Everyone in the office was feeling uncomfortable. Frank Bones was mad at us.
“This is an absurdity! I sent your group to complete a simple task, and you lost the block to Hoglins?” Frank asked.
“We were ambushed by a group of smart Hoglins. They even had a leader named Fergon who can speak. The Hoglins were much more intelligent than we thought. The mutant Hoglins are thousands in numbers. With only Paul and I who can fight, we didn’t stand a chance to defeat them.”
“I am well aware of the Hoglin attack. The 15th infantry members told me all about it after they respawned by the Fort.” Frank Bones replied.
“Really? How are they doing? Are they fine?” Bart asked, hopeful.
“I do not really care to be honest. I want to know what happened.” Frank Bones replied. “Besides, they lost all of their armor and weapons in the Nether. They can’t return to the Nether until our smith crafts some more. But still, I had hope that your group would return with the block with you. Now, I’ve realized my biggest mistake to date is to trust you, General Bart!”
“But sir…” General Bart tried to explain.
“I do not want to hear another word from you! Do you hear me?” Frank Bones replied in anger. “I shall decide what to do about your position as General of my army. From the way I see it, you deserve to be demoted or even fired. But I’ll see about that.”
“Yes, sir.” General Bart could do nothing more but accept Frank Bones decision.
“Now Striders, will you explain to me what really happened? I cannot stand listening to that man’s voice anymore!” Frank said.
“He told you the truth, sir.” I told him. “The Hoglins became infected with the radiation. They gained intelligence and one of them learned how to talk. He told us how the block gave them superior abilities, and how they relied on the block as their source of power. Therefore, they did not let us flee from the Nether unless we gave them the block.”
“You should have fought them.” Frank Bones said.
“Pardon me, sir but as already explained there were a thousand Hoglins. How could we have fought them?” I asked.
“General Bart and I tried to, but we were outnumbered.” Paul replied.
“Quiet. I did not ask you!” Frank replied. “Now, this is all a shame. I had the perfect spot to put the last Copper block on display. Now, there is a missing block, and my display is ruined. For this, I will forfeit any payments for Chief Derek. And as for the equipment, forget it. I have no reason to lend it out now.”
“Sir, may we talk about the equipment?” Paul asked him.
“There is nothing to talk about.” Frank Bones replied.
“Yes, there is. Listen, our friend is in dire need. If we don’t bring this equipment back to the city of Veromir, he might…”
“No!” Frank Bones interrupted. “I do not want to hear anymore sad stories.”
“Anyway, there must be something we can do for you. Perhaps we can trade the equipment for something else. Anything sir, what do you need? We will go after it.” Paul replied.
“Don’t make me laugh. My equipment costed me thousands of Netherite. There is absolutely nothing in this world that you could give me in exchange for the equipment. Unless, of course, it is my last Copper Block! If you are not willing to go back to the Nether and pick it up, don’t bother!”
“Alright, if you say so.” Paul replied. “But we will try to find something valuable to give you. We will be back again, hopefully.”
“Oh, really? I doubt that. But if ever you find one, I hope it is better than the Copper block.” Frank Bones replied. “Now go out, I have no time to waste on losers.”
“Goodbye. We shall return one day.” Paul said.
We headed out of the office. It was a complete failure.
“I thought that guy was rude, but today he outdid himself.” Tom commented.
“It’s all because of the Copper block.” I replied. “Frank Bones does not care about anyone or anything. He is a selfish man. He treats others poorly.”
“He is a terrible person.” Paul said. “As much as I hate to admit, there is absolutely nothing valuable we can offer him that he doesn’t already have. Diamonds or Netherite? He’s got it. Rare armor and enchantments? He has that covered. That’s why he is so obsessed with collecting the radioactive Copper Blocks because that’s the only thing he doesn’t have, and no one else has them either.”
“Yeah, but like you said, those are the only ones. Frank has 11, and the crazy Hoglins have 1. What else can we do?” Tom asked.
“We might have to return home. We can think of a new plan once we are back.” Paul replied.
“Yep, I don’t want to stay in this place anymore.” I replied.
We left the city of Albeja and returned to the Nether Portal.