Back to the academy

If Viviana hadn't intervened, all his elite men would have died and he himself would have lost 3 years of his life.

The thought disturbed Maxime to the core, already thinking of the many men he had lost at Plouta.

Would his future consist of earning a lot of gold at the cost of his men's lives, or even his own?

But he was determined to shoulder the weight of this responsibility.

It was in this kind of internal conflict that Maxime kept his thoughts to himself as the rest of the journey passed calmly.

Maxime and his men finally arrived at the academy, the weight of the ordeal behind them mingling with overwhelming fatigue.

After several hours of walking, punctuated by the creaking of the cart and the heavy footsteps of his mercenaries, the familiar walls of the academy appeared in the distance, imposing and reassuring.

Reaching the academy's great stone gate, Maxime signaled to his men to slow down.