The envoy from the Chanyu Court stood in the center of the Right Worthy King's great tent and read aloud the Great Chanyu's decree. His expression was cold as ice, his tone without the slightest ripple, yet every sentence struck Modun's heart like a heavy hammer, shaking his mind to its core.
The candle flames in the tent flickered, stretching Modun's shadow long, then short.
Modun's expression changed abruptly, anticipation giving way to stunned disbelief, suppressed fury coloring his voice.
He suddenly strode forward and demanded urgently, "Falsifying military intelligence? Seizing territory for myself? Lord Envoy, what nonsense are you talking about?! This is a monstrous injustice!"
Then, with righteous indignation ringing in every word, he declared, "Every word I have spoken is true—there is not a single lie in it!
That Qin army possesses terrifying combat strength and equipment far beyond imagination. Wherever they go, not a blade of grass remains. The successive destruction of the Xiutu Tribe and Donghu is the best proof. They truly have the power to threaten the survival of all Xiongnu!
I bear the responsibility of guarding the Xiongnu borderlands. How could I dare treat the safety of all Xiongnu and the lives of hundreds of thousands of herdsmen as a joke?"
The envoy frowned slightly and raised a hand impatiently to cut him off.
Unfurling the decree written on beast hide, he proclaimed in a stern voice, "In consideration of your many years of military service—your suppression of tribal rebellions for the Xiongnu and defense against foreign enemies, through which you have earned considerable merit—the Great Chanyu will not pursue your crime of deception for now. You are granted one chance to redeem yourself through service."
"You are ordered to immediately dispatch fifty thousand elite cavalry from the White Sheep Tribe under your