Do you know Zeda?"
"Who is Zeda?" Suzanna shook her head.
"He was the grandson of the master swordsman Phillip, so he is the direct descendant and only successor of Phillip’s household."
"Oh…Oh my heavens! You are so brave!!" Suzanna exclaimed.
"If it happened all over again, I would not hurt Zeda," Anfey helplessly sighed. "It’s a pity things that have happened in the past are unchangeable."
"You…are very weird." Suzanna looked at Anfey seriously. Men in general when they come across these types of situations put up a front because of their pride, and say how they should adhere to their principles even if the same situation were to happen again, and have no regrets. But Anfey frankly said he shouldn’t have offended Philip. It sounded weak when she heard it, but there was no hint of cowardice, only calmness.
"What’s so weird?" Anfey laughed. "Suzanna, you have to adapt at each moment based on specific events. I can’t decide for you, you can only rely on yourself."
"You don’t have to worry about me; you should worry about yourself instead. The unicorn is scarier than the manticore, and your abilities are not above mine," Suzanna said calmly.
"That…My abilities are indeed not as good as yours, but I only need to lure out the unicorn. You still have to escape for more than 20 miles." Anfey seemed unable to understand the hidden meaning in Suzanna’s words. In reality, he had no interest in the conflict between the weak and the strong. If even Niya had been claiming to be stronger than Anfey, Anfey would still nod his head in agreement.
"Is there anything else? If there isn’t anything else, then I will go rest first."
Although her views towards Anfey’s had changed, Suzanna was not in the mood to be courteous with Anfey any longer.
"Alright," Anfey nodded his head.
"Anfey, are you really going to be alright?" Christian asked again.
"You…I already said it a couple of times. There will absolutely be no problems," Anfey laughed, "Go, and let’s go see where we should create the magic array."
***
Suzanna and Riska hid in the shadows of the ancient tree, anxiously waiting. Half the day had already passed, and Riska had also rested for a whole four hours. Although there was only a one-level difference between a high level mage and beginning level magister, there was a big difference between their magical powers. Christian could sustain the motion of the eye of the sky, but Riska could not. During the operation of the eye of the sky, the big and small manticores never separated. During that time, the manticores went out once. When the big manticore returned, it had a small magic deer in its mouth, and the little manticore was always on the big manticore’s back, so there was no opportunity at all.
Suzanna guessed the manticore had left the territory to hunt for food, so after considerable thought, she gave up following them. The manticore was many times more dangerous when hunting. It could possibly think of them as two separate targets. Usually, they only cared about their own territory, and didn’t bother with things outside of their territory.
"It’s not early anymore, Suzanna. I will meditate for a moment, and then release the illusion for you," Riska said began the discussion.
"There’s still time. Wait a bit longer." Suzanna shook her head. The illusion couldn’t be used so easily, because Suzanna needed a chance to prove herself. If she could save the magic scroll and lure out the manticore, she could definitely win over everyone’s approval. Suzanna thought that some aspects of a team were similar to that of a nation. Every individual’s position was not fixed and unchangeable. Those who were powerful would gradually become the core of the team, and the powerless could only be at the bottom and run errands for people. For Shally, for herself, she must prove her abilities and gain the recognition of the team members!
"But…Anfey has already said…"
"Wait a bit more!" Suzanna persisted.
Time passed by slowly. Riska couldn’t hold on any longer. His gaze turned upon Suzanna. "Suzanna, let us rest first…"
"Don’t make a sound, hurry! Quickly, increase the area of the eye of the sky!" Suzanna suddenly whispered loudly.
Still need to increase it?! Riska laughed bitterly, and his gaze fell upon the eye of the sky. He couldn’t help but pay full attention to the eye of the sky, and gathered all his remaining magical powers and forced the magic of the eye of the sky to increase.
In the center of the eye of the sky, the big manticore had already kicked the small manticore into the middle of a grassy field. Its two eyes had already shrunk into a dot, and it cautiously took steps forward. In front of the big manticore was a snake head and neck, with the body of a duck, as well as a huge pair of wings. It landed on the ground and looked at the big manticore nervously.
"Oh my, it’s the two-footed flying dragon!" Suzanna was surprised, happy, and nervous. "Hurry! Riska, increase the area of the eye of the sky a bit more!"
"This is already my limit!" Riska replied with great effort.
"Two-footed flying dragons live in groups. Let me see how many two-footed…" Suzanna lifted her head and saw beads of sweat covering Riska’s whole head. His jaws were clenched, and she couldn’t help but to gently sigh, "Forget it, Riska. Take back your magic. I am going over now. You have to be careful, protect yourself!"
"Wait, I also know that the two-footed flying dragons live together. What if there are other two-footed flying dragons?" Riska exclaimed hastily.
"I can’t consider that much anymore. This opportunity is hard to get!" Suzanna had already wielded her sword.
"If there is any danger, come back immediately. I will put out the illusion for you. You…come back! Did you hear me? You…" Riska hadn’t even finished talking, yet Suzanna has already disappeared into the forest.