Faced with Spirit Hall's guerrilla tactics, the Heaven Dou Empire could only concentrate its forces, slowing its advance.
With the battle lines stretching ever longer, every city the army captured at the front added another measure of pressure.
The Heaven Dou Commander sat in the central command tent, fretting over the map on his desk.
After turning the matter over in his mind, he rose and left the tent to seek out the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect elder stationed with the army.
The elder's surname was Ning. A veteran of the sect, he had been overseeing matters with the army for some time.
When Commander Zhao entered, he was checking the casualty lists sent back from the front.
"Elder Ning." Commander Zhao cupped his hands and went straight to the point.
"I wonder if you could provide us with some more electromagnetic explosive bombs."
Elder Ning set down the list in his hand and invited him to sit.
"General Zhao, every batch of electromagnetic explosive bombs allocated to the front was agreed upon beforehand. You know that perfectly well."
"I know." Commander Zhao smiled bitterly.
"But rules are dead things. People are alive."
"With things as they stand, ordinary soldiers don't even dare step outside the camp gates at night."
"Last night, south of Mingchuan City, an entire night patrol was wiped out at a street corner. Eleven men, and not a single survivor."
"Soul power isn't something that can be cultivated overnight. If ordinary people want to defend themselves against soul masters, they can only rely on external means."
"Without these electromagnetic explosive bombs to protect them, our soldiers can barely cope with surprise attacks from soul masters."
He leaned forward a little and lowered his voice.
"Elder Ning, I'm not being greedy."
"The Heaven Dou army numbers