After asking a few more questions, Aion learned that the mercenaries and soldiers were all heading south to face the draconic wanderer. So, once he finished his meal, he left the town… he wished that he could wait until night since the heat of the desert in the afternoon was hellish. Still, he didn't know how much history would change if things continued to happen the way they weren't to.
"Grandma, what else can you tell me about this?" Aion said once he left the town and began to cross the desert.
Silence… Aion sighed since he was starting to feel that even after two decades after their deaths, his grandparents still didn't feel like recognizing their mistakes or acting like they weren't royalty anymore.
"She probably doesn't know many details since that kind of event happened in a faraway land," Arc said.
"So, she stayed quiet because she felt that it was embarrassing?" Aion furrowed his eyebrows.
Arc didn't reply since it seemed that he was getting whipped… how come those souls could do that kind of thing in his inventory without him being aware? That was a good question… Regardless, once he was far away enough, Aion began to fly south while staying close to the ground as well to make sure that he could kill all the monsters along the way.
"I came planning to tame a giant monster, but I guess returning with a death knight with that kind of power won't be so bad," Aion thought. "Still, I need to be careful while trying to understand why the mirror was shining… was it because the history was different than usual in this timeline, or was it because the timeline was being influenced by someone or something that could use time magic?"
Aion assumed that it was the second thing after hearing what he had discovered. Maybe Aion should just try to go to the past and ask for a manual about the relics directly from Malon.
Thanks to the rune, Aion flew insanely fast and reached the southern part of that country in the afternoon. He began to see a lot of mercenaries and soldiers heading in the same direction… they didn't look to be in a hurry, so it seemed that the battle hadn't started yet.
Joining those groups seemed like a good way to gather Intel. Still, Aion decided to go alone and then mix with the defenders' army since they would be too busy to worry about every single soldier on their side… it would be hard to imagine that someone like the draconic wanderer would use spies. After all… or so he thought. Aion truly couldn't draw any conclusions yet.
After not so long, Aion saw a camp in the distance. It seemed quite harsh to camp in such a place surrounded by sand, but it seemed that everyone had tents specially made to endure the heat of the day, the cold of the night, and the sand. When he looked to the sides, Aion also saw two volcanoes and some others beyond… it seemed that the enemy would have to cross those or that part of the desert.
"I am not here to make money, so I should just try to blend in a while, avoiding some troublesome guys," Aion thought and then headed to the base of one of those volcanoes and then landed. "Let's lay low for a while and then wait for the battle."
Aion looked for some more appropriate clothes to walk in the desert, but he didn't have anything like those cloaks. His red and golden armor also looked hella weird in that environment. Once Aion realized that his armor might have become his trademark, he felt compelled to wear something else as well… just to be safe.
In the end, Aion just covered himself with a sheet that he had stored just in case he had to sleep somewhere else. He cut it down, and it wasn't perfect, but it would do. Thanks to that, no one looked at him while he was walking, but they looked at him once he got close enough to show that he wasn't tanned, so he was a foreigner.
"Sorry, but I burn easily. Never tan," Aion thought.
Aion walked around the camp undaunted by the eyes around, but he also didn't look at them that much, and he didn't want to look like someone suspicious. Eventually, Aion saw some guys using magic to build wells… that was useful to know that people there could use magic. He frowned, though, since they had to conjure the spell… their spells weren't like elemental magic that he used.
"I should wait for a while before using my magic freely," Aion thought.
The camp was quite large and wide… Aion guessed that there were at least ten thousand soldiers, adventurers, and mercenaries already there; at least two thousand more were on the way. Everyone was too busy, so soon, Aion was left with no eyes on him.
Aion also saw some guys sharpening their weapons inside small tents, so he assumed that they worked solo. He could use that in his favor, and fortunately, he had enough materials to make a tent for himself. The sun was setting, so he might as well start that already before it got too cold.
After moving to the right side of the camp, clearly on the border where most people would hate to be, thanks to the risk of night raids, Aion began to set his tent. It didn't take long for him to finish it.
"I should leave in the middle of the night to check if the relics can point to the enemy… if they point, then everything will be confirmed," Aion thought. "Still, I shouldn't head to them right now…"
Aion raised his guard when he felt some presences approaching, and then he frowned since they were coming from the middle of the camp. He got up to check what was going on and opened his eyes widely when he saw a woman leading a group of twenty men… he knew that woman.