Chapter 769
Chapter 769
*Swish!*
The arrow Seol Myeong shot flew like a flash of lightning. The child tied to the post cried out in terror. But the distance was too great, over two hundred meters, and the arrow missed.
“Change arrows.”
Seol Cheol pulled an arrow from a special quiver. Seol Myeong drew his bow again and let it fly.
*Swish.*
The two-stone strongbow was truly formidable, and the arrow shot forth again like a bolt of lightning, easily covering the two-hundred-meter distance. But it still couldn't hit the crying child Seol Myeong had aimed for. However, as the arrow flew over the three bound figures, it suddenly exploded. A green smoke spread out and rained down upon the three people.
“Ahhhhhh!”
The three of them let outwretched screams. Their entire bodies began to decay, twisting completely. Within just a few seconds, they died in excruciating agony. Their corpses looked as if their skin had been corroded by acid, a horrifyingly gruesome sight.
The second arrow Seol Myeong had shot was a Gu-worm arrow. It didn't need to hit its mark; it would explode after flying a certain distance. Upon explosion, the Gu-worms within would spread out like smoke, entering a person through any orifice. Wherever they touched the skin, it would corrode, leading to a miserable death.
Seol Cheol and Seol Myeong approached to examine the three bodies on the ground. They were so decayed they were hard to look at, extremely mangled and no longer resembling human forms. Even the blood they had spilled was green.
“My boy, get rid of these bodies.”
At Seol Cheol’s command, Seol Myeong brought a canister of oil, poured it over the three corpses, and lit a torch to burn them completely. Seol Cheol patted Seol Myeong’s head and said.
“Son, Shen Lang’s army will be here soon. Do you have any wishes?”
“Will Jin Mulan be coming too?”
“She will.”
“Then my wish is to kill Jin Mulan. I hear she is a peerless beauty, the most beautiful woman in the world.”
“A fine ambition!”
Seol Cheol’s gaze then shifted to the area below the fortress walls. Thousands of people were gathered there, all disciples of the South Sea Sword Sect, all martial arts masters. Behind them stood ten thousand men, all soldiers of the Seol Clan.
“Nock the new arrows!”
At the command, the thousands of South Sea Sword Sect disciples all nocked the latest model of bows. They were the same composite bows as Shen Lang's Nirvana Army, two-stone strongbows. The disciples of the South Sea Sword Sect were different from ordinary soldiers. They were strong enough to draw the two-stone strongbows with ease.
“The bows you are equipped with are the same as Shen Lang’s Nirvana Army, all two-stone strongbows. And the arrows you will use are all specially made. You don’t need to aim. Just shoot, and they will explode in mid-air. Then, the Gu-worms inside will spread out and kill everyone in the vicinity. Someone, demonstrate!”
A warrior from among them stepped forward, raised a strongbow, drew it, and aimed at three people over two hundred meters away, just as Seol Myeong had done.
“Close your eyes.”
The warrior closed his eyes as ordered.
“Fire!”
The arrow flashed, flying over two hundred meters. It exploded in the air while still several meters away from the three targets, releasing a puff of green smoke.
“Aaargh!”
Countless Gu-worms rained down on the three people like smoke. With wretched screams, their bodies corroded. They died in agony in a very short time. This arrow didn't even require aiming; one could kill the target even with their eyes closed. That was because after the arrow exploded, countless Gu-worms would spread out like smoke, raining down on everyone within several meters.
Seol Cheol spoke slowly.
“Gentlemen, Shen Lang’s army will arrive here soon. Capture them and kill them all. Are you aware that Shen Lang has created many new words? Time units like hours, minutes, and seconds, for instance. Tick-tock. That is one second. I demand that you kill every last one of Shen Lang's Nirvana Army within ten seconds. That is all!”
Seol Cheol had only one demand for this battle.
‘Kill the enemy in the blink of an eye!’
***
Inside Seol Cheol’s fortress, several Grandmaster-level experts sat in silence.
“Senior Brothers, in truth, we do not need so many Grandmasters to eliminate Shen Lang. However, this time, we must capture three people alive: Shen Lang, Jin Mulan, and Big Dummy. Jin Mulan must be subjected to death by a thousand cuts in front of Shen Lang. This is, of course, for catharsis. After slicing her hundreds of times, I will extract her body, blood, and marrow. They will be of great use on Mount Fudao. As for Big Dummy, his entire body is a treasure. I will extract his marrow, blood, bones, and sinews. They, too, will be great treasures. I will be counting on you, Senior Brothers.”
The Grandmasters bowed to Seol Cheol and said.
“Do not worry. We will certainly carry out your wishes, Junior Brother Seol.”
Seol Cheol said, “When this is done, I will share the benefits with all of you, Senior Brothers.”
***
Thus, Seol Cheol had meticulously prepared everything to eliminate Shen Lang, readying his trump cards one by one. One of Seol Cheol’s feet remained in the secular world, but the other had already stepped into the world of transcendent powers. Since the South Sea Sword Sect was essentially a branch of Mount Fudao, they looked upon the battles for secular kingship on the mainland with some disdain. Of course, these secret weapons were things Seol Cheol had painstakingly gathered over decades; he had never expected to use them now.
“Shen Lang, you know nothing of mysterious powers. You will soon realize you have provoked someone you should not have.”
As he had lived his life, Seol Cheol’s perspective had broadened. Having spent a not-insignificant amount of time among secret powers, the martial prowess displayed by Shen Lang’s Nirvana Army and his sharpshooters truly failed to impress him. In his eyes, Shen Lang was nothing more than a leaping clown with trivial tricks, who only seemed capable because the transcendent powers had not yet deigned to act.
Shen Lang would soon come to attack South Prefecture City. Achieving victory? That was never Seol Cheol’s goal. He wanted only one outcome: to crush Shen Lang in the blink of an eye.
***
Shen Lang’s fleet was still cruising in an area about three hundred *li* from South Prefecture City. Do you remember the three pirates who brought Seol Ban to Shen Lang? They had sold Seol Ban to Shen Lang for three thousand gold coins and become rich. In addition, they had handed over three special bottles to Shen Lang. It wasn't that they thought the three bottles were worthless. Don't underestimate them; they had a decent eye for valuable goods. If it was something they had never seen before, it was bound to be rare, and rare things were always valuable. But turning it into cash was the problem. The rarer the item, the more powerful the faction one had to approach to exchange it for money. But approaching them was more likely to get them killed for silence than to get them paid.
So they handed them over to Shen Lang. Shen Lang glanced at the three bottles they presented and immediately said.
“Bring another thousand gold coins for these three gentlemen.”
The three pirates were even more ecstatic. Each receiving thirteen hundred gold coins was a massive windfall. They could feast on delicacies for the rest of their lives and still not spend it all.
***
Using various careful methods, Shen Lang opened one of the bottles. Inside was a green liquid, filled entirely with Gu-worms from Mount Fudao. It was impossible to know how many there were, but the number was certainly astronomical. These Gu-worms were currently in a deep sleep, submerged in a special liquid. When the bottle was opened, some of the Gu-worms began to stir, and a green smoke wafted out, drifting towards Shen Lang's face. The Gu-worms instantly awoke from their slumber and tried to madly devour Shen Lang’s flesh and blood. But the moment the Gu-worms touched Shen Lang, they all died, and countless green dust-like particles fell from his face. Hah! Shen Lang was simply too toxic.
To avoid a situation where all the Gu-worms died, Shen Lang put on a mask and gloves, extracted a sample of the Gu-worms, and placed it under a microscope for observation.
“Second-grade Corpse-Rotting Gu-worms?”
That wasn't a name Shen Lang had coined, but the one given by Mount Fudao. The name was clearly recorded in Wu Daozi’s archives. Doesn't it sound impressive just by hearing it? These Gu-worms were bred entirely for mass slaughter. Once these Gu-worms came into contact with human muscle and skin, they could easily burrow into the flesh and blood. The worms' secretions would then combine with the blood, instantly transforming into a fearsome strong acid. Thus, anyone struck by these Gu-worms would corrode into a thick green ooze, dying in a manner too gruesome to behold.
However, these Gu-worms had a weakness. Once they left their nutrient solution, they could only survive in the air for a few seconds at most. They had to immediately burrow into human blood to survive and slaughter their host. But they were extremely small, smaller than grains of dust, and could easily pass through the gaps in armor. In other words, the armor worn by Shen Lang’s Nirvana Army could not block them at all. Once these Gu-worms were released, the Nirvana Army would be wiped out in an instant. The three bottles Shen Lang had obtained contained about three liters of Gu-worms in total, which must have been brought by Yan Nanfei. Yan Nanfei hadn’t used this weapon when he attacked Shen Lang’s fleet. Not only did he feel it was unnecessary, but he had undoubtedly intended to use these three bottles of Mount Fudao's Gu-worms on Raging Tide City.
The Seol Clan was truly vicious. They would stop at nothing to win, regardless of how many people died. Yan Nanfei had never planned to fight a conventional war at Raging Tide City; he had planned to use such wicked and strange methods to kill everyone in the city and the entire Jin Clan. This was a living biochemical weapon, something the Great Yan Empire had issued decrees to ban. Yet the Seol Clan laughed off such prohibitions and brought them out to use.
If Seol Cheol had let Yan Nanfei take three bottles of Gu-worms, the Seol Clan surely possessed a much larger quantity. Perhaps around ten bottles? In that case, was it possible that Seol Cheol possessed other types of Gu-worms as well? The chances were slim. The Seol Clan and the South Sea Sword Sect were merely a branch of Mount Fudao; it was unlikely they would be given a weapon of slaughter that was a top secret more advanced than these Gu-worms. Besides, these second-grade Corpse-Rotting Gu-worms were powerful enough for use in the secular world, capable of crushing and slaughtering ordinary armies. Therefore, Mount Fudao had no need to give the Seol Clan a more potent, large-scale Gu-poison.
So, when attacking South Prefecture City, Seol Cheol would certainly use this type of Gu-worm. If they were unprepared for it, Shen Lang’s Nirvana Army would not only be instantly defeated but would be completely wiped out in less than thirty seconds. Once Seol Cheol’s army fired these special arrows, there would be no way to evade them, and the Nirvana Army would be annihilated before they could even react.
So, had Shen Lang prepared a defense against these Gu-worms? Of course, he had. He had even prepared defenses against five different types of Gu-worms, though he couldn't be certain which kind the Seol Clan possessed. However, he had surmised it would be the second-grade Corpse-Rotting Gu-worms, because these worms were not high-grade yet possessed astonishing killing power, making them extremely cost-effective.
So, was it difficult to develop an immunity to these second-grade Corpse-Rotting Gu-worms? Not at all. The worms themselves were not poisonous; they only secreted a substance after entering the human bloodstream. It was this substance, when mixed with blood, that transformed into a fearsome strong acid that corroded the human body. Therefore, Shen Lang only needed to inject everyone with a preemptive agent, a medicine that could kill these Gu-worms. After entering the bloodstream, the second-grade Corpse-Rotting Gu-worms would first ingest blood before secreting the corrosive acid. But if the worms died the moment they took a sip of blood, they would have no time to secrete their deadly poison.
So, did Shen Lang create the antidote for the second-grade Corpse-Rotting Gu-worms from his own blood? No, there was really no need for that. There were more than three to five ways to defend against such Gu-poisons, methods he had learned not from Wu Daozi's records, but from the ancient texts on Prince Gong's side. Shen Lang chose the easiest of these methods to develop a counter-agent for the second-grade Corpse-Rotting Gu-worms.