Chapter 855
Chapter 855
A moment later, Princess Dora's beautiful, mermaid-like body shot up from the sea. She opened her mouth and coughed up a mouthful of blood. Seconds later, Austin's body also surfaced, pierced by a sword, streaming crimson blood. As expected, the duel in her home ground, the sea, ended in her victory. Princess Dora grabbed Count Austin by the hair and walked toward the shore, dragging him onto the beach moments later.
“Your Highness, are you reluctant to kill me?”
Austin laughed loudly, then coughed violently. Crimson blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Princess Dora said calmly.
“Austin, you think too much. You are the enemy commander, and I cannot kill you without my lord's command! You are now a prisoner!”
***
Before long, dusk fell and the sun set in the west. The battle was completely over, and General Quinine's shy pursuit had also ended. Leading five thousand soldiers, she had cleanly wiped out all the fleeing enemy forces. Thus, the hundred-thousand-strong army sent by Diphas to attack Mulan City was completely annihilated. Only the enemy commander, Count Austin, was taken prisoner.
***
A delicate and beautiful woman was forced to her knees before Shen Lang. She was the priestess of the Fire God Sect who had been by Austin's side.
“Let me guess your age. Thirty-two?”
The moment she heard Shen Lang's words, the priestess of the Fire God Sect was startled. He was too accurate. Yet, her appearance made her look much younger than her age.
“I have generally avoided killing the warriors of your Fire God Sect.”
The priestess remained silent, saying nothing. She neither begged for her life nor uttered any threats.
“Now, I must ask you to handle a few troublesome tasks for me. First, go to the High Priest of the Fire God Sect and convey my goodwill. Second, I have a gift for Duchess Diphas, and I want you to deliver it to her. Aren't you going to ask what it is?”
The priestess still said nothing. Shen Lang took her by the hand and walked toward the balcony. Soon, the priestess saw the gift Shen Lang intended for Duchess Diphas. Human heads! Tens of thousands of them, piled high on dozens of carts. It was a truly horrifying sight.
“My apologies, but we are still under blockade, so not even a ferry can set out to sea. However, I desperately wish for these tens of thousands of heads to appear at the docks of Bigeum Castle for all the city's people to see clearly. So, troublesome as it may be, would you take these heads back with you? While you're at it, tell Duchess Diphas this: they say even a single night as husband and wife forges a deep bond. I will soon lead my army to attack Bigeum Castle. Tell her to eat well, sleep well, and make her body fair and plump while she waits for my personal arrival.”
***
“You scumbag, we're going to be bankrupt soon.”
This was the first thing Zhang Chunhua said upon seeing Shen Lang.
“I know.”
On his way back, Shen Lang had been thinking about that very problem. Originally, Mulan City had enough food to last another month and a half, but now there was barely enough for ten days. The reason was none other than the Amazon warriors eating too much. On average, each of them needed to eat at least five pounds of meat and five pounds of fish every day. Since following Shen Lang, their diet had naturally been improved to include foods like potatoes, rice, and wheat. But even so, the remaining food was not enough to last even ten days. The food consumption of the incomparably strong Amazon warriors was more than ten times that of an ordinary person.
“Are the fishing nets ready?”
Shen Lang asked, and Zhang Chunhua replied.
“They are. But we don't have control of the seas right now. The Bloody Baron's fleet is still blockading us. Not just the Bloody Baron, but all the pirates in this area, and Diphas's fleets, are blockading us at sea.”
Shen Lang frowned. This was a peninsula, so not having control of the seas was a major problem.
‘Fleet of Goulou, where in the world are you? When will you return?’
The Amazon Legion had already pledged their loyalty to him; if he only had the Goulou Fleet, Shen Lang could complete his military recruitment in the West. Afterward, he could mass-produce cannons, create a powerful cannon fleet, and invade the Eastern world.
In any case, with Count Austin's crushing defeat, the fleets of Diphas and the Bloody Baron would not dare approach the Byeokjo Peninsula too closely. The Amazon warriors were madwomen; if truly angered, they would swim out to the enemy ships and finish them off.
“Tell the slaves to go out to sea and fish. They don't need to go far, just use the nets in the coastal waters.”
Shen Lang gave the order. Even if it meant risking an attack, they had to catch fish. Otherwise, they would truly run out of food. The Amazon warriors had left their homeland to fight for him; he couldn't let them starve, could he?
“The most important thing is to take Bigeum Castle immediately. Inside Bigeum Castle, there's countless food, meat, blacksmiths, workshops, and two shipyards.”
Shen Lang, of course, knew this. Mulan City was just a base, not a place he could settle for the long term. Only by taking Bigeum Castle could his foundation develop by leaps and bounds. However, Shen Lang was an Easterner, so even if he took Bigeum Castle, a mountain of difficult problems would remain for him to solve.
“Do you think the white people in Bigeum Castle will pledge loyalty to me?”
“Impossible.”
“Then will the Bedouin people in Bigeum Castle pledge loyalty to me?”
“Also impossible.”
“What about the slaves in Bigeum Castle? If I raise the banner of the Witch Empire, will they pledge loyalty to me?”
“That's a possibility. But the slaves are all useless. They're of no use to us. What we need are blacksmiths and shipwrights.”
Zhang Chunhua's words sounded incredibly harsh, but they were devastatingly accurate.
“Your Majesty, you scumbag, you are neither Qiu Yao'er nor Queen Medusa. We are all people who act for profit. Are you interested in liberating slaves?”
Shen Lang shook his head.
“Not at all. I just need to get food and meat to feed my army. I just need many blacksmiths to forge steel and build cannons for me. I need a large number of alchemists to produce explosives for me. I just need a shipyard to build warships for me.”
“Shen Lang, we are just passing through.”
“That's right, we are just passing through.”
“Queen Medusa advanced with great momentum, sweeping through everything, liberating slaves, and creating a powerful Witch Empire. But in return, her armies died off, one group after another, as if in shifts. Do you want to sacrifice your army in exchange for the freedom of slaves and the loyalty of those city-states?”
Shen Lang, of course, did not want that. The so-called Witch Empire was merely a group of people who had raised Queen Medusa as their grand banner. Moreover, Queen Medusa's power transcended race; in the eyes of Westerners, she was white, and in the eyes of Easterners, she was of the yellow race.
“Things are different now. Emperor Solon has risen, performing the miracle of conquering city-states one by one on his own. He is the one everyone is pinning their hopes on. When Queen Medusa conquered the south, the Seirun Dynasty was fractured and had no central force. But now, Emperor Solon has become the new continent's center of gravity, the focus of the people's hearts.”
“The world, long united, must divide; long divided, must unite. As my chief brain trust, do you have any suggestions for me?”
“Even if you conquer Diphas, you cannot rule Bigeum Castle alone. You will not gain anyone's loyalty, nor will you have any production capacity. Even if you take the city, you'll be adrift in a vast ocean full of enemies. Then, the Bipa forces and other armies of the Seirun Dynasty will constantly come to attack you, and countless people within Bigeum Castle will rise up in revolt.”
Shen Lang said with a smile.
“That's unavoidable unless I carry out a great slaughter and kill all the white people. How about inciting the Bedouins to massacre the whites and establish their own autonomous government?”
“That is one way. You would certainly gain the support of some ambitious individuals. But I must say this: the Bedouin people are also useless. The brilliant alchemists and shipwrights of Bigeum Castle are all white. Moreover, many Bedouins worship and are loyal to the whites. Even more so than the whites themselves.”
“Damn it, where the hell did that Princess Helene die? If she were here, none of this would be happening.”
Princess Helene was a descendant of the traitorous empress, making her an object of hostility for the northern nobles, but in the south of the Seirun Dynasty, many people yearned for the empress. Originally, the Seirun Dynasty was strong in the north and underdeveloped in the south. But after Empress Helene moved the capital to the Queen's Castle, the south developed greatly, and numerous southern families rose to prominence because of her. Now, Emperor Solon's power was growing so fiercely that many of the new southern nobles did not dare to openly oppose him. This was because their faction lacked a figurehead to rally behind. But if Princess Helene appeared, everything would change. She had a more legitimate claim than Queen Medusa.
“That's why I want to suggest you conquer Duchess Diphas. That's the only way to gain the resources and production capacity of Bigeum Castle.”
“Conquer her? With what?”
“Obviously not with your charm. Your charm might conquer me, but it won't work on an ambitious woman like Diphas. She's always wanted to marry Emperor Solon and become his consort, after all.”
“I see. If I can't conquer her with my charm, I'll have to resort to wicked schemes.”
“Do you know the rules of the West?”
“What do you mean?”
“A foreigner can be made a monarch.”
Shen Lang understood her. In old Europe, the Polish nobility chose a Frenchman to be their king. When the French throne was vacant, the King of England even started a war between England and France to seize it.
“According to speculation, Princess Helene is your older sister. Moreover, you are her only direct relative. If she were to inherit the throne of the Seirun Empire, you would become a Prince of the Seirun Empire. Of course, you cannot inherit the throne yourself. You are not of the Seirun royal bloodline.”