Chapter 653
Chapter 653
Once Ying Yi decided to flee, he pushed forward with all his might. At that moment, his heart felt surprisingly light. Having a large army was sometimes a nuisance. They could get you surrounded and killed, or implicated and killed. After abandoning the army, he could move freely no matter how high the mountains, and with the protection of two hundred warriors from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, he could advance unhindered even in the jungle. Only after fleeing for tens of miles across high mountains and dense jungles did he look back.
‘Huh? Why isn't the fire reaching the sky? Logically, it should be burning bigger and bigger. Could it be another of Ning Qun's cunning schemes? Was Nangong Ao's judgment correct? Th-then my reputation is ruined, isn't it?’
Just then, Yi Nanfeng said from his side.
“Your Highness, don't overthink it. Nangong Ao couldn't have escaped either. In just a hundred miles of marching, didn't we encounter blocked and collapsed roads, and damage from floods? We still have four hundred miles to Falling Leaf City; who knows how many more mishaps they'll face. Ning Qun's Savage Tribe warriors move like ghosts in the jungle, so Nangong Ao won't reach Falling Leaf City alive. But as long as Your Highness lives, there is hope. If we head to the sea at top speed and sail east, we might reach Falling Leaf City as quickly as possible! Once you have Falling Leaf City, the losses you've suffered will be trivial.”
Crown Prince Ying Yi nodded in agreement. Throughout history, monarchs who abandoned their armies or even their parents could still become great rulers of their time. It is said that if a man does not look out for himself, heaven will destroy him. At last, Crown Prince Ying Yi stopped regretting his decision and galloped his horse behind Yi Nanfeng, continuing south.
* * *
The warriors of the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion were truly remarkable. Though they were not Savage Tribe warriors, their martial arts were so advanced that they moved through the jungle and deep mountains as if on flat ground. Moreover, the Savage Tribe warriors couldn't even launch a surprise attack. Because they couldn't keep up. In just six hours, the two hundred experts from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion had galloped one hundred and sixty miles, and finally, the sound of waves could be heard. Finally, they could escape this place. But suddenly, Crown Prince Ying Yi felt a sense of foreboding rise within him.
‘Surely Ning Qun isn't waiting on the beach again, is he? No, that can't be. Absolutely not!’
* * *
As it turned out, the Crown Prince's fears were unfounded. When the two hundred men from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion carried him out of the endless jungle and arrived at the beach, there was no one there.
Crown Prince Ying Yi said.
“There should be a ship waiting for me less than a hundred miles to the west or east. Let's go east!”
Because the east was closer to Falling Leaf City and farther from Ning Qun. The two hundred experts ran madly east along the coastline. And after less than fifty miles, a ship came into view. Crown Prince Ying Yi was so overjoyed that he even shed tears.
‘It was so hard. Getting here was so difficult. It was truly a nightmare!’
“Quickly, go and search the ship for any ambush by Ning Qun!”
As soon as Ying Yi gave the order, dozens of warriors from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion rushed out. They dove into the sea, swam to the ship, and boarded it. After checking the identities of the people on board, they found they were all sailors from the Zhu Clan, with no issues. A quick search of the ship's interior also revealed no problems.
“Let's go, let's board the ship!”
The Crown Prince boarded a small boat, then transferred to the large ship, and all two hundred experts from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion boarded as well.
“Set sail! Head east, toward Falling Leaf City!”
The ship unfurled its sails and traveled at a speed of some twenty *li* an hour. Crown Prince Ying Yi stood on the deck, hot tears welling in his eyes.
‘I finally escaped without dying. I've been through such nightmarish days.’
“Farther, farther….”
Ying Yi gave the order, and though it was vague, Yi Nanfeng understood.
“The ship will sail far from land, far from the territory of the Southern Gull Nation!”
“Yes!”
The ship changed course, heading south, and sailed tens of miles into the deep sea. Watching the jungles of the Southern Gull Nation recede into the distance, Crown Prince Ying Yi finally felt a little relieved. That place was truly like hell; it was terrifying. Now, just the sight of the Southern Gull Nation's jungle was enough to make Ying Yi gag as a conditioned reflex. Ning Qun was a complete madman, a thoroughly unhinged person, and utterly terrifying.
Crown Prince Ying Yi had barely escaped the jungle, but what had become of his main army of over a hundred thousand men? But Ying Yi didn't even have the energy to think about the army, so he decided not to care. Next, as the ship neared Falling Leaf City, Ying Yi planned to order Yi Nanfeng to scout out its strengths and weaknesses. If there were no enemies in Falling Leaf City, the Crown Prince could station himself there and wait for Zhu Lin's main army. But he had to be ready to change course and return to Tiannan Province at any moment.
If the army of over a hundred thousand was still alive, it wouldn't mean Ying Yi was defeated, and his Royal Father wouldn't be able to do anything to him. If he still had an army of over a hundred thousand, he had to use it to defend the south. But what if the army was annihilated? What should he do then? Should he flee to the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion to escape the disaster? Or should he go straight to Yan Capital and rely on the Zhu Clan and the Great Yan Emperor to protect his position as Crown Prince of Yue?
‘In any case, I, Ying Yi, will never accept defeat like this. If our entire army is wiped out, Ning Qun's forces will surely push into Tiannan Province. Then the Jin Clan and Shen Lang will be the first to be attacked. Because by then, the only army left in Tiannan Province will be the Jin Clan's private soldiers. Could Jin Zhuo fend off Ning Qun with a few thousand private soldiers? No, he definitely couldn't. Then the Jin Clan's territory and the Marquis of Xuanwu's Estate wouldn't be safe either.’
Thinking this far, Crown Prince Ying Yi felt a little cheerful.
‘If I suffer misfortune, Shen Lang must suffer misfortune too. If possible, I hope that fool Jin Zhuo dies on the battlefield, loyal and upright as the rumors say. No, if possible, I hope the entire Jin Clan dies!’
Just then, the ship suddenly lurched.
“We're in trouble! The bottom of the ship is on fire...!”
Upon hearing those words, Crown Prince Ying Yi's hair stood on end.
‘My god! Heavens! Are you treating me so poorly?’
“Quick, put out the fire, put it out!”
The sailors rushed to extinguish the flames, but to their bewilderment, the fire wouldn't go out at all. Even when doused with water, the fire continued to burn, and its color was strange, like a green will-o'-the-wisp.
*Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh.*
The ghostly fire spread and blazed everywhere, and the inextinguishable flames burned fiercely through the bottom of the ship in the blink of an eye, threatening to break through. The entire ship was engulfed in a great fire. The fire was, of course, white phosphorus. So, was this a fire set by Shen Lang? No, it was Ning Qun. But where did he get white phosphorus? Shen Lang had performed several miracles with white phosphorus so far, and it had been over two years since he first used it. After Shen Lang became famous, many people studied his strange methods, including Ning Qun and the Great Calamity Temple.
Although Ning Qun had never once met Shen Lang, he had been keeping a close watch on him, even trying to learn about the many things he had created. Among them, he could not produce gunpowder no matter how hard he tried, nor could he learn to transform bloodlines, but he could learn how to make white phosphorus. The Great Calamity Temple was well-versed in sorcery and alchemy, so after countless experiments, they finally managed to produce white phosphorus. However, their extraction method was quite primitive, so the yield was surprisingly low. But no matter how small, it was enough to burn Ying Yi's ship. Back to the main point! As the ship burned fiercely and was destroyed, seawater poured in relentlessly.
“Your Highness, go quickly. The ship is about to sink.”
Crown Prince Ying Yi was completely paralyzed, unable to move.
‘Ning Qun, are you a demon? Why can't I escape your clutches?’
It was crystal clear that Ying Yi had fallen into Ning Qun's trap again, and again, and again. The forest fire was clearly a fake. It was to make Ying Yi abandon his cavalry army and flee south to the sea alone. Ning Qun had already tampered with the ships long ago, and in such a way that it couldn't be found even if searched.
‘Ning Qun, are you a demon? Why is my every move seen through by you? No, no…. You're the one leading me into a trap, leading me to walk into hell!’
Ying Yi didn't even vomit blood; he just stared at the blazing fire and laughed out loud, a desolate sound. The thick smoke he had seen in the bushes within the Southern Gull Nation's territory was not a real forest fire. But to encounter a great fire after escaping with such difficulty—this was too tragic.
‘Ying Yi, you are truly pathetic.’
“Your Highness, you must go, quickly….”
The expert from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, Yi Nanfeng, grabbed Ying Yi and prepared to jump into the sea. Crown Prince Ying Yi remained motionless, letting him hold him and jump into the sea, letting them carry him and swim toward the shore.
“We can't escape. Don't waste your energy. We can't escape. Hahahaha…. Ning Qun is waiting for us right ahead. Hahahahaha, we can't escape….”
Hearing his voice, Yi Nanfeng's hair stood on end. It was as if the Crown Prince had gone insane. His spirit had been utterly crushed by Ning Qun, and he had given up all resistance. As expected, Crown Prince Ying Yi's intuition was correct. After swimming for over an hour, several ships appeared ahead. And Ning Qun appeared on a ship, as handsome and calm as ever. Beside him were a hundred experts from the Great Calamity Temple and experts from the Savage Tribe. On the four large ships were several catapults and wooden barrels filled with fish oil. Those ships surrounded Ying Yi and the two hundred experts from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion at sea. Ning Qun smiled and asked.
“Ying Yi, shall I make a move? Or will you surrender yourself?”
At his command, hundreds of Savage Tribe warriors drew their bows and aimed at the people in the water. The expert from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion, Yi Nanfeng, said.
“Your Highness, do not surrender. We can protect you. No one can stand against the experts of our Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion.”
“Hahahaha, I wouldn't be so sure!”
An ear-splitting voice was heard. The person was the ascetic Gounan from the Great Calamity Temple, whose martial arts were close to the grandmaster level. He laughed and said.
“We have over a hundred experts from the Great Calamity Temple and over a hundred from the Savage Tribe. You've swum for tens of miles; how much internal energy could you have left?”
Ning Qun brushed aside a strand of hair mussed by the sea breeze and said.
“Prepare to act.”
After speaking, he returned to his cabin. Crown Prince Ying Yi shouted in a trembling voice.
“Ning Qun, I surrender, I surrender….”
Yi Nanfeng said in an angry voice.
“Your Highness, we can escape. Do not surrender!”
Crown Prince Ying Yi roared.
“If you want to escape, then go ahead. I will not. No, I cannot. Hahahaha!”
He laughed in anger. Only about ten days had passed, but for Crown Prince Ying Yi, it had been a nightmarish ten days.
“Ning Qun, I surrender. I surrender.”
Crown Prince Ying Yi, caring for nothing, swam toward Ning Qun's ship. When Yi Nanfeng tried to stop him, Ying Yi shouted angrily.
“Don't stop me. Don't touch me…!”
A moment later, Crown Prince Ying Yi was a prisoner, kneeling before Ning Qun.