Chapter 900
Having escaped Helene’s pursuit, the giant octopus swam frantically, leaving the area far behind. Then, the Cursed Empress released her control over the octopus and regained command of her own body. Immediately, the woman inside the octopus stirred and slowly raised her head. Her hair veiled her face, making her look like a vengeful spirit as she slowly approached Shen Lang. Exuding an incomparably powerful killing intent, she slowly extended a hand. Her nails were as sharp as blades, her fingers like hooks. She was immensely skilled in martial arts; with just her little finger, she could have killed Shen Lang a hundred, even a thousand times over. The Cursed Empress laughed grimly and spoke.
“What a handsome and clever head. A pity it will burst with just one squeeze. Shen Lang, was it? Weren't you trying to win the loyalty of the Gouloudang? How about they all get buried with you? Wouldn't it be nice to have tens of thousands die alongside you?”
Like a malevolent spirit, the Cursed Empress closed in on Shen Lang and placed her sharp nails on his head. A gentle squeeze was all it would take to make his skull explode.
“Die, you handsome young man from the East!”
The Cursed Empress roared, a terrifying green light shooting from her eyes. Just then, Shen Lang pressed a device.
Zzzzzzt.
The black sword he had stabbed into her body suddenly discharged an electric current, and the Cursed Empress’s body instantly went rigid. The sword was a special creation, embedded with a Nightmare Stone that Shen Lang himself had modified.
The Cursed Empress’s beautiful body began to tremble violently, as if her personality were splitting, her body on the verge of being torn in two down the middle. One half desperately tried to crush Shen Lang’s head, while the other desperately tried to stop her own hand. Shen Lang reached out and brushed aside her long hair, revealing the Cursed Empress’s stunningly beautiful face.
“Aunt Angela, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. You were my father's first wife and my sister's mother, which makes you my family too.”
Shen Lang said, his gaze burning with intensity. At that moment, her body trembled even more violently.
“Kill him! Kill him! Crush his head!”
“Go, child! Go quickly!”
The Cursed Empress spoke in two different voices, seemingly split into two separate people. The other voice belonged to Angela, the former leader of the Gouloudang and Hela’s mother. At the time, Angela had thrown herself at the Lost Demon Mother. To everyone watching, it seemed as though she had been swallowed by the giant octopus and crushed by its countless teeth, but in reality, she had entered its body. Jiang Li's diary recorded that while the Cursed Empress's body was constantly dying, her soul was immortal. Thus, she had to change to a new body every few decades. The Gouloudang leader Angela was incredibly strong, making her a suitable new host.
Moreover, Angela knew something about the Lost Demon Mother and the Cursed Empress. As Jiang Li’s woman, she knew as much as he did. That was why she had chosen to risk everything and confront the Cursed Empress, charging at the giant octopus. But she had failed, and her body had been taken over by the Cursed Empress’s soul. After her body was seized, Angela fell into a vegetative state; her body was alive, but her soul was in a deep slumber. This made it easier for the Cursed Empress to control her. But just now, Shen Lang had used the Nightmare Stone to awaken Angela’s soul, sparking a fierce struggle between the two souls within this one body.
“Kill him! Kill this bastard!”
“Child, go quickly. Go…”
The Cursed Empress continued to speak in two different, schizophrenic voices. Shen Lang continued.
“Aunt Angela, I'm going to take Sister Hela back to the Eastern world. I'm going to lead the Gouloudang out of here alive. Do you know where this is?”
On the map Shen Lang held out, there was a pyramid marked. He had written on it several times in red. It was a small, ancient pyramid, and inside was a core energy source. Furthermore, its self-destruct sequence had already been activated. Angela nodded.
“I understand. I know what I must do. My child, return to the Eastern world and avenge your father! For the children, for our family, for the Gouloudang!”
Angela shouted frantically, her powerful will rising continuously.
“This is my body, and I am its master. Cursed Empress, you are merely a guest. What does it matter how strong you are? You are nothing but a person drowned in pessimism and grief.”
Inside the body, Angela’s soul fought desperately against the Cursed Empress. But the soul of the Lost Empire’s princess was too powerful and gradually began to overwhelm Angela’s. Her sharp nails once again moved to crush Shen Lang’s head.
“Aunt Angela. The opportunity will come soon.”
Shen Lang shouted.
‘Five, four, three, two, one!’
At that moment, a beam of light shone upon the sea, and the mirage screen appeared over the water. Instantly, the countless sea monsters stared blankly at the mirage, and the Cursed Empress’s soul was also momentarily stunned. Although she was the princess of the new Lost Empire, the Medusa Empress in the mirage was the true empress of the ancient Lost Empire, a more supreme ruler. Even the Cursed Empress could not escape its influence. Angela seized this brief opportunity and regained control of the body.
“Child, go, go!”
She grabbed Shen Lang’s body and threw him with all her might. Shen Lang was flung from the octopus’s stomach back into the sea. Then, Angela took control of the giant octopus and began swimming frantically toward a specific underwater coordinate. Shen Lang shouted.
“Aunt Angela, you have to survive! No matter what, if you survive, I will definitely come back for you. Even if you have to escape the octopus and share a body with the Cursed Empress, you must survive.”
Shen Lang’s voice did not carry far. But Angela’s voice echoed in his ears.
“Thank you, child. Take Hela and the Gouloudang back to the Eastern world and get your revenge. From this day on, you are the new leader of the Gouloudang!”
Angela controlled the octopus, swimming madly toward the pyramid on the seabed. Just then, the awakened Cursed Empress desperately tried to seize control of the body.
“Turn off the mirage, turn it off!”
The Cursed Empress unleashed an incomparably powerful mental energy, amplifying it through the millennia-old octopus and transmitting it to the ruins of the Lost Kingdom. The pyramid on the snowy mountaintop quickly received the information.
Swoooosh.
A blinding light shot out from the mountaintop pyramid, and then the giant mirage screen over the sea vanished, and the countless sea monsters snapped out of their trance. They continued their assault on the Gouloudang.
“Die, kill all of the Gouloudang! My army of sea monsters, kill them all! The Gouloudang, Shen Lang, they must all die!”
The Cursed Empress screamed madly. She commanded the countless sea monsters to frantically slaughter the Gouloudang. She also ordered tens of thousands of sea monsters to hunt down and kill Shen Lang. But through it all, Angela ignored everything, controlling the octopus’s body to charge madly toward the underwater pyramid. She could see the pyramid now. The Cursed Empress reacted swiftly, letting out a sharp scream.
“No, no!”
The countdown began. Five, four, three, two, one!
BOOOOOOM.
The ancient core energy inside the underwater pyramid exploded. A world-shaking explosion erupted, and an incredible fireball tore through the seabed and shot into the sky. The giant octopus, the fearsome Lost Demon Mother, was instantly blown to smithereens.
* * *
The battle was passionate, the process was heroic, and the result was despair.
This was the best way to describe the Gouloudang’s current battle. After their fighting spirit was reignited, they were able to fight with an unyielding spirit, but aside from this spirit, they could do little more than trade their lives for the enemy's.
The army of sea monsters was simply too vast. There were nearly hundreds of thousands of them. Each of these sea monsters possessed formidable combat power, far exceeding the speed and strength of a normal warrior. Their only weakness was their inability to fight cooperatively. The Gouloudang pirates were fewer in number, but they knew how to cooperate and cover for one another. Sixty thousand against hundreds of thousands of sea monsters—at first, they could hold the defensive line, but they couldn't hold out for long. Because these sea monsters had become like mad beasts, growing ever more bloodthirsty.
They fought from early morning until the sky began to brighten, and then continued as daylight broke. The Gouloudang pirates truly felt as if they had fallen into hell. They had never fought such a heroic battle in their lives. They had killed countless sea monsters, but a single glance showed that even more sea monsters stretched to the horizon, endlessly charging at them.
They were not Princess Helene. Even the world's strongest pirates were merely mortals. In this battle, Princess Helene displayed breathtaking combat power, but the other pirates, even top masters like Haimeng, could only face one sea monster at a time. In contrast, every time Princess Helene swung her golden greatsword, a whole group of sea monsters was sliced in two.
Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh.
Every time she swung her sword, she would inevitably claim the lives of dozens of sea monsters. She also used battle aura, but unlike others, hers seemed inexhaustible. Unfortunately, she couldn't go to the aid of the Gouloudang pirates, because she had to break through the layers of encirclement to find Shen Lang.
She was surrounded by ten thousand sea monsters, and no one could even see her figure. Only through the countless sea monsters being sent flying into the sky and the golden sword light emanating from her sword could one feel her powerful presence.
How many sea monsters did Helene kill in this battle? The exact number was unknown. All that was known was that it was countless.
The situation was so dire that the Gouloudang pirates couldn't even retreat to the ruins of the Lost Kingdom. They were surrounded from the front, back, left, and right, leaving them with only one outcome: to fight to the death. But then the sun rose, and the massive screen of the sea mirage appeared, causing all the sea monsters to become dazed. They stopped all combat and stared blankly at the beautiful Medusa Empress in the mirage, and began to shed tears. This scene occurred every day, but today it seemed especially precious.
The Gouloudang pirates who had survived the ordeal breathed a sigh of relief. Having escaped the crisis, they couldn't help but look toward Douglas Seiren on the shore. Because this sea mirage screen had reappeared after he arrived. Douglas was delighted by the scene, waving his arms and shouting.
“Did you see that? I saved you. I saved the Gouloudang. Shen Lang only led you to your deaths.”
But in the next moment, a strange roar suddenly echoed from the sea. Following that, a flash of light came from the distant pyramid on the snowy mountaintop, and the giant sea mirage screen above the water disappeared. The countless sea monsters snapped out of their trance and once again began their frenzied attack.
The moment of despair had finally arrived. While they had been fighting before, their blood was boiling, so they didn't feel it, but after the brief pause, everything had changed. Their entire bodies ached, and it felt like they could no longer even lift their swords. The Gouloudang legion began to suffer massive casualties, the death toll grew higher and higher, and the entire defensive line was on the verge of collapse.
Jack Tang was covered in crimson blood. Even his prosthetic iron hook hand had been knocked off, and he was mechanically swinging his scimitar, cutting down sea monsters. The Gouloudang warriors fighting on the front lines were certain that they were about to die.
They were exhausted, but the sea monsters were still endless.