Chapter 63: Deadlock! Counterattack

Shangguan Wei secretly ordered the gates of the city to be opened and led his army into Linjiang, only to find the place empty and devoid of drunken soldiers.

“Is this an ambush?”

“Why didn’t you report this?”

Shangguan Wei angrily rebuked the soldiers dressed in black.

The black-clad soldiers, bewildered, replied, “General, we were ordered to open the gates, not to scout for ambushes inside the city.”

Shangguan Wei was furious, nearly beside himself, and called out, “Retreat!”

Just then, hidden troops sprang up throughout the city. Emperor Luo Xi, wielding a massive spear, stood atop the city wall and laughed, “Shangguan, you old thief, you’ve fallen into my trap!”

Li Xiannian shouted a command, and the concealed archers unleashed a torrent of arrows, slaughtering the soldiers of Southern Liang.

“Form up!”

Shangguan Wei roared; the shield-bearers raised their shields, forming small circular formations.

Emperor Luo Xi leaped down from the city wall, charging straight for Shangguan Wei. Li Xiannian hefted a large hammer and joined the assault, while the city’s defenders surged forth to engage in fierce combat.

Shangguan Wei, revitalized, wielded his great halberd and battled both adversaries, holding his own without faltering.

Everyone was locked in battle, but Long Chen watched from above the walls.

“Aren’t we going down?”

Zhang Qian saw the chaos below and wanted to join the fray.

Long Chen eyed the fighting Shangguan Wei, puzzled. “Strange, where are his household retainers? Not one has appeared.”

Only then did Zhang Qian realize that the remaining five retainers of the Shangguan family were absent.

“Yes, where are they?”

Suddenly, fierce fighting erupted simultaneously at the west and east gates. The west gate, being the weakest, suffered the most intense assault.

“This is bad, to the west gate!”

Long Chen, dragging Zhang Qian with him, sped toward the west gate, where he saw four retainers leap onto the battlements, slaughtering the defending soldiers as easily as slicing melons.

“Roar! Roar!”

The western gate was smashed open, and the Southern Liang troops poured into the city like a swarm of locusts—the west gate had fallen.

“How could this happen?”

Zhang Qian was stunned.

Once inside, the shield-bearers immediately raised their shields; the hidden archers within the city loosed a volley, but the arrows were blocked.

After a round of shooting, the Southern Liang troops returned fire, killing many of the Eastern Zhou ambushers.

Once past the archers, a corpulent retainer charged into a corner, slaughtering the soldiers hidden there.

“They know the city’s defenses?”

Zhang Qian cried out in shock.

They targeted the archers first, then hunted down the ambushers—every step seemed calculated.

Long Chen frowned deeply. He didn’t rush into the melee; four retainers—three at mid-level King rank, one at late-level—were more than he could handle.

An Eastern Zhou commander wielded a long spear, killing over a dozen enemies and trying to reorganize the defense, but was quickly overwhelmed.

“Uncle Wu!”

Long Chen recognized the man as Wu Jian.

“Follow me!”

Rather than confronting the retainers directly, Long Chen sought to rescue Wu Jian first.

With a flash of cold steel, his iron spear stabbed through enemy throats, always aiming for the neck.

Zhang Qian followed, wielding both spear and dagger, killing dozens of enemies.

“Uncle Wu!”

Long Chen fought his way to Wu Jian, who was surrounded.

“Lord Long…! The enemy knows our defenses!”

Wu Jian shouted.

Long Chen called out, “Bring out the incendiaries! Burn them! Hurry!”

He and Zhang Qian fought at the front, carving a bloody path, while Wu Jian led the soldiers through the encirclement to safety.

At that moment, the retainers noticed Long Chen.

“There, that’s Long Cheng’en! Kill him, avenge our second general!”

One retainer continued leading the assault, while three others pursued Long Chen.

“Lord Long, go on ahead!”

Wu Jian knew these retainers were formidable—being called the Seven Elites meant true skill.

But Long Chen grabbed Wu Jian and shouted, “Go, use the incendiaries on their rear! Go now!”

Long Chen and Zhang Qian faced the pursuing retainers head-on, their spears clashing with the three.

Wu Jian, worried for Long Chen’s safety, understood the urgency of the moment.

“Go!”

Wu Jian shouted, leading his soldiers toward the city’s warehouse.

The seven retainers of the Shangguan family—all at King level—each possessed their own formidable abilities.

Three surrounded Long Chen, their eyes blazing with hatred.

One wore a demon mask and wielded twin sabers—this was Shangguan Li, the leader of the Seven Elites, mid-King rank.

Another was tall and thin, holding an iron trident—Shangguan Feng.

The third, short and stocky, wielded a lion-headed hammer—Shangguan Hu. Despite his stature, he was naturally strong, the hammer weighing fifty pounds.

“Long Cheng’en, pay for our second general’s life!”

Shangguan Hu, hot-tempered, charged first with his lion hammer. Zhang Qian, enraged, thrust her spear at him.

Spear and hammer collided, the force nearly knocking the spear from Zhang Qian’s hands, leaving her numb.

“Shangguan Hu has great strength, don’t fight him head-on!”

Long Chen shouted, thrusting his iron spear at Shangguan Hu’s neck. Shangguan Feng arrived, his trident intercepting the spear; Long Chen quickly pulled Zhang Qian back.

Shangguan Mu had been stabbed through the neck, Shangguan Xiu barely escaped; they were all wary of Long Chen’s penchant for throat attacks.

Shangguan Li, with twin sabers, cut off Long Chen’s escape route, while soldiers closed in.

“Don’t get careless, this one is sly!”

Shangguan Li, the highest ranked, was the most cautious, aware of Long Chen’s cunning and wary of any tricks.

“We’ve got him surrounded, who cares about his tricks?”

Shangguan Hu, reckless, charged again with his lion hammer.

“Lion Strikes the Hare!”

He roared, leaping up and swinging his hammer down at Long Chen.

Shangguan Feng’s trident followed, aiming for Long Chen’s chest.

Long Chen and Zhang Qian split to face their opponents. Long Chen dodged the hammer, thrusting his spear at Shangguan Hu’s neck.

Clang!

The spear was knocked aside. Shangguan Hu cursed, “I know you like to stab necks!”

Ignoring him, Long Chen pressed the attack, always seeking an opening at the throat.

Zhang Qian and Shangguan Feng dueled fiercely, spear and trident clashing for dozens of rounds, neither gaining the upper hand.

The soldiers formed a circle with their spears but didn’t intervene—so fierce was the fight that any random stab might harm their own.

Seeing the stalemate, Shangguan Li finally joined, twin sabers flashing in the firelight—one slashing at Long Chen’s neck, the other at his thigh, attacking high and low, while Shangguan Hu pressed from the front. Long Chen was trapped between tiger and wolf, with nowhere to retreat.

Shangguan Hu, delighted at Shangguan Li’s entrance, gripped his hammer and roared, “Lion Strikes the Hare!”

Long Chen retreated in panic, only to run into Shangguan Li’s sabers—dead ends both ahead and behind.

Beneath the demon mask, Shangguan Li’s eyes gleamed with savagery; this time, he was certain he could kill Long Chen.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Long Chen’s spear flew from his hand. He spun around, left hand above, right below, and charged straight at Shangguan Li’s blades.

Bang!

A muffled crash; Long Chen’s hands felt searing pain, the agony reaching his bones!

Shangguan Li’s twin sabers recoiled from the impact.

Bang!

The lion hammer crashed to the ground.

Bang!

Another heavy thud immediately followed.

“Grr…”

Shangguan Hu’s throat was pierced by the iron spear, its butt planted in the earth, his stocky body lifted up. He glared at Long Chen, eyes filled with hatred and helplessness.

Shangguan Li stared in shock at Shangguan Hu. What should have been a certain kill had turned into Long Chen’s counterattack?