The city of Longshan was likely situated in the middle to lower reaches of the Yellow River. Nourished by the silt, the land was fertile and rich in resources—a strategic choice for Long Xi to establish his capital. Following the river, we flew downward; though it was a detour, it was certainly better than blindly relying on the Dragon Girl’s directions.
“Why is it all ants down there?” Elena asked from my back.
My vision, naturally, was many times sharper than theirs. “What ants? That’s the army besieging the city!”
“What?!” The two women gasped in surprise. “The rebels are really attacking Longshan City!”
I had never witnessed such a massive display, not even in the grand scale of the war films like The Decisive Battle. Only in spectacles enhanced by computer-generated effects in Hollywood blockbusters could such a scene be rendered: at least a million troops encircling a massive, mountain-hugging city, engaged in brutal combat.
The first line of outer walls had already been breached. After slaughtering the outer city garrison, the rebels pressed their attack against the second wall. Bathed in the rising sun, below us was a sea of blood. The siege must have begun yesterday; the outer defenses fell under the cover of night, and now the rebels sought to take the inner city in one swift push. By then, the Great Xia Kingdom might have a new name.
“Where are we going?” I asked the Dragon Girl. “If needed, I can go down and fight for a while.”
The Dragon Girl shook her head on my back. “It’s useless, Dragon Envoy. Individual strength seems so insignificant here. Even if we kill tens of thousands, what of it? They still have millions of troops, and we know more armies are en route. It seems the fall of Longshan City is only a matter of time.”
“Let’s enter the city first and find your brother,” I said.
“That’s the only way,” the Dragon Girl replied. “Be careful! A giant insect is flying toward us!”
These gigantic siege locusts weren't aiming for us, but we had flown directly into their attack radius, forcing them to engage. I pulled Elena close to my chest, letting her wrap her arms around my neck, and told the Dragon Girl to grip my waist with her legs to balance herself. This freed my hands to activate the laser sword.
With the two women, I dared not tangle with the insects. I carved a path of death and burst into Longshan City. The defending troops, unsure if we were friend or foe, immediately opened fire with laser rifles. Luckily, I dodged their shots. Following the Dragon Girl’s directions, we headed straight for the Royal Palace.
“Brother!” The Dragon Girl leaped from my back and rushed toward a man standing atop the rampart. With thick brows and large eyes, the man looked imposing, possessing a distinct air of royalty. This must be Long Xi, the Dragon Girl’s brother.
“Sister! You’ve finally returned! Have you brought reinforcements to save Great Xia?” Long Xi asked.
The Dragon Girl shook her head. “Brother, Haas refuses to send troops to help us.”
Long Xi looked up in grief and anger, roaring, “Heaven means to destroy my Long family!”
“Brother,” the Dragon Girl took his hand, “but I brought someone back with me. He can certainly help us.” “One person? Even ten thousand people now couldn’t reverse the certainty of the city’s fall and our demise!” Xi was clearly agitated; given the imminent collapse, his reaction was understandable.
“Brother!” the Dragon Girl shouted, pulling the slightly unhinged Long Xi back. “This person is extraordinary. He is the Dragon Envoy mentioned in Tomas’s prophecy!”
“The Dragon Envoy?” A spark flashed in Long Xi’s eyes, and his gaze fixed upon me. Naturally, I couldn't understand the siblings’ dialogue, but fortunately, the Dragon Girl translated it for me.
I reached out to shake Long Xi’s hand. “Hello, my name is Zhao Qian. As for whether I am the Dragon Envoy the Seer spoke of, I am not entirely sure myself.”
“Brother, you might not know, but he single-handedly destroyed three of Kang Hui’s saucers. Last night, he killed tens of thousands of giant locusts and several hundred tanks. With him here, we still have hope.”
Although the Dragon Girl’s words shocked Long Xi, he glanced at the battlefield and waved toward the dense masses below the ramparts. “Hope? The attacking force numbers over one hundred thousand, and there are still millions more uncommitted in the distance. Where is our hope? Even if Haas agreed to assist, his strength would be but a drop in the bucket—useless to us.”
The Dragon Girl understood that even immense personal power couldn't annihilate an army of millions. Her expression was deeply sorrowful. “Dragon Envoy, what should we do now?”
I stated firmly, “We must withdraw from Longshan City. We cannot hold out here any longer, or we risk losing our last vestiges of fighting strength.”
When Long Xi grasped my intent, he roared, “No! Longshan is the foundation left to me by my ancestors. I must defend it! I must be worthy of the name of a Long family descendant! No one try to persuade me to retreat! I swear to live and die with Longshan City!”
“Brother!” The Dragon Girl weakly pulled at my arm and shouted.
Long Xi pointed toward the inner palace atop the mountain. “Enough talk. You take the Dragon Envoy back to rest. After I repel this wave of rebels, I will discuss matters further with the Envoy.”
The Royal Palace was built into the mountainside, structured to resemble a soaring dragon. I had no certainty of victory; frankly, looking at the crowds below, who seemed less than ants, I felt far from confident myself.
The Dragon Girl looked dispirited. “Dragon Envoy, since my brother’s mind is set, we should return to the palace first. I will show you around our home.”
I waved my hand. “Dragon Girl, you and Elena go to the palace. I will stay here and help your brother defend the city.”
Elena said, “I’ll stay too. One more person means one more bit of strength.”
The Dragon Girl agreed. “Very well, we all stay. Where the city stands, we stand. Where the city falls, we perish!”
I thought to myself, The people must survive even if the city falls, otherwise, the show is over. If things look grim, I’ll run with you two. Even if I can’t turn the tide of battle, Kang Hui couldn't stop me if I tried to save two people.
The Dragon Girl leaned over the edge of the battlement for a moment, then told me, “The attackers comprise troops from at least five different families. Kang Hui’s forces mainly consist of clones and various genetically mutated anomalies. They lack heavy siege equipment for now, relying only on direct assault. If not for that, the inner city would have fallen long ago.”
I countered, “But their reinforcements keep arriving. I expect heavy siege gear will be here soon. Even without it, Kang Hui is clever enough to build it quickly. In short, we should not engage them head-on with sheer force.”
“I know,” the Dragon Girl said, glancing at Long Xi, who was glaring angrily beside her. “But my brother is too stubborn.”
The Long Clan, the Yellow River region… could there be some connection to the Great Xia Kingdom of our later era? Dragon? The Dragon is the totem and symbol of the Chinese nation.
We were positioned at the highest point of the inner city. Long Xi surveyed the entire situation, immediately dispatching reinforcements wherever a crisis arose. But the inner city faced threats everywhere, and soon he had no troops left to reallocate behind him.
Boom! A section of the rampart exploded open, and the rebels swarmed up like locusts. Long Xi roared, but received no response. He turned to look and realized there were no officers left to command.
The Dragon Girl raised her laser gun. “Brother, let me go!”
I snatched the Dragon Girl back. Though I couldn't understand her words, I knew she was about to do something foolish. “Dragon Girl, fighting is not a woman’s job. Elena, watch the Dragon Girl. If she is harmed, I’ll hold you responsible. I’ll go!”
Ignoring Long Xi’s surprise, I leaped off the battlement and dashed toward the breach. Long Xi turned to the Dragon Girl. “Sister, what is your relationship with this so-called Dragon Envoy?”
The Dragon Girl replied, “Brother, I like him! And he promised to help us.”
Long Xi grew somewhat furious. “You cannot like another man! Especially an outsider of a different race. They all appear outwardly virtuous, speaking grander than they act. Now they unite to rebel against our Long family, wanting to eradicate our line! You, Dragon Girl, bear the heavy responsibility of continuing our Long family lineage. You can love no one but me!”
Though Elena couldn't understand the siblings’ exchange, she sensed Long Xi’s hostile look toward his sister. She pulled the Dragon Girl behind her, raising her laser gun. “Dragon Girl, ignore your brother. He’s gone mad.”
Long Xi was distracted by the battle and stopped arguing with his sister. The Dragon Girl murmured quietly, “My brother is truly insane. The Dragon Envoy said we are siblings, and that’s not permitted.”
Elena asked in confusion, “What does your brother want?”
The Dragon Girl explained, “My brother wants me to bear him children to pass on the pure bloodline of our Dragon family.”
“Ah!” Elena shrieked. “Incest! The legends are true!”
“What? What is incest? I never encountered this word in the Dragon Language,” the Dragon Girl must have been hearing the term for the first time. For a prehistoric person, the concept was foreign; with such open sexual customs, the idea of 'incest' was meaningless.
Elena didn't know how to explain. “Oh, it’s what Zhao Qian mentioned before—you shouldn’t marry within three generations of blood relation, or you’ll have deformed offspring. Engaging in intimate relations with someone within three degrees of blood is incest, a violation of ethics and morality.”
The Dragon Girl shook her head. “The customs of your home are strange. We have no such rule here. But if the Dragon Envoy forbids it, I will not agree with my brother’s wishes.”
Elena asked tensely, “Dragon Girl, you like the Dragon Envoy?”
The Dragon Girl nodded. “I won't hide it from you, Sister Nana. I truly like the Dragon Envoy, and he promised to take me away. Are you angry?”
Elena paused. “I am angry, but I won’t be now. My own status isn't even settled, how can I be angry with you? It’s just that between you two... ah, let’s not talk about it for now. Everything is a mess.”
Large numbers of enemy soldiers were pouring onto the ramparts, slaughtering the defenders in waves. Seeing that this section was about to become the path for the rebels into the inner city, I landed on the collapsed wall, holding the laser sword.
Whoosh! A flash of white light, and nothing remained whole. The gap was several zhang wide. I stepped onto the broken bricks, moving back and forth, slaughtering until the rush of rebels attempting to enter the inner city was cut off. The defenders caught their breath and swiftly eliminated the enemy who had already breached the line. Under the blockade of my laser sword, hundreds of rebels were dismembered, and the gap was quickly plugged with corpses.
The defenders then threw sandbags from the rampart to fill the breach, burying countless bodies beneath them. War, it is so brutal!
I leaped back onto the wall. The Dragon Girl and Elena rushed toward me. Though they knew I would be fine, their concern greatly uplifted my spirits. No matter what, I would not let anyone lay a hair upon them!
Long Xi seemed surprised that the crisis had passed so quickly. He approached me and said a few complimentary words. The Dragon Girl translated for me: “Brother says you are very brave. I didn't expect this ancient laser sword to have such power in your hands. My brother and I can only use it for a short while because its weight is too much; our stamina fails before we can swing it for long.”
“You should give me that belt quickly. The weight is indeed excessive, and holding it like this prevents me from doing other things, which is quite uncomfortable.”
The Dragon Girl ran toward the palace. “Wait, I’ll go get it for you!”
Long Xi imitated my earlier gesture of shaking hands and uttered, “…%…”
I laughed. “You’re welcome.”
Elena marveled, “You understood what he was saying?”
“I could tell from his expression. He was thanking me, so of course, I said you’re welcome.”
Elena pulled me aside. “Zhao Qian, the Dragon Girl just told me everything. She likes you, and did you promise to take her away?”
Since Elena knew, I stopped hiding it. “That is true. Although we can’t be intimate right now, I will find a way to resolve it. Even though I didn't want this feeling to develop, since it has, I won't run from it—just like with you. Everything will follow its natural course.”
Elena said, “But do you know? Long Xi truly does like his sister. He wants her to bear him a Dragon Seed. This is troublesome. You figure it out.”
“Ah!” I nearly charged over to fight Long Xi. This fellow was completely heedless, plotting against his own sister. I wouldn't let him succeed.
“But don’t worry,” Elena added. “The Dragon Girl said she would listen to you and won't let her brother touch her.”
Only then did I unclench my fists. Now I truly believed Elena’s prophecy. It seems the ancient legends weren't entirely without basis. There were indeed controversial matters concerning the brother and sister duo of Fuxi, but I wouldn't let this event actually come to pass, because I love the Dragon Girl, and she loves me.
The Dragon Girl quickly ran back. “Here! Put it on and see if it fits.”
The belt was beautiful and practical, and crucially, it could bear immense weight. Hanging the laser sword on it was much more convenient. It was a pity, though, that such a valuable belt was paired with my torn trousers.
Buzz! Buzz! A sound like an engine hummed overhead. I knew it was the giant locusts launching an aerial assault. Seeing that the inner city was proving impossible to take, the rebels planned to coordinate their attack from above.
Long Xi snatched a laser gun from a nearby soldier and started firing into the sky. The clones riding the giant locusts above also began slaughtering the defenders on the ramparts. Instantly, laser beams crisscrossed the air and ground. Caught in a pincer attack from above and below, the Longshan City garrison quickly suffered heavy casualties.
The Dragon Girl and Elena managed to drag Long Xi to the shelter of a beacon tower, where they could temporarily evade the laser fire from above. Long Xi watched his warriors fall, his eyes burning with anxiety.
I straightened my tattered clothes and said to Elena, “I said it before: I entrust the Dragon Girl to you. Do not let a single thing happen to her.”
I gave Long Xi a pointed look. Elena understood I was instructing her to watch this ill-intentioned brother, and she nodded. “Are you going to fight in the air again? Be careful for our sake, okay?”
The Dragon Girl’s eyes also showed deep concern. I replied, “Don’t worry. I’m going. If we let them continue, the inner city will soon have no defenders left.”
Long Xi picked up a laser gun and followed me. I knew what he intended. I turned and shoved him back toward the corner of the wall. “Long Xi! You are the king; fighting to the death is not your role! I know you want to defeat the rebels quickly, but that’s not how you fight a battle. If you don't withdraw from Longshan City soon, I fear everyone in the city will suffer!”
Without waiting for the Dragon Girl’s translation to affect Long Xi, I leaped from the beacon tower and into the air. Swarms of locusts darkened the sky, making the entire Longshan City seem plunged into twilight. As my laser sword cut through the air, a shaft of sunlight pierced toward the inner city, eliciting cheers from the defenders. They had no anti-air weapons, and it was exceedingly difficult to target the giant locusts with only laser rifles; their saucers had long been depleted.
These locusts hadn't participated in last night's fighting; the forces from the previous engagement were likely still en route. Therefore, they did not know the power of my laser sword. But as the dark rifts in the sky grew wider, they too became fearful. That circle of light formed by the laser was a circle of death. Wherever it passed, giant locusts were dismembered and fell, and even the clones on their backs, if miraculously unharmed by the blast, would perish from the high fall, not to mention the large numbers of Longshan City defenders waiting below.
The fighting and traveling from late yesterday had left me extremely fatigued, but at this moment, I knew I dared not relax even slightly. If the rebels’ assault wasn't repelled, everyone below would die!
If that happened, the Dragon Girl would certainly be heartbroken, and I would be a failed Dragon Envoy. Therefore, I had to help Long Xi defend Longshan City, even if only for one day, just to give the Dragon Girl an account.
My speed was now imperceptible to the naked eye. From the outside, one could only see a swirling ring of laser light. I swept this circle across the sky above Longshan City. Just like last night, the dense swarm of insects in the air was perfect for slaughter. Corpses rained down onto the ground.
When I fought until the sky cleared, it was past noon. Eight or nine tenths of the locust swarm had been destroyed, forcing them to retreat temporarily. Without aerial support, the ground assault lost momentum, and the defenders of Longshan City, holding the high ground, soon repelled them.
The open ground outside the city and within the outer city was carpeted with corpses, several meters deep. This battle was rarely seen in human history; even the fierce fighting at Tai’erzhuang six thousand years later was not this horrific. Leaning wearily on the battlement and watching this scene, I started to cry. I didn’t know why I was weeping—perhaps it was false mercy, like a cat mourning a mouse. The demise of so many lives was partly my doing. I had never imagined I would become a meat grinder responsible for tens of thousands of deaths, even if they were only clones and monsters. I felt like a human mincing machine; life meant less than an ant in my hands!
Elena rubbed my shoulders continuously from behind. Finally, she couldn't bear the inner terror any longer and hugged me tightly from the back. “Zhao Qian, let’s go. I don’t want to stay here. I swear I will never mention prehistory again, never study prehistoric civilization again. I just want to return to the modern era with you, to that peaceful world. I’m willing to accompany you through life with them. I’ll be whatever you want. Let’s find your friends and leave this chaotic age forever. If you like the Dragon Girl, take her with you.”
Elena’s presence gave me great comfort. “Nana, we have no way back now. Perhaps this is my destiny. If Long Xi doesn't win this war, I believe the world six thousand years from now will definitely change because of it. That Seer used the power of the Energy Heart to view everything three hundred years in the future, meaning this is something I must do; I cannot escape it. You’ve heard our country’s ancient myths: Kang Hui was ultimately defeated, even though he caused the great flood. So, we definitely have hope of winning this war.”
Elena argued, “But the legend says Kang Hui was defeated not by you and Long Xi, but by Zhu Rong. We surely can’t win the Battle of Longshan City, and that stubborn Long Xi won't retreat. Are we supposed to die here with him?”
I turned back and kissed Elena in public. “There will be a solution. Don’t overthink it. A kiss on the battlefield is precious.”
As I held and kissed Elena, my sight naturally fell upon the scene below the ramparts. Except for a few soldiers beginning to clear the battlefield, the remaining garrison forces of Longshan City were surging toward us in a frenzy, with tens of thousands gathering beneath our section of the wall, beginning to prostrate themselves.
The Dragon Girl walked toward us then. I quickly pushed Elena away, worried the Dragon Girl would see and become jealous—though the Dragon Girl didn't even know what jealousy was. “Dragon Envoy, thank you for saving us again.”
I waved my hand quickly. “I just killed a few locusts. I can’t turn the tide of the battle.”
Long Xi said a few words to his sister, and the Dragon Girl nodded repeatedly. She told me, “My brother is very grateful to you. See how his subjects salute you? They thank you for bringing light back to them.”
I pointed toward the tens of thousands bowing below the wall. “Them? They are bowing to me?”
The Dragon Girl smiled. “Yes! You are the well-deserved Holy Dragon Envoy. When the giant locust swarm blocked the sky, the people thought they were about to fall into endless darkness again. But it was you—the Holy Dragon Envoy—who cleaved the darkness at the most dangerous moment, bringing sunlight back to the people. This awakened everyone’s confidence and fighting spirit against the rebels! Only then could they repel the rebel attack.”
I will translate and then heavily polish the provided text into natural, fluent, and idiomatic English fiction, preserving the original paragraph structure.
"That's an exaggeration. If everyone truly intends to pay their respects to me, I suggest you quickly tell them to stand up. I'm not accustomed to this sort of thing, and besides, it wouldn't look right if your brother saw it. He is the true master of this nation, after all; he is the one who should be receiving obeisance. His conduct just now was exceptionally brave; those who cling only to life would have long since hidden away." The Dragon Girl replied, "My brother keeps his public and private matters separate; he won't be displeased over something like this. Dragon Envoy, I am proud of you!" As the Dragon Girl finished speaking, she called out to the tens of thousands gathered below the ramparts. The crowd quickly rose, brandishing their weapons with expressions of fierce determination. It seemed the Dragon Girl was seizing the moment for a morale-boosting address. Soon after, the warriors dispersed, returning to their posts to prepare for the rebels' next assault. Long Xi exchanged a few words with the Dragon Girl and then departed first. The Dragon Girl approached me and said, "Dragon Envoy, please accompany me to the Royal Palace for an important conference." "Me? Attend your meeting? Forget it. I wouldn't understand anything anyway, and frankly, my opinion might displease your brother." The Dragon Girl took my hand and urged me, "Come along, I will translate for you. You have performed a great service this time, and perhaps you can persuade my brother to withdraw from Dragon Mountain City. It's all up to you now."
For more novels, visit storyread.net.