Chapter 893
While wandering the south, Helene discovered that countless people missed Empress Helene. They were all grateful for the policy of racial integration she had once implemented. It had allowed many of the Veda people to become middle-ranking officials, own large amounts of land, and grow rich through trade. Of course, Empress Helene had passed away over a century ago, so their longing was less for the empress herself and more for the better days of the past. The southern nobles and the many high-ranking Veda yearned for another empress like Helene to appear and continue the policy of racial inclusion, so they could preserve their status and wealth. After Empress Helene’s death, the Seiren Empire’s policies had regressed. Marriages between the Seiren and Veda people were halted, racial tensions began to rise, and the forbidden slave trade was revived.
Princess Helene was trapped in a state of deep contradiction. On one hand, she was utterly repulsed by politics, viewing it as a false and nauseating affair. On the other, she felt a sense of duty. She believed that the fruits of the southern region’s development must not be squandered and that the Seiren Empire must not revert to its former state of racial conflict. In particular, she believed the evil of the slave trade had to be eradicated.
Lost in these painful thoughts, she felt she had lost her direction in life. Eventually, as if to punish herself, she began exploring the most dangerous places in the world. It was no longer an adventure; it looked more like a suicide attempt. But she was born of a bloodline too noble, a possessor of the absurdly powerful golden bloodline.
For her, adventure meant combat and slaughter. For the past decade, her life had been a constant battle—fighting humans, fighting strange creatures in ancient ruins. In the process, she witnessed countless evils and learned numerous secrets. She went to all the places no one had gone before, exploring the ruins of every city and fallen empire from the last two thousand years. With her golden bloodline and daily combat, she grew stronger and stronger, to the point where even she couldn't gauge her own power. Eventually, she prepared for an adventure that could only be called insane: to explore the world’s forbidden zones.
The three forbidden zones known to the world were the northernmost continent, the Devil's Triangle, and the Great Desert of Death. The Lost Kingdom could barely be counted as one, but it was less a forbidden zone and more a secret land hiding treasure. So, Princess Helene dismissed it first, as she had no interest in treasure hunting. Hearing that Solon had gone to the northernmost continent, she avoided it, wanting nothing to do with the northern Seiren imperial family. The Great Desert of Death was far too distant, so she chose the Devil's Triangle. And so, she set off alone, piloting a sailboat toward it.
However, the moment her sailboat entered the black fog of the Devil's Triangle, it was struck by lightning and shattered. She dove into the sea and, amidst countless lightning strikes and storms, swam for hundreds of li through the thick fog, entering a new world within the Devil’s Triangle. She spent several years there, constantly exploring and fighting. Later, it became nothing but fighting—killing, killing, and killing again.
Before she chanced upon an ancient ‘conch’, whenever she was surrounded by numerous sea monsters, she would always break through with her formidable combat prowess. She reveled in slaughtering the sea monsters as she pushed deeper into the ruins, encountering ever stronger creatures until she lost all track of time, her days a constant cycle of battle. She slept only four hours a day; the other twenty were spent slaughtering sea monsters. Had she not met Jin Mulan and Shen Lang's family, Princess Helene would still be in the Devil's Triangle, happily forgetting all about Seiren. For she had not yet breached the final gate, explored the deepest ruins within, or met the even stronger sea monsters that lurked there.
But having a family changed everything. Princess Helene had once fought every day, unencumbered. After meeting Shen Lang's family, her behavior changed. At first, she was ecstatic. To think she still had blood relatives in this world, and a younger brother at that! And his family, including adorable babies, had ventured into the Devil's Triangle to meet her. And so, the great warrior Helene transformed into Nanny Helene, helping Mulan’s family establish a foothold in the Devil's Triangle. She built defensive lines, trained the Nirvana warriors, and even cleared fields for farming and led people to fish in the sea.
The Devil's Triangle was teeming with sea monsters, but Helene fought them, clearing them out in all directions. Using nightmare stones, she created a safe zone thousands of meters wide where no sea monster could enter, allowing them to live in peace.
She learned that her brother, Shen Lang, had been nearby, just outside the Devil's Triangle, and had planned to enter with them. But even after waiting for three long months, she never saw him. Having settled his family, she entrusted the ancient conch that could repel sea monsters to Xue'en and left the Devil's Triangle alone to find Shen Lang. It was then she discovered that while one could enter the Devil's Triangle, one could never leave.
She tried countless times but could find no way out. She could withstand the lightning and gales, allowing her to travel far into the dark, thick fog, but she always ended up back where she started. It was impossible to leave. A dozen times she was caught in waterspouts and thrown back into the Devil's Triangle, yet she remained unharmed. Eventually, after continuous exploration, she discovered an undersea tunnel beneath a pyramid. It was immeasurably deep, and the air was thin, though not so thin as to be suffocating. But the undersea tunnel was so long that there was no telling which direction it led. Princess Helene trusted her instincts and, without a second thought, entered the undersea tunnel.
Once inside, Princess Helene traveled for months, covering over twenty thousand li. At her speed, twenty thousand li should not have taken months, but the tunnel was packed with sea monsters blocking the way—and very powerful ones at that. Not only that, but many parts of this secret undersea tunnel were blocked or collapsed, with sections where one couldn't breathe, areas filled with poisonous gas, and even zones of boiling undersea magma. She even encountered two explosions of ancient core energy. Anyone else would have died many times over, but she pushed onward without stopping. She was truly worthy of the moniker Heaven-Defying Helene.
***
Helene burst out of the sea, took out an ancient jade kettle, and filled it with seawater. A moment later, the seawater inside turned into fresh water. She had obtained this treasure from ancient ruins. During her adventures, she had acquired countless treasures, but she had discarded most of them, keeping only this one. This jewel-encrusted jade kettle could turn seawater into fresh water, making it the most precious item for surviving her ocean adventures. After all, no matter how strong a person is, they will surely die without water to drink.
She first took a sip of water, then caught two fish, sliced them thinly, and ate. Afterward, she opened the base of the ancient, jeweled jade kettle. Inside was pure white salt, which she used to brush her teeth. Next, she took off her clothes, bathed in the sea, and finally rinsed herself with fresh water before dressing again. Only after she was completely clean did Princess Helene begin to explore the mysterious pyramid.
It was built in the same architectural style as the one in the Devil's Triangle, and it too had an undersea tunnel. What did this prove? It proved that in the ancient world, these two regions belonged to the same empire. The undersea tunnel had been interrupted and had collapsed in many places along the way, often forcing Helene to break through heaps of rubble. Sometimes she had to walk on the seabed, then surface for air before finding a new entrance to the tunnel.
Traveling through the seabed, Helene discovered many undersea cities, all with the same architectural style. Thus, she concluded that this place was the legendary Lost Kingdom, and that it had belonged to the same empire as the Devil's Triangle. For some unknown reason, a cataclysm had struck this empire, causing the land to collapse and sink into the sea, leading to the empire’s demise.
However, the Lost Empire did not belong to the ancient civilization; it had a history of only a few thousand years. Princess Helene soon deduced that the Lost Empire that existed a few thousand years ago was a new Lost Empire, not the one from the ancient civilization. Someone had established a new empire upon the ruins of the old one.
Finishing her brief thoughts, Helene looked up and saw a pyramid, glowing brightly atop a snow-capped mountain peak.
‘Time to explore!’
Exploration was Helene’s instinct. Whenever she saw a mysterious place, no matter how dangerous, she felt compelled to go. But this time, she paused for a moment, then abandoned the plan. It was more important to leave this place quickly and find Shen Lang. But just then…
*KABOOM!*
A tremendous sound erupted from hundreds of li away as a giant fireball shot high into the sky. The entire ground trembled, and even the surface of the sea began to roar. It was a sight most people would never witness in their lifetime, but to Princess Helene, it was all too familiar. An explosion of ancient core energy.
So, what change would this explosion of ancient core energy bring about here?
Princess Helene dashed madly toward the east wind. She moved like a gust of wind passing by.
***
The main fleet of the Goulart Party.
Douglas Seiren was triumphant. As of today, the Goulart fleet was his. They were the finest fleet in the Western World. Adolf had failed to conquer the Amazon tribe, but Douglas had succeeded.
With the Goulart fleet under his command, he could roam the seas of the Western World as he pleased, and the position of Naval Marshal of the Third Seiren Empire would be his. An Imperial Prince, a cabinet minister, and a Naval Marshal. In the soon-to-be-established Third Seiren Empire, he would hold the highest position among the ministers—second only to one, and above all others.
Adolf had been too arrogant and careless, allowing Shen Lang to snatch the conquest of the Amazon tribe from him. But Douglas was different. He who strikes first has the advantage, and he had completely cut off Shen Lang’s escape route. Now, if he could smoothly lead the Goulart fleet out of this cursed sea and back to Seiren waters, this venture would be a resounding success.
“Your Highness, we have reached the threshold of the cursed sea.”
At Haiyuan's words, Douglas Seiren nodded, a charming smile gracing his face.
But in the vast, open ocean, how did they determine this was the threshold of the cursed sea? It was because of the island up ahead. Normally, there were no islands within a thousand-li radius of the cursed sea; it was all an endless ocean, as if copied and pasted. But the island before them was very strange. On the surface, it appeared to be a normal island, but its reflection in the water looked like a woman with a human face and a snake's body. As the water rippled, the reflection seemed to swim, as if it were alive. In any case, seeing this island shaped like a woman with a human face and a snake's body meant they had reached the edge of the cursed sea.
Douglas Seiren said.
“Now we just have to wait. A world-shaking explosion will happen soon.”