Chapter 529: Strategy
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Anfey could clearly tell that Urter lost a lot of weight. Urter was merely a skeleton of now. Anfey felt as if he was holding bonfire sticks in his arms. Urter could not stop shaking. His eyes kept opening and closing. Obviously, it was hard for Urter to even raise his eyelids.
Niya ducked in the carriage. She took a seat next to Anfey, leaning on his shoulder. The wagon stopped. Garrison and mercenaries from the League of Mercenaries were herding the pedestrians, so that they could set up the street barricade.
Anfey saw that Urter could not talk for quite some time. He had to turn around to ask Niya what was happening.
"I do not know what is going on." Niya replied, looking confused. "Urter has been missing for a long time. One day, he suddenly showed up in the marquis' living room. He looked terrible and had lost consciousness. I had to ask soldiers to take him to the room. I did not yet know the horrible things which were going to happen."
"What horrible things?" Anfey asked.
"Urter got old, so quickly. I could even see his hair and beard getting white, bit by bit, and then he lost all of his hair--even his beard--at the end, even his teeth all fell out. I found priests and doctors to take a look at him. They only told me that his life had reached its end. There was no medical treatment they could provide. They did not know what made Urter like this."
Urter slowly turned his hand and grabbed Anfey's hand. He nodded at Anfey.
"What happened afterwards?" Anfey asked.
"Urter said he had something important to tell you. I asked him to tell me first, and that I would then pass the information on to you, but he would not listen to me. He said he had to tell you in person." Niya seemed helpless. "Urter is so sick, and he would not listen to others. There was nothing I could do. I had to leave Violet City secretly, with little Shally and them, to find you."
"Did you encounter any dangers on the way?" Anfey asked.
"No." Niya shook her head. "I met a few people fleeing from Shansa Empire. The few maids of yours are really powerful. They killed them easily."
"What happened afterwards?" Anfey asked.
"Nothing. We sought out information about you along the way. I came to Stormburg, and met Master Mario by accident. He told us you were in the Moonlight City, so we came here," Niya said.
There was screaming outside the wagon. "Shally!"
"Sis…" Little Shally's giggling was heard.
Even though it was Anfey's only sister in-law outside of the wagon, and his only blood-related family, Anfey was not in the mood to get out of the wagon. Urter could die at any second. If Urter wanted to tell him secrets in person, it meant Urter must have some sensational news. He had to figure this out first.
Anfey suddenly found Urter had laid his eyes on his Dimensional ring. In fact, Urter did not used to be able to afford a Dimensional ring with his salary. Anfey gave this Dimensional ring to Urter as a gift, when he came to Violet City for the first time.
"Dimensional ring?" Anfey asked in a low pitch.
Urter slowly blinked. Anfey slowly lifted the left hand, the one with the ring. After waiting for a while, Anfey only saw Urter's hand shaking and moving, but he did not see anything showing up. He knew that Urter's life could wither away at any time. Opening the Dimensional ring became a luxury.
"Master, is Master Urter important to you?" someone asked from inside of the wagon.
Anfey did not realize it was one of the elves speaking. Anfey had had those elves for over a half year, but he never talked to them. He asked them to stay in the station. One of the reasons for this request, was that he did not want Suzanna to get jealous. The other reason was that he did not want rumors starting. Anfey had gone through thick and thin with his friends. He married Suzanna, and got few gorgeous elves, but Blavi and the other boys did not even date anyone. These differences could hurt their relationships. For Anfey, "Master" sounded very distant. He had paid all his attentions to Urter, and did not realize who was talking to him now.
"Master!" The same elf had to call Anfey again.
"Anfey!" Niya called.
"Yeah?" Anfey turned around and looked at Paglia, who talked to him now. "What?"
"Master, is Master Urter important to you?" Paglia asked.
"Yes, very important," Anfey said.
Paglia went silent for a second. She turned her hand over. A purple crystal vase showed in her hand. "Master, this is the Water of Life. Urter is losing his life. This Water of Life could not let him return to his youth, but it could prolong his life for a few more years."
Anfey did not take the crystal vase immediately. He looked at Piglia, while the other three elves looked shocked. Jen, who liked to speak her mind, yelled, "Piglia, how could you have the Life of Water?"
"Bruzuryano asked me to keep it," Piglia said in a low pitch.
"Thank you." Anfey finally said something: "I owe you one. If you are in trouble in the future, I would definitely help if I could."
It was such a myth about Piglia. Anfey could tell she was a very sophisticated elf. If she wanted to save Urter, she had many chances, but she did not take out the Water of Life until this moment. She wanted a favor from Anfey. Of course, it was not a terrible thing to be sophisticated in her tactics. The key was whether she had good or bad intentions. Piglia was with Bruzuryano before. She should have good intentions, so Anfey was happy to owe her a favor. It was especially true that he had owed Bruzuryano many. It would not be a big deal to owe one more.
"Master, you are welcome." Piglia had a smile on her serious face.
Even though Piglia called Anfey master, their conversation did not sound like one existing between a master and his subordinate. "Master" at this moment was just a way to address Anfey.
"Can you come here to help? I do not know how to use the Water of Life," Anfey said.
Piglia pulled out the dark red cork from the vase. She flicked her little finger, and a drop of Water of life flew out of the vase. That drop floated in the air toward Urter. The Water of Life looked no different than regular water, but it left a track of mysterious light as it moved in the air, which looked more like tiny comets.
Urter suddenly looked worried, and tightened his lips together, while his thin body shook harder. He tried to turn his face away to avoid that drop of the Water of Life. It seemed to be worthy for Anfey to exchange his promise with Urter's life, but others might not think so. Others knew how much Anfey's promise was worth. Piglia knew it, too, and so did Urter. That was why Urter tried to stop this deal.
"Urter, what are you doing? Open your mouth!" Anfey sounded very serious.
Urter was not a match for Anfey. Anfey turned Urter's head over by force. That drop of Water of Life dropped into Urter's mouth.
"Master Urter might need some sleep. When he wakes up, he will feel better," Piglia said in a low pitch.
In a short while, Urter closed his heavy eyes, and his head fell to one side. Anfey slowly laid Urter down. Anfey was still worried.
"Is that it?" Anfey asked.
"Yes, master," Piglia said.
Suddenly, Christian yelled from outside, "Niya?"
Niya immediately lifted the curtain of the wagon and jumped out. She saw Christian, Blavi, and Riska were all there. She did not have time to greet everyone, but put her index finger in front of her lips. "Shhhh, lower your voices."
"What's wrong?" Christian was shocked for a second.
"Urter needs some rest," Niya said.
"What is wrong with Urter?" Christian asked.
"It seems he was cursed. When you see him later, you will know." Niya heaved a long sign. "Luckily, he is fine now."
"Niya, why are you here? Are the people in Violet City dumb? At least they should have told us about it. It's too dangerous," Blavi said in a low pitch.
"Ah, I asked them to keep a secret for us." Niya looked proud. "If you did not know about it, those bad guys definitely would not know about it. It was safe." This was the first time Niya had used any strategy. She would not allow anyone to put her down.
Christian and the others looked at each other and smiled bitterly. The war had ended. Except for Baery, who could not leave, Saul, Stegar, Ernest, Anfey and the younger ones did not have much left to do. If anyone went back to help Niya, the person could definitely protect Niya. This so-called "Hiding from everyone" was not necessary at all.
"Not bad. Our Miss. Niya knows to think now." Anfey walked out of the wagon, speaking this with a smile.
"Of course." Niya felt prouder. She always welcomed praise and compliments, but her smile soon went away. She put her hands on her waist and yelled in anger, "Anfey, what do you mean? Was I not able to think before?"
The garrison nearby secretly tut-tutted with annoyance. They only knew Niya was an important person, but did not know who she was exactly. The current governor, Alice, used to be the assistant of Anfey. They heard Alice was very respectful to Anfey. They wondered who Niya was, and how she could be so arrogant in front of Anfey.
Christian and the others tried really hard not to laugh out loud. No matter whether they were older or younger than Niya, they all treated Niya as if she was their innocent little sister. No matter how much of a higher title Anfey was going to have, or how powerful that he became, Niya still would call him Anfey. Her attitude toward Anfey would not change. She would still laugh or yell in front Anfey, without holding anything back. She was a girl who always spoke her mind. Of course, usually, girls like Niya would end up in tragedy. However, Niya was very lucky, because she was the daughter of Saul.