The air on the field was tight with anticipation. The kind of silence that trembled under the weight of what was about to unfold. Every soldier, from the grizzled elites to the fresh cadets barely two months into service, had their eyes locked on the open stretch of reinforced ground. It had been cleared hours ago, the Federation's way of preparing for something that was less a duel and more a statement.
A display.
To the Federation, strength wasn't just a necessity. It was a currency. A creed. A proof of one's worth, earned only through feats that couldn't be questioned. The higher the rank, the greater the expectation. And for someone to carry the badge of an Azure Colonel, A-rank strength wasn't a suggestion. It was a requirement. That was what this was. Not a sparring match. Not training. But a rite. A declaration of what one could do, when it mattered.
