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

"What the hell did you say? Say it again if you dare!!!"

A man dressed in a brocade robe, his face as black as the bottom of a pot, suddenly sprang up from his armchair, his eyes fixed on the black-clad assassin who had delivered the message.

The assassin shuddered and lowered his head even further.

"Master, Shen Jinglong... Shen Jinglong has issued a challenge, asking you to settle this with him in three days at that dilapidated mine in the west of the city."

This man in brocade robes is the new master of Bloodflame.

After hearing this, he was stunned for a moment, then laughed in anger.

"Hahahaha! You, Shen Jinglong! You really think you're something special? You wiped out a few lousy little families and now you dare to directly provoke Bloodflame?"

"That's fucking insane!"

He paced back and forth in the room, his eyes filled with undisguised malice.

"He wants a showdown in the abandoned mine? Fine, I'll grant his wish!"

"Give me the order: all core assassins, lay a trap in the abandoned mine. He wants a final showdown? I'll turn that hellhole into his and the Dragon Guard's mass grave!"

"OP is brilliant!!!"

The new landlord sat back down in his chair with a cold smile and picked up his teacup.

"He's just a muscle-bound, simple-minded brute. He dares to challenge me?"

At the same time, inside the princess's residence.

Princess Huimin held the copy of the challenge letter, a smirk playing on her lips, her expression clearly one of anticipation for a good show.

"Interesting, really interesting~~~"

She said to the maid beside her, "Shen Jinglong is planning to go all in."

The maid asked in a low voice, "Princess, should we lend a hand?"

"Whose side are we helping?" Princess Huimin countered, her eyes deep and unfathomable. "Isn't it too early to make a move now?"

She walked to the window and looked into the distance.

"Pass down the order: three days from now, take a squad of elite troops to the outskirts of the abandoned mine. Remember, just watch, don't make a move."

"Go ahead and hit them, the harder the better."

Her voice was filled with excitement.

"Ideally, both sides should be crippled, then I, the princess, can come out and pick up the scraps, swallowing up the entire Cangcheng and Shen Jinglong's small group of people in one go."

The various chambers of commerce in the city also received word of the news.

The atmosphere in Manager Li's shop was completely different.

Zhuque was dressed in red, and her expression was as cold as ice.

"Manager Li, has everything been arranged?"

Manager Li nodded and bowed repeatedly, "Lord Zhuque, please rest assured. I have contacted all the reliable merchant guilds. In three days, under the pretext of preventing chaos in the city and maintaining business order, we will seal off all the roads leading to the abandoned mine. We guarantee that not even a fly can get in or out!"

"Very good." Zhuque nodded. "The Dragon Lord's plan cannot go wrong in the slightest."

It was late at night, but the lights were still on in the Dragon Guard's secret stronghold.

Shen Jinglong stared at the sand table in front of him, on which every street and alley in Cangcheng was clearly marked.

"Vermilion Bird".

"exist!"

"Three days later, you will lead the main force of the Dragon Guard to the abandoned mine in a grand and ostentatious manner. Make as much noise as possible; I want the whole city to believe that our decisive battle will take place there."

"Yes!" Zhuque accepted the order without even stammering.

Shen Jinglong turned his gaze to Xuanwu beside him, and a timid old man.

"Xuanwu, you'll come with me."

He then looked at the old man with the crooked mouth.

"You, take us to the Bloodflame's true lair."

The old man with the crooked mouth trembled in fright, his face contorted with grief.

"Dragon... Dragon Lord, I'm telling you the absolute truth. Their headquarters really is just a brewery. I wouldn't dare lie to you!"

He kept chanting in his mind: "God help me, please don't choose the wrong side this time... This Dragon Lord's methods are a hundred times more terrifying than their Lord's! I have an eighty-year-old mother to support and a three-year-old child to raise, I don't want to die!" o(╥﹏╥)o

Shen Jinglong completely ignored his rambling and looked cold.

"You rats hiding in the shadows, I gave you a chance. You thought you had set a trap, but you didn't know that you were already birds in my cage."

Three days later, the appointed time arrived.

Just as dawn was breaking, the entire city of Cangcheng was awakened by a tremendous commotion.

Zhuque, leading several hundred dragon guards, exuded murderous intent as they headed straight for the abandoned mine in the west from the main road of the city, as if they were about to demolish it.

Countless eyes were secretly watching this scene.

Bloodflame's scouts immediately rode back on horseback to report the news.

Princess Huimin's carriage also quietly stopped on a small hill in the distance.

Outside the abandoned mine, the Bloodflame assassins, who had been lying in ambush, became excited as they watched the billowing dust.

"They're here!"

"Get ready to attack!!!"

Just as Zhuque led his dragon guards into the ambush, shouts of battle erupted.

"kill!!!"

"Go for it! For the poster!"

The two groups clashed violently, swords flashing and blood flying everywhere.

A minor leader of the Bloodflame Clan shouted in a local dialect, "All of you, charge! Any bastard who dares to back down, I'll chop him up!"

In another corner, a member of the Dragon Guard shouted in his dialect, "Brothers, rise up! Kill all these idiots!"

The entire abandoned mine was in complete chaos, with a fierce fight that successfully drew everyone's attention.

Meanwhile, in a secluded corner in the south of the city, a winery with a sign that read "Ancient Cellar" was eerily quiet.

In the workshop's underground chamber, the new owner of Bloodflame was comfortably drinking tea.

One of his men rushed in, excitedly reporting.

"Hey OP! Fighting has broken out at the abandoned mine! Shen Jinglong's Dragon Guards have fallen into our encirclement and suffered heavy casualties!"

"Oh?" The new landlord put down his teacup, a cruel smile spreading across his face. "Where is Shen Jinglong himself?"

"He hasn't shown up yet! He's probably scared out of his wits by our show of force and doesn't dare to come!"

"Hahaha!"

The new landlord burst into laughter.

"Shen Jinglong, you're just a brainless brute. Once your Dragon Guards are all dead, I'll deal with you slowly!"

He was laughing triumphantly when suddenly, a chilling murderous aura exploded from the depths of the secret room, and he immediately bristled.

This murderous aura didn't come from the outside, but from inside the stronghold!

The new poster's laughter froze instantly, and his face turned pale in a flash.

We've fallen for their trap!

He suddenly stood up, and just as he was about to give the order, the heavy door of the secret room was kicked to pieces from the outside with a loud "bang"!

Amidst the flying splinters of wood, a figure stood against the light.

The person who came had no expression on his face, but his eyes were colder than ice shards in the dead of winter.

It was Shen Jinglong.

Behind him, Xuanwu stood like an iron tower, blocking all escape routes.

Shen Jinglong looked at the new landlord who was so frightened he was about to lose his soul, and slowly spoke.

"I said I would settle all scores."

His voice wasn't loud, but it felt like a sledgehammer hitting the new landlord hard in the heart.

"Do you think you get to choose the location of the final battle?"