Chapter 165: challenge to a duel

After 2 days of relentless celebration and much fanfare, the aftermath of the rank promotion ceremony finally subsided.

Clark was dressed in his new military uniform, as he prepared to report to the Spartan army base for the first time. His friends also got dressed in their various clothes, before proceeding to lead him out of the hotel that they booked.

For the past few days, they spent all their time going for a tour around the Spartan capital.

Today was the day that Clark was scheduled to resume duty and to get his rewards from the inquiry hall, so he did not tarry.

He quickly entered his car with his friends, before speeding across the road to the Spartan army base headquarters.

20 minutes later, they arrived at the periphery gate of the enormous city-like headquarters. After confirming their identity, they were allowed to continue speeding inside.

They drove for another 10 minutes before the exotic car finally stopped at the large compound housing the inquiry hall. This was when the gang finally turned to face Clark, to say their farewell greetings.

“Clark, you’re now a bigshot. I hope you don’t blow your horns arrogantly and forget your friends. If you do that, you know that I’m always ready to bend you into shape”. Leo quickly spoke out with a grin.

The others all ignored the words of this tantrummy bastard before Benny also spoke out.

“Clark, like Leo said, you’re now a bigshot. I wish you more repeated success records in your career. I promise that we will soon catch up, just wait”. Unlike Leo, Benny ended his words in a serious and solemn tone, earning an awkward cough from Clark.

“Clark, Good luck in your career. If you decide to visit us any day, please buy some nice goodies for me. Money is no longer your problem, so you have no excuses”. Kate quickly chirped in at this point in a cheerful tone.

After so many days of staying and mingling together, her original perception of Clark already changed immensely.

She was now able to understand that his being strict to her back then, was because he was concerned about their safety. She was a very open-minded girl, so she already forgot about it.

What made her more cheerful, was that Clark already secured her position as a doctor in the Python military division.

As a Major, he was already far above most soldiers. His prestige was all it took to get her the position in just 2 days. Having an influential friend was just so convenient, she already took him as her big bro.

After she finished her turn, Emily quickly butted in before the shameless Smart man ended it with his sarcastic farewell words.

Clark’s face was all smiles, complimenting his golden military uniform, as his friends entered his car and drove away. He really cherished all these unforgettable memories; these were his buddies for life.

After dropping them, his car would come back the next day. He already resolved to buy a new car for the 2 Bauer sisters, after he stabilized his position in the Spartan army.

As soon as the car disappeared from his sight, he sighed before turning to walk inside the inquiry hall.

…

Inside the hall of inquiry was very boisterous, as soldiers walked around the large hall to meet the officials to solve their problems and queries.

Seeing this, Clark felt the feeling of humanity come back to him. Humans were social beings, seeing so many soldiers wearing the same uniform as he was wearing brought out a feeling of camaraderie that he could not pinpoint.

As a Major, most of the soldiers who saw him greeted respectfully while complimenting it with military salutes. He nodded to acknowledge all these soldiers, as he quickly reached his destination in an instant.

The woman in blue uniform flashed him a brilliant smile, after noticing his presence. “Good morning, Major Clark. My name is Rose Augustus”. She greeted respectfully.

She was not a soldier; she was just one of the many workers who worked in the large inquiry hall. Her job was to help any soldier that was clueless about what to do in the military base.

They receive instructions directly from the headquarters A.I, making them the most secure information vendors.

“Good morning”. Clark returned the greeting, as he observed her while extending his hand for a handshake with her.

“I came to know more about my exact position in the army headquarters, and to get my rewards, as directed by the Commander”. He quickly continued, after observing her to his fill.

She was a blonde woman, with light blue-rimmed eyes. Her smart hairstyle made her look cute, complimenting her gorgeous blue uniform.

Her smooth round face, spoke of her slightly Asian identity, while her gorgeous outlook and curves spoke of her Western heritage. Clark easily guessed that she was probably half Eastern, half Westerner.

She noticed the Major’s keen but curious look but did not flinch as she maintained the smile on her face.

Yesterday, she got a call from the headquarters’ A. I that she just received a promotion. She was promoted to become the personal assistant of the new Major, which immediately lifted her into a euphoric mood.

She did her best to dress, makeup, and look smart today. This was probably her best look since she was born.

After receiving the consent of the Major, she quickly explained to him that she was his new personal assistant.

On hearing this, Clark finally understood. He almost forgot that special attention starts from the Major rank. If he remembered correctly, he would also have an entourage of soldiers as his delegates.

After quickly catching up to her point, he asked if she was ready to go. He got her consent immediately, so he told her to explain as they go to his military apartment.

As soon as he turned to leave, he was surprised as he saw a group of soldiers suddenly coming to obstruct his way.

He was confused, prompting him to turn, giving a questioning look at his new personal assistant.

“Umm…, sir, that’s Corporal Davis and his entourage of soldiers. Please, be careful around him sir, his father is a General of the republic”. Rose quickly whispered into the ear of her new superior.

Hearing this, Clark’s eyebrows creased a bit as he calmed down to observe these soldiers before him, and the so-called Corporal Davis.

The man had the default arrogant smirk of spoiled brats on his face, which reduced his interest in him by more than 80% immediately. He was someone that did not fancy discussing with children.

Though he took the man as childish, he was still able to notice this fellow’s large and bulky build. He had a light skin tone, with bulging muscles that were clearly packed up with power. The man finally spoke up.

“Hmmm, what do we have here? It’s the self-proclaimed legend, Major Clark. Why am I meeting country bumpkins from a backwater region like the South?” Davis asked sarcastically, earning loud laughter from his delegate of soldiers.

Throughout their laughter, Clark did not speak a word. He just maintained a default poker look on his face, seemingly uninterested in whatever they were saying.

“Oh, I remember now. Major, do you have the guts, I challenge you to a duel in the dueling ring…”

“I accept your challenge. See me in the ring in 30 minutes”. Clark did not allow the soldier to finish before he quickly answered with the same poker look on his face.

After saying this, he grabbed the hands of his assistant before moving out. The soldiers scrambled away, hurriedly clearing a path for him.

This was a Major. Even if they could laugh to support their leader’s provocative words, they did not dare directly antagonize a Major for their leader.

Though the Spartan army actively encouraged soldiers challenging their superiors to duels to increase competition, they never tolerated a soldier directly disrespecting a soldier of higher rank.

Davis was surprised, as he did not expect his target to accept his challenge so easily. He stood in place awkwardly, as the attention of everyone rested on him and his group.

“Hmm, acting arrogant? You will not have the teeth to do that in a few minutes”. He snorted to regain his confidence and lost face, before telling his cadre of soldiers to go hype the duel to get more spectators.

…

Clark did not see nor did he pay attention to his challenger again, as his personal assistant started explaining things to him.

Back when he just joined the Python military division, something like this was about to transpire. The challenges were not able to happen again, as he quickly left for the mission into the Mocan republic.

Using that as a template, he was not too surprised. It seems that in every military base of the Spartan republic, every new soldier must encounter this.

Well, he was not afraid. He would just use Davis as an example, to cement his new rank and instill fear into other challengers.

Most soldiers believed that he achieved his rank through dubious means, a battle was always the most efficient way to silence doubts. Every Spartan soldier respected the strong.

Rose finally started speaking out, after making sure that her new boss was no longer in a daze. She was a lawyer and a professional psychologist, so she could read moods to an extent.

She was surprised and impressed, on seeing that the abrupt challenge did not affect her boss.

“Boss, the army provided you with an apartment in the headquarters. The keys are with me, so you can access it immediately and meet your new delegates of soldiers there”.

“This is surprising, but the army also commissioned a weapon specialist to make an exotic armor and spear for you. The surprising factor is that the exotic material being used is the rare high-grade Arcanite metal”.

Clark was not surprised on hearing this. He already knew that all the members of the sea expedition mission would get rewards, he just did not expect this.

A smile came over his face, as he turned to his assistant to continue.

“The army also provided you with a lot of monetary rewards, equaling a total of 7,255,000 Spartan credits…” Rose’s voice kept on getting lower and lower, before becoming a whisper as she read out this astronomical figure.

Clark smiled amusedly on seeing her expression. He already expected as such, but his face still showed his happiness on confirming this.

“Good, how long does it take from here to my apartment?” He finally asked, after reining in his emotions.

His question seemed to act as a speeding catalyst, as his assistant recovered from her breathless state, smiled, before pointing at the slowly growing outline of a large mansion ahead.

He was shocked on seeing this. The looming form of the mansion spread faint shadows across the headquarters street, showcasing its enormous size.

Clark had huge expectations for his mansion, but this? “Are you sure? Is this my apartment?” He asked with undisguised shock on his tone, earning a smile from his assistant this time.

“Boss, the mansion’s approximate cost is 4 million Spartan credits”. She muttered with a proud grin on her face like the property was hers.

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