Long and Ling sat shoulder to shoulder in an ancient tree. Bored, they looked up at the sky and counted the stars. They were both very introverted and did not like to socialize with others. Sometimes they did not even want to greet others courteously, so their Shadow mercenary group was the most mysterious mercenary group. They had joined Anfey’s legion, but still did not have too much contact with the others. They did not have anything in common with other mercenaries; unlike the others, they were not interested in power, money, or women. The ambition Long and Ling had seemed distant from other mercenaries.
When they had some free time, Long and Ling liked to spend their time outside. They did not want others to disturb them. They chose to be alone, or even lonely.
After a while, Ling suddenly said quietly, "Has something been bothering you?"
"Yes." Long nodded with a bitter smile on his face.
"Can’t you talk to me about it?" Ling complained.
"Master…" Long did not get a chance to complete what he was trying to say. He suddenly shut his mouth and cautiously looked around. He lowered his voice and said, "Ling, you know Master killed hundreds of druids and elves a few days ago. I am worried…"
"What are you worried about? Worried that Master has some prejudice against druids and elves?" Ling asked.
"Yes," Long said quietly. "Do not forget, we are druids too."
"Ahh, you!" Ling shook her head with a smile.
"What about me? I am just thinking for our future," Long said.
"Why did Master kill those druids and elves? They wanted to set Master up. Master’s wife, Suzanna, was in trouble as well. I can understand why Master killed those druids and elves," Ling said.
"They did surrender at the end. Why did Master have to kill them?" Long asked.
"Try to put your feet in his shoes. If you caught a group of mercenaries who set me up, killed me, then surrendered to you, would you forgive them?" Ling asked.
"Me…Of course not." This was a matter of principle. No matter how he looked at it, he had to say no to that question. If he did not say no, he would be in trouble, big trouble.
"Would you hate everyone in the world?" Ling asked.
"Well…I am not that irrational." Long smiled bitterly. "Ling, why are you speaking up for Master?" Long understood what Ling was trying to tell him. If he would not hate everyone in the world, then Anfey should not hate all the druids and elves.
"Because I think Master did not do anything wrong. He only killed his enemies," Ling said slowly.
"I am just worried that our history would make Master suspect that we are not loyal to him. In the future…" Long said.
"You think too much." A voice suddenly arose.
Long was shocked and jumped up. What they just had been discussing was very sensitive. If Anfey heard about it, they might be in serious trouble. Long came up with the idea of killing people who heard their conversation. If only one person had heard their conversation, he did not mind killing that person. Unfortunately, when he jumped up and saw the person who spoke to him, his intentions of killing left him. His chest and back were suddenly soaked in sweat. He felt the coldness on his chest and back and started to tremble slightly.
"Master, you are back!" Ling sounded excited, surprised, and a little worried.
"Yes." Anfey flew to them from more than a dozen yards away. He laid his eyes on Long and said in a serious tone, "Manstuly and the druids who are loyal to him were my only enemies."
Long immediately lowered his head, worried.
"Long, you’d better tell me whenever you have any questions or doubts, in case there is any misunderstanding. I am not that bossy. I am willing to hear others’ opinions," Anfey said, smiling.
Long felt ashamed and answered Anfey positively. He could tell that Anfey was seriously and honestly explaining to him. But Anfey did not have to explain anything. Anfey was their leader. If Anfey wanted to kill them today, they would not see sunrise in the morning. He appreciated that an absolute power would patiently and politely communicate with those who had little power.
Ling suddenly screamed, scaring Long: "Oh, my G.o.d! Ms. Suzanna is back. Ms. Suzanna is back."
As Ling was screaming, Suzanna flew in from the distance. She landed next to Anfey in the blink of an eye. She nodded at Ling and Long with a smile.
Long looked surprised and excited. Suzanna did not like to talk much, but was very popular among mercenaries. They all liked and respected her very much. This had to do with her fighting ability, beautiful looks, and the way she treated others. When Long saw Suzanna was safe, he was sincerely happy for her.
"Ms. Suzanna, you are…" Ling screamed again before Long could get his words out. "Oh, my G.o.d, what did I see, what did I see?"
Long did not know whether he should cry or laugh. They had been married for a couple of years, but he did not know Ling could talk in such high pitch until today. He followed Ling’s eyes to see, and he looked more stunned than Ling. A little unicorn excitedly approached them. He looked at Ling and Long curiosly and then circled around Suzanna.
"Master, am I dizzy? Sacred beast? You have a sacred beast?" Long’s eyes almost fell out. In fact, Anfey’s little unicorn was no longer a secret. Some people found out about it a long time ago, but the media on the Pan Continent was not great, so most people did not know about it, including Ling and Long.
"Why are you so surprised? He has been with me for almost a year," Anfey said.
Long slowly walked over and bent down, trying to touch the little unicorn. The little guy was immediately aware of Long and moved back. Its horn started to blink with Arc Light. Blavi and Riska had been around the little unicorn for almost a year. If they could not even touch him, then surely Long could not either. If Long walked closer to him, the little unicorn definitely would attack him.
Long noticed the hostility from the unicorn and slowly walked back to Anfey. He smiled and said, "Master, you really can surprise us at any time."
Anfey laughed, appreciating Long’s flattery. Whenever he felt great, he wanted to show off more. He waved his hand at the little unicron, "Come on, boy."
The unicorn immediately turned to look at Anfey and excitedly ran over to him after he heard Anfey’s call. Long and Ling almost fainted when they saw that. Elves and druids saw unicorns as their holy blessing beasts. There was a legend that some heroes riding unicorns into battle treated the unicorns as their friends who could go through thick and thin with them. Anfey treated the little unicorn as his kid, which looked really ridiculous to Long and Ling.
"Anfey, unicorns do not have gender, like babies. Don’t a.s.sume," Suzanna playfully complained. In fact, she did not care to argue over the gender of the unicorn. She was hinting that Anfey should stop calling the unicorn as his son. If Anfey were the father of the little unicorn, she would be the mother. It felt weird to Suzanna, especially with Long and Ling present. Suzanna felt she had become their joke.
"If I say he is my son, then he is my son," Anfey said.
"Don’t be so sure." Suzanna felt embarra.s.sed and a little mad.
"Fine," Anfey easily gave in to Suzanna. He randomly s.n.a.t.c.hed a branch and tossed it, "Come on, girl, get it for me!"
The little unicorn did not read between the lines, but he was happy to get attention from Anfey. He immediately ran to chase the branch. In the blink of an eye, he ran back happily with a branch between his teeth, trying to please Anfey.
Long cleared his throat. He was not very comfortable seeing the holy beast in his religion becoming Anfey’s pet. He changed the topic, "Master, you came back at the right time. Ozzic has been troubled by the problems in Shuklan City."
"What’s wrong?" Anfey appeared shocked.
"There are still about 1,400 mercenaries left in Shuklan City. Master Ozzic and s.h.i.+nbella have just over 1,000 in their unit, not even as many as theirs. Even counting Knights of Light and priests, we only have about 1,700, not a big advantage," Long said slowly.
After Long’s briefing, Anfey understood the general situation in Shuklan City. The threat from outsiders could lead people to unite or merge into a big group, just as in the case of the League of Mercenaries. The mercenaries in Shuklan City had united and an intermediate magister, Wendorf, was their leader. People’s ambitions would change as the situation changed. If a person only led one hundred mercenaries, he would be eager for help from someone with strong power. It would not matter who the powerful person was, as long as that person could ensure their safety. If a person led five hundred mercenaries, he would not rush to look for protection, because five hundred mercenaries could be a good bargaining chip to exchange for something else. 1,400 was not a small number. When s.h.i.+nbella’s Jagged Roses mercenary group was at its peak, it only had about two thousand mercenaries. Everybody knew that popular mercenaries would become the leader. Since Wendorf had the ability to lead 1,400 mercenaries, there was no reason he would want to be someone’s subordinate. It proved that Wendorf thought and acted as Anfey did.
On the one hand, Wendorf tried to please Ozzic, but he never agreed to merge troops. On the other hand, he tried to bond with the Knights of Light and priests. Obviously, he noticed the tension between them. Ozzic did not know what to do with Wendorf. He felt Wendorf was a pain in the neck. If Ozzic chose to fight with him, he was not sure he could win, even if they had a senior swordswoman, s.h.i.+nbella, because Wendorf controlled more mercenaries than he did. If Ozzic chose to negotiate with him, Wendorf would want what Ozzic could not offer. They could not meet each other’s needs and had no way to negotiate.
"Master, it is great that you are back!" Long added. In fact, he had no idea what Anfey would do; he just believed Anfey could handle it. To be more specific, not only Long, but Christian, Blavi and others in Alibaba legion believed in him as far back as a year ago. Later, Suzanna, Ozzic, s.h.i.+nbella, and many others came to believe in him. Everyone who had the chance to work or live with him developed a strong belief in him. They did not know exactly why they trusted Anfey or where the belief came from.
