Chapter 406
Chapter 406
Rumble…
Then, another heavy peal of thunder echoed from the mountaintop. This time, however, it seemed to be merely a warning, as the mountains and earth did not split apart. But the thousands of surviving Qiang soldiers were so frightened they nearly wet themselves, immediately dropping to their knees, motionless.
“O Heavenly God, please quell your anger! Your Majesty, you must go up quickly. Otherwise, the Heavenly God will be angered again!”
Su Jianting knelt and shouted.
“Your Majesty, you cannot go! You must not go!”
The two women of the Su Clan also clung to King Aruotai’s thighs, wailing hysterically.
“Your Majesty, you cannot go. This is Shen Lang’s scheme, you must not go up there.”
King Aruotai kicked the two women away with all his might. He no longer had any other choice. If he did not go up and fight Aruonana, every last one of his remaining Qiang soldiers would betray him.
Aruotai shouted loudly.
“You must keep your word. If I defeat Aruonana, I will be the true king of the Qiang Kingdom!”
A voice boomed from the sky.
“It is so!”
“Is this a one-on-one duel with Aruonana?”
“It is so!”
“May the Heavenly God be my witness.”
“I, the Heavenly God, shall be your witness!”
Then, King Aruotai shouted to everyone.
“All of you, rise and follow me to the Great Calamity Palace! Aruonana and I will duel, and the winner will be the true king of the Qiang Kingdom! The Heavenly God will be our witness, and you shall be witnesses as well.”
At the king’s command, thousands of Qiang warriors began to ascend the mountain. Su Mo and Su Xiao spoke in trembling voices.
“What do we do now? What do we do?”
There was no stopping Aruotai now. Su Jianting thought he should leave the Great Snow Mountain at once and return to report to his father. But he harbored a tiny sliver of hope. Aruotai’s martial skill was exceptionally high. While not on par with his father, Su Nan, it was more than enough to defeat Aruonana. The main force of the Qiang Kingdom was absolutely essential for the Su Clan’s rebellion.
“Su Xiao, your martial arts are strong and you are swift. Go down the mountain at once and report the situation here to Father. Aunt Su Mo, you should come with me up the mountain to assist His Majesty in his battle. If Shen Lang tries any tricks, we’ll be able to spot them immediately.”
“Let’s go!”
Su Xiao strode out on her long legs, dashing down the mountain like an arrow. Su Mo and Su Jianting quickly followed King Aruotai toward the Great Calamity Palace on the summit. Everyone knew Aruotai’s martial arts were superior to Aruonana’s. This battle was surely his to win.
* * *
The ruined square in the Great Calamity Palace was completely silent. Shen Lang’s three thousand warriors sat on the ground, and King Aruotai’s four or five thousand warriors also sat on the ground. Only three people remained standing: Aruonana, Aruotai, and Grand Master Banya. Why was Grand Master Banya standing? Because she was the arbiter of this duel.
‘I came here to kill Li Qianqiu, so why have I inexplicably become the arbiter of a duel? But the trip wasn’t a complete waste. I got to see the ruins of the Great Calamity Palace and witness an avalanche. I suppose it has broadened my horizons.’
“Aruotai and Aruonana will now engage in a duel to the death. The victor becomes king, the loser dies. Heaven, Earth, and all who are present shall bear witness to this duel!”
Banya declared solemnly. Aruotai and Aruonana responded.
“Heaven and Earth shall be our witness.”
“Heaven and Earth are witness.”
All the spectators of the duel shouted in unison.
“All of us here shall be witnesses.”
Su Jianting and Su Mo sat in the far corner, so tense they could barely breathe. King Aruotai could die, but not now. If he died now, the Su Clan could face utter annihilation. Aruotai’s martial arts were far superior to Aruonana’s, so he was bound to win. Besides, with everyone watching, Shen Lang couldn’t pull any tricks.
After Heaven, Earth, and all present had sworn to bear witness, Grand Master Banya stepped back, leaving the dueling ground to Aruotai and Aruonana. The dueling ground was about a thousand square meters. Aruotai and Aruonana slowly backed away until they were thirty meters apart. Both wielded nearly identical weapons: a Green Dragon Crescent Blade.
The two stared intently at each other, circling while maintaining their distance. Aruonana entered a state of selflessness.
‘I am pregnant and no match for Aruotai. But I, Aruonana, feel no fear. Little Dummy Shen Lang said I would win. Every boast he’s ever made has come true. Big Dummy and Master trust him, so I will trust him too.’
Aruotai looked at his younger sister. She was formidable, but she was by no means his equal. He let out a long sigh. The breath looked like white frost, like a sharp sword. Grand Master Banya’s clear voice rang out.
“Begin the battle!”
Her voice momentarily distracted Shen Lang.
‘Such a pleasant voice?’
Instinctively, Shen Lang’s gaze fell to Banya’s waist.
‘Grand Master Banya’s waist is truly slender.’
“Scum!”
Banya was the first to notice Shen Lang’s gaze and spoke.
“Die!”
In the dueling ground, Aruotai and Aruonana roared explosively. They howled like beasts, swinging their Green Dragon Crescent Blades as they charged at each other. It was a clash of astonishing momentum and incredible power. Their shadows crossed like lightning, and in an instant, their crescent blades met.
And just like that, the duel that would decide their fates, the battle for the true throne of the Qiang Kingdom, was over as soon as it began.
Aruonana had instinctively struck with all her might, fully expecting to be the one sent flying, coughing up blood, her crescent blade shattered. She knew her martial arts were inferior to Aruotai’s. But it was Aruotai’s blade that broke, and it was his body that flew through the air, spraying blood everywhere.
“How could this be?”
Aruonana was stunned by the unexpected outcome. Aruotai coughed up blood in mid-air, his face a mask of utter disbelief.
“Why did this happen? My martial arts are clearly far superior to Aruonana’s. When did my skills deteriorate so much?”
But Aruotai could find no answer. Aruonana’s second strike descended upon him like a bolt of lightning.
Shink.
In an instant, King Aruotai’s body was severed at the waist, and crimson blood sprayed in all directions. The ambitious new king of the Qiang had fallen tragically, not even a few months after his ascension. Everyone present was aghast, but Shen Lang showed no surprise and shouted loudly.
“Aruotai is dead! From this moment on, Aruonana is the one true king of the Qiang Kingdom! Seize the traitors, Su Jianting and Su Mo!”
Shen Lang pointed at Su Jianting and Su Mo, who were pale with terror.
Su Jianting was so filled with regret it felt as if his guts were twisting. He should have known that the utterly cunning Shen Lang would never have arranged a duel between Aruotai and Aruonana without absolute certainty. Su Jianting could have fled, but he had been unwilling to leave and had ended up following Aruotai to the Great Calamity Palace. The result was Aruotai losing his life to Aruonana in just two moves.
‘How on earth did this happen? It’s like something out of a ghost story. But what does that matter now? I have to escape.’
Su Jianting drew his sword and retreated like a flash. But as soon as Shen Lang gave the order, thousands rushed toward him. The most aggressive were the Qiang commanders, thousands of them chasing him like madmen. In contrast, Su Mo, who was less skilled in martial arts, was left behind. Su Jianting was highly skilled in both martial arts and swiftness, and in an instant, he was a hundred meters away. Aruonana, enraged, raised her crescent blade to give chase.
Shen Lang said to her.
“Sister-in-law, you need not pursue. You are the King of Qiang, after all!”
Sword King Li Qianqiu also did not give chase. Wulie, Yingyang, and Big Dummy quickly pursued Su Jianting.
“The three of them are enough. The rest of you, stay here!”
Shen Lang commanded. Anywhere else, Su Jianting might have escaped, but in this strange place, he would soon be a ghost. There was only one path, more than two hundred li from here. Besides, the avalanche would have buried much of the path below. Though Su Jianting was fleeing at high speed now, once his internal energy and stamina were depleted, his capture was inevitable.
* * *
After a long search through the ruins of the Great Calamity Palace, Shen Lang finally found a proper chair. He couldn’t move it himself, so Hannu, a warrior with an eight-foot waist, easily carried it to the top of the steps of the palace square. Aruonana sat upon the ferociously carved stone chair. Shen Lang took the crown from Aruotai’s head and placed it on Aruonana’s.
“We greet the Great King of the Qiang Kingdom!”
“We greet the Great King!”
“We greet the Great King!”
It wasn't just Aruonana’s own warriors who knelt on one knee to pay their respects. All the Qiang warriors, to a man, knelt and kowtowed to her. The commanders known as the Four Great Guardians and the Eight Great Generals of the Qiang Kingdom were also present. Everyone sincerely paid homage to the new Great King, as if this were the natural order of things.
The Qiang people followed only the strong. The previous king, Aruogang, had been formidable, but once he was dead, no one cared for him, and the cause of his death remained a mystery. It was the same for Aruotai now. His body, severed in two by Aruonana, had stiffened, and the crimson blood from his wounds had quickly frozen solid, a testament to the bone-chilling cold.
But in stark contrast to the frozen Aruotai, the more than two thousand warriors who had originally followed Aruonana were ecstatic. Just as they had prayed, their queen was indeed protected by the heavens. At the critical moment, the Heavenly God had unleashed his wrath and annihilated Aruotai’s army of tens of thousands.
“The heavens protect our queen!”
“The Heavenly God protects our queen!”
More than two thousand warriors cheered wildly. The warriors who had been loyal to Aruotai were inexplicably swept up in the atmosphere. They would never forget the scene of the Heavenly God’s wrath they had just witnessed. Warriors who had thought the Heavenly God was a sham were shocked to realize he truly existed and was on the queen’s side. Now, everything was fine. We are on the queen’s side too, so we will also receive the Heavenly God’s protection.
“The heavens protect our queen!”
“The Heavenly God protects our queen!”
Nearly ten thousand people present shouted in unison, kneeling and bowing so low their entire bodies touched the ground.
From this day forward, Queen Aruonana would be shrouded in a golden halo. The legend of her protection by the Heavenly God would spread like wildfire throughout the entire Qiang Kingdom, and everyone would believe it without a doubt. Not only that, but the chieftains of every tribe in the Qiang Kingdom would come to pledge their loyalty to her.
Aruonana would become the sole queen of the Qiang Kingdom, a supreme and unparalleled being. In this nation of fervent believers, she had become the first monarch to be protected by a Heavenly God.