Saturday, 06.06.2364

  It was a peaceful morning.

  Apart from a few clouds and a light breeze, there seemed to be nothing to worry about.

  Their simple wagon, pulled by a firehorse, rattled gently along the southern road. This was a transport wagon of the Kasakan army.

  A dark red cloth covered the part of the wagon in which they were seated. On both sides, the proud emblem of Kasaka was displayed: a black-and-red flame encircled by two phoenixes.

  They had been traveling in this wagon for about five days now.

  Since completing his recruit training in the capital, this was his first field deployment.

  He and the others from his class were headed far south to the city of Kunkan, where they would serve under Commander Funo for a time.

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  Today, they were finally due to arrive.

  “So, San? Still nervous about being so far from the capital for the first time?” one of his comrades asked.

  “A little. Mostly, I’m curious about the garrison and the commander. You’ve all heard the rumors, haven’t you?”

  “Of course, we have! We’re not suicidal!”

  “Exactly! As long as we follow his orders and don’t stand out, we have nothing to worry about!”

  Everyone else agreed with that.

  The rumors surrounding Funo, the commander of the 20th Unit, weren’t exactly pleasant.

  Allegedly, he had complexes related to his older sister, which gave him a notoriously short temper.

  His sister was the personal protector of the Minister of Health and enjoyed high esteem throughout the country, primarily because of her powerful healing Nyd.

  But supposedly, this led to high expectations being placed on Funo as well, which he allegedly couldn’t handle, resulting in an incident that was said to have been covered up by the ministers.

  Of course, these were just rumors, but many soldiers who had served under him reported that he would punish those who defied him or thought they were better than him.

  Everyone in the wagon knew they would have to be extremely cautious in his presence if they wanted to avoid suffering cruel punishment.