Alexander was stuck on the puzzle for a good five minutes, unable to come up with an exact answer. He knew he was close- the sentence had to have either the son or army in it, but the final format still eluded him.
Hence he racked his brain, while also beginning to appreciate the man who came up with it, feeling quite impressed that the capital actually had such intelligent men.
All while behind him, many of his soldiers were starting to 'break down' into hushed and excited whispers.
They had never come across such a situation before and thus after trying for a bit and seeing they were making no progress, thought the puzzle had no answer.
And this was perhaps a very good example of how most of the people felt about the meister exams- nonsensical and fathomless.
