Chapter Summaries

As Yue Xiaofei trampled the Japanese Emperor beneath the Dragon Kingdom’s flag, Han Duoduo broadcast the footage across Eastern Japan, shattering the nation’s composure. The scene also stirred dementia-stricken veteran Yue Qinhu, who saluted and declared that they had planted the flag and won.

• Lin Xiaolu and Lin Tiejun watched Yue Xiaofei defeat the Japanese Emperor, and Lin Tiejun praised the military spirit and thought of his old comrade Yue Qinhu.
• Han Duoduo hacked screens across Eastern Japan to broadcast the footage on a loop with funeral music, prompting widespread despair among viewers.
• In a Jiangbei military sanatorium, the sight of the red flag awakened Yue Qinhu, who saluted the screen and cried that they had planted the flag and won.
• Veterans throughout the Dragon Kingdom watched the history-making scene with their families.

Plot points and events

• Elderly veterans across the Dragon Kingdom watch the national flag fly atop Mount Fuji. Many weep, seeing a long-held wish for national dignity and vindication finally fulfilled.
• In a guarded confession room, former Japanese general and Class-A war criminal Ito Yūgorō is forced to watch the broadcast. Seeing the Emperor humiliated and the flag raised, he erupts in rage, spits blood, and dies with his eyes open.
• Jiangbei police director Jin Dapao celebrates Yue Xiaofei’s actions, proudly identifying him as the son of his former commander, Yue Changlong.
• On Mount Fuji, the Emperor collapses after his final kowtow. Yue Xiaofei tells him the kowtows were only “interest,” then throws a prepared document onto his bloodied face and orders him to read it aloud to the world, warning that any omission will have deadly consequences.

Character developments and interactions

• Yue Xiaofei is shown as resolute and unsparing: he frames the Emperor’s humiliation as only the beginning of repayment and uses the document to impose further demands.
• Ito Yūgorō remains consumed by hatred and imperial devotion; the collapse of the symbols he worshipped proves unbearable, and he dies in fury.
• The veterans experience grief and relief, believing Yue has fulfilled a wish shared by their generation and fallen comrades.
• Jin Dapao responds with exuberant pride, linking Yue’s act to his father’s legacy and the honor of their military unit.
• Yue Xiaofei and the Emperor have a stark power imbalance: the defeated, unconscious Emperor is treated not as a ruler but as someone still accountable for a greater debt.

Significant themes

• Historical memory and justice: The scene presents the flag-raising as symbolic redress for past humiliation and wartime crimes.
• Intergenerational legacy: Yue’s actions fulfill hopes carried by veterans and connect him to his father’s and military comrades’ reputations.
• National pride and revenge: Public triumph is celebrated as restored dignity, while Yue’s language emphasizes punishment and repayment rather than reconciliation.

Chapter Summary: “Edict of Self-Accusation!”

• Key events: After recovering from Yue Xiaofei’s assault, the Japanese Emperor is forced to read an “Edict of Self-Accusation.” Its demands include apologizing for Japan’s aggression, acknowledging atrocities such as the Nanjing Massacre and biological experiments in textbooks, disbanding the Imperial Guard, returning stolen cultural artifacts, surrendering war-criminal memorial tablets for public burning, and paying the Dragon Kingdom one trillion U.S. dollars. The Emperor refuses, calling the terms an intolerable attack on Japanese sovereignty. Yue Xiaofei counters that the Emperor has no real choice and warns that Skull and Bones may prefer him dead so it can install a more obedient ruler. Faced with the prospect of death and abandonment, the Emperor gives in and agrees to read the edict.
• Character developments: The Emperor’s defiance collapses into terror. He initially prioritizes national dignity and fears being remembered as a traitor, but ultimately reveals that preserving his own life and the imperial line matters more to him. Yue Xiaofei remains calm and controlling, using the Emperor’s dependence on Skull and Bones—and his fear of being discarded—to break his resistance.
• Character interactions: Yue Xiaofei confronts the Emperor with the edict, dismisses his refusal, and privately suggests that Skull and Bones sees him as expendable. The Emperor recognizes the possibility and becomes increasingly desperate, eventually complying under Yue Xiaofei’s ultimatum: read the document or die.
• Significant themes: The chapter focuses on coercion and humiliation, the tension between national honor and personal survival, and the vulnerability of rulers who mistake themselves for powerful players. It also presents political alliances as transactional: Skull and Bones may abandon the Emperor once he ceases to be useful.

Key plot points and events

• On a mountaintop, Yue Xiaofei forces the Japanese Emperor to read a public Edict of Self-Accusation before the Dragon Kingdom’s flag, with the event broadcast worldwide.
• The edict includes five major demands: an apology for a century of aggression, permanent dissolution of Eastern Japan’s defense forces, return of all illegally taken Dragon Kingdom cultural relics within three months, removal and transfer of war-criminal memorial tablets for public burning, and payment of one trillion U.S. dollars in reparations within a year.
• Each declaration provokes powerful reactions: people in the Dragon Kingdom celebrate, while foreign governments—especially Eagle Country—recognize the geopolitical consequences.
• After finishing the reading, the Emperor collapses. Yue retrieves the blood-soaked edict and addresses the world: “From this day on, the tables have turned!”

Character developments

• Yue Xiaofei is portrayed as cold, decisive, and uncompromising. He frames the forced confession not merely as revenge but as a declaration that the Dragon Kingdom will now shape the world order.
• The Japanese Emperor is reduced from sovereign to captive instrument of humiliation. By the end, he is physically and emotionally broken and expects to be remembered as a disgraced ruler.

Significant themes

• Historical justice and redress: The apology, returned relics, and removal of war-criminal memorials answer grievances left unresolved for generations.
• Reversal of power: The chapter presents the Dragon Kingdom’s emergence as a force able to impose terms on former aggressors and challenge the international order.
• Public memory and national dignity: Burning the memorial tablets symbolizes removing a painful, enduring source of insult.
• Coercive punishment: The chapter celebrates overwhelming force, including military disarmament and crippling reparations, as a means of securing justice and preventing future threats.

Character interactions

• Yue remains silent and contemptuous while the Emperor reads, controlling the scene through his presence and the imposed terms.
• The Emperor’s forced public confession contrasts with the Dragon Kingdom’s jubilant response and the anger of Eagle Country’s leaders, highlighting the shift in power.
• Yue’s final direct address to the global audience turns the event into a political message as well as a personal victory.

Key plot points and events

• The Japanese Emperor’s public reading of the Edict of Self-Accusation—demanding an apology, the disbandment of the guard, the return of cultural relics, the destruction of war-criminal memorial tablets, and one trillion dollars in compensation—shocks the world.
• The Dragon Kingdom erupts in celebration, while Eastern Japan descends into anger and chaos. Some extremists commit seppuku; others riot and demand answers from the government and imperial family.
• At the Sacred Mountain Summit, Yue Xiaofei reflects on his father, Yue Changlong, and recites a poem expressing the wish to avenge the nation’s historical humiliation. He sees his actions as fulfilling his father’s dream.
• The Japanese Emperor asks to leave. Yue Xiaofei appears to agree, then orders him to crawl down the mountain with Yue riding on his back, extending the humiliation.

Character developments

• Yue Xiaofei shifts from tender remembrance of his father to cold, mocking dominance over the Emperor. He views his victory as both personal fulfillment and repayment of a generational debt.
• The Japanese Emperor is reduced to fear and pleading. After complying with Yue’s demands, he hopes to escape, only to face another degrading order.
• The Reverse Scale Squad share Yue’s patriotic fervor; his poem visibly intensifies their admiration and excitement.
• Yue Changlong, though absent, is central to the scene: his remembered dream gives Yue’s triumph emotional and intergenerational meaning.

Significant themes

• Historical memory and revenge: The chapter frames Yue’s actions as answering humiliation inherited from the past.
• National pride and public spectacle: The broadcast turns the Emperor’s submission into a worldwide symbol, provoking celebration in the Dragon Kingdom and turmoil in Eastern Japan.
• Power and humiliation: Yue’s victory is not only political; he deliberately attacks the dignity and symbolic authority of the imperial family.
• Generational legacy: Yue’s fulfillment of his father’s dream connects the present struggle to the hopes of earlier generations.

Character interactions

• Yue’s bond with his father is expressed through memory and an inward address, as he imagines his father witnessing the victory.
• The squad responds to Yue’s poem with excitement and admiration, reinforcing their shared sense of purpose.
• The Emperor’s fearful request for release meets Yue’s calculated cruelty: Yue offers hope, then imposes a further humiliation.

Plot points and events

• The Japanese Emperor initially refuses to let Yue Xiaofei ride him, insisting he would rather die than suffer further humiliation.
• Yue reminds him that he has already surrendered his dignity by reading an edict of self-accusation and kowtowing to Dragon Kingdom heroes. He threatens to destroy the imperial family and turn the palace into a graveyard if the Emperor resists.
• Convinced Yue means it and seeing no way out, the Emperor gives in and gets down on all fours.
• Yue climbs onto his back, takes up the Hongqi flag, and orders him forward with a slap. The Emperor begins carrying him down the mountain.
• Yue celebrates with a boastful verse about riding the Emperor to see the cherry blossoms. Wild Chicken excitedly photographs the scene, recognizing it as a historic spectacle.
• The Emperor’s hands and knees are scraped raw during the descent, but he continues, fearing Yue’s threats and anticipating a greater reckoning below.

Character developments

• Yue Xiaofei displays absolute confidence and control, escalating his domination of the Emperor and treating the ordeal as a triumphant public spectacle.
• The Japanese Emperor shifts from angry defiance to fear, despair, and total submission. His earlier concessions make further resistance feel futile.
• Wild Chicken reacts with astonished enthusiasm, eager to share evidence of the extraordinary event.
• The Reverse Scale Squad are left stunned by Yue’s audacity.

Significant themes

• Humiliation and power: Yue uses threats and public degradation to demonstrate that the Emperor has no meaningful power or choice.
• The erosion of resistance: Each surrender makes the next one seem inevitable, as the Emperor’s remaining pride gives way to fear.
• Revenge and national symbolism: Yue’s use of the Dragon Kingdom flag and his taunting verse turn the act into a political spectacle as well as a personal humiliation.

Character interactions

• Yue confronts the Emperor’s appeal to dignity by citing his earlier humiliations, then compels him to serve as a mount through threats against his family and palace.
• The Emperor obeys despite his pain and shame, while Yue commands and celebrates the descent.
• Wild Chicken documents the scene, and the squad watches in disbelief.

Yue Xiaofei descended Sacred Mountain with the Japanese Emperor crawling beneath him, publicly humiliating Eastern Japan before its citizens and the world. At the foot of the mountain, he seized the exhausted Emperor and challenged the armed Shrine Guard as they aimed their guns at him.

• The Shrine Guard and local constables sealed off the area but held back because the Japanese Emperor was still in danger.
• Yue Xiaofei appeared on the snowy path carrying a red flag and riding on the Japanese Emperor's back, stunning the crowd and reporters.
• The Shrine Guard grew furious and demanded permission to attack, but the Guard Commander refused to risk the Emperor's life.
• Yue Xiaofei reached the foot of the mountain, jumped down, and left the badly injured Emperor collapsed in the snow.
• Yue Xiaofei grabbed the Emperor by the collar, held him in front of himself, and challenged the surrounding armed guards.

Yue Xiaofei forced the Japanese Emperor to drive the Reverse Scale Squad to the port while dismissing Lu Qingxue’s concern that he was provoking a dangerous retaliation. The Emperor secretly vowed revenge as he drove them away.

• Yue Xiaofei used the Japanese Emperor as a human shield to make the surrounding soldiers let him reach the Emperor’s royal car.
• Yue Xiaofei shoved the Emperor into the driver’s seat and ordered him to take the group to the port.
• The Reverse Scale Squad got into the car, and Wild Chicken filmed and mocked the Emperor from the passenger seat.
• Lu Qingxue worried that Yue Xiaofei’s actions might provoke a deadly response, but Yue Xiaofei defended his harsh treatment by recalling the atrocities committed in Jinling City.
• The Japanese Emperor silently drove toward the port while secretly swearing to take revenge on Yue Xiaofei and the others.

Key plot points and events

• The Japanese Emperor drives Yue Xiaofei and the Reverse Scale Squad away from Mount Fuji while Wild Chicken films and mocks him. A convoy follows, but Yue dismisses it as harmless.
• The group reaches Yokohama Port and discovers it surrounded by Eastern Japan’s military forces: troops, tanks, warships, and helicopters. Distant U.S. warships watch from international waters.
• Yue orders the Emperor to drive into the blockade, then uses him as a hostage to deter the soldiers from firing. He demands that they lower their weapons and let the squad reach its waiting speedboat.
• Once aboard, Yue makes the Emperor order the troops to retreat five kilometers. The soldiers comply, and the squad speeds away.

Character developments

• Yue Xiaofei remains composed and confident, treating the overwhelming military blockade as manageable because he holds the Emperor.
• The Japanese Emperor is furious and humiliated but increasingly powerless, forced to drive, serve as a hostage, and command his own troops to withdraw.
• The Reverse Scale Squad stays alert and works efficiently under pressure. Their trust in Yue’s judgment steadies them when they see the port’s defenses.

Significant themes

• Power and leverage: The Emperor’s presence prevents the military from using its superior force.
• Humiliation and control: Yue repeatedly turns the Emperor’s authority against him, compelling him to serve his captors.
• Composure under danger: Yue’s calm contrasts with the soldiers’ hostility and the squad’s understandable tension.

Character interactions

• Wild Chicken taunts and films the Emperor, while Yue ignores the trailing convoy and reassures the squad by dismissing it.
• Yue uses the Emperor to communicate with the forces on shore, first as a warning and then to order their retreat.
• The squad coordinates its escape: Ugly Ox pilots the speedboat, while Wild Chicken and Stone Monkey check its equipment and fuel.

Yue Xiaofei forced the Japanese Emperor to accept demands before kicking him into the sea and escaping toward international waters. After being rescued, the Emperor ordered his forces to destroy the speedboat and threatened the Guard Commander into authorizing an attack.

• Yue Xiaofei warned the Japanese Emperor to return stolen artifacts, destroy the memorial tablets, and pay reparations.
• Yue Xiaofei threw a life ring to the Japanese Emperor, kicked him into the sea, and sped away as Japanese forces moved to rescue him.
• After being pulled aboard a destroyer, the Japanese Emperor raged and demanded that the fleet pursue and destroy Yue Xiaofei's speedboat.
• The Guard Commander warned that an attack would contradict the Emperor's public promises and damage Eastern Japan's reputation.
• The Japanese Emperor drew a pistol and forced the Guard Commander to order all units to fire on the speedboat.

Yue Xiaofei and his companions discovered that the Japanese fleet had locked weapons onto their speedboat, but a massive Dragon Kingdom force arrived before the fleet could fire. The Japanese commander and his sailors were left facing an overwhelming armada.

• Han Duoduo reported that Japanese ships and aircraft had locked onto Yue Xiaofei's speedboat, and Wild Chicken cursed their broken promise.
• Yue Xiaofei calmly watched the approaching attack and said the Japanese had finally given him an excuse.
• The Eastern Japan Fleet commander prepared to order the attack, but operators detected thousands of rapidly approaching targets on radar, optical systems, and sonar.
• The commander saw Dragon Kingdom fighter jets fill the sky, led by a White Emperor stealth fighter.
• A Type 096 Dragon King submarine surfaced before the fleet as two aircraft carriers and dozens of warships approached under red flags.
• The Eastern Japan Fleet stared at the Dragon Kingdom armada, realizing they were overwhelmed.

Zhao Mengsheng arrived with the Dragon Kingdom’s overwhelming fleet and gave the Eastern Japan forces three seconds to surrender or face destruction. As Lu Qingxue asked Yue Xiaofei whether the fleet’s arrival had been part of his plan, Yue Xiaofei hinted that his boldness on Sacred Mountain had a reason.

• The Eastern Japan commander and Emperor panicked as the Dragon Kingdom’s fleet and fighter jets surrounded their patrol boats.
• Zhao Mengsheng emerged aboard a submarine, identified himself as the Dragon Kingdom’s God of War, and demanded the Eastern Japan forces surrender within three seconds.
• Dragon Kingdom warships aimed their main guns and fighter jets readied their missiles against the Eastern Japan fleet.
• Wild Chicken, Ugly Ox, and the Reverse Scale Squad celebrated the arrival of their homeland’s forces, while Lu Qingxue marveled at their strength.
• Lu Qingxue asked Yue Xiaofei whether the fleet’s arrival was part of his plan, and he asked why she thought he had dared to stir up trouble on Sacred Mountain alone.

Zhao Shanhe’s fleet surrounded the Eastern Japan Fleet and ordered it to disarm and submit to inspection, while Captain Johnson recognized that the Dragon Kingdom was asserting its dominance in the Pacific. The Japanese commander faced a three-minute deadline as Zhao Shanhe threatened dire consequences.

• Lu Qingxue realized Yue Xiaofei had deliberately forced the Japanese into a confrontation backed by the Dragon Kingdom’s fleet.
• Zhao Shanhe ordered his forces to lock fire-control radars onto every Eastern Japan vessel and sink any ship that made a suspicious move.
• After the Guard Commander offered to withdraw, Zhao Shanhe demanded that the fleet shut down its weapons, turn its guns toward the sea, and assemble for inspection.
• Captain Johnson decided the Dragon Kingdom was asserting dominance, ruled out intervention, and ordered an urgent report to General MacArthur.
• Zhao Shanhe gave the Guard Commander three minutes to comply or face the consequences.

As Zhao Shanhe’s countdown neared zero, the Eastern Japan Fleet faced annihilation while the Eagle Side destroyer withdrew. The Guard Commander stopped the Japanese Emperor from launching a final attack and surrendered at the last moment.

• Zhao Shanhe counted down as the Guard Commander weighed surrender against the deaths of his fleet’s thousands of soldiers.
• Johnson ordered the Eagle Side destroyer Liberty to retreat five nautical miles and observe silently rather than defend Eastern Japan.
• The Guard Commander’s crew lost hope when they saw the Eagle Side ship retreat.
• The Japanese Emperor charged the missile launch console, intending to take the enemy down with him.
• The Guard Commander knocked the Japanese Emperor unconscious, ordered the fleet to stand down, and raised a white flag just before the countdown ended.

Eastern Japan’s fleet surrendered to the Dragon Kingdom, and Yue Xiaofei forced its soldiers to salute a massive red flag covering their flagship’s Rising Sun Flag. The humiliating scene was broadcast worldwide, and the Japanese Emperor fainted after witnessing it.

• The Eastern Japan flagship raised a white flag, prompting celebration in the Dragon Kingdom and shock and grief in Eastern Japan.
• Zhao Shanhe mocked the surrendered fleet, while Yue Xiaofei ordered Wild Chicken to deliver a prepared gift by drone.
• The drone dropped a huge red flag over the Rising Sun Flag on the Eastern Japan flagship.
• Yue Xiaofei ordered the Eastern Japan officers and sailors to assemble and salute the red flag; after Dragon Kingdom forces threatened them, the Guard Commander made them comply.
• The drone broadcast thousands of Eastern Japan troops saluting the red flag, and the Japanese Emperor woke, saw the scene, and fainted from rage.

After Yue Xiaofei’s mission ended, Zhao Shanhe’s fleet escorted him and the Reverse Scale Squad to the Dragon Kingdom’s aircraft carrier, the East Wind. Zhao Mengsheng welcomed them and praised their actions before leading them to the Combat Operations Center for important business.

• Yue Xiaofei ordered Wild Chicken to bring the drone back, and his speedboat headed toward the Dragon Kingdom fleet.
• Zhao Shanhe declared the mission complete and ordered the fleet to escort Yue Xiaofei and his companions home.
• Yue Xiaofei and the Reverse Scale Squad arrived aboard the East Wind, where naval personnel saluted them.
• Zhao Mengsheng greeted Yue Xiaofei, praised the squad, and told them they had important business to discuss.
• Zhao Mengsheng led Yue Xiaofei and the others toward the carrier’s Combat Operations Center.

Zhao Mengsheng revealed that the fleets had been deployed to trap an Eagle Country Ghost-class nuclear attack submarine stealing Dragon Kingdom naval data. When the submarine tried to escape, he sent twelve Sea Eagle anti-submarine helicopters to force it to surface.

• Zhao Mengsheng told Yue Xiaofei that the fleets’ real target was a Ghost-class nuclear attack submarine lurking in the East Sea.
• Zhao Mengsheng explained that the submarine had been gathering hydrographic data and acoustic signatures, while Yue Xiaofei’s actions in Eastern Japan had helped draw attention away from the fleet’s deployment.
• A sonar operator detected the submarine attempting to escape under cover of a merchant ship’s noise.
• Zhao Mengsheng ordered the Sea Eagle helicopters to launch and prepare depth charges to force the submarine to surface.
• Twelve Sea Eagle helicopters took off from the carrier and headed toward the target waters.

Plot points and events

• The Dragon Kingdom fleet detects the Ghost submarine, which is shadowing a civilian merchant ship to conceal its movement.
• Zhao Mengsheng orders Type 055 destroyers to sweep the area with active sonar and the East Wind submarine to deploy a towed sonar array. Anti-submarine aircraft and helicopters join the search.
• The Ghost’s captain, Mike, initially trusts the submarine’s stealth and orders it to keep using the merchant ship as cover. The Dragon Kingdom forces quickly locate and expose it with sonar and sonobuoys.
• Twelve Sea Eagle helicopters drop depth charges. The blasts damage the Ghost’s hull, ballast tank, propulsion system, and reactor, forcing it to surface to avoid being crushed underwater.
• The battered submarine emerges in the exercise area. The Reverse Scale Squad celebrates, and Zhao connects to the Ghost’s public channel to sarcastically offer a “humanitarian rescue.”

Character developments

• Zhao Mengsheng remains composed and decisive throughout, directing the hunt with confidence. Once the Ghost is disabled, he reveals a mocking, taunting side.
• Captain Mike shifts from arrogant confidence in the Ghost’s stealth to panic and despair as the Dragon Kingdom’s detection and attack overwhelm his crew.
• Wild Chicken and Ugly Ox openly celebrate the victory, while the rest of the Reverse Scale Squad share their pride more quietly.

Significant themes

• Technological confidence overturned: The Ghost’s reputation for stealth proves useless against the Dragon Kingdom’s coordinated detection network.
• Teamwork and preparedness: Destroyers, submarines, helicopters, and command personnel work together to trap the intruder.
• National pride and deterrence: The squad’s reaction frames the defense as proof that the Dragon Kingdom will not tolerate threats near its territory.
• Humiliation after defeat: Zhao’s “rescue” offer turns the Ghost’s forced surfacing into a public embarrassment.

Character interactions

• Zhao issues rapid orders to his forces and firmly corrects a communications officer who hesitates.
• Mike attempts to steady his crew, but alarms and damage reports steadily erode his authority and composure.
• The Reverse Scale Squad celebrates together after the Ghost surfaces, while Zhao caps the victory by taunting the stranded submarine over its own communications channel.

Captain Mike surrendered the Ghost submarine after Zhao Mengsheng threatened to sink it, and Dragon Kingdom forces filmed the crew for public humiliation. Yue Xiaofei then asked Zhao about Skull and Bones and his father, Yue Changlong, prompting Zhao to take him somewhere private.

• Mike accused Zhao Mengsheng of provoking a conflict, but Zhao dismissed him and ordered the Ghost crew to raise their flag and assemble for inspection.
• After Mike protested, a Dragon Kingdom destroyer fired a warning shell near the Ghost, and Mike agreed to bring his crew out.
• Mike led the crew onto the deck beneath the raised Stars and Stripes while drones filmed them from every angle; Wild Chicken mocked them, and Mike collapsed.
• Zhao Mengsheng ordered the footage recorded for a mocking headline, while Yue Xiaofei felt proud of Dragon Kingdom's response.
• Yue Xiaofei asked Zhao about Skull and Bones and his father, Yue Changlong, and Zhao led him away from the command room to speak privately.

Zhao Mengsheng warned Yue Xiaofei that Skull and Bones had made him a priority target and revealed his father’s connection to the Adam Project. He explained that the organization’s Twelve Thrones were S-Level Transcendents nearing National Authority Level, leaving Yue Xiaofei aware of the vast power he might face.

• Zhao Mengsheng told Yue Xiaofei that his actions in Eastern Japan had made him a major threat to Skull and Bones.
• Zhao Mengsheng revealed that Yue Changlong had been a core test subject in the Adam Project and had taken a crucial Key when he left.
• Zhao Mengsheng explained that Skull and Bones sought to capture Yue Xiaofei to learn where his father had hidden the Key.
• Zhao Mengsheng described Skull and Bones as a secretive power with influence across global politics, economics, and military affairs.
• Zhao Mengsheng warned Yue Xiaofei not to confront the Twelve Thrones, who were S-Level Transcendents approaching National Authority Level.