My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 190

Margarita's pet Sanae—originally a tiny rock crab that she could carry on her shoulder—has now grown to the size of a small hill.

That enormous rock crab could only move under the cover of night, disguising itself during the day as some kind of rock-like object—otherwise, if it moved in broad daylight, aside from how Margarita would explain to everyone around her that "this thing is my pet," the armies and biological experts from other countries would rush here like madmen, just to obtain the remains of a rare specimen...

After all, there's no rock crab in the world stranger than Sanae! At least other rock crabs don't have strange appearances on their bodies, don't have bat-like wing membranes between their limbs, and can even fly—

Yes, it can fly—this mountain-sized monster even has the ability to fly. When Ms. Northumen heard this, she was truly dumbfounded...after all, she had never seen such a bizarre thing before!

And then again, Margarita, what's so strange about your blood? I need to find some time to investigate it properly...

She smacked her lips, ruffled Margarita's hair for a while, and then led Margarita and the Sarkaz mercenaries from Umbrella Security Company behind her toward the outskirts of the Grand Knight Territory not far away.

...As the two Blood Demons continued their journey, about 5 kilometers away from the Kazimierz Grand Knights' territory, in a hilly area.

Disguised as a rock, Sanae Iwakani lay on the hilltop, observing the movements in the distant wilderness shrouded in yellow smoke.

Its eyes have the ability to see through the smoke and directly see the blood flowing inside a living being. It is immune to any toxins, and in a sense, this rock crab can even use the toxins by inhaling a large amount of poisonous gas—but Sanae is, after all, just a rock crab! A timid and cute rock crab. The attack on the Letania landship was just an "accident".

The land-based ship angered Sanae, and they attacked her armor with its weapons and cannons as she flew low at night. The cannonballs pierced her skin and fur, leaving several dents in her armor. The most serious injury was to her left foreleg, where the cannonball nearly severed the end of her limb.

Although for Sanae, as long as she didn't die, all her injuries would heal with time, even those involving severed limbs—but the actions of that metal lump still angered the timid rock crab.

It plummeted from the sky, landing directly inside the landship. It then began a bloodbath. After drinking a large amount of True Ancestor blood diluted from its master, Margarita, this rock crab also gained terrifying abilities.

It can corrupt an entire region of land with just its roar. The corrupted land becomes barren, and steel rusts. People who move about there will either die from organ failure within minutes if they are weaker, or they may be able to maintain their vitality for a long time if they are stronger. However, those who die and become weak will eventually be resurrected as some kind of bloodthirsty creature and attack their former companions.

It can also spray boiling liquids directly onto the target area by spraying its own blood—these boiling acidic liquids, which are even more terrifying than concentrated sulfuric acid, can melt steel into molten iron or turn living things into a pile of rotten flesh in just a few seconds.

Or like it is now—it can disguise itself as the surrounding natural environment. As long as no one observes it closely, it can hide very safely.

It gazed at the yellow smoke in the distance. Margarita's pet was ready.

Chapter 48

...

After a period of travel, Margarita and her teacher finally arrived at the mercenary assembly area at the foot of the city of the Kazimierz Grand Knights.

This place was designated as a gathering point for Sarkaz mercenaries not long ago. Of course, it's not just a gathering point for Sarkaz mercenaries; other mercenaries also gather here—in addition, it's where humanitarian aid caravans from Ursus distribute food and necessities.

Margarita curiously observed the troops of her own kind waiting in the assembly area, then looked curiously at the Ursus caravan distributing food to the refugees in Kazimir not far away. She noticed that the caravans seemed to be merchants from Duke Koschei's territory—because their wagons all bore the insignia of Duke Koschei.

Well...

“Those Sarkaz are from Duke Kosichear,” her teacher suddenly said. “Look at them, their boots are even polished black and shiny—what mercenaries from Kazdel do they have such fancy tastes? Hey! I’m talking to you, Redhorn—are you from Ursus?”

The red-horned Sarkaz mercenary in Ursus armor, whom Lady Northrend was pointing at, scratched his head and then shrugged:

“Yes, I came from Ursus—the Dukedom of Ursus Kosiche, it’s a good place.”

"A place is a good place for the Sarkaz people to live in for a long time."

“But the problem is that it is indeed a good place—wait a minute? Are you new here? Kids who just came out of Kazdel to see the world?” The Sarkaz mercenary with the red horn looked suspiciously at Ms. Northon in front of him and the little bat beside her.

"I've watched Kazdel go through several cycles of destruction and rebuilding, and you're still just a lump of milk in your father's balls! I'm Blood Demon, I just haven't been keeping up with the current state of Ursus for too long."

"Damn?! Blood Demon... Hiss... Then I suggest you, old woman, go find those merchants and find out what's going on. We came here to protect them, and if nothing unexpected happens, we'll be moving in with you supporters who just arrived."

Upon hearing Lady Norsen refer to herself as the Blood Demon, the Redhorn mercenary's face turned deathly pale. However, he quickly regained his composure, pointed to the merchants distributing food not far away, and indicated that this was all he had to say.

"ha..."

In response, Ms. Northon, who wanted to get more information from her own people, just sighed heavily: she shouldn't have asked the Sarkaz mercenaries. After all, for the Sarkaz people who had been wandering around for many years, having a place where they could stay for a long time was already a good place—who cares if it's a cesspool or a sewer?

So expecting them to tell us exactly what the Duchy of Kosiché is is is like asking the merchants directly... Sigh.

Lady Northrend, accompanied by Margarita, went to find the Ursus merchants nearby. The merchants did indeed appear to be legitimate Ursus people, but then again...

"...Sir? May I ask about these promotional brochures you have..."

Ms. Northrend gave the Ursus man, who was presumably the caravan leader, a very strange look, and examined the brochure he was holding—it seemed to be a propaganda brochure about the infected and Sarkaz settlements in Duke Kosichean territory. But the question was, why the hell are you promoting this to the infected and Sarkaz?!

Really? If you're planning to take this opportunity to recruit the top talents from the Great Knight Territory, I can understand it. But why specifically Infected and Sarkaz?

I really don't know what you're trying to do! Mr. Yang Hao, can you come out and explain yourself now?

"Ah? That's what you're talking about?"

Faced with Ms. Northumbria's question and the curious gaze of the little bat beside her, the seemingly idle Ursus caravan leader merely paused for a moment.

"If you want to immigrate there, you'd better hurry! Although the Sarkaz and Infected settlements aren't fully developed yet, the treatment of Infected and Sarkaz people there is the best in the whole land, bar none!"

They were then assumed to be Sarkaz people who wanted to establish a settlement in the Duchy of Kosiché.

To be honest, Ms. Northumber had no intention of immigrating to Ursus, but she followed the man's lead. After all, it would be best to gather information without revealing her true purpose, but she wondered if this businessman knew anything about the current situation in Ursus.

With this in mind, Ms. Norsen first covered Margarita's mouth with her hand, making the little bat, who had been so upset that she hadn't been able to ask "How's Yang Hao doing lately?" obediently shut up and not speak for the time being. Then, she chuckled dryly and said:

"Yes, my students and I are indeed thinking about where to settle down permanently. Um... is the attitude towards the Sarkaz better in the Duchy of Koschche than in other places?"

“Hmm? Hmm…” The caravan leader blinked, then seemed to ponder for a long time with great distress. “Hmm… Madam, if you ask me, I don’t really know how to put it—but in short, let’s put it this way… apart from living in separate settlements because they might be more susceptible to Oripathy, the Sarkaz people enjoy all the same rights in the Duchy of Koschie as other ordinary citizens.”

"...what?"

"Then, if you are infected, it's not a big problem—you just need to declare before entering or leaving infected areas. As long as there are no Originium crystals on the parts of your body that come into contact with others, such as your palms, it's actually quite easy for you to travel to other areas... As for our lord's attitude towards the infected? It's definitely excellent."

"...Could you elaborate?"

What is this? Are you sure you're not just messing with people? It's like that thing—well, they deliberately give you a great advertisement, but when people actually go there, they get trapped in a pyramid scheme or something and end up in jail, unable to live or die.

"Are you sure you're not lying to me, you Ursus man?" Ms. Northumen looked at the caravan leader with suspicion.

"Hmm—I've done business in areas with high concentrations of infected people before. There are hospitals, clinics, police stations, sanitation workers who regularly clean the city streets, factories, large shopping malls under construction, hotels, and schools—"

"Wait a minute? A school? Is this for those infected nobles?"

"What are you saying? Our Duchy of Kosiché is going to provide free basic education for all school-age children! It's not just for rich people in some other run-down place!"

"...what?"

"Oh, right, that also includes the infected and the Sarkaz—well, anyone who is a citizen of the Duchy of Kosichä is eligible. So if you want to immigrate, you'd better hurry—we're practically merged with His Majesty the Emperor's St. Arthur's Castle now, and it might even become the capital of the Empire in the future!"

What the hell is going on? What the hell are you talking about? Aren't schools just for rich kids?

Ensuring all school-age children in the territory, including those infected, have access to education? Are you really not deliberately gathering them together and sending them to work in some shady factory? But that doesn't sound like it...

This is the capital of Ursus, and even with Saint-Germain fortress on your territory, you still dare to pull this kind of stunt? You wouldn't dare do anything disrespectful under His Majesty the Emperor's nose, even if you had ten lives!

And with the Imperial capital right next door, why the hell are you still accepting Sarkaz and Infected so readily? Is it me who's crazy, or yours, or has the world changed? I've been taking Margarita around for less than 50 years!

No, I fucking have to go see this! This territory is just too outrageous; it seems completely out of place compared to the other cities and countries on this land...

Ms. Northumber was overwhelmed by the deluge of information from Ursus. She forced a laugh as she accepted what appeared to be an immigration form from the merchant, then, with Margarita in tow, prepared to find a quiet, comfortable place to sit and rest while sorting through the intelligence.

...

Meanwhile, in the Duchy of Koschche, spurred on by Margarita, Yang Hao finished his 10-hour task in less than 2 hours. The exhausted and trembling man was writhing on the ground when Sonia's mother picked him up and gently placed him on a nearby sofa.

"...Sometimes I really wonder if I've lost my appeal to you after we got married? It's one thing to still have some novelty with other women I've only known for a short time, but why does news about that little bat make you so excited?"

Kosicie, still working on her own tasks, stared in disbelief at Yang Hao's completed work. After casually picking out a few documents for close inspection, she had to admit that they were all perfectly finished—indeed, her expectations of her dear husband were too low; she should have made him finish all his work in a single day...

Her thought vanished in the next instant. She saw that Yang Hao was truly exhausted, lying motionless on the bed, like a corpse.

"Sob...no matter what...she was my first love...and I promised her...but I never expected her to go to such a dangerous place..."

The corpse lying on the sofa made a faint buzzing sound, and then Sonia's mother leaned closer with a strange expression and repeated the above to Lord Koschche, who was still working hard.

Then, Lady Koschke sighed heavily: Oh well, Koschke, she's just my husband's first love, isn't she? What's wrong with letting her have that baby who's still breastfeeding?

Besides, if we don't let her have it, how are we going to adopt that little bat in the future, right? Sigh!

So, thinking of this, she reluctantly took a sip of her cold tea, then snapped her fingers to summon the elusive head maid. She then gestured with her lip towards her head maid:

“Take your master back and let him rest properly, Monica. Since your master is really dying, please don’t bully him, okay?”

"...yes."

Monica looked somewhat regretful, which made Koschche very glad that he had given a clear order—after all, if he hadn't made things clear to Monica this time, her husband would probably be dead when they got back...

But never mind, even if Monica were to do it, she'd know her limits. Sigh...

And judging by the time it takes, it should be soon?

"Then, prepare my private meeting room—Kelina should be arriving this afternoon if all goes well."

“Miss Karina? Hmm... I understand. But Lord Koschei..."

"It's alright, it's alright. I don't only have Karina as my heir; it's just that Karina is currently the closest heir to me—sigh, but I can't let your master continue like this. What am I supposed to do if every heir has to be so forcefully disrupted by him? Don't you think so, darling?"

"..."

Kosiché glanced at her husband, who seemed genuinely unable to utter a single word, smiled smugly, and after having Monica take him back, she stretched and finished processing the last document.

Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Kazimir and Ursus will likely enter a period of ambiguity over the next month or so.

To be precise, the people of Kazimir welcomed Ursus's arrival, but the Kazimir government did not, leading to an ambiguous period of conflict between them. However, this did not mean that the Ursus Empire could sit idly by and watch the two fight, as it had not yet resolved its own internal affairs.

"Economic crisis... Hmm? According to your dear plan, the Ursus Empire should be able to completely recover from the economic crisis in about a year... right? But even if it recovers, there seems to be trouble in the north again recently..."

"The problem in the North?"

"It's similar to the things you deep-sea hunters fight in the sea. Those demons that run rampant on the borders of civilized nations are not easy to deal with—alas, these are troubled times."

“I see, I understand now. But Mr. Yang Hao still has to deal with the Kazimir matter, isn’t that a big deal for him?”

"He left it behind himself, and no one else can handle it—so this is the only way. Also, Ms. Sonia. I won't restrict how you help us with the child, but at least don't let Hela go astray, okay? She seems to see me as a rival lately? Even though I'm not her mother, I'm still my husband's wife, aren't I?"

"...Hehe, I just told her not to let anyone steal her dad away, okay?"

"..."

Kosiché sighed.

She thought to herself that at least she shouldn't have to worry about her child taking her husband away from her, right?

Chapter 49

...

It was the morning of October 1st.

This was destined to be a good day, at least for the people of Kazimir.

Because a truly massive influx of Ursus people had arrived—this former formidable enemy had now become their savior. He came with food, necessities, and goodwill, but without a single soldier.

The people of Qazimir, especially the refugees who had fled the Colombian-occupied western territories, wept with joy. They clasped the hands of the merchants from the Ursus humanitarian aid caravan; with each meal they received from these merchants, their discontent and distrust of the current Qazimir government deepened.

After all, compared to the overwhelming leaflets filled with the official Kazimierz script and the deafening shouts of knights on the radio, the canned food covered in Ursus language, the friendly and understated greetings from the Ursus people, and the warm clothes and life-saving medicines they brought seemed more real and believable.

"I must say, I've never seen an administrative method in Ursus that weakens the internal unity of a neighboring country through [friendly] means... My Lord, you truly are a good man who can bring surprises to everyone."

"Ahaha... Rather than this, Your Majesty Catherine? Please be careful not to hurt your stomach..."

"...Heh. Aren't you going a bit too far? I'm right here, and you're already trying to seduce my husband? Your Majesty Catherine, you really are—"

It was also in a secluded meeting room within the audience hall of the Duke of Kosice's residence.

It was the same gathering of Yang Hao, Monica, Koschke, and Her Majesty Catherine, whose belly was growing larger each day, for their monthly work report.

Looking at Lord Kosch, who was glaring fiercely at His Majesty the Emperor again, Head Maid Monica sighed heavily. She thought that if His Majesty the Emperor continued to show off in front of Lord Kosch, their relationship would probably only deteriorate.

But Monica, the head maid, is just a head maid, you know? Although she often has her master sit on the bed and stuff, she really can't do anything in this kind of situation, can she?

and so--

Head Maid Monica subtly reached out and pinched the lower back of the restless Lord Yang Hao. She truly couldn't say anything in this situation, but Lord Yang Hao? Your Highness? Shouldn't you do something?

Monica could feel the stiffness emanating from the man she was touching. However, after a moment, she still saw the man's actions.

"—Um... Koschche? Your Majesty? Can we stop arguing? We have important business to attend to today—"

"—Shut up!" *2

Then he was silenced by the two women turning around and scolding him simultaneously. He sat on the sofa with a tearful expression, spreading his hands as if to say, "Whatever."

Ugh!

To be honest, Yang Hao really doesn't know what to do with the two of them right now.

One is his wife, and the other is the mother of his child—although it seems strange to separate these two, the fact is that he can't exactly yell at his wife and the mother of his child, can he?

Besides, I was wrong, I was wrong first—that makes it even more unacceptable for him to scold me.

So this poor man could only watch, with the help of the head maid, as Koschiché and Her Majesty Catherine bickered for quite a while, and then...