Chapter 139: Arcanis Spies

***

Aryin Village.

As Aiden had said earlier, the woman and Anna had to get ready early in the morning. Aiden and Aurora had decided to escort them to Suchang City.

Last night’s incident caused quite a stir among the villagers. Many of them accused the refugees of killing the three Xiliang soldiers in the wheat field.

This created tension between the villagers and the refugees. The Xiliang soldiers gathered them and began interrogating them one by one.

All the soldiers questioned them individually, but none of them would admit anything. The refugees and villagers were also reluctant to confess. This made the Xiliang soldiers even more confused.

"Who killed them?" asked the soldier.

Luckily, Aiden and the others did not live in the refugee camp, so they would not be able to investigate Aiden. Aiden and his team members were gathering to discuss their next plan.

"Should we leave without following them?" Amber asked. Aiden shook his head.

"Leaving without the refugee group will make us easy to spot. The best option is to follow them," Aiden replied.

He glanced aside; Anna was holding her servant’s hand tightly. The two women were placing great hope in Aiden and his team to return safely to Suchang City.

"According to Anna’s servant, the passenger carriage will arrive in half an hour. We must return to the refugee camp and blend in with them," explained Aiden.

Aurora and the others nodded obediently. They returned their weapons to Aiden’s magic pouch. Now, they looked just like the other refugees.

They stepped out of the inn through the back door. To reach the refugee camp, Aiden and the others had to run through the forest and avoid the Xiliang troops gathered in the wheat field.

"You there! Stop!" a Xiliang soldier barked.

"Get back in line and don’t try to escape," he ordered, looking indifferent.

Aiden breathed a sigh of relief. He nodded and was forced to walk back into the line of refugees. Fortunately for them, the interrogation was over and the Xiliang soldiers had not found any information about the killers of the three Xiliang soldiers.

The commander of the Xiliang border troops continued to stare alternately at the refugees and the villagers. There were no suspicious faces among them, only weary and resigned expressions.

"Just report that the three of them died in the line of duty!" the commander said firmly, and his aide obeyed.

After being ordered to disperse, Aiden and the others walked towards the refugee camp. As before, Aiden and the others felt uncomfortable when they arrived at the place.

It wasn’t just the elderly; young people and middle-aged men and women were also there. Seeing them looking helpless and unable to do anything made Aiden feel sympathy.

Still, Aiden and his team couldn’t save everyone. He could only save Anna because her goal was the same as Aiden’s team.

"When will we leave?" Anna asked her servant.

"Soon. We’ll be leaving soon," the servant replied.

Amber walked toward Aiden, who was leaning against a tree, his eyes fixed on Anna.

"What will we get if we help them?" Amber asked softly.

"I saved both of them and protected Anna’s purity from those damn soldiers. The servant and Anna will surely tell them what I did for them," Aiden answered.

"What if they betray us?" Amber asked. Aiden remained silent.

The possibility of betrayal still existed, but Aiden remained optimistic that Anna and her servant wouldn’t do such a thing. He had observed their behavior all night; they didn’t seem like the type of people who would betray them.

"We’ll escape or kill them outright!" Aiden declared firmly.

Amber swallowed hard. The risk was too great if they chose to kill them; it would be the same as revealing their identities to the public.

Nevertheless, Aiden had to take action in case Anna and her loyal servant betrayed him. The best option was to ensure their identities remained protected.

Aiden stepped forward and heard the neighing of horses, accompanied by the clopping of hooves. He looked ahead and clearly saw three passenger carriages approaching from the north.

The horse-drawn carriages were carrying new refugees from Lon City and the southern region of Arcanis. When they arrived at Aryin Village, the carriages would take the refugees to Suchang City.

"More refugees are coming, everyone line up in front of me!" a soldier shouted to them all.

Aiden and the others walked toward the line of refugees. He could clearly see other refugees arriving from the refugee camp, lining up neatly in front of the camp, waiting for their turn to go to Suchang City.

"15 elderly and 30 people under the age of 50," replied soldier Xiliang, prompting the other soldiers to begin sorting the refugees based on their age.

It was easy for them to find 15 elderly people, as there were quite a few among them. However, finding 30 people under the age of 50 was not easy.

With the limited number of refugees, they only managed to gather 17 people under the age of 50, including Aiden’s team, Anna’s maid, and Anna herself.

"Quickly take them to the passenger horse-drawn carriage," ordered the soldier, and the other soldiers obeyed.

Aiden’s team was divided into three groups. Aiden and Amber were in the first horse-drawn carriage with Anna. Aurora and Joe were in the second horse-drawn carriage. Rachel and Anna’s maid were in the third horse-drawn carriage.

Aiden turned and looked at Anna. Anna responded with a nod, fully trusting Aiden’s abilities.

After all three passenger horse-drawn carriages were filled, the drivers began to drive the carriages away from Aryin Village toward Suchang City.

The journey to Suchang City would take five hours, but Aiden and the others did not mind.

Occasionally, Aiden kept looking ahead, observing the elderly who were being treated with such tenderness and respect. The treatment between the elderly refugees and the younger ones was vastly different.

Rather than feeling envious, Aiden felt suspicious about it. He still remembered the conversation between the two villagers from Aryin last night, where they heard rumors that the kingdom was using the refugees for something.

Amber turned to the side, curious about Aiden’s unusual gaze. She immediately asked Aiden about it.

"It’s okay, you don’t need to worry about anything."

The journey felt quite long because there was no conversation in the passenger carriage.

Luckily, Anna was sitting right next to Amber, so she was safe and sound—asleep.

After passing the hill, the carriage driver clearly told the refugees that they would soon arrive in Suchang City. This caught everyone’s attention, except for Aiden, Amber, and Anna.

Using their refugee tokens, the first horse-drawn carriage managed to enter without passing through the checkpoint. The grandeur of Suchang City was evident with its authentic medieval-style ornaments, and people were walking on the main street.

They saw the horse-drawn carriages carrying refugees to the town square. This made them run towards it.

The people cheered with joy, as if welcoming the arrival of a hero. Aiden grew more suspicious of the villagers’ behavior.

"Why are they cheering?" Aiden asked. Amber and Anna responded similarly, shaking their heads.

The passenger horse-drawn carriages stopped. A soldier opened the back door and helped the refugees get out of the carriages, starting with the elderly and ending with the young men and women. Aiden arrived and stepped onto the streets of Suchang City.

"Let’s begin the slave auction!" declared an auctioneer, startling Aiden and Amber.

"I knew it. They saved the refugees so they could be enslaved!" Aiden declared.

Anna suddenly grew frightened, clinging tightly to Amber, not wanting to let go. Amber turned to Aiden, asking about his plan.

"We can’t be enslaved by others. We have no choice—we must reveal our identities!" Aiden stated firmly.

"HAHA! I’ve wanted to do that for a long time," Amber replied.

Aiden looked back; the second and third horse-drawn carriages had arrived and were queuing to enter the town square.

"Aurora! Rachel! Transform!" Aiden shouted, drawing the attention of many people.

He also turned to the side, staring intently at Amber, "You too, Amber."

Three brilliant lights shone brightly in that spot—a black light on the third horse-drawn carriage, a blue-ice light on the second carriage, and a red light in the town square. Aiden took his armor and spear, then distributed them to all his team members.

Anna could only stare in shock, her face pale, realizing that Amber, the girl who had protected her all this time, was a dragon. Not only Amber, but Aurora and Rachel were the same.

"D-Dragon?" Anna asked.

Aiden and Joe had already donned their armor, and hundreds of Xiliang soldiers immediately surrounded the town square. The townspeople scattered, fleeing from the chaos.

"Can you handle them?" Aiden asked.

"Of course. They won’t be able to defeat me."

Aiden nodded. He gripped Anna’s hands tightly and looked at her intently, "Let’s go home!"

Anna responded with a nod. She hugged Aiden, who then summoned magical wings behind his back.

Aiden asked Anna to point out where his nobleman’s house was. However, the situation grew more complicated, and Aiden was blocked by the city mage.

"Arcanis spies!" they shouted.

"You and those dragons will die here," he threatened.

"You won’t be able to get me and them!"