It was February of 205 BCE.
It had been a full year since Xiang Yu had enfeoffed the realm.
Though the spring thunder had yet to arrive, a roar like thunder erupted from a tent outside the Linzi defensive line.
"What the fuck did you just say!?"
Boom—!!!
The table Xiang An had been using throughout the campaign shattered beneath a single slap from him. His eyes bulged with fury as he glared at the trembling messenger kneeling before him.
Other than Xiang An's heavy breathing, the command tent was so silent that a pin dropping could have been heard. His overwhelming presence bore down upon the pitiful messenger, making him involuntarily dizzy and nauseated.
Stepping over the shattered remains of the table, Xiang An strode toward the messenger, startling Zi Juan at the side.
"Second Brother! Calm down! Ah—"
Zi Juan grabbed Xiang An's arm, but his immense strength dragged her forward, nearly making her fall.
Before Zi Juan could hit the ground, Xiang An caught her by the shoulder and steadied her. Yet the terrifying ferocity in his eyes remained, sending a chill down her spine.
Xiang An released Zi Juan, took several deep breaths, and forced himself to calm down somewhat. Then he bent over, stared at the messenger's violently trembling pupils, and asked word by word.
"Tell me... what you just said... one more time."
"His... His Majesty, after taking... Dingtao City, slaughtered all eighty thousand people inside and outside the city—"
"...Enough!" Before the messenger could finish, Xiang An furiously and violently cut him off, abruptly straightening up.
The atmosphere in the command tent was deathly still.
"You may leave first," Zi Juan said to the messenger after a long silence.
As though granted a pardon, the messenger scrambled out in panic, not daring to