Chapter 883
As soon as she returned to Mulan Island, Hela spoke directly to Shen Lang.
“I need twenty sailors. The most experienced ones you have.”
In the blink of an eye, she had gathered twenty sailors. They were all descendants of the Goulou Tribe. Black Pearl insisted on going as well, but as the commander of the Mulan City fleet, she could not.
“I have a long journey ahead of me this time. I should be back in about a month.”
Zhang Chunhua asked.
“When you return, will you be able to kill all those pirates who are running rampant at sea? Can you flay the Bloody Baron and draw and quarter him?”
“I can!”
“Don’t forget the promise you made to Little Princess Yaoyao. You only have half a year left.”
“If all goes well, we will soon be able to invade the Eastern world.”
“Have you found Princess Helene?”
“No. But I have a general direction, and a vague outline is forming in my mind. By the way, how is our cannon production coming along?”
“It’s going very smoothly. We’ve gathered over a thousand blacksmiths from Bigeum City, and cannon production is steadily increasing. But let me ask you one thing. How many cannons and cannonballs do you plan to make?”
“We need at least a thousand cannons.”
Zhang Chunhua was momentarily stunned.
*We have to make that many?*
The thought of a thousand cannons firing in unison made her blood run hot.
“Your Majesty, you piece of trash, haven’t you forgotten something?”
Zhang Chunhua asked, grinding her teeth. Shen Lang, surprised, replied.
“What is that?”
“You said you would choose the finest room in the splendid castle of Bigeum City and grace me with your presence! Your Majesty Shen Lang, am I so worthless in your heart? How could you neglect me for so long? If it weren’t for the sake of bringing glory to my ancestors, do you think I would be clinging to you like this?”
Shen Lang slapped his forehead. He had been so busy he had truly forgotten. But it wasn't because he thought Zhang Chunhua was worthless. He felt particularly free when he was with her, viewing her as a confidante, a mischievous friend he could get into trouble with. After thinking of her this way for so long, she had started to feel like a sister, and he didn't want to break that feeling. What if I think of her as a brother, but she just wants to sleep with me? That was not a good situation.
“How about now? We still have time, why don’t we two get it done?”
“Don’t try that. If you sleep with me now, it feels like an ill omen, as if you’ll leave and never return, leaving me with a posthumous child. I think it’s better we talk about this after you come back.”
In that moment, Shen Lang wanted to tear the mouth off this beautiful, cunning fox.
“Take good care of things here. Do you know how to deal with Dypas?”
“I’m thinking of ways to prolong the conflict between her and the Roussos Clan’s vassals. The best way would be to attack once or twice more, kill a few thousand or even ten thousand of them, and pressure her into tying her fate completely with ours.”
“They say a woman’s heart is the most venomous.”
Shen Lang said, pointing at Zhang Chunhua’s lips. Zhang Chunhua opened her alluring mouth, bit Shen Lang’s finger, and said.
“I’m just following my husband’s lead.”
See? Saying that just ruined the mood, didn’t it? That ambiguous feeling between friends of the opposite sex who don't cross the line is the most beautiful thing.
“Do you remember what I asked you to do? Do you remember how to detonate the electromagnetic powder bombs?”
“Farewell!”
* * *
With twenty sailors and ample food and water, Shen Lang boarded Hela’s sailboat and headed south once more. They were heading to the Lost Nation to rescue the Goulou Tribe’s legion. The Bloody Baron and Dodge Roussos’s renegade fleet, under orders from Adolphus, did not intercept or attack them, but simply watched as Shen Lang’s ship sailed south. Their gazes were like those watching someone walk willingly into hell.
“It seems the truly clever don’t live long. To walk into his own grave. When Shen Lang is gone, his little kingdom will fall, and Dypas will fall with it. Queen Eda will be yours as well. Besides, isn’t she still pure and untouched? Respected Master Adolphus, Princess Dora will be yours too.”
To the Bloody Baron’s words, Adolphus closed his eyes and replied arrogantly.
“Everything is for His Majesty Solon.”
* * *
Shen Lang’s sailboat moved at a remarkable speed. With a tailwind pushing it south, it could travel at about thirteen knots per hour. Thirteen knots was equivalent to over forty *li*, meaning they could cover a thousand *li* in a day.
As they sailed south, the wind was gentle, the weather was clear, and the scenery was indescribably beautiful. The seawater was not blue but green, so clear that one could see deep into it, appearing like a massive piece of jade set upon the surface. Furthermore, every few hundred *li*, there were small islands, each teeming with life and lush green trees.
Having traveled tens of thousands of *li* by sea, Shen Lang had never encountered such a beautiful landscape. This place was truly a paradise on the sea. Shen Lang did not encounter a single ship during his journey south. There were almost no nations in the south of the New Continent and no trade routes, so the only ones who sailed these waters were mad pirates claiming to explore the unknown.
“Little brother, have you come up with even a rough plan on how to rescue the Goulou Tribe’s fleet from the Lost Nation?”
Hela asked, and Shen Lang answered without hesitation.
“I have.”
“Is it complicated?”
“It’s not.”
“Will it take long?”
“As long as I can find that thing, it will take a couple of hours at most.”
Hela looked at Shen Lang in disbelief. Even her brilliant mother had been unable to escape those waters for over ten long years. The many talented individuals within the Goulou Tribe’s fleet had tried to escape countless times over a decade, putting forth all their effort, but they had all failed. Yet Shen Lang claimed it would take him just a couple of hours.
In that moment, Hela recalled what Queen Eda had said: Shen Lang loved to bluff, but every bluff he made had come true.
* * *
Fifteen days after they started south, the scenery suddenly changed. The wind was still gentle and the weather clear, but the small islands no longer appeared. Only an endless sea stretched before them. They sailed for several more days and nights, seeing nothing but the boundless ocean, which began to cast a slight gloom over them.
Then one day, Shen Lang suddenly saw an unbelievable sight.
An impossibly huge and magnificent city had appeared on the sea. It was endlessly vast, stretching for a thousand *li* in both length and width. But it was not real; it was merely a projection on a screen above the sea. The sight was like a mirage floating on the ocean. But this was the largest and most spectacular mirage Shen Lang had ever seen.
“Weren’t you all shocked when you saw this?”
But when he turned, he saw that Hela was also staring in shock. It was as if she couldn’t believe the scene before her eyes.
“S-sister, you’ve never seen this either?”
Hela nodded.
“Never once.”
“Isn’t the area behind this thousand-*li* screen, this mirage on the sea, the territory of the Lost Nation? The cursed waters?”
“Yes. But it’s changed now. It’s completely different from before, and I have a terrible feeling. Little brother, saving the Goulou Tribe’s fleet is important, but your life is more important. Let’s go back. We can develop slowly without their fleet. I don’t know what happened to the Lost Nation, but everything has turned into an unknown world. If we enter, we might not just be trapped; we could die without a trace. Little brother, let’s go back.”
Hela pleaded. Shen Lang gazed at the strange scenery. It was truly a bizarre and massive picture, an unprecedented sight. Had anyone ever seen a mirage floating on the sea, a thousand *li* long and wide? This screen completely enveloped and hid the Lost Nation that lay behind it. What was behind this screen? Did the Goulou Tribe’s fleet still exist? Or were they all dead?
“We’ve come this far; we can’t turn back now. An arrow, once shot, flies forward, not back. Let’s keep moving.”
Hela stared at Shen Lang for a moment, then shrugged and said.
“Alright then. If we die, we die together as brother and sister.”
She wrapped her arms around Shen Lang’s neck, touched her forehead to his, and continued.
“Let’s keep going. The worst that can happen is we die and turn to dust, with no place for burial.”
In that moment, the sails billowed, and the sailboat surged forward as if to pierce through the massive screen before it. The screen before them was so enormous it seemed to connect the sea and the sky, enough to make one tremble before it. What kind of mirage could this possibly be? The sailboat drew closer and closer to the mirage screen on the sea.
*Whoosh.*
Shen Lang’s sailboat powerfully pierced through the screen. At last, Shen Lang had entered the bizarre Lost Nation, the cursed waters. And soon, Shen Lang was utterly dumbfounded, staring at the alien world in disbelief.
* * *
What did Shen Lang see upon entering the cursed waters?
Before him, the sea, for hundreds of *li* in every direction, was covered with countless sea monsters. The sight of the densely packed creatures was enough to make Shen Lang’s skin crawl. The sea monsters had a ferocious and terrifying appearance. Their eyes bulged severely, and their bodies were covered in spines. Moreover, their skin was coated in a thick slime. They were shaped in a way that could hardly be called biological. At least, Shen Lang had never seen a lifeform of that shape before. But one thing was clear: they could move incredibly fast. This was because their bodies had powerful tails, well-developed legs, thick upper bodies, and sharp claws. Their teeth, in particular, looked like rows of saws, giving them an exceptionally menacing appearance.
The sea monsters were taller than a man. Shen Lang had searched through countless data on his computer, but he could find no records of such bizarre creatures. Of course, this alone wasn’t enough to shock Shen Lang. What was stranger was that they were lined up in the sea in an orderly fashion, completely still, their heads tilted up towards the sky, watching the giant mirage on the screen. Shen Lang could even see tears welling in their eyes.
*W-what in the world is this? Millions of sea monsters are watching a movie? And they’re crying from sadness?*
Hela, beside him, was completely dumbfounded as well. She had never seen such a scene in her entire life. She had fought sea monsters countless times, but never had she seen so many gathered in one place. There were more sea monsters than fish in the sea, a sight that made one’s hair stand on end. Moreover, all these sea monsters were distracted. They were staring motionlessly at the giant screen of the sea mirage, completely ignoring Shen Lang’s sailboat that had just passed through it.
But that alone was enough to send a chill down one’s spine. If these sea monsters were to attack, Shen Lang’s sailboat would be pulverized in an instant. No matter how skilled Hela was in martial arts, it would be useless. There were simply too, too many sea monsters.
Shen Lang, Hela, and the twenty sailors all held their breath. The sailboat began to glide silently through the sea monsters, slowly making its way past them. They were terrified that the sea monsters, who were wailing and crying while watching the mirage, would suddenly snap out of it at their presence. But soon, the ship could no longer move forward and came to a stop. There were so many sea monsters gathered that they completely occupied the sea, blocking the way. Shen Lang’s sailboat was too large to squeeze through the nearly nonexistent gaps between them.
*Excuse us, coming through. Honored sea monster sirs.*