27 Ravaging Wolves

After journeying for days, Caol and the troop finally reached the camp site. The sea of tents stretched as far as his eyes can see. A group of immortals could be seen flying above them to defend against any potential attacks.

The sun was high up in the air. Almost everyone in the site was busy working with their own stuff. The soldiers in here have been sieging the stronghold for over 3 months now. There was not any huge breakthrough as the enemy soldiers had the geographical advantage.

An army needed vast amounts of supplies, such as food and steel. As the Dragon Army was away from their lands, they had to transport the food from the Empire to the front lines. This took time, unlike the Tiger Army as they were in their own territory and had their own supply of food from the stronghold.

Caol was escorted into a large tent. There were four guards standing at the entrance. They looked menacing and would probably pounce on anybody who went near them. When they saw Caol, they did a military salute.

A majority of the soldiers knew who Caol was. A young Captain of an elite regiment and helped save the army from death. The soldiers had a lot of respect for him. They also saw him transforming into a giant ape, but this did not hinder them from respecting him. There were a lot of powerful martial arts out there that transformed someone's physique, so they thought it was just that.

Caol nodded at the guards and went in the tent. Inside, a lot of the bigwigs were gathered. Four generals, including General Yang, were in a discussion. The tent was also full of high-ranking army officials and strategists.

Once Caol came in, all set of eyes were on him. This made him feel a little bit flustered, but Caol did a military salute and stood on the sides. After a while, the people started the discussion again, sometimes getting heated arguments over conflicts with their ideas.

"I say, we should start breaking off a part of the army and circle through the mountains to the stronghold's back. That way, we can cut off their supply lines while the main force attacks through the front, pressuring them." A general named General Ping gave his idea to the others in the tent. Quite a few officials agreed with the notion. It would take more time, but it was more effective.

Another general, General Wu, was not satisfied with the idea. "I am one hundred percent sure that there are enemies guarding the mountains. For all we know, it is an ambush and that battalion will get destroyed in no time. It will take much longer too, but we do not have any more time. If this battle for a mere stronghold drags on, the Tiger Empire can easily re-fortify this place as more of their reinforcements will come." General Wu then went to the map in the center and pointed at the north-western part of the Tiger Continent. "According to our spies, the Ravaging Wolves Regiment is on their way here after their conquest against the mountain tribes in this area. It will take them approximately 10 days to get here with their means. If this Regiment ever gets into the stronghold, I'm afraid our dream of conquering the Tiger Continent will be wasted."

The people in the tent went silent for a moment. An elite regiment was not one they could take on immediately. After their losses in the past battle, quite a few elites died. Elites were hard to replace as they were trained with the best trainings and resources. Time was also a big factor on making elites, which the Dragon Army did not have. Their only available elite regiment was the Soaring Dragon Regiment, however, they are all still young and unexperienced. The other elite armies of the Dragon Continent are used to defend key points against the invading barbarians, mountain tribes, and the other Continents.

General Yang had other thoughts on conquering the stronghold. He looked at Caol and asked suddenly, which brought the other people's attention. "Caol, are you willing to lead the battle against the Tiger Army?"

All the people in the tent have heard about Caol's exploits. His strength was way beyond someone of his age. Couple that with his terrifying background, an adopted grandson of an immortal cultivator and the Grand Marshal's disciple. There were rumours about him being a half demonic beast as they heard Caol's transformation, but that did not matter. As long as he was strong and was of great benefit to the Empire, even if Caol was the Demon King, they would still accept him.

Caol nodded with a trace of confidence, "I am willing to lead the Soaring Dragon Regiment and conquer the stronghold, sir!"

"Good, you can request for anything you need with regards to this duty. I want those walls down in three days." General Yang trusted Caol a lot, even though he was young and has not fully matured yet.

___

Tiger Continent, Northwestern Swamps.

A huge troop of soldiers can be seen wearing their battle uniforms. A flag was hoisted on their ships, it was a ferocious wolf. The group was relatively young, and they were having a good time as they travelled along the swamp.

A big ship was in front, and it towered over the other ships. Five young men were sitting inside a cabin room and were talking about recent events.

"Have you guys heard about the kid from the Dragon Empire? What was his name again? I don't remember, but supposedly, he held back an immortal cultivator on his own." A young man who was physically fit and was holding on to a dagger, fiddling with it, intrigued the other men.

"Oh?" A guy who looked very fearful, with scars all over his body, was hooked by his curiosity. "Interesting, eh? To be able to fight those cultivators at a young age, that's impressive. Now I'm eager to meet him." This guy started grinning as he imagined how a fight between them would be. Needless to say, this guy was a battle maniac.

"It's impressive, but I would not believe in rumors easily. I will decide if he's good once we meet." A refined young man was standing against the wall. He was hugging a sheathed long sword. The picture captured was just like it was him and his sword alone, keeping aloof above the mundane world.

Another young man did not join in the conversation. He was bald and just kept meditating, finding his inner calm and harnessing his qi. This bald man was breathing in pure qi in irregular intervals.

"What do you think about this boss?" The man with the dagger asked the young man sitting next to him. This 'boss' was fairly handsome and tall. He just said two words, 'Not interested,' and continued drinking.

"How much longer until we reach Death Valley?" The boss spoke and directed his voice to his aide outside. That aide went in and answered back, "It will be about two more days, sir. We have eliminated the spies sent to us by the Dragon Empire and proliferated a fake information that we will arrive in about ten days."

The boss was calm, "Good, you can go back now." What the others didn't know was that there was a glint of despise in his eyes. 'Fighting against immortals? So what? I've even killed one before.'