Gabriel easily caught Richard's punch, which made everyone baffled at this event. They were speechless about it, but one person was infuriated about it.
"Just because you were able to catch it, doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!" Richard said in his rough voice and punched Gabriel again, but he was able to dodge it with a simple sway to his side.
Richard held his breath as he sent another punch. But, despite facing utter disappointment, Gabriel was still able to evade his punch.
Richard continued to send a barrage of attacks as the audience went into total silence, with them watching Gabriel easily play with Richard. Richard's face was showing extreme irritation, which didn't seem to be good for them. If Richard was irritated by the events, then he must have had a hard time hitting Gabriel.
They bet on Richard, which put their money at risk, but Gabriel easily played Richard, which they did not expect.
Gabriel's face showed delight. His eyes were beaming as every attack he was encountering could be easily evaded.
"Hey, is that all you got?" Not being arrogant, Gabriel asked Richard. But Richard was still silent as what he was focusing on was hitting Gabriel for once.
Gabriel grew tired of it as there was nothing new in it. Even though he knew that he could win this fight, he was still expecting more from their expressions, especially everyone who was watching the fight.
He leaped over Richard and landed his left foot on his head. And with that, he stomped his other foot on Richard's shoulder and put him down, with that simple movement.
Everyone was as if struck by lightning, paralyzed. They were in disbelief, and just as Gabriel looked at them, he stated. "Listen carefully. What I don't like is being utter trash being blinded by greed."
They didn't understand him at first, but as Gabriel removed another layer of his robe, everyone understood why Gabriel was so confident and also profound in fighting.
Gabriel's body showed scars, and two of them stood out. It was a scar that Gabriel was part of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and also, the symbol of the Jue Yu Clan, who were the leading rescue squad in the western area.
Everyone knew about the Jue Yu clan as they were dedicated and also caring. Some of the new soldiers were people that the clan had saved. And just by that, it was obvious that they needed to respect him, despite not being sure of his identity.
"I am General Gabriel Fang. I am the new general of Camp Xie, and I will meet you again later."
Gabriel left his money on the ground and wore his robes back. Then, he went to a room where he suspected the temporary commander was.
***
They didn't expect Gabriel's sudden arrival. And because of that, they lowered their guard and also acted arrogantly towards anyone. But it was pointless to discuss something like that. Hence, Gabriel only sat down on a soft couch in his office with one person standing before him with respect.
"General Fang, I truly apologize for the ugly performance of the recruits. They were still immature and didn't know the real attitude a soldier must-have. Please forgive me."
The temporary commander, Captain Wang, was standing before Gabriel. He was at least in his thirties and had an average appearance. But Gabriel was preoccupied with his remorse for the previous event.
Gabriel let out a small smile and shook his head. "Don't worry about it. I was only testing them, and I could see that they were not paying much attention to their personality. But, I am amazed at their attitude in watching their progress by using the fight as their platform."
For a moment, Captain Wang was relieved. But Gabriel followed his words with his eyebrows furrowing. "I want to say that they were still bad. Their attitude towards developing their abilities was superb, but their actual progress was bad."
Captain Wang's face slowly changed into a gloomy one as Gabriel showed his disappointment. But, Gabriel wasn't intending on ignoring their efforts. At least he wanted to have a strong battalion, even if they were just new.
"And now I can understand why I was assigned to Camp Xie and was promoted. It was for me to train them to be more useful to the dynasty." Gabriel mumbled, with Captain Wang clueless about it. Gabriel released a sigh after that and closed his eyes.
"You are dismissed. I will take a rest." He stated, making Captain Wang leave immediately without extra movement. And as he left the office and went down to the space in the building where most of the soldiers were staying, he was bombarded by them. They flocked to him with their curious faces.
Captain Wang had already noticed how curious they were. But as he was tired of explaining it to them, he shoved them away and passed through them, taking a seat on a couch that was just nearby.
Even though Captain Wang showed no interest in their upcoming questions, they still continued to bother him, asking about what had just happened and if what they heard was real.
Some of them weren't present when Gabriel introduced himself. That was why they were ignorant of the matter. But as the bugging voices continued to bother Captain Wang, he stomped his feet and glared at them.
"The next time you ask another question after I answer, I will punish you." He stated in an authoritative tone.
Everyone nodded, and then, first, Captain Wang filtered their curiosity.
"The person that had arrived earlier and was acting like a normal soldier was General Fang, the newest general and also the youngest. He was also the clan leader of the Jue Yu Clan, and had achieved plenty of achievements throughout the 3 years of his service."
Captain Wang was still not done with his talk, but someone cut him off with a question. "Was that person really the Demon Blood? I mean, he doesn't look that terrifying."
Captain Wang almost laughed out loud in an odd way after hearing it. He then glared at that person and said, "You don't know him. I have seen him on the battlefield once, and I can say that he is beyond me and other young soldiers you know. He is known as a genius."
Everyone became silent as they heard Captain Wang sound terrified about describing Gabriel.
"It was lucky for you that he didn't punish you for acting arrogant in front of him. If he was slightly annoyed, he would have killed all of you." Captain Wang stated flatly.
Meanwhile, upstairs, where Gabriel was resting, he couldn't help but smirk as he continued to listen to their whispering about him. He could only feel amused that they had time to compare people and become ignorant of people's capabilities.
"Of course, you would think that it is impossible for a young man like me to have that kind of strength. Some of them would feel their ego couldn't accept the fact. But, it will end later as I hone their bodies."
Gabriel continued to rest and soothe the Magique in the surrounding area. He let them talk about him.
***
People said that Gabriel was being arrogant because of his rank. But, it was only understandable since he had the power. And only a small minority thought that Gabriel didn't have what it took to be more powerful than them.
Some of them that didn't see him earlier would basically not believe what they heard since Gabriel was just a young man to them. Once they didn't see things on their own, they wouldn't believe rumors.
"Heee... Is that really real? I mean, I could also defeat Richard and call myself a general. But, Captain Wang recognized him, right?"
"Hmmm... probably paid. Some cases happen in these months when rich people pay some to a nearby camp to call someone a "general."
"Hey, isn't that the most stupid thing I've heard? No one could fabricate their ranks to the general without having the proper ability."
"Probably, they just assessed him wrong. Let's see what he could do."
After Gabriel rested for the day, he finally left his room and went downstairs to meet some of the soldiers.
With his furious aura leaking, some of them were petrified in their positions. Gabriel's eyes became deeper, which made them think that what they saw earlier was hazy and fake. They could see Gabriel as more horrifying at this time.
But, Gabriel was intending to show his fearsome aura. He just nonchalantly walked down, and their minds speculated on things on their own.
"How many squads are there in this battalion?" Gabriel asked on a soldier that greeted him calmly.
"There are 16 squads, Sir."
Gabriel nodded and ordered, "Call all the squad leaders. We will have a meeting and tell them to meet me at the open yard."
"Yes, Sir."
Gabriel then walked down the path that everyone had created. And every step he took was pressurizing the air for them.. That eventually made them silent, which even made the sounds of their heartbeats suppressed.