"What the?! I didn’t know Arthur had such a vicious personality!" Simon muttered in shock when Arthur provoked Layla.

"Was he actually playing with her?" Tamara wondered, as Arthur put up such a strong front.

"And here I was feeling bad for him!" Simon protested.

"I know, right!" Stevan agreed.

Squeak! Squeak Squeak!

The rat protested, disliking it when others badmouthed Arthur. For the rat, Arthur was the most wonderful if not foolish person!

Meanwhile, Arthur was trying to put his blade against Layla’s neck when he found her gripping his sword hand, preventing him from pushing the blade against her neck. What followed was a knee to the stomach as Layla retaliated by kneeing him. The air was knocked out of Arthur's lungs as he tackled Layla, hugging her around the waist.

Arthur tried to wrestle his hand free while they were still on the ground, but Layla’s other hand was already coming toward his neck, forming a claw.

"Shit!" Arthur cursed while trying to catch the hand with his left hand, while his right hand still gripped his katana with all his power so Layla couldn’t take it from him.

Arthur knew that he wouldn’t make it; they were so close, and he noticed her intention too late to stop her. Yet, he did not stop, giving up meant he would hand his life to her. Arthur could clearly see murderous rage in her eyes, and he would not gamble on her sparing him after all he had said to her!

Arthur felt the world slow down as his life flashed before him: how he was happy living with his mother and father, how the apocalypse took them from him, how his other relatives abandoned him, how the government fell, and the sect never looked his way, and how Rat became his bond, caring for him when no one else did!

"I’m not giving up! Not today, not ever!" he gritted his teeth.

Suddenly, his hand accelerated, catching the clawing hand, pushing it aside with a strength that he did not know he had. But just as fast, the strength went away, leaving his arm sore. Sadly, Arthur did not have the luxury of respite.

He could feel Layla retaliating, trying to claw at him. Only by virtue of his will could Arthur keep holding her hand, preventing both of them from using their hands.

In desperation, Arthur bit Layla, trying to tear her apart, to no avail.

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"Ah~! Where are you biting, you rabid dog!" Layla screamed while letting out some ambiguous whimper as Arthur bit her in a certain location on her chest.

Arthur did not have time to listen to her as he could feel her kneeing him multiple times in the stomach.

"If I let go, then I'm dead for sure," he could feel his ribs groaning from the abuse.

They grappled for almost a minute, but it felt like hours to Arthur. He wanted to rest, yet he didn't want to die.

"Someone, please stop her..." he wanted to cry badly.

"I said enough!" Layla boomed as her cultivation soared, and qi coursed through her body, sending Arthur tumbling dozens of meters as she broke the suppression on her cultivation.

Arthur lay on the ground, unable to get up even if he wanted to. His body was already bleeding and bruised all over from their duel, and being thrown dozens of meters did not help his condition.

On the other hand, Layla was practically unharmed, other than her disheveled uniform, a bite mark somewhere on her body, and a bruised ego.

Layla picked up the sword she dropped when she was intercepting Arthur's sword before walking toward Arthur. Her breathing was ragged, either from rage or some other reason, and her eyes looked as if they were about to pop out of their sockets from rage.

Arthur's plan was to blind Layla with her blood after distracting her with dirt, then get closer and put his blade on her neck to win. But things went south the moment he failed to do the last part; anything after that, from grappling and biting, was not part of his plan, and now he didn't know how to save himself.

"That’s enough, Sergeant Hawkins. I believe you have already had enough fighting to assess his ability, and if you continue, you will just embarrass not only yourself but my battalion as well," a familiar voice called, as if heaven heard his plea for help.

Layla stopped and then looked around with wide eyes. Now that her cultivation was no longer suppressed, she could feel the whole yard. Almost every recruit and their sergeant were there watching.

The 4th squad also finally noticed them because they were too focused watching the fight between Arthur and Layla.

"Colonel," Layla greeted her superior; she could feel her face heating up from the blood rushing to her face.

Colonel Samson had been watching 4th squad’s fights from the beginning; with his cultivation, not even Layla noticed his arrival.

When Layla started her duel with Arthur, the other Sergeants took notice and adjourned their own lectures and training to bring their recruits to the yard.

They intended to show them a good fight, but the moment most of them arrived, what they saw was Arthur provoking Layla, and then them grappling on the ground with such an unsightly display!

"Sergeant Hawkins, let’s talk in my office," the colonel said.

"Sir–" Layla was about to explain herself, but Samson cut her off.

"Don’t worry, I won't keep you long. I know you are busy tonight," he glanced at Arthur, which made Layla bite her lips.

"But I did not agree," she protested.

"That is for you two to discuss. Now we have something else to discuss, do you understand, Sergeant?"

"Yes, sir," She said, following right behind the Colonel.

"Sergeant Donovan, can you clean up here? Get 4th squad their uniform and their room for Hawkins. Also, get a healer for them," the man ordered a nearby sergeant who was watching with his squad.

The sergeant gave a salute before going toward Arthur, who had Simon helping him to stand.

"I hope they give us a new sergeant," he whispered to the other.