Strongest Mage with the Lust system

Chapter 818: Annaʼs Outburst and Recruitment

After John left, Max walked over to Annaʼs side.

”You are injured?”

When he saw there was a small wound on her forehead, he felt his suppressed rage start to boil again, but Anna shook her head and said, ”Itʼs nothing serious.”

Seeing it was not enough to calm him down, she took a step forward, grabbed his hand in hers, and while looking into his eyes, she said in a serious tone,.

”I know you care for me, no, all of us, and want to keep us safe, but you have to know we are also mages. If you keep us sheltered, we wonʼt be able to grow, and I want to grow stronger so instead of a burden, I could become a shoulder that you can rely upon when in need.”

”You are not a—” Max began to say when she interrupted him and spoke in a slightly raised voice,

”I know you donʼt think that, but… I do. When I see you fight alone, carrying all the burden and worries, I feel helpless and miserable inside. Despite wanting to help you out, carry some of your burden, I can do nothing but watch. Itʼs frustrating.”

Max stared at her in a daze. He had also thought about this matter but was afraid they would be harmed, which he didnʼt want to see.

Anna recovered her composure after a few moments, and when she saw him blankly staring at her, she blushed and became anxious.

ʼDid I anger him?ʼ She thought and was about to say something when she saw Max suddenly smile bitterly and heard him say,

”I always thought I wasnʼt selfish enough, but now I realize Iʼve been too selfish. Because I was afraid of seeing you getting hurt, I tried to shield you all from hardship—even though, deep down, I knew my doing so was holding you back more than helping you.”

Anna shook her head, unable to bear to see him blame himself. ”No, donʼt say that. You were just—”

Max smiled, ”Itʼs alright, Anna. I know I was wrong. I shouldʼve thought about you all too.”

Taking a deep breath, he added, ”Thank you for saying that and helping me realize this.”

Annaʼs beautiful eyes became misty, but she had a smile on her lips as she nodded silently in response.

”Hey, no need to be so emotional.” Max chuckled roguishly before wiping her eyes, which made Anna pout and glare at him threateningly, ”Do you want to get beaten?”

Max acted afraid and quickly shook his head. ”No, please forgive my transgression, milady. I shall not tease you anymore.”

Anna let out an exasperated sigh and turned to walk in the direction of their inn. ”Letʼs go back. There is nothing to explore in this town.”

Max nodded and walked beside her, his hand naturally slipping into hers, which made Anna blush.

After they left, number 3 and number 4, dressed in black robes, left the inn and moved in the direction of Breeze Inn.

As they left, they didnʼt notice someone was watching them. It was Ling Han, who had watched everything from the crowd.

”He is a good man and has great potential, but his temper is also great.” He muttered, smiling wryly. Then, he vanished from the place without anyone noticing.

…

Max and Anna had just returned to the Candleʼs Inn when they heard a few people nearby discuss something animatedly.

”Is this true? A peak emperor power in the central plains is really allowing people of the desolate region to join them?”

”Of course, it is. I heard this from two Central Plains King Mages. I mean, I was nearby when they were talking about it.”

”So, what kind of power is this Beast Emperor Hall? Do they have something to do with beasts?”

”I donʼt know. I just heard they had opened the recruitment.”

”As long as you are younger than 25 years and are at least a Three Star mage, you can take part in recruitment tests to become an outer rank disciple. If you pass, you can even take a maximum of three members with you whose safety the Beast Emperor Hall would ensure as long as they follow the rules.”

”Then shouldnʼt we go and try our luck?”

”Yeah, we should, but first we have to find out where this power is situated.”

”...”

”...”

”What? They didnʼt mention its location so how can I know about it? Itʼs my first time stepping foot in the central plains.”

”Letʼs go and ask around…”

…

”Oh? Someone is recruiting people from the desolate region? And with such lax requirements and an attractive incentive?” Anna said in surprise.

Right now, what most of the survivors wanted was to figure out a way to establish themselves in the central plains so they wouldnʼt starve.

However, because everything was too expensive and their services, especially the lower-ranked magesʼ, werenʼt needed, coupled with the fact they were looked down on, this had become a tall task.

So, when they suddenly hear that a force, an emperor ranked no less, was cordially inviting them to take part in the recruitment and was even allowing them to take their companions along as long as they passed, wouldnʼt they immediately flock there?

But as they say, nothing happens without a reason. So, there had to be a reason, a hidden agenda behind this, no? Otherwise, why would they suddenly become so friendly?

”Or maybe people in the deeper regions donʼt really care where we are from, and itʼs just these border towns that treat us so badly?” She wondered.

Max shook his head, ”I doubt it.”

”Doesnʼt Gran—Esme and Gene—treat us well?” She asked,

”Itʼs because we are family. Besides, when they came, didnʼt you see they didnʼt like to interact with anyone?” Max smiled.

Anna nodded. ”You are right, but it could be because of—”

”Alright. Letʼs just go and ask Esme.” Max said, which made Anna grumble, ”Why hadnʼt they told us anything about the Central Plains until now? If they had, we could have prepared ourselves.”

”Maybe because she didnʼt want to increase our worries?” Max said, smiling.

While saying this, Max was about to enter the inn when he suddenly turned around, his aura flaring.

Swoosh!