Chapter 1358: Targeted Attack Against Him

## Chapter 1344: The Attack Against Him

At this moment, a soldier approached with a letter and presented it to the Marshal.

Situ Yu was already familiar with the design of the envelope. He casually tore it open, and as expected, inside was the light-blue, gold-flecked stationery exclusive to the Yanshan Chamber of Commerce.

He Lingchuan had arrived at Yaopo and invited him to Piaofeng Tower for a celebratory dinner.

What a coincidence; he had just thought of He Lingchuan, and now He Lingchuan was in Yaopo. Situ Yu was in a good mood and casually gave a reply: "See you there; don't leave without me."

Currently, the Yanshan Chamber of Commerce and the Situ family maintained very close ties and cooperation. Situ Yu and his father had frequent opportunities to meet He Lingchuan, and they treated each other like old friends. Island Lord He was by nature generous, and this wasn't the first or second time he had invited Situ Yu to dinner; they were always casual gatherings among friends, so Situ Yu didn't think much of it.

He continued working for another hour, by which time dusk had settled, and attendants came in to light the lamps.

"All right, it's time to go to Piaofeng Tower."

He couldn't drink too late tonight, as he had to return to the front lines tomorrow morning. With that thought, Situ Yu stood up, stretched, changed into casual clothes, and left the camp with a dozen personal guards to enter the city.

Yaopo featured three natural lakes situated close to each other, connected by man-made canals. Piaofeng Tower was built right by the lake.

Not long ago, this area had been a battlefront, so the lake shores were naturally unkempt and overgrown with weeds. Fortunately, this season saw everything flourish; the wind swept through the tall grass, water birds idled, and the lakeside exuded a unique wild charm.

Piaofeng Tower had several small pavilions, and the Yanshan Chamber of Commerce had reserved the one closest to the water.

Situ Yu had arrived early. Upon learning that He Lingchuan hadn't yet arrived, he went inside the pavilion to wait.

At that moment, the daylight was perfect, and the water surface shimmered with golden light. Just as Situ Yu sat down, he saw several fish leap out of the nearby lake one after another, one even bumping into a lotus flower.

It was a scene teeming with life.

He wished the Situ family's territory could always be this peaceful.

About five feet from the pavilion, a cluster of floating lotuses drifted on the water. Four or five lotus flowers, sparsely but gracefully arranged, with green leaves and pink petals, bloomed beautifully and vibrantly without much care.

A gust of wind carried the intoxicating fragrance of the flowers.

Situ Yu waited inside the pavilion, contemplating the situation on the front lines. His personal guards surrounded the area, even blocking the roads leading to it, keeping unauthorized persons away.

No one noticed that the eaves of the pavilion, the grass along the shore, and nearby trees were covered with countless tiny, dark-green insects, smaller than a pinky fingernail.

There was a lot of grass by the lake, and it was also the season for many insects. Even if Situ Yu, as the lord, was overbearing, he couldn't stop insects from flying around.

Occasionally, a few flew close and were shooed away by the guards.

Another warm breeze swept by, and two people yawned almost simultaneously.

The lake breeze was moist and gentle, the floral scent rich and sweet, and the surroundings quiet and peaceful. After standing there for a while, everyone's minds gradually relaxed, and their eyelids felt a bit dry.

A third person also yawned; just as his mouth opened wide, an indigo beetle flew straight in.

"Ah, ptui, ptui!" The person quickly spat it out.

But it was too late; he could feel the cold insect clinging to his throat, its tiny legs pricking him with intense pain!

This commotion naturally alerted Situ Yu: "What's going on out there?"

After one or two breaths, the guards outside replied, "General, Ah Xun accidentally swallowed an insect."

Swallowed an insect? Situ Yu frowned. Why did the guard's voice sound so sleepy?

He was about to speak when he suddenly noticed several beetles clinging to the windowsill. Some were dark green, others oak-colored, almost blending in with their surroundings.

No, there were dozens!

Situ Yu glanced again, and gasped. He hadn't noticed before, but now he was shocked: these small insects were clinging to the walls, the ground, the ceiling, and even in the shadows of the gauze curtains!

When had he become surrounded by insects without even realizing it?

Realizing something was wrong, Situ Yu immediately stood up.

Just then, two thuds came from behind the pavilion—the sound of heavy objects falling.

His first thought was that something had happened to the two personal guards stationed behind the pavilion.

"Enemy attack!"

This cry wasn't from a guard, but from Situ Yu himself.

He rushed to the pavilion entrance and saw several guards swaying, unable to stand steady.

"General, the scent is poisonous, we've been affected..." Ah Xun was reporting when he suddenly shrieked and reached for his throat to try and dislodge the beetle.

But he couldn't get it out and screamed for help: the insect had actually bitten through his upper palate and was drilling its way upwards!

He writhed on the ground in pain, and Situ Yu watched as blood flowed from his nose.

"General, quickly leave, there's an ambush here!" Another guard, whose cultivation was higher, managed to stay conscious and was quickly popping a calming pill into his mouth.

Without a word, Situ Yu turned and ran towards the shore.

How could the opponent have poisoned them in such an open lake environment? He didn't have time to ponder, because the answer appeared the very next second.

It literally leapt out—

As he passed the long corridor by the water, the lake water churned with a splash, rising without a wave.

Something burst from under the water, its huge mouth opening to "greet" Situ Yu!

That mouth was filled with needle-like teeth.

The creature was two zhang long, flat-bodied, and brownish-grey. At first glance, it resembled both a lizard and an alligator, and its underwater pouncing method was identical to an alligator's.

However, its tongue was exceptionally peculiar, resembling a pink water lily, double-petaled, with even a pale yellow center!

In fact, the monster had been lurking beneath the water the entire time, extending only its tongue among the lotus leaves, perfectly camouflaged to deceive everyone.

The dizzying, intoxicating scent that had made the guards drowsy was emitted by its "tongue-lotus". Although the area was open, they were simply too close to the source of the toxic aroma, and as they breathed it in, they gradually lost consciousness.

Situ Yu was already on high alert. He braced himself on the corridor railing and leapt directly under the eaves, narrowly dodging the attack.

The monster's huge mouth snapped shut with a thwack, and it also smashed through the corridor bridge before falling back into the water.

Situ Yu sprinted forward without a word, knowing his only safety lay in reaching the shore as quickly as possible.

But then a buzzing sound suddenly erupted from the corridor bridge, and a swarm of beetles rushed towards him, as if Situ Yu had disturbed their nest.

However, anyone with common sense knew that beetles were not typically gregarious insects like bees or ants; they didn't have "nests" in that sense.

Situ Yu had already activated his protective aura and defensive artifact. The swarm of dark-green or dark-brown beetles was stopped about two feet in front of him, as if being pushed back by an invisible wall.

Then, they began to glow.

Initially, their abdomens turned red, like ignited tungsten filaments. Then the entire insects glowed crimson and swelled to more than twice their size, their bellies distending like full balloons, on the verge of bursting.

This happened to one, and it happened to the entire swarm. Situ Yu's face was instantly flushed red by the light.

Immediately after, with a tremendous "boom," the swarm of insects exploded!

The explosion of a single beetle could break a wooden strip as thick as three fingers; when thousands of them exploded together, the corridor bridge couldn't withstand the force and was utterly pulverized.