Chapter 784
Chapter 784
As soon as Shen Lang stepped out of the thatched hut, he saw the foot of the mountain packed with fully armored warriors. Jin Shiying was standing guard outside with over two thousand men. Upon seeing Shen Lang, Jin Shiying knelt on one knee, and the two thousand men under his command followed suit in perfect order. They gazed at Shen Lang with eyes filled with unparalleled fervor.
‘Please, can you all not do this? Don't look at me like that. I'm not Jiang Li. I'm not some celestial sun. So stop worshiping me with such fanaticism!’
He had almost forgotten about Jin Shiying's origins. He, too, was a war refugee who had lost his parents while fleeing from the Great Qian Empire to Xuanwu City, and was taken in and raised by Jin Zhuo. That was why he now considered himself a subject of the Great Qian Empire. Shen Lang slowly approached Jin Shiying and said.
"Hey, brother. Aren't you supposed to be guarding Raging Tide City?"
Jin Shiying bowed his head and replied in a trembling voice.
"Where Your Highness is, is where I must be!"
Shen Lang felt like his head was about to explode.
‘Don't do that, just don't! Stop calling me 'Your Highness' at the end of every sentence.’
"Father, Mother. Let's go. We'll head to the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate first!"
Presently, the two thousand warriors of the Jin Clan formed a protective circle around Shen Lang and headed for the Marquis of Xuanwu's estate. Had they walked for about seven miles? They encountered a troop of soldiers and cavalry on the road. It was Liu Wuyan, the Lord of Xuanwu City.
‘You're still alive? You were ordered to the southern border to fight against King Gong. But you didn't die?’
Upon seeing Shen Lang, City Lord Liu Wuyan was first taken aback, then bowed deeply at a near ninety-degree angle before retreating to the side of the road. The several hundred soldiers following him exchanged a few whispers upon seeing Shen Lang, then knelt in an orderly fashion by the roadside, remaining perfectly still. This gesture made Shen Lang intensely curious, and he turned to his mother beside him.
"Mother, isn't the secret of my birth supposed to be top secret? How does it seem like everyone knows now?"
Originally, it was an absolute secret. But once the Emperor began to amass an astronomical army to march south and spread rumors among the rulers of the world, it was a secret no longer. As Shen Lang passed by Liu Wuyan on the main road, the man spoke to him in a very low voice.
"Your Highness, take care."
That simple phrase alone was enough to show how much Lord Jiang Li had won the hearts of the people. Even though that sun had been shattered, its light still shone upon the entire world. Shen Lang was filled with emotion. He had once written Liu Wuyan's name on his wall of enemies, but so much had happened that he had forgotten all about him.
* * *
Gao Duhuan and the First Nirvana Army had returned to the capital. Gao Duhuan, the madman Lan, and the ten Lan brothers were all kneeling side-by-side before the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, we have come to formally bid you farewell. Over twenty years ago, the heroes of the world pledged their loyalty to His Highness Jiang Li, but we were too young at the time and missed the opportunity. But now that our lord has returned to the world, we must go at once to protect the bloodline of our liege."
The Crown Prince nodded.
"Very well. Go to Xuanwu City and fight for His Highness Jiang. I will remain here in the capital and fight for the dignity of the Ying royal family."
Gao Duhuan and the dozen or so men bowed their heads in unison and then left the Crown Prince's residence. As they mounted their horses and rode south along the Xuanwu Great Road, knights began to silently join their ranks, one after another. Gao Duhuan asked them.
"We are going to Xuanwu City to die. We are going to face the astronomical legion sent by the Great Yan Emperor. Do you still wish to come?"
The knight at the very front said.
"We are also people of the Great Qian Empire. Do you think only those with special bloodlines like you can protect His Highness? We can do it too!"
Gao Duhuan laughed loudly and replied.
"Hahahaha! Then let us go together. Let's go. Let's protect His Highness Jiang, and protect the hope of the world."
"Protect His Highness! Protect His Highness!"
The number of knights following Gao Duhuan grew and grew, until a seemingly endless line of people left Tianyue City, racing madly toward Xuanwu City.
* * *
Nan Po knelt before the Third Prince, Ying Qi.
"Your Highness, I must go."
Ying Qi asked him.
"To Xuanwu City?"
"Yes."
"You'll die if you go."
"If I must die, then I will. Over twenty years ago, I was still a child, and my parents died for His Highness Jiang Li. Now that I am grown, it is my turn to die for him."
"Dammit. Jiang Lang? What a terrible name."
"Your Highness Ying Qi, I am leaving!"
Nan Po picked up his giant spiked club, left the Third Prince's residence, and raced out of the capital, Tianyue City, heading madly for Xuanwu City.
* * *
The Ma'an Dao Palace of the State of Chu.
Grandmaster Prajna was having an existential crisis.
‘That rogue is His Highness Jiang Li's only son, the sole heir to the Great Qian Empire? Hasn't he flirted with me more than once or twice? Every time we meet, he looks at my legs first, then my rear, then my waist, and finally my face. And a rogue like that is supposed to represent the hope of the world. Well… I suppose having some hope is better than having none at all.’
Grandmaster Prajna looked at the several hundred disciples of the Ma'an Dao Palace.
"Are you all certain you want to come with me? This is like an egg trying to break a rock, a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot."
The disciples of the Ma'an Dao Palace remained silent. Seeing their resolve, Grandmaster Prajna said.
"Very well. Then let's go. To protect His Highness Jiang, and to protect the hope of the world!"
The entire Ma'an Dao Palace descended the mountain, racing toward Xuanwu City in the State of Yue. Countless swords descended the snowy mountain.
* * *
From every corner of the Eastern World, from mountains and lakes and grasslands, countless warriors emerged from the forests. Like countless streams flowing into the sea, they all converged in one direction: Xuanwu City.
"Protect His Highness Jiang. Protect His Highness!"
The sight was like innumerable fireflies gathering at a single point of light, like moths drawn to a flame.
* * *
The Southern Gull Nation.
King Gong stared blankly at a map, then at the numerous booklets on his desk. These were all works into which he had poured his heart and soul, the manifestos for the development of the Great Southern Nation that he had spent years writing. He was confident he could turn the Great Southern Nation into a civilized and powerful country within twenty years. He had learned the terms 'five-year plan' and 'ten-year plan' from Shen Lang. Now, the Great Southern Nation's first five-year plan was about to begin. King Gong was full of ambition, ready to lay out the blueprint of his development plan across the vast lands of the Great Southern Nation. The manifestos on the desk before him totaled hundreds of thousands of characters, every single one written by his own hand. He was about to put these words into action, to see the Great Southern Nation he envisioned take shape in the real world. His grand plan and great achievements were on the verge of beginning. But at such a time, the heavens and the earth were about to collapse.
As he stared at the map for a long while, Queen Saiman spoke.
"The Great Yan Empire is leading a seemingly endless army, half the world's forces, to surround the State of Yue. With such an astronomical legion gathered, they could probably annihilate the State of Yue and us ten times, even a hundred times over."
"Mm!"
"None of this should be happening now."
"Indeed! Our time was about to come. The Great Southern Nation was on the cusp of an unprecedented era of development, and I was about to create the most brilliant miracle in the thousand-year history of the Savage Tribes. But who would have thought the world would collapse like this."
"So, are we not going?"
King Gong chuckled and said.
"Not go? If I don't, my spirit and my courage will shatter, and I will no longer be worthy of being the leader of the Savage Tribes."
Presently, King Gong silently donned his armor, strapped on his war saber, and walked out of the Royal Palace. Outside, ten thousand soldiers of the Savage Tribe legion stood in neat, dense ranks in the square. State Preceptor Sha Yin, Privy Councilor Su Nan, Grand Marshal Sha Yan, and Vice-Councilor Nangong Ao were all kneeling on the ground. King Gong looked at them and said.
"It is highly likely that if I go this time, I will not return. In my absence, Su Nan will be the leader. Wait until my son is grown. When the imperial army marches south, the Southern Gull Nation will not survive, and the Qiang Kingdom will also be destroyed. Then we must retreat back into the deep mountains and jungles, back into the mountain caves, but some places will forever belong to the Savage Tribes. Su Nan, I entrust everything to you!"
Su Nan, still kneeling, cried out in a trembling voice.
"Your Highness, I will go in your stead. I have several sons, after all. I am the one who deserves to die."
King Gong mounted his horse and said.
"This is not something another can do in my place. All of you, take care. If news of my death arrives, you must all immediately withdraw from the Southern Gull Nation and return to the deep mountains and jungles. March!"
King Gong led the ten-thousand-strong army of the Savage Tribes toward Xuanwu City. He made no bold proclamations, only steeled his resolve to face certain death.
‘Protect His Highness Jiang!’
* * *
The Qiang Kingdom.
Queen Aruna of the Qiang Kingdom looked at her son. She was in a difficult position.
‘Should I take my son with me?’
But if she did, the Qiang Kingdom might collapse and be destroyed.
‘And if I don't take him?’
The Qiang Kingdom was different from other nations; the idea of loyal subjects assisting a young ruler was impossible there. If Aruna died and A'Luo Zhang was left behind, she swore that a chieftain from one of the subordinate tribes would kill him the very next day. After that, the chieftains would fight to the death among themselves, and the strongest one would become the new Qiang King.
‘Fine. I'll take him with me.’
Aruna lifted her bare-bottomed son from the floor.
"March!"
Queen Aruna gave the order. She led ten thousand cavalry, marching majestically eastward toward Xuanwu City. Her purpose was not to protect the so-called His Highness Jiang. The Qiang Kingdom was a nation of rogues; they had never pledged loyalty to Jiang Li when he was alive. But Aruna's husband was in Xuanwu City, and wasn't her husband's brother there too? She was on her way to protect that rogue of a brother-in-law. That was why she set out with only ten thousand cavalry. These were her personal cavalry who followed her orders; she had no authority to take the cavalry from the other Qiang tribes. She was going to die this time, not to fight for her country.
* * *
In Yanqing, the capital of the Great Yan Empire, inside the Imperial Palace.
Inside a special, dustless palace, Princess Xixuan of the Great Yan Empire was playing Go with the young Princess Xiying. The match soon ended with Xiying's defeat.
"Sister, you are the most beautiful woman in the world. Why haven't you married?"
Xiying asked, and Xixuan replied.
"What's so great about getting married?"
"Is it because there is no one in the world worthy of you?"
"Who in this world could possibly be worthy of me?"
"Sister, I made a gift for you."
"Oh? I didn't know my little treasure had a gift for me. Bring it and show me."
"Then close your eyes first."
Princess Xixuan closed her eyes.
"Sister, hold out your neck."
As Princess Xixuan extended her long, swan-like neck, the young Princess Xiying took out a necklace and, preparing to carefully place it around Xixuan's neck, spoke affectionately.
"Sister, I have been frail since childhood, suffering from dozens of illnesses. If you hadn't protected me so carefully, I would have died long ago. You and Father Emperor poured all your strength and treasures into keeping me alive until now. Thank you, sister."
"You silly girl, why are you saying such things?"
Xixuan replied to Xiying's words and tried to open her eyes.
"Don't open them yet. This necklace is woven from my own hair. The flowers decorating it are all from plants I grew myself."
"My dear Yingying, thank you. This is the best gift I have ever received. You are the person I will cherish most in my life."
Princess Xixuan kept her neck extended, waiting, as the young Princess Xiying placed the necklace on for her. And at that moment, a tiny sliver of a blade appeared in the young Princess Xiying's palm, and she slashed with all her might at the carotid artery in Princess Xixuan's neck.
‘I'll kill you, I'm going to kill you!’