B2 Chapter 33: The Ninth SonMarcus gulped down lungfuls of air as he finally reached the edge of the Legion encampment. By the time he arrived, the soldiers had already encircled Hausten, the seat of the barony, and begun their siege. They'd even begun to build around the city itself, bizarrely erecting fortifications and trenches that altered the very landscape.He’d actually ended up pulling ahead of the auxiliaries. He’d managed to help them along quite a bit through judicious use of [Inspirational Song] on the most exhausted of the men. However, he could only do so much. They’d needed to rest eventually, something the centurions overseeing the group were not exactly happy about.Not that he didn’t. Marcus took quite his fair share of breaks as well. But his were shorter and more frequent in nature, and his stats allowed him to make the best use of them to make up any lost ground once he was back on his feet.And so, he’d continued on ahead of the group in pursuit of the Legion’s forces. Any concerns he’d maintained about traveling alone were fairly moot at this point. He was used to it by now, and the extra levels he’d gained meant he was honestly more capable of taking care of himself now than ever before.He’d also gained a bit more combat experience than he’d ever expected. Not intentionally, of course. But between fending off shadow panthers and that kraken in the ruined amphitheater, he’d honestly surprised himself a bit with his ability to function in such situations. He was still no adventurer, he had absolutely no desire to willingly put himself in such situations, but if it came down to it, (...)