Laris snorted, glancing at Esten. "Complaints won't get you far, Flanker. The Emperor doesn't care for excuses... only results." His gaze shifted to the woods. "But… I have a feeling there's more to this than just another grueling exercise."
Kael raised an eyebrow. "What makes you say that?"
"I heard rumors," Laris said, his tone dropping. "About what he did with the church in the western district. Apparently, he used some sort of divine miracle to improve it somehow and even built a statue for a goddess up front. Maybe he's planning something similar for us."
Esten's smirk widened. "You think he's going to build some fancy training structure out here? In the middle of nowhere?"
"Why not?" Laris countered. "The Emperor doesn't do anything without purpose. If he brought us this far, there's a reason for it."
