Chapter 322: Wings
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Five days later, Anfey and his friends appeared on the city square in Paoro City. They arrived around the sa ti as the Roaring Death Legion, which was camping out near the city. Anfey wanted to arrive first and find out more about the situation. Anfey thought it would be too dangerous for them to approach the Roaring Death Legion, since it might attract unwanted attention. He and his friends spent five days staying away from large crowds, and their information was outdated. They had to keep up with the news to determine what to do next.
It was easy to gather information in such an exotic place. A bartender would spill everything he knew for a gold coin or two. rchants, travelers, and rcenaries not only had information but also were looking for information. Trading intelligence was not a rare occurrence in this city. A lot of bartenders’ side job was the selling of information. In order to stay in business, they would diligently gather new and interesting information for their custors.
Anfey bought so information from an old bartender for a gold coin. He learned that even though Maho Empire was relatively peaceful, other places were not. In Country of rcenaries, Glory rcenary group and Tiger of Tawau rcenary group were at war. Storm rcenary group was not helping either side, nor was it officially neutral. rcenaries from Storm rcenary group said that conflicts between rcenaries should be kept within the Country of rcenaries, and that people from Shansa and Ellisen Empire should leave imdiately. This was an order, not a request. Storm rcenary group was clearly accusing Shansa Empire and Ellisen Empire of causing this conflict.
Another major rcenary group, Brothers rcenary group, remained oddly silent. This silence caused wild speculation about the group’s involvent. Anfey, however, knew exactly why. Both Marino and Entos were in Maho Empire. Without its leader and its deputy, Brothers rcenary group could not do anything.
Another interesting bit of news was that Scarlet, Shansa Empire’s new star, was charged with commanding all the armies along the eastern front. She forced armies of Maho Empire to take the defensive. The two empires’ borders had similar geography, and the troubles they encountered were similar as well. Shansa Empire blocked the paths through the Transverse Mountains and surrounded Blackania City. This led to the failure of Mao Empire’s defense along the mountains. After Shansa Empire’s army retreated, Miorich attacked Shansa Empire’s bridgehead along the border. The majority of Shansa Empire’s army was in the Transverse Mountains and could not arrive in ti to defend their bridge. Then Miorich ordered his n to attack almost a dozen cities in the area.
Targeting civilians was wrong, but during war everything was fair ga. Shansa Empire had attacked nurous cities during the war as well. However, Scarlet was able to regain the advantage over Miorich.
After he had told them all the important news, the bartender smirked and began talking about a rich widow residing in the city. Apparently, he thought Christian was handso enough to seduce the widow.
Anfey listened with a smile and did not interrupt the bartender. He did not stop the man until Christian was visibly uncomfortable. "What are those n doing outside?" Anfey asked with a wave of his hand. "Are they here to arrest soone?"
"No, my lord," the bartender said. "They’re guards."
"Guards?"
"Yes," the bartender said. "Heard so important people are coming from Sacred City. Our citymaster is getting ready to welco them."
"So we can’t leave the city?"
"They should be gone by sundown," the bartender said with a frown.
"I see," Anfey said. "We’re done, then. You can go tend to your other custors now." Anfey smiled at the bartender and tossed him another gold coin.
The bartender caught the coin out of the air and bowed. "Have a good day then, my lords."
As soon as the bartender left the room, Anfey glanced at Blavi and nodded. Blavi stood up and left.
"Hagan, we’re getting you out of here in a bit. You should go look for Riska," Anfey said. "I’m sure General Baery has already made arrangents. No one will stop you."
"What about you guys?"
"We’re going to Violet City."
"Isn’t that the sa thing?"
"We need to hurry," Anfey said, shaking his head. "There are too many people traveling the road during the day. It’s better at night. We can travel for days without stopping, but you can’t. I don’t want you to overwork yourself."
"Violet City isn’t in danger, is it?" Christian asked, concerned.
"I’m not worried about Violet City," Anfey said.
"Then..."
"I’m worried about Moramatch," Anfey said. "You’ve all t Alice, but you don’t know her. None of us really do. I left her in charge of Moramatch because she has nowhere else to go, no one else to turn to. The only thing she could do was what was assigned to her. Now though, now is different. Do you rember Kumaraghosha?"
"The Shansa General?" Suzanna asked.
"Yes," Anfey said. "Kumaraghosha beca the scapegoat for a cri he did not commit. He didn’t want to sit around and wait for his death, so he took his n and fought his way out of Shansa Empire. The last anyone heard from him, he was heading for Moramatch." Anfey frowned, his fingers tapping the table. "Whatever happened at Moramatch, Alice won. Either she captured him or he is now working for her."
"Maybe she killed him," Christian suggested.
"Unlikely," Anfey said. "People like Kumaraghosha and Alice share a bond we cannot understand. Alice was a princess, she was loyal, but she was abandoned by her own family and traded like a brood mare. She wanted to run but was captured by slaverunners who caused her friend’s death. What must she be feeling then? Kumaraghosha fought and risked his life for Shansa Empire, but he was slandered and marked as a traitor. He was clearly angry enough to fight his way out of Shansa Empire. What will happen if two traumatized people et?"
"I see," Christian said. "They’ll pity each other, trust each other, because they understand each other."
"Not just pitying and trusting," Anfey said with a sigh. "Alice isn’t just an innocent princess. She is calculating and manipulative. I can’t even tell what kind of person she is. I know she despises the Shansa royal family, because she wanted to know. If she didn’t want to know...well, I don’t know."
"You an...she is a cunning person?" Suzanna asked.
"Cunning is too broad a term," Anfey said. "She’s brilliant. I placed her in charge because I’m taking advantage of the fact that she has no one else to turn to. If she has nothing, she can’t do anything no matter how brilliant she is. If Kumaraghosha is working for her, he becos her wings and her claws. I’m worried."
"I’m the Citymaster of Violet City and Christian will one day beca Duke of Swordbury, but it is not enough. Far from it. We are just entrusted with those lands. We are not masters of them," Anfey said quietly. "If we make the wrong people our enemies, those lands can be easily taken away from us. Without our lands, we are nothing. We need to secure Moramatch."
"I understand," Christian said quietly.
"Good. If we have Moramatch, we can always go back to it and be rcenaries. If we can’t do that, we will go into the Transverse Mountains. If we can’t even stay in the Mountains, we will go into the Forest of Death. No one will pursue us there."
"If you’re so worried, why don’t we just kill Kumaraghosha?"
"I thought of that, but now is not the ti," Anfey said. "Let’s see what happens once we get to Moramatch."
"Anfey," Blavi said as he walked into the room. "The guards are gone."
"Good. Let’s be on our way, then," Anfey said.
"Should I tell Riska anything?" Hagan asked hurriedly.
"Just tell him to keep an eye on everyone," Anfey said. "But I’m not worried. As long as Ernest and Entos are there, I doubt anything will go wrong."
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