The Dawn of the New World Chapter 1444

It was quite obvious he was only interested in getting more information out of Hao Xuan regarding his identity and origins but unfortunately for him, even Hao Xuan himself didn't remember the last few years.

He caught a glimpse of his reflection in one of Ogostin's many shiny artifacts and couldn't help but come closer to get a better look.

Ogotsin was a little taken aback but he did not react and allowed him to do as he pleased, curious to see what would happen.

Hao Xuan had a short beard now and nearly half of it had been turned white. His head was shaved with some scars along his upper body but he had no memory of receiving any of them.

'If I had to guess, with this appearance I would probably be approaching my mid-thirties. But my physique ages much slower so probably a lot more time passed. What year is this? I am not too late am I?!' his heart skipped a beat when he remembered the very reason for coming here.

His head jerked up to meet Ogostin's gaze, "What year is this?? The war, did the war already start?"

Ogostin's eyes narrowed, "The war? It's been over for decades...were you a warrior in there? Which house did you fight for?"

"Decades?!" Hao Xuan's heart sank, "Then...is the abyss already lost?"

"Lost? Why would the abyss be lost? Huehuehue," Ogostin waved his hands in amusement, "Arent you overreacting a little? It didn't even reach the middle planes so why-"

Hao Xuan suddenly grabbed him by the collar to pull him down to his eye level. The golems began to move but were stopped by a quick wave of Ogostin's hand.

"The war with Maymun!" Hao Xuan muttered through gritted teeth, "Did it happen yet?!"

Ogostin's brow furrowed, "Maymun? The Arch Demon? Why would he come here??"

Hao Xuan loosened his grip and fell on his behind in relief, 'I'm not late. If even his kind doesn't know anything about it then it should still be a few years off...if not more.'

It worked! This extremely risky endeavor of his paid off. He was now in the abyss, probably years or even decades before the war would start. Not even any of Baba Jezda's followers would be expecting him this early.

'I have time...time to get everything ready.'

He was brought out of the stupor by the noise of chains and yells being thrown around. Looking up he found the lizardmen herding the humans into the cages which were now attached to the backs of the golems.

They were packing up and getting ready to leave.

Noticing him finally raise his head Ogostin clasped his hands as a form of parting and said his goodbye.

"The time is up, friend Jin. I wish you well in your travels."

"You are leaving already??"

"Unfortunately. We did get a good harvest and I managed to stave off the boredom by meeting you but all good things must come to an end. My ride is almost here you see," he said gesturing towards the dunes.

Hao Xuan looked over but couldn't see anything. He looked back at him suspiciously, "And you are not forcing me to come with you?"

"No sir, it is not worth the trouble. You are plenty strong and knowledgeable enough about the happenings here so there is no point in lying to you about it. Not to mention you are already marked by someone so I could not even sell you at a decent rate. You needn't worry about paying for the translator worm, consider it our parting gift."

It felt odd being talked about in such a manner but at least he was honest.

"Thank you...I guess..."

"Mention not, friend Jin," Ogostin snapped his fingers and the lizardmen swiftly formed a line behind him, "But you should start moving now so you can get a headstart on the sandworms. They can smell human flesh from quite a distance you know."

"The sandworms?!" Hao Xuan jumped to his feet.

Sandworms were a kind of chaos beast that could be found in many regions across the known realms. They were relatively infamous for their gargantuan size and were even referred to as Titanic Worms but as was always the case in the abyss, everything was bigger and significantly more dangerous here.

He had memories of coming across one in a previous life which is how he died there.

"Where is the nearest city? How far is it by foot?!"

Ogostin paused to look around before pointing to the left, "It would be that way. Shouldn't take more than 4 months on foot if you are a little lucky."

Just as he finished speaking the dunes began to slowly shift which got everyone's attention. Ogostin craned his fat neck to look to the left, where he said the city was.

"Looks like the little ones are already awake! Earlier than I thought if I am being honest."

Hao Xuan followed his line of sight and in the far distance, he could see a few barely discernable shadows flailing about.