The silence stirred for several unformed seconds.
"Idiot." Ava sneered, breaking the silence.
'Even if Enzo is in the same realm as my Michael, the idiot has no idea how badly he is going to lose!'
"Did I do something to offend you?" Michael asked. While he was familiar with being targeted by other people, it would prove bad if his teammate wasn't willing to work with him.
"Did you do something? Of course!" Enzo frowned, crossing his arms.
"You appeared out of nowhere, took the position of a captain in a mere week, and then you baited out the Elites that could have caused us to lose the battle."
Enzo still remembered how Victoria hadn't let him join her team while she gladly took Michael.
"I have to see if your strength is the real deal. If I don't know the extent of your strength, I can't put my life in your hands." Enzo reasoned.
Michael was pleasantly surprised. From the looks of it, while the man was hot-headed and most likely a battle maniac, he didn't seem the jealous type. He just wanted to make sure that his teammate could be a reliable ally.
'Thank God he is a reasonable person, unlike many.' Michael sighed before his lips curved into a warm smile.
"Sure, when night comes and we stop to rest, we can fight as much as you want. Deal?" He proposed.
A large grin spread all over Enzo's face. "Deal!"
"That's not fair!" However, to both men's surprise, Ava stood up and stomped her leg.
"If you are going to duel someone, I want to take part!" She began to feel jealous that Michael was about to duel another person while still never having faced her.
"Sure." Michael didn't dislike the idea.
"Do you also want to?" Michael turned his head to Amelia, who had remained silent during the exchange.
She closed her eyes before nodding in agreement.
"Leo? What about you?"
Leo scoffed at the question. "Fighting you? Are you insane? I value my life very much, thank you."
The army marched until the night began to descend over the lands. Tomorrow they would reach one of the bases that was on their way to the other side of Triton. As such, Victoria decided it would be for the best if her soldiers took a break in order to be ready for tomorrow's battle.
Once they found a suitable spot, the soldiers began to erect numerous tents to house them under the weather. Others began to cook food, not wanting to rely on the protein bars so soon.
With the perimeter confirmed safe, the captains gathered at the center of the camp that had appeared overnight.
"Good work today. I want you to rest up for tomorrow's battle. From the reports, Base #56 is still under attack by the alien invasion. Their situation isn't dire, but we don't want to leave them waiting without giving them a helping hand." Victoria said to the captains.
'Base #56? Isn't this the base from which Carlos was?' Michael wondered internally, gazing at the heating-up food pot.
With the briefing over and the captains having the rest of the time for themselves, Enzo didn't waste time. Standing up, he pointed at Michael as he spoke loudly.
"Now it's time for our duel!"
Since the captains still lingered in the area, they naturally heard his words.
"Captains dueling one another?"
"Now that I think about it, it's a nice way to pass the time."
"Let's set up an arena! This might even boost the morale of our troops!"
Finding the idea pleasant, the captains quickly created an arena with a 20-meter diameter. Victoria didn't find the idea unreasonable, so she didn't stop them.
'This will be a good way to see the current strength of my troops.' She mused.
Naturally, the commotion they were causing was quickly picked up by the common soldiers.
"Hey, look! The captains are creating an arena!"
"What?! The legendary captains are going to duel? Now this is a sight I must see!"
A crowd began to gather, with numerous curious onlookers waiting to see the power their superiors possessed.
"Out of the way!" Not bothering with etiquette, Enzo pushed past the soldiers until he stepped a foot in the ring. Since he was the one who proposed the idea, no one had a problem with him having the first fight.
"With or without weapons?" Michael asked, feeling several curious gazes on him.
In response, Enzo grinned before putting two heavy gauntlets on his fists. "With weapons, of course!"
Michael nodded with a smile, extending his hand.
"Devil's Tongue."
The soldiers' eyes widened when they saw his soul weapon. It was very rare for a person to have one. Especially one who was still just a captain.
'I am back! Are we going to kill the brat?' Devil's Tongue asked with anticipation.
'No, this is a friendly duel.' Michael shattered the sword's dreams before dashing forward.
'With my current attributes, my stats must be equal to Enzo's. I could crush him easily if I use Berserker, but where is the fun in that?' Not wanting for the match to end too early, Michael made a vow not to use any of his techniques.
Boom!
A shockwave resounded as Enzo's gauntlet and Michael's sword collided with one another.
To his surprise, Enzo was the one being pushed back! Since he had a strength higher than average, he was confident he would not lose in terms of strength, yet he did.
'Not to mention that his eyes are brown. He isn't using his Berserker technique at all.' Enzo thought, feeling his blood turning hotter with anticipation.
"Let's see how long you'll last!"
For the next half hour, the two men exchanged thousands of blows. Enzo began to sweat more and more, while Michael didn't seem to show any signs of exhaustion.
"It's my loss." Enzo admitted, collapsing on one knee, his breathing erratic. Despite losing, there was a smile on his face. He had found a rival that he wanted to surpass.
"Good match." Michael extended his hand, helping Enzo stand up.
Since there were other captains that wanted to fight, they made way for them, joining the crowd.
"Hey, I heard that you have a faction, right?" Enzo asked with gleaming eyes.
"Yes, but it's not that serious. We have just three members." Michael scratched the back of his head.
"Four members!" Enzo corrected.
"Huh?" Michael was puzzled for a few seconds.
"You want to join us? Are you sure?"
Enzo nodded eagerly. "Yes, I want to defeat you, and to do that, I have to observe how you train and take notes. It's clear you are doing something right."
Michael didn't press further. The more members his faction gained, the better.
After them, several more fights happened. A captain would enter the ring and challenge another, resulting in a fierce battle.
The onlookers continued to grow in number as well as in excitement. At some point, they began to create a leaderboard, wanting to decide who was the strongest captain among their base.
But after several battles, the surroundings grew deadly quiet as another challenger entered the ring. Despite her petite body, no one doubted her strength, especially with the giant hammer casually resting on her shoulder.
Ava was the only one to have reached the Early Expert realm. She could take the position of second in command if she wanted to. No one would be stupid enough to want to fight her.
Ava observed the pale expressions that surrounded her. Her eyes lit up when she saw the one she wanted to challenge.
Extending her finger forward, she declared. "Michael, I challenge you!"