I Only Want to Lie Flat But Am Forced to Cultivate Immortality
Chapter 185 - 113: The Ways of Claiming a Corpse

Chapter 185: Chapter 113: The Ways of Claiming a Corpse

Five days ago, Li Shang, who was in charge of all matters in the Western Regions, personally led all the warriors and soldiers of the Protectorate, a total of one hundred and forty-nine men, to circumvent the enemy’s rear and annihilate the envoy group sent by the Western Rong, in order to prevent the Eshan Kingdom from being incited by the Rong barbarians and thereby invading Dayong.

Among these one hundred and forty-nine warriors, there were both old and young; the eldest was over sixty, while the youngest was only twelve or thirteen.

Besides their age, the members of the Protectorate, who seemed like a makeshift troupe, came from various backgrounds.

There were veteran soldiers from the An’nan Prefecture, merchants who stayed from the Capital City, exiled prisoners, and even barbarians originally from the Rong Race.

The reason why these seemingly unrelated individuals could band together was because of the veteran general Li Shang holding them together.

Li Shang had joined the army at the age of twelve, following Prince Changting in military campaigns. Whether it was the Si’an Protectorate, or the territories of Xianyu and Beiting, or even the Southern Countries, he had set foot on them all.

This forged his indomitable character.

After Prince Changting’s military power was revoked, he intended for Li Shang to abandon his military post and return. After all, the region of the Western Regions was extraordinarily harsh, and the Imperial Court had long forgotten about the Protectorate there.

Only Prince Changting still remembered his old comrades-in-arms.

Unfortunately, Li Shang was single-minded. He replied that he was a simple man who knew nothing but fighting.

He had spent his entire life guarding the frontier, and if he were truly to live as an ordinary person, he wouldn’t last a single day.

So, despite having no money, food, or many men, Li Shang stubbornly stationed himself at the Protectorate in the Western Regions for over ten years.

The Protectorate, originally a force of a thousand, dwindled over time to only one hundred and forty-nine men remaining on duty.

When extinguishing the Western Rong envoy group, Li Shang held high hopes for one person, the warrior Badomu who had lived among the Rong Race.

However, this towering man had one flaw: he couldn’t even kill a chicken, and on top of that, he ate a lot, being a veritable rice bucket.

No one understood why Li Shang kept such a seemingly useless person.

But it was this very person who brought decades of peace to the Western Regions for the empire.

On this day, Li Shang led his makeshift troupe, bypassing the garrison of the Eshan Kingdom and infiltrating the camp of the Western Rong envoy group.

Li Shang disguised himself as a slave trader, while his hundred plus subordinates posed as slaves being sold.

Such a group, not to mention the Rong barbarians, would not even be recognized as military personnel by seasoned soldiers.

Moreover, with Badomu by his side, speaking fluent Rong Race language, the Western Rong envoy group did not suspect a thing and even approached to inquire about the slave prices.

That night, Li Shang led his men to first sneak into the military tents and kill some of the lax troops. After seizing weapons, they charged towards the main tent of the Western Rong envoy group in a single rush.

At this moment, Prince Eshan Erduo of the Eshan Kingdom was conspiring with the Western Rong envoy group inside the tent.

Seeing Li Shang and his men storm in, a wise man from the envoy group remained calm in the face of danger: "It’s the Dayong military! Kill Eshan Erduo, as long as you kill him, the Eshan Kingdom will surely become a mortal enemy of Dayong!"

The Western Rong envoy knew they couldn’t escape, so they intended to kill Prince Eshan Erduo to frame Li Shang, thus still making Eshan Kingdom an ally for their invasion of Dayong.

Li Shang was still some distance from Prince Eshan, with only Badomu, who broke in from the back of the tent, being the closest to the prince.

At this moment, everyone’s gaze in the tent was almost simultaneously on Prince Eshan.

"Badomu, protect the prince!"

"Alek, kill the prince!"

Amid the flashing swords and sabers, Badomu, panting heavily, stood in front of the prince, who followed him like a little wife in a bandit’s den, afraid of being harmed by the Western Rong people.

Despite being strong as an ox, Badomu was too timid to kill even a chicken. In the Protectorate, his nickname was "Big Radish," implying he could be nibbled by even a rabbit.

The soldiers of the Western Rong envoy group charged at Badomu like madmen.

Li Shang did not hold out much hope, believing that Badomu would most likely turn and flee when encountering the Western Rong soldiers.

However, to everyone’s surprise, this usually honest and timid man today stood like a mighty mountain, using his body to block the incoming swords, guns, and spears.

"Badomu, fight back!"

Li Shang killed his way to the front. After slaughtering all the Western Rong envoy group members, he saw Badomu, covered in blood, still standing rigidly in the corner.

Behind him, Prince Eshan, unharmed, walked up to Li Shang and cupped his hands in salute.

"I am Prince Eshan Erduo of the Eshan Kingdom. Thank you, sir, for rescuing me..." The prince’s words were cut short as Li Shang pushed him aside.

Badomu opened his mouth to speak, but blood kept gushing out from between his teeth like a fountain.

The towering man fell with a crash. Li Shang called for the accompanying field medic, an elderly man who had just killed someone. Dropping his long knife, the old man quickly took out bandages and first aid supplies, ready to proceed with treatment.

Badomu murmured indistinctly, "General, I am... I am a man like an eagle, not a radish."

Li Shang nodded repeatedly. If such a person was not a true man, then there were no true men left in the world.

...

According to the tradition of the Quanqiu Tribe, the most valiant warriors of the tribe could gain the favor of the God of the Mountains. If a warrior died, the tribe’s witch would convene a festival with the tribe members. The warrior would be given the eternal tears of the Goddess, allowing him to cross the mountains and rivers with the waters of the mountains and reach the other shore.