The deathly silence inside the tent lasted for a moment. Pine logs crackled in the bronze brazier, sparks occasionally leaping up and casting the totemic banners on the tent walls into alternating light and shadow.
Great Chanyu Luandi Touman's expression gradually settled, the shock in his eyes receding like the tide and giving way to impatience and scrutiny.
He lowered his head to look at the messenger kneeling on the ground, vomiting blood without end, and began calculating in silence.
The lower tribes were eager to win merit before the royal court, so their actions would naturally be rash. This messenger had risked his life to come here and described the battle in such dire terms, weeping bitter tears—he was most likely seeking credit for the Gaolin Tribe.
After all, among the grassland tribes, exaggerating one's losses after a battle to demand rewards and support from the royal court was hardly anything rare.
What was more, the main force of the Qin Army was putting on a hollow display within Donghu territory. How could they possibly have so many troops slipping into the heart of the grasslands and wiping out the Gaolin Tribe's elite in one fell swoop?
If the Gaolin Tribe had truly rendered service and shed blood in the past, the royal court would naturally reward them according to their merits.
But at this moment, the tent was filled with soaring spirits. Everyone was immersed in the joy of soon conquering Donghu and opening new lands. Yet this messenger had rashly barged in to throw cold water on them, making a Qin force sound almost divine and unstoppable. Not only had he ruined Luandi Touman's mood, he had also disgraced all the ministers, making his displeasure grow all the deeper.
"Do you know that falsely reporting military intelligence