CHAPTER 696 NOW OR NEVER

The priority at that moment was to hang on to Yu City, so they could impede the attacking plan of Holy

Sea Empire. As long as their attacking process was interrupted, Rocky would be able to take control of

the situation.

Not to waste any time, Rocky immediately called together all the soldiers in Heaven Unicorn City to get

ready, and they were marching to Yu City over the night. Since it was supposed to take them less than

one day to get there, they should be able to arrive earlier than the troops of Holy Sea Empire, and with

this time difference, they would get sufficient time to prepare to fight. And they must have a miraculous

trick to defeat the enemy. Otherwise, all their previous efforts would come in vain.

As the night was getting dark, Rocky left Heaven Unicorn City with the eight thousand soldiers. With

great haste, they immediately headed to Yu City. In the meantime, Rocky also sent spies to monitor the

movements of Holy Sea Empire's troops. The spies were preventing that their enemy feinted and

pretended to go east while in reality, they were attacking west.

Rocky and his soldiers arrived at Yu City as planned. While on the other side, the news that Mont City

had been occupied by Holy Sea Empire alarmed everyone in Palace City.

The position of Mont City was important, and taking it, Holy Sea Empire could attack surrounding small

cities with little efforts, which would consolidate their advantages. On the other hand, Crimson Dragon

Army was concentrating on fighting with Timber Deity Empire and was unable to spare any time to get

Mont City back. The emperor might be able to call forces from other legions, but it would take them at

least a couple of days to get there. At that time, the small cities around might have been controlled by

Holy Sea Empire already. In that case, it would be hard and would take time to take them back.

The emperor hurriedly called the Priest Dean and several other chief officers, which included Marcia.

All of them together had an emergency meeting to decide their next plan.

"Your Majesty, the loss of Mont City puts our country in a dangerous position. We need to do something

to get out of such an unfavorable situation as soon as possible. In my opinion, we need to make

another negotiation with Holy Sea Empire. This is probably the best choice for us now," the foreign

minister suggested as he bowed to the emperor.

"Foreign minister, I'm afraid that I can't agree with you. Don't you see that Holy Sea Empire has clearly

shown that they won't negotiate. The eldest prince has presented himself in the front-lines, but they

didn't give a damn about it. I suggest it's better to gather our men from Gehenna Border and take Mont

City back. The only way to keep our country and people safe is true military strength. Negotiation won't

do this time. Trust me!" The military officer had a completely different opinion.

Soon, the officers were divided into two parties. One supported to solve the problem with diplomatic

measures while the others advocated force. As the two parties tried to win the emperor's agreement to

their suggestion, they arguments escalated furiously.

"It's said that the eldest prince had sent the newly appointed Commander in Chief of Crimson Dragon

Army to Mont City. The prince hoped that the new Commander in Chief might be able to control the

situation, but it seemed that he has let the prince down. The city fell so soon. I believe this new

Commander in Chief is not that competent as we expected," Priest Dean suddenly cut in as he bowed

at the emperor as he coughed. The Priest Dean had already learned from a secret message sent by

the eldest prince that Rocky was Basil. Without any hesitation, he would do his best to discredit Rocky

as bad as possible.

"Is that so? But General Lance spoke highly of him in every letter he sent me. According to him, Rocky

has made a lot of contributions for Crimson Dragon Group. Otherwise, General Lance won't even make

him the Commander in Chief," the emperor said as he was a little confused to what he just heard.

"Perhaps it's because he is too young yet was able to achieve so many accomplishments. Thus the

general has a positive opinion about him. You may not know this, Your Majesty. This new Commander

in Chief is actually the son-in-law of General Lance. I believe that he will always be in a positive light in

the eyes of the general," Priest Dean said meaningfully.

After such a remark, all the ministers present immediately began to whisper with each other. The

discussions was about what Rocky should look like and what he could do exactly.

"Priest Dean, are you sure that your news are correct and true? Please verify it!" Marcia suddenly cut in

and cast a sharp glance towards Priest Dean. The recent bad news about Rocky made her break her

silence.

As he received such cold stare, Priest Dean felt a shudder ran down from his spine.

"What do you mean by that statement, General Marcia? Please clarify for us!" Priest Dean asked with a

long and troubled face.

"Your Majesty, as far as I learned, Mont City has been occupied even before Commander in Chief owns this text.

Rocky got there. The fall of Mont City shouldn't be his fault. It has nothing to do with his commanding

ability or fighting plan. The timings of recent events were just unfavorable towards him. However,

according to the information, Commander in Chief Rocky has already retreated to Heaven Unicorn City.

It was said that he's making huge efforts to protect the small cities around. He's doing the best he can

do as of the moment," Marcia reported to the emperor in meticulous detail.

"Oh, I wasn't aware that General Marcia has been paying attention to the war on the Gehenna Border."

A surprised expression painted the emperor's face.

"However, I'm afraid that it is only wishful thinking that Commander in Chief Rocky will be able to save

the neighboring small cities. Sadly, he has no troops at all to resist the attack of Holy Sea Empire," the

Priest Dean continued as he faked a sad face. The priest was already well aware that it was easy for

Holy Sea Empire to take Mont City only because the eldest prince had plotted it in order to deal with

Rocky. Additionally, at that moment, Rocky didn't have any forces at all. There was no way for him to

save the nearby small cities empty handed.

"That's quite an impressive update. However, how did you know that Commander in Chief Rocky

doesn't have enough forces?" Marcia asked as her cold eyes stared at Priest Dean. In fact, Marcia had

already learned from her apprentice that Alston started to aim at Rocky the moment he arrived at

Gehenna Border. Unable to deal with Alston, Rocky had to tell her apprentice who he really was,

hoping that her apprentice could give him a hand. All of the facts pointed to one thing, that Alston's

purpose was nothing but Rocky's downfall. He had no intention to fight Holy Sea Empire in the first

place.

"Oh, about that... It's rather easy to deduct. All the troops of Crimson Dragon Army are focused on

defeating Timber Deity Empire. There couldn't be that many men left after Mont City was lost. General

Marcia, the answer is rather obvious and you don't have to ask!" The Priest Dean had never expected

that Marcia would go to the point and immediately interrogate him. Fortunately for him, he responded

quickly and tried to make out a good case.

"Priest Dean is right this time. It isn't the ability of Commander in Chief Rocky that matters, but the

troops. We can't make as many troops as we want out of nothing. I'm afraid that we're losing those

small cities around us!" A worried frown appeared in the emperor's face as he nodded in agreement.

"Your Majesty, now that the eldest prince is currently in the front line, I think that he shall be in charge

of the whole situation on Gehenna Border. I believe that he will make better decision and save us lots

of troubles. To be honest, the loss of Mont City won't be that much to the country. Please don't worry

about it. The eldest prince is currently leading Crimson Dragon Army in the fight against the Timber

Deity Empire. It's a good opportunity to cultivate him so that he can grow into a good leader. I believe

that he will break the defense line of Timber Deity Empire soon. After that, he can easily take Mont City

back. We'll just have to wait and see," Priest Dean said once again with a confident tone.

"Priest Dean, leading an army is not as simple as you thought. We need to pay close attention to the

Timber Deity Empire. Otherwise, we will suffer a tremendous loss," Marcia sneered as she stared

daggers at the priest.

"You are thinking too much, General Marcia. Actually, I'm more worried about Commander in Chief

Rocky than the eldest prince. He may think that he can save the small cities, but I think that he is just

overconfident about his abilities. In case he fails to save one of them, what can you say about it?"

Priest Dean continued to mock Marcia and her belief in Rocky.

"Military officer, how many of those small cities are around Mont City?" After he thought for a while, the

emperor asked impatiently.

"There are three of them, Your Majesty," without any hesitation, the military officer immediately replied.

"If the Holy Sea Empire marched to attack all of them, how long will it take them to capture them all?

Do you have any idea?" a grim expression painted the emperor's face as he asked once again.

"At least ten day, Your Majesty," after he thought for a moment, the military officer replied honestly.

"Then, we still have some time. Let's see what Alston will do first. If he can break through the defense

line of the Timber Deity Empire and still have time to mobilize soldiers to support Rocky, then he might

be able to take Mont City back," a firm decision was said by the emperor. It seemed that he also chose

to believe in the eldest prince.

Marcia bowed to the emperor and left the hall without saying anything more. A troubled expression

painted her pretty face as she stopped right in front of the gate and looked at the direction where the

war was going on. With her soft lips, she murmured, "Hold on, Basil! Don't let me down. Don't let Alston

win over you! If you lose this time, it will be impossible for you to start over. It's now or never!" A deep

sigh escaped her mouth. Then, she cracked a mysterious smile and suddenly disappeared.