Assassin's Chronicle - Chapter 376

Chapter 376: Reasonable

The area was infested with zombies and controlled by necromancers . Whether following the druids or the original plan by Fernando, caution was still the most important thing . Anfey was very careful as he followed the druids, who were even more cautious than he was .

The mercenaries lagged behind because they had a big group and it was harder for them to sneak around the zombies the way the druids and Anfey could . Unless they encountered a large group of zombies, the mercenaries would try to kill every zombie they encountered . However, they couldn’t disturb the druids, either . By the time they finish killing the zombies, the druids would be too far away .

Thankfully, they had Long and Ling, who were very skilled with tracking . Without the two, the mercenaries would have startled the druids or encountered large groups of zombies .

Ye tend to be a quiet man . Now, however, he was chatting and laughing with the druids . Usually, it was Anfey’s job to distract his opponents, but he was too occupied by his thoughts . He wanted to know what Manstuly wanted and what Shadow Empire meant . Moreover, he was very worried about Suzanna . He had to keep himself calm to see what the druids wanted .

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Somewhere deep in the Transverse Mountains, Suzanna jumped out of a tree with the unicorn and started heading north . Compared to only a few days ago, she was clearly thinner . She was starving and exhausted, but her eyes were determined . Her frowns indicated not suffering but thoughts .

What would Anfey do if he was in her shoes? She knew better than anyone how he acted . He was very aggressive, and she knew that he wouldn’t run from trouble the way she had been doing . He would try to find opportunities to make the most of his situation . Even if he didn’t have any opportunity, he would make one for himself . Suzanna knew she must look for a way out of this situation .

She knew better than anyone what kind of enemies she was up against . Whenever she thought she had escaped and could rest, the unicorn would warn her again .

Running wasn’t the solution . Suzanna knew her own capabilities and herself, and knew that she could find a way to protect herself if she tried hard enough . In reality, she was a very brilliant woman . Back in Gruce Principality, she was a maid to the public . However, her real identify was her father Darius’s guard . She was very loyal to him and never questioned any of his orders . In a place like that, she had nowhere to use her brilliance . After her escape, she met Anfey . She recognized his power and was willing to let him lead her . Back then, she could depend on Anfey and her friends for help .

Now, she couldn’t depend on anyone except her sword and her mind .

The unicorn whinnied and wiggled in Suzanna’s arms . Suzanna summoned some combat power and increased her speed . She patted the unicorn and the unicorn fell quiet . Usually, the unicorn was very mischievous . It almost never follow anyone’s orders, not even Anfey’s . Now, though, it was being very obedient and protective of Suzanna . It would never stray too far from her and would listen to her every word .

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Manstuly paced around in his room, frowning . There were a dozen other druids in the room, and all of them were clearly terrified . Even breathing made too much noise . A senior druid was standing in the middle of the room, shaking .

"This is the newest letter from Hotchbini," Manstuly said, waving a piece of paper in his hand . "They succeeded . Hotchbini used Suzanna’s name to approach Anfey . So far, he believes them . They are away from Shield of Light legion now . "

The druids glanced at each other but none of them dared to say anything .

"Tony, I’ve always trusted you, but tell me . What did you do?" Manstuly walked over to the druid in the middle of the room and asked quietly . "Invite Suzanna over here? Did you even think about what you were doing?"

"I…"

Before the druid could finish, Manstuly punched the man in the face . The druid’s body stumbled and fell to the ground . He spat out a mouthful of blood and coughed, but he soon scrambled up again .

"Take Hotchbini for an example," Manstuly said coolly . "She is an elf and, not that long ago, she knew nothing of intrigues . Now, she uses her situation to her advantage . She saw what men did to each other in Country of Mercenaries . She observed and she learned and she bettered herself . If she could use the tie between people as a weapon to gain trust, why couldn’t you? I encouraged you to go out there, to explore because I thought that it could help you learn . I see now that I am wrong . Imbeciles will always be imbeciles . I overestimated you . All of you . "

Manstuly’s tone was calm, but the druids in the room were all sweating and shaking with fear . They knew that when Manstuly was calm, he was the angriest .

Manstuly sighed and turned to another druid . "Bardeson," he said . "What would you have done if I had given you this mission?"

The druid named Bardeson straightened himself and said hurriedly, "I would find Suzanna and tell her that Moramatch had fallen . I would say that Anfey was gravely injured to draw her towards it . Suzanna is an easier target than Anfey . "

"Anything else?"

"I would try to cause chaos in Violet City to distract the people Anfey and Suzanna left there," Bardeson said . "Then I would take her sister Shally and force Suzanna to comply . "

"Not the best plan," Manstuly said, shaking his head . "Shield of Light legion has already arrived at Moramatch . If the necromancers could destroy that legion, they are well equipped to take down the entire Maho Empire . As for Violet City…Baery is currently stationed there . That tactic would not have worked . "

Bardeson paled and opened his mouth but could not say anything .

"However," Manstuly continued . "You are using your head, which is good . That plan, however flawed it may be, is still better than inviting Suzanna here, don’t you think, Tony?"

Tony lowered his head and did not say anything .

"Hotchbini must be laughing right now," Manstuly said . He patted Tony on the shoulder and said, "I’ve trusted you and groomed you for all these years . How did you repay me? You embarrassed me . Made a fool of me . How could you, Tony?"

Tony shook his head desperately .

"I’ll give you a chance to explain yourself," Manstuly said .

"This is not my fault, my lord!" Tony said hurriedly . "It’s Mauso’s fault! He didn’t only lie to me, my lord . He also deceived you! He promised that he would lend a hand but he stood there and he watched as Suzanna got away . I went to look for him later, but he was nowhere to be found . My lord, you have to believe me!"

The other druids all gasped at Tony’s words . They all knew that Manstuly and Mauso had reached an agreement and that Mauso had betrayed Manstuly’s trust . They also knew that they shouldn’t talk about it in front of Manstuly .

Everyone knew that Manstuly was cruel and sly, but he was also very proud . He remained in power due to the support of the elves, and he had always believed that he could trick someone, but not the other way around .

Now, everyone knew Mauso had tricked Manstuly . Manstuly wasn’t angry at his men . He was angry at Mauso .

"So you’re saying that it’s my fault that this happened?"

"No, my lord, I…"

Before Tony could finish, Manstuly rammed his hand through the man’s chest . Tony gasped in pain and struggled for a few seconds before falling limp . Manstuly wiped the blood on his shirt and glanced at the other druids, who were all shaking uncontrollably .