"Wendorf, you have to explain yourself," Ozzic said coldly.

"I will follow your every order, my lord. All you need to do is ask," Wendorf said as he smoothed out his robe. "But I need a few more days, my lord. I have a lot of men. I need to make sure that they are aware of what I want to do."

"I already gave you three days," Ozzic said sternly. Wendorf had been trying to stall every time Ozzic tried to speak with him, and his att.i.tude had not been pleasant. Before they had come together, the two sides had agreed that they would have a pleasant conversation and try to negotiate. This was why s.h.i.+nbella and Ozzic only brought a handful of mercenaries with them. Wendorf, however, must have brought at least fifty men with him. Wendorf’s att.i.tude was not the att.i.tude of a man who wanted to negotiate, either.

"I don’t want my men to be divided over this," Wendorf said. "I need a few more days. I am sure I can give you a satisfactory answer by then."

"Wendorf," Ozzic said with a frown, "I have a time limit as well. We need to depart as soon as possible to meet up with our people in Madrid Town and head to Heldair City. We already wasted a day waiting for your answer. I simply cannot do that. You have to give me an

answer right now. Truthfully, I’m starting to doubt your sincerity."

"You misunderstand me, my lord," Wendorf said, shaking his head. "I can’t get an unanimous answer from my men. I have troubles of my own as well."

"You only brought a thousand people, and you want us to show sincerity?" a nearby mercenary asked with a snort. "You should join us instead. Lord Wendorf surely can…"

"Be quiet," Wendorf turned to the mercenary and ordered furiously. "Nonsense!" Ozzic watched with wide eyes as the even tempered mage grew angry.

"I’m just speaking my mind, my lord!" the mercenary said. "Aren’t you the one who encourage us to speak our minds? I’ve been a mercenary for more than fifteen years and I’ve never heard of Anfey. Has anyone else heard of him?"

The other mercenaries all laughed and agreed with him.

The mercenary smirked and turned to Ozzic and s.h.i.+nbella. "If he’s so great," the mercenary said, "why doesn’t he come in person? Where is your sincerity?"

Ozzic took a deep breath and calmed himself. He knew he had made a mistake trying to negotiate with mercenaries peacefully. Mercenaries believed in survival of the fittest and did not like political maneuvering. The peaceful way Ozzic had chosen made him appear weak to these mercenaries.

Wendorf was very patient, but his mercenaries were not. His men sent a clear signal that they did not want to join their alliance.

"Ozzic, let’s go," s.h.i.+nbella said.

Ozzic glanced

glanced at s.h.i.+nbella. He knew her well enough to know that she planned on coming back. They could not let these mercenaries get away with humiliating Alibaba and not joining the alliance. If word of this got out, he and s.h.i.+nbella would be labeled weak.

Ozzic nodded and turned away, following s.h.i.+nbella.

Suddenly, a strong surge of magic drew everyone’s attention. A bright light appeared above Shuklan City and descended slowly. The bright light landed on the ground and grew in intensity. The mercenaries around all shaded their eyes and looked away from the light.

Wendorf raised his wand and created a large magic s.h.i.+eld, protecting himself and his men.

Ozzic and s.h.i.+nbella watched in silence but did not move.

The light dimmed, and where the light had been stood a young man. He was wearing robes of a mage and held a large sword made of fire.

Wendorf watched, his eyes narrowed. He did not know who this young man was or his purpose. He did not want to lower his guard.

Before the mercenaries could react, another light appeared over the walls of the city. A young woman appeared over the walls of the city, a longsword in her hand.

Anfey withdrew his sword as Suzanna landed next to him. She had first worn Azure Armor when she was still a senior swordsmaster. Even back then, she felt the superior power of the armor. However, that was just the beginning. The

beginning. The Azure Armor once belonged to the elves and was taken by the humans. After a few centuries, it ended up in the hands of Princess Victoria. It wasn’t just a simple suit of armor. The intensity of combat power could affect the defense power of armor.

Suzanna’s combat power was very powerful, and the armor was feeding off of her combat power, giving her another layer of protection.

Wendorf took a few steps back, recognizing the young woman as a top level power.

Ozzic’s eyes widened. He took a few steps forward and called, "Congratulations, Lady Suzanna!"

Before Ozzic could say anything else, s.h.i.+nbella poked him in the ribs. Anfey had chosen this way to appear in front of the other mercenaries because he did not yet want to intimidate them. It would be disadvantageous to reveal Suzanna’s level.

Wendorf frowned. He now was sure that the young man before him was Anfey and the woman was Suzanna. He did not expect the alliance to have a top level power. Even one top level power was too much for a mercenary group like his. He knew very well what top level powers could do. Glory mercenary group had Anthony and came to rule the Country of Mercenaries.

Wendorf did not want to join the alliance because he had more than a thousand men. He had the power to rewrite the history of the nation. Clearly, Anfey had a similar purpose a similar purpose in mind when he founded the alliance. This was why he had always thought of the alliance as an enemy. Now that he found out there was a top level power in the alliance, Wendorf knew that he could not fight against them. He had left himself no choice.

"Why are you still here, Ozzic?" Anfey asked.

"Lord Wendorf told us that he’s having trouble convincing his men," Ozzic siad. "I’m sure that Lord Wendorf can change his mind now that you’re here, my lord."

"Really?" Anfey asked. "That simple?"

"Yes, my lord," Ozzic said. He knew that Anfey was asking how much trouble it would cause if they attacked Wendorf and his men then and there. Wendorf only had about four hundred loyal men. Ozzic was confident that he could convince the other mercenaries once those loyal ones have been taken care of.

Anfey nodded and turned to Suzanna. Suzanna narrowed her eyes and dashed forward. She appeared next to Wendorf and slammed her sword into his chest. Wendorf’s eyes widened as he fell to the ground. Suzanna pulled her sword out and stepped away. Wendorf collapsed onto the ground.

Once Wendorf was gone, his mercenaries posed no challenge. After witnessing the death of their leader, they did not want to fight and tried to flee. However, they were already surrounded.

Ozzic and s.h.i.+nbella glanced at each other and drew their swords, beckoning their men to join the fight.