The next moment, the beast blew out a raging wind from its mouth. In an instant, a violent gust of wind
formed, ravaging the river up and down.
Then, the fire wall floated on the surface of the surging river. As the wind roared mightily, it blew directly
towards the army from the western region who happened to guard along the riverside.
The soldiers that were led by Commander Ling were caught off guard. They didn't have the time to
prepare and defend themselves from the sudden attack that was aimed at them. It was already too late
when they saw the river water mixed with fire oil surge towards them. As the fire made contact with fire
oil, it instantly lit up and created a huge sea of flames. Moreover, due to the strong winds, the fire
rapidly spread and consumed them.
Many human soldiers were burnt to ashes on the spot, while some rolled on the ground, screaming in
pain and agony.
At the sight of the disaster, Commander Ling and the three deputy commanders were dumbfounded.
They didn't expect that their plan would actually be the reason for the predicament that they were in
right now.
Seeing that, Rocky could not help but shake his head. He knew that at that point, the whole army would
be in big trouble.
The soldiers were thrown in a state of chaos, and the spiritual toad beasts were already approaching to
wreak havoc. If the soldiers weren't able to regain their composure, they might be done for.
"Commander Ling, please retreat at once!" Rocky shouted without hesitation as he appeared in front of
Commander Ling.
"Don't joke around! The members of the spiritual race are already heading towards us. If we retreat
right now, the land along the river will be occupied by them. When that happens, our position at the
front line will inevitably be doomed," one of the deputy commanders responded sternly.
"If we don't retreat right now, all of our soldiers will be annihilated in two hours! What will be the
difference then?" Rocky retorted with a serious expression on his face.
Hearing that, Commander Ling and the three deputy commanders were intimidated by Rocky's
imposing aura. In fact, they knew that Rocky was right, but they hesitated because they did not want to
give up just yet.
"Commander Ling, hurry up and give the command!" Rocky strongly urged.
"Damn those spiritual race... Everyone, retreat!" Commander Ling was also aware that the soldiers
were heavily flustered by the sudden siege, and right now they were suffering from low morale. Hence,
even if he commanded them to fight right now, chances were many lives would just be wasted.
"Commander Ling, there are still other ways to overcome this..." The deputy commander, whose idea
caused them such great trouble, insisted that he still had some ideas to turn the tables.
"Don't be stupid! Don't you realize that if it weren't for you, we would not have suffered such heavy
losses? Retreat! Now!" Commander Ling shouted in rage and frustration.
Soon enough, the horn sounded, signaling their retreat. Upon hearing it, the soldiers immediately
retreated from the front line as if a huge boulder was removed from their chests.
In the blink of an eye, the land along the river, which was heavily guarded just a while ago, became
instantly desolated.
At the same time, the beasts did not pursue the retreating soldiers. Instead, they occupied the
riverbank and guarded it as if it was now their territory.
As the soldiers made it back to their camp, Commander Ling immediately counted their casualties. He
could not help but shake his head as he learned that more than a thousand people were either killed or
seriously injured during the battle earlier. Most of the dead ones were burned to a crisp, while the
injured ones also had a large part of their bodies burnt. With that, they would not be able to return to
the battlefield, meaning they were also considered as losses.
With the casualties tallied from the first time the beasts attacked, plus the recently counted casualties,
the grand total almost reached two thousand.
The whole army of the western region was comprised of ten thousand soldiers. With the loss of nearly
two thousand people in just a few days, it was obviously a great blow to them.
At the moment, Commander Ling's camp was enveloped by a deafening silence. No one wanted to
utter a word, and the atmosphere was very melancholic.
Even Commander Ling himself just sat in his seat, wearing a long face. The three deputy commanders
lowered their heads, not even daring to breathe heavily. Of course, the deputy commander, who gave
the plan that resulted in a catastrophe, looked more upset than everyone else.
"Sir, pardon my intrusion... I bear some bad news!" A scout rushed in and he was almost out of breath.
"Bad news?
What is it this time?" Commander Ling's face darkened upon hearing the scout's words.
"The army of the spiritual race has already begun crossing the river," the scout replied quickly.
"What did you say?!" Commander Ling was not able to stop himself from standing up as his expression
changed dramatically.
"It seems that they have calculated everything. The first time they attacked us, they must have been
testing out our capabilities to resist them. But since they thought that we are not a match to them, the
second raid they made was the actual one, and its purpose was to buy time for the army of the spiritual
race to cross the river. This time, they made sure to occupy the land along the river so that we will not
be able to do anything anymore while they execute their plan. A straightforward but unbeatable
strategy," Rocky remarked as he analyzed their grim situation.
Hearing that, Commander Ling felt very hopeless.
"If only Commander Ling trusted me before, we wouldn't end up being pushed to the edge," Rocky said
without mincing his words.
"Who do you think you are? You think you're so great that you can question the commander's
decision?" one of the deputy commanders defended Commander Ling. The truth was that he was also
defending himself because it was he who insisted on the plan that went downhill.
"Well, since you say so, I might as well return to the Tiger Whisker Pass," Rocky answered
straightforwardly. Besides, even if the front line of the western region was lost for good, it had nothing
to do with him. If they didn't want his help, then he also didn't want to waste his time with them.
However, upon seeing that Rocky was about to leave, Commander Ling immediately stopped him.
"Spiritual King Basil, don't be so hasty!" Then, he turned to the deputy commander who spoke rudely
just now and scolded, "Don't you know when to shut up? Basil is an elite from the Sky-suppressing
School, and one of the representatives of the Spiritual Infant Contest! You, of all people, are not
qualified to question him!"
"He's from the Sky-suppressing School?" "A representative of the Spiritual Infant Contest?" The three
deputy commanders were taken aback because they had no idea about Rocky's identity. They thought
that he was just an ordinary captain of a team that consisted of spirit warriors.
"Spiritual King Basil, do you have a way to deal with those beasts? Maybe we can still do something."
At that point, Commander Ling could just place all their hopes on Rocky.
"I actually do have a way of dealing with those beasts, but now that they have already occupied our
previous station by the river, I'm afraid it would just be meaningless. Even if we can defeat them, I don't
think we can stop the army of the spiritual race from crossing the river," Rocky said with a straight face.
It was a battle against time. Dealing with more than twenty spiritual beasts would not be easy for them,
and worse, the spiritual race might come ashore at any time.
"Damn it! Is there no other way?" Commander Ling almost desperately pleaded at Rocky.
"If I could control the beasts to prevent the army from crossing the river, then we still have a chance."
At the moment, it was the only way that Rocky could think of. However, it also meant that he had to
somehow gain control of the beasts from the girl that he met before.
Of course, it would not be an easy thing to accomplish. Although Rocky's Mysterious Beast
Transformation Skill had already reached the highest level, he had never tried such a method. Besides,
he needed to subdue a large number of beasts, which were under the control of a powerful beast
tamer. That would undoubtedly be a huge challenge for him.
"What? You are planning on controlling the beasts? Are you kidding? Is that even possible?" Obviously,
the three deputy commanders did not believe that Rocky was capable of doing such a seemingly
impossible thing.
"Spiritual King Basil, can you assure that you can do it?" Commander Ling was also in doubt, but at
least, they had a little hope to grasp on. After all, if Rocky could not make it, the front line of the western
region would be finished.
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