Chapter 791
Chapter 791
Clang, clang, clang, clang.
Boom.
Suddenly, a sound erupted from the sea, and smoke billowed skyward from a ship. Though it was broad daylight, brilliant and dazzling flames flared up, instantly capturing everyone's attention. On the deck of the not-so-large vessel stood a single person. It was Shen Lang.
"Xishan, come over here and let's talk!"
Shen Lang shouted, but the distance was too great for his voice to reach Princess Xishan. Startled, Princess Xishan glanced at Princess Yinghan beside her, then at the Jin Clan's ship.
‘What… what is this trick? Shen Lang isn’t on that large ship, but back here?’
Xue Yin, Li Qianqiu, and the others were completely dumbfounded when they saw Shen Lang. Hadn't he been knocked unconscious by her and locked away in some underground chamber?
"Ah, ah… No, no…"
Xue Yin suddenly screamed and, as if she had lost her mind, leaped from the ship and made her way toward Shen Lang's boat. She was truly on the verge of madness. She had paid an enormous price, even sacrificing herself, all to save Shen Lang. How could she not go mad when he was willingly walking into his own death? Mulan tried to jump in next, but Shen Lang shook his head firmly. Mulan could have ignored him and rushed to his side, but this time, she chose to listen. Princess Xishan narrowed her eyes, then turned back to the sea and charged toward Shen Lang's boat. A thousand peak warriors also charged in Shen Lang's direction, flying like birds. It was as if a school of sharks, rushing toward its prey, had spotted a more valuable target and changed course.
* * *
"Princess Xishan, let's have a talk."
In an instant, Princess Xishan, leading a thousand peak warriors, advanced by treading on the waves, surrounding Shen Lang's ship layer by layer. It was a truly astonishing sight, as even a master like Grandmaster Xue Yin could not walk on water and had to glide across the sea. Xishan and Yinghan did not board the ship but simply surrounded Shen Lang's small boat. Shen Lang's fleet continued to sail southeast, and the Empire's allied fleet also continued to sail southeast, still encircling his fleet.
Simultaneously, on land, the Empire’s astronomical legions had finished preparing to charge madly toward the hundred thousand troops protecting Shen Lang. They planned to slaughter the hundred thousand gathered before Xuanwu City, and if that wasn't enough, they would slaughter three hundred thousand until they were drunk on blood. Shen Lang looked at the peak masters walking on the waves and smiled.
"Wow, impressive. Aren't you all a bit too strong? Even Li Qianqiu can't walk on water, but you all managed it. Truly amazing."
When Shen Lang had first seen that scene, he was undeniably astonished. It was the kind of spectacle one usually saw only in movies or television shows featuring characters with incredible martial arts, where peak masters would run madly across the water. Mulan could do it for a short distance, but to step as casually and freely as Xishan was astounding. More importantly, it wasn't just Xishan; all one thousand warriors could do it.
‘I, Shen Lang, refuse to believe there are a thousand people in this world with martial arts superior to Li Qianqiu's!’
"You're using a trick!"
Shen Lang said with a smile. He clapped his hands, and in an instant, tiny black pellets shot out from his boat.
Pop, pop, pop, pop!
The pellets burst forcefully, and in a flash, countless black particles spread across the sea.
‘This doesn't seem like much of an attack.’
But then, a strange scene unfolded. In that brief moment, the peak masters who had been walking on the waves were sent flying. Xishan, Yinghan, and the others were blown back tens of meters like kites in the wind. However, their martial arts were formidable, and they returned to the sea's surface, still standing as if floating. But the other peak martial arts masters were not so fortunate. One by one, their bodies, which had been floating on the water, plunged beneath the surface.
How did this happen? In truth, the peak masters with Xishan were not floating on the sea with their internal energy, but thanks to special footwear. They were called Buoyancy Boots, originating from an ancient civilization. Only transcendent factions could wear them. These Buoyancy Boots utilized the powerful magnetic force of a certain gemstone, and destroying them was remarkably simple. All one needed was graphite powder. The principle was the same as the graphite bombs—soft bombs—used on Earth to destroy electrical wires and power facilities, as they could cut off all power sources. This was because graphite powder is a definitive insulator.
The Buoyancy Boots worn by the transcendent faction operated through a precise internal structure of gemstone magnetic spatial lattices. However, if graphite powder clung to the boots, they would immediately malfunction. When Shen Lang had visited Lord Gong, he had read a thousand ancient records, among which were tens of thousands of characters and dozens of illustrations explaining these Buoyancy Boots. They were relatively basic equipment from the ancient civilization, far inferior in status to Nightmare Stones.
So, in the past few months, whenever Shen Lang had free time, he had mostly studied Nightmare Stones and had come to a conclusion: at the entrance to every ancient ruin, there was a large Nightmare Stone nearby. Small Nightmare Stones had various uses, but large ones were the source of massive energy for the ancient civilization. The only regret was that Shen Lang had started studying Nightmare Stones too late and had been unable to remove the large one at the entrance to the Shaman Tribe's ancient ruins.
* * *
Shen Lang found nothing more annoying than watching others show off, so he stepped in to ruin their grand performance completely. At Princess Xishan's gesture, the thousand peak martial masters returned to their respective ships. But she and Princess Yinghan remained standing on the sea. That was a truly remarkable feat.
"Princess Xishan, let's talk."
At Shen Lang's words, Xishan asked.
"What is there to talk about?"
"How about you spare the hundred thousand people on land who came to fight for me, and the Jin Clan?"
"Impossible! Once a sword is drawn, it must taste blood. The Empire's allied forces have come south; if we do not kill hundreds of thousands, we cannot display the might of the Great Yan Empire."
"Hundreds of thousands, you say?"
Shen Lang asked in surprise. Xishan replied.
"At least three hundred thousand must be killed."
"The people of this land are innocent."
"This land nurtured you, so they cannot be called innocent. They have committed treason against our Great Yan Empire, so at the very least, ten generations should be executed by familial association. Moreover, you are no simple traitor; everyone within a three-hundred-*li* radius is implicated. You should feel honored that so many will be buried with you."
"Slaughter three hundred thousand, you say? Impressive. Such incredible might! Then my terms are very simple. The Empire's armies will all retreat without killing a single person. In return, the Jin Clan's fleet will enter the Devil's Triangle and thus vanish from the human world."
"What a preposterous notion!"
"You won't agree?"
"Are you finished speaking?"
Her meaning was clear: now that he was done talking, she would slaughter him.
"If you don't agree, I will not only kill ten, twenty, or thirty million people of the Great Yan Empire, but I will also kill a million or more of the Empire's allied forces!"
Hearing this, Princess Xishan and Yinghan were stunned. Xishan looked at Yinghan and asked.
"Is that really Shen Lang?"
This meant that while Xishan knew Shen Lang liked to bluff, she had never imagined he would bluff on this scale. She clearly knew it was him, as they had met before. Yinghan nodded and replied.
"This is him."
"It seems you've said all you wanted to say. Now, wait quietly. This place isn't far from land, so you'll have a good view."
She meant that Shen Lang would be able to watch the spectacle of the Empire's great army slaughtering his supporters. He would see the ground run red with their blood and countless heads rolling.
"Don't be so hasty. News should be arriving soon. Unless something unexpected happened, about half a month ago, I annihilated an entire city."
Shen Lang spoke in a very quiet voice, but his words landed like a clap of thunder on a clear day. He continued with a smile.
"I've forgotten who I said it to specifically, but I once made this boast. It was something along the lines of, if anyone were to harm my wife, I would slaughter a million people."
Xishan's eyes narrowed sharply.
"Which city?"
"Raging Whirlwind City. The Hidden Yuan Society's Raging Whirlwind City. Surely you haven't forgotten? Besides the Xue Clan, the Jin Clan's enemies also included the Hidden Yuan Society. Since I've already destroyed the Xue Clan, did you think I would spare the Hidden Yuan Society?"
Princess Xishan didn't fully believe him, but she held her breath in shock. Raging Whirlwind City was an isolated fortress, the supreme headquarters of the Hidden Yuan Society overseeing the three southern states, built upon an ancient gold vein. It held an astronomical amount of gold coins and countless treasures. Through Raging Whirlwind City, the Hidden Yuan Society controlled all the trade and finances of the states of Wu, Yue, and Chu. It was a city exclusive to the Hidden Yuan Society, but it was also where the Great Yan Empire had amassed all the wealth of the south.
* * *
But had Shen Lang really slaughtered the people in Raging Whirlwind City on Mount Lingjue? Yes! By then, the city had already become a city of the dead. Two-thirds of the city's population were dead, with the remaining third still alive. But to be certain, Shen Lang planned to kill the remaining third as well.
"Aaaargh!"
Shu Tingyu, the young master of the Yue State's Hidden Yuan Society, was on the verge of madness. He had no idea what had happened, only that people in Raging Whirlwind City had started dying about a month ago. The people in the city died off group by group, and no amount of treatment helped.
‘Is… is this a plague? Even smallpox isn't this severe.’
With smallpox, half of the infected survived, and it could be prevented with inoculation. But the plague that had appeared in Raging Whirlwind City was indefensible and showed no signs. An infected person would die in just two or three days. In the end, in just over half a month, almost everyone in the city had died.
* * *
"No rush. The news will arrive soon. The army on land will probably hear it first, then it will be your turn."
Just as Shen Lang spoke, a crow suddenly flew down from the sky and landed directly on Princess Xishan's arm. Princess Xishan untied the letter from the crow's leg and opened it. On it was written a single line.
In an instant, Princess Xishan's head reeled.
‘It was true? Shen Lang really slaughtered an entire city?’
Princess Xishan's voice trembled.
"You… you really massacred an entire city? Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?"
Shen Lang shrugged as if he didn't understand.
"They were members of the Hidden Yuan Society; they deserved to die. There wasn't a single commoner among them, was there? Besides, you all commit such evil deeds without fear of retribution, so what have I to fear?"