Everyone could feel the tension between Anfey and Nibison. Nibison swallowed and did not move. He wanted to strike first to establish himself as a force that could not be ignored. If he could overpower Anfey, he would be in control of the situation.
Nibison raised his sword, but before he could do anything, a bright flash of sword radiance struck his sword and shattered it. Nibison was only three paces away from Anfey, but Ernest was more than ten paces away. He managed to shatter Nibison’s sword with just one strike.
Nibison froze, ignoring the pain flaring from his wrist. Not only Nibison, but the other mercenaries were shocked as well. Nibison wasn’t very powerful, but he was still an intermediate swordsmaster. Only a master swordsman could instantly disable an intermediate swordsmaster like Nibison. How did someone like Anfey make a master swordsman work for him?
Nibison growled and lunged at Anfey.
Ernest returned his sword to its sheath. He knew Anfey well and wasn’t worried. If Nibison had a sword, Anfey would not be able to defeat him. However, Nibison was no match for Anfey when it came to hand-to-hand combat.
Anfey stood there, waiting for Nibison. He seems relaxed and did not raise his arm to defend himself. Nibison lunged, grabbing Anfey’s shoulders. As Nibison tightened his grips, Anfey stepped forward. The two were close enough that Nibison’s line of vision was blocked. Nibison stared at Anfey’s face, trying to decide what his next move would be.
Anfey looked at Nibison, then lifted his right knee and slammed it into Nibison’s jaw. The strike broke through Nibison’s combat power. Nibison gasped. His head was thrown back, his jawbone shattered. His eyes widened and his body curled up in pain.
As Nibison fell to the ground, Anfey lifted his leg and kicked the man again in the stomach.
Nibison flew backwards and crashed into the ground. He struggled to get up, spitting out blood and broken teeth.
Anfey jumped over, grabbed Nibison’s head, and slammed it into a table nearby. As Nibison’s body slammed into the table, the large, wooden structure broke with a loud crash. Blood splattered onto the nearby mercenaries. Nibison lay on the broken table, his body twitching a few times, then became still.
The mercenaries narrowed their eyes and stared at Anfey. They did not like him, but they did like their lives and were not planning on dying today.
Anfey took a few steps back and glanced at the mercenaries, trying to read their expression. He wiped a few drops of blood off of his face and clicked his tongue. He had no problem with killing, but he did not like the feeling of blood on him.
Alice found a small handkerchief and handed it to him. Anfey accepted it with a smile and wiped the blood from his hands. "Orsie, Tiger, are your men ready for battle?"
"Of course, my lord," Orsie said, pushing himself up from his chair.
"We’ve been waiting for this day," Tiger agreed.
"Good," Anfey said. "I’ll be waiting."
Orsie, Tiger, and Elizabeth all nodded to him and walked out of the room. Anfey glanced at the other mercenaries and frowned. "Are you just going to sit here?"
"Of course not," one of the mercenaries said, getting up.
The other mercenaries quickly followed suit. Within a few seconds, all the mercenaries were on their feet and clamoring.
"Good," Anfey said. "You’re eager to work. Don’t let me down."
The mercenaries streamed out of the room, eager to get away.
After all the mercenaries were gone, the focus of the room turned to Alice. She was wearing a white gown, clearly overdressed for a meeting with mercenaries.
"Do we need people following them?" Anfey asked.
"No," Alice said with a shrug. "No one likes Manlyn, I promise you that." Alice smiled. She was acting very natural, as if the entire room’s attention was not on her.
"Of course," Anfey said. "I trust your judgement."
Alice narrowed her eyes and glanced at Anfey, then she sighed and turned away. A few moments later, a large man in armor walked into the meeting room.
Anfey took a deep breath but did not say anything. He already knew that Kumaraghosha must have become an ally of Alice’s. They were both from Shansa Empire, and both had been betrayed by it. They had too much in common for them not to become friends. If Kumaraghosha did not serve Alice, he would not serve anyone else.
Kumaraghosha saw Anfey and frowned. Alice reached over and tugged at his shirt. Kumaraghosha sighed. "My lord," he said with a small nod.
"Are you not surprised?" Anfey asked.
Kumaraghosha shrugged. He wasn’t a bootlicker. Trying to ingratiate himself with Anfey would be going against his personality and his values. He had ability to lead but was not good at currying favor. If he was good at it, he at least would be a general by now, not abandoned and betrayed by his own nation.
He didn’t want to say anything and didn’t need to. After he left Shansa Empire, he headed straight to Moramatch. He wanted closure and knew he would get it there. After he met Alice, however, he realized that he had been wrong.
So what if he died at Moramatch? It wouldn’t make those who condemned him feel guilty. It wouldn’t bring punishment to Mintel. It wouldn’t clear his name. It would only make those who betrayed him glad that he would never be able to speak the truth.
If no one was willing to listen to his story, he would use his sword to show his enemies that they were wrong in condemning him. Revenge would be so sweet. If he manage to kill all those that had wronged him, he would be at peace. If he failed, he would die. But he did not care about death anymore.
It was Alice who talked some sense into Kumaraghosha. She managed to show him that now was not the time for revenge. He pledged himself to Alice, which led to him saluting Anfey. But he would not serve Anfey unless it was Alice’s command.
Anfey looked at the man for a few moments, then turned his eyes away. "Ozzic," he said. "Take your people to the prison. If they won’t let you in, force your way in."
"My lord, Shinbella…"
"I trust that she is smart enough to realize who am I once she gets the news of revolts in the city," Anfey said. "She won’t work against us."
"I’m asking what I should do if the guards use Shinbella as leverage," Ozzic said. He could tell that Anfey was interested in Shinbella and did not want anything to happen to her before he could talk to her.
"I wouldn’t worry about that," Anfey said. "Shinbella is the deputy leader of their mercenary group and is a senior swordsmaster. I doubt they would do anything to threaten her life."
"But what if?" Ozzic asked.
"Then I guess it was not meant to be," Anfey said.
Ozzic nodded. He stood and quickly left the room with his men.
"Alice," Anfey said. "Take me to Manlyn. I need to talk to him."
"Kumaraghosha can do that for you."
"No," Anfey said, shaking his head. "I need to go meet him myself."