Chapter 827
Chapter 827
Shen Lang was at a loss for words. The scene he imagined was truly awe-inspiring. A single man, with a single sword, conquering half the world. Such a person would swiftly capture the hearts of all the nobles, officials, and common people of the Seirun Dynasty. Then, he would ascend the throne without any obstacles and truly unite the entire Seirun Empire.
“Now, Queen Medusa has become his final target of conquest. She will either be slaughtered or kneel and willingly become his concubine.”
Shen Lang could easily picture the scene. Prince Solon, heading south, conquering city after city with a single sword, culminating in a million-strong army besieging the Queen's City while he engaged Queen Medusa in a final battle. After that, he would formally ascend the throne.
“Duke Russell is a true patriot, so he must be eager to see a peerless warrior appear in the Seirun Dynasty and unite the Western world once again. But Duchess Dybas lacks such purity. For what reason is she betting everything to support Prince Solon?”
“After Prince Solon ascends the throne, Duchess Dybas has agreed to become his outer consort. She will then become the guardian of the empire's south, and her children will change their surname to Seirun-Russo and become one of the imperial princes.”
The so-called outer consort was merely a respectful title, in truth referring to a lover without a formal marriage. It was equivalent to an "outer chamber" in the Eastern world, but it also held the nature of a contractual relationship, like an betrothal.
“But Duchess Dybas is not a virgin, is she?”
“We in the West are not as concerned with such things as the East. Queen Medusa has even borne a child, yet Prince Solon still intends to make her the empress of the empire. So this time, he will say, ‘Become my empress, or die!’”
Shen Lang's eyes narrowed. In a way, Queen Medusa was no longer his concern, but she was still the mother of his child. Now, Prince Solon had made a domineering declaration to Queen Medusa: become his woman or die. And Duchess Dybas... no wonder she didn't hesitate to spend so much money, pouring everything she had into this. She had dismissed a handsome man like Shen Lang as insignificant, but now it was clear she had her eyes set on the future Emperor Solon. If she succeeded, the Russo family would be reborn as one of the most powerful and influential noble families in the Seirun Empire. But why was the Bloody Baron telling Shen Lang all this?
“Your Excellency, do you know of Princess Helene? Does she have any hope in this struggle for the Seirun throne?”
The Bloody Baron was startled. He looked extremely surprised that Shen Lang had mentioned Princess Helene's name.
“No hope. Princess Helene has been missing for seventeen years; she may already be dead. Even if she were alive, with her status, she could not become the emperor of the Seirun Empire.”
“Where do you think she went?”
“Who knows? Perhaps she went to the Devil's Triangle or the undersea temple. She was an unpredictable princess; no one ever dared to guess what she was thinking.”
***
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
Suddenly, bells began to ring. They were incredibly urgent. If Shen Lang's eyes were in the sky, he would have seen every ship on the sea ringing their urgent bells in unison. Whether pirate ships or merchant vessels, they all rang the same bells. It was the same all the way east to Goldfall City.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
Throughout Goldfall City, the sound of the bells grew even more urgent. At the same time, the gates of Goldfall City were sealed, and all the docks were blockaded.
Thump, thump, thump.
Troop after troop of soldiers emerged from the duchess's fortress and barracks, entering the city. Thousands, tens of thousands of soldiers blockaded every road and entrance in Goldfall City. The entire city went on high alert, and a blockade order was issued, spanning a vast area.
The Bloody Baron stood up and said.
“Mysterious Easterner, the blockade against you has begun. From now on, no maritime merchant or pirate will do business with you. That includes your lover, Hila.”
But Shen Lang had just received two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins from Hila. That was half of her entire fortune.
“From now on, any ship that approaches your base will be sunk. Not a single grain of rice, not a single slave, will ever reach your base again.”
“Your Excellency, is this blockade order from Duchess Dybas against me? Or...?”
“It is a blockade order issued against you by the entire Third Seirun Empire. That includes me. After today, if any ship approaches your base, I will sink it myself.”
So pragmatic. Just moments ago, he had made a huge deal with Shen Lang, and now he was going to personally enforce the blockade?
“I am truly sorry, magician from the Eastern world. With the future Emperor Solon behind Duchess Dybas, no one can stop them. Perhaps the next time you see me, I will be a Vice Admiral of the Third Seirun Empire's navy. Besides that, for the sake of the friendship from our trade, I'll tell you one more thing. You have about a month left. Duchess Dybas is already leading a large army south. She will surely crush you before you can even sprout. I repeat, you only have about a month, so take care of yourself.
Magician from the Eastern world, it was a great pleasure doing business with you. In two months at most, Duchess Dybas's army will wipe your little sanctuary off the face of this earth. If I were you, I would immediately take a ship and flee far away. The farther, the better. Now that Emperor Solon has risen, an outsider like you should stay as far away from him as possible. So, farewell!”
The Bloody Baron extended his hand to Shen Lang.
“Farewell, Your Excellency.”
Shen Lang also extended his hand, shook his, and then disembarked from the ship. The moment he stepped off the Bloody Baron's vessel.
Ding, ding, ding, ding.
The sharp, urgent ringing of bells echoed out.
“Prepare for battle!”
At the Bloody Baron's command, his vast fleet began preparing for battle. All the large ballistae were deployed, the catapults were readied, and the pirates all drew their swords and nocked their arrows. The hundred ships, peaceful just a moment ago, transformed in an instant, bristling with murderous intent and baring their sharp claws. This was the textbook definition of turning on a dime.
The Bloody Baron took out a piece of parchment, unfurled it, and shouted at the top of his lungs.
“By order of Duchess Dybas, Guardian of the South of the Third Seirun Empire and Governor of the Azure Wave Province! A complete blockade is to be enforced on the Easterner Shen Lang's Mulan City. No one is to trade with him. Any pirate or merchant who trades with Shen Lang shall have their entire family executed. Any ship that appears near Mulan City will be sunk. The great blockade begins now!”
Thereupon, the Bloody Baron's fleet and the surrounding pirate fleets officially began to enforce the great blockade, completely sealing off this sea region. The fleet Duchess Dybas had left behind also appeared on the sea, ready to sink any vessel that tried to trade with Shen Lang.
At the same time, Duchess Dybas began to lead her grand army south. Shen Lang's two thousand men had landed on the Azure Tide Peninsula and conducted large-scale trade, so there was no way to hide it from others. Especially since the miraculous, magical city had been built almost overnight.
Duchess Dybas currently only knew Shen Lang's name, not his identity, but she knew he had a close relationship with Queen Medusa. Moreover, he was originally supposed to have been burned to death at the stake but had ultimately survived, which made her take him very seriously. So when she heard that Shen Lang was building a sanctuary on her Azure Tide Peninsula, she was completely stunned.
‘This man not only didn't die, but he dared to return to my territory, develop his own base on my island, and build a sanctuary? What on earth gave him such courage? Is he a madman?’
For the first time since meeting Shen Lang, she began to take him seriously, but the situation at the Queen's City was not urgent at the moment. All they had to do was wait for Emperor Solon to come south for his final confrontation with Queen Medusa, with the grand army simply besieging the Queen's City. Right now, Emperor Solon was performing a dazzling miracle in the north, conquering city after city by himself. To conquer his way down would take at least half a year before he reached the Queen's City.
Duchess Dybas had not yet met Emperor Solon, but she considered him the True Son of Heaven. He was the greatest hero of the Seirun Dynasty, the most handsome of men, a figure comparable to the Great Seirun Emperor. She could not miss this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so before Emperor Solon had even come south, she had poured everything she had into supporting him. It was because she wanted the Russo family to ride the winds of Emperor Solon's rise and be completely transformed. Moreover, this was not just her will, but also the will of the Fire God Sect. So, while Emperor Solon was making his way south, she had to lead her army back and completely crush Shen Lang's city before it could even sprout.
“High Priest, why did you choose Shen Lang as a husband to be sacrificed back then?”
Duchess Dybas asked, and the High Priest replied.
“Everything was the will of the Fire God.”
“Then is it also the will of the Fire God for me to lead a grand army and completely destroy his small city now?”
“Of course!”
***
Now, let's turn back time half a year.
The giant ship designed by Shen Lang, carrying the Nirvana Army and all his family, entered the Devil's Triangle. The people on the ship could never forget that scene. It was truly like hell, looking like the mouth of a demon. Before entering, everyone had imagined it would be an incredibly terrifying and dangerous place. And upon actually entering, they found it was even more frightening than they had imagined.
Mulan had never in her life seen such dense and terrifying lightning. Lightning struck down like countless swimming dragons, and there was even ball lightning. Inside the Triangle, it was pitch black; you couldn't even see your hand in front of your face. But in the brief moments when lightning flashed, it was blindingly bright. The lightning, shaped like ten thousand swimming dragons, struck madly everywhere inside the triangle, as if trying to tear the heavens and earth asunder. Without lightning protection, any ship that entered this place would have inevitably been shattered to pieces.
Mulan was terrified that her ship would also suffer a catastrophe, but she trusted her husband. As expected, the great ship passed through without incident, the massive electrical currents flowing directly through the ship and into the sea.