Lord of the Desert

Chapter 452 Sanxi
April 15th, the 31st year of Zhenghe.

The moon is as full as a disk, shining coldly on the capital.

The imperial study in the palace was named Sanxi Hall because of the ancient proverb "A scholar aspires to be a virtuous person, a virtuous person aspires to be a saint, and a saint aspires to be born in heaven".

The building was paved with white jade all around, and seven teams of forty-nine pure realm imperial guards were deployed in motion, with golden swords and silver armor, shining brightly under the moon.

Twenty meters in front of the main hall, a purple-robed warrior stood alone with his hands behind his back and his eyes slightly closed.

His surname is Xiao and his name is Long. He is the cousin of the current emperor, ranked 100th on the Earth List, and his honorific title is "Purple Air Coming from the East".

Beyond the gauze window panes, the walls of the corridor are covered with mulberry paper, on which is a relief panoramic painting with the theme of Haizhou sunrise; when one turns around, one first sees thousands of waves surging, and then the new sun hitting the sky, while the floating clouds on both sides gradually tilt according to the perspective ratio, creating a subtle three-dimensional effect.

The hall is paved with blue and white tiles with gilded seams.

There is a plaque placed high in the main hall with four words inscribed on it.

【Glorious and grand. 】

"From the 9th to the 12th, a total of four days, the insect tide has replenished about 2,000 real insects. The third offensive began on the 13th and lasted for ten hours. There are only 10,000 real insects left."

A deep male voice echoed in the hall.

The speaker was about thirty years old, wearing a black gauze hat and a bright red brocade dragon robe.

"After three battles, Erbai City suffered a total of 31,000 casualties. In particular, in the third battle, Gu Yixin was hit by Xiao Tanghuang and had his ribs broken. He was also seriously injured by lightning in his lungs. Fortunately, he had taken the Nine-Transformation Green Light Pill that the imperial sister brought with her, and was able to recover to 70% of his combat power."

He pushed an opened text message across the long rosewood table.

The letter was not picked up.

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The Princess has not yet used the Chaos Realm. Erbai City can be defended for at least another half a month."

The speaker sat across the table from the prince, looking at the enamel bottle on the table.

The candlelight flickered, emitting tiny rays of light in the stamens of the gemstone-like peony in the vase.

Upon hearing this, Crown Prince Xiao Yan's face darkened and he clenched his fists under the table.

"It's only half a month, until the end of April."

At the center of the long table, a middle-aged man in his fifties spoke.

"Guanyuan Zun, the Dragon Summoning Festival is still sixteen days away. Can you let Him come out?"

He wore a golden winged hat and a bright yellow brocade dragon robe. He was Xiao Ce, the current emperor. The "Guan Yuan Zun" he mentioned was Guan Qianjian, the president of the Supervisory Yuan.

"No."

Guan Qianjian replied decisively.

The sandalwood on the table was blown away by the man's breath and spilled onto the black jade paperweight.

"I tried again yesterday, but the dragon's body was overloaded and almost woke him up."

As he spoke, he pressed his brows heavily, and the few strands of gray hair on his forehead twisted and flashed, bursting with purple brilliance.

"When can it be done?"

Xiao Ce asked.

There was silence for a moment.

On the spare board under the window lattice on the side of the hall, a miniature lacquer painting screen was faintly reflecting purple light.

"According to the current progress, it won't be enough next year or the year after, and the erosion will be even deeper..."

Guan Qianjian lowered his eyes and replied.

Xiao Yan changed his sitting position and breathed a little heavier.

Xiao Ce narrowed his eyes and glared at his eldest son.

"Five years, five years at most."

Guan Qianjian rubbed his knees and gave an accurate number.

"It's not that I have to force you, it's just that time waits for no one. The tests have become more and more frequent in the past few years."

Xiao Ce nodded and let out a short sigh.

"First, it was the snake demon in the northwest that caused trouble. At that time, he did not dare to send Yuanci directly, but instead sacrificed blood on the spot to take advantage of the opportunity. Fortunately, Hong Jian appeared in the Golden Sea, and he unexpectedly solved the problem. Then it was the sea tribe, and now it is the insect tribe..."

He narrowed his eyes slightly to hide his worry that the building was about to collapse.

"Since the eleventh year of Zhenghe, Zulong has not appeared, so they are naturally active in their minds."

Guan Qianjian's tone was quite free and easy.

"More than lively?"

Xiao Ce's voice was uncertain.

"Sending two personal guards of the tree god openly, this is really..."

"Your Majesty, isn't this all to be expected? After all, they are the indispensable nodes of the formation. Besides, the Yuanci from the Sea Clan who crossed the line is still doing fine."

Guan Qianjian leaned back in his chair, rubbing his brows out of habit. The conversation was interrupted here, and the three of them were silent for a long time.

"Father, Your Majesty, my sister asks about this every three days. Half of Shengzhou is in ruins. Are we just going to keep waiting?"

Xiao Yan asked suddenly, wiping the sweat from his palms with his sleeves.

"Lord Fan of Red Bean City sent a third letter today, expressing his great concern about the situation. This time, the Zerg broke the rules first. If ordered by the Lord, he is willing to go west out of Broken Heart Valley and sweep the entire territory of Shengzhou."

Fan Longqiu achieved the unity of heaven and man, and was honored with the title "Three-foot Unique", ranking among the top three heavenly masters in Shengzhou.

Xiao Ce did not answer and looked at Guan Qianjian.

"Your Highness, calm down!"

The latter twirled his beard and teased.

"The rules are not broken. As long as Zulong is here, the rules are here; as long as the rules are here, Zulong is here."

Guan Qianjian looked at the straightened Ran Ran Tanxiang with a meaningful look.

"When we wait for the Dragon Summoning Festival, the biggest festival ever, please issue an edict first, and then we will plow the fields and clear the holes."

He put his hand on the table and made the first decision.

Xiao Ce nodded silently.

"Okay, then I will ask Lord Fan to wait a little longer."

Xiao Yan breathed a sigh of relief, but was interrupted by laughter.

"What is he waiting for? It would take a lot of effort for the little fellow named Fan to kill the two bugs, how can he do that?"

Guan Qianjian laughed.

"Wait for me to write a note, and then let Wan Guiche go."

······
April seventeenth.

Erbai City.

The morning glow burst out from the horizon, and the sky was as moist as an oil film.

The Zerg swarm launched its fourth attack before dawn.

Gu Yixin had been seriously injured before, and even with the good medicine he was not fully recovered. His fighting power was depleted, and after fighting with Xiao Tanghuang for most of the day he was obviously exhausted.

In this way, even if he himself was unwilling, he was still ordered by Xiao Chu to avoid the battle.

In the early morning of the next day, Xiao Tanghuang, who had lost his opponent, was unstoppable and went up to the city.

When the purple electric light blew up the corner tower, Xiao Chu, who was guarding the city, took off the golden umbrella on his back.

Holding the umbrella handle, she pushed upwards and instantly felt two rows of sharp teeth growing out of the umbrella pole and piercing into her palm. The pain was sharp and mixed with numbness, as if it affected her internal organs.

The bright red blood inlaid with gold threads flowed down the umbrella handle and then disappeared.

Within a few seconds, Xiao Chu's right hand turned from red to pale.

At this time, she could no longer feel the pain, and could only use her willpower to push the parachute as the world spun around her.

Thick clouds covered the city at some point.

Xiao Chu's cheeks also lost color.

The moment the chaotic world was pushed aside, an invisible raging wave rose up and spread out with the city wall as the center, dispersing the clouds in the sky and revealing the clear blue sky.

The bright moon shines widely.

Hong Fan seemed to have heard nothing and saw nothing. He only knew that his sixth sense regarding his innate spiritual energy had completely failed and the true energy in his body had also stopped recovering.

A moment later, a huge shadow engulfed the top of the city and obliterated the moonlight.

The swarm of insects suddenly lost control and either stopped or retreated.

Hong Fan chopped off the soldier insect's head with his axe, and took the opportunity to look up. He saw a huge umbrella that seemed real and illusory hanging in the air. The dragon pattern on the umbrella was bulging and twisting, as if it was trying to break free.

The rustling sound of heavy iron armor came from behind the city. They were the princess's most elite guards.

“Xiao Tanghuang!”

The calls of the ancient and the new are coming from afar.

Xiao Tanghuang knew that something was wrong, so he retreated to the rear and hid among the insect swarm.

The city walls were filled with cheers of “Your Highness is mighty!”

All the soldiers took advantage of the situation to counterattack, and the most violent among them was the chief of the nobles, Dai Wangchen. He led the way into the city and slaughtered people, squandering his true energy without regard for the consequences...

The one-sided battle lasted for more than an hour.

It was not until the early morning of April 18 that the civilians left the city to clean up the battlefield. The Fourth Battle of Erbai City ended after 26 hours.

(End of this chapter)