CHAPTER 234 OUTSTANDING CAPABILITIES

By now, Rocky had seen through the current situation. The White Army had four troops while the Black

Army only had two troops left. He could reasonably conclude that the military strength of the White

Army was twice that of the Black Army. And once the White Army mounted a siege with all its forces

aimed towards one of the Black Army's troops, the latter would be completely wiped out. And if the

remaining troop of the Black Army faced the same odds, he would be powerless. So even though

Rocky had five army flags, it would be pointless without any troops at his command.

"How much time do we have left?" Rocky immediately asked, turning to the soldier beside him. Even

though time was short, he hoped he would still be able to make it.

"About two hours," the soldier responded politely.

"There's not enough time left. However, if we raid them by surprise, like an ambush, we may still have a

chance to win the competition," Rocky murmured contemplatively. Staring into the distance and lost in

thought, he knew that he had to come up with a strategy to tip the scales back to their favor.

Finally, he looked up. "Brothers, it's show time! Do you want to win this competition?!" Rocky shouted

over the ranks, aiming to lift his soldiers' spirit. It was absolutely imperative that he boost troop morale

first so that the soldiers would obey his orders unfailingly.

"Yes, we do!" hundreds of soldiers yelled back in unison. Each of them were hungry for the final victory,

eager to prove themselves victorious in combat.

"Good! That's exactly what I want! However! We still have one thing to do. We need to root out one of

the White Army's troops before the four of them gather together. But for that, I need fifty able-bodied

soldiers to launch a suicide attack. Understand, however, that though you won't actually die, this means

that you won't be able to fight to the end with your brethren soldiers. But I promise your sacrifices will

lead to the final victory for us. Who are willing to make this ultimate sacrifice? Step forward!" Rocky's

commanding voice carried over the troop. holds text © rights.

In an instant, at least two hundred soldiers stepped forward, willing to lay themselves on the line to

perform the suicide attack. Morale in Rocky's troop was high from their winning streak. And as ardent

youths, they were all eager for the final victory with the Black Army. Hence, they were willing to

sacrifice their lives if necessary.

Rocky selected fifty of his fastest runners among the two hundred soldiers. These men would be the

bait to attract three of the White Army's troops, which had just besieged the other remaining Black

Army troop. It was the runners' task to drag away the three troops so that they couldn't join in the battle

against the other Black Army troop, which was led by Commander Cao. Ultimately, the mission actually

called for them to buy time for the main force through a suicide feint.

In no time at all, the fifty men selected for the maneuver departed, eager to sacrifice themselves in the

name of victory.

Meanwhile, Rocky led the remaining soldiers. They would become the reinforcements to aid the

besieged black troop in the valley.

Upon arrival at the valley, Rocky's men hid at a blind spot and observed the White Army's movements.

The troop of the White Army was still attacking violently. Though it was the lone troop remaining here,

the overrun numbers of the Black Army was already almost completely depleted of physical strength.

What were once three set lines of defense had now dwindled down to a single line. The condition for

the Black Army was critical, and the odds were that they would be defeated in short order.

Rocky knew the severity of the situation and that it was urgent. He ordered his soldiers to stand by as

he sneaked from one side of the valley down to the valley floor. This area was guarded by the Black

Army troop.

It wasn't long before Rocky appeared before Commander Cao.

At the sight of him, Commander Cao was startled. He asked with a frown, "Why are you here? How did

you get by our defensive line?" The troop's last line of defense had never given way, and no one should

have been able to penetrate it.

"There's not much time. I'll make this quick. Now listen," Rocky told him urgently. He had observed that

Commander Cao was a spirit manipulator at the Heavenly Stage. Therefore, he must be one of the

strongest among the Frontline Commanders.

Commander Cao was rather displeased as Rocky laid out his plans and dictated military affairs in his

troop. With a scoff of arrogance, Commander Cao disdainfully dismissed Rocky's words.

"If you don't want to lose the competition, you'd better listen to me!" Rocky retorted coldly, annoyed by

Commander Cao's terrible attitude.

"Oh splendid, are you saying that I won't lose if I listen to a breeder's plan? What a joke...!"

Commander Cao sneered. He was a man who had always taken himself too seriously, and was

absolutely unwilling to kowtow and obey Rocky's orders. At any rate, he was already convinced that the

Black Army was about to lose and that this was merely his last stand.

"Is that right? Well I have five White Army flags and you have only one. And for the moment, we have

the same number of flags as the White Army, which means that at this very moment, we haven't lost

this competition yet," Rocky stated with finality.

"You have five army flags?! What in the world?! How could you have possibly taken five flags?!"

Commander Cao gasped, astounded at Rocky's words and unable to believe his ears.

"Because I've wiped out two White Army troops, that's how," Rocky retorted without batting an eye.

"Two White Army troops?! How could a breeder possibly have managed that?" Commander Cao could

scarcely hide his astonishment. In this situation, he could only protect his own troop. He had never

even considered that Rocky had any capability to annihilate two White Army troops on his own.

It was now that Commander Cao recalled that Rocky had initially appeared walking alongside Isis. It

put everything to a new light. 'The identity he gave us must have been a ruse and merely a tactic.

Calling himself a breeder of the northeast military camp was his cover.' At this unpleasant thought, he

became hesitant. He was about to lose this battle, after all. If Rocky was really as capable a man in the

art of warfare as Commander Cao speculated, then maybe, together, they stood a chance to win the

competition.

"What's your plan, then?" Commander Cao demanded.

"Take out your last line of defense. Now is the time to take the initiative and attack. Once you attract the

White Army troop, I will trigger a surprise raid at their rear with my men. We'll close in on them, and we

must end the battle as quickly as possible," Rocky replied as succinctly as he could.

Commander Cao thought over Rocky's plan, which aimed to take the troop of the White Army

unguarded and compel them to surrender to the trap. The plan really made sense. And as Commander

Cao himself has already been at the end of his resources, he agreed to put Rocky's plan into action.

After all, it was the honor and duty of a soldier to fight to the last moment.

After getting Commander Cao's confirmation, Rocky carefully made his way back to his own troop. He

disseminated the details about the surprise attack, held in collaboration with Commander Cao's own

troop.

As all this was happening, the three White Army troops that had besieged another Black Army troop

was on their way to join forces with their brethren. At this point, they believed that victory was a

foregone conclusion and their morale was high. In actuality, they had no idea that the White Army had

already lost two of their troops and one more would soon be wiped out by the joint forces of Rocky and

Commander Cao.

Meanwhile the suicide raid team from the Black Army was approaching their position before the White

Army troops. Their task was simple: to pin them right where they were and buy as much time as they

could for Rocky and Commander Cao.

It wasn't long before the White Army's scouts started to discover the trails and traces left behind

purposefully by the suicide team, and alerted the rest of their men.

Once the Commanders of the White Army were informed, they suspected that two Black Army troops

were nearby. Without a moment's hesitation, they directed their troops to set out to find those troops

and retrieve their flags. But their greed was to be their downfall. They had no idea that by rerouting

their men, they had just left one of their own troops as a sitting duck, waiting to be defeated.

In the valley, Commander Cao waited for the most opportune moment and removed the line of defense

as Rocky had instructed. Chaos reigned as the Black Army troop fell upon the White Army troop at full

force.

The commander of the White Army felt as though this was the Black Army's last hurrah, and so he

commanded his men to fight fiercely against them. Pandemonium sounded over the valley as battle

began.

The combat ensued, with the White Army's Commander unaware that he had fallen neatly into Rocky's

trap.