Anfey had his hand on the door and hesitated before he pushed the door open. He walked quickly as Suzanna and Alice walked behind him. For the past two days, Anfey definitely got others’ attention. No matter where he went, he had two unbelievably beautiful girls next to him. A lot of people were trying to guess the story behind this situation. There already seemed to be a lot rumors. However, it was totally different story for Anfey, Suzanna and Alice. Suzanna knew Anfey was very disciplined. Besides, they had a really good relations.h.i.+p. She never thought Anfey would cheat on her.
Alice had shown her naked body to Anfey, but Anfey did not even care to look at her. She knew she could not win Anfey’s heart. Instead of betting on her looks and body, she would rather do more things to win Anfey’s trust by showing her ability. In addition, she had been feeling awkward and scared after she kicked Anfey. Suzanna was nice and sweet. She had been very nice to Alice. However, if she offended Suzanna, she would be dead. No one would help her and protect her. Everyone would be on Suzanna’s side. No matter how much Anfey appreciated her capability, there was a strong chance he would choose to be quiet and would not give her a hand after weighing his interests. Therefore, Alice had been very cautious and anxious for the past two days. In terms of work, she tried to agree with Anfey on every issue. Emotionally, she was quite cold to Anfey. She did not do anything that could indicate any flirting. When she had to give Anfey something, she would give it to Suzanna and ask her to pa.s.s it to Anfey, even though sometimes she was even closer to Anfey than Suzanna. She tried to avoid any physical contact, not even touching his fingers.
Smart people could be dumb sometimes. Alice did not realize her behaviors were not natural. It looked like she was trying to hide something, which made Anfey frown. However, Anfey could not remind Alice to stop. Luckily, Suzanna blindly trusted Anfey. Suzanna was no smarter than Alice in this matter. If she did not trust Anfey so much, no one would know what drama they would have. Women seemed to have a sixth sense on these issues.
A very skinny person was curled up in the corner of the room. It was k.u.maraghosha. After hearing the tragedy his family suffered, he started to act like this. He acted more like a zombie. Even zombies knew to look for food, but k.u.maraghosha had been sitting in the corner of the room without food, drink, or even sleep. He cried at the beginning, but now his tears even dried up.
He knew his family would be punished. There were so many different ways for punishment: eviction, jailing, even slavery. The most serious would be death sentences. He never thought Edward VIII would be so cruel that he would torture them to death. He had risked his life in battle for Shansa Empire. He did not know how he could end up in this situation.
People can have very rich imaginations. The military in the Shansa Empire did not have strict rules. They had even fewer constraints on the territories they took over. When they attacked Blackania City in Maho Empire, they did not act like gentlemen, nor did they depart like gentlemen. The things that happened to k.u.maraghosha were not unique. The only difference was his wife and young children happened to be in the story this time. The b.l.o.o.d.y scene kept playing in k.u.maraghosha’s head. He kept thinking about it. The more he thought about it, the more painful he was. It was a bad cycle.
Anfey flicked his fingers and released a small fire ball. A mouse crawling next to k.u.maraghosha’s feet, screamed, and turned into a cloud of fire. Anfey could not help secretly shaking his head. k.u.maraghosha was so meek a mouse could even run around him. Anfey had wanted to wait until k.u.maraghosha recovered, but he could not wait anymore. He was worried k.u.maraghosha was completely crushed and had become unstable.
"For the last two days, I have to come and ask you how long you will sit here." Anfey casually took a seat next to k.u.maraghosha. "Do you want to sit until Edward VIII dies?"
Maybe the desperate screaming from the mouse or the need to pay attention to Anfey because of his high position made k.u.maraghosha move his lifeless eyes. He took a look at Anfey and turned his head the other way without saying anything to Anfey.
"Maybe we have different personalities. The way you are acting is ridiculous," Anfey said. Anfey spoke so harshly that Suzanna and Alice could not help frowning when they heard him. What Anfey said next was meant to remind k.u.maraghosha: "I do not punish myself for others’ crimes."
Seeing no response from k.u.maraghosha, Anfey smiled. "If I were you, I would eat well, sleep soundly, and gather all my energy to find a way to stomp on my enemies. Only this way could I get revenge for the people who died for me."
Anfey thought for a moment and continued, "In fact, there are so many ways to torture a person that he could not even die even he wanted to. I know some of them. I would make my enemy regret ever being born. On this continent, many n.o.bles were sickly as young children. You could find 100 of them to serve Edward VIII. I think when Edward VIII got a taste of it, he would regret committing such sinful crimes."
"Anfey!" Suzanna’s face turned red. Alice looked even weirder than Suzanna, since Edward, who was addicted to child p.o.r.n, was her father.
"At least I would not let Edward VIII die easily and quickly. In fact, we do not have too much time left. In a few years, Edward VIII will die from some illness on his bed," Anfey said slowly. "What I am saying is that it is up to you if you want to continue to sit like this."
Anfey stood up, patted the dirt off his clothes, and strode outside.
k.u.maraghosha slowly looked up at Anfey. As Anfey was about to open the door, he heard a coa.r.s.e voice yelling, "Master."
"Don’t call me master yet." Anfey turned around. "I have two questions for you. If I ask you to lead troops to attack Shansa Empire, would you take my order? If I ask you to kill civilians in Shansa Empire, what would you do? Would you obey my orders?"
k.u.maraghosha’s face froze. He zoned out and just stared at Anfey.
"If your answer is yes, then take some rest and see me later. If your answer is no, I would rather have you sit here till you die. I will arrange a decent funeral, for you since you are a well-known general and I respect you," Anfey said. "But I have to remind you of one last thing. There are so many talented people and good generals who could fight for Maho Empire. If you do not want to fight for me, there is always someone else who would like to do it. If you want to work for me, you might have the chance to protect more people you care about."
After Anfey finished talking, he opened the door and walked out quickly. He had not only been speaking to k.u.maraghosha, but also wanted to pa.s.s the message to Alice. If Alice did not want to work for him, there was always someone else who was willing to take over. Alice had been cast out as a princess, but her hatred was only toward certain people instead of the whole country. Yolanthe wanted to start a war to establish his superior position among the countries on the Pan Continent. There would be wars, without doubt. He did not want Alice not knowing who she should side with.
Just as Anfey walked out of the room, he saw Ye and his mercenaries dragging someone. Ozzic and few other commanders followed behind them. They all looked curious.
"Master, this guy said he has something good to show you," Ye said.
"Oh? What is that?" Anfey smiled.
After Ozzic went back to Stormenburg, he had been trying really hard to torture those tax officers, hoping to get every bit information out of them. However, the soft, spoiled tax officers acted really tough in this situation. They knew they would die once they handed over what they knew, so they kept their mouths shut. Ozzic even tortured one tax office to death and still could not make him say anything.
Later Ozzic had complained to Anfey about it. Anfey told him few things that totally changed the situation. Anfey knew the dark side of humans. His method really amazed Ozzic and others.
Ye first tortured and killed a captive in a very cruel way. He set an example for the tax officers for what could happen to them. A few of the tax officers got scared and told Ye some worthless information, but they were treated as honorable guests by Ye. They were served with good food and wine. Ye also grabbed some female slaves for them to pick. Things went just as Anfey expected. Only one tax office chose his own wife, while the rest chose others’ wives and daughters. Gra.s.s seemed to be always greener on the other side, so were women to men. The most senior tax officer even picked a middle-aged woman and tortured her to death. Curious, Ye asked him about it and learned there were different levels for tax officers. That middle-aged woman’s husband had bullied him at work and even humiliated him. He would not let this perfect time for revenge go. n.o.body knew how many times he might have imagined torturing that poor woman.
The tax officers who gave some information were treated very well. They were served with good food, wine, and women. Other tax officers watched in the Eyes of Sky as their companions lived well. Those who wouldn’t give up information also saw their former colleagues hara.s.sing their own wives and daughters. Those tax officers could not see other tax officers enjoying good food, wine and their women. They started to give away their valuables. Their peers had wives and daughters. They could not just let them hara.s.s their own wives and daughters. Valuables? Everyone seemed to have something valuable. If those other tax officers had s.e.x with their wives and daughters, they felt like they needed to get back at them in the same way. Even though they did not act out of spite, they might have been craving their colleagues’ women after working with each other for so long. This was their opportunity. They were all captives and shared the same status. They were not concerned about offending anyone, since someone had already started this game.
At the beginning, the tax officers were kept separately to prevent them from making some agreement to keep secrets. Now they were kept separately because Ye worried they would fight and kill each other. The fact of keeping them separately did not change, but the reasons had changed.
The tax officer in Ozzic’s grasp walked over with a pleading smile. He first looked around to check his surroundings and then held his left hand out. There was a milky white crystal on his palm. Ozzic and others walked closer to him to check. The tax officer said he wanted to show something valuable to Anfey, so they guessed it must be something good. They did not think he would play a joke on Anfey.
"What is this?" Anfey asked as he handled the crystal.
"Master, this is a memory crystal." The tax officer gave Anfey a pleading smile. "You will know what I am talking about once you release some magic on it."
Anfey added some magic to the crystal as the tax officer said. Something like water droplets started to shake in the air, and then there was a screen in front of everyone. A naked couple was having intercourse on the screen. A female elf was underneath the male. They could tell from the ears of the female that she was an elf. The male was a human with a strong body. Every time he pounded the elf, he seemed to be so rough.
Alice screamed. She covered her mouth with her hand and closed her eyes. This scene tested her experience with s.e.x, but not her wisdom. She could not watch it in public. Suzanna was married, but she was no better than Alice. Her face was all red, and she turned to look elsewhere. Ozzic and others stared wide-eyed. They had heard about memory crystals before. Memory crystals were very rare, had no practical use, consumed too much magic power to operate, and needed help from mages to start them, so they became luxuries for royal families. Usually, regular people had no chance to see them.
Anfey squinted to watch for a while. He took a look at the tax officer out of the corner of his eye. "Is this the valuable thing you talked about?" Personally, Anfey did not think this crystal was that valuable. The picture was clear, but the video was shot at just one angle, which made it too simple. The couple was just in a traditional s.e.x position. It was nothing special. Most importantly, it had no sound. He did not want to watch a silent movie.
"Huh?" The tax office was shocked. He thought these mercenaries would not have seen any items like this or any memory crystals. He did not know Anfey’s experiences were way more complicated than he could imagine. This memory crystal was nothing special to Anfey.
Anfey tossed the memory crystal back to the tax officer and waved his hand. "Take him back."
"Don’t!" Ozzic hurriedly yelled. Anfey did not want it, but Ozzic wanted that memory crystal so badly. Whenever Sante captured scenes of the tax officers enjoying s.e.x with the Eyes of Sky, he always found excuses to be there to watch. It felt different for him having s.e.x and watching others having s.e.x. It made him so excited when he saw the girl in the memory crystal was an elf.
"Do you like it?" Anfey was shocked when he saw Ozzic looked so anxious. Anfey thought that Ozzic would be considered a pervert in modern times. "If you like it, I can give it to you."
A big hand came out of nowhere and grabbed the memory crystal from the tax officer’s hand. It was Tiger. "Master, I want it too." Tiger was so worried of losing it that he even stuttered, or maybe he felt ashamed for taking it from the tax officer’s hand. The sweet and girly elves triggered the innermost desire of beasts. When elves and beasts had conflicts, the battles were bloodier than the battles among humans. Beasts had shown their special interest in elves.
"What are you doing? Master has said he would give it to me," Ozzic yelled in anger. He was about to take it from Tiger’s hand. Tiger was tall and put his hands behind his back. He circled around Ozzic. Ozzic looked at Anfey, hoping he would help him.
Anfey did not know if he should be angry or laugh at them. "Ye, pa.s.s my order. All the mages in the mage group cannot help Ozzic and Tiger! I will punish whoever releases the movies in the memory crystal for them. The two of you, why are you still standing there? Fight, continue to fight over it!"
"Yes, master!" Ye tried to hold his laughter. Among all the people at the scene, only Anfey and Ye could keep calm. Ye was interested in women instead of this kind of contraption. He was not interested in the memory crystal.
Ozzic and Tiger were both stunned. Ozzic was a swordsman. He could not release the movie in the crystal. Tiger was a beast. Neither could he. If they did not have the help from mages, this memory crystal was just an ornament on the shelf. They wanted this memory crystal so badly but could not enjoy it.
"Besides, take this guy away." Anfey pointed at the tax officer.
"Master, I have something top secret to tell you...top secret," the tax officer yelled as two mercenaries grabbed him.
In fact, he was forced to tell the secret. Ye made a rule that tax officers could only have one woman each day. The information he gave was never as good as his peers. He thought if he gave this crystal that had been pa.s.sed down from his family, the situation would turn around for him. However, he was very disappointed and could not think of other things now.
"What secrets?" Anfey waved his hand and signaled the mercenaries to let him go. Anfey sounded a little nicer.
"Master, you need to be prepared for it. Our Prince Chiellick has led his troops to the Country of Mercenaries to meet with General Scarlet. Right now he should be about at the border. If he knew that customs had been attacked, he might come after you for revenge." The tax officer seemed to tell everything and giving top secret information to Anfey.
"Chiellick? How many people are in his troop?" Anfey asked.
"Well, I do not know about that," the tax officer said bitterly. "I am just a tax officer."
"Do you know who would know about it?" Anfey asked.
"I know, I know!" The tax officer immediately looked excited.
Anfey looked at Ye and said, "Ye, this sir is our most honorable guest now. Please treat him well."
"You are so lucky. Follow me." Ye patted the tax officer’s shoulder and smiled. "You will have so much to enjoy once you tell us who that person is."
That tax officer had a big smile on his face. He nodded as fast as a chicken pecking grain. He excitedly followed Ye.
"Chiellick is going to come. Alice, what kind of a person is Chiellick? Hey, Alice!" Anfey asked.
"I…" Alice immediately turned around, but she was still blus.h.i.+ng. Her face was beet red. "My oldest brother…"
Anfey cleared his throat and sharply signaled Alice to stop talking.
Alice did not realize it until she saw the look on Anfey. She worriedly looked around. Luckily, this area was secure so no one could disturb k.u.maraghosha. Ye had taken his people out. There were no other mercenaries around. Ozzic and Tiger were still arguing about the memory crystal and did not pay attention to what Alice said.
Everyone could make mistakes. Anfey felt the strong influence of the environment on self-control. Alice was so smart and alert, but she still had made a mistake. After watching the p.o.r.n, she almost sold herself out and leaked her secret to others.
"Give me the crystal," Anfey said, walking over to Ozzic and Tiger.
Ozzic let Tiger go. Tiger hesitated for a second before he pa.s.sed the memory crystal to Anfey.
"Ok, you guys can leave now." Anfey waved his hand. He had to send them away immediately.
"Master, you said you would give me the memory crystal," Ozzic yelled.
"I said I would give it to you, and I will, but I have to keep it for awhile," Anfey said.
"For how long?" Ozzic asked.
"Maybe three years, maybe five years." Anfey planned to give the memory crystal to Ozzic in a few days and get a similar one from other tax officers to make Tiger happy. Ozzic kept asking Anfey, which made Anfey a little p.i.s.sed. He changed a few days to a few years to punish him.
Ozzic was immediately disappointed. He stared at Tiger in anger. He turned around and walked out as Tiger scratched his head and looked apologetic. He did not want both of them losing the memory crystal. However, it seemed to be too late.
"Alice, you can say it now. What kind of person is Chiellick?" Anfey asked in a low voice.
"Master, he is not worth too much of your attention." Alice had her head down. "We have known each other for more than ten years. I know him. He is a useless person."
"Useless? What do you mean?" Anfey asked.
"He does not have good vision and always hesitates when things happen. Maybe the only thing he did right was to go after Scarlet," Alice said in a hushed voice. "There was nothing wrong with him as a prince, but he is not good enough to be a king."
"How did he become a candidate for prince?" Anfey felt there was something strange about it.
"Well, this has to do with many things. If you really want to know about it, we can sit down and talk," Alice said. "But I think it is really not necessary to waste time on him."
"If you say so, then never mind." Anfey smiled. "If he knew what happened and knew we killed them, do you think he would attack us?"
"Did you forget? I just told you he hesitates when something happens unless Scarlet can make the decision for him. A few months would not be enough for him to make a final decision.
