To Sarika, it was disappointing more than anything else.
Within the hour, the outer districts of Leuphan had fallen. But there was no reckless rush to storm the heart of the city.
Ryntum's soldiers, unlike raiders looting for sport, understood that the true value lay beyond mere gold and silver.
Unlike the armies of other nations, Ryntum's military was deeply intertwined with education.
Their schools, their officers, even the average soldier possessed a higher standard of literacy and scientific understanding than most civilians elsewhere on the continent.
In the half-collapsed wings of Leuphan's outer district, soldiers pried open iron-bound doors to discover rows upon rows of books—volumes on history, science, philosophy, engineering.
Crates of manuscripts, maps, blueprints, and research documents were carefully catalogued by scribes attached to the army's logistics division.
