“A kingdom may survive the loss of a thousand soldiers, but seldom the betrayal of one trusted brother.”
— The Bamboo Annals
The night sky burned crimson.
The celebration drums had become funeral drums.
Flaming arrows rained upon the Longfang Tribe like divine punishment.
Homes that had stood for generations collapsed beneath roaring flames.
Warriors who had laughed only moments earlier now fought desperately for the lives of their wives and children.
Steel sang.
Blood answered.
At the heart of the battlefield stood the Chieftain of the Longfang Tribe.
His name was Zhao Tian.
Throughout the Eastern Wilderness, he was known as the Dragon Spear.
Clad in black armor, he wielded a spear nearly twice the height of a man.
Every thrust pierced armor.
Every sweep hurled enemies through the air.
One man…
Held back hundreds.
“Protect the women and children!” he roared.
“For the Longfang Tribe!”
“For the Longfang Tribe!”
The surviving warriors answered with voices that shook the battlefield.
Yet even as they fought, Zhao Tian understood the truth.
The enemy knew every gate.
Every hidden passage.
Every watchtower.
This was not an invasion.
It was betrayal.
…
Across the battlefield, a lone rider advanced.
The attacking soldiers immediately lowered their weapons and bowed their heads.
The rider removed his helmet.
His face resembled Zhao Tian’s so closely that they could have been mistaken for twins.
Only one thing was different.
His eyes no longer held honor.
“Second Brother…”
Zhao Tian whispered.
Zhao Hu.
The younger brother he had trusted since childhood.
The man who had sworn to protect the tribe.
Now he had returned to destroy it.
“You disappoint me, Brother,” Zhao Hu said calmly.
“You still cling to the past.”
“You call these mountains our home.”
“I call them our prison.”
“While you guarded this tribe…”
“…the kingdoms beyond these forests conquered the world.”
“Our father chained us to tradition.”
“You called it honor.”
“I call it weakness.”
Zhao Tian’s grip tightened around his spear.
“You murdered your own people.”
“I buried a dying tribe.”
“You murdered our father.”
“He chose the wrong successor.”
“You murdered our elders.”
“They feared change.”
“You would even murder your newborn nephew.”
For the first time…
Zhao Hu smiled.
“If he lives…”
“He will become another obstacle.”
Silence fell across the battlefield.
Even the flames seemed to lose their voices.
Zhao Tian slowly lowered his head.
When he looked up again…
There was no sadness left in his eyes.
Only resolve.
“From this moment…”
“My brother died.”
“The man standing before me…”
“…is only the enemy of the Longfang Tribe.”
He lowered his stance.
His spear pointed toward Zhao Hu.
“Come.”
With a roar that echoed through the mountains, the two brothers charged.
BOOM!
Their spears collided like dragons crashing against one another.
The shockwave blasted dust into the air.
Warriors on both sides instinctively retreated.
None dared interfere.
This was no ordinary duel.
It was the battle that would decide the fate of an entire tribe.
…
Inside the chieftain’s hall, Lady Yue wrapped her son tightly in thick wolf furs.
Outside…
The cries of war never ceased.
An elderly guard staggered inside, drenched in blood.
“My Lady!”
“The Chieftain commands that you escape through the hidden mountain passage!”
“There is no time!”
She looked toward the battlefield.
She already understood.
Her husband had chosen to remain behind.
Not because he wished to die…
But because someone had to buy time.
She gently kissed Zhao Long’s forehead.
“My little dragon…”
“You must live.”
“Not for revenge.”
“But so that one day…”
“…this world may become kinder than the one we leave behind.”
The infant gazed quietly into her eyes.
Though trapped within the body of a newborn…
His soul understood every word.
For the first time in two lifetimes…
He understood…
What it meant to have a mother.
…
The hidden tunnel opened into the endless forest beyond the tribe.
Behind them, the Longfang settlement burned like a second sunrise.
Suddenly—
The old guard froze.
His face turned pale.
“My Lady…”
“They found us.”
Dozens of mounted soldiers emerged from the darkness.
Leading them…
Was Zhao Hu.
His armor was stained with fresh blood.
Behind him…
Planted into the blood-soaked earth…
Stood the Dragon Spear.
It remained upright.
Like the final monument to a fallen hero.
Zhao Hu glanced at it before turning back toward Lady Yue.
“Let it remain.”
“No man beneath Heaven is worthy of wielding that spear.”
Lady Yue closed her eyes.
Only for a heartbeat.
When they opened again…
There were no tears.
Only the courage of a mother.
She placed Zhao Long into the trembling arms of the old guard.
“Take him.”
“My Lady!”
“That is an order.”
The old warrior fell to one knee.
“I swear upon my life…”
“I will protect the Young Master.”
She smiled softly.
“No.”
“You will protect…”
“…the future.”
Drawing twin jade daggers from her sleeves, she stepped between the soldiers and the narrow forest path.
Her white robes fluttered in the cold wind.
One woman.
Against an army.
Zhao Hu sighed.
“You always believed courage could overcome reality.”
Lady Yue raised her daggers.
“No.”
A gentle smile appeared upon her face.
“You underestimate…”
“…a mother’s heart.”
She charged without hesitation.
The forest erupted with the clash of steel.
The old guard ran into the darkness with Zhao Long held tightly against his chest.
Behind them…
The final cries of Zhao Long’s parents disappeared into the night.
By dawn…
The Longfang Tribe existed only in memory.
Its warriors had fallen.
Its banners had burned.
Its songs had fallen silent.
Only one child continued breathing beneath Heaven.
History would remember that night…
As the end of one tribe.
But the world did not yet know…
It had also witnessed the birth of the man who would one day become…
**The Emperor of Emperors.**
Thank you for reading!
Zhao Long’s journey has only just begun.
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