Valerie arrived at the Martial Tower in a hurry, but the place was already deserted. The duel between Andrew and Wilder had ended half an hour earlier.

"General Reyes, what are you doing here?" one of the tower guards snapped to attention.

Valerie kept her face expressionless as she strode forward, brisk and commanding, and she said, "Move aside. I have business here."

The two guards did not dare argue.

Luna and Valerie treated their own troops very differently. While neither was deliber