Chapter 110: Dragon Seven, the Door Guardian

Behind Long Qi, the commander of the shadow soldiers watched him leisurely leaning on his spear, only ordering the shadow soldiers to keep shooting arrows without allowing them to charge and attack the Shadow City. At this moment, Long Qi squinted his eyes, gazing at the city before him, untouched by his own troops, a satisfied smile playing on his lips.

“General Long, if we don’t attack the city soon, we might miss the military opportunity,” the shadow soldiers’ commander said coldly, eyeing Long Qi’s narrowed eyes. Long Qi opened his eyes, glanced at the commander, and shook his head.

“This is what I call a deception tactic. What do you know? You’ve been dead for so many years, yet you still make a fuss here,” Long Qi sneered at the commander beside him.

“You... Long Qi, are you trying to rebel?” The commander’s voice turned sinister as he drew his single-edged blade, pointing it at Long Qi.

“You’d better not say such things recklessly, or you’ll lose your afterlife,” Long Qi said, pulling out a life talisman from his bosom and waving it before the commander’s eyes. The commander’s gaze darkened as he stared at the talisman, doubtless breaking out in a cold sweat.

They were shadow soldiers, their existence relying on the talisman in Long Qi’s hand. If Long Qi crushed it, all the shadow soldiers here would vanish on the spot, never to be reborn.

The commander snorted coldly and retreated behind Long Qi, falling silent. Long Qi resumed squinting his eyes. At that moment, a shadow soldier approached the commander’s ear and whispered a few words. The commander’s eyes flickered with a strange light, a different smile curling on his lips as he looked at Long Qi.

“General Long, if you don’t attack soon, I’ll have to report to the strategist,” the commander called out to Long Qi’s back. Long Qi merely waved the talisman nonchalantly, but suddenly he was startled.

Behind him, the shadow soldiers charged toward the Shadow City. Long Qi drew his spear, baffled by this inexplicable spectacle.

“You fool, haven’t you thought this through?” Long Qi glared at the commander standing behind him with an inexplicable smile. The commander cheerfully walked beside Long Qi, glanced at the talisman in Long Qi’s hand, and burst into laughter.

“General Long, this is the strategist’s order: capture the Yin-Yang City before nightfall. We are merely following orders,” the commander said, then ignored Long Qi, shouting and charging toward the city.

With a large force of shadow soldiers attacking the city, it was clear that Lady Fu was growing weary. She could only send out the city’s shadow soldiers to fight back. But with the overwhelming enemy numbers, the guards were steadily pushed back, and Long Qi grew anxious.

He recalled what his elder brother had told him—that someone would come to support him—but at this moment, no sign of anyone appeared. Long Qi felt he could no longer hesitate.

If he didn’t act soon, he would be caught between two fires. With this thought, Long Qi gripped the talisman tightly and dashed toward the city gate.

“I surrender!” he shouted.

---

Standing beneath the city gate of the Shadow City, Long Qi looked up at Lady Fu standing atop the battlements and shouted loudly. His voice silenced the entire battlefield the moment it fell.

It was the first time anyone had seen the commanding general shout surrender, and Long Qi felt a bit embarrassed, yet he trusted his elder brother would not deceive him.

“What did you say, General Long?” The shadow soldiers’ commander glared angrily at Long Qi, who continued shouting surrender, waving the talisman above his head to signal Lady Fu that this was the mark of his shadow soldiers.

Lady Fu looked at Long Qi in confusion. His behavior was inscrutable: initially fierce, only ordering arrow fire, then inexplicably launching a major assault on the city, and now openly surrendering.

Seeing the city on the brink of collapse, Lady Fu was stunned that Long Qi would suddenly call for surrender. Glancing back at the retreating shadow soldiers and then at the silently standing Lady Fu, Long Qi’s heart was filled with turmoil.

At a time like this, if he couldn’t enter the city, everything would be lost, and he would be caught in an impossible position. With this in mind, Long Qi decided to prove his loyalty with a grand gesture.

He sprinted and leapt onto the city wall, hanging halfway over the battlement, not fully entering. He feared that if he rushed inside, Lady Fu would fiercely resist, leaving him no chance to explain.

“Lady Fu, I’m willing to offer the talisman. I surrender,” Long Qi said, lifting his chin to meet Lady Fu’s gaze.

Lady Fu looked at the talisman in Long Qi’s hand, then at the steadily retreating shadow soldiers at the gate. She hesitated once more. Long Qi cursed silently, realizing how unpredictable the world was, and that the situation had slipped beyond his control.

“To prove my sincerity, I will now crush the talisman. I hope Lady Fu accepts my loyalty,” Long Qi declared.

Clutching the crack in the city wall with one hand and the talisman with the other, he slowly began to squeeze it, gathering strength.

“Long Qi, if you rebel, the strategist will kill you,” the shadow soldiers’ commander snarled, hurling his large knife at Long Qi.

Long Qi kicked the blade aside with a smirk, gradually cracking the talisman in his hand.

As the talisman shattered, some wavering shadow soldiers dissolved into black smoke. The commander glared furiously at the triumphant Long Qi.

“The Thirteen Guards of Longxing are down to five. The rest were all killed by the strategist. Do you think I don’t know? I tell you, if I’m to die, you’ll die with me!” Long Qi roared at the tens of thousands of shadow soldiers below.

With a face full of grim satisfaction, he crushed the talisman entirely. Then a strange scene unfolded: Lady Fu smiled, the shadow soldiers’ commander laughed, but Long Qi’s expression fell when he saw the unchanged scene below.

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