Ning Chen smiled. "Didn't you say you weren't coming?"

He'd invited Xiao Yanxi before setting out, but she didn't care for this sort of thing and had begged off, so he'd brought a dozen or so Ning'an Army soldiers instead.

Only then did he notice that Xiao Yanxi didn't look right. "What is it?" he asked, concerned. "Are you feeling unwell?"

Xiao Yanxi shook her head, her voice grave. "There's news of General Zhong."

Ning Chen's voice was urgent. "Tell me. Quick."

Xiao Yanxi looked at him, worried sick. "Ning, dear, you have to stay calm......"

Ning Chen's heart lurched. He gave a slight nod.

She told him, "General Zhong and all eighty thousand of his men have been wiped out."

Ning Chen's head rang. Black waves rolled across his vision.

Every official in the room, high and low, stared open-mouthed.

She watched him anxiously. "Ning, dear... are you all right?"

Ning Chen's face was frightening to look at.

"What happened?"

Xiao Yanxi said, "It was the Gaoli Kingdom's people. They tricked General Zhong into leaving his route, and then they set an ambush.

General Zhong was caught unprepared and took heavy losses. He had no choice but to fall back to Howling Moon Mountain.

But there was no water on the mountain. He held out for three days. In the end he feigned surrender, came down the mountain and launched a suicide charge... They all died fighting."

Ning Chen's fists clenched until his knuckles went white. His face had gone dark as a thunderhead.

"Hahaha..." All of a sudden, Ning Chen burst out laughing. "Good. Good, good, good. Well played, Gaoli. Hahaha..."

Every official in the room was too frightened to breathe.

No one could miss the towering rage pouring off him.

"My lord prince, please calm your anger, don't harm your health......"

One official tried to use the moment to curry favor. A single look from Ning Chen turned his legs to jelly, and he dropped onto his backside on the floor.

Crack!

Ning Chen crushed the wine cup in his hand. "Calm my anger?" he roared. "Nearly…