Despite a few encounters, Aion had the chance to talk with Vangel quite fast. A few guards went to ask for permission for him to enter the castle, and they returned as fast as their legs could bring them.
Vangel was on his throne, and he was talking with some men wearing fancy clothes while the royal guard was in the room. Aion could sense the tension coming from all of the guards since they had heard about his magic, and they couldn't do much aside from trying to become meat shields in case he tried to attack their king. If they fail, they will suffer death anyway, so their lives are pretty much in Aion's hands.
Still, he wondered why they were so tense… Aion had plenty of times to attack Vangel if he wanted, and once, they even dueled, and he let him live… there was no need to be so nervous.
"You have returned, Aion," Vangel said after he signaled for some of the cloaked men to move away. "I thank you for your hard work."
"If you don't mind, I would like to skip the pleasantries," Aion said as he approached. "I want to know everything about the situation with my sisters, and I want to head there immediately."
"I understand your hurry, but I also need to report about the mission and about those two," Vangel said.
"... We found the targets, and those two are on their way to secure them," Aion replied without hiding the annoyance in his eyes. "We didn't find anyone or anything that truly got in our way, that is all."
"Is that truly the case?" Vangel asked while tapping his index finger on the armchair. "I heard that some generals and the leader of a certain country disappeared after some bandits invaded their country. I also heard about some merchants losing a lot of their soldiers due to another night raid."
"If you didn't hear any complaints, why would you have any reason to complain?" Aion asked.
"... True," Vangel said while studying Aion. "Still, I need some confirmation that you and those two didn't leave any traces of your actions."
"You didn't hear any complaints. That should suffice," Aion said.
The atmosphere got tense since Aion didn't want to waste any more time, and Vangel couldn't make him march at the beat of his drum.
"... So far, those that captured your sisters hadn't asked anything for them," Vangel closed his eyes and said. "Your father and brothers were sent to deal with the situation since we didn't have the means to send an army to look for them and risk the enemies killing them."
"And the real reason?" Aion asked after he furrowed his eyebrows.
"They crossed the desert and are back on the fallen capital, there are too many monsters there, and we couldn't risk losing more soldiers to rescue only four people," Vangel replied as if it was a matter of fact.
Aion was a bit angry since his sisters were being taken lightly. Still, logically speaking, their lives shouldn't be more important than hundreds or thousands of soldiers. It seemed that the enemies could cross the distance without dealing with the earthworms that often, so they had the upper hand.
"I guess I need permission to go there, but first, I need to ask a few things," Aion said while rubbing his chin thoughtfully. "How is my mother? Did something happen to her while I was away?"
"No, she is working managing your territory, and while some attacks happened there in the last month, it seems that they didn't lose that much," Vangel explained. "Maybe she should become the ruler there since the area is producing a lot more than it did in the past."
"Maybe she should," Aion said while showing a cold smile since it was clear that Vangel wanted to trigger him. "I am planning to solve the situation by myself and wipe out all the enemies there. That should be useful for the kingdom. I don't mind giving you the things that they are used to and what they have. However, I want the fallen capital under my command."
The atmosphere got even tenser since no one dared to demand things from the king. That had never happened before, and it was practically a sign of disrespect.
"... Do you understand the repercussions of that kind of action?" Vangel asked while glaring at Aion. "People will think that you are plotting something and that I allowed it."
"I am not planning to move. I just want to become the owner of the place in order to let people know that I will defend it until the day of my death," Aion explained. "If I take the city by myself, it will be a clear sign that I can pull that off, and you won't have to lift a single finger to defend the eastern side of the country."
Vangel considered that… he didn't know how much stronger Aion got, but it seemed that he had confidence and he wasn't a fool. While he was interested in what the criminals from the East were doing in the fallen capital, he was certain that they had taken everything of value twenty years ago.
"... If you succeed in rescuing everyone and then bring the bodies of all the enemies, I will let you be the owner of that place," Vangel said after her letting his arms rest on the sides of his throne. "However, no resource will be allowed to move toward the fallen capital."
"Fine by me," Aion smiled since he could use magic to deal with that. "I am going to solve this as fast as possible.
Vangel nodded, and then Aion left in a hurry. He didn't have any more time to waste… reaching that area at night would make his job easier, and he had to pull it off before anyone realized that reinforcements had arrived, even his father and brothers.
"It feels like I am not going to take a break here, but it is fine… it is time to pull my plan into action," Aion thought while smirking.
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