Chapter 205: Huge Business
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
"Does everyone know about it?" Anfey asked slowly. He had some concerns. Maho Empire had won a big military victory, which was big news for them. Everyone was happy about getting reunited. If they had known about the victory, they would have been exhilarated about it.
"They do not know about it yet," Apa said, shaking his head.
"The king asked me to let you know it first, and you can decide whether to tell others." Apa smiled. He recalled the words Yolanthe told him. Of course, he would not tell Anfey the exact words.
"I do not get it," Anfey said. "It would only take at most one month to clean up the battlefield and the deal with the aftereffects of the war. That means the second prince of Maho Empire and Master Saul would come back to Sacred City in two months"
Anfey suddenly realized they could go home if Saul was going home. This was definitely a good thing, but it meant Alibaba mercenary group would be dismissed. For various reasons, they all needed to go back to Sacred City. However, it was still unknown if they could come back to the underground city. There was still something he did not get, especially what Yolanthe was trying to hint to him.
"Can I ask where exactly my estate is?" Anfey asked.
"I knew you would ask. I brought the map with me." Apa took out a scroll from his shirt with a smile and unrolled it. The remaining sunset had dyed the sky a golden color. "Violet City is here. Congratulations. Violet City is a wealthy city. Although your nobility title did not change, your estate is as big as a duke’s."
"Here is…?" Anfey asked.
"This is Blackania City," Apa answered.
After a bit of thought, Anfey finally realized what Yolanthe was trying to hint to him. Violet City and Blackania City were next to each other on Maho Empire’s border. It was not only a military center, but also a commercial center. Shansa Empire attacked Maho Empire through a different country, which caused a lot of damage to Maho Empire. It messed up Yolanthe’s badly. By that time, Yolanthe had switched his attention to the Country of Mercenaries. Thinking about the locations of Moramatch, Hengduan Valley, and Violet City on the other side of Hengduan Valley, Anfey believed that Yolanthe hoped Anfey could maintain his Alibaba mercenary group, since he could help Yolanthe get into the Country of Mercenaries.
"I heard the Empire lost most of the eastern area and only controlled Blackania City now. Did Violet City have a lot of damage?" Anfey asked slowly.
"I am not sure about it," Apa said, shaking his head.
Anfey went quiet. He knew it was hard to understand what was on the king’s mind. The reason he finally got what Yolanthe was thinking was due to his street smarts. People with power had much experience fighting for political power. They were far better than Anfey in that sense. He might beat Yolanthe in a physical fight, but even if Anfey were a king, he could be played by Yolanthe.
Anfey wanted neither to turn Yolanthe down, nor bargain with him, especially when he had nothing to bargain with. The only thing he could do was to do better with what he had.
"Black Eleven, can you tell everyone this news?" Anfey asked in a low voice.
"Sure." Black Eleven nodded.
"I need to leave now that I have passed the information to you," Apa said with a smile.
Watching Black Eleven and Apa walking away, Anfey was quiet for a while and said, "Suzanna, if I…"
"No matter where you go, I will go with you," Suzanna said gently but firmly. She sounded like she was promising Anfey something.
It’s said that a couple could communicate without words if they were in love. It looked like that had happened between Anfey and Suzanna. Suzanna seemed to know what Anfey was trying to tell her before he could finish his words.
Anfey nodded hard. No matter what he was going to say did not seem enough. All he could do now was to hold Suzanna’s hands tight.
Soon a group of people screamed and rushed out of Moramath. The people outside the town were startled by what they saw. Half way up the hill, Niya had been singing a folksong and waving the hem of her dress. She stood shocked and froze in place. She had no idea why people went nuts at the foot of the hill.
The happy crowd surrounded the people outside the town in the blink of an eye. Then they rushed up the hill. Niya learned from different conversations about what had happened and cheered with the crowd. Niya had been through such a tough time. Home is the most warming and comfortable place, and no other place could compare. She lost herself in such joy that she even held her arms out and hugged Christian. Christian looked like he did not know whether to laugh or cry.
Anfey watched the crowd joyfully. He thought Yolanthe did very well to win people’s hearts. It would not be a bad choice to work for a king like him.
The cheerful crowd moved up to the top of the hill. They did not care if Anfey knew about the victory. They only wanted to pass their joy to everyone around them. Niya started to yell from the distance, "Anfey, we won! We can go home now."
Anfey slowly stood up and wore a smile on his face. In fact, he did not want to look like he could not fit into the happy crowd, but smiling was all he could do. He rarely lost himself since he was a little kid as far back as he could remember. No matter where he was, he would at least keep himself sort of calm. He would never be able to scream, laugh out, and cheer.
Suzanna looked calm as well. The victory of Maho Empire had nothing to do with her. She only wanted everything to go well with Anfey and everyone in the legion.
As it was getting dark, there were bonfires along the hill and on the top of the hill. No one seemed sleepy and just gathered around the bonfires, talking.
Many legions in history were able to win people over and worked together for their shared aims in difficult times. However, they would have different ideas in peaceful times. This was human nature. They would not simply achieve harmony as people wished.
Anfey held Suzanna’s hand and they walked together. Anfey overheard people talking here and there. Some people said they had better go to the Forest of Death to hunt some magic beasts to make some gold coins before they went back. These people should be regular civilians.
Others said they would definitely go back right away. They thought they had contributed so much for the country that Philip would not dare to do anything to them. In addition, their master was coming back soon. Niya was one of them.
Still others thought it was fun and exciting to be a mercenary. They felt the Country of Mercenaries was a good place to get experience. They wanted to go back to the Country of Mercenaries after they went back to see their master.
One group said their lives were not stable. They could not do any deep research since they had no magic labs. They hoped to continue their practice under their master’s instruction when they went back.
Anfey had been quietly listening to their discussions. He was neither a politician nor a military master, but he knew the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities as they presented themselves. He would put himself in a bad situation if he could not take the opportunities. The reason he could take everyone here and have them listen to him was because of the huge threat from Philip. The fact that survival was the priority for everyone at that time was the "opportunity." Now, everyone wanting to go back to Maho Empire was also an opportunity.
Having different ideas was normal. In philosophy, people want to look for reasons to unite with different voices, since each individual had their own ideas.
"Anfey," Christian’s voice rose. "Suzanna, do you want to go back with us?"
"Of course," Anfey answered for Suzanna. "She will go anywhere I go."
Suzanna blushed and pushed Anfey for saying it. Anfey fell on his butt with the momentum from the Suzanna’s push. "Come, Christian, let’s talk."
"Sure, what do you want to talk about?" Christian sat across from Anfey with a smile.
"Feller, can you guys leave for a second?" Anfey asked.
"Yes." Feller stood up and patted the dirt off from his butt. He took his whole gang with him and left Christian and Anfey alone there.
"We finally can go home. Isn’t it exciting?" Anfey said in a casual tone.
"Of course, how about you? Are you excited?" Christian asked.
"We are in similar situations, Christian. We have come out for a long time. I think your parents must worry about you. Did you contact them?" Anfey asked.
"Anfey, don’t beat around the bush; just get to the point. Do you want to ask me where my family is and what my parents do?" Christian smiled. He was a gentle and humble guy, but it did not mean he did not get what Anfey was trying to do to him.
"Can I say something?" Anfey looked at Christian curiously.
"Sure. My family…hmm. My father is a businessman," Christian said.
"He is running a business? What kind of business?" Anfey was shocked for a second, since what he guessed was quite different from what Christian told him. However, he knew Christian would rather dodge his question than lie to him.
"Business. This word is interesting." Christian thought for a moment and said, "A huge business."
"I did not know about it, Christian," Suzanna said in surprise. "Is your family well-known?"
"Yes, my family is indeed pretty well-known," Christian said.
Christian had not told them the name of his family, which usually stopped people from continuing the questions. However, Anfey became even more blunt, "What is your father’s name?"
Christian could not help smiling bitterly. He tried, but nothing came out of his mouth.
"Never mind, let me ask you a different question. How big is your family business?" Anfey asked.
"Huge, unimaginably huge."
"I got it." Anfey smiled. What is the largest business in the world? It was not a difficult question. It seemed that his guessing was right.