Bang!
A fist crashed into the ground barely a foot away from Blake.
The earth ruptured.
Stone split apart beneath the force alone, and a violent shockwave blasted through the clearing. Dirt and shattered rock erupted upward, forming a thick brown cloud that swallowed nearly everyone nearby.
Blake instinctively threw an arm over his face.
"Cough—"
Dust filled his lungs immediately. He started coughing repeatedly as pebbles rained against his jacket.
When the cloud finally began to settle, Trail-X stood exactly where he'd struck the ground, his armored fist still buried inside the crater he'd created.
The soldiers surrounding them had instinctively taken several steps back.
No one dared interrupt.
Trail-X slowly straightened, his voice remaining calm, but with an angry strain.
"I allowed you to continue speaking because I believed there was value in hearing your side."
He looked directly into Blake's eyes.
