Rift Rock Pass, true to its name, was a natural chokepoint that looked as if a Giant Axe had cleaved it between two steep mountain ridges.
It was the last major gateway to the fertile heartland of the Golden Valley Kingdom from the East, a strategically vital pass that was easy to defend and difficult to attack.
In stark contrast to the poorly guarded strongholds along the eastern border, the pass's walls were now a forest of banners. Armored soldiers, weapons in hand, stood shoulder to shoulder, their grim presence filling the air.
More alarmingly, a potent Extraordinary aura emanated from their ranks, indicating that a significant number of Professionals were stationed there.
Not far from the pass, on the flat plains before it, stood another massive military camp belonging to the joint army of Gloria and Duke.
The camp and the pass faced each other from a distance, locked in the fragile, temporary calm before a storm.
