NovelXXXChapter 339 For the next several days, the entire team woke to grueling drills that ran from dawn till dusk, leaving barely a moment for anything but eating and sleeping. The relentless pace allowed no room to breathe.
Just as the group finally began to adjust to Citrine's punishing regimen, she upped the ante again, piling on even more.
At the moment, they were crawling through a muddy swamp. Everyone strained forward, muscles burning, faces twisted in agony as they dragged themselves through the muck.
Citrine stood at the edge of the pit, arms folded, her gaze icy and unyielding. "Not fast enough," she barked. "Move! Pick it up!" When Hastings crawled past her, Citrine didn't hesitate-she swung her boot and landed a sharp kick right to his backside.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtShe sneered, her voice dripping with contempt. "What's wrong? Didn't get breakfast? This is all you've got?" Since the day Hastings joined the Vermillion Vanguard, he'd always been the standout the one the instructors praised, the one everyone expected to lead. Not once had anyone chewed him out, let alone kicked his ass in front of the whole squad.
Now, face down in the mud, Hastings glared at Citrine, humiliated. "Just wait," he muttered through clenched teeth. "When this is over, I swear I'll kill you." What an idiot-still all talk, Citrine thought, and let out a careless laugh. Then, without warning, she pressed her boot down on his face, grinding it in for good measure. "I'll be waiting." A little arrogance wouldn't hurt to wear off.
From then on, Citrine seemed to have it out for Hastings. She picked apart everything he did, her words cutting and sharp, and sometimes her critiques turned physical-shoving him, tripping him, even pinning his face into the ground with her heel.
Everyone noticed she was targeting Hastings, and they all assumed he must hate her with a burning passion.
But only Hastings knew the truth. Instead of hating her, he was furious with himself. Somehow, despite all her deliberate humiliation, he felt an inexplicable thrill every tshe singled him out. Try as he might, he couldn't muster any real resentment.
Pathetic, he scolded himself. Absolutely pathetic.
Everyone expected Citrine's only weapon was relentless training, but a few days later, she surprised them by suddenly calling a halt.
That day, she called out Hastings directly. "Spar with me." He froze, caught off guard. "I'm not your match," he blurted, shaking his head.
Citrine didn't care. She grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward. "Cut the crap. Fight me." With no choice, Hastings had to face her. He did his best, but no matter what, she outmaneuvered him at every turn.
The others figured Citrine just wanted an excuse to beat Hastings black and blue. Even Hastings thought so until she spoke.
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏm"Don't get distracted by my feints, Hastings," she said, her tone suddenly instructive. "Right now, stop thinking about how I'll attack. Trust your instincts. Don't letcontrol the pace." “Instead of guessing which hand I'll use, attack my legs the moment you see an opening." The words hit Hastings like a bolt of lightning. Suddenly, everything clicked.
He stopped overthinking her moves.
Trusting his gut, he launched a fierce attack at her lower body. Sure other PPP enough, he managed to block her strike and even forced her to fall back several paces. It all made sense now.
From then on, he stopped fixating on Citrine's technique and simply moved.
m d. His reactions grew sharper, m his attacks more precise. In the end, he still lost-but this time, he lasted through ten full rounds with her. Compared to before, it was a giant leap forward.
For the first time, Citrine grinned at him-a rare, genuine smile, like a mentor watching her student finally or break through. "Not bad. You're not completely hopeless anymore. From here, you're on your own."
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