Aspirations

Rene walked out of the Earl's mansion, squinted instinctively, and took a deep breath. It'd been half a month since he last saw daylight and snow.

To Rene's surprise, there were soldiers in uniform everywhere, not shamelessly plundering the mansion, but guarding crossroads in an orderly fashion. A few blood stains dotted the snowy ground, but there were neither bodies nor scattered clothing around, which meant the soldiers didn't pillage the dead when they cleared the battlefield. What he saw confirmed his supposition that these troops were different from any he'd ever seen.

"Is Petrov alright? " He looked at Iron Axe. "How is... Longsong Stronghold?"

"Everything is alright." The tall, strong, foreign man spoke very little, but he'd answer as long as Rene asked.