Jesse walked up with an ingratiating smile. "Sante, how was the taste of the Red Spirit?"
Sante tilted his head and looked at Jesse. He remained silent, then slowly leaned against the side of the ship, raised the bottle in his hand, and took another sip.
"This guy can drink," Jesse thought to himself. He walked towards Sante and sat down next to him, also against the side of the ship. He looked up to the sky and let out a sigh. "What a beautiful night! Ugh… I have been so busy running around for money. I don't even remember the last time I enjoyed the night view like this."
Sante tilted his head again and fixed his gaze on Jesse, as if Jesse was more attractive than the night. After a little while, Sante tossed the bottle onto the deck and muttered, "Are you ready?"
Jesse felt a burst of pain when Sante dropped the bottle. "That was a crystal bottle! Are you paying for it if you break it?!" Then he heard Sante's words and paused for a moment. "Ready for what?" Jesse didn't notice that what came out of the bottle was clear water, not the glowing Red Spirit!
Sante responded to Jesse with action. He waved his hand, and a small fireball suddenly shot at Jesse's face. They were very close to each other. As Jesse was only a smart businessman, there was no chance he could dodge away. Jesse screeched and fell to the ground, clutching his face.
A small fireball was one of the lowest levels of magic and was hardly fatal. Although Sante was a senior mage, the small fireball he released was still barely destructive. Jesse was only slightly injured. If Sante had stopped right there, Jesse would at most became blind. Unfortunately, he did not want to let Jesse go. He waved his right hand and another small fireball hit Jesse's chest. Jesse rolled over miserably as he screamed in pain. His shrill cries could be heard even miles away.
Some fast footsteps approached from the gangway. Several bodyguards rushed out with weapons. Sante let out a brittle laugh and cast a spell. A rotating, flaming broadsword flew straight toward the bodyguards. Another two members from the first group dashed over to Sante's side, and more and more lightning arrows targeted their enemies.
Sante was the second person, after Zubin, to learn the truth. He had been waiting for a long time! The enemies were so weak that he didn't even bother to use mid-level magic to fight them.
Four bodyguards at the front were all knocked down in a flash. One of their chests was cut open, exposing burned organs. The rest of them didn't fare much better. They were all crawling in pain, like dying worms being stepped on.
"Retreat! We've still got hostages! Quick!" A businessman yelled out, realizing that things were not going well.
All of a sudden, the businessmen and their bodyguards all turned around and charged down the gangway.
Sante sneered and stayed put. "Still thinking about the hostages, huh? The guy downstairs is the best fighter in our group."
"Pop…" The last bodyguard stared at his chest, where a sword tip had pierced through abruptly. Then, without support, he fell. Anfey pulled out his sword, rubbed off the blood on the bodyguard's clothes, and then put it back in its sheath.
"Anfey, quick! A bodyguard might be looking for Miss Niya." Zubin was worried.
"Hands!"
Zubin lifted up his butt and raised his hands that were tied together behind him. Anfey swung his sword, untying the ropes. He then sprinted to the dining room's side door.
Everything has two sides, so indulgence does as well. Because of his indulgence in magic, Saul was able to achieve brilliant accomplishments. However, indulgence could also bring destruction at times.
The bodyguard was now deeply indulging in Niya. He ignored the noises and even the screams from the deck when Anfey opened the door. He was slightly bent over, and his trembling hands were reaching under Niya's shirt, moving up and down.
Meanwhile, Niya's cheeks were bright red due to the alcohol. She shook her head, showing her rejection of the harassment, but she was too drunk to wake up.
"Feels good?" Anfey softly whispered in the bodyguard's ear.
"Ah…" The bodyguard was shocked, and his mouth wide open. Anfey could even see his shaking tonsil.
"Ah!" The bodyguard shrieked after he realized that the person in front of him was Anfey. He tried to grab the iron bar by the bed as he moved backwards. Well, it just so happened that he tripped over Niya's body and sat on her.
At this time, Niya was almost awake. The bodyguard was quite rough when he touched her, making her very uncomfortable. She then heard a piercing scream and subsequently felt herself being sat on. She finally opened her eyes.
The bedding was lifted to the side and her shirt was open at the chest, revealing her beautiful snowy breasts. It was too obvious what had happened. Niya cried out immediately and punched the bodyguard's left cheek.
Anfey's sword was drawn out like a snake, going straight for the bodyguard's neck and leaving a wound. Anfey grabbed the bodyguard's hair and pulled him out of bed.
Even a worm would turn at this time. The bodyguard struggled to get up to fight, but Anfey kicked him in the head so heavily and quickly that his neck twisted. The wound in his neck burst open upon Anfey's intentional destruction. Blood spurted out like a spring.
Anfey was always thorough. In his mind, Niya was like a delicate flower growing up in a greenhouse. She was now taken advantage of. With the bed covered with blood, Niya would never forget the nightmare that had happened today.
Seeing that the bodyguard was taken down, Niya grabbed some bedding to cover up and sobbed softly. This might not be an issue for someone else, but it was really a big deal for Niya. She had been seeing Granden for such a long time, and he had only touched her hands. Today, she almost lost her virginity. If Anfey hadn't arrived in time, she couldn't imagine what would've happened. Niya felt even more devastated after thinking about it.
Anfey pulled out the sheet from Niya's bed and covered the corpse. "Miss Niya, please hide here for now and do not leave."
Niya kept weeping without nodding or shaking her head.
At the same time, members in each group were losing their minds out of anger and remorse. They all released their magic power at the same time. A few businessmen and bodyguards managed to retreat back to the dining room, and unfortunately got hit there. All of a sudden, their bodies were covered with all kinds of elements. The battle was finished in no time.
When Anfey returned to the dining room, Christian was using water magic to put out the fire. Riska had just released a big, explosive fireball that was extremely hot. He killed who he wanted to kill, but that big fireball caused a small fire to break out on the deck.
Christian came up when he saw Anfey. He was embarrassed. "Anfey, we…" Christian was speechless. The truth was, if he had agreed with Anfey's plan and made some precautionary arrangements, things wouldn't have turned out this bad.
Without any pause, Anfey proceeded straight up to the student who was pierced by the harpoon. He leaned over to check his breath and then shook his head. "He's gone."
"Anfey, this is all our—"
Anfey interrupted him. "It already happened. Now is not the time to point fingers." He then walked over to Arrago, checking on him. "How about you? Can you stand up?"
"Looks like… my bones are broken." Arrago clenched his teeth in pain. Unfortunately, the bodyguards beat him up to show his group. He was bleeding heavily, and his calf was injured by a sword.
"Well, it is good that you are alive. We are… better than him." Anfey gasped at the student's body.
Sorrow spread on everyone's face. The most impacted one was Blavi. Charles, a member from his group, had lost his life. Before today, none of them had thought that some businessmen could pose a threat to them because of their magic. However, the cold body and their fellows' unwilling looks laughed at their arrogance.
Suddenly, one student called out, "Anfey, you were hiding here a long time ago. Why didn't you take action sooner? Had you started fighting back earlier, Charles would have lived."
"Bullshit!" A spurt of anger flashed through Anfey. "You were all trapped. How could I save him? Was I able to kill them all at the same time? What if they held you as hostages against me, then? I am telling you now, if I didn't take action before thinking it through, more members would have died!"
"Before you accused me, why didn't you ask yourself what right you have to blame me? At least I saved most of the people. What about you? What did you do? From the beginning to the end, what have you done? When I came out of the barrel, you stupid people all stared at me. Are you trying to alert the enemy? Stupid! Had Christian not drawn their attention in time, we would have had more injuries and death!"
"Why is it my job to save you? I am about the same age as you. I do not have combat power and only possess very little magic, yet I was able to protect myself. But what about you? Such a baby! I saved you… and now you are blaming me for saving you too late? You really are a great mage!"
"During the day, I proposed a plan. Who vetoed it? It was all of you! If someone has to take responsibility, it still has to be all of you!"
Everyone was stumped by Anfey's rhetorical questions and remained tongue-tied. They were regretful, especially the person who had questioned Anfey. His head was hanging below his chest, and he couldn't even look straight into Anfey's eyes anymore.
"Anfey, we were wrong," Christian murmured.
"I have to think twice now," Anfey reprimanded. "I don't need naive babies. I need companions! Companions who can't be trusted are far more dangerous than enemies. Do you know why? In the battlefield, the enemies won't have my back, but you will, and I have to rely on you! Being naive will not only doom yourself, but also the ones who trust you."