To develop his opinion
convince or persuade the audience about an issue
What is this about? What story is this from?
The verb is "trudged".
It's the past simple form of the verb "to trudge" which is a type of a walk, usually slow and heavy as if you have weights on yourself.
<h2><em>Slouching over, Yawning, Chin in your hand, etc.</em></h2>
