Rising from the Ashes (Andrew and Lauren)

After a moment of stunned silence, Leslie was the first to react, quickly ordering people to carry Ryder away.

"Get him to the infirmary and check him over. We must make sure he's fine. Otherwise, we'll be disgracing the General's reputation, so move it!"

A lieutenant-an actual commissioned officer-reduced to this!

Without even thinking, Leslie knew that when Luna returned and found out about this incident, she would be furious and tear them all apart with her scolding.

After all, the one thing Luna absolutely could not tolerate was her subordinates embarrassing her. They could lose their lives, but they absolutely could not lose or bring shame to her name.

She may have been a woman, but she ruled like a warlord.

Xavier clenched both fists and stared at Andrew. "If you hadn't interfered, Logan would be down on the ground right now. In other words, we wouldn't have lost."

Andrew chuckled. "If you hadn't jumped in, then I wouldn't have stopped you. But since you made the first move, I had to. So really, the ones who embarrassed themselves first were your own people."

He added, "Ms. Phelan might be brilliant, a natural talent, but the ones under her command? It looks like they're not the brightest bulbs."

They knew Andrew was deliberately provoking them, but that did not stop Leslie and the others from feeling humiliated.

They trained every day, wore the uniform with pride, and served under Luna herself. Yet, some outsider just came in and wrecked them?

Even thinking about it made their cheeks burn.

Leslie gritted her teeth. "Andrew, don't think I didn't notice! If you hadn't fed Logan tips from the side, he wouldn't have won!"

Andrew scoffed. "All I did was talk. If that's all it took for Logan to win, then... Lieutenant Terrell, are you saying I'm just that good? That I beat your guy with nothing but words?"

Leslie was speechless. "You arrogant piece of "

Of course, she would never admit Andrew had skills. However, the way he phrased it left her no room to argue.

Xavier's voice dropped. "Leslie, let me handle this."noveldrama

He turned to Andrew and began loosening up his shoulders and joints. Crackling sounds echoed from within as he stretched.

"Andrew, you've clearly got a silver tongue. I'll give you this-you know the difference between our military's close-quarters combat and what's taught outside. You could also identify the northern long-arm boxing techniques that the General taught us."

He continued, "But these things only show that you have some

knowledge! Having knowledge doesn't mean you have real ability. Now it's time for me to teach you

some manners!"

With those words, Xavier lifted his leg high and launched a fierce downward strike toward Andrew.

Logan snorted coldly, about to intervene.

However, Andrew waved his hand, his eyes cold as ice. "Back off!"

He braced his shoulder and met Xavier's strike head-on. At the same time, he

swept his leg in a wide arc, targeting Xavier's lower body.

Xavier sneered. "That's it? Andrew, today I'm going to settle all the old and new scores between you and the Haywoods!"

He twisted mid-air, flipping rapidly as his energy surged through his entire body. A barrage of dense, rapid punches came raining down, covering Andrew's whole upper half.

Andrew stood firmly in place, meeting the enemy with only his hands. In an instant, the two men had exchanged over a hundred fierce blows.

Xavier's attacks were bold and aggressive. In contrast, Andrew seemed somewhat stretched thin lacking any aggressive edge. Even some observers without good judgment thought he had fallen into a disadvantage from the start.

Someone scoffed, "Challenging Colonel Haywood? This guy's out of his damn mind. He's just digging his own grave."

Another chimed in, "Even General Phelan says Colonel Haywood is destined to

be a future general. If you fight him, you either bleed or break. This guy's done

for."