Six months have passed ever since Cygnus left for Blackwell and it's been three months since he left that place. Five months have passed since Linius and the Hero Association went on that exploration. For the last three months after Cygnus left Blackwell, he spent it roaming around the kingdom.
He was popping here and there and he even went to the capital to visit his bakery and the magic brigade that Linius established. They were all doing well and even Vain was adopting well. After staying there for a couple of days, he decided to take Vain with him which enraged Nina.
She was angry that the master did not take her. Nina did not stop complaining from beginning to end. She would rant here and there or would make snarky remarks whenever she saw the master. All of these thoughts were ignored by Cygnus.
Astrophos on the other hand was still managing Vergessen and was doing a great job on it. He reverted back to his silent self but Cygnus could tell that he was already a different man from the first time they met. On the other hand, the magic tower was restored and the new Magic Council was formed.
Cygnus heard that several of the rules from the Magic Tower were changed and removed. They've also started to form a good relationship with the Magic Academy which will solidify their power again in the next few years.
In just six months, many things had already happened. And once again the capital was at peace. There was not much movement from the royal family but Cygnus heard that they had rendered their help in the restructuring of the tower. It was a bold move and he was sure that they already had people inside.
"That king is really clever and ambitious," Cygnus commented when he heard the news.
"He's been taking advantage of the recent events to let his power grow. This kingdom had been divided into several powers. The royal family, the magic tower, the hero association and the four duchy. Now that the magic fell and is under reconstruction, the king would not let the opportunity of dipping his hand into the core of the tower, thus the balance will slowly gear towards him." Astrophos elaborated not for the sake of the master but for the sake of the others who were with them.
"You are right but no matter how much effort he exhausts, he would never take full control of the tower," Cygnus chuckled as he burned the paper that contained the report.
After that, Cygnus left together with Mr. C and Vain. Their location became unknown to Astrophos as for Nina she refused to know where they went. She stubbornly refuse to acknowledge anything that has to do with her master.
The sun has only been in the sky for a few hours and yet the heat was already too much to bear. The camp was surrounded with a barrier that prevented the heat from affecting the soldiers and the heroes. They have been in that place for six months already and yet they were not yet done with their exploration.
Aside from the blistering heat, there were monsters in that place that made it difficult for them to move. They were also moving blindly because they didn't have a complete map of the whole unknown area. They have the heroes to help them scout first but they couldn't move deeper because of the hidden dangers of the place thus their progress is slow.
Some of the soldiers were already so sick of their slow pace that they would constantly glare at the direction of the heroes. The general also received several complaints because of it. The harmonious relationship they had at the beginning of the expedition was now completely gone. Only the tense atmosphere was left behind.
There was nothing Linius could do. He told his concern to Sir Acasia Veltran but his request seemed to have fallen into deaf ears. Even though the man was cooperative, he did not see any change in the hero's side. He even dared to ask and the president told him that the heroes did not want to risk it thus their progress remained slow.
With no other choice, Linius had to remind and warn his men to be patient and not to cause trouble because if they do then the expedition will take longer to finish. They have been exercising maximum tolerance but he could feel that they're nearing the end of their patience. If nothing would be done then he was afraid that a fight might break out.
He rubbed his face and did not stop from brushing his hair up using his fingers because of the problem he currently has. His soldiers were all ready to leave and back out if not for him still staying there. A simple exploration was easy because they have heroes with them who were both capable at physical and magical combat but hey chose to take their time.
They were not warriors at all and most of all they lacked courage. For the past few days, Linius had been leading his men in scouting the areas they haven't explored yet. Since they were taking their time, he took the initiative to scout. Thanks to that man's blood in him, he was able to face those monsters without difficulties thus giving them the headway they needed.
Within three days of nonstop marking and moving forward, he and his team managed to cover six kilometers of the area. They also managed to secure a path that they could use once they continue. They also managed to find a place where they could use as a base inside the dense forest. It was a success, a success that the heroes were not happy about.
After they returned from their trip and informed the group of their progress, the heroes started to give him their glares. He even heard one of them blatantly saying that he was arrogant and a show-off. He brushed it off but his men couldn't take it any longer. They were not about to stay silent when their general was being disrespected.
"And what of you? You call yourselves heroes and yet you couldn't even compare to the courage that our general have. Timid and coward," one of the soldiers sneered. He gave them all a glare. "You can only scout one kilometer in a day and retreat back because you're scared of unknown creatures and you call yourselves heroes? Hah, how shameless!" He added as he spat on the ground in disgust.
"How dare you!" One of the heroes also reacted. He stepped forward and gave the soldier who said those words a glare. "And what is it to you if we can do only that in a day? Our main work is saving people and not exploring this dry and dusty land. You are even lucky because we are here to help you with this kind of work. Be thankful that we are here to do some hard labor."
"That's it?" the soldier laughed, "then you should not have come here if you think that you are helping us." He shook his head and looked at the man from head to toe. "Why don't you go back to that association of yours and continue being pretty because that's all what the lot of you know to do. We will be sorry if that face of yours got ruined because of this mission. We, the real warriors, will do a better job in exploring this place without your help."
After that remark, the other soldiers snickered while looking at the direction of the heroes who looked embarrassed and indignant. The soldiers shrugged their shoulders and continued to laugh and grin because of them. It was refreshing for them to see those people in that kind of situation.
"General Linius, is that how you discipline your men?" President Acasia Veltran intervened. He acknowledged that the heroes he brought with him were a bit difficult to work with but it was not right for them to be humiliated like this.
