Chapter 876
Shen Lang's mind was filled with countless questions. First, how did he have another older sister? The third-in-command of the Skull Gang Pirate Corps, no less? Just how many women had His Majesty Jiang Li slept with in the Western world? How had he become connected to the Skull Gang? Hadn't the Skull Gang's pirates disappeared for over a decade? They were said to have ventured into the Southern world, so how had they returned? And how had Hela found Mulan City, and how did she know Shen Lang was her brother? Besides, her name wasn't chosen lightly. Hela was a figure from ancient legends. Only someone exceedingly strong could bear such a name.
Hela grabbed Shen Lang's arm, then patted his chest, before pouting her tough yet charming lips and speaking.
“My dear little brother, how can it be that you don't even have the strength to wring a chicken's neck? I never thought our powerful father could produce a pretty boy like you. But no matter. Your big sister will protect you from now on. By the way, did you just say Helene? Princess Helene of the Queendom? Is she Father's daughter too?”
*You're quite slow on the uptake, aren't you? Asking that only now.*
“You didn’t know, sister?”
“How would I know? Father was such a gentleman. How would I know he was sleeping around with other people?”
Shen Lang studied her face, trying to find any resemblance to himself. He found that while she didn't look like him, she bore a striking resemblance to His Majesty Jiang Li, especially her eyes and nose. Moreover, she was exceedingly tall, well over 190 centimeters. That was why when she had hugged him earlier, his feet had left the ground.
Hela was beautiful, but it was a wild sort of beauty. Her features leaned toward Eastern, but she possessed striking purple eyes, and her lips were the voluptuous lips of a Western woman, much fuller than those of an Eastern woman. They were somewhat like those of the Hollywood star Angelina Jolie.
Sensing Shen Lang's thorough inspection, a playful glint appeared in Hela's eyes. Noticing his gaze had settled on her lips, she puckered them and planted another kiss on his cheek with a laugh.
“My lips are very sexy, aren't they? Hahaha.”
She seemed much more like a descendant of Jiang Li than Shen Lang did. He said to her,
“Let's go. I have many questions for you, sister.”
With that, Shen Lang led her into his study.
“I hate studies the most.”
Upon entering the study, Hela couldn't sit still. Spotting a decorative sword, she picked it up and began to play with it. It was a golden sword Shen Lang had made for amusement. Its total weight was no more than thirty catties, but to Shen Lang, it was extremely heavy. The moment Hela gripped the sword, it began to glow; her fighting spirit was incredibly strong.
“Hoo, hoo, hoo…”
Hela swung the sword powerfully, making chopping and slashing motions, when suddenly the golden blade bent with a soft thud, and an imprint of her hand was left on the hilt. Shen Lang was speechless at the sight.
*It's not pure gold, only about half, yet it bent from just a light grip. Just how strong are you?*
“My apologies.”
Hela stuck out her tongue, then picked up a crystal ball from the table and began to play with it. She tossed it lightly into the air, intending to catch it carefully in her palm.
*Crack.*
But the moment she caught it, the crystal ball shattered. She could shatter such a solid crystal ball just by gripping it?
Hela dusted off her hands, then raised them in surrender.
“Sorry. I won't touch anything else. Whenever I hold something in my hands, I get an irresistible urge to crush it.”
Hearing this, a terrifying image flashed through Shen Lang's mind, making his hair stand on end.
“Little brother, I remember something about that Princess Helene you mentioned. I saw her over a decade ago. We even fought once.”
“Why did you fight?”
Hela said with some embarrassment,
“She was so beautiful she didn't seem real. It's rare to see such a beautiful woman, so I went to court her, but she rejected me. After that, I provoked her with my words, and we ended up fighting.”
“Wait, that last part seems to contain some rather important information. Did you say you courted her, sister?”
“At the time, I didn't know she was my sister. We don't look alike at all.”
“But she is a woman, and you are also a woman, sister.”
“Why? Is that not allowed? My dear little brother, your way of thinking is too conservative.”
*Ugh. Fine, you have a point.*
“Hela, sister, how old are you this year?”
Hela's eyes widened, and she blinked, looking at Shen Lang coquettishly.
“Take a guess, little brother.”
“Thirty-three?”
Hela instantly looked crestfallen, clutching her chest as if struck by an arrow, and said in a sorrowful voice,
“My dear little brother, do I really seem that old to you?”
“No. Based on your looks, you seem twenty-five, but your temperament and aura suggest twenty-eight. However, Princess Helene is already thirty-three, so you couldn't possibly be younger than her.”
Hela moved closer to Shen Lang, kissed his cheek again, and pouted.
“My dear little brother, your mouth is so sweet. I like you. My true age is a secret. How old are you, little brother?”
“I'll soon be twenty-five.”
“Then I'll be twenty-five, too. I'll just be forever one month older than you. As long as I get to be the older sister.”
*As if I'd believe that.*
Shen Lang knew that the Hela before him was definitely older than Princess Helene.
“By the way, Hela, when you and Helene fought back then, who won?”
“I don't want to talk about it.”
Hela turned her face away, and Shen Lang was greatly surprised.
*Huh! Is Princess Helene that strong? She would have been seventeen at most back then, and Hela was older than her. If Hela is this strong now, does that mean Helene is even stronger?*
“Hela, how did you find me? How did you know I was Jiang Li's son?”
“It's a long story. I came back in a hurry this time to attend a grand festival. The Fertility Rites of the Amazon Queendom. The last time I was at their Procreation Ceremony, I saw an unparalleled beauty and was completely smitten.”
Shen Lang's hair stood on end.
*Wait, hold on! The Fertility Rites are for bearing and raising descendants. You're a woman, why are you getting involved in that?*
“Why? Is that not allowed? You people are too practical. The Fertility Rites aren't just a festival for procreation; they're also about finding love and pleasure. Isn't that the most important part?”
*Ugh! Fine. You always have a point.*
“That woman was Queen Eda. I courted her passionately at the time, but she remained very cold. I thought she disliked me because of my background, so I told her that while I may be a pirate, my father was a king of noble status from the Eastern world. In the end, Her Majesty the Queen asked me who my father was. I wasn't supposed to say, but she was so beautiful and charming that I couldn't help but tell her my father's name. As soon as she heard it, she was deeply moved. I thought she was falling for me, but to my surprise, she told me I had a younger brother, right here on this Biezhao Peninsula.”
Shen Lang looked at Hela in disbelief. Before hearing this story, he had assumed Hela had learned the truth through Black Pearl. Wasn't Black Pearl a descendant of the Skull Gang? But to learn of his existence from Queen Eda was truly strange.
“Hela, how did our father become involved with the Skull Gang?”
Hela said, looking surprised,
“What do you mean, involved? Father was the first Chieftain of the Skull Gang Pirate Corps.”
Shen Lang was stunned again. After a long moment, he asked,
“Wasn't the first Chieftain of the Skull Gang named Loki?”
Shen Lang remembered it clearly because it was the name of a trickster god from Norse mythology. Hela laughed.
“Can't Father use a Western name? Besides, my mother gave him that name.”
“Then your mother is?”
“A strong female pirate. Her name was Angela, and she was eight years older than Father. But he still managed to trick her into bed, and she ended up loving him for the rest of her life.”
“And your mother now?”
“She's dead. My mother's Skull Gang pirates originally ruled the Western world, but when she heard the news of Father's sudden death in the East, she led the Skull Gang south. She intended to go to the Lost Kingdom to find a secret weapon and invade the Eastern world to avenge him. But in the end, my mother failed and died!”
Shen Lang fell silent. So that was the reason the Skull Gang went south. He had always wondered why the powerful Skull Gang, which had dominated the seas of the Western world, would inexplicably venture south. Now, the truth was revealed. A woman from the Western world had tried to avenge his father.
“I'm very sorry to hear that.”
Shen Lang sighed, and Hela shrugged.
“It's no big deal. Pirates do all sorts of bad things, so they can die at any time. Right? That's why we should all seize the day and enjoy ourselves.”
“Then what is this Lost Kingdom?”
“It's a forbidden zone in the Western world. Legend says that thousands of years ago, there was a powerful empire in the southern seas of the New World. But for some unknown reason, it was destroyed overnight. And it's said that a powerful secret weapon is buried within that Lost Kingdom. A weapon with the power to destroy heaven and earth. So, many pirates have sailed south to search for this Lost Kingdom, but all have failed. After hearing of Father Jiang Li's death, my mother became obsessed with finding the Lost Kingdom and its secret weapon to invade the Eastern world.”
“So… did you find this Lost Kingdom?”
Hela nodded.
“After searching for five long years and sacrificing countless lives, we finally found it.”
“In that case…”
“But someone had already occupied the Lost Kingdom.”
“Who?”
“I don't know. A very mysterious and powerful force.”
“So you fought with this force?”
“No, we didn't. They were an extremely arrogant and mysterious force. They had occupied the Lost Kingdom first, but they didn't stop us from landing, nor did they prevent us from exploring it. In fact, we never once encountered them inside the Lost Kingdom. We could only feel their presence, but we never saw even a shadow of them. They acted like hermits looking down upon the mortal world from a high perch.”