"I agree with you, but something still feels strange. Of all the human beings in the Ethereal Region,
there are very few spirit warriors who can resist the spiritual beasts, let alone control them. I heard that
this guy called Basil managed to control every single spiritual beast of the spiritual race that was
present," Sabina uttered.
"Are you sure?" Marcia asked, looking at her with wide eyes.
Sabina nodded.
"I have a suggestion. You go to the Tiger Whisker Pass right now and find out who this man called Basil
really is," Marcia said.
"Yes. I'll go there straight away."
"Wait..." Sabina stopped just as she was turning around.
"What else can I do for you?"
"Don't get your hopes too high and come and go quickly. Otherwise, the others might discover that you
went to the Tiger Whisker Pass..." Marcia reminded her.
"Okay. That makes sense." Then, Sabina nodded silently, bowed deeply, and left quickly.
"Basil, could it really be you? Or are we just imagining things..." Marcia sighed.
Over the next few days, the Tiger Whisker Pass was peaceful. Apart from the daily patrols, Rocky
spent his days either doing experiments or cultivating in the Scarlet Heaven Jade.
However, the serenity did not last for long. An emergency report arrived from the front line of the left
army. It turned out that the army of the spiritual race had launched a strong attack on them.
In just two days, the front line had lost three positions, and the defense line was in danger of collapse.
Therefore, the commander in charge of the left army sent an urgent summon to the troops responsible
for guarding the Bear Pass, asking them to support its front line. In addition, he specifically asked for
the help of several spirit warriors from the Sky-suppressing School, including Rocky and Eunice.
After careful consideration, Tucker ordered Bertram to be the temporary commander in support of the
troops and made Rocky and Eunice the deputy commanders. An hour later, they left with ten thousand
soldiers from the Tiger Whisker Pass and headed for the Bear Pass.
A day later, they were still walking. Bertram knew how to get there the best so he guided them.
On the way, they learned that in addition to the western region, there were seven other positions in the
front line. Now three of them had been lost, forming an opening that the enemy troops could use to go
deep into the front line. Therefore, their purpose was to block the opening.
Coincidentally, just after Rocky left the Tiger Whisker Pass with the reinforcements, Sabina, who had
been ordered by Marcia to go to the Tiger Whisker Pass to confirm Rocky's identity, arrived. After she
learned that Rocky had left for the front line to provide support, disappointment flooded over her. It had
already taken her two days to reach the Tiger Whisker Pass. If she were to travel to the front line again,
it would take a few more days. She didn't have the time to waste. After all, she had her own jobs to
attend to, so she had to return and come back another time.
After marching for two days and two nights, the reinforcements led by Bertram arrived at the Bear
Pass. It was an important pass in the front line and the new target of the spiritual race army. Since
three positions had already been lost, the only intersection point was the Bear Pass. Therefore, it was
clear that the spiritual race planned to conquer the Bear Pass next.
Once the Bear Pass was occupied by enemies, the left army would lose its important defense line.
The commander of the Bear Pass was called Fraser Wei. He was the most senior commander of the
left army and the most promising candidate of the grand commander.
The moment that Bertram arrived at the Bear Pass with the reinforcements, he took Rocky and Eunice
to touch base with Fraser Wei.
As they walked, they saw that many people were gathered there, including the deputy commanders in
charge of the relief troops from the other two passes, three deputy commanders under the command of
Fraser Wei, several captains from the team of spirit warriors, Moore and the other two spirit warriors.
"Hello. My name is Bertram. Nice to meet you, Commander Wei..." Bertram cupped his hands and
bowed.
Rocky and Eunice took note of that and also stooped.
"You must be tired after your long journey. However, this mission is too critical and I cannot permit you
to rest. Come closer. I will fill you in on our current situation," Fraser Wei said, gesturing for them to
step forward.
Soon, they were all gathered around the sand table in the center of the camp.
"So far, the spiritual race troops have occupied three positions around us and next, they are going to
conquer the Bear Pass. I believe that they will launch a general attack here in a few days. According to
the secret report from the spy on the front line, there are at least eighty thousand soldiers of the
spiritual race surrounding us. Our number, including the reinforcements you have brought, is only forty
thousand. This is all we can manage to find at this time. The limit of forty thousand soldiers to defend
the Bear Pass is our biggest problem."
Bertram and the other deputy commanders were wearing grim expressions on their faces. The Bear
Pass was already in danger when they lost three positions already. Now, it had too few soldiers to truly
defend it.
"Don't look so glum quite yet. Our Bear Pass stands at a great height and takes the advantage in
defense. The terrain here is hilly, making it suitable for ambush and surprise attacks. If we are smart
about it, we can use our land to gradually exhaust the troops of the spiritual race and try to make up for
our disadvantage in military strength."
While Fraser Wei was speaking, Rocky was carefully examining the marks on the sand table. Before
long, he got the feeling that something was wrong.
The front line of the western region had just been attacked by the troops of the spiritual race, and now
they were back already. They had attacked three positions in a row and made it obvious that the Bear
Pass was their next target.
The path of their movements was highly suspicious.
"Commander Wei, are you sure that the spiritual race wants to target the Bear Pass next?" Rocky
asked, causing everyone else to stop talking and look at him.
"Of course. If not, why would they waste their time capturing these three positions?" Fraser Wei
answered firmly.
"I don't think they plan to conquer the Bear Pass." Rocky wasn't too intimidated to put forth his opinion
on the matter.
"Ah. You must be Basil. It's not becoming to show arrogance at such a young age. If Commander Wei
was not sure, why would he ask us for help?" a deputy commander chimed in. He had a confident,
conceited air about him. It was obvious that he didn't respect Rocky.
"I don't mean it like that. I'm just worried that they are making a feint and a plan on attacking in another
place!" Rocky responded.
"Spending so much time and effort just to distract us would be ridiculous. Don't forget that they have
paid a great price taking these three positions. If they don't want to occupy the Bear Pass, then all their
sacrifices are meaningless!" the deputy commander said firmly.
"Although the strategic position of the Bear Pass is important, it is not as important as this position,"
Rocky said, pointing at the sand table.
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