My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 131

She struggled to sit up from the bed, panting heavily. Covered in filthy, sticky fluid, she wore a dazed, girlish expression. She stared blankly at Yang Hao's retreating figure, then looked down at the soaking wet bed—it seemed His Majesty was quite troubled about how to explain to his servants what had happened that night.

“I’ve never lost before… and yet I’ve lost miserably in something like this,” Ekaterina murmured, then smiled. “But at least it seems I don’t have to worry about the successor issue…”

"Your Majesty Catherine, I must first explain that I seem to have been diagnosed by doctors as having difficulty conceiving..." Yang Hao muttered. Now that everything was done, what else could he do? Sigh, he'd better dedicate himself to the Ursus Empire from now on, and then figure out a way to appease his black snake wife... Sigh.

In response to Yang Hao's statement, Ekaterina, whose strength had recovered quickly, simply smiled and said:

"Many people have told me that something can't be done—but in my experience, it's either because the effort wasn't strong enough or the attempts weren't frequent enough."

"...hiss."

The Emperor's hint made Mr. Yang Hao feel vaguely weak. He hurriedly responded a few times, then awkwardly put on his boots and left Empress Catherine's bedroom without looking back.

Watching Yang Hao's departing figure, the noble Bear Queen merely licked her lips. She was genuinely jealous that Koschei had found such a good man... But oh well, her goal had been achieved now. At least in the future, the Ursus Empire would truly and gradually grow stronger until the day it unified the world.

But then again—

“You have difficulty conceiving, but you’re eager to go home. This is a difficult situation for me,” Her Majesty Catherine muttered under her breath, frowning. Then she sighed, “Since you don’t want to live in St. Brilliant Castle permanently, I’ll find a time to combine it into the Duchy of Kosiché—after all, St. Brilliant Castle isn’t an industrial city that needs a lot of raw materials. It’s just about creating a cultural center and capital. I’m sure the people of the Duchy of Kosiché will be happy about that.”

Since Yang Hao was unwilling to go to Shanhaiguan.

Then let Shanhaiguan move toward him.

His Majesty the Emperor is quite proactive.

...... ......

As Yang Hao carefully made his way back to his room, he even straightened his clothes on the way to prevent Sonia from noticing anything unusual about him.

After all, if Sonia's mother found out, it would be difficult to explain. Yang Hao could explain that the strange marks on his clothes were because he had "accidentally placed them on a chair," but how could he explain the scratches on his back? So, after thinking it over, the best option was to make sure Sonia's mother didn't notice anything unusual at first and then get some rest and sleep.

"call..."

That's what I'm thinking... but what will actually happen in the end? That's another matter entirely.

He nervously unlocked his room door with his key, but before he could even turn the doorknob, the door was opened from the inside.

"Welcome back." Sonia rushed over to greet his return—the worry still lingered on her face. It seemed that Yang Hao's prolonged stay with His Majesty the Emperor had caused Sonia's mother considerable concern.

"Ah, um—I'm back."

Yang Hao nodded obediently and greeted them. Then he took the keys back, and before he could say anything, Sonia hugged him. Holding him in her arms, Sonia gently stroked Yang Hao's forehead, seemingly checking on him—when she kissed Yang Hao's forehead again, her body suddenly stiffened.

We've been discovered? ... Yang Hao swallowed hard.

"Mr. Yang Hao...did you eat something...strange tonight?"

Then, he heard Sonia make such a confused sound.

"Looks like he wasn't discovered?" Yang Hao breathed a sigh of relief and quickly shook his head, indicating that he had enjoyed a lavish meal at His Majesty's palace today—bacon, toast, fresh vegetable salad, and various desserts and wines. What she must have smelled was the strange aroma of all those different foods mixed together, right?

So he needs to take a shower quickly and then rest.

Hearing his statement, Sonia's mother nodded strangely, then released her grip. She watched Yang Hao squeeze into the room, catching a glimpse of the odd nail marks on the back of his neck, and smelling the peculiar scent emanating from him...

Finally, she silently turned off the light, watching Mr. Yang Hao find his clothes, then take them into the bathroom...

"...That's...Mr. Yang Hao? You've had sexual relations with someone...?"

Sonia's mother had such a keen sense of smell; she knew it couldn't possibly be the smell of food—her child had done *that* with some woman so soon after leaving the house?!

This is really... This is really... She glanced furtively at the meat saw she had placed in the corner of the room, and after recalling that Mr. Yang Hao's destination was His Majesty the Emperor's private residence, her lips twitched, realizing the seriousness of the situation.

But what could she do?

She sat on the edge of the bed, looking down at the floor in frustration, listening to the sounds of showering coming from the bathroom—finally, she made up her mind, grabbed her change of clothes, and barged in.

"Sonia?! Wait, wait a minute—uh?!"

......

Then, a panicked voice came from inside, indicating that Yang Hao was taking a shower.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

2:00 AM on July 11th.

Since receiving that divinely inspired signal yesterday afternoon, Theresa and Paul knew it was time for them to act. However, they did not immediately begin their operation in broad daylight, but instead remained hidden until nightfall, before sending someone to notify the leaders of the resistance organization to prepare for their cooperation at any time.

Now, the time was almost up. Teresa was preparing to confirm their plans with Paul one last time before wrapping things up—and then hurry back to the Duchy of Koschche to indulge in pleasure before the war broke out. If she could also take the opportunity to go on a date with that boss who loved to pat his behind, that would be even better.

"In short, Serpent Scales, your job is to shut down the city's defenses, and then, while moving towards our location, create chaos within the city, right? Fine... We'll first go to the Alpha Landship to help the rebels deal with Duke Nikolai's personal guards and flesh puppets, and then go elsewhere..."

"Then we need to work together to solve the remaining two land-based ships—the last one, which carries a military factory, is a problem."

“Yes, that’s a problem—the refugees will also leave on that landship. We need to deal with the guards on board as quickly as possible... The human enemies are not the problem, the problem lies with those flesh-and-blood puppets.”

Duke Nikolai possessed a highly peculiar military unit—a group of golems made of flesh and blood. These golems, capable of exerting immense pressure on battle-hardened elite troops simply by standing still, posed a grave danger.

The first three land-based ships, being military vessels, should have shipboard weapons capable of dealing with the flesh golems. However, the last land-based ship was used to relocate a military factory, so many of its weapons and unnecessary loads were removed.

The first three land-based ships, the ponies and the snake scales, were still able to get away with it.

For the last ship, they had no choice but to take it by force. Moreover, the last landship happened to be stationed in the most dangerous place—there, if the landship and refugees couldn't be transferred quickly, once they were entangled by the soldiers of the Duke of Nikolai, Theresa and the others would have to run as fast as they could and as far away as possible.

"If—I mean, if we can't get the last landship to leave, we'll sell the refugees and evacuate as quickly as possible, understand?"

"I don't care, but what about the adults?"

“The boss told us to prioritize our own safety, and I’m just following orders.” Theresa shrugged. “Well then—if nothing unexpected happens, get your gear ready and get going. We start the operation at 4 a.m., so we have two hours… well, that’s it.”

At 4 a.m., people are at their most tired... Launching four surprise attacks at this time, with a significant numerical disadvantage, is a high-stakes gamble.

However, Teresa and Paul were clearly very confident—they only needed to ensure that the first three equipped military landships reached the Duchy of Kosiché; the last landship could be abandoned if necessary.

After figuring out the key points of the mission, the Serpent Scales returned to their hideout to make their preparations, while Teresa and her sisters prepared everything they might need.

"Mass! Why are you preparing that special crossbow?"

"It might come in handy. Who knows, we might have to drag someone up from the ground?" Mars shrugged as he cleaned a special drag crossbow. This unique weapon had a strong rope attached to the tail of the bolt; once fired, someone could pick it up and wrap it around their waist, allowing the user and others to pull someone up from the ground. "And it could also be used as a makeshift bridge if necessary. Besides, would we be stupid to engage those flesh golems in melee combat with knight's swords?"

"That's true... Lily! How are your preparations going?"

“I use a warhammer, so all I use is a hammer—but the problem is, you know.”

"Okay... how are the others' preparations going?"

Although Teresa's sisters may seem shameless in ordinary times, they are actually quite reliable when it comes to work.

At 2:15 AM, everyone had completed their equipment preparations. They split into several small teams according to plan, each with its own mission. The most demanding task for Theresa's first team was to be responsible for the movement of all the landships, or more precisely, to hypnotize the landship commanders.

The officers and men on the Alpha landship didn't need to pay much attention because of their hatred for Duke Nikolai. However, the captains of the remaining three landships needed to use Theresa's Originium Arts—only her Originium Arts could put the officers into an illusionary state, and then have them sail the landships to the Kosichean duchy according to the illusion's instructions.

Of course, if all else fails, they can operate the landships themselves—but only once, because operating a landship requires too many people, and even if you include the Serpent Scales, their manpower can only operate one landship at a time, excluding the necessary guards and possible casualties on each landship.

"A tough job..."

Theresa sighed heavily, her head throbbing at the thought of hypnotizing more than 20 officers on three landships. She signaled to her sisters to move through the sewers to meet up with the resistance before proceeding with their respective tasks.

As they made their way through the sewers, the ponies of Creed remained silent. After all, no one knew how many of their familiar sisters would disappear from the city, but their work inherently required taking such risks—the greater the risk, the greater the reward, and the greater the reward, the better life they could live while they were alive.

"Hopefully the boss will give us extra compensation when we get back," a pony muttered. "I haven't even hooked up with a handsome guy near my new home yet—sigh, I heard Ursus people are pretty family-oriented, huh?"

"But I've also heard that Ursus people have really strange tastes? They're incredibly strong," another pony exclaimed, pouting. "My boyfriend almost broke my back last time..."

"Wait a minute? Everyone else hasn't even found a man yet and you've already run off?!"

"What do you mean by 'running away'?! It's one of the police officers who took us to the Lubyanka Hotel before! You all saw it!"

"hiss..."

"What's so strange about that?! Even if it were strange, there's nothing strange about Theresa actually doing that— Waaaaaa?!"

Theresa, her face darkening, covered her talkative sister's mouth—she figured she might as well leave the chatterbox in the Nikolai Duchy; she didn't want to end up with a masochistic label just days after she returned...

Chapter 35

The ponies moved quickly, and at 3 a.m., they arrived at the agreed-upon meeting point with the resistance leader. There, Theresa briefly confirmed the next steps with the resistance leader, and after planning the movement routes of the refugees to be transferred according to the map, they prepared to begin their operation.

The resistance fighters would join them in taking to the streets to draw the attention of the Duke of Nikolai's soldiers. Then, Theresa's Creed would seize control of the four landships as quietly as possible while they were unarmed—of course, even after capturing the landships, they would have to wait for Serpent Scales to send a signal before they could move. After all, no one wanted to be targeted by cannons during a move and then destroyed after two or three volleys.

"In short, you'll be surrounded and wiped out by a large number of soldiers after you cause chaos at 4 a.m. – Have you left yourself an escape route?"

"The sewers. If we want to leave, the only possibility is to play hide-and-seek with them through the sewers."

"Alright then... I hope you can hide until our boss calls."

Theresa nodded, and after the leader of the resistance ordered his men to take their positions, she returned to her own group and checked the time with her sisters.

A while later, it was 3:20 a.m.

Theresa and her sisters exchanged glances, then left the sewers and entered the deserted streets and alleys, which were deserted except for patrolling soldiers due to the curfew.

The ponies used their own tools—grappling hooks, rope bows, and their unique Originium Arts—to climb onto the roofs of buildings, either for themselves or to help their companions. There, Theresa silently used her Originium Arts to [hypnotize] the soldiers of Duke Nicolai standing guard on the roof, allowing them to continue [living like lobsters], before they reached a rooftop rendezvous point closer to the four landships.

Ropes that could quickly move between the rooftops had already been installed there. Teresa and the others first went to the Alpha Landship to help the soldiers on board deal with the personal guards of the Duke of Nikolai, while using the ship's cannons or ship-borne weapons to test the strength of those flesh-and-blood puppets.

"Sigh, we're suffering here, while our boss is probably out in bed with some girl." Mars suddenly sighed, not knowing why he was thinking about this: "I'm so envious—when I'm rich, I'm definitely going to quit my job and lie in bed having the time of my life."

"Don't do that, at least don't have too much fun, okay?" Theresa raised an eyebrow. "Besides, our boss shouldn't be doing something big while we're doing something big—right?"

“It’s hard to say.”

"Ugh."

The ponies whispered amongst themselves as they began to act according to their own plans, intending to get into their positions before the snake scales could give the signal.

At 3:40 a.m., they all took their positions on the rooftop closest to the Alpha Landship. During the 20 minutes they waited for the resistance to act, the ponies began joking with each other, as if reciting their last words.

"Hey—you chatterbox, if you die, I'll take care of your boyfriend for you—"

"Go to hell! You think I'd die even if you died twice?! Don't forget I was the one who used a crossbow to hoist you up from that cliff last time!"

"Oh, so since you saved my life, I'll take care of your boyfriend after you're gone~"

"Can't you save my life just once?!"

"Huh? I don't want to die yet, so I'll just watch you die, don't worry, hahaha—"

Watching her sisters wrestling, Theresa's lips twitched. She thought to herself that although there was nothing wrong with their interactions and their good relationship, the things they were saying were so strange.

Oh well, we don't know how many people will come back after the operation... You guys can fool around if you want, just don't mess up the mission.

She sighed and looked down at the clock.

......

3:56 am.

"...They acted ahead of schedule."

A commotion erupted from where they had come from. The ponies turned around and saw that a fire had somehow broken out in the once quiet and dark street.

The resistance fighters didn't have much food or good equipment, but they had plenty of cloth soaked in flammable oil and kindling. They seemed to have started setting fires all over the streets to attract attention, and they chose good locations—narrow spots where there weren't many people left around.

As far as I can remember, almost everyone there joined the fleeing crowds at that time. In other words, there were basically no survivors in that place, so they could burn things as they pleased.

"Ah—they sent a message that the women and children to be evacuated are already at the target location. We can proceed."

As Theresa gazed thoughtfully at the distant fire, Mars suddenly patted her shoulder, gesturing for her to look down: "And the personal guards of Duke Nicolai stationed on the landship have also begun to move... Let's go. Hopefully, things will go quickly on the Serpent Scales side."

"I hope we can get here faster. Once they've dealt with the city's defenses, we can just wait for them to come and then slip away, instead of having to fight with others on the ship."

"The first three land-based ships might be able to do that, but the last one without shipborne weapon support... that's going to be tough."

"We have to grit our teeth and do it, for the sake of the red gold."

"Yes, yes, yes, for the sake of Miss Theresa, who will be disciplined by the boss sooner or later—hmm?!"

Theresa, her face dark, punched Mars on the forehead. Then, she surveyed the surging crowd below, which was gradually disappearing... Finally, she waved her hand, signaling her sisters, who were using drag crossbows, to fire an arrow at the roof of a house on lower ground.

call out--!

The crossbow bolts, carrying strong steel cables, reached their target location. The ponies exchanged glances, then one by one slid down the ropes. In no time, they were all at the point closest to the ground.

They lurked in the darkness and began moving towards the landship.

…………

4:24 am.

The resistance had bought Theresa and her companions enough time. They erected barricades in the streets and fought against the Duchess of Nikolai's personal guard. Every one of them was fighting valiantly, but Theresa didn't know how long their courage could last.