"Commander, I recall that you just reduced Rocky to be a breeder at the beast farm. He has no position over the sixth team once you did that. Why did you promote him to be the leader of the first team so soon? I don't think it's appropriate," one of the Deputy Commanders said in objection.
In theory, since Evan was transferred, the leader of the first team would typically be selected from among the members of the team. It was the standard protocol, and it was really unusual that Marin appointed Rocky as the leader of the first team. This decision came off as terribly was irrational.
All of the other team leaders were quite unconvinced. Evan's transfer had affected them greatly. They were wracked with fear and dared not openly communicate an outright protest to Rocky's promotion. Hearing the Deputy Commander voice their concerns, they all nodded in agreement, hoping that Marin would revoke her order.
Originally, they all had a chance to fill the position that Evan had so suddenly lost. Though because of Rocky the first team had lost three members and Evan had been transferred, the remaining four members were all outstanding spirit manipulators. The first team had always been the strongest group in the northeast military camp. Since it was now severely lacking in members, it would certainly be reorganized. Because of this, only a powerful spirit manipulator could assume the position of its leader and take on the responsibilities. What concerned everyone the most was that typically, the team leader of the first team was usually a candidate for the position of Deputy Commander. It was well known to all that if the team leader of the first team performed well, in several years he would be promoted as the Deputy Commander of a small military camp. This was the biggest dream for most spirit manipulators in the military.
"I ordered the appointment after a long time of questioning and consideration. The war is nearly at hand. You all know it's a time when persons of capability will be greatly needed. When I went to the supreme headquarters a few days ago, I was informed that the Holy Dragon Empire was about to make war on the Timber Deity Empire. All the armies are waiting for the order of His Majesty. It's just a matter of time. After the disturbance, the power of the teams here in the northeast military camp was greatly damaged. That's why I didn't transfer Deputy Commander Chen and chose to keep him in his position rather than dismiss him. Only an exceedingly powerful spirit manipulator is qualified to be the leader of the first team. Who of you can rival Rocky?"
is particular area was located in the most dangerous region of the Carcass Valley. Due to these conditions, the wild spirit-manipulated beasts living here were far more powerful than Rocky had met before. Some of them were equivalent to the spirit manipulators beyond the Earthly Stage! With so many powerful beasts around, luring the Dark Heaven Insect in this area was hazardous.
However, Rocky had made adequate preparations to cope with any crises. He made a simple trap with the materials he obtained from the wild spirit-manipulated beasts. Along with the Centipede-snake's venom, he seemed quite confident about the capture of another Dark Heaven Insect.
After he organized the trap on his spot of choice, he didn't ask Uriah to carry the magical saliva to lure the Dark Heaven Insect out in case that it would attract several powerful wild spirit-manipulated beasts once a time. Using that old ruse, he would still be distracted. Instead, Rocky decided to use a rope to hang the bottle on a branch of a big tree. He adjusted the rope's length so that the bottle was hung about half a meter above the ground. Then he hid to the side with Uriah and Little Rubygon, waiting for the Dark Heaven Insect to come crashing through the earth.
After about half an hour, several wild beasts came, and none of them were mighty enough to escape from the trap. At their capture, Rocky killed them at his fastest speed, not wanting to keep them suffering. Suddenly, it seemed that all his patience had paid off. Rocky sensed that the ground was shaking. It seemed that something was about to come out of it.
"Is it coming?" Rocky muttered to himself as his eyes remained fixed at the spot right below the bottle with the magical saliva.