My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 159

Then, she returned with a serious and anxious expression.

"Lord Kosiché, Lord Yang Hao...you must take a look at this!"

She was also holding a copy of the latest intelligence report—she said the commotion outside was the unconscious reaction of the officials responsible for receiving the reports, who were startled.

So what is going on?

When Yang Hao and Kosiché exchanged a glance and held the intelligence report in their hands, they saw a gruesome photograph of a massacred neighborhood—

"Monica, what's this?"

“This is a photo of a low-income neighborhood, about five blocks from the Duke’s mansion,” Monica replied solemnly. “It was taken and urgently sent by a local patrol officer at 6:20 a.m. A horrific massacre occurred on a street in that neighborhood… a remote but densely populated street.”

"...What's going on with the police?" Yang Hao opened his mouth, but could only manage to utter these few words. "They should have sent the message the moment the crime happened! A massacre of this magnitude, even if it were a herd of pigs, would take several hours to kill!!"

The photograph roughly recorded the number of the dead, around 200. While this might seem small for the permanent population of a street, it wasn't because only that many people died—but because many bodies were unrecognizable, making it impossible to know the exact number of the dead.

Based on Yang Hao's observations, he did not accept that a corpse with five pairs of legs could be considered a dead person; he absolutely refused to accept it.

So he was furious—were those policemen just sitting around doing nothing?! To kill so many people, even the most elite assassins would inevitably make a huge commotion! And if they made a huge commotion, even a bunch of rats would know to scurry around and attract people's attention, right?

Are they really like those paid civil servants in Colombia who only take time off to do their jobs, and won't budge from their proper duties until they're on the verge of death?!

"...The forensic doctors determined that the time of death for those people—the exact time of death—was 6:16 a.m."

"...What did you say?"

Yang Hao was stunned.

Kosichello, who was standing to the side, was also stunned.

They recalled every word Monica had just said—that the police had taken photos of the crime scene at 6:20 a.m. and sent them over urgently.

A four-minute interval?

this...

Is something wrong somewhere?

“My lord, Lord Koschche, Lord Yang Hao… their exact time of death is 6:16 AM.” Monica nodded solemnly, confirming repeatedly. “And this has been confirmed by the most professional forensic pathologist in our territory. In other words…”

"...Someone was able to slaughter our people and desecrate their bodies in less than four minutes, and then escape before the police arrived, without even knowing what they looked like?"

"Yes."

The three of them fell silent.

After a moment, Kosic said with a sigh and a hand on his forehead:

"This is probably the troublesome thing that those [half-step ascenders] bring us. Only such powerful beings could do such a thing."

"...Um."

Yang Hao nodded bitterly. Those half-step ascendants have finally made their move—but could it be that they infiltrated from so far away just to kill my people?

No...this shouldn't be the case.

He frowned. He realized that the reason those half-ascended beings wanted to kill his people was perhaps just to "show their power" and give them a warning.

Just like how master thieves always like to issue a crime notice to their victims when stealing important items.

Duke Nikolai, a half-step ascendant, probably shared the same thought.

Before attacking me, will they first attack my people to create a "crime notice," and then wait for me to receive the message before launching an attack against me?

Then, if they can't find an opportunity to kill me, they'll remain lurking in our duchy. The worst-case scenario is that they'll attack Hela on the day she's about to complete her ritual, causing it to fail? No, that can't be done...

Putting aside their chances of killing me... is there anything I can do to lure them out? And now that Sonia has left me, and only Monica is by my side... this is probably the best time for them to attack. In other words, they could attack me at any moment if I appear in public?

This is a good opportunity... If the plan is laid out properly, then I will have an opportunity to seize the moment when my life is in danger—the best opportunity to wipe out all the half-ascended individuals who have infiltrated our city!

Yang Hao swallowed hard. Although it was dangerous... his own danger was nothing compared to the danger to the entire Duchy of Kosiché and his children!

But then again... now that the layout is all set up, who should I ask to do the layout work?

"Um, Koschke..."

Although Monica is powerful, she is ultimately fighting alone and cannot fight against a large number of opponents. She also needs the help of her allies to effectively combat the large number of half-step ascendants.

Moreover, apart from a very small number of snake scales, some of the snake scales have already been sent by Yang Hao to work in Kazimierz. Although the remaining snake scales are highly skilled, their numbers are still too small and their combat power is not strong enough compared to those half-step ascendants!

The Templar Knights had indeed secured the entire Duke's mansion very well. However, they were not agile and could not move around as freely as the Serpent Scales, who could navigate through various dangerous passages while concealing their tracks.

While Yang Hao does indeed need the Templar Knights to fight against the half-ascended beings in the audience hall, he also needs a large number of excellent and combat-capable "infiltrators" to lie in wait in the audience hall to protect him and Koschche.

"I have a plan..."

So what should I do? What should I do? With Sonia's mother still fighting on the front lines with her younger generation, who can I rely on to get rid of them and take over this heavy job?

Just as Yang Hao was struggling with this, and didn't even know how to start mentioning his thoughts to Kosic, who was waiting for him to speak, there was a knock on the door of the palace.

When he came to his senses, Monica had already pushed the door open, and standing outside was Miss Theresa, who had recovered from her injuries and was now wearing full gear.

"Boss, I'm back reporting for duty—by the way, I think you should need intelligence on those infiltrators."

The Kuranta girl smiled and handed the intelligence to the disgruntled head maid, Monica. Looking at the knight's radiant smile, Yang Hao finalized his choice.

Chapter Ninety-Four

With Creed and Serpent Scale having almost nothing to do due to their different roles, the intelligence Teresa brought back was exactly what Yang Hao and Koschke needed most.

"In general, I only received the news after I was discharged from the hospital, and I learned that something like that had happened nearby—but my sisters had already completed their investigation in the area. Well, how should I put it? We handed over the evidence we collected to the accompanying forensic doctor for identification, and that's how we got this information."

Although Miss Theresa could only stand about four or five meters away from the large bed in the palace, and from her dream boss who loved to flatter her, even though head maid Monica stood closer to her, at least Theresa now had the right to stand in this palace. In a sense, this was proof that she had earned this position through her own efforts.

"There are probably about 10 infiltrators who have broken into the Duchy of Kosiché—we collected footprints from 7 different pairs of shoes, 6 different types of blood, 3 different types of phlegm spat on the ground, and fragments of 5 different styles of ornaments that could not possibly be worn on the same clothes. Add to that the weight differences caused by the different buoyancy of their footprints on the road... 10 people, no more than 12, they are moving towards the Duchy after killing the residents of that street in that residential area."

So, she smiled smugly in front of Head Maid Monica, showing off her newfound status while also explaining the information her sisters had brought.

Upon receiving the intelligence from Theresa, Kosichek and Yang Hao exchanged a glance and realized who those bastards' next target was.

"Darling, you have to—"

"No. This is a good opportunity."

Koschich wanted Yang Hao to hide for his safety—but Yang Hao directly refused Koschich's arrangement. With a serious and earnest expression, he waved his hand to signal the loyal head maid not to try to dissuade him, and then sincerely said to Koschich:

“This is a good opportunity, Kosiché. We have to wipe them out in one fell swoop. You and I are the best bait, understand?”

He knew that Kosichrie would definitely be working in the audience hall, but rather than letting those infiltrators and those half-ascended beings think things like "the other person is nowhere to be found, so let's split up," he decided to stay in the audience hall himself, so that while those half-ascended beings gathered in one place to attack them, he could take them all down in one fell swoop.

Koschke was clearly displeased and angry: after all, Yang Hao wasn't her. If her body died, she could simply take another one. But if he died, what would happen to her and Monica? What about the child? Was she supposed to spend the rest of her long life as a widow? No way!

So she wanted to use her power and her anger to make her husband stay in the safest place. But before she could speak, her face was covered by those large hands.

He kissed her suddenly, and amidst Kosic's startled struggle, he skillfully pried open her teeth—teeth she didn't want to hurt—with his tongue, their tongues intertwining. A red veil covered her face; although she knew this was undoubtedly a tactic her husband was using to try and persuade her, this...

This is incredibly effective.

Kosichrie's eyes gradually became unfocused, and her tail involuntarily curled up. Clearly, she was truly powerless against her young husband's attempts to be affectionate... if, if he could really convince himself with a reasonable explanation...

The pony in the same room let out a startled scream, which was then muffled by the head maid's hand.

After a while.

After ending his passionate kiss with Koschich, Yang Hao didn't wipe the sticky fluid from his lips that remained on Koschich's pink lips. He explained his plan, admitting that it was indeed very risky for him—but they now possessed everything they needed to fight against those half-ascended beings.

"...Lady Kal'tsit's [Yellow Things], the lurking of Serpent Scales and the Creed, the Templars' guards outside, and...Monica as the last trump card? And to bring Mr. Bozokasti, who is commanding the Sarkaz mercenaries on the front lines, over to be the final guard?"

"Yes. We already have everything we need to fight those half-ascended beings! They are not as powerful as we imagined. At least from our experience, while they are incredibly efficient at slaughtering civilians, it doesn't mean they are just as efficient at fighting high-quality soldiers."

"But isn't Ms. Kal'tsit's [Yellow Thing] supposed to have no effect on the aliens above the flesh golems?"

“We can have her increase the power—as long as the power is high enough, it will definitely affect the vast majority of aliens. And even if it doesn't, the bactericidal effect of those yellow things can prevent our audience hall from being covered by a fungal carpet.”

“Alright. So, Snake Scales and Creed are lurking in the audience hall. They need to help Monica withstand the first wave of attacks in the initial period... Is that feasible? They are certainly not tough soldiers; they are more like covert spies and infiltration units.”

"—Yes." This time, it was Miss Theresa, who had finally managed to break free from Monica's attempt to cover her mouth, who answered Kosichrie's question. She was panting heavily and glaring at the equally displeased head maid: "We were trained as spies after going through the proper knightly examinations and selections, okay? If it's just about blocking the first wave of attacks, there shouldn't be any problem—if Miss Monica could have come out sooner."

"Tsk."

Monica smacked her lips; she really hated this Kuranta person, truly.

After receiving a potentially unreliable answer from the pony, Koschke temporarily dropped the matter. She frowned at her husband, then sighed and reached out to straighten his collar.

"Ugh."

She said.

"If anything really happens to you, I will regret it for the rest of my life."

"Doesn't that mean you'll regret it for a long time?"

His joke made Kosicche angrily punch him lightly in the chest with his fist. After that, the little cat gave up.

She simply instructed Monica to immediately notify Ms. Kal'tsit and Mr. Bozocas to handle this highest priority task, and then stated her bottom line: if anything were to happen, Yang Hao's safety must be guaranteed, even if it meant using her current body as a shield. Absolutely.

Chapter Ninety-Five

...

9:20 am.

After a period of intense preparation, all the equipment was installed. The guards deliberately left several gaps that would be closed as soon as the infiltrators entered. Now they were just waiting for the two adults who were making preparations to come out so that the plan could begin.

While waiting for the two adults to enter the audience hall, Theresa and her sisters hid in a corner of the ceiling, quietly exchanging information about recent events through a closed communicator.

'So those guys really wiped out an entire street in less than two minutes? My god, either they're skilled at killing civilians, or they're incredibly strong and skilled at killing civilians—can we handle that?'

“Shut up, Mars. We have to hold on, whether we like it or not. We only need to withstand the first wave of attacks; the Templars outside, the head maid, and that Sarkaz Wendigo will take care of the rest.” Theresa pursed her lips, watching the breach she was responsible for intently. She hadn't seen anyone come in, but she couldn't let her guard down—who knew if those infiltrators had optical camouflage or something?

"Who knows? Ugh, my poor boyfriend, whom I just started dating, got sent to work in Kazimierz after only a few days. It makes me so angry!"

'You actually got involved with snake scales?!'

'You fucking slept with the Duke too?!'

The two spies lurking on the ceiling glared at each other, their eyes filled with contempt.

She got involved with Snake Scale, who was also part of a secret unit.

One of them looked like she was about to hook up with their boss.

Although it seems like these two people are doing the same thing, Teresa was really daring, wasn't she?

At the very least, Mars wouldn't dare to date a married man...

"—All creeds are ready. The master is coming soon."

Just as they were about to continue their conversation, a voice from the communicator immediately made them serious. They smacked their lips, observing their respective intersections, but ultimately, they all looked towards the gate.

At the entrance to the audience hall, the two dukes walked hand in hand toward their thrones. Behind them followed a tall Sarkaz man and a white-haired, green-eyed researcher.

"This does seem very strange, doesn't it? The Duke of Ursus's bodyguards are a guy who could be considered a Felin or something, and a Sarkaz Wendigo?" Mars sniffed.

"It's better than the news about the 'Fengti' people of Kazimir being drained dry by their trained slaves and then sent to the hospital—don't even mention it, damn it... Mars? Your [Piano Line] wasn't triggered again? Mine was triggered!"

"what?!"

"Piano Line" is what the Creed members call a type of "alert equipment." These sensitive and fragile warning traps alert them to whether someone has been to a certain area, and so far, "Piano Line" has never failed to function.

Before Mars could answer, she saw Theresa leap down from the ceiling in her armor. She saw her best friend charge at Duke Yang Hao's side, sword and shield in hand, while at the same time, a faint clanging of metal came from where Wendigo was standing...

They're infiltrators!

She jumped down too, and in that instant, she saw a long, strange intestine or tongue-like organ slam into Theresa's raised shield, denting the exquisite shield and gluing it firmly to her side...

"Boss, you guys need to get out of here!" Theresa shouted, looking at the enemy, who was only as tall as a child and blended into the wall in the distance. "These guys know optical camouflage?!"

Although the enemy appeared short, the force of his projectile was immense. Furthermore, that tongue-like organ possessed strange corrosive and sticky properties; at the very least, Theresa didn't think her shield could last long.

Just as she thought she should abandon her shield and join forces with Mars, who had descended from the sky, to launch a pincer attack and take down the intruder, she saw the annoying head maid appear in front of the wall.

The head maid coldly stared at the enemy, and finally, a dagger made of mirrors appeared in her hand.

Swish swish.

Like slipping paper, the head maid's dagger sliced ​​the enemy to pieces. The foul-smelling bodily fluids from the scattered corpses turned the once clean and tidy audience hall into a garbage dump. And what was worse, even after being cut like that, the enemy was still alive.

He seemed determined to fight to the death—the last part of his body that could still move lunged towards Theresa's location. Seeing the gaping maw rushing towards her, Theresa held her breath—

Then, in the next instant, the head maid who appeared beside Theresa used a dagger to kill the gaping maw completely.