Chapter 845
Chapter 845
“That Eastern pretty boy is nothing but a clown and a thief. To think he’d sneak in and occupy our land while Duke Diphas was away.”
“I heard that the dung Easterners drop is black, isn’t it? It pollutes the land so much that you can’t farm on it for years. It’s no big deal for the Duke’s army to kill them all this time, but they should be burned to ashes and scattered in the sea. That’s the only way to keep our land from being contaminated.”
“Duke Diphas defeated the Witch Empire’s army of a million. What makes you think she can’t handle a mere two thousand Easterners?”
As Duke Diphas rode her horse back to the ramparts, a chorus of congratulations reached her ears. She did not go to attack Shen Lang herself. It wasn’t that she didn’t take him seriously; otherwise, she wouldn’t have returned with an army of a hundred thousand. What she was concerned about wasn’t Shen Lang himself, but the fact that Queen Medusa had entrusted him with two thousand soldiers. She worried the Witch Empire might rise again on the Bipa Continent, but she couldn't lead the charge herself. Doing so would be giving Shen Lang too much credit. She was the female commander who had defeated the Witch Empire, the southern guardian of the Third Seiren Empire. For her to personally lead an expedition against a foe of less than two thousand would be utterly ridiculous.
After returning to the ramparts, Duke Diphas sat at her desk and began writing a letter to Emperor Solon. For the past few months, she had written him a letter every day, professing her admiration and loyalty. Every letter was filled with passion, though she had never met His Majesty Solon in her life. After finishing the letter, she sealed it, then sealed it again with wax.
“Deliver this letter to His Majesty Solon with the utmost speed.”
At Duke Diphas’s command, the middle-aged eunuch, Taren, replied.
“Yes, my lady. However, if I may be so bold, there is something I wish to say in the Eastern tongue.”
“If it’s flattery, don’t bother.”
“I swear, every word I speak comes from the bottom of my heart. Even if I were to close my mouth, the words would burst forth from my chest. My lady, you have grown even more youthful and beautiful since your return. I believe there is no woman in this world more beautiful than you. You should have been the Empress of the Seiren Empire.”
“Am I to trust the eye of a mere eunuch? Do you people even have the capacity to appreciate a woman’s beauty?”
Taren spoke in a despairing tone, as if his world was collapsing.
“My lady, it was only my desire that was castrated, not my sense of aesthetics.”
“Enough. Go. You have already delayed me by a full minute.”
“I will not delay you by a single minute more.”
Taren immediately dashed outside, moving so quickly he stirred up a breeze.
Duke Diphas walked over to the large organ and began to play. From now on, she would practice the organ every day. She had to play for His Majesty Solon and earn his praise. In the past, when Shen Lang had inadvertently heard her play, she had stopped. Her music was not meant for him. She practiced, playing the same piece several times over, until she felt her skill would not improve any further for the day.
Suddenly, Diphas hesitated for a moment before playing *Exodus*. She was indeed a woman of many talents, including music. Having heard Shen Lang play it only once, she had remembered almost the entire piece. It was certainly a good song. Should she play this for His Majesty Solon? No, absolutely not. The piece was excellent, but it came from Shen Lang, and to play it would be an act of sacrilege. It was a song that needed to disappear from this world, along with Shen Lang.
Duke Diphas rose from her seat and commanded.
“Someone, burn this organ.”
A handmaid outside bowed her head and replied.
“Yes!”
A question arose in their minds.
‘This organ is over a hundred years old. Is it alright to just burn it like this?’
***
Diphas ascended to a high tower on the ramparts and gazed at the fleet far out at sea. The ships were already receding from view. She wanted to compose a poem to express the feeling of the fleet shrinking and eventually disappearing from sight. However, while Western poetry was exquisite at describing emotions, it seemed to fall short of Eastern poetry in depicting landscapes and moods. At the very least, Duke Diphas could not have crafted a line like, “The lonely sail, a distant shadow, vanishes into the azure sky.”
“Bring her in!”
At Duke Diphas’s command, a beautiful woman was soon dragged forward. It was Black Widow Hill. Duke Diphas did not turn to look at her. As a person of the highest standing among the white-skinned people, she would not deign to turn around for a woman of the Veda tribe. She knew of this woman called Hill. She was a wealthy woman, one who had killed her own husband on their wedding day. Diphas had also conscripted Hill’s ancestors.
“You saved that Easterner? And you slept with him?”
‘And you didn’t? Our common ground is that we’ve embraced the same man. Of course, yours might be fairer, but it is by no means nobler than mine.’
Of course, Hill only said this in her mind. As a sea merchant, she knew how to read people and speak words she didn’t mean. Black Widow Hill immediately spoke with feigned outrage.
“That man is a swindler! He swindled me out of two hundred and fifty thousand gold coins. Your Grace, I am a victim.”
‘Besides money, he also stole your heart, didn’t he?’
Diphas thought this but would never say it aloud. It was too frivolous a remark. When speaking to those of lower status, she had to be cold and concise, saving every word.
“No need for excuses! When he is dead, you will be free!”
With a wave of her hand, someone came and led Black Widow Hill away. Diphas remained standing by the window, watching until the dispatched fleet had completely vanished from her sight. Only then did she return to her study to handle pressing official matters.
“Order the governors of the five southern provinces of the Empire to come and see me. I need to know if they will pledge their loyalty to His Majesty Solon. They must act, not just speak.”
“Yes, Your Grace!”
***
Count Austin Rousseau’s army of fifty thousand first marched a hundred *li* east before turning south to enter the Byeokjo Peninsula. His pace was exceptionally fast, covering about sixty *li* each day. Count Austin remarked.
“Why must we bring these trebuchets? They are significantly slowing our march. Are trebuchets truly necessary to attack a small village with a mere two thousand soldiers?”
The priestess of the God of Fire said.
“My Lord Count, this is but a performance. We will display the majesty of the God of Fire to the barbarians.”
Count Austin asked.
“The majesty of the God of Fire? Priestess, forgive my irreverence. I have traveled the world and have only heard of the God of Fire; I have not been fortunate enough to witness his majesty. A sky-piercing flame is beautiful, but a romantic deity is not one to be welcomed. A true deity is one who inspires fear.”
The priestess of the God of Fire said.
“If that is your wish.”
She then pointed to a house not far away. Count Austin naturally turned his gaze in that direction. A brief silence fell around them as everyone waited quietly. Then, suddenly.
*CRACK-BOOM!*
The house was instantly pulverized, and a ball of fire shot into the sky. Countless broken stones flew through the air, kicking up a thick cloud of smoke. All who witnessed it were stunned into silence.
‘Is this the power of thunder and lightning? To shatter a sturdy house so quickly and forcefully?’
The priestess of the God of Fire asked.
“My Lord Count, what do you think?”
“I retract every irreverent word I just spoke. Your deity is indeed awe-inspiring. It is a pity that such a weapon, like the wrath of thunder, cannot be unleashed upon the fortress of that Eastern clown. It should have made its appearance in the holy war against the Witch Empire. That Eastern clown named Shen Lang does not deserve to die by such a weapon.”
The priestess said.
“The fortresses of the Witch Empire are all populated by people of the Western races. The weapons of the God of Fire must not be used in civil wars. They are for use against external enemies.”
“Allow me to express my admiration once again.”
“We have brought a thousand charges of the Fire God’s Wrath this time, enough to make the Easterners’ city vanish like smoke. They will think they have been struck down by divine punishment.”
A thousand charges of the Fire God’s Wrath. This astonishing-sounding item was, in fact, a thousand bundles of gunpowder—a rather primitive form of black powder at that. Still, the amount they had prepared was immense. To think they would mobilize tens of tons of gunpowder just to destroy the single Mulan Fortress.
“This Fire God’s Wrath will certainly be shocking. I cannot even imagine the earth-shattering scene when we launch it with the trebuchets. Those Easterners will probably fall to their knees, weeping and praying, begging the heavens for forgiveness. However, the trebuchets are being assembled too slowly. I fear the Bloody Baron’s army will land sooner and capture the Eastern clown’s fortress before we do.”
Diphas’s army consistently referred to Shen Lang’s Mulan Fortress as the Eastern clown’s fortress. Count Austin simply sneered at the priestess’s words and did not reply. Because that was an impossibility. The Bloody Baron had only just become a vassal of House Rousseau; would he dare to be so tactless? Count Austin was certain that the army at sea would arrive later and engage in battle later than them. Austin didn't care about destroying the Eastern clown's fortress, but he wouldn't let anyone else steal his glory.
***
Zhang Chunhua was truly remarkable. In just thirteen days, she had led six thousand slaves to complete the construction of Chunhua Pass. It had over three thousand meters of walls and three fortified pillboxes. She marveled once again. Cement and bricks were revolutionary inventions, making construction as simple as building sandcastles.
But it was a shame. The cement was almost gone, and with the sea blockade, they could no longer transport volcanic ash, meaning no new cement could be produced. The architectural miracle unfolding at Empress Fortress had to come to a halt here.
Standing on the five-meter-high wall, she wrote three large characters above the gate: Chunhua Pass. She was very satisfied. A thought even crossed her mind. In the past, her father, Zhang Chong, would never have considered marrying her to Shen Lang as a concubine. Shen Lang was merely the live-in son-in-law of a noble, an unsuitable match. But now, her father would be overjoyed to send her into Shen Lang’s arms. Whether the grand endeavor succeeded or failed, Shen Lang was a descendant of emperors. Becoming the consort of such a man was an honor for any family, a cause for celebration.
“Commander Zhang, Duke Diphas’s army is about fifty *li* from us. They will reach the fortress by tomorrow.”
Hearing those two words, Zhang Chunhua’s brow furrowed.
‘Commander Zhang? Why not an address like ‘Your Highness’ or something of the sort?’
“What about Shen Lang? Is there still no sign of him at sea? Meng Luonan escorted him to the Amazon Kingdom; has there been no report?”
At Zhang Chunhua’s words, a general of the Eastern warrior corps frowned.
“Commander Zhang, please mind your words and titles. You must not address His Majesty by his name directly. There is still no sign of His Majesty at sea. General Meng Luonan has sent word that His Majesty has not yet emerged from the Amazon Kingdom.”
“He hasn’t returned yet? Does this mean we two thousand must truly fight this battle alone?”