Commander Feng navigated the descending stairwell toward the training grounds. He formulated a precise plan to teach the commoner a painful lesson.
'I am not stupid,' Feng reasoned to himself. Attacking the boy directly in the dark would enrage Princess Lune and invite severe consequences. He needed a valid, legal excuse to punish Solomon.
He smiled in the shadows. He would challenge the boy to a formal spar under the guise of evaluating his martial abilities for the upcoming royal sermon. During the duel, Feng planned to strike hard enough to break his bones, leaving the peasant bedridden for weeks. The boy would beg for mercy on the dirt floor.
Feng understood arrogance perfectly. Solomon possessed boundless pride. If challenged in front of the princess, the boy would surely accept to impress her. Once injured in a sanctioned duel, no one could legally blame the commander for an unfortunate training accident.
