Chapter 183 Rumors

"The temple is in the capital, right?" Aion asked.

"Yes," Sauros replied.

"What are the chances of them knowing what is the key to opening the Barrier and that they had some of my family's blood?" Aion asked.

"None, even though they are only two countries away from the former territory of the Mirelis Kingdom. That kind of Information would have never arrived in this area," Sauros replied. "Even if some people that survived the war had been trying to spread the knowledge, they would be hunted down, and their words wouldn't be taken seriously."

"So, is this event purely coincidental?" Aion asked. "Is it around time for the new ruler to be chosen?"

"No, the current ruler was chosen ten years ago, and she is a master assassin," Sauros said. "No one has ever seen her getting even scratched in battle, and I doubt that anyone would challenge her for at least thirty more years."

"So, people can challenge the ruler to take their place? This kingdom is crazy…" Aion said while frowning.

"It is possible, but since the duels are to death, few people try that. After all, the armies here wouldn't follow someone weak," Sauros said. "Anyway, our friend here doesn't have more information, so we will have to gather more along the way."

That was annoying, and it was another reason for them not to rush in blind to the capital. Falling for a trap along the way might be easy… still, that kind of situation really made Aion frown. The timing was just too weird… could it be that the ruler knew about their arrival and was preparing for battle? As far as the informant knew, only the generals were called…

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Despite those questions, the group went to bed since they had to wake up at first light, but they didn't get much sleep done there due to those questions that bothered them. Fortunately, they saw a lot of travelers on foot, so they wouldn't stand out despite the high number of encounters with monsters.

While they were walking, the group found another group ahead when a monster approached them. Despite that, an old man didn't even flinch and just grabbed a green whip. The weapon easily reached the beast when the creature pointed its claws at him, and the impact shocked the beast. The old man let the effect of the weapon kill the crab, and it only took ten seconds.

"So, this place also has studied and improved magic weapons?" Aion asked.

"Yes, the ruler of three generations ago focused on the development and production of magic weapons. Thanks to that, their territory expanded and became what it is now," Sauros replied. "Still, they had a hard time keeping their lands since the number of soldiers didn't increase as much in the last fifty years."

"How is the current leader dealing with that?" Aion asked.

"We have no idea. Information about the current leader is as scarce as it could have been, and we only know a bit of how she fights," Sauros said.

"People described her as lightning fast, to the point that she disappears, and then in the next moment, people see her attacking her target's back," Seris added.

To be honest, Aion was quite weak against the type… he didn't have much experience dealing with assassins. One of the reasons he wanted to improve his instincts and senses was because of that. That should help him find them first since no one can erase their magical presence.

In any case, once they found a spot where they could hide, and no one was around to look at them, Aion created another platform, and then they began to fly. There was no way that they could cross two thousand kilometers on foot, after all.

During that day, they stooped a few times to gather Intel, but they only heard the same thing over and over again. When the sun was setting, they reached the largest city in that region, and it was also the base of one of the generals. Although the place was walled and several guards were at the gate, they didn't stop anyone since a lot of people were coming and going.

"This place is almost as big as the capital of the Zaera kingdom, and there are a lot of people here, too," Seris said.

"Don't look around too much. The number of soldiers around is high, and they are good at finding people looking at them," Sauros said.

Aion confirmed that… For every three civilians they saw, one had a weapon with them, and they also looked well-built. They definitely were members of the general's army, and they truly were left behind… The others that guard the borders probably were in similar situations.

Since the group didn't have a spy in that city, they went to a tavern to have dinner, and then they used that chance to listen to the conversation of the people around.

"The great general left three days ago. Does anyone know about this business? It is rare for the great ruler to call everyone at times like this."

"No one knows what is going on. The great general didn't tell his high-ranked officers and his family about that either. I heard that he left while looking pretty pissed, and I would say that he wasn't informed what this was about either."

It was a bit weird how those guys referred to their leaders when they weren't around. Still, at least he is learning a few things. The ruler had the power to summon all the generals, but that was rare to happen. In any case, those three kept eating in silence as they listened to other people's conversations.

"I heard that the great ruler was studying a lot about barriers and other magical things. I wonder if all that is connected…"

That didn't bode well, and Sauros and Seris looked like that was a very difficult business situation for them… They have to hurry.