Assassin's Chronicle

Anfey hesitated and did not say anything.

"I am just a servant," Alice said with a smile.

Entos rolled his eyes, clearly unconvinced. "Do you take me for a fool, woman?" he asked, shaking his head. He could tell from the way others treated Alice that she was no mere servant.

Anfey frowned and was not sure what to do. He wasn’t the only one who knew who Alice was, and he knew he could trust Entos. He could keep the secret away from Entos, but he could not lie. Finally, he sighed and shook his head. "I will tell you later," he said.

"Well," Entos said, turning to Christian. "I am here to congratulate you, Your Royal Highness."

"Me?" Christian asked, surprised.

"His Majesty had recently acquired support from Pope William," Entos said. "A backup army will arrive at Country of Mercenaries soon to launch a full-scale attack on the necromancers. You have been selected to oversee this army."

The mercenaries were not from Maho Empire and did not care for the political implications of this appointment. They looked at Christian, who was grinning widely at the news. The first pope, St. Robin, once said that all humans should band together in the face of a common threat. Necromancers were one of the only things that could unite all the kingdoms. However, even such an alliance was not without political implications. St. Robin believed that all the kingdoms should unite around the Church of Light. Of course, the mercenaries did not care for the political struggles of another nation.

"Which army?" Christian asked, curious. "How many men are coming? Who’s the commanding general?"

"It’s a newly formed legion called the Shield of Light legion," Entos said, "led by the Knight of Light, Fernando."

"Fernando?" Christian asked. "Who is that?"

"He’s sent by the pope."

Christian nodded. Yolanthe and Pope William must have fought over control of this new legion, but Yolanthe had lost to the pope, and the pope was able to appoint one of his men as the commanding general. But did Yolanthe really fail? If Yolanthe had appointed a general from Maho Empire to lead the legion, it might have caused disagreements among people of other nations—especially Ellisen Empire and Shansa Empire, which were still recovering from the effects of the last war. If Fernando, a man appointed by Pope William, was to lead the legion, then the other nations could not argue against the appointment, unless they want to contradict the pope’s will. Even though the pope did not have concrete political power, he was a beacon of hope among the common people, especially during a war against the necromancers. The zombies were not as afraid of light magic as before, but the Church was still the most important asset. No one could deny the effectiveness of the Church’s army.

Allowing Fernando to command the army did not mean that Yolanthe had no influence over the legion. The legion formed at Yolanthe’s command, and he still had ways to influence it.

"The legion is composed of people of different nationalities, am I right?" Alice suddenly asked.

"Mostly men from Tumen Commercial Union," Entos said. "It also contains the remnant of the Sacred Flame Crusade, some of the palaces guards and guards from Blackania City." Entos paused, then added, "It also has its own mage’s platoon."

"Mage’s platoon?" Anfey asked, shocked. An army’s mage’s platoon was very different from his so-called mage’s platoon. In order to have a mage’s platoon, there must be hundreds of mages.

"What, are you surprised?" Entos asked.

"Who leads it?" Christian asked. The head of a mage’s platoon had almost as much power as the commanding general of the legion.

"Who do you think it is?"

Christian frowned, thought for a few moments, then shook his head. The legion was very important, but it was still not one of the major legions. Yolanthe would not have Saul or Steger lead it, but it would still have to be someone important.

"Who is it?" Christian asked.

Entos jerked his thumb towards himself and said with a grin, "This guy."

The room fell silent. Alice frowned, but Christian and Anfey wanted to laugh. Clearly, Yolanthe made this decision because he had made an agreement with Band of Brother mercenary group. He had met the leader of Band of Brother mercenary group, Marino, back in Sacred City. Marino wasn’t there to attend Anfey and Suzanna’s wedding, and he must have met with Yolanthe while he was there. The outbreak of the war with the necromancers deepened the relationship between the two.

Yolanthe had the ability to offer help. As long as he had Band of Brother mercenary group on his side, he had a powerful asset.

Even someone like Anfey could understand how important it was to control the Country of Mercenaries. Previously, none of the powerful nations cared much about the Country of Mercenaries, and there were rarely any guards along the Country of Mercenaries’ borders. This was why Shansa Empire could cut through Country of Mercenaries without anyone noticing and surround Blackania City. If Yolanthe could control Country of Mercenaries, then he would have a powerful ally.

"I’ve told you everything I need to tell you," Entos said. "You must prepare for the arrival of the legion, Your Royal Highness."

"Prepare for what?" Christian asked with a sigh. He never thought he would become an overseer of a legion. This entailed considerable responsibility and he must approach the matter with a serious attitude.

Entos shrugged. "I don’t know," he said. He turned to Anfey and said, "I heard that you are close to moving up a level."

Anfey shrugged. "I just learned how to use large fireball magic," he said, "but so can everyone else in the city."

"Who knows? Come, try attack me with it."

"What?"

"Attack me," Entos said seriously. "With large fireballs."

"Here?"

"Don’t worry," Entos said.

"Wait," Blavi suddenly stood up and said. "I have to go."

"Wait for me," Ozzic said, scrambling up. "I have to go do something as well."

"Me too," Alice said. She tapped the ground a few times, signaling the dwarves to retreat.

"Then I’ll be going too," Christian said. He lingered for a few moments then hurried out of the room. Suzanna glance at Anfey and Entos and jogged out of the room after Christian.

Entos frowned as the room emptied. "What’s wrong?"

"Don’t worry," Anfey said. "Aren’t you going to use shields?"

Entos waved his hand. "I’ll be fine," he said.

Anfey nodded. He took a deep breath and waved his hands, feeling the fire elements gathering. After a few moments, a dozen large fireballs appeared in the room. The room burst into light.

"Hopefully Entos got out in time," Blavi said with a laugh, observing the room at a distance.

"I’m sure he’s fine," Christian said. "He’s renowned for his teleportation."

"It’s a shame," Alice said. "What a waste of money. I was fond of that table."