Chapter 802
Chapter 802
Twenty-three days later.
Dong, dong, dong, dong, dong.
Suddenly, the sound of bells rang throughout the city, and all the ships at the bay’s docks moved aside. Soon, a magnificent fleet entered the bay and approached the coast. It was a truly massive fleet. There were dozens of large warships alone, all flying the flag of the Russo family. The Russo family crest was certainly interesting. Half of the emblem depicted seawater, while the other half depicted flames. Shen Lang realized that the master of this city, the monarch of the Azure Wave Dukedom, had arrived.
Once the fleet was close enough to the shore, groups of warriors in ornate armor disembarked one after another. A woman in full golden armor, riding a white horse, slowly came ashore. Soon, over a thousand cavalrymen rode out from the city to greet her. Protected by more than five thousand fully armed warriors, the woman in golden armor entered Azuregold City. Along the path she traveled, everyone, whether slave or commoner, knelt in an orderly fashion to welcome her. Indeed. She was Grand Duchess Dyphas, the very person who had spent a fortune to buy Shen Lang. The wealthiest widow in this region, the supreme master of a territory spanning one hundred fifty thousand square kilometers.
***
“The Grand Duchess has returned!”
Inside the castle, urgent bells pealed, and countless slaves and warriors went outside, kneeling in an orderly fashion on both sides of the road to welcome the Grand Duchess back to the castle. Only then did Shen Lang realize just how many people were in this castle. Over a thousand people resided in the castle to serve the Grand Duchess. From beginning to end, Grand Duchess Dyphas never once glanced in Shen Lang’s direction. Even though he was standing on the balcony.
***
Darkness fell, and Shen Lang once again underwent a noble bathing ritual. A hot spring bath, a milk bath, a wine bath, and a scented bath. After completing all four baths, the female slaves dressed him in a splendid new set of clothes. All dressed up, the Shen Lang in the mirror seemed to radiate a light of his own. A short while later, the middle-aged eunuch he had seen before entered the room silently, looked at Shen Lang, and spoke.
“Heavens above, do you intend to bring nations to their knees?”
It was a phrase originally used to describe a woman of devastating beauty.
*Thanks! But a compliment from you means nothing to me, Shen Lang.*
“Handsome man from the Eastern world, follow me!”
After speaking, the middle-aged eunuch led the way, and Shen Lang’s heart began to pound.
*Am I going to meet this Grand Duchess Dyphas right now? What’s going to happen? Don't tell me I really have to offer up this incomparably handsome body of mine?*
***
Shen Lang was to meet Grand Duchess Dyphas in a very peculiar place. It was, surprisingly, a colosseum, where she was fighting a lion with no spectators present. This situation was outside of Shen Lang’s expectations. She wasn't wearing plate armor but was dressed in scant attire, looking at first glance like an ordinary gladiator. If not for the dagger and helmet she carried, Shen Lang would not have recognized her as Grand Duchess Dyphas.
“Grrrraaaawr.”
The lion fighting Grand Duchess Dyphas looked much larger and fiercer than any Shen Lang had seen in a zoo. Shen Lang knew that on Earth, there was a particularly ferocious lion called the Cape lion. Its weight reached around eight hundred kilograms, twice that of an African lion. But the lion before him was exactly twice the size of an African lion, meaning it would weigh nearly a thousand catties. The lion charged at her with unparalleled ferocity.
Clang.
After a loud clang, Grand Duchess Dyphas blocked the ferocious lion with her shield, and her strength was simply astonishing. Moreover, she clearly could have stabbed the lion with a single blow then, but she didn't, continuing to match its strength.
“Hah!”
With a great shout, her body shot forward, ramming fiercely into the lion that weighed nearly a thousand catties.
*This woman is truly strong.*
Just watching made Shen Lang’s hair stand on end. *Without her helmet, is she a fierce amazon or someone with bulging muscles?*
Grand Duchess Dyphas then repeatedly blocked the ferocious lion’s charges with her own body, ramming into it again and again. After this process was repeated more than ten times, she began to evade the lion’s charges. Her agility was truly astounding; it was as if her legs were fitted with springs. The lion was incredibly fast and massive, so each time it pounced, especially when it swiped wildly with its claws, the blow seemed incredibly difficult to block. But she dodged lightly every time. Shen Lang realized she had no intention of killing the lion, but merely wanted to use it for martial training. If she had wanted to kill it, she would have had more than enough opportunities.
After several ferocious exchanges with the lion, Grand Duchess Dyphas suddenly tossed aside her sword and shield. Then, putting on gauntlets, she began to wrestle the lion bare-handed. Watching this made Shen Lang’s head spin.
*Does she really have to be that strong?*
“GRRRAAAWR!!”
The ferocious lion roared, then lunged at her, trying to bite down madly. But the lion’s two paws were mercilessly caught in Dyphas’s hands, and she used her shoulder and entire body to support the lion’s belly, preventing it from biting her.
“Hyaaah!”
With a great shout, Dyphas threw the thousand-catty lion. The lion was tossed just like a burlap sack.
Thud!
As the ferocious lion was slammed violently to the ground, dust rose from all around. The lion soon staggered to its feet, spat blood from its mouth, and after a glance at Dyphas, silently returned to its cage. Shen Lang’s scalp tingled.
*Here’s another female battle junkie.*
After the battle concluded, the middle-aged eunuch bowed to her and said.
“I greet my infinitely beautiful master. Another title shall be added to your name: Tamer of Lions.”
Grand Duchess Dyphas removed her golden helmet, revealing her face.
*Whoa! No way!*
Shen Lang was stunned by her face. She had long, flame-red hair and a beautiful face that was simply overwhelming. The beauty of this Western woman was a different kind of shock from that of the beauties of the East. Shen Lang had seen many peerless beauties in the Eastern world, but when it came to sheer bewitching beauty, Zong Shasha undoubtedly came to mind. She was truly a supreme beauty, like a fiercely burning flame. But the Grand Duchess Dyphas before him possessed that very same kind of beauty, one that seemed capable of incinerating a person. Her nose, in particular, was straight and beautiful, as if meticulously carved by an artist. Her lips were as red as blood, or as fire. She was very tall, about one hundred and eighty-seven centimeters, and her legs were so remarkably long that it seemed everything below her neck was leg. Her chest was not large, but her hips were astonishingly full, and her long legs were perfectly straight. Shen Lang couldn't help but scoff inwardly.
*What is wrong with your family’s painter? How could they paint a peerless beauty like you so poorly?*
Grand Duchess Dyphas glanced at Shen Lang before heading into the castle.
“Follow me.”
The middle-aged eunuch said to Shen Lang.
***
Upon entering the castle and arriving outside the study, Shen Lang found he was not alone; there were two other competitors. If they and Shen Lang had one thing in common, it was that they were all handsome men from the East, the kind of handsome you might find only once in ten thousand men. After seeing Shen Lang, the other two handsome Eastern men showed hostility and disdain in their eyes. But Shen Lang was puzzled that no one spoke.
*What kind of competition is this?*
After more than an hour, Grand Duchess Dyphas appeared. She had changed into a luxurious long gown, making her look even more noble and beautiful, as well as elegant and mysterious—a completely different person from the savage, ferocious warrior of a moment ago. Shen Lang could clearly feel the heart rates of the two handsome Eastern men beside him increase and their breathing quicken. In the presence of such a noble, wealthy, and peerlessly beautiful widow, any man would find it hard to breathe. Grand Duchess Dyphas sat in a chair and spoke.
“Do you require an interpreter? My eunuch is fluent in many languages.”
Her voice was not soft but rather masculine, carrying the distinct firmness of one in a position of power.
“Talen greets the three young masters from the Eastern world.”
The middle-aged eunuch’s Eastern tongue was quite clear and fluent. The handsome man to Shen Lang’s left spoke up.
“That won’t be necessary. My name is Kun Yan. My ancestors were a noble family in the Eastern world for a hundred years, but my family has been in the Western world for over thirty years now. I served as a court tutor in the Seirun Dynasty and am well-versed in various arts and performances, including, of course, the Seirun language.”
The handsome man to Shen Lang’s right also spoke.
“My name is Qin Gu. About three hundred years ago, my family crossed the distant seas to the Seirun Dynasty to become the Eastern world’s envoys. Unfortunately, the seas between the Eastern and Western worlds are now completely cut off, which is why my family has remained abroad.”
Both men had revealed their identities. One was from a century-old noble family of the East who had fled overseas after a failed struggle, and the other was an envoy sent from the East to the Seirun Dynasty who had been stranded in the West due to political changes. Both were of noble birth. Dyphas looked at Shen Lang and asked.
“And you?”
“My name is Chu Zhongtian. I am a commoner by birth and was raised in a brothel.”
As soon as Shen Lang finished speaking, the two handsome Eastern men pinched their noses and moved away from him. This was a clear sign that they were ashamed to be standing with him. But Grand Duchess Dyphas showed no reaction. She spoke.
“As you all know, the nobles of the Seirun Dynasty generally have very complicated private lives, but I am an exception. I have lived a chaste life ever since my husband passed away.”
Hearing this, the two handsome men began to praise and flatter her endlessly. Paying them no mind, Grand Duchess Dyphas continued.
“However, I must perform a sacred ritual, and for that, a noble and pure handsome man from the East must become my partner. My loyal Talen has selected a total of three for me, and that is you three.”
*A sacred ritual? What kind of ritual? And she needs a handsome Eastern man as her lover and partner? Why does this sound so absurd? Wasn’t she just looking for a male plaything?*
“Of course, I have already paid a price for you. Three thousand gold coins for each. So, in the strictest sense, from the moment you entered this castle, you became my property. I have the right to do with you as I please.”
Those words sounded ominous.
“I only need one partner, so the two who are eliminated will be castrated and become my eunuchs.”
Hearing her words, the complexions of Shen Lang and the other two men changed drastically, and they felt their jewels shrink a little. The middle-aged eunuch shrugged beside them and said.
“Perhaps the first cut during the castration will hurt a little, but the new life that unfolds afterward isn’t so bad.”
Grand Duchess Dyphas said.
“Prepare yourselves. Tomorrow, I will judge you, and the winner will become my lover and partner to perform the sacred ritual. The two losers will be immediately castrated and become my eunuchs.”