The north wind howled bleakly, and the Gobi stretched vast and boundless.
Unlike other passes that held key routes and were protected by natural barriers,
Juhe Pass lay at the very forefront of this front line. It was a pass Tiger Chasing had only captured and garrisoned a month ago.
On this local front, it was like an arrowhead jutting out, probing nearly a hundred li into the war zone.
It was roughly the same distance from the enemy lines as it was from its own rear.
Unless the entire front advanced, it would have to endure enemy harassment from three directions without cease.
At first, only ordinary troops approached to harass it, and the defenders drove them back.
But more than half a month ago, cultivators began appearing among the Eastern Wilderness forces that came to harass them.
Although the Eastern Wilderness had never managed to crack the Heart Fire Technique, they still had other methods to evade it.
For instance, in this attack on Juhe Pass, the Eastern Wilderness cultivators ignored the mortal soldiers entirely. They focused solely on attacking Juhe Pass's walls and gates, forcing the accompanying cultivators defending the city to leave it and respond.
Juhe Pass's defending cultivator force consisted of one Eleventh Level Qi Gathering captain, three Ninth Level deputies, and six Seventh Level members.
To prevent the city from falling, the defending cultivators naturally went out to resist them.
But the moment they left the city, they fell into the enemy's trap.
Two figures hidden among the ordinary soldiers suddenly shot forth to kill.
The six Seventh Level cultivators were almost instantly slain on the spot. The three Ninth Level cultivators also fell after barely managing to resist for a moment.
Realizing something was wrong, the cultivator captain immediately sent out a call