"I have seen many generals in my time!"
"And they all call me the Overlord!"
In that moment, everyone present was struck dumb.
Yizhixie, the Great Chanyu, who had been sitting on his throne, had actually been preparing to step down himself to comfort Li Aotian, who he assumed was on the verge of defeat. But who could have predicted this? Li Aotian was truly so ferocious that with a single kick, he had sent Prince Wuwei vomiting blood.
"What is going on?"
"How could this be? The intelligence from the Great Han was so strange. Did it not claim that this Li Aotian was merely a pure poet?"
"He... he is a civil official, yet he wants to act like a general?"
"Overlord..."
That title, "Overlord," reminded the Great Chanyu of a legendary figure in this world: the Overlord of Western Chu, Xiang Yu! A man like that was not merely ranked among the generals; he stood on equal footing with emperors!
"His aura... it actually suppresses my own."
"What exactly is this fellow's background?"
Yizhixie muttered, his brows knitted. At this moment, he felt an intense sense of wariness toward Li Aotian. This man was arrogant and powerful, forcing Yizhixie to take him seriously. Previously, the Great Chanyu had merely viewed him as an ordinary Han Envoy. But as Li Aotian continued to provoke them, revealing his sharp edge, and even crushing Wuwei, the greatest warrior of the Xiongnu, he could no longer ignore him.
"This man must be holding something back."
"Perhaps he is Emperor Wu of Han's secret weapon, sent specifically to overthrow my Xiongnu regime!"
Thinking this, the Great Chanyu decided that the Xiongnu must absolutely not provoke such a person; he must not be allowed to die here!
***
At this moment, Wuwei tried to stand, but Li Aotian’s fists were already upon him.
His punches were fast, and they were heavy!
Faced with such Overlord-like combat prowess and presence, the greatest warrior of the Xiongnu had no power to parry; he was effectively pinned to the ground and beaten to a pulp.
"Don't... don't hit me!"
"You bastard! You bastard!"
Wuwei felt as if his body were falling apart. Li Aotian’s fists fell upon his face like meteors. In just thirty seconds, he was black and blue, looking like a pig’s head.
"Prince Wuwei?"
"I think from now on, you shall be known as the Black Pig Prince!"
Li Aotian took half a step back to mock him, then swung his arm with immense force, delivering a final, lethal punch!
A full, roundhouse swing!
And then!
A mountain-crushing blow!
With a thunderous boom, the fist struck Wuwei square on the forehead. The prince flew backward like a kite, landing motionless and unconscious.
One heavy strike!
A total knockout!
Wuwei’s face had been beaten so badly that even his father, Yizhixie, would no longer recognize him!
In this battle, Li Aotian had manifested his "Overlord" aura! He had demonstrated the majesty of the Great Han!
Immediately after, Li Aotian wiped the blood from his knuckles, flicked his sleeves, and with his hands behind his back, he recited:
"An eight-foot general, a thousand-li horse!"
"Lifting mountains and tripods—the wonder of it all!"
These two lines alone left the members of the Han Envoy thrilled!
"As expected of our Great Han Poet Immortal, Li Aotian!"
"This poem describes him perfectly!"
"He is writing about himself!"
"A peerless talent in literature!"
"A peerless warrior in battle!"
"This is the state of being that we subjects of the Great Han aspire to."
Li Aotian’s literary and martial talents had thoroughly won over the members of the envoy. Then, they watched as he turned and walked into the Royal Court.
When he emerged, everyone was stunned.
The white-clad envoy, Li Aotian, was carrying the Consort of the Left Wise King on his shoulder, swaggering toward the encampment established by the Han Envoy!
He walked through the path with the flustered Consort on his shoulder. On either side of him stood the tattooed Xiongnu soldiers and noble ministers!
He cast one final glance at the gloomy-faced Great Chanyu, then burst into laughter!
"Losers eat dust!"
"Xiongnu! Your Consort belongs to me now!"
"Hahaha!"
These words fully displayed his arrogance!
"Too much! This fellow is truly going too far!"
"I am so angry I could die! I want to go up there and run him through with my spear right now! I want him to know that the Xiongnu cannot be insulted!"
"Our Xiongnu Consort has been snatched by a lowly Han Envoy; this is a death wish! This is trampling on the wolf-spirit of our people!"
"Great Chanyu! Give the order! As long as you give the word, we will mutiny and execute this Han Envoy!"
At this moment, the Xiongnu soldiers could no longer restrain themselves. They sharpened their blades and gripped their spears, their murderous intent coalescing into a palpable force.
Kill the envoy! Restore the honor of the Xiongnu!
At this moment, Yizhixie, the Great Chanyu, had a heavy expression. He stood up from his throne, paced twice, and muttered to himself.
"This boy is not provoking me for no reason."
"He... he is laying a trap for us."
"He is trying to provoke us into a mutiny."
"Li Aotian’s poetry is immortal, his martial arts are like a dragon; such a man is not the kind of cunning subject of the Great Han that I am familiar with. For him to show such arrogance, he must have a plan... Could it be that he... he wants us to kill him?"
"If he provokes us into killing him, is he not just seeking death?"
"Once he dies, the Great Han will have a pretext for war, and the Xiongnu lands I have worked so hard to conquer will be handed over to Emperor Wu of Han."
"Therefore, this Li Aotian cannot be killed—definitely not!"
Thinking this, the Great Chanyu patted his own head and said, "I am truly a political genius! I saw through Li Aotian’s sinister scheme at a glance. He wants to conquer my Xiongnu heartland in Mobei!"
"Hmph! I, Yizhixie, will not be fooled."
With that, he flicked his sleeves and shouted aloud!
"Everyone! We Xiongnu are not people who go back on their word!"
"Before the battle, it was agreed between him and Prince Wuwei—whoever won would take the Consort of the Left Wise King!"
"Today's battle is over!"
"If you want to reclaim our honor, then train your troops and practice your martial arts well!"
"Only by defeating him on the battlefield is our true mission! Besides, he is the Han Envoy, our honored guest. This trivial matter... let it be."
After speaking, the Great Chanyu flicked his sleeves and departed. He was afraid to look at his Xiongnu warriors, because even as he said those words, he felt... ashamed!
In the Xiongnu camp under the cover of night, Li Aotian sat on the bed inside his tent and opened his eyes, saying leisurely:
"The reward has arrived!"
[The System has collected the host's arrogant behavior of snatching the Xiongnu Consort for the night. You have gained 8,000 Arrogance Points!]