Chapter 172 Mockery
Just then, sensing things spiraling and fearing it might get out of hand, Edric quickly stepped forward and introduced Raven in a firm voice. “This is Lieutenant General Valor, the officer in charge of forming Vyrdenia’s Hundred–Man Unit.”
The Sunset Empire commander and Jedidiah both froze for a moment–then Jedidiah. burst into a fit of loud, scornful laughter.
After a few seconds, he finally managed to raise a trembling hand and pointed straight at Raven’s face, barely able to speak through his amusement. “She’s the one leading your so–called Hundred–Man Unit? You people have fallen so far you now need women to protect you?”
Benson’s expression, already cold after Raven’s earlier claim about challenging the Sunset Empire’s elite within ten days, darkened even further.
“Step back,” he ordered tersely.
He didn’t know what Lorne was thinking, entrusting such an important task to this woman–but to expect a fully combat–ready force in ten days capable of standing against elite Sunset troops? That was nothing short of delusional.
Jedidiah, mistaking Benson’s silence for support, grew even more condescending. “I thought Vyrdenia’s new unit might actually be something. Turns out it’s just a girl and her little sewing circle.”
He turned to his general and said mockingly, “Let’s go, sir. We’ve got better things to do than waste time sparring with a bunch of delicate dolls.”
Off to the side, Caleb–still recovering from his earlier beating–felt a sharp urge to
laugh.
He’d thought his own arrogance today had reached record–breaking levels, but compared to Jedidiah, he suddenly felt like a rookie watching the master himself at
work.
If Raven let this idiot leave without at least breaking a few bones, Caleb swore he’d decapitate himself and punt his own head across the courtyard.
At last, Raven lifted her gaze and met Jedidiah’s eyes, her tone unshaken and cool.
“Finished?” she asked. “What’s wrong–have a problem with what I said? Then let me teach you something we all understand in the military: strength is the only truth. If you‘ re weak, your only option is to obey.”
Jedidiah stepped forward, closing the gap between them until the air between them could barely circulate. He leaned in, towering over her, a malicious grin curling at his lips. “Exactly. And since I’m stronger than you, if I say you die–then you die. Got it?”
Raven looked up at him and replied without blinking, “Got it.”
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Chapter 172 Mockery
Jedidiah raised a brow. He’d expected resistance, even a little fire, but she was complying far too easily. The fun was already fading.
But just as he opened his mouth to say more, Raven moved.
She kicked. Slow, deliberate–almost casual. Jedidiah smirked. He raised a hand to grab her ankle, ready to twist her down and humiliate her completely. But the moment his fingers brushed her skin…
His wrist snapped.
An explosion of white–hot pain shot through his entire arm before he could even react -and then her boot landed, hard and merciless, just below his belt.
The sound he made wasn’t a scream–it was a strangled, animalistic shriek that echoed through the courtyard.
His eyes bulged as he clutched his groin, body trembling violently before his knees gave out.
He collapsed, straight down.
Both knees slammed into the stone floor, right at Raven’s feet.
She looked down at him, utterly composed, as if the sight of him groveling before her was completely natural.
“I hadn’t planned to lay a hand on you,” she said calmly. “Your rank and skill aren’t even worth my attention. But since you were so eager to share your grand philosophy on strength, it only felt right that I repay your kindness with a demonstration of my own.”
Her gaze cooled even further as she took a step closer, her voice dropping into a glacial calm that sent a shiver through everyone watching. “But tell me, Jedidiah. What kind of man kneels in front of a woman?”
She let the question hang for a moment–then smiled faintly. “Stand up.”
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