Chapter 355: The First Victory
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Not long after, Ernest and Entos walked into Moramatch together. To show respect for Ernest, Entos walked a little slower so he would be behind Ernest. At the same time, Ernest thought highly of Entos and occasionally talked quietly with him. He looked casual and did not take a posture of higher status. In fact, they were about the same age. Yet Entos was Saul’s student, so he was ranked lower than Ernest.
Entos felt amazed by what he saw as he looked around Moramatch. The town used to be Band of Brother mercenary group’s territory. Anfey had rented it from Band of Brother mercenary group. Entos had some memory of this notorious town. It seemed that Anfey had many capable people working for him. That was why they could build Moramatch into such a fort in a brief of time.
Entos and Commander Marino had made an agreement to break the unfair contract between Anfey and the Band of Brother mercenary group. They wanted to just give this town to Anfey. When Anfey and Band of Brother mercenary group signed the contract, Entos had just left the Country of Mercenaries, while Marino had never heard of Anfey. Word of this contract had been kept from Entos and Marino. In fact, such a lease would not have troubled them anyway. Of course, they would definitely investigate to find out who had done that to Anfey. Entos could not bear anything unjust.
“Bro Entos!” Christian walked up to Entos with a smile. He had dozens of mages behind him. Most mages looked respectful. After seeing the intense fight between Entos and the Bone Nymphs, no one dared to underestimate this enigmatic mage.
“Your majesty!” Entos bowed and responded respectfully.
“Bro Entos, what are you doing?” Christian hurried over and held Entos up. He looked a little awkward. It might be because Entos grew up in a big family and disliked the complicated courtesies. He preferred that everyone felt comfortable with each other and built their bonds together, at least among his peers.
“Your Majesty, where is Anfey?” Entos asked with a smile.
“He has been waiting for you in the conference room. Let’s go find him. I will show you the way,” Christian said.
Christian walked with Entos to the conference room. As they walked some distance, the mages were still in shock. They started to whisper to each other. They did not think their commander could be a prince.
The isolated Town of Moramatch had developed into a society. As a society, there were different social positions in it. Most people in high positions from different areas had come to Moramatch. They did not feel good about being isolated in this small town and all hoped to receive message from the outside world.
Entos slowly took a seat Anfey had saved for him. Entos scanned the conference room. He was a little shocked when he saw Alice. He could not help raising his eyebrows when he saw Shinbella. He finally laid his eyes on Anfey. Any young senior swordsman would be valuable in any group. It was not long since Anfey left Blackania City. How could he recruit another senior swordswoman? If Anfey’s group continued to develop with this speed, in ten or twenty years in the Country of Mercenaries, those four super mercenary groups could possibly disappear.
“Bro Entos, did you see Long and Ling?” Anfey asked.
“Who are they?” Entos responded in surprise.
“They are actually the Shadow mercenary group. I sent them to Blackania City to ask for help,” Anfey slowly answered. He knew Entos would be surprised.
“Is Shadow mercenary group working for you now?” Entos felt a little helpless. Of course, Entos knew about Shadow mercenary group. Band of Brothers mercenary group tried to get in touch with Shadow mercenary group but did not even see who they were.
“Not really working for me. We gather here to work together to get through this difficul time. Entos, you are here for…?” Anfey asked in a low voice.
“It’s a long story,” Entos sighed. “You know necromancers attacked Tumen Commercial Union, don’t you?”
“Yes,” Anfey said.
“With the great leadership of King Yolanthe, Vice General Miorich led a group of palace guards into Scared City to help Tumen Commercial Union and pushed all the death spirits under the sea.”
“It is not possible,” Alice could not help yelling out. No one in the conference room knew more than her about the countries on Pan Continent. Every country had its own information agency. Alice had many contacts in these agencies. As far as she remembered, Tumen Commercial Union was very weak militarily and totally relied on Maho Empire. They did not even have their own military. Of course, Maho Empire did not allow them to build their military anyway. When necromancers posed threats on Pan Continent, flame strategy had been used in half of the continent. Even Ellisen Empire and Shansa Empire were in passive positions. It was not possible that Tumen Commercial Union had been the first country to defeat death spirits, even with the help of palace guards from Maho Empire.
“Not possible?” Entos gave Alice a long look. He said with a smile, “It’s not only you guys who are surprised, but also our king. After their victory, the king commented that Tumen Commercial Union did a wonderful job with political reforms. Maho Empire still has strong control over Tumen Commercial Union, but they overcame many disadvantages. They did a wonderful job helping civilians gain wealth and empowering them.”
Ozzic and others did not understand what Entos said. Perhaps only Anfey and Alice could understand the main idea of what Entos said in the conference room.
“You do not get it? Let me put it this way,” Entos said with a chuckle. “Anfey, you have stayed in Sacred City for a while. Is Sacred Ctiy busy and prosperous? Do you know how many wagon Sacred City has?”
“How could I know?” Anfey shook his head.
“Every 37 people owns a wagon and every 11 people owns a horse in Sacred City. Tumen Commercial Union is a very populated country. Every four people owns a wagon, which means every household has a wagon, and everyone owns a horse in Tumen Commercial Union,” Entos said.
“How could they have so many horses?” Ozzic asked in surprise.
“Because they have money,” Entos emphasized. “Think about it. How many of the merchants who come to the Country of Mercenaries to do business are from Tumen Commercial Union? They have very robust transportation ability. After the Death War broke out, they gathered their civilians in a few big cities with unbelievable speed. They also have an amazing stock of weapons and are not afraid of a protracted war. Their few big cities are connected with magic arrays. Those cities supported each other when it was needed. No other countries could do what they did. The Country of Mercenaries was rich in magic crystals, but how many magic crystals were in mercenaries’ hands? They worked hard to hunt for magic crystals, but merchants have the real wealth. Mercenaries do not possess many magic crystals. Even with hundreds years of accumulation, they still do not have many magic crystals in their hands.”
“Master Entos, I understand how civilians are getting rich, but I do not quite understand what is empowering them,” Alice said quietly.
“The merchants would not give all their security jobs to mercenaries. They definitely have their own bodyguards. Has any of you seen a merchant wagon without security or bodyguards on the road?”
Alice slightly nodded.
“Smaller merchant wagons have about a dozen or more bodyguards,” Entos said. “Large merchant wagons have even more guards. A rich merchant even could have hundreds of bodyguards. A merchant would not just have a merchant wagon without guards. Similarly, Tumen Commercial Union would not just have merchants. Put all these bodyguards together, and the number is huge. They have contributed a lot in other areas as well. For example, at the Sacred City mage academy, many civilian students are sponsored by Tumen Commercial Union.”
“That is true,” Anfey said bitterly. For one, Doris was sponsored by a merchant, but that merchant wanted to marry Doris. That was why Doris wanted to become a senior mage. Only as a senior mage could she fight against the merchant and her own family.
“Without this Death War, no one would know the fighting potential of Tumen Commercial Union. People only know about their wealth: even King Yolanthe said he neglected Tumen’s fighting ability.” Entos smiled. “Necromancers attacked Tumen Commercial Union for their large armory. Even though they could not use it, they wanted to destroy it to weaken the humans’ fighting ability. They did not expect to run into troubles right away.”
“So Tumen Commercial Union was their important target? They must have sent out a lot of necromancers, right?” Anfey asked.
“Of course,” Entos said. “The king was so worried about the necromancers robbing the wealth of Tumen. He sent Vice General Miorich to lead a group of palace guards to help as soon as he found out. Archmage Saul and Dean Steger organized a temporary Sacred Mage group. Eagle Eye King Mangzo and Reaper Wolf King Manstuly led druids to join the battle. Tumen Commercial Union also organized a military composed of over one hundred thousand people. There were a large number of mages in the troop. Even though necromancers were powerful, they were beaten for sure.”
Anfey was shocked for a second. He knew who Yolanthe was. After noticing the potential fighting ability of Tumen Commercial Union, Yolanthe definitely would plan something for them. Right now there were so many people in this conference room, Anfey could not ask.
“I have to congratulate King Yolanthe for sparing his effort. Where would King Yolanthe put his effort to now?” Alice asked with a smile.
Entos was shocked and give Alice a long look again. He turned to look at Anfey. “Anfey, would you like to introduce this young lady to me?”
