Chapter 684
Chapter 684
After leaving Yangguo City, Shen Lang and Sword King Li Qianqiu sped westward, crossing Tianxi Province at the fastest possible speed toward the State of Jiang. The two thousand soldiers of the First Nirvana Army had entered the State of Jiang's territory nearly a month prior and were waiting for him. Upon his arrival, Shen Lang wasted no time. He took the two thousand Nirvana soldiers and Big Dummy and headed south toward the lands of the Southern Man, intending to strike the capital of the State of Danan.
This was Shen Lang's mad plan. Everyone believed that the First Nirvana Army, being an elite unit of heavy armored broadsword cavalry, could only fight on the plains. No one would ever imagine that Shen Lang would lead them to storm the capital of the State of Danan. Of course, the First Nirvana Army could not wear their top-tier heavy armor on this march; they wore medium armor instead, and the broadswords in their hands were swapped from ones weighing over a hundred pounds to ones of fifty or sixty pounds. They had never trained in archery, so they were equipped with crossbows.
The Queen of Jiang sent warriors to act as guides, and they journeyed straight south. Beyond the snow-capped mountains lay the territory of the Southern Man. Marching through the endless great mountains and dense jungles felt like a nightmare. Without a guide, any army would have become lost, for there were no paths to begin with.
The mountains and jungles seemed to stretch on forever, teeming with countless venomous insects, ferocious beasts, and a thick miasma. Fortunately, Shen Lang had prepared an ample supply of medicine, especially a special concoction whose scent alone made venomous snakes and insects retreat. After all, wasn't his master, Wu Daozi, an expert on venomous snakes? As for the beasts, however, there was no other way but to fight them. The result was a crushing defeat for the beasts, which then became rations for the army. The First Nirvana Army was so ferocious that any beast that approached was cut in two with a single stroke.
Had it been any other army, such a grueling march would have surely shattered their morale. But the Nirvana Army possessed an iron will, absolute obedience to orders, and a fearlessness that knew no bounds. After a long seven nights and eight days, Shen Lang had led the two thousand soldiers of the First Nirvana Army over two thousand four hundred leagues—a truly epic expedition, calculated from their departure from the State of Jiang. At last, they arrived at their destination: Lord Gong's true home, the small and shabby city of Danan.
*Lord Gong, this will be our ultimate showdown!*
***
Some might wonder how a frail man like Shen Lang could endure a march of thousands of leagues, even if the Nirvana Army could. Who said Shen Lang walked? Describing the details might tarnish his image, so we'll just skip over it this time.
From a rattan chair, Shen Lang gazed at Danan City. Could this even be called a capital city? It was not as large as Xuanwu City, but it did have walls. Moreover, the walls were unique: earthen on the inside and made of thick wood on the outside, as if entire tree trunks had been planted side by side to form the ramparts. But these walls were not to be underestimated; they were remarkably sturdy in their own right.
The walls of Danan City seemed to stretch for no more than ten leagues, and all the houses within bore the distinct style of the Southern Man. They were almost all wooden structures, and many burrows had been dug as well. Some of the Southern Man preferred to live underground, finding it gave them a sense of security and kept them cool. In the center of Danan City stood a dilapidated temple. Despite its best repairs, it still looked worn down, a testament to the harsh trials it had endured. This was likely Lord Gong's palace.
"This place looks even older than my wife's palace."
Big Dummy commented. Wow, a rare aesthetic observation from Big Dummy. But your wife's palace isn't old at all. On the contrary, it has a magnificent aura and is even a bit taller than the palace of the State of Yue. Back in the day, King Arogan of Jiang plundered the world and poured all his efforts into building the Jiang Royal Palace; one can only imagine how grand and imposing he made it.
"Your wife's palace isn't what you'd call old, it's what you'd call ugly."
At Shen Lang's words, Big Dummy corrected himself.
"Then this palace is both ugly and old."
Oh, dear. A man really does need a woman's guidance. After a year with his wife, who would have thought Big Dummy would become so eloquent?
The population of Danan City was no more than thirty thousand, but they were all families of key figures. Even several of Lord Gong's children lived within these walls.
"Prepare for the assault!"
At Shen Lang's command, the two thousand soldiers of the Nirvana Army began to arrange their equipment. They checked their armor, donned their helmets, and took out whetstones to sharpen their broadswords until they gleamed. Leaving all their supplies behind, they assembled in the jungle, and an army of steel once again took form.
"Advance!"
This exceedingly valiant army emerged from the woods in an orderly fashion and charged toward Danan City. In the blink of an eye, they reached the foot of the city walls, but the city itself remained silent. A moment later.
"Awooo, awoo."
A foul stench filled the air, followed by a pack of hyenas that burst madly from the jungle. Hyenas again? This time, there weren't as many as when they had surrounded Mulan, only about a thousand, but they were just as vicious and lightning-fast. However, Mulan was not here, so there was no one to intimidate them into retreat with the aura of an ancient human. In an instant, the pack of hyenas charged ferociously, lunging at the First Nirvana Army, ready to tear them apart.
"Cut them in two!"
What followed was an incomparably magnificent scene of the First Nirvana Army's broadswords methodically slaughtering the enemy. In an instant, the hyenas were sliced in two in mid-air. An army of master archers like the Second Nirvana Army would have been in extreme danger against a hyena pack. They wore very thin armor for agility, and archers were suited for ranged combat, not close quarters. But the First Nirvana Army were kings of close combat. The armor they wore was no longer over a hundred pounds, but it was still over fifty pounds and made of the finest pure steel. For the hyenas to charge at them was to court death.
*Swish, swish, swish, swish.*
One stroke after another cut them down. Of the thousand or so hyenas that had charged, the majority were slain, and the rest turned and fled. These were the most cunning of animals, the very definition of those who prey on the weak and fear the strong. Soon, another great noise came from within the jungle. This time, as expected, it was war elephants.
*Are there elephants this big?*
Shen Lang had never seen elephants as large as the ones before him. They were massive beasts, over ten meters long, more than five meters tall, and weighing over fifteen tons. There were not many, however, only a few dozen. Atop each elephant were seven or eight Southern Man warriors. When dozens of these elephants charged together, the momentum was utterly astonishing. Their force was not inferior to that of elite cavalry; in fact, it was even more terrifying. Any army would be completely crushed if trampled by these elephants. With dozens of them charging, any army would be annihilated, and victory would be assured.
*Thud, thud, thud.*
The ground trembled as dozens of elephants charged madly toward Shen Lang's Nirvana Army.
"Ready!"
At Shen Lang's command, hundreds of soldiers from the Nirvana Army raised their heavy crossbows. The bolts for these crossbows were all specially made. Each one was about a meter long and came in over a dozen different types for various purposes. Some arrowheads were coated with a deadly cyanide poison, some with white phosphorus and an oxidizer, and others with nerve agents. These special bolts couldn't be used against large armies; they were too rare, and each one was precious. But against large, heavy targets like elephants, these special large bolts were particularly useful and incredibly cost-effective.
"Fire!"
At Shen Lang's command, a volley of crossbow bolts was unleashed.
*Thwack, thwack.*
Without exception, the bolts easily struck the dozens of elephants. How foolish would one have to be to miss such large targets? The bolts fired this time were coated in white phosphorus. As they struck the elephants, flames erupted and blazed fiercely. Instantly, the elephants let out tremendous shrieks, unable to bear the pain.
The elephant riders could no longer control their mounts. Some elephants reared back, while others rolled on the ground, trying to extinguish the flames on their bodies. The riders were all thrown to the ground, and most of the elephants fled into the woods. Some of them, in their complete panic, charged toward Shen Lang's direction instead. In that case, there was no choice. They had to be met with the second type of bolt, the one coated with cyanide.
*Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.*
The second volley of crossbows was fired, and this time, as expected, every elephant that was hit collapsed to the ground. But besides the hyenas and elephants, what else could there be? What other tricks did Lord Gong have up his sleeve? Surely he hadn't entrusted the defense of the capital of Danan to just hyenas and elephants? This was the heartland of the Southern Man, after all.
But as Shen Lang stood outside the city waiting for the next attack, there was no movement. He was about to order the First Nirvana Army to prepare for the assault. Just then, the main gate of Danan City opened, and an old man appeared. He was an old man of indeterminable age, dressed in a linen robe.
"Are you Young Master Shen Lang?"
"Greetings, Elder."
"I am Sha Yin, the Imperial Preceptor of the State of Danan!"
"Greetings, Imperial Preceptor."
"May I ask your purpose in coming to our capital of Danan, Young Master Shen?"
"To pressure Lord Gong to withdraw his forces."
"So, Young Master Shen Lang, you intend to hold everyone in our capital of Danan hostage to force Lord Gong to admit defeat?"
"That is correct!"
"Young Master Shen, there is no need to attack the city. Please, come in!"
Shen Lang was taken aback by his words. The Imperial Preceptor of the State of Danan spoke in a slow, measured tone.
"I had originally prepared many more measures, but I realized they would only lead to more needless casualties."
As the old man gestured, countless holes appeared on the ground, and thousands, tens of thousands of venomous snakes emerged from the earth. The sight of so many venomous snakes raising their heads, packed densely together, was enough to make one's hair stand on end. The Southern Man were truly bizarre. They attacked in ways one could not imagine, making it impossible to defend. A conventional army would have been torn to shreds by such tactics.
Soon, the sound of trees snapping and falling echoed from the jungle, and then dozens of giant pythons slithered out. These pythons were all over twenty meters long, their bodies thicker than tree trunks. But even these were not a fearsome threat to the First Nirvana Army. The soldiers were encased in armor from head to toe, so an ordinary venomous snake couldn't even bite them. Even a python with a body this thick would just be cut in two and used as rations.
In truth, the most terrifying were the vipers. They were about two feet long and incredibly thin, less than half the thickness of a pinky finger. Moreover, they moved with incredible speed and could leap. A snake this slender was the most lethal. It could easily slip through the gaps in the armor and deliver a single bite, spelling certain death for a Nirvana soldier. An endless stream of these slender snakes emerged from the ground, thousands of them. It was a terrifying army of vipers, one that was simply impossible to defend against.