My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 96

"...ah."

To put it simply, through the large map mode of the [Puppet Stage], Yang Hao could clearly see the overall structure of [Kos Village]. He was astonished to discover that the Deep Sea Hunters' village—didn't even have a single defensive structure? Not even a chevaux-de-frise or fence facing the coastal beach...

Not only were there no defensive structures, but there was also a prominent lighthouse-like structure in the northeast corner of the village. If Yang Hao wasn't mistaken, that godforsaken place was simultaneously under attack from three coastal directions, and the deep-sea hunters seemed to regard it as their front line against the deep-sea monsters...

this...

"Do you really enjoy being surrounded and annihilated?" Yang Hao opened his mouth, then hesitated, as if he wanted to say something but stopped himself. Even someone who knows nothing about military affairs should understand what being surrounded means, right? Even a seven-year-old knows what happens when three people surround and beat you up, so... fine.

Surely the deep-sea hunters wouldn't do something like this? There must be some unspeakable reason for them to act this way.

He looked at Ms. Sonia, hoping for an explanation. Just then, Monica suddenly took two steps forward and whispered a few words in Yang Hao's ear.

"Lord Koschchet hopes that you will return home after you have finished dealing with your affairs."

"Oh? Okay, then let's wait a bit longer."

"Yes."

She nodded and continued to stand behind Yang Hao, waiting for his instructions.

After a while, Ms. Sonia gave Yang Hao her explanation, albeit with a sense of helplessness:

"That must be a tradition passed down from our ancestors a long time ago... right? When I took over as chieftain, the previous chieftain required us to defend against coastal attacks using the lighthouse as our core. But they didn't explain to me why we had to fight near the lighthouse..."

"...Let's assume for now that the lighthouse has some other purpose and therefore needs to be protected—but you can't afford to be attacked from three sides like this. You need to make a change."

"Yes. That's why I came back inland to find you."

"...Well then, let me think of something to do."

In the village of Kos, Yang Hao tentatively concluded that the lighthouse was a building that needed to be protected. Given the necessity of ensuring the safety of this prominent structure, he couldn't easily alter the village's layout.

But soon, he suddenly realized something: the ocean around the lighthouse was actually shallow, meaning that shallow water could be filled in to create land. Moreover, deep-sea hunters were extremely physically capable; even if one person moved a large rock every day, they could turn the coastal beaches on both sides of the lighthouse into a flat, stone-lined area in about two weeks.

If this continues, not only will the monsters swimming out of the deep sea lose their passage to the coast via the beach, but the defensive line will also change from a protrusion to an entire branch line—and more importantly, the reclaimed stone ground can be used to build heavy defensive facilities.

Who says humanoid Gundams can't have cover? And correspondingly, Deepsea Hunters should also be able to use traps to fight off deep-sea monsters...

So, will those monsters from the deep sea come ashore, or will deep-sea hunters go underwater to deal with them?

In response to Yang Hao's question, Ms. Sonia explained that the actual situation was that they needed to set up a defensive line along the coast and then fight the monsters crawling toward the shore in the shallow waters.

They would spin on the surface of the sea, talking in the water. Deep-sea hunters would tear apart the monsters in the sea, or the monsters would tear apart the bodies of deep-sea hunters. The story of a new deep-sea hunter would begin or end, but in the end, the sea would be stained red with the corpses and blood of both sides.

"In other words, you don't actually have to enter the shallow waters if it's not necessary?"

"Yes. But shallow waters are their migration route, so we usually stop them from moving in shallow waters."

What happens to them after they come ashore?

"Perhaps monsters are starting to ravage the inland areas, or perhaps the deep sea is beginning to spread inland."

"So you're saying you could actually consider retreating, right?"

"...But if we do that, the ocean's reach might continue to expand. The more we retreat, the more they will chase after us, and the greater the conflict between us and the inland people will become. In the end, we might all die together."

Simply put, the deep-sea hunters and the inlanders have no real conflict of interest—but the problem is, the inlanders don't care why the deep-sea hunters fled back from the coast. They only know that the coastal people are encroaching on their living space, and that the coastal monsters are chasing after them.

In other words, if the deep-sea hunters retreat too much, they might find themselves caught in a pincer movement, attacked by both inlanders and deep-sea monsters. This is probably why some deep-sea hunters would rather die on the front lines than retreat even a step.

However, Yang Hao wasn't planning to have them retreat hundreds of kilometers... It's just that protecting that lighthouse structure is really too difficult.

The only job he could assign to the deep-sea hunters was land reclamation. This involved filling in the shallow sea on either side of the lighthouse to create land above sea level and the tidal range, then constructing various defensive structures on top, such as large barricades, all sorts of traps, and even some kind of impregnable coastal defense wall...

Doing this should temporarily alleviate their survival pressure.

"By the way, how often do you face a deep-sea invasion? And besides deep-sea monsters, what other enemies do you encounter?"

“The attacks of deep-sea monsters follow a fixed pattern, but their numbers are unpredictable. Besides, there are some humans who have gone mad... They may have once been Agorians, or they may have been outsiders who strayed onto the coast. In short, they will become our enemies after they go mad.” Ms. Sonia’s expression was somewhat melancholy as she said this. “And occasionally, we may also have to face... our own kind.”

"Why?" Why go to war under these circumstances? Yang Hao was greatly puzzled.

　 "To be precise, they are fellow Agorians, not comrades of the Deepsea Hunters. Perhaps it's because of money, or perhaps they are being coerced... They are much more vulnerable than the Deepsea Hunters, but if we were to kill our own kind, some young children would not be able to bear the psychological pressure and would eventually become mad Deepsea Hunters and our enemies."

"Oh...I understand now."

Simply put, it's about Agor people who left their hometowns and went to distant places, either out of necessity or simply for personal gain, turning against their own kind. Yang Hao had seen this kind of thing many times, so he wasn't particularly surprised.

After organizing all the information Sonia had provided, he nodded thoughtfully and began to study the incident that had occurred.

[Resolution: The fate of the village of Kos]

Through Sonia's explanation, you gradually understand just how dire the Deepsea Hunters' recent living conditions have become. But that's all it is; they came to you specifically to change things. Therefore, you need to develop your own plan, gradually improving the Deepsea Hunters' situation while simultaneously securing substantial benefits for yourself.

Resolution 1: Fill in the shallow sea on both sides of the lighthouse. Based on local manpower and resources, this will take approximately two weeks.

effect:

The village of Kos will preserve the ancient lighthouse and maintain the production of deep-sea hunters.

The village of Kos has escaped the negative situation of being "caught in two."

The defense level of Kos Village has increased by one level, and more defensive works can be built.

The reckoning of the deep-sea hunters will be delayed for some time.

Resolution 2: Withdraw

effect:

The village of Kos will abandon its ancient lighthouse and relocate to a habitable area approximately ten kilometers away.

The deep-sea hunters of Kos village will clash with the inlanders.

Kos Village will have more time to recuperate, but the training speed of deep-sea hunters will be greatly reduced.

The reckoning of the deep-sea hunters will be delayed for some time.

'...It seems like it's better to stay where you are?'

He decided to proceed as he had just planned, having the village of Kos fill in the shallow sea on either side of the lighthouse. However, he didn't just intend for them to do it themselves; he also planned to take this opportunity to bring some of the people from the Duchy of Kosice to work there, thus improving efficiency.

But who should he send? He shook his head, thinking that this was something he could probably think about for quite some time.

"In short, Sonia, I've got your village moving according to my plan. You should be sensing something over there, right?" he said, swiping around on the puppet stage interface for a while before assigning tasks to the deep-sea hunters of Kos Village and ending his ability. "But correspondingly, you also have work to do. I need you to send some people back; I need you to help me obtain some... meridians from the deep-sea monsters."

"Meridian system? Mr. Yang Hao, while there's certainly nothing wrong with that... but do you urgently need it?"

Feeling a strange expression as she received Yang Hao's "command," Sonia seemed somewhat surprised by his mention of "meridians." These were the very things they had traded for survival in the Dukedom of Koschie when they first arrived.

But does he need this now? Sonia found it a little... strange. After all, it's something you can find everywhere along the coast... She should have brought more with her.

Sonia felt a pang of regret. Although she possessed a certain degree of precognitive ability, allowing her to "smell" omens of certain events... for some reason, since becoming a puppet under the Puppet Master's command, her precognitive abilities had become less accurate.

I just don't know why every time I try to make a prediction lately, I see a Sarkaz person with teary eyes.

"I wouldn't say it's an urgent need. But I hope you can bring those things back before the civil war starts—the more the better."

“Yes, then I will have Rabbi take some people back.” Sonia nodded respectfully.

"Rabbi?" Yang Hao blinked. There were more and more people lately, and he was starting to forget the names of his less important subordinates...

"He's another elder in our community. He's a little younger than me."

"Oh... that's settled then. You can go back now." Since he's Sonia's compatriot and a trustworthy comrade, I'll make a note of his name.

"Yes."

...The Deep Sea Hunter left the conference room. He didn't forget to close the door behind him as he left. Left inside, Yang Hao stretched, sighed, and muttered to Monica:

"So, does Kosichek want me to come over now?"

"Yes. Lord Kosiché wants you to go see her first. She wants to talk to you about the Infected."

"Infected people? There shouldn't be any problems with the infected people recently, right?" Yang Hao was very puzzled, because according to his policies, the infected people should be living and working peacefully recently, right? There hadn't been any news of infected people causing trouble on his puppet stage either.

So... what happened? He looked suspiciously at the [Puppet Stage], and after confirming several times that there were no problems in the infected area, he sighed and muttered to Monica, who had somehow gotten close to him:

"Alright, let's go back now. Oh, Monica? You seem to have changed a lot since you ascended..."

“Because I’ve figured it out. And now I don’t have to worry about so many things anymore.” She smiled behind Yang Hao, smoothing out the wrinkles in his clothes from his earlier movements. Then she hugged Yang Hao from behind, feeling his warmth for a while before letting go. “However… I don’t want you to worry about me too much, okay? Let’s just do things your way.”

"I was already worried about you. Sigh, let's not talk about this anymore. Let's go back. But Monica, I might need you to assassinate a few people for me later, you know?"

"I'm happy to serve you. But I've never tried assassination before...?"

"Give it a try. Consider it a chance to familiarize yourself with your abilities."

"Yes."

Chapter 205

On the afternoon of June 5th, as dinner time approached, Yang Hao and Monica returned to their palace and took a good bath before meeting Koschche. Suddenly, he realized something.

“Speaking of which, Monica—it seems you can appear out of reflective objects at any time now, right?” he said to the empty bathroom, his eyes brimming with curiosity. “But won’t your clothes get wet if you come out of the water?”

This is a very worthwhile question to investigate. Because if Yang Hao remembers correctly, Monica enters or exits the mirror world through a reflective surface. In other words, unless she can directly or indirectly touch the water at will, none of her equipment should become wet because of her appearance on the water's surface, right?

But if that's the case, wouldn't it be incredibly inconvenient? Would Monica only be able to wipe her body with a cloth when she showers? It sounds so strange...

"...Alas, my lord...I never expected you to be so interested in this matter..."

Faced with Yang Hao's sudden idea, Head Maid Monica simply sighed softly. After emerging directly from the water in front of Yang Hao, she showed him the hem of her maid's long dress, which was already soaked with water:

"Actually, my clothes still get soaked when they come into contact with water. And if I wanted, I could soak in the water anytime, just like a normal person taking a bath—it's just that I personally don't want to do such indecent things while adults are bathing, so I haven't done that. But that doesn't mean I can't do it, okay?"

"Oh, I see... Monica, could you scrub my back for me? Ugh... I'm completely exhausted after my meeting with His Majesty the Emperor..."

"Yes. Please wait a moment."

Monica nodded and immediately went behind Yang Hao, who was soaking in the bathtub, to scrub his back. Just then, the bathroom door opened, and the two turned around to see Koschche, who was only wearing a bathrobe, enter.

"I saw that you might need a while to take a shower, so I came over and showered with you."

Kosicie, completely unconcerned, removed the last veil of modesty in front of her head maid and husband. She first walked to the edge of the bath and felt the temperature of the hot water with her toes, making sure it wasn't too hot or too cold, before comfortably immersing herself in the water, making sounds of pleasure.

She then slowly walked up to Yang Hao, plopped down on his lap, tickled him with her tail, squinted her eyes, leaned against him, and gestured for Monica to help her wash her hair.

Now Monica was in a dilemma... On one hand, there was Lord Yang Hao's need for a back scrub, and on the other hand, there was Lord Koschche's need for a hair wash. She looked left and right for a while, and finally put her pleading eyes on Yang Hao.

Knowing the head maid's difficulties, Yang Hao simply smiled and asked her to help Kosichie wash her hair first, then said to the kitten in his arms:

"So, my dear wife, what happened that made you so anxious to find me?"

"It's nothing major. One thing is that the Emperor sent her list via secret communications, and the other is... there's a small problem in your infected area."

"I understand the first one, but what about the second one?"

She shifted her position, moving from Yang Hao's lap to the bathroom steps. While enjoying the head maid washing her hair, she wrapped her tail around Yang Hao's penis in front of a blushing Monica. She explained that the changes in Yang Hao's infected area were positive, but she wasn't sure if her decision would disrupt his plans, so she wanted to ask for his opinion.

"In short, the infected in the infected settlement also want to join the army and serve our territory. But the problem is, you know the situation of the infected. To prevent more ordinary people from becoming infected, I plan to refuse their requests and make them work obediently in the settlement." The immortal black snake, while enjoying the pleasure of being scrubbed by the maid above its head, conveyed this pleasure to Yang Hao, who was feeling very uncomfortable. "But you haven't told me what you plan to do next? So... what's your decision?"

"I didn't have any plans for the future at first, I was thinking of taking it one step at a time... um... let me think..."

It's great news that the infected are willing to serve the country! But the problem is, Yang Hao originally planned to stabilize the infected for more than ten years, and after the basic compulsory education in the duchy was completed, he would gradually open up more and better areas for them, so that they would tie all their loyalty and labor to the Dukedom of Kosiché.

However, it seemed his measures were a little too lenient with the infected... The infected were already grateful to Duke Koschei for giving them shelter, and now the misdeeds of the neighboring Duchy of Nikolai, which had befallen their own inhabitants, fueled their anger. Not to mention, some of the infected had originally wandered from elsewhere, and they knew very well that the Duchy of Koschei was currently the best region for them; if this region fell, then only annihilation awaited the infected.

This back-and-forth directly led to the far-sighted infected hoping to protect their best home by "serving the territory"... Yang Hao was both amused and exasperated: he was satisfied with the infected's performance and grateful for their loyalty, but the problem was... now that you're doing this, you're only ruining my plans!

However... this also reminded Yang Hao of something: not only can he send out normal citizens, but now he can also send out infected people from his territory... and his [Puppet Stage] will make this possibility a certainty.

“Hmm… I happen to need to send some workers to the Deepsea Hunters’ hometown to help out and gather supplies for us.” He explained to Koschich, whose hair was covered in foam and ready to be rinsed, while suppressing the pleasure from the wet, warm tail twitching around his manhood. “The Deepsea Hunters probably wouldn’t mind infected people helping out. And speaking of which, are Deepsea Hunters susceptible to Oripathy?”

"It's not easy. Compared to inlanders, especially the susceptible Sarkaz, the Deepsea Hunters are as hard as diamonds, almost impossible to be infected by Originium... But does that also mean their Originium Arts are practically useless?"

"Ah, I see—warriors immune to magic can't cast spells either, right?"

"What are you saying? In short, while Deepsea Hunters are difficult to infect, they can still contract Oripathy if their flesh is pierced directly by Originium. You should think about this carefully."

"Let me know more..."

While Deepsea Hunters are not easily infected with Oripathy, if Originium is directly inserted into their bodies from the outside, they will still become infected.

However, Yang Hao believed that the infected laborers he sent out probably didn't have the ability to do that... But then again?

"Lord Koschche?! At least let me wash your hair first!"

"..."

Seeing Kosich's hair covered in bubbles as he walked up to him and bent down, Yang Hao blushed. He knew without a doubt what this old snake was up to now.

"Ko, Koschke..."

"Heh, so after you finish meeting your friends, you're going to work temporarily in Saint-Germain Castle? Heh, as an individual named [Koschich], I don't want to be separated from my husband for too long." The black snake gently rubbed him with its tail, then released him with a wicked grin, grasping his sensitive spot with its left hand, and then pulling the flustered and blushing Monica from the edge of the bath into the tub with its right hand. "So let's spend more time together during this time... Sigh, and I really can't stand watching you and Monica."

"that..."