d 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."