I Reincarnated to Another World as a Woman-Chapter 290: Broken Pride

"Hawk, stand down! That’s an order!" Ethan barks, stepping between the Baroness and Hawk, blocking the Baroness’s view of him.

Hawk growls, baring his teeth at Ethan.

Behind Ethan, the Baroness laughs.

"He really thinks he can attack me? Interesting."

She whispers a short incantation, then waves her hand as she says, "Step aside, Barlett. I want to see how powerful he is."

She sneers, and her Wind shoves Ethan aside.

Ethan is shocked as he is pushed away. He had been trying to save Hawk, but the Baroness sees through it and forces him aside.

Damn it, Hawk. You’re on your own. The Baroness is really powerful.

As Ethan is shoved aside, the other three are still scrambling back to their feet. Hawk had thrown them without holding back. The soreness in their bodies is proof.

The Baroness gives Hawk no chance.

The moment Hawk appears in her peripheral vision, she silently casts an incantation and waves her hand.

The fire wrapped around Hawk’s fists suddenly goes out.

The Baroness has taken the oxygen away from the flames.

The Hunters, except Hawk, gasp.

Hawk only looks confused. He stares at his hands, now bare of fire.

He glances at the Baroness, who is still sitting with her legs crossed. She stares back at him with open challenge.

Hawk tries to ignite the fire again.

Nothing.

He tries again, this time with a spoken incantation.

Still nothing.

Hawk swallows. His strongest weapon is useless. All he has left is brute strength and wounded pride.

But Hawk would not be Hawk if he gave up so easily.

He grabs a nearby table and grips it tightly, intending to hurl it at the Baroness.

The Baroness laughs mockingly, murmurs an incantation, and slams her hand onto the table in front of her.

Hawk finds that he cannot lift the table he is gripping. He exerts more strength and tries with all his might, but the table does not budge, as if it has been nailed to the floor.

"What else do you have?" The Baroness mocks him, her tone even harsher than before.

She suddenly lifts her hand, and the force holding Hawk’s table vanishes.

Hawk staggers backward as the table finally comes free.

He regains his balance, still holding the table.

Once he is steady, he hurls it at the Baroness.

"HAWK!" Ethan screams in horror.

The other three men watch with wide eyes. Things escalate too quickly, and for a second, they are at a loss.

But years of training kick in.

Each of them knows Hawk must be stopped. He is disobeying orders. That is the core of their training. Orders must be obeyed. In their minds, Hawk must be restrained and punished.

Taylor starts to move, intending to shield the Baroness with his own body, but Ethan grips his shoulder tightly.

Wait.

That is the message Taylor gets from the grip, so he stops.

J.C. and Carter are more experienced than Taylor. They also want to stop Hawk, because he is disobeying orders, but they mirror Ethan’s attitude. If he moves to stop Hawk, they will move with him.

If he doesn’t, then they stay put.

Right now, Ethan chooses to wait, because the Baroness had already given him an order to step aside.

Not only that, she shoved him aside with magic. That was when he knew Hawk was not her opponent.

He instantly understands that none of them are a match for the Baroness, including Hawk.

The table flies across the room, straight at the Baroness, who is still sitting with her legs crossed, as if no table is hurtling toward her.

She mutters another incantation and waves her hand once more. The table stops midair, floating in the middle of the room.

A small tornado spins beneath it, making the table rise and dip gently.

The room falls silent. Only the sound of wind can be heard.

Hawk is panting, watching the table float up and down in disbelief. He has nothing left now but a completely crushed pride.

The Baroness recognizes defeat in Hawk’s eyes.

She sneers.

Her fingers move.

The floating table is slowly lowered.

And the little tornado dissipates.

The room goes completely silent.

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The silence follows the Hunters all the way back, as they return to their hotel less than an hour later.

No one says anything. Especially Hawk. He has been completely defeated. He stares out the window in silence.

J.C. drives in silence too.

Ethan, seated in the front passenger seat, is also silent.

Each of them is thinking about what happened in the private room of Astravale Lounge.

Ethan opens his mouth. He knows he needs to say something, but he is at a loss for words.

He takes a deep breath.

"We should take what happened as a hard lesson. We thought we were powerful since we could clear dungeons more easily than before. But as it turns out, we were frogs in a well," Ethan finally says.

"We should be grateful that, after what happened, the Baroness still agreed to train us. We must show her that we are respectful and disciplined, the Hunters that we are."

"That we are a solid team," he continues.

"Hawk, you disobeyed a direct order, and I can’t let that slide," he adds.

He pauses, waiting for Hawk’s reaction.

Hawk does not react at all. He keeps staring out the window.

"You’re to attend the training, but you won’t train with us. You’ll do push-ups and squats for two hours each. Only then can you join our training," Ethan says, giving out the punishment.

Hawk remains silent, but he lets out a loud sigh.

Ethan feels slightly irritated. He knows Hawk is still down from being completely crushed, but he is an adult and a subordinate. He needs to get over his feelings and do his job.

"Hawk?" Ethan says, his tone harsher.

"I heard you... Sir," Hawk replies, adding the last word in a flat tone.

"I heard you, and I accept the punishment," Hawk continues in the same flat tone, without looking away from the window.

The rest of the ride passes in silence.

After arriving at the hotel, J.C., Taylor, and Carter say they want to head to the gym to train. Ethan nods. He needs to make a report to Isabelle.

"I’m going for a walk," Hawk says, without looking at them.

"Fine." Ethan nods. Like the rest of the team, he knows Hawk is still sulking.

Hawk turns and walks away the moment Ethan gives permission.

What happened in Astravale Lounge keeps playing on a loop in his mind.

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The floating table is slowly lowered.

And the little tornado dissipates.

The room goes completely silent.

After a few seconds of silence, Ethan steps forward. "Your Ladyship, I..."

The Baroness lifts one hand.

Ethan falls silent.

Hawk is still panting, staring at the Baroness. But in his eyes, there is a glint of defeat and frustration.

"What is your name?" the Baroness asks Hawk.

"His name..." Ethan wants to answer for him, but the Baroness silences him with a glare.

"Are you him?" she snaps coldly.

Ethan goes silent.

The Baroness speaks again. "I do not like repeating myself, Bald Hunter. Whether I train you depends on your answer."

Ethan lights up at the Baroness’s words. He snaps his head toward Hawk, praying hard that Hawk still has a little common sense left.

"I go by Hawk..." Hawk replies, staring at the Baroness.

But the next second, he lowers his eyes and bows slightly as he continues, "...Your Ladyship."

Ethan holds his breath. He slowly turns his attention back to the Baroness, anxiously waiting for her reaction.

The Baroness does not hide her sneer of triumph.

"Hmph. I see you still have some common sense left. Good."

She turns her attention to Ethan. "I will train you, but only the five of you. I do not want to train all twenty of you."

"You will inform your teacher that the training starts the day after tomorrow. And how long it lasts depends entirely on me. If I decide I do not wish to continue, then the training will stop," she says with finality.

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The Baroness is back in her apartment unit in the Stravale Grand Hotel and Residences. She’s currently laughing like maniac.

She twirls around the apartment, holding a glass of wine.

No trace of the elegance that she showed in the private room, facing off the Hunters.

She looks more like a mad woman.

"Oh, how amusing! I love it!"

"Hahahahahaha..." She continues laughing.

She lifts her glass of wine, swirling it and smelling it, before finishes it in one gulp.

"Does this make me a teacher? I guess it does." She keeps grinning like a woman who has lost all reasons.

In her other hand, she’s holding her phone, Lucien’s numbers are displayed, but she hasn’t dialed them yet.

"What would Lucien say, if I tell him the only reason I agreed to train the Hunters is because I crave to see their look of defeat and frustration?"