CHAPTER 240 KNOWING EACH OTHER

After getting along with Rocky for some time, Isis didn't object to her father cultivating Rocky. Aside

from his weird and annoying temperament, Rocky's comprehensive capability was undisputed. Marin

once told Isis that though he looked weak, Rocky was a spirit manipulator at the second grade of the

Earthly Stage. Besides, his performance at the Army Flag Contest had proved that undoubtedly he was

a real talent.

However, Isis found her father's plans to promote Rocky to the probationary adjutant general at the

Headquarters of the General Staff worrying. He was barely a breeder. Such a skip-level promotion was

unheard of at the Crimson Dragon Group, more so to Isis. Left to her, Rocky would first undergo trials

as an adjutant at the northeast military camp where he would have to rise through the ranks to the

position of a staff officer should his performance meet expectations. Next, she would arrange an

assignment in which Rocky would play the role of civil official in the Headquarters of the General Staff.

And finally, when the time was ripe for another appointment, only then could he get the promotion of

the probationary adjutant general. By Isis's theory, rather than accomplish everything in one swoop,

Rocky should have to spend at least three to five years being a probationary adjutant general in the

Headquarters of the General Staff. And if by any chance he anticipated an even higher position, all the

more time it would take him to realize it.

However, for Lance, Isis's father, he would rather Rocky skip the arduous journey and attain the

position of the probationary adjutant general in the Headquarters of the General Staff in record time.

For his daughter, Lance's decision was nothing but dicey and inane, and hugely differing from his

rigorous methods of conducting military affairs. Isis couldn't fathom why her father had reversed his

previous stand to treat Rocky so well.

As was expected, Lance had some reservations of his own at first. He knew Rocky was a rare talent as

much as he was a wild horse that defied taming. However, his sudden conviction of what a man like

himself could accomplish with Rocky was getting the best of him. If Rocky were a man that allowed

himself to be swept off by the rich and powerful, carried along by every strong power, regardless of his

excellent natural endowments, he would find himself bound to a low rank beneath them where his

talents would be buried. In all, Lance had his sentiments that should Rocky receive proper training; he

would surely have a great future. With faith so blinding, so stubborn, Lance believed Rocky would not

disappoint.

More than even his faith in the young man, the underlying reason behind Lance's resolute stance could

be traced to Rocky's confidential identity. Although he hadn't quite figured out Rocky's real identity,

having witnessed the talent and ability of the lad spurred Lance to begin looking into the history books

to find out why Rocky had been exiled to the Gehenna Border. Consequently, Lance had preferred to

keep Rocky close until he had everything figured out. One didn't just choose to go on exile. In the end,

he would know whether or not Rocky deserved his cultivation.

Lance's status at the Holy Dragon Empire meant he could easily find out the details of Rocky's past by

pulling all the right strings. All he had to do was be willing. And boy, was he!

Lance's attraction to Rocky had not gone unnoticed, so much so that the lad found himself in a pickle.

Rocky never imagined that merely exhibiting his skills would arouse the interest of Lance, one of the

Three Great Generals of the Holy Dragon Empire. Furthermore, it seemed that Lance thought highly of

him.

For others, it would appear as a Heaven-sent chance born of good fortune. But for Rocky, it was a

nightmare. One he couldn't wait to awake from.

Thus, when he began to sense that the course of things was beyond his control, he promptly refused. "I

appreciate the gesture, Commander in Chief, but I must refuse your kindness." An awkward silence

ensued in which Rocky stared at his feet. "I have nothing. I'm nobody. How could I possibly qualify for

such a high position?"

Rocky's words hung thickly in the air, entrancing Isis in a state of utter bewilderment.

Isis couldn't tell if it was his words that had made her jaw drop or how prompt he was in refusing her

father's offer. 'What is wrong with this guy? But more importantly, who is he?' Isis's surprise soon

melted into a scowl. Sure she didn't approve of her father's methods or his relentless yearning to scale

Rocky through the ranks. But no one, especially not this nobody, would refuse her father his deepest

wishes. She regarded Rocky with a steely gaze. Isis wasn't exactly kicking against the idea of sending content rights.

Rocky to the supreme headquarters. Her reaction was merely a show of concern, one only a child

could have for a loved parent, about Lance's doggedness on the matter. Isis found it a tad improper, if

not entirely surprising, that Rocky would assume the office in such a fashion. But to her surprise, as

well as her father's, Rocky had taken the offer as a pinch of salt. He had just bluntly turned down an

opportunity only dreamed of by his contemporaries at the Crimson Dragon Group.