"Master, did they notice us?" A young ranger looked scared and doubtful.
"They just stopped to take a break. We don't' have to wait anymore. We could attack them now," Anfey said in a low pitch.
"Now? They have mages," the young ranger said.
"Why are you talking so much? Just follow my order!" Robert said with a serious tone.
"Yes, sir." That young ranger suddenly realized that he only needed to follow the order. He jumped on the horse and rushed forward with his fellows.
The army was ready to take a break. They were not aware of anything unusual. However, the clip-clop sounds of horse steps on the ground could not be covered when the rangers rushed out of the grass. The army noticed the danger. All the soldiers moved to a center while over a dozen people flew to the sky. Obviously, those who flew to the sky were mages.
There were red lights flashing in the distance. A strong flare shot at a mage with fast speed and immediately left a hole in that mage's chest. There was another flare flying above them before they even figured out what had happened. The mages in the air suddenly realized what happened. They hurriedly released their magic shields. They immediately realized those magic shields would not be able to protect them. The third Firebird whooshed over and easily pierced through magic shields and hit another mage's head. That mage's head exploded like a smashed watermelon. His blood and flesh splattered everywhere. This scene stunned over 400 soldiers.
Even though Anfey could not release forbidden spells, the senior level magic he released with his super telepathy and strong control over elements was more terrifying than the intensified magic Archmage Michael could release.
The regular Firebird could be shot out as far as 1,500 feet. The range could reach to 3000 feet with intensified magic. Anfey was 4,500 feet away from the army. If Anfey used bombing magic, he would not be able to control the elements with such a long distance. It was easy for Anfey to control the elements around him to attack the target at a distance. His sensing ability allowed him to lock in anyone in a distance.
Mages flew down one after another. None of them wanted to be Anfey's target. However, this disaster was not finished yet. Another Firebird attacked the center of the army and created fires everywhere. Some mages laid on their stomach on the ground out of fear, but the Firebird still attacked them.
The soldiers from the Ellisen Empire thought the area north of Blackwater City would be safe, especially when they only needed to escort one criminal for this trip. There was no top power in this team so they could not fight against the Firebird at all. The whole team was almost crushed in the blink of an eye.
Rangers had already rushed close to the army. They had twenty rangers with them, much less people than the army, but more powerful than the soldiers all together from the Ellisen Empire.
About seven of the rangers were mages. They fearlessly flew into the sky and suddenly flew into different directions like a firework. Their mission was to stop and chase after the deserters. It sounded like a very hard mission to wipe out over 400 soldiers with only a little bit more than 20 people. However, with Anfey's help and a huge power difference between the two parties, it was not a difficult task. If they could not complete this task, they should feel ashamed of themselves.
When Anfey and Robert arrived, the battle had finished. The grass in an area with a radius of thousands of feet was dyed bloody red. The air was filled with the metallic smell of blood.
Anfey realized the ruthless and cruel side of rangers. It might be the style they inherited from their ancestor, Minos. It also could be the habit they developed over time to protect themselves. Rangers killed people no differently than killing chickens. They were ruthless killers.
Anfey remembered what happened in White Mountain City. A mercenary had reported to Ye that few young men killed all the mercenaries in his squad. It seemed that rangers had acted this way for a long time.
"Master, we found Darius, but he looks like he has lost his mind," a young ranger reported to Anfey with respect.
"Lost his mind?" Anfey raised one of his eyebrows.
The young ranger turned around and waved his hand. A man around sixty years old was pushed out. He was dressed very nice. He was a Grand Duke in a principality who showed his loyalty to the Ellisen Empire. At this moment, the Ellisen Empire did not need Grand Dukes anymore, but they still treated them decently. The old man had the manners of people in high positions. He was very clean and tidy. One could tell that he must have been a very handsome man when he had been young. However, at this moment, there was a dull and absent look on his face. He looked slightly up at the sky as he sang some unknown folk song. He didn't seem to hear it when the rangers talked to him. He would just shake a bit with some giggles when he was pushed.
"If he is already crazy, he will be of no use for us. Kill him," Anfey said casually.
The young ranger pulled his sword out and thrusted it backhanded at Darius's chest.
Darius looked scared when he saw Anfey's group was very decisive and could kill anyone they wanted to. He suddenly screamed, "Wait, please, master."
The ranger's sword went up a bit and slid over Darius's shoulder, leaving a bloody cut there. Darius screamed in pain as he covered the cut with his hand.
"Be quiet!" Anfey said slowly. "Are you Darius?"
"Yes, yes." Darius bent down with fears. He almost kneeled in front of Anfey.
"How does it feel being betrayed by the Ellisen Empire while you have showed your loyalty to them? It must not feel good, does it?" Anfey asked sarcastically.
Darius did not know how to respond to Anfey's questions. He was afraid of aggravating Anfey so he kept quiet with an almost-crying face. In fact, he was quite confused. Anfey's group killed the soldiers escorting him. They should be coming to save him, but they did not look like they were here to save him.
"I heard once when you were drunk, you told some of your maids that you wanted to build a city of beauties and to have all the young girls in the principality live in your city. A maid suggested you kill all the men in the principality so you would not have to build a city of beauties. You praised her for her good idea. Did you do it?" Anfey asked.
"Master, I said those words when I was drunk. It's all bullsh*t," Darius said.
"I just asked you whether you said so." Anfey said.
"Yes, sir," Darius answered obediently.
"I heard you cut off a maid's legs and froze them in the icing kekkai only because you thought she had beautiful feet. You said her beauty would not fade as time went by. Did you did do it?" Anfey asked.
"Yes." Darius was more scared. He felt Anfey's group was here to take revenge for some innocent victim. The things Anfey asked about were quite well-known in the city so he could not deny them.
"The law of having girls give their virginity to kings was abolished a thousand year ago, but you enforce it again with force in your principality. You ordered the newly wed civilian couples to send the bride to your palace to take her virginity. There were more girls than you could enjoy so you spared some for your officials and hatch men. Did you do it?" Anfey asked.
"Yes," Darius answered.
"It's great that you are being honest with me. As long as you are honest, I will not hurt you." Anfey smiled. "I do not mean to insult you. What I am saying is meant to remind you what an a**hole you are."
Darius did not look like Darius anymore. He looked more like a beggar, begging for mercy from Anfey. He stared up at Anfey.
Anfey took out a scroll from his Dimensional ring and opened it in front of Darius. Anfey asked casually, "Do you know this woman?"
Darius took a close look at the paint and answered in a low pitch, "No, I do not know her."
The painting was Suzanna. Even though Darius hid it very well, the faster heart beats, the changes in his pores and in his eyes proved he knew Suzanna. He had to deny it for some reason.
"You are lying," Anfey said coldly.
"Master, I really do not know her," Darius yelled at the top of his voice. After he had been caught by the Ellisen Empire, he had been lectured a lot to persuade Anfey into surrendering to the Ellisen Empire. He had denied that Suzanna was his daughter, but he didn't even remember what she looked like anyway.
Anfey lifted his chin a bit. Two rangers pressed Darius to the ground. One of the rangers pulled the sword out backhanded. Anfey sighed quietly. The qualities of the rangers were in wide ranges. If it were Ye, he would not act this way. Ye would kill him if Anfey asked so. He would not press Darius on the ground like the ranger had.
"Master, killing me won't make me know her. I really do not know her," Darius complained. In fact, what he insisted had nothing to do with humanity or righteousness. He did it for himself. He had built so much hatred since he fell from powerful Darius into a criminal. When others bluffed, threatened him, they always mentioned Anfey and Suzanna. He got to know from their conversations that Suzanna had married Anfey and had accomplished a lot with Anfey. It would not do any good to him to hurt Suzanna. She was his last straw. If Suzanna went down, he would lose all his value and usage. He could picture what his life would be if that happened. If he could hold on until the end, even if he was tortured to death, at least he still got a person to take revenge for him.
Anfey quietly looked at Darius. It was a test for Darius. If Darius did not pass it, Anfey would kill him even though it might make Suzanna angry at him. It looked like Darius was not stupid.
"Robert," Anfey said slowly, "can you take him to your place. I will make arrangements for him later."
"Master, I think we'd better…" Robert tried to convince Anfey to kill Darius.
"Follow my order," Anfey said.