Chapter 479: Game and New Territory
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After learning the suicide attackers had returned to headquarters, Baery travelled a dozen miles to welcome them back. Anfey, Suzanna and others all looked very happy. An impossible mission became possible with their hard work. They deserved to have happy smiles on their faces.
"Did you do it?" was the first thing Baery asked.
"Marshal, didn't we sent people to report to you?" Dalmatian was a little surprised.
"I just want to double check. Anfey, did you really do it?" Baery asked.
"I am guessing they are thinking about the funeral they should hold for Scarlet," Anfey said with a smile.
"Great, great." Baery laughed. Unexpectedly, he turned his horse around and rode back to the headquarters, leaving these triumphant soldiers behind him. He had only spoken three sentences meeting Anfey.
"Professor," Anfey jumped off the horse and greeted Saul respectfully. Anfey's upbringing was very traditional. He held the principle that he needed to respect his teacher no matter how powerful he became. In some cases, some teachers could be than family.
"Baery has many things to handle since Scarlet died. I hope you don't think he was rude," Saul said with a smile. He was a bit shocked and asked Suzanna, "Are you hurt?"
"I was only wounded a little bit." Suzanna acted as respectful as Anfey.
"Anfey, you made such a great contribution to the empire this time, but next time don't act so reckless." Saul sounded a bit mad at Anfey. "Why did you think it was okay to use Suzanna as a bait? We have many other ways to kill Scarlet. You do not have to take such risks. You know you would rue the day if anything happened to Suzanna," Saul said, getting angrier as he spoke. His voice even trembled a little when he mentioned the phrase "rue the day".
Anfey was a little shocked. He put down his head and said, "Yes, professor. I know I made a mistake." He had never seen Saul upset like this. Anfey suddenly remembered the questions he had not been able to answer for a long time. He always wondered what kind of person Saul's wife was and why he never heard Niya talking about her mother. Yolanthe did not have a queen either. What were the reasons for this? Did Christian, Wester and Granden have the same biological mother? Anfey had these questions for a long time, but did not know whom to ask and also felt inappropriate asking these kind of questions.
"Professor, I requested the task. Anfey actually did not want me to take the risk," Suzanna immediately said in defense of Anfey.
"Silly girl. You never have your own opinions on anything. You have always done whatever Anfey asked you to do. How can I not know that?" Saul heaved a sigh. "Ok, let's not talk about this. Everybody is so happy today."
Shawn hurriedly changed the topic. "Oh, right, Master Saul, Scarlet had two very strange knights with her. They are very powerful. I think we should find out more about them."
"Master Shawn, are they Gold Knights?" a captain in Baery's team who had followed Baery out to welcome Anfey asked.
"No, they are neither Gold Knights, nor Knights of the Light. I did not sense any death spirit on them, so they should not be Knights of Death either. How to put it? They left us a very weird feeling. They fought like barbarians. They fought with great physical stamina, but their fighting ability was very strong." Shawn raised his left arm. "This is what they left. If Master Anfey did not save me, I would not be able to come back alive."
"Let's go. We can talk after we get back to the headquarters," Saul said quietly. Shawn ha changed the topic on purpose, but Saul looked like he was trying to avoid responding.
After they got back to the station, Saul asked Anfey about the details of the assassination. Anfey did not hold anything back. He told Saul everything that had happened in the assassination.
Saul looked a little weird. Anfey chose a very special body part to attack, but the effect of that attack was obviously very successful. If Anfey had attacked other parts of Scarlet, Anfey might not have been able to come back with such a victory.
"Professor, Master Baery seemed to have qualms about Scarlet. Why is that?" Anfey asked quietly. "I could not figure out the reason."
Saul was quiet for a moment before he said slowly, "It's time for you to know the secret now. We have to talk about another person first before we get to that secret."
"Who is it?" Anfey asked.
"Golman," Saul said.
"Golman?" Anfey tried to search for that name in his head. He asked in surprise, "Is he one of the three master necromancers?"
"Even though we and church people claim to fight against necromancers, we all know there are good necromancers, just like there can be despicable people in the church," Saul said calmly. "If there were ever any necromancers who never hurt innocent people, it would be Golman, even though he practiced the evilest Plague magic."
Anfey opened his mouth wide in surprise. He never thought Saul would think so highly of Golman.
"Golman has lived for about 600 years. Because of his long life, he was so bored that he read every single book on the Pan Continent. We cannot compare to him in terms of knowledge." Saul smiled. "What could he do after he read so much? Golman spent 50 years creating a game so he could kill time. Hehehe, 50 years might be all the time we have in our lives."
"Game?" Anfey asked.
"It is new territory for us, but Golman only treated it as a game," Saul said quietly. "You only know Golman is a necromancer, but do not know his other professions. He is also an archalchemist, a philosopher, a bard, an astrologist and an amazing general who has never lost a battle."
"General? I never heard stories about Golman in battle," Anfey said.
"The strategic plan of this disaster of death spirits was made by Golman about a dozen years ago. Many people think we once again beat necromancers and are very close to victory. However, what is the truth?" Saul sighed. "In fact, Golman won. Death spirits are everywhere on the Pan Continent and troubled the whole Pan Continent as they took their time and built their base on Greenwich Island. Our king has sent spies there, but they could not even get close to Greenwich Island. The gloomy and chilly wind around the island only proves that it has become the paradise of the death spirits."
Anfey went quiet.
"We have to gather all the forces on the Pan Continent and attack them as soon as possible if we want to destroy the Paradise of Death Spirits. Unfortunately, although our king thinks so, other kings may not agree with him. Our king has sent people to find out what other kings think. They all think it is not a big deal to give death spirits a piece of land, and instead treated our empire as their biggest enemy," Saul said bitterly. "Necromancers used to find it hard to have their own place on Pan Continent. They had to hide all the time. Every time they started wars, they brought us disaster. If they could have a piece of land of their own on Pan Continent, their power could grow a lot stronger in a short period of time."
"If our king could show more of his sincerity, he might be able to win other kings' trust," Anfey said.
"Sincerity?" Saul shook his head. "We could not work with either Edward VIII in Shansa Empire or Philly II in Ellison Empire. They are very short-sighted. If our king shows them his sincerity, it would only give them a chance to stab us in the back."
Anfey went quiet again.
"It is our future problem. We do not have to talk about it now. Let's talk about Golman," Saul said slowly. "Golman spent 50 years making a magic badge. Once the magic badge was started, it could bring people into a world that was an illusion but also felt real, with no civilians, royals or churches. There are only warriors in that world, all kinds of warriors. For example, there are barbarians' Fanatical Warriors Legion and Griffin Aerial Units from Shansa Empire in that world. Golman finds it fun to enter that world. He led one legion to attack another one day, and the next day he could lead the losing team to attack the winning team. He even united legions to fight against other united legions. Hehehe, it is just a game to Golman, but it is such an accomplishment to us. He created his own world, even though it is an illusive world. Anfey, do you understand what I am talking about?"
"Isn't it like Internet…" Anfey was more than understanding it. He was familiar with that illusive world. Wasn't it an internet game? Anfey wondered.
"20 years ago, Baery met Golman. He entered that world with Golman's invitation." Saul sighed. "I heard from Baery that the terrain in that world is similar to Pan Continent's. It even has all kinds of cities. Baery chose Blackania City as his city. He had a fight with Golman to protect his city. Baery miserably lost his first battle. He thought it was because he was not familiar with that world. The soldiers he commanded were very dull. They did not think on their own or have good judgement. Baery had to command them with his telepathy, which Baery was not quite comfortable with. For the next dozen battles, Baery lost every one of them. Golman only commanded Griffin Aerial Unit to harass Baery but made him lose half of his team in the last battle."
"What does this have to do with Scarlet? Did…" Anfey suddenly realized something.
"You are right. Scarlet was Golman's student," Saul said slowly. "Scarlet has been living in such an illusive environment. She commanded troops on many more battles than Baery. In addition, Golman left Baery with such bad memories that Baery rarely talked about it, but we all know about it."
"Why didn't Master Baery kill Golman?" Anfey asked.
"When they first met, Golman covered his death spirit in a special way. He also changed his look. When Baery knew who he was later, Baery did not dare...actually no one dared to hurt a mage who knew disasterous forbidden spells. Don't forget, Golman practices Plague magic. The forbidden spells he releases could wipe out a country," Saul said bitterly. "Besides, Golman has gone against Minos I and stopped working for necromancers. The enemy of our enemy is our friend. In addition, everyone admires Golman for his wisdom. I do not want to admit it, but I have to. At least, Baery already admired Golman very much."
"I really do not know what to say. I killed Scarlet." Anfey smiled bitterly at Saul. "Would Golman…" Golman seemed to be the best of the three master necromancers, according to what Saul said. If Golman came to take revenge for Scarlet, Anfey could not imagine what would happen to him. He did not think he could fight against Golman at this point.
"No, he would not." Saul shook his head. "Golman claimed a long time ago that he would not be involved in any conflicts on Pan Continent. In fact, we have known about Scarlet for a long time. That was why we paid attention to her right away after her debut."
"For a long time?" Anfey asked.
"Yes. Golman told Baery that he recruited a girl as his student. She is the daughter of the Princess Regent of Shansa Empire. He also asked Baery to be careful and not lose any battle to his student." Saul was a little sentimental. "Do you know why our king took the risk of ruining his reputation to attack Princess Victoria?"
"Why?" Anfey asked.
"One reason was to see if Golman could keep his promise. Another reason was to cut off the protection of Scarlet. With Golman's instructions, Scarlet would definitely be a good general. Princess Victoria was very good with politics. If mother were in charge of politics while her daughter was a general, what do you think would happen?'
"What happened later?" Anfey asked.
"After Princess Victoria was killed, Scarlet cried to Golman to ask for his help, but Golman refused to help. Even though Golman had quite an ugly face, he always looked kind and nice. However, Golman acted very cold that time," Saul said quietly. "He said he only wanted to be a teacher passing down his knowledge. He did not want to be anyone's tool or weapon."
"Why did he choose Scarlet to be his student?" Anfey asked.
"Well, I do not know. Maybe he was influenced by astrology," Saul said.
"Professor, who else knows about Golman?" Anfey asked.
"This is top secret" Saul said quietly. "If the king did not give me permission to tell you, I would never talk to you about this. Golman has turned against Minos I. We not only have to bear with him, but also protect him. I think Edward VIII must know about it too, otherwise it would be hard to explain why he suddenly fully supported Scarlet."
"Does Golman only have one student?" Anfey asked.
"I think he has two students, at least two." Saul thought about it for a little bit. "Baery mentioned that Golman told him Scarlet only studied war strategies, while another kid learned his knowledge. Unfortunately, we will never find out who that student is if Golman does not want to talk about it."
Anfey went quiet for a while. "Professor, I think you think too highly of Scarlet."
"Oh?" Saul asked.
"You are right: that world is amazing, but illusion is illusion. The real world is more complicated than that world."
"Hehehe, the king holds the same idea as you. We have looked at the report of Scarlet's battle when she wiped out the rebels. She planned seamlessly. The fighting itself was very good as well. Baery said if it were him, he could have done no better than Scarlet. However, we did see the weakness of Scarlet recently. In other words, the weakness of Shansa Empire. Her coordination ability was not great. She did not have full control of the united legions. The trust and support she gained was very limited, otherwise she would not have had to force the border to open and enter the Country of Mercenaries with force. The most important thing is Shansa Empire is no match for us. They had to unite with others." Saul waved his hand and smiled. "Let's not talk about Scarlet. She is already history, isn't she?"