Chapter 844
Chapter 844
Queen Eda continued to row the boat, seeing Shen Lang off on his journey.
They moved farther and farther away from Amazon Isle, and the people on the island who had come to see him off had all returned. Shen Lang's boat soon drifted into the formation of giant stone statues.
“Would you like to take a look at these giant reefs?”
Queen Eda asked.
“Of course,” Shen Lang replied.
Before he could finish, Queen Eda grabbed Shen Lang by the waist and leaped powerfully upward. They landed directly on top of one of the giant reefs.
“These giant reefs are our sea walls. For generations, they have protected us from invaders.”
“Did you carve these giant statues? Or were they here from the beginning?”
“They have been here since the beginning of our history, at the very least.”
Shen Lang hesitated for a moment before speaking.
“The high priestess gave birth to a son. Was that the only case?”
“Not the only one, but it was very rare. Perhaps one in ten thousand.”
“Then what happened to those baby boys?”
“You know our ancestral edict. Any male who enters the Amazon nation must die, even a newborn boy. So, from very early on, we had a tradition of casting such infants into the raging waves.”
Shen Lang's face twitched. For any reason, such an act was a sin.
“But most people in the world do not have hearts of stone, and we Amazons are no different. For about three hundred years now, whenever a boy is born, we secretly send him to the outside world to be raised by a family. Then, we carve a fake baby and cast it into the sea. Of course, this is a secret known only to the queen. This way, we can avoid being inhumane while still barely adhering to our ancestral edict.”
“Do the Amazon tribes guard this great pyramid for generations because of a specific mission?”
“Yes.”
“What mission?”
“To protect the Amazon's god of war.”
Shen Lang was taken aback by her words.
‘What kind of strange mission is that? There's no such thing as a god of war in this world. Besides, in Greek mythology, Ares, the god of war, is hardly a righteous figure; he's a symbol of bloodthirsty slaughter. Even in DC's *Wonder Woman*, he's portrayed as a villain.’
Queen Eda said, “The Amazons have many ancestral edicts. Some are very good, but some are not, yet we must still follow them.”
“Then do you think the ancestral edict to perform the Rite of Propagation on the Isle of Procreation is a good one?”
“I think it is very good. Do you, by chance, think it is terribly ugly?”
“I don't know how to put it. Besides, I'm human trash, so I'm in no position to say.”
“I know what you mean. You believe that a man and a woman must have feelings for each other to be together, and that simply finding a man to borrow his seed for the sake of procreation sounds utterly absurd, doesn't it?”
That was exactly what he meant.
“In fact, some Amazon warriors never participate in the Rite of Propagation. They are celibate. And some go but return empty-handed because they couldn't find a man they liked. We, too, procreate after developing feelings, just like the women of the outside world. We choose men we genuinely like, men who must have a strong appeal, and there must be a spark between us. Just because the time we have for feelings to develop is short, you shouldn't think us emotionless. Furthermore, we are more virtuous than the women of the outside world. At least after we procreate, we never return to the Isle of Procreation. Many Amazon warriors experience only one man in their entire lives. In about a month, for the Rite of Propagation, will you be coming to the Isle of Procreation?”
“I will definitely be there.”
“Then it's a promise. We shall meet again then, in a different manner.”
Then, she grabbed Shen Lang and leaped from the giant reef, returning to the boat. The boat continued forward, leaving the sea wall of giant reefs behind. With that, Shen Lang had left the Amazon nation.
“Shen Lang, is there anything else you wish to say?”
Shen Lang knew what she meant. The queen was asking if he was sure he wouldn't make any demands for saving the Amazon nation. But Shen Lang had already made it clear in the pyramid's depths that he would save their country without any conditions. Since he had put on a show of bravado, he had to see it through, even if it brought tears to his eyes.
Shen Lang gritted his teeth and shook his head firmly.
“There is not.”
“You saved our country. Are you sure you have no conditions?”
Shen Lang, thoroughly irritated, said curtly, “If I say there are none, there are none.”
‘If you're going to give me something, just give it to me. Stop nagging.’
“You once said your purpose in coming to the Amazon nation was to conquer us.”
*Wrong. It was to conquer you. And then, indirectly, to win the loyalty of the Amazon warriors. But now it seemed that even if I conquered Her Majesty the Queen, I might not be able to conquer the entire Amazon warrior tribe.*
“I know that in the Western world, you are probably…”
The queen wracked her brain, trying to recall an idiom. An Eastern idiom, at that.
“Starting from scratch, carving out a path through the wilderness?”
“Yes. Your situation in the Western world is like that. So you must be in particular need of our army. But you know our ancestral edict. No warrior is to leave Amazon waters. The ancestral edicts hold great power, and sometimes, we must obey them even if we don't want to. So, I am sorry. I have disappointed you. The army of the Amazon nation cannot pledge its loyalty to you, nor can it follow you out of the country.”
Shen Lang was silent.
“Do you have anything more to say now?”
“No.”
“Then this is farewell. I hope to see you in about a month!”
Queen Eda leaped lightly from the boat, landing on top of a giant reef. Her send-off was over. Shen Lang, in his small boat, slowly passed through the lines of giant reefs, leaving the Amazon nation completely. In the end, he left alone.
***
Internally, Shen Lang was trembling.
‘This can't be happening, right? I... I was just bluffing. Are you really not going to give me anything? I don't believe it! What I said was just like telling my friends at my wedding, "Just your presence is enough. Don't you dare give me any gift money." But in reality, I'd already calculated how much they'd probably give me. And what you've just done is like those friends actually showing up to the wedding without a single penny. After I gave them a hefty sum for their weddings, too. Do you have any idea how damn frustrating that is?!’
At that moment, Shen Lang was seized by an impulse. He wanted to go back to the Amazon nation and beg the queen for her army.
‘Out of the thirty thousand people in the Amazon Queendom, there are fifteen thousand adult warriors. I don't need ten thousand, I don't even need eight thousand, just five thousand would be enough! If that's too much, even an army of three thousand would do. You can't just give me nothing. I saved the Amazon nation, and your reward is to sleep with me once in a month and a half? Damn it, that's still a loss for me. I'm the one getting drained again.’
Shen Lang's small boat drifted farther and farther from the Amazon Queendom, and the feeling that he was completely screwed grew stronger in his heart. He was so resentful, he could imagine doing unspeakable things to Queen Eda, over and over. Just as a chill ran down his spine and he resigned himself to returning empty-handed, a fleet from the Amazon nation suddenly appeared in the waters ahead.
The large ships were packed with Amazon warriors, and at the forefront was Princess Dora. Shen Lang did a quick calculation: about three hundred Amazon warriors per ship, and a total of twenty-six ships, which meant there were eight thousand Amazon warriors.
‘She tricked me, she tricked me! Queen Eda, in a month and a half, I swear I won't let you off easy. How dare you tease me like this.’
Shen Lang had almost started to question his life choices.
‘If I save the Amazons and get nothing in return, what incentive will I have to do good deeds in the future?’
Her Majesty the Queen had essentially given Shen Lang almost the entire army of the Amazon Queendom. Eight thousand strong Amazon warriors, an unparalleled legion. It was a massive gain. Internally, Shen Lang wanted to cheer at the top of his lungs. He was about to become unbelievably powerful. Eight thousand Amazon warriors could sweep through an army of a hundred thousand.
Shen Lang boarded the large ship carrying Princess Dora. But Princess Dora looked a little different. Instead of her long, flowing silver hair, it was now cut to neck length. She had no choice, as much of her hair had been burned off while trying to save Shen Lang. But, this was a problem. With her hair cut short, she looked even more fiery and attractive.
“According to the ancestral edict, no Amazon warrior may ever step foot outside the nation. Therefore, the eight thousand of us have been exiled. From now on, I am no longer Dora Liez, but Dora Roland.”
This was a classic case of exploiting a loophole. It seemed every system in the world had its flaws. Three hundred years ago, an Amazon queen had created a fake baby boy to throw into the sea, and now, Queen Eda had exiled eight thousand of her elite warriors to give them to Shen Lang.
Shen Lang spread his arms wide, looked at Princess Dora, and said, “Welcome, my sisters. I swear to you, I will find you a land as beautiful as Amazon Isle and make it your new home.”
Princess Dora opened her arms and embraced Shen Lang, saying, “From this day forward, our lives are in your hands, Your future Imperial Majesty.”
The two hugged tightly, as if they were one. Then, Princess Dora suddenly said, “Your Imperial Majesty, shouldn't you exercise some restraint at a time like this? It is not very elegant.”
Shen Lang didn't want to admit it, but the person on his mind right now was Queen Eda. Because Queen Eda was even more mature and alluring than Dora.
“Princess Dora, sometimes you must forgive me. It is all heaven's fault for making you too beautiful.”
At Princess Dora's command, the fleet carrying eight thousand Amazon warriors sailed majestically toward Mulan Castle. Shen Lang's plan had ended in success. He had finally won the loyalty of the Amazon legion.
***
Meanwhile, in the City of Jadeite Gold, a great army set out.
Last time, when she set out to conquer the Witch Empire, Duchess Dybas had made grand speeches and performed a sacrifice to the god of fire, ultimately achieving a complete victory.
This time, however, Dybas made no grand pronouncements, uttering only a single sentence.
“Kill every last one of those clowns on the southern tip of the Jadebird Peninsula! March!”
At her command, the hundred-thousand-strong army departed in grand fashion. Her uncle, Count Austin, would lead fifty thousand troops overland, heading south to the Jadebird Peninsula to attack Mulan Castle. The fleet of the Blood-soaked Baron would lead the other fifty thousand by sea, landing near Mulan Castle to attack. A hundred thousand troops would launch a pincer attack from the north and south.
Numerous citizens of the City of Jadeite Gold came out to watch the army depart, just as they had last time. Only now did they learn that the Easterners had built a castle on the Jadebird Peninsula, and that among them was the foreigner who had been burned to death.
Of course, no one still considered him Duchess Dybas's husband. Everyone knew the Grand Duke had married him for the sake of the sacrifice. No one in the City of Jadeite Gold was excited. Because this war was no different from swatting a fly. That pretty boy from the East had an army of two thousand at most, while they had a hundred thousand. Victory would be a piece of cake.
