Chapter 334: Intercepting the Exchange
For the first week, their travel went exactly as smoothly as the first time. Zae Zin Nim grumbled that they had to walk or catch rides, but they couldn't justify drawing attention to themselves and needed to save the diamond star for emergencies. Even in its modified form, it might still be remembered by one of their many enemies.
Until they acquired the lizardkin queen egg, they needed to keep as low a profile as possible. Zae Zin Nim had strongly pushed for them to reach the Kama Altar early, but it simply wasn't possible to make it work given the distances they needed to cross. Instead they spent the time investigating the region again.
The Commonwealth wasn't quite as peaceful as it had been before, with fewer merchants and far less foreign trade. What worried him more were the new fortresses that seemed to be run by freshly-created demonic arts users. Unlike the true demons, who didn't care about most people, these new predators were happy to prey on the civilians around them. It frustrated Kai to ignore so many injustices and he had to remind himself staying secret was his only way to make a difference.
By the time of the supposed exchange, they were in range and had a strong sense for the region. At least there was no question of the exact location: the queen's egg was being exchanged under the guise of a normal mercantile transaction, so they could see it being set up. If he hadn't heard from the elven spies, he never would have known anything strange was going on.
Well, maybe there was too much security. The exchange was happening in a small town, yet both sides had armored flying wagons. One was dressed entirely in white and gold Commonwealth armor that didn't fit exactly right - presumably the buyers.
On the other side he saw a group of demons, demonic arts users, and merchants from the CTG. He thought none of them were particularly strong or dangerous until he saw Anaelina among them. Damn, he just couldn't get away from her. Kai considered trying to target her if it came to a fight, but he wasn't sure if she'd prepared anything new to use against him.
Meanwhile, Omilaena had been examining the buyers more carefully. Eventually she whispered "Damn" and lowered her goggles.
"What is it?" he asked.
"The ones posing as soldiers? They're a faction from the Flaeren Dominion, or doing an amazing impression."