"You sure seem to have a big mouth. Maybe that is why you have trouble keeping it closed." The blonde cracked his fingers, getting closer.
"It seems you are in dire need of disciplinary action."
Thanks to Michael's interference, Ava was able to calm down and think rationally.
"Who do you think you are to decide if a member of my squad needs to be disciplined or not?" She retorted. "Not to mention you haven't said your name nor from what base you are."
"Tch." The man clicked his tongue in displeasure before answering. "Captain Carlos from base #56."
'I don't remember that name… This means that in my prior life this man had perished in the alien invasion.' Michael figured.
While he had indeed gone back in the past, that didn't mean he knew every single thing. In his prior life all he did was train in the base for a week before the invasion began. Being a simple cadet at the time meant that he didn't get to learn much about the structure of the bases on the moon before it was obliterated.
"Anyway, for going against orders, I would personally contact your general. If memory serves me correctly, it was Victoria, right? You have a tough few days ahead of you. She is famous for following protocol to a tee." Carlos spoke, eyes going towards Ava's cybernetic arms.
"Of course I can turn the other way around… You must have at least one cybernetic chip stashed somewhere, right? I am willing to make a deal."
Hearing the proposition, something clicked in Michael's head.
'So he wants to extort us for techniques…'
This was a common practice among the military. Resources were low, and each technique could be used only once. With the threat of death every single day, most soldiers would resort to exploiting each other in order to get more powerful.
'Such a shame… If people weren't so selfish trying to hog all the resources, perhaps humanity wouldn't have struggled so much against the alien invasion.'
In order for humanity to thrive, fighting back against the aliens wasn't the only necessary thing. Many of the higher-ups would need to be taken care of as well.
"Declined." Ava cut him off instantly. "You can contact whoever you want to. I too will ask your superior why you were so late."
By now the members of the squad started to get agitated. They were in the middle of a crisis. The last thing they needed was to waste time on useless procedures.
"I have a proposal." Michael said, catching Carlos's attention once again.
"Since this started with us two, how about we settle it out in a duel? There is no need to bother the ones at the top."
"You want to duel me?" Carlos raised an eyebrow. "What is your realm? Are you even an Adept? Since you are so young, I struggle to think that you are anything higher than an Apprentice."
"Does it really matter? The faster we deal with this, the better."
Carlos didn't argue further. Originally he had wanted to try his luck on getting a cybernetic. The reason he had escalated things so much was because he was insulted by Michael. Being a captain, Carlos had to do everything in his power to keep his image in front of his squad. Otherwise, morale would fall and his leadership would be questioned.
If he could beat Michael and get it over with, he was willing to agree.
Of course Michael had long guessed Carlos's thinking process, hence his request.
"If anyone is going to fight, it should be me! Not you!" Ava tried to stop him, guilt boiling in her heart. Had she controlled her emotions better, perhaps then he wouldn't have had to fight a person with a higher realm.
Michael chuckled. "Have a little faith in your junior, alright, Captain?"
Since Michael didn't seem scared, Ava didn't push.
'Maybe he has a plan…'
The two squads immediately made a circle around the two men that were about to clash.
"Since I don't want to injure you too badly, we are only going to use our fists. No weapons allowed. Alright?"
Michael wasn't planning to kill Carlos, so he nodded in approval.
The two got into fighting positions.
'At some point I was beginning to get worried, but things turned out nicely. After giving the cadet a good beating, I could leave without losing the respect of my squad.' Carlos secretly sneered, planning to go all out from the start.
"Begin!" One of the soldiers shouted, signaling the start of the fight.
'Here goes nothing.' Michael thought, activating Berserker.
Since captains were at least at the Adept realm, he couldn't afford to hold back. So he allowed half of his mind to be infused with madness, increasing his other stats by 500 points.
[Dash activated]
At the same time, he used the new technique he had learned recently for the first time.
His eyes narrowed to the size of a needle, a great load of information entering his mind in milliseconds.
With agility over 2500 points, he moved faster than most of the spectators could perceive.
'Since the effect of the Dash technique lasts only a second, I can't afford to waste a single moment!'
Making his palm into a fist, he punched with all of his 500 points in strength, directly at Carlos's abdomen.
Boom!
Due to his speed, Carlos wasn't able to tense his core in time. His feet swept off the floor, being sent several meters back on the ground.
'What the hell did this brat do? FUCK! I underestimated him!' He cursed, spitting a mouthful of saliva. The attack had taken him by surprise. Who could guess that a simple cadet could move so fast?
"Can you get up?" Michael asked, hoping that a single punch had been enough. Truthfully, if Carlos hadn't underestimated him, then the chances of winning would have been low.
'I hit him in the liver. If that didn't take him out, I would be in trouble.'
The place turned deadly silent waiting for Carlos's next words. He tried to get up only to fall to the ground a moment later.
At the end he sighed before answering.
"I…"