Assassin's Chronicle - Chapter 194

Chapter 194
"You’re a cook?" the mercenary asked with a grin .


"No," Anfey said . "I’m a mage . This is just a hobby . " His hands danced and his movements were very smooth . The smell of the soup suddenly grew very strong and pleasant .
One of the seven mercenaries stood up and leapt over the creek . He glanced around, then his eyes fell on the crystal box . "Are you really using a top tier crystal to cook?" he asked .
"It’s the only thing I have," Anfey said and shrugged .
"Can I try some?" the mercenary took a deep breath and asked .
"Wait a moment," Anfey said . He looked around, then frowned . "It seems like I have forgotten about spoons," he said, troubled .
"We have one," the mercenary said . He fumbled through his pack and found a spoon .
Anfey accepted the spoon . It was a silver spoon that was common in this world . Here, many families used silver spoons . Even the kings preferred silverware . Silverware was especially common during feasts . Silver could react with poison, and using silverware tended to reassure the guests that the food was not poisoned .
Anfey dipped the spoon into the soup and raised it to his lips . The soup did not taste as good as he had wanted, but it wasn’t bad, either . He was missing too many ingredients .
"Alright," Anfey said, handing the spoon back to the mercenary . "You can try some now . "
The mercenary took the spoon and stared at the soup . The spoon did not change color, and the mercenary dipped it into the soup .
A sound of metal clashing was heard from the other mercenaries . The mercenary hesitated, and took a sip of the soup . He wiped his mouth with his sleeve and grinned . "It’s very good," he told Anfey .
His movements were natural, but the faint vapor rising from his sleeve still caught Anfey’s eyes . Anfey knew that the mercenary must have spat the soup out instead of swallowing it .
"You want some more?" Anfey asked .
"No, no . This is your lunch . You should be the ones enjoying it," the mercenary said . He turned and jumped over the creek . "Thanks a lot . " The man turned and waved at Anfey .
"You’re welcome," Anfey said . He dropped the stick he was stirring the soup with on the ground . Next to him, Suzanna’s eyes flickered . Riska stood up and began making his way upstream .
A real organization usually had its own way of operating . Using expressions was too straightforward and risky, because the enemies could read expressions as well . In most situations, there would be certain casual gestures that only people within the organization understood .
"There’s a lot of fish here too," Riska called out .
"I’m already done . "
"There’s nothing in that soup," Riska said . He shook his head and waved his hand . A ball of water leapt into the air . Some fish were caught up in the ball of water and were wriggling away .


Riska’s control of the water was clearly not as good . The fish fell onto the bank, but he was soaked with the water as well .
Across the creek, the mercenaries snickered . Riska frowned and stamped on the ground angrily, his eyes still following the fish . He began whispering a spell, and a powerful magical surge rippled from him .
Anyone could tell Riska was angry . The mercenaries looked at Riska, waiting for him to make a fool of himself again . Two mercenaries naturally reached for their swords and were resting their hands on their swords’ hilts . They were staring at Riska .

Anfey frowned and marveled at their cautiousness . "Give it up," he called to Riska . "It’s just some fish . "
Suzanna stood up slowly and joined Riska . She still hadn’t shown her face to the mercenaries .
Anfey took a deep breath and said, "Stop playing around . Let’s leave here . "
"What?" Riska frowned and asked . He didn’t use magic to catch the fish . He was hoping to take care of the mercenaries . He was ready to use the magic, and was confused as to why Anfey had ordered them to retreat .
Suzanna felt relieved and disappointed at the same time . She felt relieved because she didn’t want the others to get hurt . If she was alone, she might have already attacked . She knew that her opponents were difficult and had the advantage in numbers, and the fight could end very badly for both sides . On the other hand, she was disappointed because she thought Anfey was her lover and someone she could rely on . Subconsciously, he was her leader, and she had expected him to take charge .
"Come on," Anfey said . He straightened his clothes and poured the soup onto the ground . He put the box into his bag and began making his way upstream . Suzanna and Riska followed him quietly .


"Hey!" one of the mercenaries called . "Why did you just dump the soup?"
"Something just came up," Anfey replied with a grin .
The mercenaries frowned and glanced at each other . What Anfey did could be very suspicious to some people . There was no evidence, however, that showed the soup was poisoned . No one wanted to engage in pointless fights . The mercenaries looked on coldly as the trio disappeared into the forest . The mercenary who had took a sip of the soup took out the spoon and observed it, frowning .
Suzanna didn’t want to ask . She was afraid doing that would cause estrangement . Riska, however, wasn’t concerned about that . "What happened?" he asked quietly .
"People from Shansa Empire are catching up," Anfey said . He had just spotted a dozen people who looked like mercenaries . The clothes they wore were the same, and except for the two leaders, the rest of the men all had the same sword .
Country of Mercenaries had no official army, not because it did not have enough men . Individually, the mercenaries were much better than soldiers . It had no official army because the mercenaries did not like having the same weapons and clothing . Even the four major mercenary groups did not have uniforms . Each mercenary had weapons and armor he liked .
The soldiers could change their clothes, but not their weapons . Officers and soldiers had already gotten used to the standard weapons issued by the military . They would not change their weapons .
Suzanna and Riska glanced at each other and quickened their pace .
Anfey was still observing the creek . The Shansa soldiers had just met the mercenaries . After a short conversation, a man from the Shansa army walked over and handed a pouch to the mercenaries . The leader of the mercenaries took the pouch and cleared its content into his hands . He smiled at the coins, clearly satisfied . Then he pointed towards the direction Anfey, Riska, and Suzanna had gone .
Another soldier walked over and handed another pouch to the mercenary . The leader hesitated, then he waved his hand . The rest of the mercenaries quickly stood up and began organizing their equipment . Clearly, a deal that had broken the fundamental rules of the Country of Mercenaries had just taken place .
Anfey was shocked . The seven mercenaries were exceptionally good at tracking, and the route they followed was the exact one he had just taken . Anfey had tried to confuse the mercenaries by zigzagging, but it clearly did not work . They had found all the places he had changed path .
The mercenary that was interested in his soup seemed like the best of the seven . The six other mercenaries walked in a V-shaped formation around the man .
Dardanibry clearly intended to capture him . Anfey did not know what kind of signal the soldiers were using, but more and more soldiers appeared . Anfey thanked Bruzuryano silently . Without that leaf, he would be surrounded .
"Suzanna, go with Riska," Anfey stopped and instructed .
"What? What did you see?" Suzanna asked .
"Some unpleasant men," Anfey said . "Riska, remember . Leave some markings along the way . I will meet up with you two later . "
"Riska can go by himself . I’m staying with you . "
"I’m just going to annoy them a bit . Don’t worry," Anfey smiled . He trusted Suzanna, but she was good at direct fights . This time, he wasn’t planning on directly engaging the soldiers .
"No," Suzanna said, shaking her head . "I am staying here . "
"Listen to me, love," Anfey said . Suzanna blushed and took a step back . "Trust me . I can take care of this . "