Chapter 239
Chapter 239
Shen Lang said.
“I'm going to remove the things inside your body. Otherwise, when you try to use your vital energy, they'll rupture and kill you instantly. Your death is no great matter, but nothing can happen to my child.”
Shortly after, Shen Lang led Qiu Yao'er to an empty room, cut into her body with a knife, and removed the small iron beads buried within. Each bead was no more than one millimeter in diameter. Four of them were in her left and right arms, and one was under her scalp. The beads were exquisitely crafted. When he lightly cut one open, a thin metal membrane split, revealing a white powder inside.
He coated a silver needle with the powder, dipped it in water, and had a pirate who was slated for execution drink it. The pirate who drank the water died in just a few seconds. So it was that potent? Such a small amount could kill a person. If those poison beads had ruptured inside her body, even someone with Qiu Yao'er's formidable constitution would have certainly died. For the first time, Qiu Yao'er looked at Shen Lang closely.
“It's rare to find someone as vicious as you.”
“I'll take that as a compliment!”
“Then I'll be on my way!”
“No. You can't leave yet. Zhang Jin is still out there with over six thousand soldiers, and I can't defeat them.”
“What does that have to do with me?”
“You and I need to put on a show. First, send me away, then pretend to continue the battle. I'll launch something at you with a catapult, and a large amount of magnetic powder will burst out and stick to your body. You'll then unleash your vital energy and pretend to die. Then, An Zaichun will open the city gates, and we'll pretend to fight your army as we enter the city. Only then will Zhang Jin be fooled into dispatching his troops. He wants to reap the rewards of our conflict, so that's when we'll join forces and eliminate him.”
Hearing Shen Lang's request, Qiu Yao'er's temples throbbed.
*I, Qiu Yao'er, have never performed such a cowardly act in my life, nor have I ever pretended to be dead.*
“Why should I do that?”
“Because you owe me. I treated you and saved your life, so shouldn't you repay the debt? Besides, you forcibly dishonored me, so shouldn't you compensate me?”
Qiu Yao'er instantly gritted her teeth. She grabbed her two broadswords and said.
“I will not pretend to be dead, nor will I put on an act.”
“So you won't repay me for saving your life? Heh, I never knew a woman's heart could be so petty.”
Qiu Yao'er said angrily.
“I will take my soldiers and eliminate Zhang Jin.”
“Zhang Jin is currently inside the city tower of Jiuhu. The tower is sturdy; if you attack with three thousand men, you'll suffer heavy casualties.”
“There is no fortress I cannot conquer.”
“I know that. But many of your followers will surely die. Are the lives of your countless soldiers worth less than your dignity?”
Qiu Yao'er closed her eyes. She should have just left without stopping. The Shen Lang before her was too sinister. It felt as if cutting this man down with a single stroke would bring silence to the entire world. Qiu Yao'er said no more, simply grabbing Shen Lang by the neck and heading outside. At the top of the city wall, she threw Shen Lang down.
“Get lost!”
The wretched woman actually threw him. It was a drop of over twenty meters, equivalent to a five-story building. Shen Lang was terrified. But fortunately, Jin Hui, Thirteen, and Jin Shiying rushed out and caught him. At that moment, Shen Lang nearly wet himself.
*Damn it, you damn woman. My wife was right. Qiu Yao'er, a woman like you deserves to be torn to shreds.*
Calming himself, Shen Lang stood at the base of the wall and shouted with a furious expression.
“Ready the catapults! All troops, prepare for battle!”
The moment his order was given, the two thousand private soldiers of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate formed orderly ranks, and three catapults were once again drawn to their maximum tension. Shen Lang shouted loudly.
“Qiu Yao'er, you wicked wench! Today is the day you die! Fire!”
Following Shen Lang's command, the stones on the three catapults were launched with great force. Three magnetic iron balls made from meteorite were launched toward the top of the wall, aimed at Qiu Yao'er. Qiu Yao'er's broadswords moved like a dance.
*Boom!*
The three iron balls exploded violently. The balls, made of magnetic powder held together with an adhesive, exploded and turned completely to dust. Countless black particles instantly covered Qiu Yao'er's entire body, clinging to her. In that moment, Qiu Yao'er felt an indescribable agony, as if she were suffocating. It felt like the blood vessels throughout her body were about to burst. Just how high was the heavy metal content in her blood? She forcefully circulated the vital energy throughout her body.
“Hah!”
With a powerful shout, she unleashed her vital energy, and simultaneously, all the magnetic iron filings clinging to her body were repelled and fell to the ground. The scene was truly astonishing. The moment her vital energy erupted, her body contracted forcefully. Fortunately, Shen Lang had just removed the poison beads from her body; otherwise, she would likely be dead right now. Now, Qiu Yao'er had to pretend to be dead. Normally, she should have let out a bloodcurdling scream, spat out a mouthful of crimson blood, and then died…. But she didn't know how to act, so she just fell stiffly to the ground.
*Thud!*
Her body hit the ground with a loud noise. Shen Lang's first thought was,
*Damn it, is my child okay? Is that woman's brain made of muscle? Doesn't she know how to do things in moderation? Can't she even spit up some blood? She could have fallen slowly. Doesn't it hurt, falling on such hard ground?*
Then, Shen Lang shouted loudly.
“Qiu Yao'er is dead! Qiu Yao'er is dead! Attack the city! Let's take Raging Tide City now!”
As soon as Shen Lang finished speaking,
*Rumble.*
A loud noise echoed as the thick main gate of the Raging Tide City tower, which Qiu Yao'er had been defending, collapsed. Originally, that gate was sturdy enough for one person to defend against ten thousand attackers. But now, it had fallen. Shen Lang was overjoyed and said.
“We have support from within! Charge!”
At Shen Lang's command, the two thousand elite warriors of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate charged into the main tower.
***
Inside another tower of Raging Tide City.
Zhang Jin's six thousand elite soldiers stood fully armed and ready to move out, their faces filled with killing intent. They were watching the developing situation at the main tower moment by moment.
“General, Shen Lang has gone up the city wall to negotiate with Qiu Yao'er.”
“It seems Shen Lang failed to negotiate; Qiu Yao'er threw him down!”
“Shen Lang has begun his assault on the city. He launched three iron balls with the catapults. General! General! Qiu Yao'er has fallen! We don't know what trick Shen Lang used, but Qiu Yao'er is down. It seems she's dead.”
“The gate to the city lord's tower has collapsed. It must be Shen Lang's spies making their move! General, Shen Lang is leading his army into the city lord's estate!”
Zhang Jin's hair stood on end.
*Shen Lang, you actually did it. Just as Father predicted, Shen Lang really killed Qiu Yao'er. How on earth did he kill the invincible she-devil? It's truly terrifying! It's a good thing Father foresaw everything; otherwise, Raging Tide City would have truly fallen into the hands of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. If that had happened, the new policy would have completely failed, and Father's political career would have been over.*
*But like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind, Shen Lang, you will die by my hand today. I, Zhang Jin, will achieve an unprecedented feat. Raging Tide City will be mine!*
Zhang Jin drew his sword with a flourish and roared.
“Brothers, now is the time to earn glory! Kill them! Kill Shen Lang and all the men from the Count of Xuanwu's Estate! Kill all the pirates! Take Raging Tide City now, and you'll find fame and fortune. Kill the enemy!”
At Zhang Jin's command, six thousand elite soldiers charged out in full force, rushing madly toward the tower of the Raging Tide City Lord's Estate.
***
The tower of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate.
At Su Jianting's command, one hundred masters from the Su Clan of the Western Regions used grappling hooks to scale the city walls with the speed of lizards. At that time, there were only seven or eight hundred warriors inside the estate—five hundred new recruits and only two or three hundred veterans. The commander of the defending force was named Jin Xia. Like the others, he was a war orphan raised in the Count of Xuanwu's Estate. Now twenty-nine, he was a man of few words, and despite being in charge of a hundred new recruits, he had less of a presence in the estate than Jin Shiying or even Jin Zheng.
“Men, the enemy is here! It's one thing to die fighting, but if the enemy breaks into the tower and frightens the lady, you'll all have to cut your own throats. All archers, ready!”
The experienced soldiers were quite skilled with bows, but the new recruits hadn't had time to practice archery, so they used crossbows. After the order was given, the veterans nocked their arrows, and the new recruits raised their crossbows and began to aim.
“Fire!”
As the command was given, the seven hundred defenders fired their arrows simultaneously.
*Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip.*
The accuracy was not bad. Masters from the Su Clan of the Western Regions fell from the walls. The veterans continued to nock their arrows. When the new recruits ran out of bolts for their crossbows, the servants beside them quickly handed them prepared crossbows. If there was one thing the Count of Xuanwu's Estate didn't lack, it was weapons. Each new recruit was issued three crossbows. All the servants and attendants of the estate had gone up to the walls, doing nothing else but spanning the crossbows with their feet and handing them to the new recruits so they could fire immediately.
*Thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip, thwip.*
Seven hundred men fired and fired, relentlessly. The walls were lined with countless torches, making the dark night as bright as day. The scene unfolding before them proved that even highly skilled martial artists were not very effective when assaulting a fortress. The masters from the Western Regions were powerful, but they couldn't advance while constantly deflecting the arrows fired by the seven hundred defenders. At this rate, they were bound to be at a disadvantage in this battle.
Su Jianting and a dozen of his trusted masters had yet to appear on the front wall of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate tower, where the battle was currently raging. Having spent several months playing in the Count of Xuanwu's Estate as a child, he knew the place all too well, and every part of the tower was familiar to him. Therefore, he appeared on the mountainside behind the estate and, drawing on his childhood memories, found a secret entrance amidst a patch of weeds. It wasn't actually a secret passage, but an abandoned sewer drain. However, since it had been abandoned for over a hundred years, few people knew that this path existed.