Chapter 836
Chapter 836
Hearing Shen Lang's words, the people of the Amazon Queendom were utterly enraged.
'What on earth do you mean the entire Amazon tribe will be destroyed? What does it mean for our whole clan to perish? Do you have any idea how long the Amazon Queendom has existed? Do you know for how many generations we have endured?'
The High Priestess asked coldly.
“Shen Lang, are you the son of Jiang Li?”
“I am.”
“I’m afraid I do not know him. We know not the emperors of the Eastern world, nor the emperors of the Western world. Over a thousand years ago, when the great Emperor Asuka was on the throne, we did not know him. Seven hundred years ago, when the great Emperor Seirun was reigning, we did not know him. In our eyes, the East does not exist, and our hopes do not lie there. The Amazon is our entire world.”
This was the attitude of the Amazon tribe, passed down for thousands of years. They had lived completely cut off from the world. The High Priestess continued.
“Our sole mission is to protect the glory of our ancestors and to guard our sacred pyramid. Therefore, your status as a future emperor has nothing to do with us. That is the first point. Second, you entered our Amazon nation disguised as a woman and saved a thousand of our tribe members by treating them. Moreover, you treated Her Majesty the Queen, allowing the golden bloodline to be passed on in the Amazon nation. The grace we have received from you is immeasurable. However, when Her Majesty asked what you wanted in return, you said you needed nothing.
At that time, I told Her Majesty that when a person pays a great price but asks for nothing in return, they are either an exceptionally noble person, or what they desire is so great they dare not speak of it. Shen Lang, I believe you are the latter.”
The High Priestess was indeed a keen judge of character, having grasped Shen Lang's true intentions with perfect clarity.
“Then, Your Excellency Shen Lang, what is it that you truly want? The Amazon Queendom despises lies and pretense above all else.”
That was true. Everyone here was incredibly direct, so much so that it seemed their heads were filled with muscle.
“I desire the loyalty of the Amazon Queendom.”
The moment those words were spoken, a murderous aura soared to the heavens. Shen Lang had spoken the truth, but he had enraged everyone present—even Princess Dora, who had become his close friend. The Amazon warriors were proud and free. They were loyal only to their mission and had never in their lives pledged allegiance to any monarch; such an act was tantamount to a great humiliation for them. In their eyes, pledging loyalty to another ruler was no different from being a dog instead of a person.
“Your Excellency Shen Lang, your words have sullied the dignity of our tribe.”
Shen Lang replied to the High Priestess's words.
“Then is it a crime for me to have such thoughts?”
“You are not guilty. One cannot be punished for their thoughts. However, such thoughts of yours are an insult to us.”
It was no different from a beggar on the street encountering a goddess-like woman and imagining sharing pleasures with her in his mind. The thought alone was not a crime, but acting on it would be a grave matter.
“However, you did commit a crime by disguising yourself as a woman and deceiving us to enter the Amazon Queendom. But that is a minor offense, not even worth mentioning compared to the crime you have just committed. You have cursed us with extinction and cursed our pyramid to collapse.”
Shen Lang asked the High Priestess.
“High Priestess, in your hearts, is this pyramid more important than all the people in the Amazon Queendom?”
“Of course. This pyramid is a relic of ancient times. It has protected us for thousands of years and made us strong for thousands of years. It is not only our history but also our hope and our future. The sole mission of our Amazon tribe is to protect this pyramid.”
“Then that is also my purpose for coming here. Among my reasons for disguising myself as a woman and infiltrating the Amazon nation, curing your gout was a trivial matter. My purpose is to save the pyramid, save this nation, and save all of you. If I can do that, then my infiltration in disguise would no longer be a crime, would it?”
The High Priestess shouted furiously.
“Silence! If you dare speak of saving the pyramid again, we will burn you to ashes. The pyramid is supremely sacred and supremely powerful; it only saves the living, and no one can save it. If you dare to curse it again, I will chew you to pieces myself.”
No words could describe the fury of the High Priestess and the Amazon people at that moment. This pyramid was not just their home and their motherland; it was their totem, their deity. Shen Lang's words were utter blasphemy.
“We doctors have a saying about hiding an illness and refusing treatment. You may not know it, but a fatal crisis has already arrived, and the footsteps of the god of destruction are drawing closer, one step at a time.”
“Kill him!”
The High Priestess could no longer bear it and immediately ordered his execution. She could not tolerate anyone who blasphemed the pyramid.
“Wait!”
Queen Eda held out a hand to stop her. She walked over to Shen Lang and looked down at him.
'My god, you're enormous.'
Shen Lang was very tall himself, but he was still half a head shorter than Queen Eda.
“Your Excellency Shen Lang, I am as furious as the High Priestess, and I feel greatly insulted. Originally, I was prepared to offer my throne in exchange for your life, but now, that is impossible. No one can save you now.”
Shen Lang glanced at the queen's neck, then his gaze drifted lower.
'Her Majesty is truly fair-skinned. And a C-cup. Even within her golden breastplate, her depth would be considered immeasurable here in the Amazon Queendom.'
Queen Eda continued.
“However... even in my fury, a thread of reason remains. I do not believe anyone would willingly come to the Amazon tribe to curse us at the cost of their own life. So I ask you, what is this fatal catastrophe you speak of?”
“Approximately two thousand li from the Amazon Queendom, there is a large volcano, is there not?”
“There is.”
“I have consulted ancient records and personally visited that volcano to study it. It is going to erupt again soon.”
“Impossible! The volcano on Fiery Flame Island erupted three years ago and has been dormant since. According to our calculations, it will not erupt for another three years or so. Besides, it can hardly be called a large volcano, and even if it did erupt, it would not have a major impact on the surrounding area.”
Shen Lang replied to the High Priestess.
“That is not the volcano I mean. The volcano on Fiery Flame Island is two thousand li to the south of the Amazon. I am speaking of the volcano on Nightmare Island, two thousand li to the north.”
The High Priestess said with a sneer.
“Absurd. Utterly absurd! That volcano has been dormant for thousands of years; its peak is now covered in snow that is over a thousand years old. Every volcano shows signs before it erupts; there is always a gestation period.”
And that was certainly true. No volcano erupts suddenly; it explodes violently only after the subterranean energy has built up to its limit.
“Furthermore, even if the great volcano on Nightmare Island to the north were to erupt, it is two thousand li away from us. It couldn't possibly have any effect. Whether it's an undersea earthquake or a tsunami, it could not harm us in the slightest.”
The High Priestess was not wrong. Even if a great volcano erupted two thousand li away, it could not affect the Amazon Queendom, aside from some falling ash at most. And while the sky might be covered in ash for a time, this place was surrounded by a vast ocean with strong winds blowing almost daily, so any ash would soon be blown away. To say that a fatal catastrophe was upon the Amazon Queendom was truly nothing short of absurd.
“I have read ancient records and performed countless calculations to reach this conclusion. The eruption of the volcano on Nightmare Mountain to the north will not directly harm the Amazon Queendom, but it will have an indirect effect that will lead to its destruction. This destruction will be earth-shattering; the Amazon nation will not just sink, but will instantly vanish like smoke or melt away.”
This was even more absurd, complete and utter nonsense. There was no volcano beneath the Amazon Queendom, and it would be extremely difficult for ash from a volcano two thousand li away to even reach this place. Yet now, Shen Lang was saying the nation would vanish, that it would completely melt away. It was nothing short of the ramblings of a madman. What's more, he had declared he would save the Amazon nation. If such a cataclysm were to occur, could he save it by himself? A man who lacked the strength to wring a chicken's neck was going to save a nation from such a calamity? He was an outstanding physician, but he was no immortal.
“Guards, drag this man out and publicly execute him by guillotine!”
The High Priestess gave the order, but Queen Eda stopped her again.
“Wait!”
“Your Majesty, you are in charge of war, and I am in charge of rites. I must protect the sanctity of the pyramid. This man has cursed the pyramid, so his fate must be decided by the Amazon's Ancestral Temple. If Your Majesty passes judgment, he will have the fortune of being beheaded. But if we pass judgment, we will burn him to ashes.”
Queen Eda spoke calmly to the fuming High Priestess.
“My teacher, I too am greatly angered, and I too find his words utterly absurd. But while we Amazons are proud, we are not arrogant. We must give him a chance to prove himself.”
The High Priestess asked in an angry voice.
“And what would you have him prove?”
“To prove that his words are false. He saved many of our warriors and treated me, helping to continue the golden bloodline of the Amazon nation. I believe he has earned the right to prove himself.”
“Then what does Your Majesty intend to do?”
“Your Excellency Shen Lang, according to your calculations, when will this destruction of the Amazon Queendom come?”
Shen Lang closed his eyes, calculated for a moment, then opened them and said decisively.
“It will likely occur within twenty-four shichen.”
Queen Eda glanced at the sunset outside the window and said.
“Then I will give you twenty-four shichen, until sunset the day after tomorrow. If a devastating catastrophe truly occurs, it will prove your words were true, and you will, of course, be innocent. But if no such destruction comes...”
Shen Lang said.
“Then it will prove I was lying, and I will be guilty.”
“In that case, we will have no choice but to execute you.”
“Then let it be so.”
“When that time comes, you may choose your manner of death. Furthermore, we will conduct the execution publicly, so that tens of thousands may witness it all. Thus, no matter what happens, you will become a part of history, a warning to any outsiders who might try to infiltrate this place in the future. Guards, lock Shen Lang in a sealed room. No one is to have contact or converse with him.”
At Queen Eda's command, Shen Lang was dragged away by a dozen female warriors and locked in a sealed room. A moment later, the Amazon's Ancestral Temple dispatched dozens of its own warriors to guard him as well. This was clearly an action taken by the High Priestess, who worried that the Queen might take pity on him and secretly let him go.