Chapter 881
Everyone present was deeply shocked by Shen Lang's words. They couldn't believe what they had just heard. Adolf, in particular, stared at Shen Lang as if he had been struck by lightning.
"Your real name is Lance Veda. Why did you change it to Adolf? Did you think it sounded more imposing? Besides, you're not that old. Why are your hair and beard completely white?"
Adolf's jaw was clenched tight as he continued to stare at Shen Lang for several long minutes. A myriad of emotions flickered in his eyes. His shock just now wasn't because of Shen Lang's identity. He had long known that Shen Lang was Jiang Li's son; he even knew of Hela's identity. He knew far more than Shen Lang had anticipated. What shocked him was that Shen Lang had exposed his own identity. For a very long time, no one had known his name. The fact that he was once Jiang Li's disciple was a matter from thirty, even forty years ago.
Adolf suddenly began speaking in the Eastern tongue.
"That's right. I was a disciple of His Highness Jiang Li. There is a saying: a teacher for a day is a father for a lifetime. But the world is full of traitors. What's one more? Ying Guang and Ying Wuming were far closer to His Highness Jiang Li than I, yet even they betrayed him. Is there any rule that says I cannot?"
"Well said. I very much admire your lack of pretense."
"Even if you are my master's son, and Hela is my master's daughter, it has little bearing on whether I kill you, does it?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Adolf lightly grazed Shen Lang's neck with his sword as if to make a point, and a line of blood appeared. Shen Lang said coolly.
"You know best whether you can kill me or not. If it were only because of my father, you could certainly kill me. But because of my mother, you cannot. At the very least, you are not qualified, are you? If you could have killed me, you would have done so already!"
Adolf narrowed his eyes and smiled.
"My dear junior brother, the clever die very quickly. Never try to guess the intentions of the White Capital."
He immediately withdrew the sword from Shen Lang's neck. The situation before him was far more complicated than he had imagined.
"Adolf, my father was very young when he wandered the Western world, and you were already a genius by then. A lawless genius who committed all sorts of evil deeds. My father tried to kill you several times, but seeing that you had not yet committed any truly heinous acts and were a rare talent, he took you in as his disciple, giving you a chance to temper your character. And so, you followed my father for several years in the Western world, and your martial arts advanced by leaps and bounds."
Adolf merely smiled and did not reply.
"You are originally from the Veda tribe. In the Seyrun Dynasty, people with brown skin are of a lower class, unable to rise in rank, practice high-level martial arts, or be appointed to important official posts. My father changed your destiny, allowing you to learn advanced martial arts, and in just a few years, you became a top-tier master who could contend for the best in the Western world. But my father's grace to you did not end there. He even brought you to the White Capital, which allowed you to soar in status, transforming from a lowly Veda tribesman into a disciple of the White Capital, wielding immense power on the Seyrun continent.
But senior brother, was there really a need to change your skin and hair color? Your original brown skin was quite handsome, and what's so bad about black hair? Why have you made yourself whiter than a white man? With white hair and white robes, do you think you're Gandalf? I know a man named Louis Koo. He was originally quite fair-skinned, but he deliberately tanned himself brown. As if that wasn't thrilling enough, he later turned green."
It seemed Shen Lang's words had touched a raw nerve deep within Adolf. A strong killing intent once again emanated from his eyes. But Shen Lang was right. The White Capital had not yet expressed a clear stance on Shen Lang, so Adolf had no authority to kill him. Shen Lang not only had a formidable father but also a formidable mother. Even though both had passed away, their lingering prestige in the world was still enough to shelter him.
Adolf had changed his skin and hair color to make a clean break with his past, to declare that he was no longer a Veda but a pure Seyrun. He never expected Shen Lang to expose the truth.
"Adolf, if I'm not mistaken, you've pledged your allegiance to the Great Emperor Solon. Your attempt to conquer Queen Edda was to gain the Amazon Legion. You crave power so desperately. It wasn't enough to make yourself look like a white man; you also want to become Great Emperor Solon's right-hand man. Not only that, but you learned that my father had once attempted to save the Amazon Queendom, and you even learned the specific time of its impending doom. So you couldn't wait to jump out and play the hero, hoping to luckily borrow the power of heaven and earth to win over Queen Edda and obtain the Amazon Legion. But you never imagined that I would suddenly appear and seize the opportunity first, saving the Amazon tribe myself.
My dear senior brother, my father brought you to the White Capital. Even there, you are at best a figure on the fringes of power, not someone who can fully represent the White Capital's stance. Yet you keep threatening to kill me? Do you have that power? Are you even qualified? Do you dare?
Considering my mother's status alone, how could a minor figure in the White Capital like you possibly kill me? You're not qualified, are you? You can't kill me, and you don't have the courage to. A moment ago, you lost our bet, so fulfill your promise. The farther you get lost, the better. From this day forward, wherever I am, you must always retreat ninety li."
Adolf stared at Shen Lang for a long while, a bone-deep resentment in his eyes, but it soon turned into a smile.
*Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.*
He retreated rapidly, moving over a hundred meters away, then said with a sneer.
"Is this distance sufficient, my dear junior brother?"
"It's fine, it's fine. But I don't have the energy to shout that far."
"My dear junior brother, you have just conquered Duke Dybas, which is quite an achievement in itself. But if you wish to invade the Eastern world, you will need a very powerful fleet. The navy under Dybas and the pirate coalition fleet may not be exceedingly strong, but their numbers are sufficient. You must be coveting them."
Indeed, he was. But after Dybas executed traitors like Doyle Russo, her naval fleet had vanished, and the Bloody Baron's pirate fleet was also nowhere to be found. Adolf spread his arms and said.
"Dodge Russo, Bloody Baron, show yourselves."
Not long after he spoke, a dense forest of masts appeared behind him, and countless naval and pirate fleets emerged. Duke Dybas's official fleet and the Bloody Baron's pirate coalition numbered close to a hundred thousand men. Over a thousand ships spread across the sea, a seemingly endless expanse that covered everything.
"We greet Ambassador Adolf."
"Greetings, Ambassador Adolf."
The leaders of the fleets seemed to have all pledged their allegiance to Adolf, looking at him with the reverence one would show a god. Dodge Russo was Count Doyle's younger brother and one of the leaders of the Russo fleet. He had been at sea when Doyle Russo was drawn and quartered, thus escaping the calamity. But now that he could no longer coexist with Dybas, he led the majority of the Russo family's fleet in a complete betrayal.
"My dear junior brother, you will not be getting this fleet. For they have pledged allegiance to me. They have sworn loyalty to me and to the Great Emperor Solon. In their eyes, Dybas has become a treacherous subject. My dear junior brother, I know this saltpeter ore is very important to you, that you can use it to create endless numbers of your fearsome weapons. And the volcanic ash from Blazing Fire Island must be very important to you as well. I'm very sorry, but your pathetic fleet has been blockaded once again. From now on, any ship from Mulan City or Bigeum City that goes out to sea will be sunk without mercy. My dear junior brother, the West is quite nice. Don't even think about going back.
Oh, and didn't you want the Gouloudang Legion even in your dreams? They are the strongest fleet in this world. And in a sense, that fleet was created by your father, so you must surely want to go to the ruins of the Lost Kingdom to save that invincible fleet. If no one saves them, the entire Gouloudang fleet will die. They won't be able to resist the invasion of the dark spirit in that land; they will all commit suicide.
If you can save them and bring them back, that fleet will pledge its loyalty to you. What a tempting prospect, is it not? Isn't my junior brother a man who can do anything? I believe you will risk the danger and go there. If you succeed, you will possess the strongest fleet in the Western world and the strongest Amazon Legion, and you will be able to invade the Eastern world. I will be waiting for news of your success. Master will surely be watching over you from the heavens. Hahahaha!"
Adolf's body flickered continuously, and soon he vanished completely from the sea. A moment later, he reappeared aboard the Bloody Baron's fleet.
"In my capacity as an advisor to the Great Emperor Solon, I hereby issue an order. From this moment on, completely blockade all of Shen Lang's and Dybas's fleets. Not even a single rowboat is to enter the sea. Violators will be killed without mercy!"
Following Adolf's command, a familiar bell toll echoed across the sea once more. It was the same bell that had rung during the last complete blockade of Shen Lang's maritime trade. Soon after, the fleets departed in a grand display, beginning their official blockade of the thousands of li of sea routes.
***
In truth, this maritime blockade did not cause Shen Lang much harm. This was because his fleet had already transported enough volcanic ash in the preceding period, and the amount of saltpeter brought back on just a few ships was enough to last for half a year. The most critical items were food, meat, and fabrics, all of which were naturally resolved after Shen Lang took control of Bigeum City. However, this maritime blockade inflicted enormous losses on Bigeum City and Duke Dybas. The Russo family derived most of its profits from maritime trade, and numerous merchants engaged in this trade resided within Bigeum City. A blockade of the sea would completely sever the city's commerce. Although Dybas had used Shen Lang's army to quell the rebellion on land, she was helpless against the traitors at sea. From now on, she would suffer blows to both her reputation and her profits; one could only hope she would be able to endure.