Chapter 792
Chapter 792
Princess Xishan asked coldly.
"How exactly did you kill them?"
"A plague. An exceedingly dreadful plague. I call it the Black Death. I began researching it about three years ago, but its original potency wasn't strong enough. However, after studying the records from Mount Fudao, and more importantly, the ancient texts, I was able to make the Black Death several times more powerful."
Shen Lang was telling the truth. The ancient texts contained a great deal of information about plagues. He had started cultivating the Black Death three years prior, but he hadn't made significant progress; it was on par with the Black Death virus from Earth. Even that was terrifying enough, considering the plague had once swept through Europe, killing nearly half its population. That was why Shen Lang had once made a threat: if anything happened to his family, he would kill at least a million people. Of course, his opponent had scoffed and dismissed his words at the time.
But fortunately, after reading a large volume of ancient texts from the Savage Tribes, Shen Lang gained new insights into this type of plague and was finally able to cultivate a more potent version of the Black Death. Its infectivity and mortality rate became even more terrifying, but he was able to significantly shorten its survival cycle. This meant that even if the plague spread, it would die out on its own after a short time.
Shen Lang had spent a long time choosing where to release the plague, finally deciding on the Hidden Yuan Society's Raging Whirlwind Fortress. This was because there wasn't a single innocent person there. This act was undoubtedly damnable, but... there was no more time for hesitation. To save more people, killing a group of beasts was a small price to pay.
* * *
Princess Xishan immediately drew her sword.
"Are you trying to kill me? It's useless! My people are already lying in wait throughout the Great Yan Empire. Unless your grand army retreats, they will begin to release the plague."
Shen Lang took out an hourglass and tossed it to Princess Xishan.
"Wait. News will soon arrive that the people of a second city have been slaughtered. This time, it's No Return Fortress, a city ruled by the Sky-Sealing Pavilion! There wasn't a single innocent person in that city either."
No Return Fortress was located in the northern part of the Great Yan Empire. While Raging Whirlwind Fortress was on Mount Lingjue, No Return Fortress was underground. It was less a city and more a stronghold for a martial arts faction. If the South Sea Sword Sect was a branch of Mount Fudao, then No Return Fortress was a branch of the Sky-Sealing Pavilion. Of course, the Sky-Sealing Pavilion was far removed from Shen Lang, and they had never crossed paths. The only time Shen Lang had ever interacted with them was at sea, on his way back from Black Rock Island to the Tiannan Province. The Sky-Sealing Pavilion had intercepted him, intending to capture him by force. It was only when the Xuan Kong Temple intervened on his behalf that they abandoned their attempt.
"When the sand in that hourglass runs out, the news will arrive. Let's wait quietly!"
At Princess Xishan's gesture, a boat approached her. She leaped onto it as if taking flight, and a moment later, a dozen crows flew from the boat. This was clearly a warning from Princess Xishan to the army on land and the Great Yan Empire—a top-level alert. The sand in the hourglass before her continued to fall. Before it had completely run out, dozens of figures suddenly appeared, racing madly across the sea. They were the top martial arts masters of the Sky-Sealing Pavilion, wearing buoyancy shoes and skimming across the waves like arrows, their faces filled with terror. A moment later, they rushed onto Princess Xishan's boat.
"Your Highness, the people of No Return Fortress, an affiliate of our Sky-Sealing Pavilion, have almost all been wiped out. We sent our martial arts legion to completely seal off the fortress, allowing no one to leave and killing all who were still alive."
A twitch ran across Princess Xishan's beautiful face. Shen Lang's ruthlessness far exceeded their imagination. She hadn't expected him to be captured so easily, and she had anticipated he would struggle using various methods. But she had never imagined his means would be this extreme. How long had Shen Lang waited for this day? To completely slaughter two cities like this... Though those two cities were special, isolated places, what would happen if he went on a rampage and spread the plague to other cities in the Great Yan Empire, or even to the capital, Yan City? The consequences would be unimaginably horrific.
* * *
Princess Xishan and Yinghan appeared before Shen Lang once more. He took out another hourglass and tossed it in front of Princess Xishan.
"I know that the armies of Prince Gong and Aruna on land are no match for your empire's grand army. Once the battle begins, they will surely all be killed. Therefore, when the fighting starts, they will immediately spread this Black Death plague. How many people in your imperial legions will die then? Of course, the hundred thousand loyal to me will also perish, but if they can take ten times as many enemies with them, it will be well worth it!"
Of course, there were things Shen Lang didn't mention about this Black Death. The plague he had cultivated was most easily spread in places like Raging Whirlwind Fortress and No Return Fortress. Both were practically sealed-off cities. Raging Whirlwind Fortress was a city within a fortress built into a mountain. As for No Return Fortress, it had actually been an ordinary city hundreds of years ago, but a sudden geological shift caused the ground to collapse. The city sank underground and was eventually abandoned. Later, a martial arts faction under the Sky-Sealing Pavilion made it their base. Because the city was subterranean, it was easy to defend and difficult to attack. Was the geological shift related to the Sky-Sealing Pavilion? Of course it was! A hundred years ago, the Sky-Sealing Pavilion discovered an ancient ruin, and a series of major earthquakes occurred in the vicinity, much like the one near Nanzhu City.
"This hourglass is set to the time I predict the armies on land will engage in battle. Your grand army will likely attack around this time. An unprecedented battle with a huge disparity in forces will break out, but I will not allow such a battle to happen. I don't want anyone to sacrifice themselves for me. I will protect everyone on the ground!
Of course, if we must die, then we will take you down with us. When those hundred thousand perish, they will take more than ten times their number from the imperial legions with them. I haven't prepared a countdown timer. You are the ones preparing for a slaughter. You can either withdraw the empire's allied forces or face mutual destruction. Choose one!"
The sand in the hourglass before Princess Xishan continued to fall, time ticking away. On the coast, the hundred thousand loyal to Shen Lang held a defensive line several miles long. In contrast, the empire's grand army stretched for a hundred miles, pressing forward like a towering tidal wave. Once the battle began, the hundred thousand loyal to Shen Lang would be wiped out in a matter of hours. Shen Lang fiddled with a glass marble in his hand, saying nothing more.
The sand in the hourglass kept falling. Princess Xishan made a difficult decision. She gritted her teeth and cried out.
"The grand imperial army will halt its advance and retreat ten miles!"
* * *
"Is there an antidote? An antidote for the Black Death?"
Shen Lang both had an antidote and didn't. What was the specific cure for the Black Death? Penicillin. With current technology, it was impossible to produce penicillin in large quantities. The most cost-effective method was to extract mold from a special type of fermented melon and then cultivate it in corn steep liquor. This could produce a certain amount of penicillin. Shen Lang had known this method for a long time, but it was only after he went to the Savage Tribes that he was able to find that specific type of melon and extract some penicillin. However, the yield was still remarkably low. If a large-scale Black Death outbreak occurred, not even a god could save them. In this world, penicillin was still ten, even a hundred times rarer than gold.
"Is there an antidote?"
Princess Xishan asked again. Her first thought was of the imperial family. If this Black Death truly broke out, the members of the imperial household had to be protected first. Even if the antidote was scarce, it might be enough to save all the royals.
"No! But heaven has the virtue of cherishing life. You both know what I did in the State of Jiang and the Tianxi Province."
They were indeed aware that Shen Lang had saved countless lives. When smallpox spread in the State of Jiang, and when it broke out in the Tianxi Province, it was Shen Lang who saved the people. Of course, a smallpox epidemic was much milder than the Black Death. During the Middle Ages in Europe, when the Black Death struck, entire cities were wiped out one after another, with twenty million people dying within a year.
"So, you must believe that I bear no ill will toward the people of Yan City. Xishan, Yinghan, you are my fiancées, after all. Why not come aboard and discuss this with me?"
Hearing this, the two women's faces tightened slightly.
"Please. You both know I'm a man of weak constitution. Talking from such a distance is truly exhausting me."
Shen Lang said, as if he couldn't help it. But this clearly seemed like a ploy. Shen Lang barely had the strength to wring a chicken's neck; to preserve his own life, he should be keeping his distance from masters like Xishan and Yinghan. Yet now he was inviting them onto his boat? Xishan hesitated for a moment but then leaped onto the deck.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. The Peerless Beauties."
Shen Lang looked Xishan and Yinghan up and down for a long moment.
"You are both equally beautiful in face and figure. Why has no one ranked you as the most beautiful women in the world?"
At Shen Lang's frivolous words, Xishan frowned.
*'Who are you insulting? The most beautiful women in the world? Only the famous courtesans of the brothels compete for such a title.'*
"Actually, I've already shown mercy. I chose to strike at Raging Whirlwind Fortress and No Return Fortress because there are no commoners within those walls, only people steeped in sin. I have no desire to harm a single innocent commoner. Truly. You must believe me. But if my people are harmed—for example, my children or my wives—even just one of them, I would probably want to destroy the world. I am not Jiang Li; I have no such philanthropic feelings for the world."
Shen Lang gestured toward the hundred thousand people on the shore and continued.
"They came for me, but in essence, they came for Jiang Li's son. I am deeply moved, but I never wanted them to come. Now, let's have some tea."
Shen Lang poured three cups of tea and offered them with a smile, but neither Xishan nor Yinghan drank.
"So, Xishan, tell the hundred thousand on the shore to leave."
Princess Xishan frowned. Shen Lang didn't continue his threats. The situation was crystal clear. If the battle began, the hundred thousand led by Prince Gong and Aruna would be annihilated, and simultaneously, the Black Death would spread. How many in the imperial legions had come prepared to die? The key to this battle was Shen Lang. If they could capture him, the hundred thousand on the shore were insignificant. Letting them go would certainly be a loss of face, but what was a loss of face compared to the potential losses before them? They could always deal with them later—send the grand army south to destroy Prince Gong's Great Southern Kingdom.
In an instant, Xishan wrote a letter in her own hand and sent it to the imperial crown prince on the shore. After receiving the letter, the crown prince retreated another ten miles. He, too, had received news of the annihilation of Raging Whirlwind Fortress and No Return Fortress. Just hearing about the Black Death sent a chill down his spine. With the grand army so densely packed, no one could stop the plague if it broke out. Of course, using such a weapon was a method that would harm one's own side more than the enemy. If the Black Death erupted among the imperial army, it would be a disaster not just for the Tiannan Province but for the entire State of Yue. In a way, it was similar to a nuclear deterrent—a mutually assured destruction strategy. Once unleashed, it meant taking both oneself and the enemy down together.