Artemisia could be really scary when she needed to be… Aion thought that his mother was like a pure and selfless angel since she accepted ten years in prison without complaining. Still, she once was a princess of a kingdom that waged war against many kingdoms. She knew a thing or two about how things work in that kind of society.
Regardless, it seemed that the territories on the borders weren't that well-watched by the king and his loyal subjects that much. They would rather send spies beyond the borders and look away at the activities of the people guarding the borders. Thanks to that, they were ignoring several laws that the king had enforced to make the realm look better… like kids can't become slaves, they can't sell war prisoners as slaves, capture people of other kingdoms and sell them as slaves, or make people who have too many debts stay as slaves for more than a year…
"It almost looks like everything is allowed here with some basic restrictions…" Aion thought while reading the reports.
"You thought that things were supposed to be different?" Artemisia asked. "I guess you are still a child when it comes to politics and economy… my homeland did the same for many years, so I can't talk on the moral high ground, but such laws only apply to those who don't have money or influence over the kingdom. There is no one out there who is supposed to maintain those laws to be followed, and no one is brave enough to denounce those activities since it is impossible to tell who is a friend and ally of the rich."
That was the same thing on Earth… to some extent. As long as you are on the 'right' side, you can escape even after doing some nasty things… Regardless, the commerce on those territories was pretty intense, and some of the nobles even had raiders that attacked foreign lands to capture people and sell them as slaves. Children were the easiest and most common targets… that thought alone made Aion's eyes become ice cold.
"The same thing happens in the capital… in the slums, the guards rarely investigate anything," Aion said. "While I never confirmed that, it wouldn't surprise if the high-class area they have a lot of slaves."
"What were you doing in the slums?" Artemisia asked.
"I got lost a few times and ended up there…" Aion replied. "Putting that aside, we can expect a massive blow to their economy if I attack the places where they sell slaves. Considering that the reputation of this territory is improving, some will try to look for work here before making money to return to their homes."
"I don't think you have the skills to do that… you should hire someone," Artemisia said.
"We can't trust anyone to do that kind of this, and we are basically the last members of the Mileris kingdom… the people here will never see us as one of them," Aion said. "Besides, we can't afford to have some loose ends that can do anything for money. Also, it will be better if I do something before the messenger returns."
Artemisia could only nod, if Aion took his time, then the other lords would conclude that he was involved, but if he did before they learned about it, it wouldn't make any sense.
"All right… just be careful. I will try to handle the situation here and prevent people from knowing that you aren't around," Artemisia said.
Aion nodded and went to pack some things. As usual, he was planning to leave only after dinner just to be safe. It will be hard to travel faster than horses in the Necromancer class. Aion probably could fly using magic, though, so he would have the chance to leave his death knights as guards. However, using magic was a big no on that mission since it would connect him and his mother to the whole thing…
When night came, and after having dinner, Aion left the house while using Furtivity. As usual, he left the area without being noticed that easily. After that, Aion began to run with all his might while equipped with the Monk class. That one had a lot of stamina, and Aion also could use Dash with it.
"Well, fortunately, I just have three places to attack…" Aion thought while crossing the darkness of the night.
In any other situation, Aion would focus on leaving the other families alone since he had work to do in his territory, and even he could keep hunting in the dungeon… that would be more efficient, but then again, he was expecting to get more workers and allies on his territory. He couldn't count only on the death knights that could only exist while he was using the class. Besides, he needed to keep that kind of people busy, otherwise, they will do annoying things and get on his way agsin and again…
In any case, Aion didn't feel any pain or exhaustion even after running through the night. Around three hours ago, he passed through a camp, and he avoided that one since it seemed like the camp of the travelers. Aion kept running through the day, but closer to the border and avoiding the roads.
Since he was only keeping the pace where he was only using enough stamina to recover while moving, Aion reached the border between his territory and the next around eight in the morning. The territory of that family was two times bigger than his, and Aion assumed that the messenger was going to return in three more days. So, he had three days to do what he needed…
When the sun was setting, Aion had already seen around five villages… that territory sure had a lot of those and many people. Regardless, after seeing some other villages, Aion reached his first destination at midnight. Instead of invading the town, though. He stopped to heal his feet filled with calluses…
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