Anfey and Hui Wei were walking together and chatting about something. However, Hui Wei's mind did not appear to be on the subject they were talking about. Noticing this, Anfey frowned and asked, "Is something wrong? You've been acting strange lately."
"I…" Hui Wei sighed and said, "there is something…"
Before he could finish, Robert appeared and nodded at both of them. "I'll tell you later," Hui Wei said. He glanced at Robert and continued, "I have to go."
Anfey nodded. He was curious, but he did not want to push Hui Wei. Hui Wei nodded and left in a hurry.
"I hope I didn't interrupt anything," Robert said, looking at Hui Wei.
"Don't worry about it. How are things going?"
"Everything is prepared," Robert said.
"And the news?"
"Yes, sir," Robert said. "But…something went awry."
"What is it?"
"One of the children was killed before they could do anything," Robert said. "He didn't even get to draw his sword."
"You mean it's Kamlin's work."
"I must be," Robert said with a nod. "Judging from his wounds, Kamlin must have tortured him for information. He died of a shattered skull. As if something had squeezed his skull so hard that it just shattered."
Anfey stopped and frowned. He knew how strong human bones were and how hard it must be to shatter someone's skull.
"The child is one of mine and knew about the plan. If Kamlin was behind it, he may already know where his daughters are now."
"Will your men talk?"
"I have faith in them," Robert said. "They won't say anything."
"Where did this happen?"
"About fifty miles east of here," Robert said. "Some of the children were wearing common armor, some were dressed up as merchants, some were wearing the League's badges. Only those who were wearing badges were attacked."
"When did this happen?"
"Around sundown."
"Sundown? How did you get back so fast?"
"I asked for help from the druids," Robert said with a smile.
"Then Kamlin must be close by," Anfey said with a frown. He expanded his mind and began searching through the city. His mind was very powerful, but in a place like Moonlight City, he would still grow tired very fast. He knew his limits, and although he tried to comb through the city thoroughly, but he did not notice anything strange.
"Kamlin's goal is to save his daughters. He won't do anything before he finds them," Anfey said. "Just in case he wants his own hostages, we still need to prepare ourselves. Tell Suzanna to stay with Alice for the night. Send Shinbela and Anthony to protect the mages, and declare a curfew. No one can be in the streets except for the patrols."
Robert nodded. He turned and waved his hand. Two men appeared, and he whispered a few orders to them. The two men nodded and disappeared again.
"Thankfully Niya and Shalley are with Master Saul," Anfey said, glancing at the sky.
"Kamlin exceeds our expectations," Robert said. "We have an image of him, and I had asked Lord Kumaraghosha to keep an eye out for him. I didn't expect him to be able to get so close to the city. He must have left Diamond City earlier than we had expected."
"Let him come," Anfey said. "I'm prepared."
"We still cannot underestimate him, sir," Robert said. "Should I…"
"Don't worry," Anfey said. "Suzanna and I can take care of it. Plus, Anthony is still here. There is no way Kamlin can take on so many people at once." He paused, then added quickly, "I'm going to greet Andrea tomorrow when he arrives."
Robert nodded. By the time Anfey rounded the corner, Robert had already disappeared again.
Anfey walked into the yard of a small building and saw that Ye was already waiting for him.
"Sir," Ye called, when he saw Anfey.
"Did you find out anything useful?"
Ye shook his head. "She's a tough one. I haven't gotten anything particularly useful so far."
"Take me to her."
Ye nodded. "Sir, pardon my intrusion, but… I think handing her off to Edy is our best bet."
"It's still too early for that," Anfey said, shaking his head.
"What if we change our plan?"
"What are you thinking?"
"If we release her, she will surely go find help. If we follow her with the Eye of the Sky, we can find out who she is meeting with."
"I don't think she will fall for that," Anfey said. "Julie is close with Wester. She is likely the handler of all of his spies. She is too smart for that."
Ye frowned but nodded. He led Anfey into a room in the small building. Inside, Julie was tied to the wooden post, guarded by four mercenaries. Seeing Anfey, she quickly lowered her eyes to the ground.
Anfey sat down on a chair and stared at her. Her hair was messy and her clothes were in tatters, but she had almost no blood on her. Clearly, Ye had followed Anfey's order and not tortured her.
Julie looked confused at first, but after a few minutes of silence, found herself staring into Anfey's eyes.
"You already know me, don't you?" Anfey said.
"I don't know what you mean, sir," she whispered.
"You're not worth my time," Anfey said, shaking his head. "I came to ask you one question and one question only. Do not try to fool me."
Julie bit her lip and lowered her eyes.
"I don't want to do this to you," Anfey said. "Because I know. I remember. You saved my life once."
"I really don't…" Julie stuttered.
"I see," Anfey said. He stood and walked over to Julie, who straightened herself to look at him.
"Back then, we were weak and vulnerable. You don't want to work with us because you still see us as children." He grabbed a mercenary's sword and stabbed Julie through the arm with it. "I'm here to tell you that you're wrong." He thrust the sword, sending it through her other arm, nailing her two arms behind her. Julie's chest heaved with pain, but she still did not say anything.
Anfey grabbed her shoulder. "Listen," he said, staring into her eyes. "I don't care if you saved me once. If you try to hurt people I care about, if you try to hurt my family, I will make you regret ever being born."