Chapter 963.2: Looking at Each Other From Different Heights - Part 2
The cavalry forces from several passes rode out, like torrents surging across the desolate northern plains, racing toward a single point. As for when they would appear and where they would emerge, perhaps only Xie Nandu knew.
At the General’s Office, activity did not cease. Scouts came and went, figures moving back and forth.
Great General Ning Ping inside the General’s Office could no longer remain seated. One military report after another was delivered from outside. The first was sent by Xie Nandu from Pine Pavilion Pass. This woman had rejected the military order from the General’s Office that instructed her to leave Pine Pavilion Pass and return. Instead, she requested that the General’s Office grant her authority to act as she saw fit in mobilizing the garrisons of those several passes.
Looking at that military report, Ning Ping first felt a headache coming on. Soon, a brief council was convened within the General’s Office. It did not last long. After carefully analyzing the current situation, Gao Xuan gave his view: those several passes were indeed the first to bear the brunt of the demon race. If Xie Nandu were to return from Pine Pavilion Pass at this moment, those passes would likely not fare well.
The great battle had already begun. If the Northern Frontier were to lose those passes at the very start, they would only become more and more passive afterward. This point was clear to everyone.
Persisting in a strategy of constant retreat and concealment was indeed not a good choice. If they abandoned these passes today, then in a few days’ time, they would inevitably be unable to hold even that Great Wall.
In the end, Ning Ping made the decision and agreed to Xie Nandu’s request. He immediately issued a clear military order, instructing the commanders of the nearby passes to obey Xie Nandu’s command.
After that, military report after military report arrived. Everyone in the General’s Office reviewed them, but there were no longer any particularly difficult decisions to make. They quickly finished handling all of them.
However, after reading those military reports, the situation had become very clear - the demon race had obviously learned that Xie Nandu was at Pine Pavilion Pass. Thus, they bypassed several passes and, even at the risk of being attacked from both front and rear, insisted on taking Pine Pavilion Pass first.