Ascent of Hero on the Dragon Throne

Only half an hour had gone by.

The girls quickly changed into normal clothes. Isis and Marin were strikingly beautiful, head-turning stunning, both in their own different ways. As they got dressed, the moonlight shed its rays on their fine bodies, highlighting their graceful and alluring features; a spectacle for passers-by, who inadvertently slowed their cadence and gazed at the enchanting scene from a distance.

Meanwhile, inside the pass, soldiers started to gather around the fire, cheerfully chatting, eating, and drinking. This was the one time when they would be able to sit back and relax, forgetting, for a moment, about the troops of the Timber Deity Empire that were stationed beyond the walls.

"Hey guys, who's up to party with me?" Rocky walked over to a small group of men and flashed a bottle of wine around.

The soldiers immediately responded to this cue, cheering him along.

"Should we get Isis and Marin to dance for us?" Rocky asked the rowdy crowd.

"Yessss!" was the unanimous reply. The tone of the evening had now been set and the soldiers turned to ogle at the gorgeous creatures on the wall. One had soft and gentle features, fresh like a stream of mountain water, whilst the other was enticing and dazzling, with the elegance of a rose. The men were completely under their spell.

"Girls, come join us!" Rocky signaled them over.

"Come! Come!" Soon all the soldiers started chanting together with Rocky. They couldn't believe that this was actually going to happen! They were only used to interacting with the girls in their position as Commanders, hence always strict, austere and harsh. This was one of those once-in-a-lifetime type of moments and none of them wanted to miss it.

"Ew, what a douchebag. I could kill this guy right now!" Marin said through clenched teeth as she glared back in anger at Rocky and the excited troops.

"Same here, but we can't lose track of what is in our best interest. We still have a chance to survive, so I say we just play along for now." Isis knew Marin was right but she couldn't help feeling bitter about it all. It was the first time she was going to have to dance under such circumstances, and to make matters worse, she was going to have to perform for her soldiers. The whole thing was unbearably embarrassing.

But she was one determined and fearless woman, once her mind was made up about something, there was no going back.

"To be honest, in my case it won't make much of a difference, but it's your reputation I more worried about. You are the Deputy Commander in Chief after all, what if word got around that you danced for these pigs?" Marin co

lled?"

"But..." How could he make them see that he knew how Rocky tended to operate? The rascal had already fooled the army of the Timber Deity Empire in the past by faking a plague outburst. They had had to lower their defense in order to deal with the new alleged adversity and that was when Rocky had infiltrated their ranks and solely killed Commander Zuo. This scene could very well be another one of his infamous tricks.

"Oh don't you 'buts' us now. You can fight this alone if you want. You go ahead and lead the troops. We are heading back to the city!" It was obvious that the two Commanders were afraid of dying. They had worked too hard all their lives to be at the top of the ladder and now they just wanted to enjoy some of the perks that came with the job! They didn't seem to think that there was any point in fighting the enemy anymore. They had never had to face Rocky on the battlefield. They had no idea how he fought and to make matters worse, the enemy had called in reinforcement. Not only were the chances of winning extremely grim but too many of their men would perish in combat too. At the end of the day, they just wanted to go back home, safe and sound.

"Fine. You can leave me in full command of the troops if you want and after I find out what the Crimson Dragon Army is up to, I will make up my mind then." Commander Zhou was not going to give up just yet, he still had a few hours ahead before he had to take any decision.

The two spineless Commanders had not expected him to react like this and were taken aback by his response. The truth was that they could not abandon the troops either...they didn't even want to think about the consequences they would have to face. The price to pay for their cowardice was too high...