Chapter 393
Chapter 393
“Perhaps it won't be long before Prince Gong becomes the first king to unite the Four Barbarian Tribes. When that happens, the State of Yue will lose the war in the Southern Gull Kingdom.”
Ying Yang said firmly.
The state of the war in the Southern Gull Kingdom was originally unrelated to Shen Lang, but not anymore. This was because General Zhu Lin's defeat in the war would actually be good news for Shen Lang. If Ning Zheng was to ascend the throne in the future, the Southern Gull Kingdom would be the best stage for him to make his mark. Shen Lang was truly like a rampaging genius. The State of Qiang and the Su Clan had not yet been destroyed, yet he was already planning a strategy to eliminate the Crown Prince and the Third Prince. What is a genius? A genius is not someone who only looks at the present, but someone who thinks two hundred moves ahead, contemplating how to attack and harm their opponent.
“In my opinion, Prince Gong could have won the war and eliminated Zhu Lin of the State of Yue long ago, but it seems he is intentionally not doing so.”
Hearing this, Shen Lang couldn't help but be surprised. If Ying Yang's thoughts were correct, then Prince Gong was a truly formidable person. He was using the battlefield of the Southern Gull Kingdom as a tool to unite the Four Barbarian Tribes. If that thought was true, the moment Prince Gong united the Four Barbarian Tribes would be the moment Zhu Lin's grand army was annihilated and the situation in the Southern Gull Kingdom completely collapsed.
But right now, the State of Yue was completely unaware of this fact. This was because Zhu Lin's army still had more victories than defeats and continued to control the three major cities of the Southern Gull Kingdom. Shen Lang had no authority to see the memorials from Ning Luo and General Zhu Lin, but judging by the king's reaction, even if the war in the Southern Gull Kingdom was currently in a quagmire, the State of Yue still maintained a generally optimistic atmosphere about the war.
As the saying goes, a duck is the first to know when the river water warms in spring. The warriors at the very bottom would sense Prince Gong's strength more accurately than the high-ranking officials far from the war. The fact that the warriors of the Four Barbarian Tribes under Princess Arona were all beginning to worship Prince Gong was a very surprising sign.
It seemed Prince Gong was indeed a remarkable person. Such beautiful lands truly produce countless heroes.
However, Prince Gong and Shen Lang were still far apart from each other, and the person Shen Lang had to deal with now was King Arotay of Qiang.
Shen Lang asked.
“What are your thoughts on tomorrow's battle?”
“If the queen wishes to flee, we will not die. But if the queen does not flee, we will surely die.”
Even when discussing life and death, Ying Yang was incredibly stoic. His lack of fear of death was very similar to Wu Lie. Shen Lang stood atop Arona's small watchtower, looking down at the entire village in the valley. This was truly a good place, but it was too difficult to defend. The only barrier was the stone wall at the entrance of the valley. The stone wall was about five *li* (2,500 meters) long, but it was quite crude. It was three meters high and two *chi* (0.6 meters) thick. Part of it was made of stones, with mud packed in between. This could hardly be called a city wall, and facing forty thousand with three thousand behind such a stone wall was an impossible task. Even if an immortal descended from the heavens, this battle was sure to be lost.
***
Nearly two hours later, the dog-like pair of man and woman finally returned. After having her way with Big Dummy several times, Arona had even taken him for a bath. After bathing and changing into new clothes, Big Dummy's face instantly turned red as soon as he entered the watchtower.
“Little Dummy, I... I'll be going now.”
He would probably hide in his room and not come out until tomorrow. Even Big Dummy knew how to be ashamed, yet Arona's expression didn't change in the slightest. It was as if she wasn't the one who had just been entangled with Big Dummy in front of everyone.
“Little Dummy, I think I might be pregnant, but I'm not sure. Take a look for me.”
Shen Lang was stunned.
‘You were rolling around like that while pregnant? Calculating the time, it must be about three months along, which is when the fetus is most fragile. Tumbling around so recklessly could lead to disaster.’
Shen Lang quickly examined her. As a result, she was indeed pregnant, and the fetus in her womb was very healthy and robust. It was extremely rare for a three-month-old fetus to be this robust. Big Dummy's seed must be truly remarkable.
“You are pregnant. The baby is very healthy. However, you should prepare yourself. When the baby is born, it will be much larger than ordinary children.”
Arona was overjoyed. For her, the bigger the child, the better.
“Little Dummy, can you help me fight and defeat Arotay?”
Shen Lang said.
“Yes. I will help you annihilate Arotay's army and make you the queen of the State of Qiang.”
Arona's expression was somewhat complicated. Arotay had come to kill her, so naturally, she had to resist. However, she had no intention of actively seeking to kill Arotay, nor was she particularly interested in becoming the queen of the kingdom.
To this, Shen Lang said to her.
“Once the Su Clan and the State of Qiang unite, the Su Clan will completely swallow the State of Qiang within ten years at most. When that happens, the Aro royal family will vanish from history, the Heavenly Wolf Gathering statue will be gone, and the entire State of Qiang will belong to the Su Clan.”
Arona said.
“Stop! Don't talk to me about such matters of clans and state affairs. I only know one thing: Arotay has come to kill me, so I must kill him.”
‘Ugh! I guess that works too!’
“Are you certain you can eliminate Arotay's tens of thousands of troops? Let me tell you first, I cannot defeat him. Even if we had thirty thousand men instead of three thousand, I still couldn't defeat Arotay.”
“I am confident I can crush Arotay's army. However, everyone must follow my orders.”
“Fine, no problem! Although you're human trash and wanted to sleep with my master, you don't harm your own people, and everything you've boasted about has come true, so I'll trust you.”
‘Ugh! Hearing that from you is even more grating. It's not easy dealing with a woman whose head is filled with muscle.’
When Arona didn't trust someone, no matter how plausible their words were, it was useless. She wouldn't even listen to them and would just strike with her Green Dragon Crescent Blade. But once you earned her trust, everything became simple.
“I'll leave tomorrow's battle to you. I'm going to sleep with Big Dummy.”
Arona left immediately.
‘Going to sleep with him again?!’
***
King Arotay of Qiang marched through the night, only stopping to make camp when he was twenty *li* from the Snow Mountain village. The State of Qiang's livelihood is based on herding countless cattle, horses, and sheep. In other nations, cavalry who fight on horseback are considered exceptionally rare, but in the State of Qiang, cavalry were everywhere. Arotay's army of forty thousand was also composed almost entirely of cavalry.
On the way to the Snow Mountain village, Arotay felt the full spirit of spring and wore a triumphant expression. The Su Clan had sent another woman. She was a thirty-three-year-old widow, Su Xiao. All the women from the Su Clan sent to the State of Qiang were peerless beauties. It was a good thing Arotay had a body as hard as iron and practiced restraint; otherwise, he would have truly withered away and died.
The union of Su and Qiang! It was the Su Clan's plan to swallow the State of Qiang. Arotay was no fool either; he was well aware of Su Nan's plan. However, he believed it was not yet certain who would be swallowed.
‘Trying to control me, Arotay, by placing a few women by my side? What a joke! For now, at least, if Su and Qiang unite, I, Arotay, will be the king, and you, Su Nan, will merely be the chancellor.’
Arotay was different from Arogang. He believed his royal father had been tyrannical and invincible, but also unbearably crude, completely indifferent to civilization, and ignorant. One could see this just by looking at the royal palace; although it was a very large building, its interior was utterly vulgar. Arogang's treasury was filled with gold and jewels, but was there a single antique or piece of calligraphy? Arogang believed the best place in the world was his royal palace in the State of Qiang. But unlike him, the new King of Qiang, Arotay, yearned for the bustling world of the East. The State of Qiang had no cities, no variety of silks; it was too desolate.
‘This time, for Su and Qiang to unite and for the Su Clan to rebel and establish themselves, they must rely on my, Arotay's, main army. However, after our Qiang army invades the Tianxi Province, we will not return to the State of Qiang but will instead enter the State of Yue and become the great king of the civilized world. Which city shall I enter to become the new king? White Night City? Tianxi City? Or should I repair and restore the Great Calamity Palace?’
No matter where he settled, Arotay was determined never to return to that utterly vulgar Qiang royal palace. After this war, he would melt down all the gold adorning the palace and use it to build a new one.
But after leading his army east, his good mood gradually soured, and endless anger began to rise within him. This was because on the march, he heard numerous songs praising Queen Arona. Also, on the way to the villages, he saw countless wooden carvings with inscriptions in the Qiang script: “Heavenly God, please protect our queen.” Every day, he sent messengers to Arona's village to pressure the commoners into leaving.
‘Get out or die!’
As expected, the herdsmen, terrified, all fled the Snow Mountain village as he wished. While marching, Arotay encountered many of the fleeing herdsmen from the Snow Mountain village. However, they did not kneel and bow to him, nor did they pledge their loyalty; they simply walked away towards distant lands. As they walked, they wept and sang. The songs were very subtle in their intent, but anyone from the State of Qiang would understand their meaning clearly. They were songs of lament, blaming the Heavenly God for being blind, for letting such a good queen die while a vicious king was about to rule the grasslands below the Snow Mountains. The closer he got to the Snow Mountain village, the higher the flames of Arotay's anger soared.
‘There is only one king in the State of Qiang, and that is me, Arotay. I killed my other three brothers, so how dare a mere woman presume to be king? Moreover, all past Kings of Qiang have simply looked down on their people from their high positions; they do not stoop to win their hearts. Arona, you have broken the rules.’
Just then, another group of herdsmen was passing by not far away. They seemed to be the last group leaving the Snow Mountain village. They too were weeping and singing as they departed. Cursing the evil King of Qiang and shedding tears for their queen. Arotay was enraged and immediately gave the order to kill them all.
Su Mo quickly approached Arotay, clinging to him and speaking affectionately.
“Your Majesty, please do not be angry. Those commoners are ignorant folk; are they not easily swayed by small favors? They are also forgetful. Once Arona is dead, they will completely forget her in less than half a year. Then, they will serve only one king, Your Majesty Arotay.”
Su Ying continued in a coquettish voice.
“Besides, Your Majesty has great ambitions. In the future, will you not become the ruler of a great nation, standing shoulder to shoulder with the states of Chu and Yue? Those lowly herdsmen are no different from mice on the ground; how could they possibly understand the thoughts of a hawk soaring in the sky?”
Hearing this, King Arotay's anger subsided a little. But his resolve to kill Arona became even firmer.
‘There is only one king in the State of Qiang. Anyone who tries to take my throne will die. My own sister, born from the same womb, is no exception.’
Then, Su Mo, Su Ying, and Su Xiao once again took off their clothes and clung to him. These three women were truly beautiful.
“Tomorrow, we wage a war to annihilate Arona's group. Today, I will abstain!”
King Arotay gritted his teeth, rejected them, and immediately left the spot.