Chapter 93

When he untied the bundle, Long Zhaofeng was completely disoriented and petrified.

A large hole in his forehead, Long Yinye, who had died with his eyes wide open, stared directly at Long Zhaofeng as he untied the bundle, their eyes meeting.

"Ahh!" Long Zhaofeng spat out a mouthful of old blood on the spot.

"What's wrong, Your Excellency?" The surrounding guards all ran over.

"Kill him, kill him, kill him!" Long Zhaofeng pointed at the sky, as if possessed.

Xuan Fatso laughed heartily: "Long Zhaofeng, did you ever think of this day when you made your son and daughter kill other lords' descendants in the Endless Catacombs? This is called retribution, and it comes quickly. Hold your son's head and cry slowly."

"Kill him!" Long Zhaofeng screamed in pain.

However, how could Xuan Fatso, who was so afraid of death, put himself in danger? He patted the head of the golden-winged sword bird and immediately rushed towards the clouds.

"Ha ha ha, Long Zhaofeng. When you kill others, you should know that one day, others will kill you. Long Yinye is just the first step in the downfall of your Long family."

Xuan Fatso, having had his fill of verbal abuse, turned around happily and returned in triumph.

In the secret room of the Long family, Long Juxue was also startled. She leaped onto the roof and saw Long Yinye's head, which was staring at her with wide eyes.

"Brother..." Long Juxue was also stunned.

What good was being a Congenital Azure Phoenix? What good was being chosen by a hidden sect?

It couldn't change the fact that her brother Long Yinye had been beheaded.

No matter how strong his talent or how deep his background, could it bring Long Yinye back to life?

No.

Long Juxue's face turned pale, and her voice was icy as she demanded, "Who did this?"

The guards, all pale-faced, shook their heads and said, "We don't know. Just now, a man on a golden-winged sword bird delivered... delivered the head of the young lord."

"That voice is very familiar." Although Long Juxue was grieving, her mind was not in chaos.

"Could it be Jiang Chen?" A guard blurted out.

"It's not Jiang Chen's voice." How could Long Juxue not recognize Jiang Chen's voice? Mentioning Jiang Chen, Long Juxue suddenly remembered someone. "Right, that voice, I remember. It's Xuan Fatso, one of the lackeys of the Gold Mountain Marquis, Jiang Chen's follower."

"Gold Mountain Marquis?" A fierce look flashed in Long Zhaofeng's eyes, and his murderous intent surged.

He had been immersed in the pain of losing his son, unable to extricate himself. After a short period of clarity, he gradually came to his senses. Hearing the name "Gold Mountain Marquis," Long Zhaofeng's murderous intent soared.

"Yinye, Long Yi, your spirits are not far away. Watch as I avenge you. The Jiang family and the Xuan family, I will exterminate your nine clans, pile your corpses into mountains, and make your blood flow into rivers."

Long Zhaofeng swore with tears and blood.

"Long Er, pass my order. All the lords who have pledged allegiance to our Long family must gather at the Long Ascension Marquis Manor within an hour."

Long Er's heart trembled, knowing that the Marquis was about to launch a decisive battle.

On the streets below the Marquis Manor, the guards were just returning in twos and threes.

"Marquis, something terrible has happened. The young lord..."

A layer of frost covered Long Zhaofeng's face as he said to Long Er, "These incompetent cowards, fleeing in the face of battle. Go and deal with them."

"What? Long Yinye went to attack the Jianghan Marquis and was shot dead by Jiang Chen? Long Yi was also killed? And Yan Yiming, the successor of the Yanmen Marquis?"

"Jiang Chen has returned? He didn't die? Long Yinye was shot dead by him?"

In just a quarter of an hour, the news of Long Yinye's death, Long Yi's fall, and Jiang Chen's powerful return spread throughout the capital.

Especially those lords who had already pledged allegiance to the Long Ascension Marquis were shocked and bitter.

They almost couldn't believe their ears. With the elite forces of the Long Ascension Marquis and the presence of Long Yi, a master of the eleventh pulse of true qi, how could Jiang Chen have shot him dead?

They couldn't understand.

But the ironclad facts forced them to believe it.

"Marquis, the Long Ascension Marquis has urgently summoned you to the Long Ascension Marquis Manor to discuss important matters."

Immediately, those lords who had pledged allegiance to the Long Ascension Marquis received the same message.

To go or not to go?

These lords were hesitant. The death of Long Yinye and the powerful return of Jiang Chen had turned the seemingly inevitable plot of the capital into a turbulent situation.

This turn of events was simply too unexpected.

They hesitated. They began to doubt whether the Long Ascension Marquis's coup would really go so smoothly, whether he would really be invincible.

But they had no choice. They had already boarded the Long Ascension Marquis's ship. Even if they didn't go now, when the dust settled and the time came for reckoning, they, the lords labeled with the Long Ascension Marquis, would still have a bad end.

The moment they made their decision, they were destined not to be able to get off the ship.

Not going, they still had to go.

Now, they had no other choice. They had to unite around the Long Ascension Marquis, help him seize power, and turn the world of the Dongfang family into the world of the Long family.

Only in this way could they resolve the crisis and transform into founding heroes.

If they retreated and let the Long Ascension Marquis be destroyed, they would not be far from death.

It must be said that the Long Ascension Marquis's charisma was extremely strong. Even with the fall of Long Yinye, it did not shake the long-formed influence and charisma.

Long Yinye was dead, but the Long Ascension Marquis had many sons. He could establish a new young marquis and spend some time cultivating him.

As long as Long Juxue was fine, the Congenital Azure Phoenix would not die, and the Long Ascension Marquis's backing would not disappear. After all, the Congenital Azure Phoenix was chosen by the hidden sect.

The hidden sect's strongmen were legendary figures, absolutely more intimidating than the old ancestor of the Dongfang family.

Your old ancestor of the Dongfang family may be a spirit path strongman, but you are still just one person, a solitary individual.

Compared to the sect's strongmen, you are alone and powerless.

This is also why the Long Ascension Marquis could gather so many lords.

Of the 108 lords, more than fifty had already completely pledged allegiance to the Long Ascension Marquis.

Some remained loyal to the royal family, and some were neutral.

"Lords, at this point, I, Long, do not want to speak in vain. Everyone has already shown their stance, and I, Long Zhaofeng, will speak openly. The Dongfang family is unjust, favoring villains and harming loyalists. My son, Yinye, went to attack the Jianghan Marquis but was killed. They say it was Jiang Chen, do you believe that a mere Jiang family son has such power? This must be the work of the royal family's experts. Today, my Long family announces that we will raise an army to attack the Dongfang family."

"Raise an army to attack, Long replaces Dongfang."

All the lords stood up, raising their arms and shouting.

"Good, from today, my Long family will raise a righteous army to attack the unjust ruler. Lords, you all control large armies. Please raise a righteous army and join in this great cause."

"Willing to raise a righteous army to assist the Long Marquis in attacking the unjust ruler and changing the dynasty."

In the struggle for power, no matter how shameless the actions, a grand and noble excuse must be found. The Long Ascension Marquis is no exception.

Clearly, he is seizing power, but he must portray himself as righteous and invincible. Only in this way can he feel justified.

"Lords, I have a suggestion." The speaker was Yan Jiuzhuang, the Yanmen Marquis, whose son, Yan Yiming, was also shot dead by Jiang Chen at the Jianghan Marquis Manor.

"What is your suggestion, Yan Marquis?" Long Zhaofeng appeared very magnanimous.

"We will raise armies in various places and attack the capital. It will take three to five days at the fastest, and seven to eight days at the slowest. In the capital, although we all have our guards and elite forces, compared to the capital army, we can only say we are evenly matched. Instead of rebelling now, we should wait for the armies to arrive."

"Wait like this? How can we swallow this anger?" The speaker was another lord, whose son was also shot dead. Yan Yiming and his son were killed by the same arrow, hanging like a string of roasted meat.

"Of course not. We can raise the banner of purging the royal family and first surround the Jianghan Marquis Manor, the Gold Mountain Marquis Manor, the Tiger Hill Marquis Manor..."

"Yan Marquis's suggestion is good." Long Zhaofeng's eyes lit up.

Although he said that the person who killed Long Yinye was a royal expert, in fact, his many guards saw clearly that it was Jiang Chen who shot Long Yinye, not anyone else.

He said that just to stir up hatred against the royal family and find a righteous banner for himself.

Therefore, the person Long Zhaofeng hated the most at this moment was actually Jiang Chen. The person he most wanted to kill was also Jiang Chen.

In the inner courtyard of the royal palace, Dongfang Lu looked haggard, his eyes filled with regret and remorse.

He also received the secret report in the first moment. Jiang Chen had returned, powerfully, and his return had already been shaped into a legend by the capital's gossips.

Although Dongfang Lu did not want to admit it, he had to admit that he had made another bad move. Under the pressure of the Long Ascension Marquis, he had abandoned the Jiang family, abandoning a powerful force that could have been rallied.

Thinking about Princess Gouyu's words now, Dongfang Lu wanted to hit himself. A ruler, after all, was not as magnanimous as his sister.

"Is the capital completely in chaos?" Dongfang Lu shook his head, trying to calm himself down. "Jiang Chen's return is not a bad thing. Even if Jiang Chen and I are estranged, there is no fear. Now that Jiang Chen has shot Long Yinye and killed Long Yi, he has formed a mortal enmity with Long Zhaofeng. The inevitable confrontation between the two tigers is unavoidable. If I can secretly stir up the conflict and make them fight to the bitter end, I can sit back and reap the benefits."

Dongfang Lu began to calculate how he could benefit from the conflict between the Long Ascension Marquis Manor and the Jianghan Marquis Manor.

"If the Long Ascension Marquis side wins, they will inevitably be greatly weakened. I can then cooperate with the old ancestor's power and take strong action to subdue the lords and suppress the Long Ascension Marquis."

"If Jiang Chen's side wins, I will use a conciliatory policy, using Princess Gouyu or Ruo'er as bait to keep this son within my royal family. As long as he likes, even if I give both Gouyu and Ruo'er to him, and they both serve him, what is there to lose? But this must be done secretly and not openly."

Dongfang Lu's thoughts became more chaotic and more extreme.

Thinking about this, his frown eased, and his mood brightened. Jiang Chen's return made him feel more at ease.

Even if Jiang Chen cannot win, as long as he can buy time until the old ancestor emerges from seclusion, everything will be fine.

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