Chapter 136: A Mission to Xiliang Kingdom

"Good then, I’m glad to hear that," Henry replied, smiling with relief as he patted Aiden lightly on the shoulder.

Hearing Aiden agree to his request made Henry happy. He asked Aiden and the others to meet him in Lon City, which was better than discussing this mission directly in the Pompo Administrative Region.

Aiden nodded. He would clearly and explicitly go along with Henry’s request. For that, they should at least prepare before leaving in the morning.

"Even if you agree to take the mission from me, you and your friends won’t be able to leave the mage command complex easily," Henry replied.

"The guard shift change is at 2am, they will leave the guard house for fifteen minutes during the shift change. That’s all the time you have to leave," Henry explained.

"I understand," Aiden said.

Henry nodded. He said goodbye because he couldn’t stay in the guardhouse for long, fearing that the guards would suspect him. As the man stepped outside and made it clear that he would be waiting for Aiden’s team in Lon City, Aiden cleared his throat.

After Henry left, Aiden looked at the rest of the team. He looked at each and every one of them, from Aurora to Joe. They steadily assured Aiden that they were ready for this mission, even though they knew it was a dangerous one.

"Alright. You guys can rest tonight, Joe and I will stay awake until the shift change is done," Aiden said.

Aurora, Amber, and Rachel nodded. They went to their assigned rooms to rest, while Joe and Aiden sat on the sofa discussing their escape plan.

"The land route through the gate won’t be effective, they’ll realize it right away," Joe replied.

"The only option is by air. We just need camouflage magic to trick the gatekeepers," said Aiden.

"That’s a good idea," Joe explained.

"What about you? You don’t have any camouflage magic," said Aiden, Joe smiled while clenching his fist and patting his chest.

"I don’t need camouflage magic to camouflage. I know what to do."

Aiden was quite worried about Joe, but looking at his optimistic face, Aiden was sure that Joe had his own way to escape from this place. Aiden guessed that Joe’s method must be more dangerous than he thought.

’Isn’t he afraid of being killed by them?’ Aiden asked.

’Forget it! He’s much stronger than those soldiers,’ Aiden replied.

"Alright. I should go prepare my camouflage."

Joe got up and left the guardhouse. Aiden nodded, he turned his head and clearly saw Joe going the other way. That was enough to make Aiden curious.

"Where did he go?"

Time passed in the night, from 7pm until it hit almost 2am. As planned, Aiden went to the three dragon girls’ rooms to wake them up. They woke up without complaining.

"Is it time already?" asked Aurora, in a low voice as she rubbed one eye.

"Yes. The guards are changing shifts soon, we need to get ready," Aiden replied.

Aurora, Amber, and Rachel nodded. They agreed with what Aiden had said. When they arrived in the living room, none of them saw Joe.

"Where’s Joe?" asked Amber.

"He’s doing something," Aiden replied, occasionally peeking ahead through a gap in the window curtains.

"What?"

Aiden began to explain his plan to leave the Pompo Administrative Region. Aurora and the others listened. The three of them began to understand the reason why Joe left, it was because Joe didn’t have the magic ability to use camouflage magic.

"There’s a possibility that he stole a soldier’s clothes and acted like a soldier in this place," Amber replied, Aiden thought so too.

"With his abilities, I’m sure he can also get out of this fort easily," said Aiden.

"When are we leaving?" asked Aurora.

"Soon, they’ll start changing shifts," Aiden replied.

Sure enough! At two o’clock in the morning, the two guards at the front of the safe house left, just as Henry had said. Now, they had fifteen minutes to escape.

The door opened, Aiden and the others exited the safe house carefully. The four of them flew high through the clouds in that place so as not to be detected by the other soldiers. Luckily, they weren’t guarding Pompo’s fortress with magic armor.

Feeling like it was so easy for them to leave, Aiden turned around and saw Aurora, Amber, and Rachel following behind him. Now, their destination was Lon City.

The gates of Pompo Castle were passed through, none of them suspecting the presence of Aiden and the others.

Once it was safe enough, the four flew low and away from the west gate of Fort Pompo. None of the gatekeepers saw them, which was already good news for Aiden.

In the distance, Lon City was visible to Aiden and the others. Although it wasn’t very bright with lights, it was definitely Lon City.

What a surprise! Joe waved his hand in front of the city gate, he came wearing a soldier’s uniform. It was quite a surprise to Aiden.

"He’s really resourceful," Amber praised.

"You’re right," Aiden explained.

Not alone, Joe stood with Henry and Rose. The two leaders of the City Nobility were present in Lon City to welcome Aiden and the rest of his team.

"Mrs. Rose? I didn’t expect you to be here," Aiden said, landing in front of the city gates.

Rose smiled. She said she wanted to do a lot to save Gerard, after all, Gerard was the son of the man she loved. She would do her best to save Gerard even if it was indirectly.

"You’ll need my help crossing to Xiliang," Rose said, acting all high and mighty.

Aiden smiled, then turned to the side and made eye contact with Henry. Henry welcomed Aiden’s arrival. He also said that he’d prepared something for them, to help expedite their mission in Xiliang.

"Come here. I’ll show you the details of the mission at the tavern over there," Henry invited, and they nodded.

Henry and Rose left the city gate and arrived at a tavern. Normally, they would close in the early hours of the morning, but Henry paid extra to keep the shop open. The owner certainly wouldn’t turn down that golden opportunity.

When they entered, Aiden and his team saw that the tables were neatly displayed like a meeting table, with many chairs set up. Not only tables and chairs, but bottles of wine and snacks were also available on the tables.

"What did you want to talk to us about?" asked Aiden.

"It’s about the cities you should visit upon arrival in Xiliang. My informants made it clear that those towns are Gerard’s alleged temporary residence," Henry replied.

Henry spread out a map of the Xiliang Kingdom. From the map, there were several cities circled, four in total.

These cities were Suchang, Ankong, Werung, and Korting. The first city close to the Xiliang border was Suchang, and Aiden and his team had to go there to search for the whereabouts of Gerard’s team of knights.

"Due to the intense war between Xiliang and Arcanis, a strict guard is in place there. You must be extra vigilant," Henry explained.

Rose came carrying a black cloak, it was equipped with a camouflage gem. It would be much more useful for covering the identities of Aiden and the rest of his team, preventing them from being recognized by Xiliang’s soldiers.

"Put it on. One person at a time. These robes will be useful to you," Rose said, Aiden accepted them and distributed them to the rest of the team.

Henry smiled, he took out a travel slip to Aiden while explaining its use. To enter Xiliang, they had to appear to be ordinary citizens.

"Xiliang accepts refugees from Lon City. You just need to show this slip to let them know you’re from Lon City."

"You should also put your armor and weapons into Aiden’s magic pouch when you’re checked at the gate. That will make the soldiers think you’re refugees," Henry said.

Aiden cleared his throat in agreement. He would do whatever Henry told him. He also promised Henry that he would go rescue Gerard and his team of knights.

Henry was happy to hear that. He explained again that the carriage to take them would be leaving in the morning, so he would ask Aiden and the others to be ready.

Aiden nodded. He thanked Henry for saving him from Hendrik’s insistence. He had also helped Aiden to meet with Gerard’s team of knights.

"You’re my only hope to save Gerard and his team. I’m sure you can do it," Henry said.

"I won’t let you down, Lord Henry. I’ll try to save him even if it means risking my life!"

"Thank you, Aiden."

Having had enough of their discussion, Henry invited them to go to the place where they were staying. Aiden nodded and followed where Henry took them.

Henry provided at least four rooms for Aiden’s team to stay in. Aiden thanked Henry.

"What should we do?" Aurora asked.

"You guys get ready. We’ll leave in the morning."