The awakened didn’t stop apologizing no matter what Edward said.
Edward let out a slow breath, his body still emanating traces of that unstable energy, but his eyes were calm, composed, as always.
He looked at the awakened man and the soldiers standing behind him, their faces lined with exhaustion and uncertainty.
So were still injured, others barely managing to stay on their feet.
"It’s fine," Edward said, his voice steady despite everything we had just gone through. "What matters is that so of you are still standing. Alive and here. That’s enough."
Beth scoffed. Loudly.
I turned to her, already feeling the storm brewing in her sharp gaze.
Arms crossed, her posture scread irritation, like she couldn’t stand the very air around her.
"You’re all weak," she said bluntly, her voice cutting through the tense silence.
"Private Beth—" I started, but she wasn’t done.
"Pathetic." She clicked her tongue, eyes narrowing as she glared at the gathered awakened and soldiers. "Cowering. Hesitating. You let others fight while you waited for what? Permission? A sign from the gods? You’re alive, sure, but at what cost? Your pride? Your dignity?"
A few of the soldiers stiffened, and I could see so of them balling their fists.
The awakened man who had apologized earlier remained still, but his expression darkened.
"Stop," I said, stepping toward her.
She turned to , her piercing eyes eting mine, filled with sothing sharp, anger, maybe, or sothing deeper.
"Stop? Why?" She gestured toward the battlefield, the ruined ground, the bodies that lay still. "Weaklings like them fall because they’re too scared to fight. You want to pretend that’s not true?"
I clenched my jaw, forcing myself to stay calm.
"That’s not the point."
"It is the point," she shot back, stepping closer, her voice lowering but not losing its sharp edge. "Strength is the only thing that matters in a fight like this. And those who hesitate, those who falter, those who let their fear control them? They don’t belong here."
The air between us was thick, the tension almost suffocating.
Edward finally spoke, his tone firm.
"Enough."
Beth didn’t look at him, her gaze locked onto mine, waiting for to challenge her.
I exhaled, forcing my frustration down.
"Not everyone fights the sa way you do, Beth. And not everyone has to."
She clicked her tongue again, turning away.
"Then they should stay out of the way."
The silence that followed was heavy.
The soldiers behind us shifted uncomfortably, but no one spoke up.
I took another breath, steadying myself.
The tension in the air was thick enough to choke on.
I could feel the weight of Beth’s words hanging over the soldiers and the awakened, pressing down on them like a silent accusation.
So of them lowered their gazes, sha flickering across their faces, while others clenched their fists, barely holding themselves together.
I took a step closer to Beth, my jaw tightening as I t her cold, unrelenting stare.
"Just because you’re still standing, just because you’re still fighting, doesn’t an you’re special," I said, my voice calm but firm. "It doesn’t give you the right to look down on people who can’t fight the way you do."
Beth’s lips curled into sothing that wasn’t quite a smile, more like amusent mixed with disdain.
"I am special," she said without hesitation, her voice carrying an almost arrogant certainty.
She swept her gaze across the exhausted soldiers and the shaken awakened, her expression unyielding.
"And they? Those who are too scared to fight for their own survival? Those who rely on others to fight for them? They shouldn’t even be alive."
A few of the soldiers flinched, their sha deepening, while the awakened man who had spoken earlier looked away, his hands tightening into fists.
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating, like an invisible force pressing down on all of us.
I felt a surge of frustration rising in my chest, but I swallowed it down.
There was no point in arguing with her...
So I didn’t say anything.
I just looked at her.
Was she always like this?
And in that mont, sothing shifted.
Beth held my gaze for a second longer, then scoffed and turned away, as if she had already dismissed the conversation as aningless.
The damage was already done.
And the worst part was that so part of knew, deep down, that Beth wasn’t entirely wrong.
The silence that followed Beth’s words again was suffocating.
Tension crackled in the air, heavy and unspoken, stretching between all of us like an invisible wire pulled taut.
The soldiers and awakened stood there, so ashad, others frustrated, but no one dared to speak.
I could feel the weight of Beth’s judgnt pressing down on them, making it harder for them to et each other’s eyes.
And i stood stiffly, my fists clenched at my sides, my jaw tight, i was holding back words, I wanted to hurl at Beth.
She just destroyed their fighting spirit.
Before things could spiral further, Edward took a sharp step forward.
"Enough." his voice cut through the tension like a blade, commanding and firm.
Beth turned to him, her eyes still burning with that cold certainty, but he didn’t give her the chance to say another word.
"This isn’t the ti to quarrel," he continued, sweeping his gaze across everyone gathered.
"We don’t have the luxury of throwing words at each other when the real threat is still right in front of us. We need to focus. If we don’t act now, we’re going to be wiped out."
I exhaled, my shoulders dropping slightly.
I understood.
But Beth, on the other hand, simply crossed her arms, unimpressed.
"Then what do you suggest?"
Edward turned toward the massive mound of earth where the orc lord had been buried, his mind racing through possibilities.
"We need to make a plan before he breaks out," he said. "We’ve already seen how powerful he is. If we don’t have a strategy in place, we won’t stand a chance when he gets back up."
But before he could continue, the awakened who had used the earth magic stepped forward.
His expression was calm, but there was a hint of pride in his voice as he spoke.
"There’s no need for that," he said. "The orc lord won’t be able to break out of my ability."
Reviews
All reviews (0)