Hurt my loved ones? I'm not guarding this country's borders anymore!

Chapter 100 Fame Spreads Throughout the World

On the official road, the sound of horses' hooves thundered.

A torrent of steel is speeding along the highway leading to the capital.

Even on a forced march, the five thousand Northern cavalry maintained a breathtakingly orderly formation.

Shen Jinglong stood on top of a modified command vehicle, letting the wind whip his cloak around him.

His gaze was fixed on the southern horizon.

There, dark clouds loomed overhead.

"Report—!"

A specially made mechanical carrier pigeon was intercepted by the Vermilion Bird in mid-air.

She took down the secret letter, glanced at it, and her face instantly turned deathly pale; even the hand holding the letter trembled slightly.

"Dragon Lord..."

Suzaku's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger.

"The capital city... has made its move."

"Just ten minutes ago, the Prime Minister's Office issued three imperial edicts in succession, announcing the news to the world."

"They accuse you of illegally mobilizing border troops, massacring princes, and plotting a rebellion!"

"The King has decreed that all your titles of 'Dragon Lord of the Northern Frontier' be stripped, and you be listed as... an SSS-level wanted criminal!"

"All citizens of the Dragon Kingdom have the right to kill him!"

"The troops stationed in all provinces along the route are hereby ordered to immediately set up roadblocks and intercept any resistance... kill them without mercy!"

"Bang!"

Qinglong, standing nearby, slammed his fist into the guardrail on the roof of the car, instantly twisting and deforming the steel guardrail.

"Bullshit! Pure bullshit!"

Qinglong's eyes turned red; he was furious.

"We bled and fought tooth and nail on the front lines, even taking down those undead monsters! And what was the result?"

"They just won a battle, haven't even had a chance to celebrate, and they're already labeled traitors?"

"Is this the court we protect? Is this the ruler we serve?"

A feeling of "heartbreak" quickly spread among the Dragon Guard generals around them.

They are not afraid of death.

Even when facing a million enemy troops, they never flinched.

But the frustration of being stabbed in the back by one's own people and being labeled a "traitor" is worse than death.

Shen Jinglong laughed.

He took the secret order, didn't even look at it, and with a light rub of his fingers, the paper instantly turned into dust and scattered in the wind.

"That old fox Zhuge Tianming is quick on his feet."

"He knew he couldn't stop me by confronting me head-on, so he started using these psychological tactics."

"Beep beep beep—"

Just then, the encrypted communicator inside the command vehicle suddenly started flashing wildly.

Zhuque glanced at the special frequency code, his expression complex.

"The Dragon Lord is Princess Huimin."

"catch."

The communication was connected, and Princess Huimin's anxious, slightly distorted voice immediately came through.

"Shen Jinglong! Have you gone mad?"

"Stop immediately! Have your men hold their ground!"

"The arrest warrant has been issued nationwide, and the troops stationed in the first three provinces have already received orders to take a single step forward! If you take another step forward, it will be utterly fatal!"

"Listen to me, hand over your military power, and come to the capital alone to surrender."

"I still have some influence with the king. If you're willing to bow down, you might be able to save your life, at most a life imprisonment..."

"Confess?"

Shen Jinglong sneered and interrupted her directly.

"Your Highness, you seem to have misunderstood something."

Am I guilty?

"Should Prince Anle be executed for colluding with foreign enemies?"

"Should the Temple of the Sun, which has infiltrated our borders, be destroyed?"

"Seven years ago, my entire Shen family was unjustly killed. Shouldn't we seek revenge?"

Shen Jinglong's series of questions brought a brief silence to the other end of the phone.

After a long silence, Princess Huimin finally spoke, her voice trembling with tears, "I know you're innocent! But... it was the Emperor's decree! It was the will of the people! How could you, alone, possibly fight against the entire machinery of the state?"

"Shen Jinglong, I'm begging you, please don't go and get yourself killed! Think of Sisi, think of Xue Rong!"

Shen Jinglong's eyes softened for a moment when he heard his wife and daughter's names.

But the next second, it turned into even harder ice.

"It's all for them."

"I absolutely cannot back down."

"If I retreat, I will truly be doomed."

Shen Jinglong raised his hand and cut off the communication.

"Click."

He crushed the communicator in his hand.

At this moment, he personally cut off all escape routes.

The soldiers around him were all watching him.

Among the five thousand pairs of eyes, there was confusion, anger, and fear.

They are waiting.

Waiting for that man to say something.

Shen Jinglong took a deep breath.

He took a step forward and jumped directly from the roof of the command vehicle onto a boulder by the roadside.

His inner strength surged, and his voice, like rolling thunder, instantly covered the entire marching column, clearly penetrating the ears of every soldier.

"Brothers!"

"Did you all hear that?"

Shen Jinglong pointed in the direction of the capital, his face bearing his usual arrogant and unruly smile.

"We're wanted criminals now!"

"In the eyes of those important figures sitting high in their halls, drinking tea, and playing chess, we soldiers who rolled in the mud and crawled out of piles of corpses have become traitors!"

"They say that I, Shen Jinglong, killed a prince, which is a heinous crime!"

"They said that by following me, you are aiding and abetting evil!"

The entire room fell silent.

Only the restless snorting of the warhorses could be heard.

The soldiers' hands gripped their weapons, loosening and tightening their grip repeatedly.

"tell me!"

Shen Jinglong's voice suddenly rose, carrying a magical power that made people's blood boil.

"Did we kill the wrong person?!"

"Shouldn't that damned prince, who sold the country's doors to foreigners and let this monster in, be killed?!"

"Shouldn't that treacherous minister, who plotted against us behind our backs and treated the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers like dirt, be killed?!"

"kill!!"

Azure Dragon was the first to raise his intact right hand and roar.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

Five thousand people roared in unison, finally finding an outlet for their long-suppressed frustration.

"Since they say we are rebels."

"Then let's show them what's what!"

Shen Jinglong suddenly drew his battle sword from his waist.

The black blade pointed straight to the sky, gleaming with a bloodthirsty light beneath the dark clouds.

"If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext!"

"Since this world is so corrupt, I'll use my sword to cleave the sky in two!"

Shen Jinglong surveyed his surroundings, his gaze sharp as lightning.

"I, Shen Jinglong, today in the name of the 'Guardian Dragon Sovereign,' command the 300,000-strong army of the Northern Frontier!"

"My journey to the capital is not for rebellion, nor for seizing the throne!"

"Just for—"

Shen Jinglong spoke slowly and deliberately, each word like a heavy hammer blow to the ground.

"Clear, Your Majesty, Your Attendant!"

"Slay all the treacherous officials in the court! Slaughter all the traitors and collaborators!"

"Give back our Dragon Kingdom a bright and clear world! Give back justice to our sons of the North!"

boom--!

This sentence completely ignited the entire audience.

"Purge the court of corrupt officials!"

"Purge the court of corrupt officials!!!"

Five thousand iron cavalrymen drew their swords in unison and frantically pounded their breastplates with the hilts.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

The clanging of metal converged into a torrent of steel, the sound shaking the heavens and even dispersing the dark clouds in the sky with this overwhelming killing intent!

That initial trace of confusion completely vanished.

Instead, there was fanaticism.

It's the kind of fanaticism that's willing to defy even the most powerful figures for the sake of faith and justice!

Shen Jinglong looked at the army before him, which was full of imposing momentum.

He knew that from this moment on...

This is no longer a personal grudge.

This is a war.

A war between a new order and an old order.

"Azure Dragon! Vermilion Bird!"

Shen Jinglong shouted.

"Yes!" The two knelt down simultaneously.

"Pass on my military orders!"