Chapter 19, Dialogue 009 - Shocking Words End Only at Death (1)

"Flossie Wright, do you fancy a competition with me?"

Jocelyn Carrington glanced at Flossie Wright from the corner of her eye, her face radiating smugness and arrogance. She acted as though she was doing Flossie a favor by requesting this competition. This pose of hers was so aloof that it even darkened Janice Wood's face momentarily.

The surrounding female soldiers, curious at this unexpected turn of events, were bewildered. Everyone knew that Jocelyn Carrington was among the most esteemed of the soldiers. Although she wasn't always first in every training program, she generally ranked among the top. Flossie had just recently started to shine, and this did not prove her overall strength. Was Jocelyn too hurried in her challenge to compete?

Even though Flossie had stopped in her tracks, she did not give Jocelyn a single glance. Nonchalantly, she spoke to Janice Wood nearby, "Let's move elsewhere."

"...Oh."

It took Janice a moment to register this. Despite finding Flossie's decision to sidestep the confrontation strange, she considered Flossie's history of losing in combat training and suddenly understood.

"Flossie Wright, are you too afraid to compete?!"

Feeling humiliated, an anger ignited within Jocelyn Carrington. With one step, she blocked Flossie's path. She stared at Flossie, unrelenting and ready to fight.

Flossie looked up coolly and met the gaze of the relentless woman before her. After a pause, she smirked arrogantly and said, "Afraid? Yes, I am. I fear that if you lose, you would create a scene and spread rumors about me everywhere. What a bother."

At the pronunciation of the first three words, Jocelyn felt a rush of relief. But Flossie's subsequent words nearly gave her a heart attack from rage. Blood splattered out of her mouth.

How could someone be so shameless!

Jocelyn was fuming, and yet Flossie remained exasperatingly calm. Flossie looked at her aloofly, as if she genuinely meant her previous words. The peculiar expressions of the surrounding soldiers grew more pronounced.

"No unfounded accusations!" Jocelyn gnashed her teeth, her forehead creased in a scowl, "When you first arrived, when have you ever won a match against me?!"

The observers, familiar with their history, nodded in agreement. Indeed, Flossie's past in combat training was well known. A single blow could knock her over, thereby leading everyone to believe that her earlier boast was nothing more than an idle threat.

Standing aside, Janice was on edge. She wished she could take Jocelyn on herself to give Flossie a chance to save face.

But contrary to expectations, Flossie showed no signs of embarrassment or fear. Her dark, clear eyes shifted slightly, landing on Jocelyn Carrington with a look of disdain. In an instant, Jocelyn was burning with rage, feeling inexplicably humiliated.

"Are you an idiot?"

Flossie uttered these words lightly. Her calm demeanor oozing contempt and arrogance, she left an indelible impression of her outrageous audacity.

Jocelyn was stunned into silence, unable to comprehend Flossie's intentions. The only certain thing was that Flossie dismissed her as inconsequential, causing her rage to grow more intense.

Then, Flossie elaborated leisurely, "The previous times were just me taking you for a ride. You didn't realize?"

"..."

At that moment, all Jocelyn wanted was to kill Flossie.

On the contrary, the crowd of onlookers found Flossie's brazen humiliation and shocking rhetoric intriguing, especially given her unfazed expression. Regardless of the truth of her claim, they were all unexpectedly entertained.