Chapter 126 Objectives

One of the guards guided Aion to the tent where those three were. He felt the eyes of some people, but most of the guys who were around were too tired or depressed to care about a new visitor.

The tent where those three were quite big, it was supposed to fit several captains of many groups, but only those three were there and in total silence. They couldn't think of a solution to the problem that was the loss of that city, and they could only wait for reinforcements. Regardless, the first one to notice Aion's arrival was Jagger, and he didn't hide his displeasure. Since things were like that, Aion won't mind treating him like some piece of shit as well.

"My lord, the lord Aion Kresnik has come to help," the guard said.

"... He isn't a lord, and he is managing that land in the place of his father," Richard said.

"Neither are you since you lost the core of your territory," Aion said.

"What did you say?" Richard asked, visibly pissed.

Richard Histart was a black-haired man in his forties. He also looked pretty prideful, but despite being a rich and greedy merchant that used the mines of the region, he had a certain aura about him. Although he was wearing some thick clothes, one could see that he had a soldier's physique and that he could protect himself. In any case, Aion didn't forget that he was the asshole that asked for him to give away some of his lands.

"It seems you two have some kind of history… but I would advise on forgetting that since it isn't the time to argue," Vanessa said.

The headmaster of the magic school was a woman in her early thirties. She has long red hair and brown eyes. Despite her overall appearance and title, she seemed like a calm person. She was wearing a dark robe that concealed all of her body. Still, Aion had a feeling that the robe wasn't just something that she was wearing because it was common for mages to wear, but because she wanted to conceal weapons and perhaps magic items.

"Anyway, how can we be sure that he isn't someone pretending to be Lexus' son?" Richard asked. "Did you confirm his identity?"

"I remember seeing him at the tournament, my lord," The guard said.

"You brought him here because of only that much?" Richard asked, even more pissed.

"Let's stop wasting time," Jagger said. "I know him, and the headmaster of the magic school saw him as well. This should be enough to prove his identity. You are dismissed."

"Yes, sir," the guard said.

"Richard said that he asked for help from many lords, including you. Why did you only answer that now?" Jagger asked.

"It is lord Richard to you," Richard said.

"I was busy defending two territories with only five hundred men against ten thousand on the other side, so I was busy," Aion said. "Things are under control now, and we caused a lot of damage to those two armies, so we figured out that they will try to attack us again by using this city as a base. Before they could obtain total control over the city, I thought that I should help take it back."

"How many did you kill?" Jagger asked.

"Around one thousand of one group and thirty-five of the other," Aion replied.

"How did you do that?" Vanessa asked. "The situation might be different, but maybe we can use it as a reference."

"That is unlikely. I surprised them at night with magic and made sure to surround them. As you know, the magic on my mother's side is pretty easy to control," Aion replied. "I captured some of them and made them talk. They heard of the princess's wedding and decided to use that chance to attack and pay back for Caelis' death. That is what a random soldier said, but considering that the bandits in the east attacked at the same time, it wasn't the whole truth."

"This would never have happened if you had given up on some of that land," Richard said.

"Or if you weren't a cheapskate and asked for it for free," Aion said. "In any case, it wouldn't have changed a thing since you wouldn't be able to build a fortress better than that city."

"It seems that Lerg and Urgen are stronger than Caelis, their skills aren't as simple as his, but we will be counting on your magic to defeat them when the time comes," Vanessa said.

"I didn't use my magic that much to defeat him, and I just fooled him a few times," Aion said.

"Besides, I think that my magic isn't appropriate to take on a few enemies at a time. It will be better if we use it for other purposes like opening an entrance back to the city. I am pretty sure that we will suffer many losses if we try a siege."

"Even if we follow that plan, we will have a hard time since the archer will keep our soldiers away," Vanessa said. "His range is absurd, and his precision is inhumane. If we manage to reach the walls, then the swordsman will be the problem… there is nothing that he can't cut."

"How would the invasion have ended without those two?" Aion asked.

"We held them back for two weeks. Even without reinforcements, it is clear that we had the upper hand," Jagger said. "However, the archer decreased the number of our soldiers with each shot, and when we showed the first sign of weakness, the swordsman led the charge, cut the gate, and then invaded the city with his minions. We must defeat those two first and foremost to recover the city."

That was what Aion thought from the very beginning, and he wanted to do that as soon as possible. However, the morale of the camp was too low for them to pull that off… Aion was planning to defeat the enemies as soon as possible, but in case that didn't happen, the soldiers would fight for a while…