Chapter 284 Tianxuan: No Sin of War

Xuanyuan Hall.

The palace door was closed tightly, looking eerie and scary.

"Your Majesty, after we subdued Gumo,..."

The temple dedicated to Taoist Master Hongjun and the Three Pure Ones was packed with people.

In addition to Tianxuan, the landlord, and Zhang Han, who came here on the orders of Zhengge and accidentally encountered this matter, there were also those confidants that Tianxuan relied on: Liu Ji, Xiao He, Zhou Bo, Cao Shen, Fan Kuai, etc. Everyone looked solemn, and all their eyes fell on Li Shang and Chen Ping, who looked in a mess and whose arrogance had been completely defeated.

Li Shang and Chen Ping also knew that they had suffered a great defeat. Not only did they fail to complete the mission, but they also lost most of their 3,000 soldiers and horses. They knelt on the ground and reported to Tianxuan the causes and consequences of the defeat.

"..., the Queen of Jingjue drove fireflies, ants, bats and other creatures to attack us. Because there were too many of these monsters, they devoured the flesh and blood of our brothers...."

In the huge Xuanyuan Hall, only Li Shang's words, which were filled with confusion, anger and hatred, echoed.

[Fire beetle? Army ant? Pig-faced bat?]

Hearing Li Shang's description and Chen Ping's description of the creatures, Tian Xuan remained calm on the surface, but his heart was in turmoil. In his previous life, as a typical social animal, Tian Xuan had also seen the origins of these creatures... Unexpectedly, he would encounter them in this world that was completely different.

"Just like that, we were defeated. We had no choice but to abandon Gumo City, burn all the baggage that we didn't have time to take away, and flee back to apologize!"

Tianxuan's heart was surging with waves, so much so that he failed to notice that on the face of Old Man Lu, whom he had found, in addition to the panic and fear similar to Liu Ji, Xiao He and others, there was also compassion for all living beings.

After Chen Ping and Li Shang discussed the causes and consequences of their defeat, they lowered their heads and waited for Tianxuan's decision.

Tianxuan understood that the defeat of Chen Ping and Li Shang was truly a crime not caused by war. In addition, the creatures they described had a great impact on Tianxuan's mind, forcing Tianxuan to wonder whether there were other terrible creatures lurking in the vast desert, silent for a long time.

Xiao He, Liu Ji and others did not dare to speak rashly.

Instantly, Xuanyuan Hall fell into a dullness that could not be described in words, which could drive people crazy. Li Shang and Chen Ping, kneeling in the hall, were sweating profusely like prisoners waiting for trial.

"Your Majesty, although Lord Chen Ping and General Li Shang were defeated in the battle, it was not their fault." After an unknown amount of time, an old voice that was very unfamiliar to the people present suddenly sounded.

【who is it? 】

The dull atmosphere was broken by the words. Liu Ji, Xiao He and others were surprised and looked in the direction of the voice. What came into view was a wrinkled face. It was Old Man Lu! Old Man Lu was originally a guide assigned by Wu Shiluo to Tianxuan to understand the Western Regions. Originally, after completing the mission, Old Man Lu should have returned to Guanzhong with the other people assigned by Wu Shiluo to Tianxuan. However, Old Man Lu claimed that he was originally from the Western Regions. In addition, he had a very good understanding of the Hexi Corridor and the Western Regions, which really helped Tianxuan a lot.

Therefore, Tianxuan kept him in Wushuang City and made him an elder to consult on the situation in the Western Regions.

"Uncle Lu, what do you mean?" Tianxuan cast his gaze towards Uncle Lu and saw a hint of fear from the bottom of his heart on his face, as if he had already come into contact with the creatures described by Li Shang and Chen Ping.

Old Man Lu had a look of fear on his face, with memories rising from the bottom of his heart in his eyes, and his tone was particularly distant, as if he wanted to take Tianxuan and others away from this Wushuang City and into the vast and unpredictable years.

"Your Majesty, the bat with the scary pig face is called the Pig-faced Bat. It is bloodthirsty and carnivorous by nature. It is the rarest and most vicious species of bat. They like to live in underground caves in the grasslands, preying on cattle, sheep and other livestock, and hiding during the day and coming out at night!"

"That ladybug with blue flames all over its body, attached to the corpse, emitting blue light when still and blue fire when moving, its body is crystal clear, it is called the fire ladybug. No one can be sure of escaping within its attack range. Once hit by it, the whole body will burn. Wherever it goes, a slight vibration sound can be heard in the air, which looks indescribably mysterious and strange. The only weakness of the fire ladybug is that it is afraid of water!"

"That's right." Although Li Shang didn't know how Uncle Lu knew the name of that insect, he heard that Uncle Lu was trying to defend him. He wanted to atone for his sins, so he quickly agreed, "Uncle Lu is absolutely right. When we faced those insects... fire beetles, we sprayed them with clean water, which did stop the attack of the fire beetles."

"As for the giant ants with black bodies and blood-red tails, they are called army ants. They live underground in the desert and are well-organized and disciplined. They are called army ants because they are highly organized, like a well-trained army. When they appear, a large bulge will appear in the sand, and then they will gush out like a fountain, densely packed with red and black, like a bursting tide, which makes people's hair stand on end. If attacked by desert army ants, people and animals will be gnawed to bones in an instant. Ordinary soldier ants are as big as a knuckle, and the queen ant is as big as a lamb. Once they attack in groups, all that is left of living things is a pile of bones. It is relatively simple to deal with army ants. You can either beat them to death or burn them to death."

"I see."

Although what Uncle Lu said was vaguely present in Tianxuan's memory of his previous life, it was a different feeling when it came from Uncle Lu, a person from the Western Regions. After Uncle Lu finished speaking, Tianxuan understood and nodded secretly.

"Li Shang, Chen Ping, you two get up!" Tian Xuan waved his hand and said to Li Shang and Chen Ping who were kneeling on the floor, "Your defeat this time is indeed not your fault. Li Shang, I order you to immediately prepare water guns, kerosene and other things, and make up for your crime with merit!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

After receiving Tianxuan's forgiveness, Li Shang and Chen Ping were as if they had been pardoned, and they helped each other to get up from the floor. Li Shang, who was assigned a task by Tianxuan, turned around and walked out of the hall to prepare water guns, kerosene and other weapons to deal with the army ants and fire beetles.

After sending Li Shang away, Tianxuan's eyes narrowed slightly, his gaze fixed on Uncle Lu with interest, and he said meaningfully: "Uncle Lu, continue!"

Old Man Lu smiled bitterly and asked, "Your Majesty, how do you know that the Queen of Jingjue has something else that can pose a threat to us?"

"Because I'm not stupid!" Tian Xuan said confidently, "Whether it's the army ants, the pig-faced bats, or even the fire beetles, they are certainly powerful, but at most they can only catch the opponent off guard. Once the opponent is prepared, these three strange creatures are nothing more than toys that can be easily destroyed!"

"Your Majesty is right." Chen Ping heard this, hatred appeared on his face, and his eyes were full of unwillingness. "Please give me a chance. I will burn or drown all the fire beetles, army ants, and pig-faced bats!"

(End of this chapter)