Salute To The General (Nathan Cross) novel Chapter 317

SMACK!

The force of the slap had blood spurting from Phil's mouth, along with several teeth. He spun around in two full circles before collapsing to the ground.

"Phil!" Yancy and his friends cried out in shock.

Two of them hurried forward to help Phil to his feet. Nearly half of his teeth were gone and the left side of his face was swollen badly.

He was still reeling from the slap, his ears ringing while his vision swamped. He mumbled angrily, "B******! How dare you hit me? You're dead!"

Just then, there was a commotion as a convoy of cars screeched to a halt nearby. There were several police cars scattered amongst the dozen military jeeps.

Franklin Wilson, Xander Jones and Zed Walker had arrived.

Noting the presence of his father and uncle, Phil staggered forward to welcome them. Like a child who had been bullied, he complained piteously, "Major-General Wilson, Dad, Uncle, this b******, Nathan Cross, killed someone. He's also injured Captain Tonkins and me. You have to stand up for us!"

Right as Phil finished speaking, Xander Jones lifted his left hand and gave his son a heavy slap across his right cheek.

Smack!

Instantly, Phil's right cheek swelled to match his left. The remaining teeth in his mouth flew out as well.

Caught unaware, the youngsters could only stare in dumbfounded shock.

What's going on?

Phil raised a trembling hand to touch his swollen face as he stared in disbelief at his father. His voice wavered when he asked, "Dad, why did you hit me?"

Xander roared, "You fool! Do you have any idea who he is? He's the senior officer who's personally promoted me and the mentor of Major-General Wilson! He's the General of the North Army, the Ares of the North... Nathan Cross! You are but a lowly Soldier King, yet you act so haughtily! I'll kill you!"

Unable to contain his fury, Xander took off his belt and started to whip his errant son.

Zed piped up as well, "Xander, aren't you going to thank the General for being so lenient?"

Yanking his nearly dead son to his feet, Xander bellowed, "Give your apologies to the General, now! I'll kill you myself if he doesn't forgive you!"

Phil was severely cowed by the beating he had just received. He knew now what a monumental mistake he had made. Worst case scenario, his father and even his superior, Franklin, would be punished for his transgressions.

He fell to his knees before Nathan, pleading, "General, I was a fool to not have recognized you. Please forgive me!"

Nathan's reply was cold, 'Til give you one chance to change yourself, only because it's not easy to cultivate soldiers. Plus, you didn't actually make too much trouble. I hope that you will learn your lesson from this. If you ever make the same mistake again, I will punish you, for both crimes at the same time."

Phil appeared greatly relieved and he thanked the other man profusely, "Thank you, sir. I'll definitely change my ways and strive to be the best soldier I can be."

At this point, Franklin and the rest had

already moved to Nathan's side, their gazes focused on Yancy. "General, this man is the culprit behind this matter. How would you like to deal with him?"