Baery led the Roaring Death Legion and the Shield of Light Legion away from the battle and Scarlet took her army into the Transverse Mountains. The two were observing each other carefully.
Scarlet was a very smart and calculating woman. She sent out all the griffin knights as scouts and had them patrol the area nonstop. No matter what Baery tried to do, the griffin knights were alert. Scarlet knew the mercenaries were up to something, but her most important task right now was the finish off Baery.
The League relaxed after learning that Scarlet had entered the Transverse Mountains with her army. The mercenaries returned to Zagreen City to wait for further orders.
In the past, Anfey never really understood how powerful Saul was. When he lived with Saul, he did not see Saul engage in any of the activities the other nobles engaged in, like having a large number of guards.
This time, he quickly learned what it really meant to have Saul's position. All the mages Saul brought with him were at least senior magisters, some were very close to becoming top level powers themselves. Without strength, no one could endure the strict training and fulfill the requirement to become a court mage. For a mage, becoming a royal mage was the highest honor. By becoming a court mage, a mage could even further improve his or her skills because working for the king could provide resources unaccessible otherwise.
Like the way Entos was known among the mercenaries, all the court mages were well-known figures before they started working for Yolanther.
The League's mages all looked up to the court mages. They wanted to speak with the court mages, but did not want to offend anyone.
Despite how strong they were, the court mages were all very respectful towards Saul. This was just another way to show how well-loved and powerful Saul was.
It was no wonder the mage's union rejected Phillip's request for aid after Saul's students fled Scared City. Phillip was powerful among the soldiers and the sword masters, but not the mages. No sensible mage would work against Saul. Dalmatian and Shawn's betrayal showed that even Phillip's closest students were abandoning him. He was losing power and could no longer stand against Saul.
Students were taught to respect and listen to their teacher, but they were also taught to have a mind of their own. Blindly following orders was foolish and was cautioned against. Anfey was in the wrong when he killed Zeda, but Zeda was not innocent either. It was Zeda who first forced his way into Saul's residence and tried to harm Saul's daughter, Niya.
Unlike Phillip, Saul would never show off anything in front of his students. Whenever he dined with his students, he would always act like their friends, not their mentor.
After the meal, the servants removed the empty dishes and left the room to allow them to talk more.
"Christian," Saul said. "How are you lately? How are your studies?" Saul treated all of his students equally, but he paid more attention to the ones that were further ahead.
Christian shook his head. "I'm used to them," he said. "I try to meditate whenever I can and I've learned a lot from actually using magic in real life."
Saul nodded. "Good," he said. "You are all very talented and should work harder. Look at Anfey. He started late, but he's now the best out of all of you."
"You can't compare us with him, Master Saul," Blavi complained. "He's different."
The other students laughed and agreed with him. In the past, the constant threat had made all the young mages too tense and too anxious for jokes. Now that Saul was here, the young mages had found a reason to relax.
Anfey's advances in magic had happened so fast that there were only a few other people like him in the entire history of the world. Asking common mages to follow his example was asking way too much.
"I don't think it's just his talent," Christian said. "We can't have his talent, but we can learn his level-headedness. He never lets his emotions get in the way of his thinking. Remember how we reacted to those two sisters? Remember how he reacted?"
The young mages all fell quiet. It wasn't just Christian. Everyone remembered the two sisters.
"What about the sisters?" Saul asked.
Christian quickly recounted the event to Saul. After listening to the tale, Saul smiled and glanced at Christian.
Most people did not know who Yolanther would have picked as his successor and that included Saul. However, Saul knew what kind of people Yolanther would have wanted to be in charge.
When Yolanther first took the throne, he tried to take power away from the nobilities and give power to the commoners. However, the noble class had been in power for too long and it was almost impossible to weaken it significantly. Yolanther always tried the best he could to maintain a balance between the power of the nobles and the power of the people.
Yolanther did not want a successor who would erase all of his hard work. He was less likely to choose a successor who was too entangled with the nobilities.
Saul knew Yolanther's sons well. Wester was a sly man who had tried to garner as much power as possible without his father noticing. When Yolanther faked his death, Wester tried to befriend as many nobles as possible. Despite having good connections in Sacred City, he was the least likely candidate for the throne.
Grandon was once the most likely candidate. However, he had been showing off too much lately and that made Yolanther very uncomfortable.
That left Christian, who had been out of the fight for the throne since the beginning. Christian did not like the nobles and was an experienced leader. However, Christian did not want to sit on the throne. Saul knew Christian would be a good king, but he couldn't do anything. Yolanther wouldn't allow anyone to interfere with his decision-making. If Saul suggested he pick Christian, it would only lessen the possibility of Christian being picked.
Saul sighed and turned to Anfey. He needed to take his mind off of the topic of Yolanther's successor. "Tell me something," he said. "I want to know more about how you are able to attract elements."