Assassin's Chronicle

Reddenburg, as the headquarters of Shield of Light legion, was highly secured. Patrols composed of Knights of Light, priests and soldiers were patrolling the city. Countless torches lit up Reddenburg to make it a city that never slept. Even a top power could not easily sneak in without being noticed.

However, a person in a black suit was moving around Reddenburg like it was no big deal. He seemed to be able to predict when a patrol would come and would hide in the shadows. No one was able to sense his existence. When one patrol left, he jumped on a roof and ran as swiftly and quietly as a cat at night.

Finally, he jumped off the roof into a yard. He carefully opened a window, climbed in and disappeared. The window slowly shut behind him.

Ozzic was sound asleep in his bed and snorted a little. A sword lay on Ozzic’s chest, and he held it in his right hand. This was a habit of mercenaries. No matter where and when, he could be ready for a fight. A few days previous, they had gone to attack elves. The elves had gathered their weapons in a pile so they could sleep better without holding weapons. In fact, Ozzic also could have chosen a more comfortable way to sleep, but he did not. Survival skills had stayed with him.

The person in black suit sneaked to Ozzic’s bed and flicked on Ozzic’s forehead. Ozzic’s snoring paused for a second and continued to snore again. However, his eyes opened a crack and spurred his sword at the person in black backhanded. His mouth opened at the same time, trying to yell for help.

The person in the black suit slid to the side. The sword barely touched him. He covered Ozzic’s mouth with his right hand and said in a low voice, "It is me."

Ozzic was shocked for a second and recognized Anfey’s voice. "Master, why are you here?"

The mercenaries on watch outside Ozzic’s room yelled, "Master, are you ok?" They sensed the combat surges from Ozzic’s room.

"I am fine," Ozzic responded loudly. "I just had a nightmare. Shit! I dreamed that I was surrounded by a group of zombies."

The mercenaries laughed outside his room. One of them joked, "Master, are those zombies male or female?"

"Are you stupid? Of course, they are male," another mercenary joked. "If they were female, Master would have fought them differently. Master would not have used his combat power for that."

"Fuck! You bastards. Next time we encounter zombies, I will peel all the females’ clothes off and leave them to you," Ozzic joked back. "Shut up. I need to go back to sleep."

The mercenaries laughed a little bit and went away. When it was quiet again, Ozzic slowly sat up on the bed and said, "Master, what’s up?"

Ozzic looked excited. He got serious quickly. If Anfey came to see him this way, it meant Anfey would give him something important to do, which made him feel important and unique.

"I need to go back to Moramatch right away," Anfey said quietly.

"Master, aren’t we going to be divided into two groups to help Shuklan City and Madrid Town, respectively? Don’t leave now," Ozzic said in surprise.

"Do you think I am in the mood to help others?" Anfey said calmly.

Ozzic did not understand at first. He had never been married. He had different ideas about women. He had sex with a number of women, but he never thought of marrying any of them. If he had to marry, he wanted to marry someone like Shinbella. He had no interested in weak women. Unfortunately, Shinbella was not interested in him.

Seeing Anfey’s worried look, Ozzic was shocked before he realized the reason. He smiled to try to cheer Anfey up. "Master, I understand. Right now your wife’s safety is your priority."

"I am glad that you can understand," Anfey said. "Can you be in charge of Shuklan City? Do you know what to do?"

"Yes. They can live if they listen to us, otherwise we will kill them," Ozzic said with a fierce look. Yesterday he heard Anfey saying the same thing, and felt it sounded powerful, so he had remembered very well.

"Don’t overdo it." Anfey said. "But do not show too much mercy if you have to kill them either."

"I understand." Ozzic paused. "Master, why did you not go yesterday?"

"I could not leave yesterday," Anfey said, shaking his head. "There are so many people watching me. I cannot let anyone know I am leaving Reddenburg." Anfey knew Suzanna got into trouble because of him. Manstuly’s real target was him. If anyone knew Anfey left Reddenburg, it would give Manstuly a warning. Besides, druids were not stupid. If he made any moves, Manstuly would know what he was trying to do. What else could he do but look for Suzanna? That would put Suzanna in even more danger.

"Who dares to tell your plans to others?" Ozzic said, wide-eyed.

"Too many actually." Anfey smiled. "For example, Marquis Djoser. If he knows that someone is trying to kill me and Suzanna, he definitely would take advantage of it."

"That old ass!" Ozzic looked like he was ready to kill Djoser. "Master, why don’t we just kill him. I know you cannot kill him yourself, but I can do it. It wouldn’t be the worst scenario to have some mercenaries be scapegoats."

"It helps us to keep him alive," Anfey said.

"Helps us? I do not see him helping us at all. I only see him messing with us!" Ozzic said.

"You will know later." Anfey chuckled then thought for a bit. "Ozzic, if something happens, talk with Shinbela and make decisions together. Don’t act too much on impulse. Talk to Ye too. He is very smart and thinks clearly. It will help you if you can ask him for advice."

"Got it, Master," Ozzic said.

"After you guys leave Reddenburg, you tell them I am sick. Don’t let those Knights of Light and priests know I am not with you. The longer you can keep it secret, the safer I will be," Anfey said.

"Master, do you think there are spies among Knights of Light and priests?" Ozzic asked.

"Nothing is impossible," Anfey said calmly. "Besides, the ones who want me dead do not have to be spies. You know we do not get along with Church of Light. If there is any opportunity, do you think they would miss it?"

"Too complicated," Ozzic said bitterly. "I am just wondering if those Knights of Light and priest are schemers by nature." In fact, Ozzic was not that great himself. Making a League of Mercenaries was his idea. He even tried to take advantage of Anfey. However, it still gave him a headache when he had to deal with complicated situations. In other words, he realized he was not as good as other schemers.

"Do not mind others’ business. Just do what you have to do. Your mission will be successful if the Knights of Light and priests do not suspect I left until you guys reach Shuklan City," Anfey said slowly.

"Master, you don’t want to go back by yourself, do you?" Ozzic asked.

"I wish I could take an army with me, but it would take too long. I’d rather go back by myself," Anfey said.

"Master, that would be too dangerous. How about asking Shinbella to go with you?" Ozzic suggested.

Anfey liked that idea, but he shook his head after giving it some thought. "No, you guys need her help too."

"Master, I have so many people with me. I do not have to have Shinbela, but you need a good helper." Ozzic looked worried.

"No, I do not need help." Anfey sounded very firm. If he used illness as an excuse, Ozzic could cover for him for a while. If Shinbella was missing as well, it would be hard for others to believe it. Anfey had to search for Suzanna. In the gigantic Transverse Mountains, he could sense everything around him for dozens of miles with the help of the Heart of Nature. Shinbella would not be able to help much anyway.

"You are..." Ozzic smiled bitterly. "Master, does Master Blavi know you are leaving?"

"He does not know," Anfey said. "He is in charge of the group in Madrid Town. We are not in the same group. We do not need to bother him about this."

Ozzic went quiet for a while. "How about Shinbella? If she asks me about you, should I tell her the truth?"

"Yes, I trust Shinbela," Anfey said.

"Ok," Anfey said with a serious voice and slowly walked to the window.

Ozzic was ambitious, but he knew the limits of what he could do, which was significant. He decided to work for Anfey in the end. Ozzic’s concerns about Anfey were real. Anfey and he were clearly supervisor and employee. The better Anfey did, the better situation Ozzic would be in. If anything happened to Anfey, his future would become a mess as well.

Anfey chuckled. "If the mercenaries in Shuklan City wanted to join the League of Mercenaries, make them the eighth unit. Try not to interfere too much, and give them the highest authority. We will deal with the results later."

"Yes, master," Ozzic said.