Commander Lars was still mourning the death of his students who lost their lives not under the weapons of their foes but at the hands of an unseen foe that was terrorizing the people inside the city. The unseen killer would make someone frequently defecate with a watery excrement accompanied by a burning temperature and vomiting. Despite the efforts of all the healers in the city, his students perished at the hands of the invisible foe.
There was but only a half a thousand of his soldiers left and it would be unrealistic for him to stubbornly continue defending the city against their foe who was well thousands in numbers. He was drained of energy and also showing the same signs that his departed students showed before passing on. Serkes continued to aid his teacher who was clearly suffering from the same illness as his fallen brothers.