462 CDLXII. The Enemy Of The Crown

"Enough! I'm sick of all this incompetence! I sent three more men and they couldn't speed up the process! Now I'll go personally and..." 

Shortly before the guard finished criticizing his men, the three soldiers in question hurriedly walked out the door, looking with regret at their superiors.

"So what?! Where are they?! Why did you come out without them? The orders were precise! You're playing with fire!" the guard replied, scolding his subordinates, who were ashamed to look the King in the eye, while he was waiting for a concrete answer.

"They... they're... gone, your majesty..." one of them whispered timidly, with his arms stretched down along his hips and his head lowered, like the other two. 

About ten seconds of silence followed those words, and the crowd of warriors behind the King remained grounded by the soldier's statement.