Chapter 816
Chapter 816
“This is General Ziluolan, commander of the Knights of Roland.”
Shen Lang had only one thought after seeing her.
‘General Ziluolan? Good heavens, you’re enormous.’
She stood two hundred and ten centimeters tall, a formidable female warrior. A very, very, very, very formidable-looking warrior.
“This is General Lanfeng, commander of the Eastern Knights.”
Lanfeng? Shen Lang felt he had heard that name somewhere before. That’s right. The younger brother of Grandmaster Nandao had a similar name, he recalled. But this man was younger than Grandmaster Nandao, only about forty years old.
“This is General Mochen, commander of the Eastern Warriors Corps.”
The man was from the East, but he didn't seem to be from the Great Yan Dynasty. However, of all the people Shen Lang had met, his appearance was the closest to that of a traditional warrior. His every posture and expression exuded the air of a warrior.
“This is General Black Pearl, commander of the Witch Empire's fleet.”
True to her name, Black Pearl, she was a black woman. She seemed to have come from a pirate background. Among the women Shen Lang had met, her figure was the most fiercely taut. Her buttocks, too, were firm and stood upright.
“This is Anning, a grand scholar of the Witch Empire and my teacher.”
Even a grand scholar from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion pledged loyalty to Queen Medusa? She was an incredibly elegant lady, a world apart from the brutish and coarse Scholar Zhang Yuyin. Moreover, Zhang Yuyin was merely a scholar, while the woman before him was a grand scholar. After the six were introduced, all eyes turned to Shen Lang.
“This is... Young Master Shen Lang, son-in-law of the Count of Xuanwu's Estate in the State of Yue, of the Great Yan Dynasty.”
Zhang Chunhua introduced him. She couldn't bring herself to introduce him as Little Princess Yaoyao's father. Doing so might get Shen Lang beaten to death. In everyone's mind, Queen Medusa was a transcendent being, and no man in the world was worthy of her. They believed Little Princess Yaoyao was born of parthenogenesis and had nothing to do with any man. Anyone introduced as Queen Medusa's man would instantly become a cold corpse.
***
“I believe we should hold a pink-themed banquet to celebrate Her Majesty the Queen's awakening.”
“I have already commissioned a hundred poems and dozens of songs. Furthermore, I've begun teaching them to all the citizens of Queen's City.”
“It has been a year since Her Majesty the Queen entered seclusion and fell into a deep sleep. We, her subjects, miss her dearly. We must greet her awakening in an unprecedented manner.”
Why did they say she fell into a deep sleep after seclusion? Only animals like snakes hibernate. Besides, with Duke Russell's army of over two hundred thousand pressing at the city walls, was it really appropriate to be discussing how to throw a party? Shouldn't they be discussing military arrangements and how to confront Duke Russell's massive army? The bigger problem was that it wasn't just Duke Russell's army; hundreds of thousands of troops from the Third Seiren Empire were closing in from all directions. Shen Lang finally couldn't hold back any longer and cried out.
“Everyone, shouldn't we be discussing how to fight this war?”
In an instant, six pairs of eyes turned to Shen Lang.
“Young Master Shen Lang, as long as Her Majesty the Queen is with us, there is no need to worry about this war. We will surely be victorious.”
“Her Majesty the Queen will be with us forever. As long as she is here, it is nigh impossible for us to be defeated.”
“When Her Majesty awakens, all enemies will vanish like smoke. Therefore, it is more important to discuss what grand ceremony to hold for her awakening. Not only that, but in two months, it will be Her Highness the Little Princess's fifth birthday. We must hold another grand festival then.”
Shen Lang stared at the six in disbelief, then walked out, feeling there was nothing more to say.
He had never seen such a nation in his life, nor had he ever witnessed such a royal council. This place was like a utopia; everything felt unreal. This Witch Empire was far from realistic, like a dreamlike castle built on sand. Everything was built upon the might of Queen Medusa.
If Queen Medusa were truly a person of great ambition and strategy like the Seiren Emperor, there would be no problem. The Seiren Emperor used his supreme personal fame and military power to first conquer and then unify the world, establishing a truly powerful empire in just a few decades. In contrast, this Queen Medusa only knew how to kill, not how to rule. It was a miracle the Witch Empire had survived to this day.
***
“Zhang Chunhua, don't you find all of this absurd? To think that the six members of the Witch Empire's highest decision-making body are like that.”
Zhang Chunhua looked at Shen Lang for a while before speaking.
“Young Master Shen, I know you are overflowing with talent and possess a wisdom that borders on the demonic. But those six are actually extremely outstanding and brilliant people. You don't understand this place at all. You don't know that a single person can be that powerful.”
“Didn't you yourself say before that if Queen Medusa doesn't awaken, Queen's City will fall, and the Witch Empire will be destroyed?”
“Yes, I did say that. But I also said that we will surely win this battle. Because Her Majesty the Queen will definitely awaken, and when she does, the war will be over.”
“Really?”
“Really. You just have to wait quietly for Her Majesty to awaken, like everyone else.”
“And if she doesn't?”
“Impossible. The Witch Empire has faced many crises before. Each time, Her Majesty awakened just in time, immediately turning the tide and ending the war. This isn't the first crisis Queen's City has faced.”
“Then why must she fall into such a long sleep?”
“We don't know either. Her Majesty is no ordinary person, and we common folk can only speculate about matters concerning her.”
Then, Zhang Chunhua started to say something but stopped.
“If you have something to say, say it.”
“I know you have a connection with Qiu Yao'er, having spent a night with her. But I hope you will forget all of that.”
“Are you saying I'm far inferior to Queen Medusa?”
“You are the most outstanding and charming man I have ever met. Even now, my heart still flutters for you. But Her Majesty the Queen is no ordinary person. So...”
Zhang Chunhua must have felt her tone had become too heavy, for she suddenly spoke coquettishly with a seductive gaze.
“Young Master Shen, if you get lonely, you can always come find me, can't you? I'm still a virgin. Wouldn't it be fun for a pair of scoundrels like us to rekindle our connection, thousands of miles from home?”
Shen Lang let out a hollow, incredulous laugh, then instantly wiped the smile from his face.
***
The days passed one by one, and the army gathered below Queen's City grew larger and larger. Five days later, Duke Russell's entire army of two hundred and fifty thousand had arrived. Seven days later, the army had completely encircled Queen's City. Nine days later, Duke Russell of the Third Seiren Empire gave the order.
“Army, attack the city!”
The Battle for Queen's City, the final decisive conflict of the Witch Empire, had officially begun. Yet, at that moment, Queen Medusa still had not awakened.
***
This was a war Shen Lang could not interfere with or influence. He had to cast aside his arrogance and prejudice. He had previously thought this city was dreamlike and unreal, a fragile soap bubble ready to pop, and he still held that view. But Queen's City was not Paris. During World War II, the nation with the strongest army, at least on paper, was not Germany, but France. France possessed an army of millions, ten thousand artillery pieces, and thousands of tanks. But when Germany attacked, they surrendered in just 44 days.
Shen Lang had originally thought the people of Queen's City would be the same. Because the image they presented was so unreliable. Even with war imminent, they sang and danced, showing no signs of tension. When the war truly began, the people of Queen's City were still singing and shouting, "Long live the Queen!" In other words, they were singing as they went into battle.
At Duke Hall's call, countless militiamen took up arms and left their homes. This was a city filled with a spirit of freedom. They were disorganized, but they were not without a will to fight. The Witch Empire's forces consisted of four groups: the Knights of Roland, the Eastern Knights, the Eastern Warriors Corps, and the Black Pearl Fleet. And now, all four of those armies had mounted the city walls, bravely preparing for war, and even the pirate warriors had begun to defend the city.
***
Shen Lang finally saw Duke Russell. And Shen Lang could tell at a glance that he was an immensely powerful man. He was a Westerner, but upon seeing him, Shen Lang was immediately reminded of Duke Bianwu. Both men were equally arrogant, possessing iron wills and formidable strength. Furthermore, Duke Russell was incredibly tall, over two hundred and ten centimeters, and held a greatsword more than one hundred and sixty centimeters long. From that alone, one could surmise that his martial prowess was extremely high, perhaps even surpassing Duke Bianwu's. Moreover, on the battlefield, he was a master equivalent to a grandmaster.
“According to the martial arts classifications of our Eastern world, has that Duke Russell reached the level of a grandmaster?”
“He has. And he has reached the grandmaster level in battlefield martial arts as well. He is invincible on the battlefield. He has never been defeated since the age of twenty-five. When he inherited his family's title, he had a domain of barely half a commandery, but now he possesses four provinces. He is an exceptionally strong man.”
Just then, Duke Russell stood tall and raised his head to look at the royal palace. As he stood there, he seemed like a sheer cliff unto himself.
“He is a truly noble man. A hero. Since the founding of the Third Seiren Empire, he has made the greatest contributions. In the allied forces of the Seiren Empire organized to destroy the Witch Empire, his army accounts for half of the troops.”
“And he has already formed an alliance with Duke Dipasi.”
“Duke Dipasi is also quite formidable. But she is not as pure as Duke Russell. She is an arrogant female warlord, but Duke Russell is a pure patriot.”
At those words, Shen Lang looked at Zhang Chunhua.
‘Are you praising the enemy like that? And a man, at that?’
Zhang Chunhua said in a flirtatious voice.
“Young Master Shen, don't worry. I admire heroes, but I'm easily charmed by scumbags. Especially scumbags who don't even have the strength to wring a chicken's neck.”