Chapter 904
“It is still unknown. Duke Russell has not made a public statement. However, his hundred-thousand-strong army is approaching Bipa Province, so the situation has worsened by another step.”
Hearing Eunuch Taren’s reply, Dypas sneered.
“Of course, it’s worsened. The vassals who hold a grudge against me originally had no leader, so even if they were angry, they couldn’t bring themselves to speak out. But now that Duke Russell has clearly come to be their backer, those vassals might rise up in unison and raise their troops, following him to overthrow me and establish a new lord. This is the troublesome part of being a woman. If I were a man, even if I took a woman from a foreign tribe as my wife, the vassals might raise a fuss with their words, but they wouldn’t truly think of committing such a treasonous act.”
Dypas clicked her tongue and then issued a command.
“Seal Bigeum Fortress immediately. No one is to enter or leave except for military actions. Also, what is the training progress of our slave army? How many troops do I currently have under my command?”
Count Vaitin answered precisely.
“Thirty thousand. In addition, there are five thousand from the Amazon Corps, for a total of thirty-five thousand troops.”
“Master, I would have you go in my stead to meet with Duke Russell and ask him his intentions for coming here.”
“That is certainly possible. However, I am the only general under your command. If I leave, there will be no one left to command the army.”
“I will do it myself. My dear master, do not forget that although I have been pregnant and have suffered a fatal illness, I too am a strong warrior. My martial skill is not inferior to Princess Dora’s, and it is not even inferior to yours.”
“Very well. I will depart immediately.”
Dypas truly hoped a war would not break out, especially a civil war within the House of Russo. In such a dire situation, there was only one person who could prevent a war from happening. No, perhaps two.
***
After receiving Dypas’s material support, Mulan Fortress could only be described as having developed by leaps and bounds. The number of blacksmiths had grown from a few dozen to a thousand. Furthermore, since they were smelting pig iron into steel rather than needing to smelt iron ore into steel, the speed was much faster. After months of exploring the techniques, Shen Lang’s group of blacksmiths had greatly improved their cannon-casting skills, and the yield rate had massively increased. Before, they could only cast five or six cannons a month, but now they could cast a hundred every month. Moreover, these steel cannons no longer needed to use primitive black powder; they could use large quantities of more powerful explosives.
The soldiers of the Eastern Knights switched their roles in large numbers to become artillerymen. It was not because they were the most intelligent, but because they were the most loyal. They were the ones who most yearned to invade the Eastern world, so they gave up everything they had learned before and started from scratch, learning ballistics, various explosive compounds, and artillery shells.
However, because their development was faster than expected, the once-sufficient supplies were being consumed at an extremely rapid pace. For example, volcanic ash and saltpeter. The volcanic ash was manageable; if they ran out of cement, they could just build houses out of wood first. But the saltpeter was indispensable. To improve their combat capabilities, the Eastern Knights had to conduct secret test firings every day, test-firing hundreds of cannons, which consumed a large amount of explosives daily. Besides, as more cannons were completed, more warriors were converted into artillerymen. Could they just stop the training? Artillerymen needed to undergo test-firing training; simply learning theory was not enough. Only after hundreds of test firings would their accuracy naturally increase.
With the explosive stocks dwindling and a shortage looming, Black Pearl, in a desperate move, led a fleet of ships secretly north along the coastline, bypassing the Amazon pirates to land on the northern side of Saltpeter Island, intending to transport back several shiploads of saltpeter. This was because the areas blockaded by the Bloody Baron were in the deep sea, relatively far from the coastline.
However, this meant that the large ships at Mulan Fortress could not set sail. The areas near the coastline were mostly shallow waters, and their drafts were too deep, making them prone to running aground. On the other hand, smaller ships could not carry many supplies, but they could make multiple trips.
Without rest or sleep, Black Pearl secretly transported saltpeter three times in a row. The entire process went relatively smoothly, just barely managing to keep the supply of saltpeter flowing. Because the previous three attempts had been relatively smooth, this time Black Pearl mobilized fifty ships, intending to secretly transport over seven hundred thousand catties of saltpeter. That amount would last them for a very long time. Her fleet steered far clear of the Bloody Baron’s naval fleet, taking a very distant route to secretly sail south along the coastline, treading as if on thin ice.
“We’re finally about to return. Just another five hundred li and we’ll reach the Byeokjo Peninsula. I wonder if the master has returned. Do you think he’ll bring our Goludang people back? I’ve almost forgotten what my parents look like.”
Ever since Shen Lang had left, Black Pearl’s heart had been in turmoil. She prayed almost every day that Master Shen Lang would successfully rescue the people of Goludang. Both her parents had followed Angela, the gang leader, there, and all of her thousand-plus subordinates were descendants of Goludang, having not seen their parents for over a decade.
“Enough, let’s not talk about it anymore. Don’t be sad, stay alert!”
Black Pearl commanded resolutely. She knew that once she started to miss her parents, her vigilance would no longer be as sharp. That would be extremely dangerous, so she had to be careful.
***
At that moment, two hundred li south of Black Pearl’s fleet, the Bloody Baron’s pirate fleet had already laid an inescapable trap, just waiting for her fleet to walk right into it.
Dodge Russo said respectfully, “Your Lordship Baron, you are truly brilliant. You clearly saw Black Pearl and her group transporting saltpeter before but pretended not to notice. As expected, she let her guard down and grew bolder. First five ships, then eight, and now dozens at once. Hasn’t Shen Lang’s entire two-thousand-man navy been deployed? Soon, we will completely annihilate them. Then Shen Lang will not have a single naval soldier left, and not even a rowboat will be able to go out to sea.”
Dypas’s cousin was very young. Since his brother, Doyle Russo, had been executed, he relied on the Bloody Baron in many ways. The Bloody Baron simply gave a faint smile and said nothing. His purpose in laying this inescapable trap was not just to annihilate Shen Lang’s fleet at Mulan Fortress; he had a much deeper objective. It was a secret mission given to him by Adolf.
First, silently annihilate Shen Lang’s fleet and capture Black Pearl and the others. Then, disguise his ships as Black Pearl’s fleet transporting saltpeter and land at the secret base on the Byeokjo Peninsula. After that, he would steal Shen Lang’s formula for the new explosives, steal his secret weapons, and, if possible, abduct about a hundred of the people who could craft the cannons and secret weapons.
That was only the first step. The Bloody Baron also knew that Shen Lang’s people were secretly modifying new warships in the shipyards of Bigeum Fortress. However, those shipyards were near the docks and guarded by the Amazon Corps, so no one dared to enter. But soon, an army of hundreds of thousands would be at the gates of Bigeum Fortress, and the Amazon Corps would not be able to spare any attention for guarding the shipyards. When the shipyards were empty, the Bloody Baron would lead his most elite pirates to storm the place and seize all the new warships. Since Shen Lang would be dead anyway, he would no longer have any use for these explosives, secret weapons, and new fleet.
The Bloody Baron would gladly accept these new acquisitions to continuously strengthen his fleet, and on that basis, he planned to become a vice admiral in the imperial navy. He knew better than anyone that once the Third Seiren Empire was established, the golden age of pirates would be over, and order would be restored to the seas. Therefore, he had to launder his identity in the shortest possible time, transforming from a pirate into a naval officer.
Dodge Russo continued to speak respectfully to the Bloody Baron.
“Baron Monroe, your House of Monroe is about to rise. Perhaps before long, you will be called Viscount Monroe, or even Count Monroe. You will rise by stepping on Shen Lang’s corpse, and that is an honor for all Westerners.”
The Bloody Baron said, “Lord Dodge, Duke Russell has already entered Bipa Province with a large army. As a collateral member of the House of Russo, he believes that Duchess Dypas has sullied the family’s honor and is not qualified to inherit the ducal title of the House of Russo. Thus, your opportunity has come.”
A complex look crossed Dodge Russo’s face.
“Duke Russell is highly respected. I hope he returns to the House of Russo. Our family needs a strong leader like him.”
“You underestimate Duke Russell’s pride. He will not vie for the ducal seat of the House of Russo. He has come this time to rectify the chaotic situation and clean house. He will want to cultivate a new Duke of Russo, so, Dodge, your opportunity has arrived.”
Dodge Russo’s heart pounded wildly.
“But I still have Uncle Austin above me. He would be more suitable to become the new Duke of Russo than I.”
“But he is now Shen Lang’s captive, his honor tarnished. Shen Lang is an ill-omened person; anyone who has been touched by him is not qualified to inherit the dukedom. Therefore, Lord Dodge, once Dypas is ousted, you are the prime candidate to become the Duke of Russo. When that time comes, I may need your care in the empire.”
“You jest, Lord Monroe. As long as you have the support of the great Master Adolf, your future is boundless. To use the words of the Easterners, Master Adolf is truly a trusted official by the Emperor’s side.”
The Bloody Baron gave an awkward smile but made no reply.
“Shen Lang’s Black Pearl fleet will be here soon. We should prepare for battle.”
At the Bloody Baron’s words, Dodge Russo laughed and said, “No, this won’t be a battle, but a slaughter. They are on fifty small boats incapable of combat, with only two thousand men, are they not? But we have three hundred warships and forty thousand brave soldiers. We can easily annihilate them.”
“If possible, we must capture them all alive.”
“Of course. Speaking of which, isn’t Black Pearl a beauty? Once she’s captured, I hope you, Baron, will have a chance to appreciate her face properly.”