The Great Worm Lich

Faced with the blatant threat and malice of the demon in front of him, Charlot no longer could stand firm. His body went soft as he fell onto the animal skin. It was his remaining will that prompted his pale trembling lips to retort, “You won’t succeed, Your Majesty. You’ll never succeed! W-We’re not foolish barbarians who live in a primitive life. In this era where the gods are rampant, the human in the Green Leaf Mainland still has not fallen under any theocracy so it’s even more impossible…”

“Charlot, do you know how dangerous is this giant island under us?” The young man calmly interrupted the old man’s words and asked out of the blue.

After waiting for a while and seeing that the old man did not answer, Zhang Lisheng smiled and said to himself, “This island shaped like a poisonous scorpion is just like all the other islands in the Hellfire Sea that houses tens of thousands of dangerous creatures. Although it houses many rich products, the difficulty of survival on it is unimaginable to you mainlanders. Under such terrible natural conditions, the stupid barbarians as called by you have actually adapted and survived for generations. Because of the shocking mortality rate, the breeding capacity of their tribe is extremely strong and they can reach adulthood when they are eight to nine years old. Do you know what this means?”

Zhang Lisheng looked down into Charlot’s eyes and answered his own question in a cold voice, “This means that in a living environment is slightly improved, the population of the Hellfire tribesmen can grow explosively. Even if I kill all mainlanders, I’d only need to wait for 30 to 50 years to use them to fill the entire Green Leaf Mainland. In fact, if it wasn’t for the fact that Hellfire tribesmen have short and ugly appearance that is not in line with my aesthetic standard, and that a god should have believers that are made up of a more diversified race, the future awaiting for the various countries in the mainland will not have been a conquer but a massacre. Or do you wish for me to change my mind instead?”

“Oh God! Oh Gaia, the oldest surviving being in the world, please send mercy…” as though being stabbed by the brutality in the young man’s eyes, Charlot was hung low unmoved as though he had died. His slumped posture had unwittingly changed to become kneeling as he crouched on the ground muttered huskily incoherently, “No, no, Your Majesty. Your Great Majesty, p-please show compassion…”

“Looks like you’ve understood that obeying me is not betraying your race, but saving it instead, Charlot.” When Zhang Lisheng saw how the old man had started to pray for being frightened out of his wit, he nodded in satisfaction. “Then go summon your helpers who help you to manage the town and convey my will to them. I hope that you’ll just be an ordinary person who first has no choice but to obey me because of fear but will unleash your amazing talents to become my most devout and outstanding ‘shepherd’, just like Tugra…”

Just like this, after an ‘inspiration’ that might be recorded forever in the history of the Shrimp World No. 2, the river of time continued to flow slowly.

Four days later, when all kinds of Hellfire Sea precious specialties like countless of meek and smooth fur; tough, dense, and timber blocks that could exude a natural faint fragrance to prevent bug corrosion; all kinds of special-purpose smoked meats that were made from ferocious and wild beasts were transported into the warehouse in the fleet. Even the most greedy merchant let out a happy and satisfied smile on his face.

Now that the transition was completed and that new year was approaching, the caravan was, of course, eager to return. On the day when the cargo was loaded, Yaj had proposed to Zhang Lisheng about the return voyage, “Sir Lisheng, the cargo has been loaded so it’s time for us to leave. I hope that we can leave by today, is that possible?”

“Of course, Miss Yaj!” Zhang Lisheng stood up with a smile in the spacious bark house. “Then, according to the agreement, I will leave with your caravan. Rubok, after I leave, you will order for the preparation for hunting and set the time of launch to be on the night when the four seasons change.”

“Yes, respectful Pundit.” The native chief chores men beside kneeled on the ground and answered solemnly.

“Alright, Miss Yaj. We can depart now.” Zhang Lisheng looked down at the strong native at his feet with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth before looking at the female merchant and walking out of the wooden house.

Yaj walked alongside the young man to the fleet by the shore under the rare warm sunshine in the winter and suddenly asked without warning, “Sir Lisheng, I feel that your status in the indigenous tribe seems to have improved a lot?”

“It’s not that my status has improved, but as Wizard Li gets stronger and stronger, my power has increased as well.” Zhang Lisheng replied casually. When he reached the flagship of the fleet that was so huge that it gave off a kind of vertigo feeling, he walked up the deck along the wooden stairs.

“Your steps on the stairs are really stable, Sir.” The female merchant followed behind the young man carefully as she climbed up to the wooden ship. When she reached the deck, she panted heavily as she remarked.

“Of course, did I not tell you that I’m a wushu master who has mastered the power of casting spells?”

“Wushu master? What’s that?” Yaj asked in surprise.

“It’s a kind of profession that uses a supernatural force called ‘Qi’, it can only be found in a foreign mainland.” Zhang Lisheng explained with a smile at the female merchant who had an astonished expression on, “Miss Yaj, if I had not had any ability to protect myself, how could I have been able to survive until now?”

“Oh yeah, you have a point, Sir Lisheng.” When Yaj recalled the fascinating experience undergone by the black-haired young man in front, she nodded in realization. “But I honestly didn’t expect you to be a spellcaster…”

As the two of them were speaking, the merchant ship underneath them had already raised the sails and slowly sailed off the shore; led into the vast sea by the wind and waves. On the shore, the indigenous chief chores men who had a respectful expression on since the very start watched the fleet disappear and without warning, his face suddenly became abnormally solemn.

Rubok grabbed the three feathers on his head and crushed them before throwing them on the ground. Then, he took out a golden loop from the delicate animal skin pocket at his waist and placed it on the top of his head before shouting out loud, “Dispatch…”

This shout resonated across the clouds in the sky. At once. Hundreds of people suddenly soared across the horizons and flew down speedily. When they got close to the ground, their figure suddenly shrank by half and curled their body up as they rolled to remove the inertia before kneeling neatly in front of him.

“I’m here to convey the God’s order. The expeditionary army will set sail and conquer Kattaman when the four seasons change!” Looking at the native warriors kneeling in front of him, Rubok said expressionlessly.

“Yes, Legion Commander Rubok!” The hundreds of Wizard Li’s dispatch warriors kneeling on the beach answered in unison. After they stood up, the muscles behind them suddenly raised high and rolled over to cover their entire body. Once again, they transformed to become giants that were three-meter tall with slender bodies that had thin translucent fleshy film adhered to their ribs and under their arms. Flapping a few times with their arms, they charged into the sky again at ease.

Looking in the distance from the top of the sky, one could see that other than the radius of ten kilometers from the Red Mountain Harbor, the entire Scorpion Island was covered with well-organized barracks.

In the camp, biochemical warship with a length of more than 100 meters long body that was entirely covered with tooth-like tough tentacles and mouthpieces that were able to emit laser, strong acid, and plasma; an array of indigenous warriors wrapped in the ‘shell’ of the humanoid beast’s appearance riding on the back of giant millispider, earth dragon, and lion-headed bear; and chief warriors wearing heavy armors with feathers on their head as they hovered in the sky using their sorcery were already on standby. When the dispatchers flew one after another into the soldier camp and passed down the god’s order, the Wizard Li’s war machine, which finally completed its final integration, started to operate for the first time.

At the same time, the initiators of all the killings, sins and disasters that were about to come were leisurely enjoying the sea breeze and were chatting at ease with the most beautiful aristocratic female merchant in Kattaman City State, “Miss Yaj, are you satisfied with the harvest this time?”

“Thanks to your care, I have obtained woods, food ingredients and rare ores that are far better quality than my merchant partners. wouldn’t I be too greedy if I still feel unsatisfied?” Yaj was slightly stunned. A trace of vigilance flashed across her eyes as she answered with a smile.

“I hope that this care can get you out of a predicament, oh beautiful lady. If it can’t, there’s no need to worry. As long as you always remember my goodwill and can give me a certain return, I’ll always help you no matter what difficulties you encounter.” The young man looked deep into the distance and said with deep meaning.

“W-What predicament can I possibly have, sir?” Yaj subconsciously clenched her fist and forced a smile before squeezing a question out, “Did you hear any rumor from the fleet?”

“No, no, no, Miss Yaj, I didn’t hear anything.” Zhang Lisheng shook his head. “But when I see you this time, your performance is too different from the last time so I feel that you or your family must have encountered some difficult problems so you’re trying to do everything in your power to complete the trade with Wizard Li and to maximize your profits.”

“Is that so? Then what is the difference between my performance now and last time, Sir Lisheng?”

The young man did not understand the female merchant’s question that contained an implied anger and a trace of sadness so he frowned and said, “Your attitude is very similar to the first time you saw me. Alright Miss Yaj, the wind is getting stronger now so I want to go back to the room to rest. Can I know which cabin is mine?”

“The first room on the left on the deck, Sir. It’s the best cabin on the Golden Mountain…” Yaj lowered her head and fell into a moment of silence and looked up at the other side of the deck in a blank expression.

“Thank you.” After Zhang Lisheng thanked her politely, he walked towards the distance. After only taking three to five steps, he suddenly heard a slightly trembling but exceptionally valiant voice resonating from behind, “Sir Lisheng, as long as you can help Golden Velvet Flower Trading pass through this difficult time, I, I will definitely give you a satisfactory return.”

The young man’s eyes widened and turned around in astonishment to look at the female merchant. Without warning, he suddenly realized that she must have misunderstood the meaning implied in his words.

“Miss Yaj, I think you’ve misunderstood… Ah, forget it. The truth will come out soon anyway. I just want to tell you now that I’m afraid your charm is not as attractive as you thought.” Zhang Lisheng smiled and waved his head before turning around to enter his own cabin, leaving Yaj to stand in blank incomprehension alone on the ship’s bow.