Chapter 830
Chapter 830
"Are we counting on the cannons to fight?"
"To rely on cannons, we'd need at least a hundred of them, not to mention a large supply of grapeshot. At our current pace, it'll be a miracle if we have even five cannons ready when the battle begins. We have too few blacksmiths, and their skills are subpar. But once we take Crimson Gold City, we'll have over a thousand master blacksmiths at our disposal. Then, we can produce cannons nonstop."
"And without the cannons? Can we defeat Duke Dipas's army of one hundred thousand?"
"Of course, we can!"
"Three months have already passed. We only have nine months left until the day you promised Yaoyao. We can't break our promise. Yaoyao is a very special child. You told her one year, so she's clinging to that moment, pouring all her life force into holding on until then. I'm afraid that if you don't arrive on time, she won't be able to hold on any longer."
Shen Lang's eyes grew hot.
"If you say that again, I'll have to punish you."
Shen Lang gritted his teeth and continued.
"Even if I'm left with no army, even if I'm all alone, I will crawl to her if I have to. I will never break my promise."
"Then when are we returning to the Great Yan Empire?"
"Soon, very soon. Once we defeat Duke Dipas and capture Crimson Gold City, our power will grow exponentially. With a fleet of one hundred thousand and over a thousand cannons, we can march on the Great Yan Empire. By then, we'll have absolute control of the seas."
"Then what will we rely on to defeat Duke Dipas's hundred-thousand-strong army? We only have two thousand men... Are you planning to use explosives?"
"I'd rather not use explosives if I can avoid it."
"Then what will you use?"
"The warriors of the Amazon Queendom, the strongest tribe of female warriors in the Western world."
Zhang Chunhua glanced at Shen Lang and said.
"In the past, many have tried to conquer the Amazon tribe using their good looks. But..."
"They all had their heads chopped off and their skin flayed."
"So, are you confident?"
"Seventy percent. If we can win over the Amazon Queendom, we will have the strongest army. Then we can easily crush Duke Dipas's hundred-thousand-strong force, capture Crimson Gold City, and even sweep across a thousand leagues of territory."
How strong were the Amazon warriors? One only had to look at the Roland Knights. And they were the ones cast out by the Amazon Queen for being too weak.
Zhang Chunhua asked, puzzled.
"There's only a month and a half left before Dipas's army of a hundred thousand marches to attack us, yet you're still here at home, not on your way to win over the Amazon tribe. Won't it be too late? When do you plan on leaving to conquer the Amazon Queen?"
"Tonight!"
Zhang Chunhua asked, her voice trembling.
"So soon? But the waters around us are completely blockaded. Not a single ship can get out to sea."
"I'll go by land. Then, once I'm far from these waters, I'll head north to the Amazon encampment."
* * *
As evening fell, Shen Lang bid farewell to Zhang Chunhua, Black Pearl, Lan Feng, and the others.
"Zhang Chunhua, while I'm gone, I'm entrusting all of Mulan City's internal affairs to you. Black Pearl, control that fiery temper of yours and stay off the sea."
Black Pearl said.
"We are the descendants of the Pirate King. We are not afraid of death. Being blockaded like this, unable to go from land to sea, is a tremendous humiliation. If the Goulou Clan were still here, would we just stand by and watch some bloody baron flaunt his power on the waves?"
She was truly seething with anger. The Bloody Baron, once a friend, had turned on them without hesitation, leading a host of pirates to completely blockade Shen Lang's Mulan City, ruthlessly sinking the two ships they had sent out to sea.
"General Lan Feng, I leave the entire city's defense to you. You must also oversee the cannon production and the artillerymen's test firings."
Lan Feng, leader of the Eastern Knights, said.
"My lord, if you succeed in winning over the Amazon tribe, you will have the strongest land army, and defeating Duke Dipas's hundred-thousand-strong force will naturally be a piece of cake. But what if you fail, or don't make it back in time?"
"I have high hopes for the Amazon warriors, and I need them more than anything. However, I am not pinning my hopes for the battle against Duke Dipas on them. Even if I don't return in time, we will still win this war. Zhang Chunhua will lead the people and arrange everything. Of course, the best outcome would be for me to return with the Amazon legion and slaughter Duke Dipas's army until their blood flows like a river. Now, I must bid you farewell. All of you, take care."
Lan Feng suddenly called out to Shen Lang.
"My lord, may I call you Your Highness? I know you dislike the title, but I worry I may never see you again, and never have the chance to address you as such. You could never imagine how loyal we were to His Highness Jiang Li, how even in our dreams we longed for the day his heir would appear before us."
Shen Lang had never acknowledged his identity, but he had never denied it either. When he chatted with Zhang Chunhua, that vixen would always talk about the future emperor appearing, about "His Highness Jiang," and when they would march on the Great Yan Empire. Lan Feng was no fool; he naturally picked up clues from their words. Of course, even if Shen Lang's identity was revealed during his banter with Zhang Chunhua, he wouldn't have immediately believed that Shen Lang was Jiang Li's son. But Lan Feng had absolute faith in Queen Medusa. Everything she did was unquestionably meaningful, and in the Eastern world, perhaps only one person was worthy of her association—the future emperor.
Yet Shen Lang had not voluntarily revealed his identity to him, and Lan Feng had not pressed the matter. But no words could express Lan Feng's fervent and emotional state. It was as if his life had found a second spring. Once they learned the truth, the loyalty of the entire Eastern Knights toward Shen Lang instantly reached its peak, even surpassing their former loyalty to Queen Medusa. No matter how dangerous the task, they vied to be the first to take it on. Because what they were doing now was fighting for the ideals of their entire lives.
The heavens had looked after them. After more than twenty years of despair, their true lord had been brought before them once again. That was why, during a cannon test firing some time ago, when the first attempt resulted in the cannon exploding and horrifically killing the brother acting as the gunner, they still did not flinch and eagerly continued the dangerous experiments. But now that Shen Lang was leaving, they wanted to shout the title "Your Highness," a name they had only dared to utter in their hearts.
Shen Lang smiled and said.
"General Lan Feng, those words of yours are rather ominous. But it doesn't matter. Call me that if you wish. I must tell you, though, that back in the Great Yan Empire, when my sworn brother called me 'Your Highness,' it felt like I was going to die."
Shen Lang mounted his horse and, under the protection of Meng Lanan and the other female warriors, left Mulan City under the cover of darkness and began his journey north. Behind him, Lan Feng knelt, kowtowed, and shouted at Shen Lang's departing back.
"Your servant, Lan Feng, greets Your Highness! Long live, long live, long, long live Your Majesty!"
Then, the Eastern Knights behind him all knelt in unison and shouted.
"We greet Your Highness! Long live, long live, long, long live Your Majesty!"
With hot tears welling in their eyes, they all shouted until their throats were hoarse. Zhang Chunhua realized she was the only one still standing. The sight sent a slight tingle through her body.
*Do... do I have to kneel too? But no matter how much I like him, I don't want to kneel to that scumbag. Still, with the mood like this, how can I not?*
Then, she noticed Lan Feng glaring at her with a murderous look in his eyes, and the men of the Eastern Knights staring at her as if she were their sworn enemy, their eyes practically shooting sparks. Zhang Chunhua had no choice.
*Do you have to be so dramatic? Your loyalty has reached the point of cultivation deviation. I might even be your future empress, you know.*
In the end, she had no choice but to kneel with them.
* * *
Six days and nights later. After traveling a thousand leagues by land, they took to the sea for another two thousand leagues. By then, they had entered completely unfamiliar waters, where a thick fog hung in all directions and reefs were everywhere. No outsider could ever enter these waters; only Meng Lanan and her group remembered the way back to their home. The boat Shen Lang was on pressed ever forward, deeper into the sea.
Soon, the mystical waters of the Amazon would likely unfold before them. The Amazon Queendom was an isolated island, completely cut off from the world. It was mysterious and powerful, yet their island appeared on no map. In the Western world, the strongest female warriors lived generation after generation on this mystical, isolated island, never setting foot off it in their entire lives, except to procreate.
Meng Lanan said to Shen Lang.
"Your Excellency Shen Lang, if we go any further, we will enter the waters of the Amazon Queendom. Once we enter, it is highly likely we will be slaughtered. Although you may be one of the three future emperors, the Amazons are isolated from the world. Even if you were the emperor, they would kill you just the same. They might even dismember your corpse on the spot."
Shen Lang nodded.
"I understand."
"In a thousand years of history, every man who has entered the Amazon Queendom has been killed. They are beheaded and flayed on the spot, without even a chance to speak. Do you still wish to go?"
"Continue forward."
Meng Lanan took a deep breath and continued to row forward. A short while later, Shen Lang's small boat was surrounded.
*Swish, swish, swish, swish.*
Dozens of incredibly powerful Amazonian warriors burst out from beneath the sea.
*Crack, crack, crack.*
In an instant, the boat Shen Lang was on was mercilessly torn apart by them. Their martial strength was truly astonishing. To destroy a boat with their bare hands?
The next moment, a greatsword was pressed against Shen Lang's neck, and against the necks of Meng Lanan and everyone else.
"No outsider may enter the waters of the Amazon Queendom. Violators will be killed without mercy."