Chapter 139 Reward

In the following weeks, Aion received some reports about the situation on the eastern border. It seemed that the situation was stable, and Lexus decided to drag on the battle because the enemies weren't good at building bases, and their resources were limited since they rarely produced any of the goods they used.

After doing some research on the subject, Aion learned that the kingdom of the bandits basically only used slaves to cultivate the fields… they were stupid enough to think that the job of producing food was beneath them… to think that the king allied with such guys… and that everyone else thought that it would be worthy later.

It seemed that such a battle would drag on for months without anything serious happening. Aion used that time to do some research on all forms of mutations. There were few libraries in his territory, and people couldn't see much use to them when the risk of invasion was so high in the last few years.

As usual, information about those traits was rare, but there were some mentions about guys in the past that could control fire without worrying about mana. The origins of those magic traits were unclear. Still, many people thought that people obtained them after getting stronger after suffering some traumatic experiences.

Aion thought that it was weird that such traits disappeared over time, and then he learned that a long time ago, people feared those that were born with such powers and got rid of them… fearing being surpassed by their kids. The mutated individuals got rid of the competition. Those that didn't care about that were attacked by those who did and had their bloodlines erased…

"All the information is too scattered, and their basis is non-existent. I am not sure if I can trust all this," Aion thought. "This is just too suspicious, after all."

After wondering if that kind of thing would make him look suspicious, Aion decided not to look for Intel regarding that outside his territory. He was already aware that rumors about him were spreading like wildfire. The other day, Artemisia asked him about the weapon that he had that the rumors mentioned. After thinking for a while, Aion realized that Jagger and Vanessa didn't ask about it because they would look suspicious in front of him by thinking about it.

"For now, people think that I can make the weapon transform into a hammer, bow, and spear," Aion thought. "Still, some people might think that I have other tricks up my sleeve."

After using the bow in that battle, Aion got quite interested in it. To the point that he had planned to make the next class that would evolve. It would take a while, but he was interested in the next classes related to that one.

Around four months after recovering the Richard city, Aion finally received the final report regarding the war in the east. The enemies retreated… a bit. As it turned out, the enemies created a few strongholds around the area of the former capital of the Mirelis royal family. Defending wasn't their style, but they expanded their territory a bit, and they made some strongholds to make sure that they wouldn't lose it.

Aion had a hard time wondering how he should pass those News to his mother. Having her homeland being destroyed and then after ten years falling at the hands of the likes of bandits… there was no easy way to tell that to his mother.

When Aion told that to her, Artemisia sighed and then forced a smile. Artemisia felt that she couldn't bother Aion either with her worries because the letter also had other news.

"We should prepare for the trip to the capital," Artemisia said. "Some people might not be satisfied with that, but the king decided to reward you for your accomplishments, and that isn't something we can ignore."

"I really don't feel like traveling right now," Aion said.

"Don't say such things. Trying to be considerate is good, but if you do it too much, I will only feel worse," Artemisia said.

Aion sighed. His mother had a point… besides, the trip could change their mood. All of the work recently had been quite intense, adding to the worries about the war. Still, now Aion knew that his brothers were fine. Maybe that was an excellent opportunity. Besides, Aion heard that in this kind of opportunity, some gold was given and land as well. The land was more common in conquest wars, and since they only defended, they didn't obtain any land, but Aion would get anything he could.

In the end, the ceremony would take place in ten days, but since Aion could cover that distance by flying for two days, they decided to wait for a while. Without a carriage, he would be able to fly even faster, but without one, they would have to camp in the open. So, Aion decided to bring one and the horses, even though they disliked flying.

"Come to think of it, Philip and the oldest of your sisters are already old enough. Maybe your father will also announce their wedding this time," Artemisia said.

"I guess so…" Aion said while frowning since he still couldn't wrap his head around the fact that seventeen years old boys and girls were getting married. "I hope that another war won't start while we are there."

"It isn't like wars are a normal occurrence. Besides, the award ceremony can't be compared to the marriage of a princess," Artemisia said.

That made sense, but Aion couldn't help but think that more problems were fast approaching. Aion recalled when he was thirteen years old on Earth. The most troublesome of his worries was his hormones going crazy and making some pimples appear on his face. During those times, he felt like the world was ending, and now he was experiencing something far worse, and he had to keep his cool… Life is strange.