An Understated Dominance - Chapter 184

After sending Ruth home, Dustin went back to the Peaceful Medical Center.

As soon as he opened the doors, he frowned. The place looked like a disaster zone. Boxes of medicine were scattered everywhere, and Dahlia was rushing around, sweating heavily.

“Where did he put the Diarhica?” she mumbled to herself, holding a prescription.

After searching for a bit, she spotted a box of Diarhica on a high shelf. Since it was out of her reach, she needed to use a stool to get it.

“What are you doing?” Dustin asked, sounding cold.

Startled by his voice, Dahlia lost her balance on the stool. Just in time, Dustin reached out and caught her, feeling as if he was holding something precious as a nice scent filled the air.

Once she was steady on her feet, he quickly let go of her.

“You’re back already?” Dahlia asked, her face lighting up for a moment before she quickly hid her smile.

“Where did you go in the middle of the night? Why didn’t you answer my calls?” she questioned.

“I just stepped out for a bit and didn’t check my phone. What are you doing here?” Dustin replied, uninterested. He figured she wouldn’t have looked for him, especially with her usual attitude.

“I happened to walk by and saw Mr. Jones passed out at the entrance, so I helped him inside,” Dahlia explained.

“He passed out? What happened?” Dustin frowned, concerned.

“I heard that thieves ransacked his house, and after trying to fight them off…”

Dahlia urged, “You should go inside and check on him. He’s hurt badly.”

Dustin didn’t say anything else; he quickly followed her advice.

When he entered the room, he found Gregory Jones lying on the bed, looking pale. Under his bed was a steel basin filled with contaminated blood.

Dustin walked over to Gregory to check his pulse and frowned. Gregory’s Celestial Decay was worsening, and it was happening faster than he had anticipated.

“You’re back already, kid?” Gregory asked, slowly opening his eyes with a relaxed expression.

“I guess this condition has returned, but thanks to the medicine that girl Dahlia gave me, I should be fine,” Gregory explained.

“What the hell happened here?” Dustin asked, his brows furrowing in concern.

He had placed several seals on Gregory’s body to help control the Celestial Decay, but now he noticed that the seals were loosened. This meant Gregory had been forced to use his true energy.

“Not long ago, some thugs came to the medical center, talking about arresting you and taking something called Gozoraberry. I refused to tell them anything and even fought them off, but I didn’t realize that would make me use my true energy. It reopened all my old injuries. I really don’t know what to say!” Gregory huffed, clearly frustrated.

He thought back to ten years ago when he could have easily dealt with those thugs. Age had finally caught up with him!

“Oh, before they left, they dropped off a note for you. Take a look,” Gregory said, pulling out a blood-stained piece of paper.

“What?” Dustin gasped when he saw it.

Dustin read the paper carefully. It had two lines written on it:

“Meet me at the Horst Dojo at 10 pm! Remember to bring the Gozoraberry as well. If you don’t show up, we’ll get rid of your entire family!”

After reading the note, Dustin crumpled it in his hand. It was clear that the Horst family was behind this threat. He didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, but since they were the ones causing trouble, he felt justified in responding.

“Good thing Dahlia showed up when she did. Otherwise, I could have been in serious trouble!” Gregory sighed. Although the attackers hadn’t hurt him badly, he had some internal injuries. If Dahlia hadn’t treated him in time, he might not have made it.

“Thanks,” Dustin said, turning to Dahlia with a complicated expression.

“You’re welcome. Mr. Jones has always been kind to me, so I wanted to help,” Dahlia replied, wiping sweat from her brow.

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done. But I have to go now, so please look after Gregory for me,” Dustin said.

“Where are you going?” Dahlia asked, frowning.

“To get my revenge!” Dustin declared.

Later that night, in the commander’s room at South City’s military headquarters, a handsome young general studied battle formations on a sand table. Behind him stood several female lieutenants, watching him with admiration as he focused on his work.

the next best person for the job,” Dustin replied quickly.

Adam Spanner couldn’t help but smirk. He was known as the youngest commander of Dragonmarsh, and alongside the Goddess of War, Scarlet Spanner, they were the pride of the Spanner family. Not even thirty years old, he commanded hundreds of thousands of troops, won countless battles, and truly earned the title of God of War. No one in Dragonmarsh was more capable than him, and he was often called the “National Warrior.”

Suddenly, his phone rang with an unfamiliar number. He raised his eyebrows, feeling it was strange but curious.

“Hello, is this Adam Spanner?” a familiar voice asked as he answered.

“Who are you? How dare you call this commander by his name?” Adam replied, feeling annoyed.

“This is Dustin Rhys speaking,” the voice said. Adam froze, unsure of how to respond. He swallowed his words and after a moment of silence, he finally said stiffly, “Well, well, well, if it isn’t Mr. Troublemaker. I thought you were gone for good. I even bring flowers to your grave every year.”

“Stop talking nonsense. I need you to do something for me,” Dustin snapped back.

“Hey, watch your tone! I’m a commander now, not some weakling you can push around!” Adam whispered fiercely.

“Oh, what do you want me to do?” Dustin teased.

“I want you to show me some respect. When you ask me for a favor, you should do it nicely—maybe flatter me a little first,” Adam replied, brushing off the badges on his shoulder pad.

It was clear to Dustin that Adam was still as cocky as ever.

“Forget I said anything. I’ll just find someone else for the job,” Dustin said, ready to hang up.

“Someone else,” Dustin snapped, not in the mood for games.

“D-don’t hang up on me yet!” Adam replied, sounding surprised. He quickly added with a big smile, “Come on, can’t you take a joke? You always get mad at everything I say. You know that if something’s bothering you, you can just tell me!”

Dustin sighed, “What was I thinking? You’re the commander of the Dragonmarsh army now. How could I possibly bother you with this? Maybe I should just find someone else.”

“No need for that, Dustin! It would be an honor to help you. Just think of it as a favor for me, okay? Please give me a chance; I promise I’ll do a good job!” Adam pleaded, his voice a mix of excitement and urgency.

After waiting so long, he finally had a chance to prove himself. How could he let this opportunity slip away?

“Ha! Since you’re the one begging now, I’ll give you a chance. I can feel your sincerity through the phone,” Dustin said.

“Thanks a lot, Dustin!” Adam cheered, a huge grin spreading across his face.

Nearby, several female officers watched in disbelief. Their eyes widened in shock, as if they had seen a ghost.

Was this really their usual serious and tough commander?

Who was the person on the other end of the phone?

How could they make such a respected military officer act so soft?