Chapter 817
Chapter 817
At last, Duke Russell’s army of two hundred and fifty thousand had finished assembling. He slowly drew his greatsword and shouted.
“For the Third Seiren Empire, attack the city!”
At his command, the army under his banner surged forward like a tidal wave.
“Heave, ho! Heave, ho!”
Brawny soldiers pushed twenty massive siege towers, which gradually neared the city walls. Shen Lang had to admit that Duke Russell was indeed a noble man. His army had clearly set up numerous large trebuchets, yet he did not use them at all. This was because the Queen's City was a treasure of the Third Seiren Empire's architecture; using trebuchets would cause great destruction to the city, making Duke Russell's restraint understandable. Only one who truly loved the city could bear not to destroy it, choosing to suffer greater casualties rather than use the trebuchets.
And so they advanced, and advanced.
* * *
Half an hour later, Duke Russell’s army officially began scaling the Queen's City walls, and a brutal siege battle ensued. Shen Lang had to retract his earlier prejudice. Duke Hol, the Lord of the Queen's City, was a prince as elegant as an elf, but on the battlefield, he slaughtered his enemies with a frenzy, as if he had no fear of death. He led several thousand warriors of the Hol family against an enemy four times their number, fighting to the death without ever retreating.
“Fight for freedom, fight for the Queen!”
“For freedom, for the Queen!”
Duke Hol’s swordsmanship looked exceedingly refined, yet it was incredibly powerful. Shen Lang even saw a layer of white light emanating from his sword.
‘Is… is this… the legendary aura?’
The Eastern world’s martial arts have internal energy and true qi, so does the Western world have this aura? The two worlds probably refer to the same thing. How can his sword emit light?
“For freedom, for the Queen!”
The Roland Knights were clearly cavalry who fought on horseback, yet now they had dismounted and were fighting atop the city walls. Their tall leader at the forefront was a fierce general on the battlefield. The type who fought purely with strength. She was exceedingly agile and possessed tremendous power. Her martial arts techniques were very similar to Mulan's, and even her combat prowess was not inferior to Mulan’s. Furthermore, the Roland Knights under her command were incredibly strong, holding off an enemy more than five times their number while still maintaining the upper hand.
“The Roland Knights are this strong? They are clearly white, so why do they pledge allegiance to Queen Medusa?”
Shen Lang asked, and Zhang Chunhua answered.
“Have you ever heard of the Amazon warrior tribe?”
Shen Lang was stunned by her words. That was clearly an ancient legend from Earth, their story appearing in Greek mythology. Even the female hero from the DC movies was a princess of the Amazon warrior tribe.
“Of course, they weren't originally called by that name. But in the West, there were records of an Amazon warrior tribe in ancient legends. When the Seiren Dynasty moved south, they conquered everyone on this new continent, but there were a few native tribes they could not subdue. Among them was a matriarchal tribe. The female warriors of that tribe were extremely strong. At that time, the Seiren Dynasty waged a war of conquest for a hundred years, and despite hundreds of thousands of deaths, they could not conquer that tribe. They thought this matriarchal tribe was very similar to the Amazon warrior tribe spoken of in the ancient legends, and after a long time, they came to be called the Amazon warrior tribe.”
So that was the reason. Shen Lang had thought it impossible for the Amazons of Greek mythology to appear in this current world.
“Actually, the Roland people were exiles from the Amazon tribe.”
“Why were they exiled from the Amazon tribe?”
“They were culled for being too weak.”
‘Th-this is bullshit! This is weak?’
Looking at the incredibly fierce Roland Knights, frankly, their combat strength seemed no less than that of the First Nirvana Army. And that was despite their equipment being far inferior to the Nirvana Army's.
“Every time there's a sparring competition, some people are eliminated from the Amazon tribe. They are all exiled to this desolate island. The Amazon tribe only needed the strongest female warriors. After a long time, the exiles formed a new tribe and named themselves the Roland people.”
Shen Lang once again looked at the female warriors of the Roland people.
“Most of them are descendants of the Roland people. Their physical attributes and height are inferior to those of the Amazon tribe.”
But the Roland female warriors before him were very tall, averaging over one hundred and eighty centimeters. If the descendants of the culled Roland people are this strong, then just how powerful is the Amazon tribe, which is said to be superior to them?
“The Seiren Dynasty became mortal enemies with the Amazon tribe, but since they couldn't conquer the Amazons, they began to attack the Roland tribe. So, for the last few hundred years, the Roland tribe's situation has been very miserable, and they have faced the brink of extinction.”
“Even if the Roland people were culled, they are still kin to the Amazon tribe. Don't tell me they just stood by and watched their own people die?”
“Because of their ancestors' will, the Amazon tribe can never take a single step outside their homeland. Of course, besides that, there's also a decree that no man may set foot on their island. Otherwise, that man will be torn to shreds.”
At Zhang Chunhua's words, Shen Lang felt a certain part of him shrink.
“Then how do they continue their lineage?”
“Every spring, the fertile women of the Amazon tribe go to a certain island. That island is open only on that day, and any outstanding man in the world can land there and enjoy a night of pleasure with an Amazon warrior.”
‘What an admirable way to continue their lineage.’
“So, are there many men who go there each year?”
“Countless. It's practically a sacred festival of the new continent. Moreover, the Amazon warriors choose the most outstanding men among them to reproduce with. Both Duke Russell and Duke Hol have been there.”
Shen Lang found that a bit hard to believe.
‘Surely not? A noble hero like Duke Russell went there too?’
“You don't understand the traditions of this world. It's a very sacred affair. In the past, the Seiren Dynasty tried to use this method to conquer the Amazon tribe, but they failed. Because they are an absolute matriarchal tribe, they only acknowledge the mother, not the father.”
“Are the Roland people a matriarchal tribe too?”
“The Roland people have stable family relationships, but the men must stay home and care for the children, while the women go out to fight.”
* * *
General Nanfeng of the Eastern Knights led several thousand warriors against an enemy twice their number, and General Maijin of the Eastern Warrior Corps led several thousand warriors, also fighting an enemy twice their size.
“These are the Queen's two Eastern legions. Both generals are very strong, and the warriors under them are very brave, but their combat strength is far inferior to the Roland Knights.”
Shen Lang's gaze now turned to the Black Pearl Pirate Corps. This pirate corps had only three thousand members, yet they were facing an enemy four to five times their number. The composition of these pirates was very diverse. Black, white, and brown-skinned people. But everyone's swordsmanship was astonishing. Are these pirates this formidable even in land battles?
“What is the history of those Black Pearl Pirates?”
“Have you ever heard of the Skull Gang?”
Shen Lang shook his head, but then a memory surfaced. He had seen records of the Skull Gang in the historical annals of the Rousseau family.
“They are the strongest pirate crew in the Ten Thousand Mile Sea. That pirate crew rose to power forty years ago and became an invincible force, rampaging across the new world and overwhelming all the coastal cities. They're on a completely different level from a pirate king like Qiu Tianwei.”
Even after hearing the explanation, Shen Lang still couldn't grasp the concept.
“They are the greatest pirates in the Western world. Even if Medusa's fleet encountered them at sea, the outcome would be difficult to predict. At the height of their power, every coastal city of the Seiren Dynasty, whether led by a duke or a prince, had to pay protection money to the Skull Gang.”
Only then did Shen Lang understand. They were indeed terrifyingly strong.
“Then what is the relationship between this Black Pearl Pirate Corps and the Skull Gang?”
“Over a decade ago, the Skull Gang suddenly disappeared. Some said they went to explore the Devil's Triangle, while others said they entered the northernmost continent. In any case, they left on an incomprehensible adventure. To explore the forbidden zones of this world. But in the end, they never returned. The children they left behind on Skull Island grew up, and the Black Pearl Pirates are those children.”
“You mean the Black Pearl Pirate Corps is actually the remnant force left on Skull Island, and their main force went to explore the world's forbidden zones?”
“You could put it that way.”
Shen Lang once again felt a sense of suffocation. His gaze automatically shifted to the Black Pearl Pirate Corps.
‘They are incredibly strong, too. They’re still fierce and valiant while facing an enemy four to five times their number. If so, just how powerful was the main force of the Skull Gang pirates?’
“After the news of the Skull Gang's disappearance spread, Skull Island faced a catastrophic disaster. The fleets of the Seiren Dynasty moved swiftly to attack Skull Island, as everyone knew an astronomical fortune was hidden there. At the height of the assault, more than two hundred thousand people attacked Skull Island. But there were fewer than ten thousand people left on the island.”
The outcome was easy to imagine. The remaining members on Skull Island must have suffered a devastating catastrophe.
“Black Pearl fled Skull Island with three thousand people and fought the Seiren Dynasty's fleets for several years, but they were surrounded and slaughtered countless times, facing one catastrophic disaster after another. But then, Queen Medusa came here, and they pledged their allegiance to her, becoming the fleet commanders under her command. Oh, and by the way, Duchess Diphasi once annihilated a portion of the Skull Gang's main force and seized an astronomical amount of gold, which is how she instantly became wealthy enough to rival a nation.”
So that was it. When Shen Lang was in Bijing City, he had been very curious. How could the Rousseau family be so wealthy? How could they afford a lifestyle so extravagant that even the King of Yue could not? Now he saw that Duchess Diphasi had made a huge fortune from Skull Island.
Standing high up in the royal palace, he could overlook the entire battlefield at a glance. Queen Medusa’s army was not large, but it was truly composed of exceptionally skilled and powerful troops. Not only them, but the militia of the Queen's City were all fearless in the face of death, and all five of the Queen's great generals were extremely strong.
“I must take back what I said before. Everyone under the Witch Empire is incredibly strong, brave, and outstanding.”
“I can understand your thoughts. Because we come from the Eastern world, we find their conduct jarring. Their freedom and lack of discipline do not conform in the slightest to the rules of our Eastern dynasties.”