Chapter 337: Insult? Be Grateful!
Chapter 337: Insult? Be Grateful!
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
There were over a dozen of mercenary group commanders gathering in a big room in the center of Moramatch. They were discussing something. Facing the threat of death spirits, they had to develop specific rules, procedures and plans for possible battles. For example, they needed to figure out who would be organizing all the mercenaries and giving out instructions. It definitely would not work if they still wanted to fight as a mercenary group when they were in danger, because they were not just facing death spirits, but also a terrifying army.
The most important issue was to organize all the mages in different mercenary groups into a powerful mage group, so they could powerful attack, provide support, and advance. Most commanders realized it was necessary to make changes, otherwise Moramatch would not hold out another few days. In the conflict between their personal interests and national interests, they were not so sure what to do. The leader of the mage group would definitely not be any of them. Manlyn would take that role, but those commanders were not willing to give up their interests.
Very few people in history had been able to give up their own benefits for the national interest, so similar meetings had been held many times, but nothing was achieved. Manlyn had been aggressive at the conference, but he had to hold his temper and force himself to put up with something he did not want to do on these sensitive issues, otherwise he could have a riot.
Alice sat back on the main chair. She played with a little knife with an almost unnoticeable smile. Sometimes she looked like she was smirking, but when they took a closer look, there was no smirk on her face. When they turned away, they could sense those smirks coming back to Alice’s face. This uncertainty made Alice even more mysterious. These mercenary group commanders were cautious with Alice, since they were newbies in Moramatch and had no idea how much power Alice had.
At the conference, Alice rarely gave her opinions. Maybe because of her attitude, the commanders were able to drag out the meeting. Unfortunately, Alice seemed like she only cared about showing off her sweetness and beauty, to the point where she appeared to show zero interest in the meeting, even when Moramatch was in serious danger.
A guy was walking around the round table, giving a passionate speech, but it was not Manlyn. Manlyn knew he could not push it too hard. When Moramatch was in danger again, it would be the best time to discuss who could lead the mage group. He was tired of wasting time at the conference, so he had only sent his assistant here.
Manlyn had previously said everything he wanted to say. The new vice commander of Jagged Roses mercenary group, Nibison, turned and looked helplessly at Alice. He wished to get some help from Alice, but he also knew Alice would not give him any help. After the first conference with the commanders in other mercenary groups to call for a change, Manlyn had asked for Alice’s help. Alice only casually told him that it would be too disappointing if he was not even able to handle a conference. After that, Master Manlyn never asked Lady Alice again for help. He would rather get to where he wanted slower instead of having Lady Alice look down upon him.
It was getting dark. A gnome walked in and lit up the candles on both sides of the room. The gnome must have felt that it was not bright enough. He pulled the gadget on the wall. The magic Ever-Lasting light on the roof lit up. A warm white light rid the room of its gloomy feeling.
Alice’s face became rigid for a second but turned to look sweet again, like nothing had happened. Only the most observant people could notice the tips of her fingers turning pale as she gripped the knife tighter.
Alice had an amazing memory. To better control Moramatch, she had made a series of complicated codes. She liked to leave the signals at the most obvious places. Giving looks, clearing her throat, whispering, passing pieces of paper were too simple and could cause trouble. The codes Alice created allowed everyone to see, but they would have no idea that she was sending coded messages. They would not be able to find anything wrong with what they saw. Even when she took a walk in Moramatch, a gnome or dwarf quickly walking by could pass her enough information. Alice was far from knowing about everything that happened in the world, but she indeed could know everything in Moramatch.
The magic Ever-Lasting light was a signal light. The one big light in the center with eight lights on the sides all meant something different when it was lit up. Some meant a new mercenary group came to Moramatch, some meant there was a conflict in the town, and some meant Alice needed to do something in person. This time, the big light in the center of the room was lit up. It had never been lit up since it was installed.
"What are you hesitating for?" Nibison yelled. "Are you guys going to wake up only after seeing blood?" He could not help yelling at them. These guys had been quiet for too long. They were so annoying. Next time death spirits attacked Moramatch, he would not mind feeding them to the death spirits.
Suddenly, there was someone yelling, "Who are you? You…" Suddenly they could not hear that person’s voice anymore.
The door was pushed open. Anfey walked in with Suzanna next to him. A group of people slowly walked in. The smile on Alice’s face got even bigger and more beautiful. She stood up elegantly, lifting her dress with her hands and bowing to Anfey. She looked like the humblest maid meeting her the most admirable master.
The commander of Warflame Mercenary group, Orsie, the commander of Wuming Mercenary group, Tiger, and Elizabeth were all shocked for a moment before they all stood up and bowed to Anfey. This sent the commanders of other mercenary groups into chaos. They stood up and greeted Anfey as well.
It was hard to have a person standing alone to show any leadership. The red roses needed the green leaves as background. Rainbows needed the blue sky as background. With enough followers, a stupid person could receive a lot of respect, even though it could be an illusion. However, Anfey did get it.
At that moment, Anfey not only received attention in the conference room, but also respect from Alice, Orsie, Tiger and other influential commanders of mercenary groups. Anfey looked powerful. His poker face made him look very sophisticated. Whether or not they knew Anfey, they all looked at him.
Anfey walked around the round table, as Alice had motioned to him to take her seat. Anfey smiled and slowly sat down. "Everyone, please take a seat."
"Thank you, master."
"Thank you, master."
The first thank you was from Orsie, Tiger and Elizabeth together, while the rest of the commanders followed them and said the second thank you. Going along with the crowd should not be criticized, because that was a move of self-protection. It was usually safe to be on the side of the majority.
"Alice, you have done a lot," Anfey said calmly. It was not easy to understand what he really meant from his opening speech.
"Thank you for your compliment. It was my honor." Alice had a really sweet smile on her face. She looked even more beautiful.
"We will talk later." Anfey laid his eyes on Nibison, who had stayed still for a while. "Is he Manlyn?"
"Master Manlyn is still in his room, resting. This is the vice commander of Jagged Roses mercenary group, Master Nibison," Alice said.
Nibison’s head was spinning. He thought this unexpected guest should be Anfey, but it could not be Anfey. With the information they had, Anfey did not know Orsie and other mercenary group commanders well. Even if the commander of No. 1 mercenary group, Anthony, came, he would not cause such a scene. Who the hell was this guy? The only thing that made him feel relieved was that Lady Alice was still polite to them. Maybe things were not as bad as he thought.
"Are you Nibison? Please take a seat." Anfey pointed at a chair.
"You are…" Nibison said slowly. He sounded polite.
"My name is Anfey," Anfey answered directly.
Nibison’s face became rigid for a second. He started to look very aggressive, even fierce. He took a deep breath. "Master, we are in a meeting now. I hope you could wait outside for a while. That way you would not disturb our meeting."
Nibison knew his excuses were ridiculous, but he had no other excuses to press on Anfey. This was exactly what he did not want to see happen. He did not get why Orsie and others showed so much respect to Anfey. He had been assistant to Manlyn for a while and was very experienced in this kind of occasions. He knew he could not look weak in front of Anfey, otherwise he would not have any control of Anfey later on.
"Alice, do I have the right to be in this meeting?" Anfey smiled.
"You are the real master of Moramatch. You can be anywhere you want, even in my bedroom," Alice said respectfully.
"Did you hear that?" Anfey casted a sidelong glance at Nibison.
"Lady Alice, can you give me an explanation?" Nibison had fire in his eyes. He stared at Alice with anger. Anfey’s appearance did not hit him that hard, but Alice’s attitude did. What Commander Manlyn did was nothing to her. She was a liar.
"You are very funny. If Alice has to explain, she is explaining to me. Who do you think you are?" Anfey looked mad.
"Master, are you insulting me now?" Nibison fearlessly moved one step forward as he stared at Anfey. He heard Anfey was just a paladin and did not have much fighting power. If something bad happened, he was pretty sure he could beat Anfey. However, he forgot one thing, that is, the source of his information.
"If I only want to insult you, you should be grateful. Unfortunately…" Anfey showed his intention to kill him already.