Twenty-five guards was a conservative count.
Roman had tried to count them properly as they walked him through the streets of Strength City and kept losing track because more kept appearing from side streets and falling into the formation around him, and at some point he stopped counting and just accepted that the number was large enough to make the point clearly.
The residents of the surrounding streets had stopped what they were doing to watch, which was understandable. Twenty-five guards escorting one person who appeared to be a teenager was not a common sight in any city, and the people watching had the particular expression of people who were genuinely curious what this kid had done.
Roman walked with his head up and said nothing.
