CHAPTER 228 MILITARY TACTICS

Isis' brow furrowed, confused. 'What's this guy up to? Any other position will be a better answer at this

moment. Why did he have to tell the truth, anyway?'

"I doubt that I heard that right. Did you just say that Commander Marin sent a feeder to join the Army

Flag Contest?"

"That's utterly ridiculous! How can a feeder be qualified to even take part in this contest? This has got

to be a joke!"

"What in the world is wrong with Commander Marin?"

A soft cacophony rose as everyone began murmuring among themselves, concerned that Isis would

hear them. After all, she was the one who brought Rocky here. Isis wouldn't have brought him along

without knowing his position. It was an unprecedented situation for a feeder to be allowed to participate

in the Army Flag Contest. Such an event was usually restricted only to those ranked as Frontline

Commander and Commander of the military camp.

Well aware that any further explanation she could offer would only get her into even more trouble, Isis

chose to move forward. Ignoring the mutterings, she raised her voice. "All right! Attention, all of you! As

all the participants are now present, we'll start the game immediately! Everyone, prepare yourselves!"

At her command, the whispering died away as everyone turned their sights to Rocky, gazing at him

with barely concealed scorn. No self-respecting officials would want him as a teammate.

In the face of their cold glares, Rocky merely sneered to himself and turned his own gaze elsewhere.

Then, the Army Flag Contest began to get underway. The teams would be divided into two: a White

Army and a Black Army. A random drawing of lots decided which participants were sent to either the

White or the Black army. There were twelve participants in total for this contest: three commanders

from three smaller military camps and eight frontline commanders that came from the headquarters.

That meant that each team would have six members.

After the participating officials determined which team they were in through the draw, each one of them

would then lead a unit of five hundred soldiers under either a white or black flag. Should an army's flag

get snatched away by the enemy, that army would be eliminated.

The contest would last for eight hours. When time was up, the captured flags would be counted and the

team that had snatched more flags from the other side will be declared the winner. The participant who

led his or her unit to get the most flags would be the most valuable player, who could win not only the

honor but also a primary-grade Dark Heaven Egg as reward. Huge expectations were placed in every

officer for the Army Flag Contest. After all, they could only hope to get a primary-grade Dark Heaven

Egg once every three months. But the Army Flag Contest, which was held every month, offered them

another opportunity to get the rare treasure. No one could possibly resist such a tantalizing reward. The

will to win and a burning fighting spirit raged in every officer's chest.

Marin, as the Commander of the northeast military camp, was held in especially high regard. She was

the constant champion in this contest, and had been for the last ten months. Upon discovering that

Marin would be absent from the Army Flag Contest this time around, all the other competitors felt that

they now had a chance to win the ultimate victory. And once they saw that her replacement was merely

a feeder, they let out a sigh of relief and satisfaction. There was no competition here.

The Army Flag Contest had a strict requirement, which was that the participants were able to use

exceptional abilities on military tactics, strategies, and leadership. In order to guarantee the fairness of

this game, commanders were not allowed to use their spiritual power. That was the only restriction of

this contest.

The lots were then carefully and privately drawn. The twelve participants, including Rocky, now knew

which army they had been assigned to. Rocky had found himself and five other participants assigned to

the Black Army. On the other side, Commander Flank and another five officers were assigned to the

White Army.

Upon realizing they were in Rocky's team, however, his five teammates' countenance turned grim and

sour. Evidently, they were all ashamed and feeling disadvantaged to be teamed together with a mere

feeder, and didn't believe that Rocky would be in any way helpful to their goal. And as though to make

matters worse, the participants in the White Army appeared to be much stronger than the ones in the

Black Army, especially in the aspect of leadership. Under such odds, the Black Army seemed dispirited

even before the contest started, realizing that they were undisputedly the underdogs in this match.

All the while, the White Army's spirits were high. The units were full of banter, cheerful and confident.

Already, Flank was staring at Rocky and thinking, 'You are so screwed! Where did a mere feeder get

the nerve to even think to join this game? Ha-ha, let's see you scramble around for your life and look

ridiculous!'

It wasn't long before Rocky and the eleven other participants were heading towards the training field,

passing down a staircase carved against the cliff face.

Below them, at the terrain, twelve units of five hundred were already waiting in anticipation. After the

eleven participants expertly chose their selected units among the ranks, they took up their respective

army flags and led their units away. It was time to probe the terrains, exploring advantageous and

disadvantageous posts to determine which spots were most ideal for them to gather.

Once all the others had selected their units, the last one fell, of course, to Rocky. With no options left,

he took what remained for him.

Of course, the soldiers of this unit had never seen Rocky before. He was not robed like any other

commander they had ever seen and his countenance was different. Curiously, they stole glances at

him, wondering about this strange newcomer. But there wasn't much they could do. After all, if he was

qualified to join the Army Flag Congest, surely he was a commander of some sort, so they all

addressed him as such throughout the exercise.

"Commander," one of the soldiers asked, "where should we go to begin our stealth maneuvers?" Rocky

was baffled.

"Stealth maneuvers? Why on earth would we do that?" Rocky looked around at his men incredulously.

"Er, Commander...this is a contest, after all! The more army flags we get, the more likely we are to win

it all! And if we win above everyone else, we'd be able to receive that ultimate prize!" the soldier

responded in disbelief. All the members of the unit at present had regularly been a part of the monthly holds text © rights.

Army Flag Contest. Hence, they knew far more about the pressing concerns than Rocky.

"What's the ultimate prize?" Rocky asked, raising an eyebrow. He hadn't even expected that the winner

was to get anything. He assumed that the glory of victory would be enough.

"Don't you know, Commander?" another soldier piped up. "If our unit gets the most army flags from the

other side, we would be awarded more than half of our salary this month, and you, as the commander,

will earn a primary-grade Dark Heaven Egg!" The excitement was evident in everyone's faces.

"A primary-grade Dark Heaven Egg?! That's unbelievable! I can't believe Marin never said a word

about that to me!" Rocky's eyes lit up in excitement at the discovery.

"Commander," one of the soldier called, "the other units have already left to prepare. Where should we

go?"

Rocky contemplated for a moment. "Hmm... For now, let's find a comfortable place to rest. This contest

will require a great deal of strength and endurance from everyone, and so I want everyone to rest and

restore yourselves in the meantime." The strange order from Rocky caught everyone off guard. They

would never have expected such a command, and they had never met a commander like him. No one

had ever been commanded to rest right at the beginning of the Army Flag Contest before.

But orders were orders, and they were soldiers who did what they were told. Following Rocky's lead,

they headed the east, where a lush forest was waiting. Right by the forest was a tremendous cliff. To

the left of the forest was a slope, with a dead end road to the right of the forest. It was a fine spot to

camp out, as it could be easily defended and made difficult for enemies to mount an attack.

"The five of you!" Rocky commanded. "Look here and listen! Each of you takes charge of observing a

unit in the Black Army. I need to be informed the moment any of these units loses their flag. It's vital

that I know which one loses first, alright?" Rocky made sure to select five of the finest men in the unit to

do this special surveillance task.

As for the five themselves, they were even more stunned. They had never heard such a strategy

before. The men had fully expected to be told to surveil and monitor units from the opposing teams, but

none of them ever thought they would have to look out for the people on the same team. But whatever

their thoughts, they kept those to themselves and departed at once, as commanded.

Rocky then looked to the remaining men of his unit and told them to bed down and rest. He himself

sought out a comfortable nook and took a nap.

While all this went on, all the other units had camped down at their strongholds and vantage points in

preparation for the first maneuvers.

Once all was settled, a red light surged up from the viewing area, shining across the entire terrain. The

Army Flag Contest begun.