Legend of the Fire Sword: Volume 9 - Operation Dragonclaw

By Benjamin Louie

The Shen imperial forces, the stand off against Leinwan, the Council of Heaven, and the Red Feather Army...all these titanic forces will collide as we reach the epic conclusion of this saga. Between Alex Cheng, wielder of the Fire Sword and Chu Yen, wielder of the Ice Sword, which one will prevail? Between Celina Ce and General Tai and the Demon Brothers, which one will prevail? And last but not least, can they finally slay Liu Zhang, aka the Vanishing Warrior?
Author’s Note: This is not the final volume in the series. There are still more after this one!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Benjamin Louie
• Release date: Apr 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215839003

Benjamin Louie

Sometimes images appear in my dreams, they are just image fragments. I have recurring dreams with the same images. I piece those fragments together to form scenes. I put scenes together to form plots. And I turn plots into stories.Join my discord channel to discuss my novels with other fans, find out about new releases or give the author suggestions

Book preview

Legend of the

Fire Sword

Operation Dragonclaw

Volume 9

Contents

四十三: The Day Before the Battle: No Turning Back Now [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

四十四: Operation Dragonclaw! 10,000 vs 10,000! [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

四十五: Fast as Lightning: Showdown at the West Wing [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

四十六: The Dark Storm: The Cry of the Thunder God [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

四十七: Hero vs Hero: A Duel of Fire and Ice [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

四十八: Confront the Ancient Dragon: A 500 Year Legacy [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

四十九: Save the Dynasty: Cut the Dragon’s Claw! [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

五十: The Demon Slayer & Savior of Shen [ A ] [ B ] [ C ]

四十三: The Day Before the Battle: No Turning Back Now

A soldier entered the war room and handed Lord Yu a scroll, to which he proceeded to open and read it as General Tai and his lieutenants waited in suspense. Today’s meeting was special, as the king himself was present. Usually, kings do not participate in military meetings, but then again, Liu Cao was not a usual king. Like always, he wore his golden armor as he was prepared to fight at any time.

It’s just as I feared. Yu announced. Liu Zhang is getting more support and his army is growing. Last time I said his army was at about 10,000 but it could be more by now.

Shu Tai placed his palms on the table, partly in disbelief and partly in awe of Zhang’s abilities. "All this time he was living in the palace, and we had no idea what he was capable of. He is a sly fox...no, he is more dangerous than a fox. The fact that he can challenge us makes him a dragon."

Once he said that word, there was a chilling silence around the table. There was an old idiom that said silence means consent and it holds true for this situation. Liu Cao wanted to disagree, as he thought highly of himself to call anyone else a dragon, but then he still has a scar on his chest from his fight with the traitorous Liu Zhang during the Red Feather Rebellion, which was meticulously orchestrated by Liu Zhang. By now, everyone in the meeting was familiar with the traitor as well as what he is capable of. He was old, cunning, and powerful so there was no better word to describe him other than a dragon.

We have to do something soon, or else there is going to be a civil war. said Yu.

The war has already started. said King Cao. By now we are not trying to prevent a war, we want to end it.

Isn’t there another way out of this? Yu asked rhetorically. Of all of the people in this room, perhaps he was the only one who wanted a peaceful solution, but alas, it seemed impossible.

The only way to end this is to attack him before he attacks us. said Tai. Our armies are almost the same size. It’s going to be ugly and avoiding casualties will be impossible. Right now we want to avoid a long and drawn-out war.

But the good news is, said Lord Yu, The Heaven’s Council is on our side. Thanks to them, we have been able to gather information faster.

How is our army preparation? asked Tai.

A lieutenant placed a piece of paper on the table. Sir, about half of our army is well-trained war veterans. Some of them have participated in the Duke Xiang Rebellion. Over the past few months we have been recruiting like crazy across the kingdom and the new recruits have been properly trained. There are absolutely no problems in motivation or training.

A second lieutenant stepped towards the table. Our army will arrive in four parts, each coming from a different direction towards Yi Ting, north, south, east and west so we have the palace completely surrounded. The horsemen march in the front of the formation, followed by infantry, followed by pike men, followed by cavalry and the rear guard are in the back. Each formation will be led by a different lieutenant; I will lead the northern army and General Tai will lead the southern army.

Liu Cao sat up from his chair. "Very well then, it looks like all the preparations are done. Tomorrow, we will crush this traitor. If he is a dragon, then we shall be dragon slayers. We will cut the dragon’s claws. This battle will be called Operation Dragonclaw." It was clear he disliked the dragon analogy, but he managed to turn it in his favor.

Yes your highness. said everyone in unison and they bowed.

When Tai exited the pavilion, he saw Alex outside waiting for him. So, how’d it go?

We ride tomorrow at dawn with the entire imperial army.

I see. Alex replied indifferently. So it has come down to this.

You should ride with us. You’re the Demon Slayer and people know you as a hero, your presence will motivate the troops.

Ride with you, by your side? asked Alex

Yes, you will be next to me in the front.

I’m honored. Are you sure about this?

I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life. I’ve known you for a while, and I consider you my friend and my comrade.

I would love to. Alex replied. It will be an honor, general.

Just call me Tai, general is for everyone else.

Just call me Alex, Demon Slayer is for everyone else.

Both of them laughed. Fair enough.

Xiao headed in the direction of her brother’s grave with a bouquet of flowers in hand, but noticed that someone was already there. She could identify the person easily by their attire; the pony tailed woman wore a black leather suit. Xiao felt a slight hesitation to move her feet, yet continued to walk forward. She placed the flowers in front of Jiang Ye’s grave and kneeled in the same position as Li Cheng. The graves were lined up in a straight line; Master Genzo’s was in the middle, and to his right was Jiang Ye, and to his left was Sui Long, and to his left was Zi Lai. There were many battles and what started out as one grave quickly became two, three, and now four. But Operation Dragonclaw will be battle to end all battles; the Council will participate as well so that these tragedies do not repeat.

The two women stared at their respective graves in an uncomfortable silence. Even if Xiao is an expert at reading people’s mind, she was not able to read Li’s intentions. First they were friends; Li took Xiao to the temple to heal her eyes. Shortly afterwards they were enemies who fought in the Cave of Wonders…but what are they now?

I’m sorry about Zi Lai. said Xiao, breaking the silence. She was not there for Zi’s final moments and she wished she was. She had always known Zi as the silly playboy who kept trying to impress her, but she never saw him as a threat. So it was a complete surprise when she found out he was the Reaper. This was something her mind’s eye could never have predicted. Her abilities cannot read intentions or human nature.

Li’s eyes opened as if waiting for Xiao to speak. I’m sorry for hiding this from you all. But I had my reasons.

Xiao replied, You always act alone but you are not alone. You have us and your friends at the temple. Despite Li’s shortcomings, Xiao still felt she was not beyond redemption. She thought reminding her of the temple would appeal to Li’s humanity.

I know. But I work alone. Tomorrow I will have Chu Yen’s head on a platter. Li grabbed her sword and stood up and walked away.

Xiao was not surprised that she would say something like that. Once Li decides something, there is no stopping her. This trait of hers makes her similar to Alex, although the two siblings will never admit it or realize it.

Clearly, Li’s main motive was revenge against Chu Yen, one, for stealing her Ice Sword, and two, for Master Genzo’s death. Xiao had never met Master Genzo except for his grave, but she was connected to him in more than one way. He was her master Taishi’s equal in skill and status, and that alone is enough to earn her respect. Not only that, but Master Genzo was her brother Jiang Ye’s master. Xiao did wish she had met Master Genzo, for he was a remarkable man.

In a way, Xiao understood Li’s need for revenge. Her brother Jiang Ye should not have died, he was supposed to live to see her open her eyes and live together happily ever after. No matter how much she tried to purify her thoughts during training, it was better to be honest with one’s own feelings; Xiao had a burning desire to get revenge on her brother’s killer, the Demon Brothers. This trait of hers makes her similar to Li, although they will never admit it.

Xiao Ye was not the only one paying respects to the dead. Inside a shrine in the imperial palace, a woman had been kneeling before a group of tombstones for an unknown amount of time. The dome-shaped shrine was full of shelves of tombstones, each one representing a member of the Liu family. One in particular had Liu Bei’s name (刘备) on it. She lit a joss stick and put it in front of Liu Bei’s tombstone and kneeled with her hands together.

It felt weird to be staring at the plaque which is supposed to represent a person that was once alive. The name on this plaque was of her former husband and the former king of the entire kingdom.

Celina began to reflect on Liu Bei’s life, or at least the parts of his life that she knew about. They met at the Mu Fa Theatre and he had his eyes on her ever since, and made proposed to have her as his concubine. She was able to live in the palace, a dream an orphan like her could never conjure up, yet she was not happy most of the time. The palace stored some bad memories for her, but it was not the fault of Liu Bei. He was not a bad man at all; in fact, he tried to make her happy. He was a good man with good intentions who met an unfortunate end.

She owed a great deal to Liu Bei and felt conflicted about his death. His death allowed her to be free and be with Alex Cheng. Yet he did not deserve to be assassinated like this.

From a different angle, one can see twin swords lying next to her. As a concubine, she was not allowed to hold a sword, but ever since her status was nullified, she has kept these twin swords by her side always.

As she continued to stare at the plaque, she contemplated life in general, particularly her own. Life is short especially during these tumultuous times. Her own life could end at any moment as she has been putting herself in constant danger. Operation Dragonclaw will claim many lives, possibly her own, yet she must participate. Alex Cheng is going and that is the main reason she is going as well, but besides her beloved, there is something much bigger at stake. It would be easy for her to justify that she is not a part of it, but she was in too deep to back out now. She has been in this struggle from the very beginning, starting from Duke Xiang’s failed rebellion. Not just Liu Bei, but many others have fallen during these battles. To prevent further tragedies from happening; she must participate in tomorrow’s battle.

[ B ]

Xiao entered the busy hallways, hearing the sounds of running and people mumbling to each other. She was greeted by Cho Mei-Ang. Xiao, where have you been? The meeting is about to start.

I was visiting my brother’s grave. I’m glad I made it in time. she replied.

She and Cho entered the meeting room, which was already packed. Every chair was filled except for two in the back. Perhaps they were lucky or perhaps the seats were reserved for them, it didn’t matter, she and Cho quickly took their seats. Usually, Cho would sit with his closest friend Vincent, but today Vincent went to the meeting earlier, and he was sitting in the front row, as identified by his white hat.

The four elders entered the room and everyone became silent. Then Taishi Tze entered the center of the room. It was rare to see Taishi and all four elders together, so everyone knew this meeting is of the utmost importance.

Master Tze cleared his throat. "Everyone, by now you all know we will participate in tomorrow’s battle, the imperials call it Operation Dragonclaw. But we are not fighting for their sake, we are fighting for our own cause. The mantra of the Council of Heaven is to fight for justice for all under heaven. The name Ragnarok is well known by now, he is the general of the Red Feather Army. But he