Supreme Magus novel Chapter 2398

"Wait a second." Solus raised her hands to put an end to the stream of thanks and to stop the soldiers before they surrounded her. "What do you mean I saved your life and your hometown? Why would Thrud do such a thing to her followers?"

At those words, everyone looked at Solus like she was mad until they realized the source of the misunderstanding.

"We aren't part of the Mad Queen's ex-army, Lady Verhen. You don't put the fox to guard the henhouse. All the members of the city guards and local militia are being detained for interrogation." The young soldier said.

"Until the enforcers of Thrud's former territories are cleared from the suspicion of committing war crimes and/or embezzling, they will be replaced by members of the regular army." Then, noticing that Solus was still confused he added. "The Crown's army."

"Oh." Solus nodded, finally understanding why everyone was so happy to see her instead of angry. "What about Zeska? I was here the day Supreme Magus Verhen conquered the city and we left it in good shape."

She pointed at the ruined buildings and the cracked walls.

"You did but during your raid, you also took down most of Zeska's defensive systems. When Thrud's Forgotten came to recapture the city, the battle was long and bloody.

"Then, when the Mad Queen recalled her troops for the final invasion, the army took back the city, but it came at a great price. I'm sorry to tell you, but Zeska is actually one of the cities which has suffered the least damage.

"Also, once you get inside, you'll have to face a lot of rage and discontent. To us, you are a hero, but to the citizens of Zeska, you are a bloodthirsty monster."

"I know and that's why I'm here." Solus said. "I've come to help the wounded and aid to rebuild. This is my mess and I'm going to clean it."

"The citizens won't see it that way." A middle-aged man with red hair and the stripes of a captain said. "They'll treat you like a conqueror who has come to gloat over the lives she has destroyed. No matter what you do, they'll show you no gratitude."

"I'm not doing this for them so I don't care." Solus replied.

"Very well." The captain nodded while giving her the salute. "Allow me to at least assign you an honor guard to guide you."

Two Great Mages could have easily razed Zeska in the defenseless state it was in so the captain knew that Solus had no need for a protective detail. The honor guard was meant to protect the citizens from them, not the other way around.

He chose the biggest, meanest, and strongest people from the garrison. Each man was a skilled soldier who could use tier two magic in case the crowd went wild and needed to be forced to disperse.

Five soldiers walked by either side of the group, guiding them where the slums of the city had once been. In place of run-down buildings and dirty streets, there was now a large and luscious green area.

Several tents had been set up to form a field hospital whose size rivaled the one in Kandria during the plague.

"This is amazing." Nyka said with eyes full of wonder as she looked around. "The Kingdom must be a much better place than I expected if even right after a war the city is so clean and the army managed to do so much in so little time."

Solus had traveled a lot during Lith's tours as a Ranger while Tista had infiltrated more than one occupied city so they both knew that the truth was much more unpleasant.

Even the guards furrowed their brows at the Vampire's comment but said nothing to not offend their honored guest.