"Even if you have, talking with us will be faster, right?" Relia asked.

"That is why I am still sending some groups north, but they aren't the main focus, I want to focus on those that I know nothing of," Gaius replied while thinking about the last time he talked with Herc.

Gaius asked Herc about what he and Ekirenton knew regarding the neighbors East and South of them, but they didn't know much… since all the spies that headed there stopped keeping contact… that was one of the reasons it took so long for him to send his soldiers. Their strength and gear were far from perfect, after all. Now they should have some chances.

“Master, I am aware of the dangers of the mission and I am sorry for asking things, but gathering intel about those states is really necessary when they didn’t show any interest in us for decades?” Rein asked.

“I want to know why they didn’t show any interest in this territory, they might change their behavior if they have the chance… they might be busy with other territories and wars and it would be troublesome if they were to lose some war and other enemies that we know even less of were to attack us,” Gaius replied. “I need to know how the world is beyond those borders in order not to be surprised by what will happen.”

Things were starting to get larger in scale, so Gaius had to adapt to it… he already had a decent force that he could use in large-scale battles, but he needed to know more about the world and possible enemies in order to use them effectively. He was willing to pay good money for that and that was another reason his soldiers had to prepare for longer.

In any case, Gaius was going to receive daily reports from them, but he would only hear useful things in a week or two… until then, he decided to focus on his training.

The next week, Gaius began to train with the second years after Kennil informed everyone that Gaius would join them. He was also salty enough to say that the first years were basically holding Gaius back… it was his way to motivate the kids, though. Since the fact that Gaius trained even on the days off didn't motivate them.

The intensity of the training in the second year was a bit higher, but Gaius didn't have a hard time adjusting to it. He actually trained harder by himself in order to be promoted in three months again… finishing the five years of training in one and a half seemed like a good goal. The title might come in handy in the future… Even if he doesn't become one, Gaius wanted the title of a captain.

In the end, the second years began to train harder since they didn't want to endure the same thing that the first years did… letting the newcomer brat surpass them. Thanks to it, they began to call Gaius to spar with them, even when he hurt his hands due to the constant use of the spear… they didn't obtain any results, though. Since Gaius was about to complete another magic technique that he developed by himself and used it during the training sessions.

The technique didn't have a name yet, but unlike before, where Gaius used his mana inside his body to burn like an energy source and improve his overall speed, strength, and durability, Gaius developed a new technique where he covered all the parts of his body with mana like an armor… the effects were even better than the previous way he used his energy because in the previous version, Gaius only improved his strength, speed, and endurance… but with the armor of energy covering his whole body, he felt it improving all of his parameters aside from magic and wisdom. His senses improved, alongside the power of his body, and even his Adaptability… Gaius didn't feel even a bit bothered under the hot summer sun at noon thanks to it.

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Thanks to that, it didn't take long for Gaius to receive permission to spar with the third years… that made the second years train harder, but that wasn't something Gaius was interested in… since he received a useful report from Relia, finally.

"Young master, it looks like your predictions were correct… the people of Lorencis state apparently are fighting in a war against a neighboring state," Relia suddenly declared. "I don't know the details yet since people are wary of merchants who ask too many questions, but it looks like this new force is much larger than anything anyone had seen before."

Lorencis state was the one East of their position… from what Gaius heard from Relia, it was land filled with green forests and many lakes, and they even had some mines… it was a naturally rich land, so it made sense that they would have to defend their lands. Still, Gaius didn't think that he would have to see an army larger than fifty thousand any time soon.

Gaius waited for a few more days to hear more information coming from Relia. She had to wait for a bunch of drunkards in taverns to spill the beans about the situation over the course of many days… she also used her stealth skills to approach while invisible the houses of some people who sell information. Interacting them directly wasn’t a good idea, so she just did that.

“, the state further East is a massive potency that has close to one million inhabitants, but that is because, over the years, numerous states were fused together after a massive war between four states…” Relia added. “The war lasted four decades and although they lost a lot of soldiers during those years, they quickly recovered those numbers. Now they are facing a bit of a bind when it comes to resources and they want more fertile lands and mines to solve that issue.”

“I suppose that solving that with commerce isn’t an option,” Gaius rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “The possibility alone of such a state heading further West is hurting my brain…”

It didn’t look like they would be a problem in a year or two, but the people of Lorencis state were tired of the continuous threat, that was why they were so good at catching spies… they didn’t want their weakness to be revealed to potential enemies. Regardless, Gaius had to prepare for those guys eventually.

“Keep up the good work and don’t do anything reckless,” Gaius declared.

“Oh? Are you worried about me, young master?” Relia asked.

“I am worried about the cost of bringing you back, that is all,” Gaius replied. “Focus on the mission and stop saying nonsense.”

“You know, it isn’t nice to keep your allies at such a distance,” Relia said. “We might work better if we were to become your friends, there is no need to be shy about it.”

“You could do a lot worse than becoming my friend… and that certainly would improve my life,” Gaius furrowed his eyebrows. “Anyway, I will contact you tomorrow at the same time.”

Gaius ended the call because he was starting to feel a headache. He thought that he would become more resistant to Relia’s nice salad of nonsensical words, but he was wrong when he thought about it.

In any case, after hearing all that, Gaius felt that he needed to do something else… like training harder to get stronger. Since he only leveled up a couple of times in the last few months, he felt like he didn't make much progress, even though he created the technique that he called spiritual armor and almost perfected it… his sense of urgency was back.

"I guess it is fine to show off once again…." Gaius thought once he reached his room and then entered the place.