Chapter 821
Chapter 821
This was the first time Shen Lang had made contact with the Medusa Queen. Her entire body was cold to the touch, like a sheet of solid ice.
“Why is it like this?”
“Because this body is too weak.”
*'This body is weak?'*
She possessed the strongest body Shen Lang had ever seen.
“Of course, your Qiu Yao'er is very strong. But humans are different from us in many ways. We can live for a very long time, while humans live for a century at most. We are constantly exchanging energy with nature, the sun, and the entire world. Just by being awake, we consume a colossal amount of energy every minute, every second.”
Shen Lang finally understood. It was like modifying the engine system of a Bugatti Veyron and installing it in a 20th-century car. You could drive it, and you could push it to incredible speeds of two or three hundred kilometers per hour. But after every thirty minutes of driving, you would have to stop immediately and service the car. Otherwise, the vehicle might become unusable. So, the car would spend most of its time in the garage rather than on the road. Driving it for too long would only lead to it breaking down and becoming a wreck.
Qiu Yao'er's body was incredibly strong, but it was insufficient for the Medusa Queen. That was why, in recent years, she had spent most of her time in a deep slumber. If she had remained awake, the massive energy consumption, even without moving, would have drained all the life force from this body. The same was true for Yoyo. Moreover, the child was so small that her body was even weaker.
“In truth, to stay alive, I must be in a complete, deep sleep. Only then can my body consume an extremely small amount of energy. Yet, I have always had to awaken.”
Indeed. She awoke time and again because too many people needed her protection.
“Actually, they have nothing to do with you. Protecting them is Qiu Yao'er's responsibility.”
“But now, Qiu Yao'er and I are one, so it is my responsibility as well.”
Qiu Yao'er wanted to be a true wandering knight. She wanted to roam the world, unbound by anything, living a life of grand freedom. But she could never enjoy absolute freedom. In Raging Tide City, she was bound by her debt of gratitude to Qiu Tianwei for raising her, and now, she was bound by the people she protected. She was too much of a philanthropist.
The Medusa Queen smiled and said, “Shen Lang, before you came to the Queen's City, were you seeking Qiu Yao'er, or Medusa?”
Shen Lang was silent for a long moment before speaking.
“Qiu Yao'er.”
It was the truth from his heart. No matter how much more beautiful or powerful the Medusa Queen was, she seemed too perfect, creating a considerable distance, an air of unreality. In contrast, Qiu Yao'er was a person brimming with a powerful personality, which was why Shen Lang could not forget her even after so many years.
The Medusa Queen said with a smile, “Do not worry. Before I die, I will return Qiu Yao'er to you.”
“Then what has become of her now?”
“She can see, hear, and feel. But she has lost control of her body. It is not that I have been too tyrannical, but simply that in terms of spiritual power alone, we (the ancient humans) are too strong.”
“So, the person I am speaking with now is the complete Medusa Queen.”
“That's right! When I die, she will become the complete Qiu Yao'er.”
“Then did you steal Qiu Yao'er's body?”
Medusa shook her head.
“No, it's the opposite. Qiu Yao'er invaded my world and forced me awake.”
Her words sounded so fantastical that they were hard to grasp. But Shen Lang thought of his own situation. His soul was from Earth, but his body belonged to the Shen Lang of this world.
“Would you mind if I lie down while we talk? That way, I can conserve the most energy. Just standing here is consuming too much of my life force.”
Shen Lang helped the Medusa Queen lie down.
“As you can see, I cannot die. I must protect Yoyo and the innocent people. That is why I have remained in a deep slumber for most of the time. But now, you, the one I have been waiting for, have finally arrived.”
“I'm going to be direct, so please bear with me. This New World belongs to the Sauron Dynasty. You and I are both outsiders. Therefore, we cannot protect the city-states of the Witch Empire, nor can we even protect Duke Haught. My goal is to return to the Great Yan Empire and take my revenge. I have no interest in the Western World.”
“I know. When I die, I will not be able to protect the Queen's City, nor the city-states of the Witch Empire, and certainly not the freed slaves. The East must return to the East, and the West to the West.”
She was not wrong. Duke Dybas had always said the same.
“You are destined to be the emperor of the East, and I am even more of an outsider, so we cannot become the emperors of this New Continent. But there is one person who can.”
“Who is it?”
“What are your impressions of the one who built this Queen's City?”
“You mean the Empress of the Second Sauron Empire? She was a genius. An absolute genius in the arts. But she died a hundred years ago.”
“Correct. But what if she had a great-granddaughter left behind? She would be qualified to ascend the throne of the Sauron Dynasty.”
“So what? She has no connection to us, and I have no interest in the struggle for the Sauron Dynasty's throne.”
“What if... she were your half-sister, sharing the same father but born to a different mother?”
“Ah? Ugh...”
For a moment, Shen Lang was speechless.
“I was merely speculating. You have seen some of the history of the Sauron Dynasty. After Empress Helene ascended the throne, she faced opposition from the northern nobility. Eventually, she moved south, relocated the imperial capital, and built the Queen's City. In other words, from that point on, the southern part of the Sauron Dynasty began to develop rapidly. To develop the southern part of the empire, Empress Helene declared the abolition of slavery, freeing countless slaves in the south. She even appointed many natives of the Veda tribe as officials of the Sauron Empire.”
Shen Lang knew nothing of this. No history book of the Sauron Dynasty contained such information. But in truth, that was normal. Empress Helene was acknowledged by all, so no one dared to rebel during her reign, but most of the Sauron Dynasty's nobility secretly opposed her policies. Thus, the seeds of the Second Sauron Empire's downfall were sown during Empress Helene's era. Everything she did was by no means wrong, but it ironically led to the division between the empire's north and south.
“After Empress Helene of the Second Sauron Empire died, her son inherited the throne and returned to the Sauron Archipelago. And Empress Helene's daughter remained in the Queen's City, becoming an imperial princess of the empire.”
“Does that mean the true rulers of the Queen's City throughout history have been Empress Helene's daughter and granddaughter?”
“Correct. The Haught family has been the loyal stewards of Empress Helene for generations.”
“Please continue.”
“Forty years ago, the ruler of the Queen's City was Empress Helene's great-granddaughter, Princess Shelley. She was the most talented woman in the entire Sauron Dynasty at the time, hailed as the Treasure of Sauron. Possessing supreme wisdom, she remained unmarried into her thirties, dismaying countless nobles of the Sauron Dynasty. But one day, after disappearing for a while and then reappearing, she suddenly returned with a daughter she had given birth to. The child's name was Helene, the same as her great-grandmother, Empress Helene.”
“Are you saying that this Princess Helene is the child of His Highness Jiang Li and Princess Shelley?”
“The royal palace of the Queen's City is a feminine palace. Especially the royal mausoleum. It is a place where not even the princess's husband could enter. Yet, within it, there is a great deal of evidence that His Highness Jiang Li stayed there. Furthermore, there is reason to suspect that His Highness Jiang Li stayed here for a very long time. The born Princess Helene was said to look like a half-breed, possessing Eastern features.”
“If she has Eastern blood, wouldn't it be impossible for her to become the empress of the Third Sauron Empire?”
“The entire South will support her. The Veda natives, in particular, will support her. The Sauron Dynasty is fractured today and needs an empress who can embrace all races. Therefore, the fact that she is of mixed blood could, on the contrary, be symbolic. It would be a symbol that the Sauron Dynasty has the magnanimity to coexist with all races.”
“Then where is this Princess Helene?”
“She is an adventurer at heart. She left the Queen's City at just sixteen and has not returned to this day. It has already been seventeen years since she left.”
“If she is still alive, she would be thirty-three this year?”
“If she appears, the entire south of the Sauron Dynasty will have someone to whom they can truly pledge their loyalty. And if she becomes the empress of the Third Sauron Empire, she will undoubtedly be your absolute ally. Because it is highly likely that the two of you are true siblings.”
“Enough. Let's set aside the story of Princess Helene of the Sauron Dynasty for a moment. Your Majesty the Queen, how much time do you have?”
“If I remain in the underground mausoleum of the royal palace and spend most of my time in a deep sleep, I probably have about a year left.”
*'One year?'*
“Do not worry. When I die, I will not drag Qiu Yao'er down with me. I will return her to you.”
“Does that mean that within that year, you cannot leave the Queen's City, not even a single step out of the royal mausoleum?”
“That's right. Yoyo cannot leave either.”
“Then what will happen to Yoyo in a year?”
“Before I die, not only will I return Qiu Yao'er to you, but I will also give everything I have left to Yoyo. Using my life as the price, I might be able to extend her life by a few years. The rest is up to you. As a mother, I will have done everything in my power. From now on, the responsibility of protecting Yoyo must be entrusted to you, her father.”
She looked at Shen Lang and continued.
“In fact, if I were to kill myself now, I could return Qiu Yao'er to you immediately.”
Shen Lang shook his head. The Medusa Queen could not die now. If she died, the Queen's City would fall, and there would be no one to protect Yoyo. Because Shen Lang, her father, was not yet strong enough.
“Shen Lang, therefore, the time you have left is extremely tight. Within one year, you must become strong enough to protect Yoyo and everyone else. Currently, the Third Sauron Empire is focused only on me and the Queen's City. As long as I am alive, this city will not fall. That time is your golden opportunity to develop. Even your greatest enemy, Duke Dybas, is being kept in check by me here, so he won't have the luxury of paying attention to your existence.”
“What is the maximum number of people I can take with me?”
“The battle with Duke Russell resulted in devastating casualties for our army. I must soon enter a deep sleep, so a certain number of troops must remain to defend the Queen's City. Therefore, you can take two thousand at most.”
“That's enough. More than enough. I will take five hundred from the Roland Knights, one thousand from the Black Pearl Pirate Corps, and five hundred from the Eastern Knights.”
“Very well.”
“Your Majesty, I need a group of wise people.”
“I have captured several hundred scholars and apprentices from the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion. They are very intelligent.”
“The Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion is my enemy. Will they pledge their loyalty to me?”
“They will not. Especially the older scholars; the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion has left too deep a brand on them, making it impossible. But the young apprentices might be able to change their minds. They may not be as wise, and the knowledge they command may not be as vast. However, at least they will not have been completely brainwashed by the Ends of the Earth Sea Pavilion.”
In truth, wise people were the most important to Shen Lang. Because in the future, he would be inventing new things on a large scale, and cultivating talent from scratch would take an unknown amount of time. Of course, he could capture a sizable organization of alchemists here, but they would not pledge loyalty to him. Those not of one's own race are bound to have different allegiances.