My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 20

His abilities are too great. He must be brought under control, or the future of the Colombian people will be bleak. As a Colombian, would you want to see that happen?

...

Seemingly having said too much, the Six-Eyed Mask took a breath. He simply stared at Margarita, awaiting the reply from this Sarkaz blood demon brimming with potential.

"...If this makes him happy, I'd be happy to."

But he was disappointed. Margarita had never thought of any of that. She was a selfish person; she only wanted Yang Hao to be safe and sound. As for the rest, she wouldn't care, nor did she want to. All she wanted now was to delay the enemy's progress, grow stronger over the decades, and finally, stand atop the prophesied tower, facing him and Kosiché beside him, and express her true feelings with a mature heart.

Faced with Margarita's reply, the six-eyed mask sadly raised his longsword again. Their paths diverged, their routes clashed; all that remained was a fight to the death. But even if they fought to the death now, what difference would it make? The city was moving at full speed into the heart of Colombia; even if they could kill this blood demon in a few minutes, they couldn't possibly catch up with that dangerous man.

But at least one of them had to be brought back to report—with this thought in mind, Six-Eyed Mask had just assumed a fighting stance when a terrifying sense of foreboding welled up inside him.

Without a second thought, he dropped to the ground. Then, a crossbow bolt shot in the path he had intended to charge—if he hadn't been jolted to the ground by this ominous premonition, the bolt would have pierced his skull!

"Uh--"

Even though the six-eyed mask escaped death, his comrade who was assisting him perished under the arrow. He noticed that the trajectory of the crossbow bolt covered his and his comrade's path, and regardless of whether he dodged or not, the squad, which had already lost one man, would suffer another loss.

Did she know she would escape, which is why she did it? The six-eyed mask looked up at the disappearing Margarita and suddenly realized that this blood demon also possessed extremely terrifying abilities.

Birds of a feather flock together. This thought had barely crossed his mind when, accompanied by his companion's cry of alarm, he saw something evade all the attacks and was dragging his fallen comrade's body toward the breach.

It's Margarita.

Dragging the still-bleeding corpse, she crouched at the edge of the breach, and with the crossbow bolt in her other hand, she severed the sturdy rope used to lower herself to the ground. Then, carrying the corpse, she leaped backward, no longer intending to entangle with them.

“At that height, even a Vay mortal would die…” A member of the Seagull Squad, wielding a crossbow, stared in disbelief as Margarita descended. “This guy would rather die a gruesome death than fight us to the death?”

"...Maybe she can survive, but we definitely can't just fall from the sky like her." The six-eyed mask got up from the ground. "We messed up. Destroy all the corpses that can be destroyed, and we're going back to report."

The Gull Hunter Squad's operation to capture Yang Hao failed. Now they need to return to the state government to report on the entire incident, but before that, they have to clean up all the snake scales and the corpses of their own men.

They gathered all the corpses they could find together and then burned them to ashes using special Originium Arts.

No one intended to look for Margarita, who had jumped from the moving city.

But for Yang Hao, who had already escaped into the wilderness and boarded the off-road vehicle prepared by Snake Scale, he knew very well that Margarita had safely left the city, but she was now lost in the wilderness and would need a long time to get out.

[Event: A Wisp of Dust]

After halting the advance of the immortal forces, the newly born True Ancestor safely escaped the independent and free city. However, leaping from a height of tens of meters was a daunting challenge for the newborn True Ancestor.

Her foot was injured in the process, but she managed to escape by taking advantage of the sandstorm. Now, all she needs to do is escape the disaster-stricken area to begin her bitter journey of wandering and growing up.

'May you be well, Margarita.'

Chapter 52

On February 17, the urban chaos caused by Yang Hao ended in an unexpected way.

That city has now been renamed "United City" and is currently led by a young and promising officer named "Caesar".

Since the chaos began, and workers and police joined forces to defend their city and property, the city's original government was completely wiped out, leaving virtually no one alive.

In order to restore the city's governmental functions and make the city a better place for its citizens to live, a military government composed of workers and police is carrying out various activities with great efficiency.

To avoid a direct confrontation with Colombian forces deep in the country, United City has changed its original course. It will now move southeast, and barring unforeseen circumstances, should reach the wastelands north of Minos in a relatively short time. This territory lies outside the Colombian government's influence zone, where United City can pause, regroup, and resume resource gathering and economic development—a win-win situation.

However, a one-sided escape could not calm the chaotic public sentiment. The restless Sarkaz mercenaries in the city were also a problem. So, after holding several meetings overnight, the military government's "Caesar" personally met with the Sarkaz mercenaries and proposed a long-term cooperation.

[Event: The Rebirth of the United City]

This nascent city is wanted by the Colombian government. In order to survive, to develop, and most importantly, to build a free city of their own, it will head north towards Minoan.

The Sarkaz mercenaries in the city were also hired a second time. They had no choice but to become residents of the city, end their nomadic lives, become city dwellers, and strive for it.

But countless problems still lie ahead of them. Infected and non-infected, workers and capitalists, army and police, farmers and farmland, Colombia and Bolívar... These problems may overwhelm them, but United City has at least taken its first step.

Let's see how far they can go.

"...I really don't want to say that."

Sitting in the snake-scaled car, Yang Hao murmured to himself while gazing at the distant desert landscape, occasionally glancing down at his phone. He was texting Miss Kosiché, telling her he was safe and sound and heading towards Ursus, while also informing her of his upcoming plans and inquiring about his work there.

Yang Hao had no intention of being a kept man; he needed a job to earn money and dignity for himself—especially now that his marriage to Miss Koschche was almost finalized. What kind of hero would accept a woman's charity as a grown man who was capable, educated, and competent?

But then again, Miss Koschke probably assigned her a job that's similar to what she's doing now, right? She already knows her own abilities, so it's quite convenient for her to arrange things for her.

The only problem might be that after arriving in Ursus, he might need a long time to adapt? Thinking of this, Yang Hao felt his lips twitching uncontrollably.

Every region shapes its people, and life in Colombia, filled with the decadent glow of capitalism, is certainly very different from life in Ursus. Furthermore, due to communication issues between Colombia and Ursus, Yang Hao still doesn't have a good way to learn about the local customs and culture of Ursus.

Of course, it's not impossible. But asking those taciturn, respectful snake-scaled individuals is not out of the question, but their background means they're unlikely to provide Yang Hao with the information he wants to hear.

What he wanted to hear was about the lives of the common people. Because while social change can occur from the top down, it's never as efficient, thorough, or tangible as a bottom-up approach. The nobility might, out of momentary pity, eat plain bread and drink simple water for a long time. But often…

The poorest people had never even seen bread, let alone clean water. Take Yang Hao's former residence, now renamed "United City," for example; it was common for them to drink sewage and eat garbage scavenged from trash cans. Fortunately, they hadn't yet reached that level of destitution.

What Yang Hao wanted to do in Ursus was probably to bring hope to those at the bottom of society who had never even seen bread, and then to help them stand up through various means. His abilities were well-suited for this, provided Miss Koschie was willing to give him such a position.

"Work? We'll talk about it when you get here. You've been living a rough life; you'll need a few weeks to rest after you arrive." Miss Koschitch's reply warmed Yang Hao's heart, but it also made him vaguely uneasy. "Is Miss Margarita alright?"

"Margarita...heh, she wants to grow, so I can't interfere too much." Yang Hao shook his head with a wry smile after reading the last sentence.

After Margarita parted ways with them, Yang Hao discovered that their relationship hadn't ended. Rather, [Puppet Stage] still believed that Margarita completely trusted him—therefore, Yang Hao could clearly see all of her movements through [Puppet Stage]'s map.

At first, after leaving [United City], she seemed to stay in the same place for a long time, making Yang Hao worry that this silly girl might have done something foolish and broken her leg.

But she soon began to move. She didn't intend to follow the city, nor did she intend to follow them. After wandering aimlessly around the wasteland several times, she set her sights on the Sargon region.

Now, Margarita has stopped for a short rest in a poor village in Colombia. She hopes to be given time to grow, and Yang Hao is willing to give her time to grow and not interfere with the path she has chosen.

"...But this invitation...sigh."

But what about the wedding invitations? Did Margarita intend to avoid him for decades? The thought gave Yang Hao a headache: barring any unforeseen circumstances, his wedding was likely just over two months away...

But then I thought, Margarita had already foreseen that he would still be young decades later. Perhaps she had also foreseen my life after marrying Miss Koschitch?

Thinking of this, Yang Hao relaxed. He leaned against the car window, gazing at the distant wilderness scenery, feeling great. Meanwhile, far away in Ursus, Miss Koschei was making various preparations for Yang Hao's arrival.

Chapter 53

"these things..."

“Those things…”

"and this..."

...On her rare day off, Miss Koschei, who had devoted herself to Ursus, did not rest. Instead, she was worrying about the preparations she had to make for Yang Hao's arrival.

First, a crucial question is: where will Yang Hao stay after he arrives in her duchy?

This problem is easily solved. It's not a high-end hotel, nor a guest room in a duke's mansion, nor the residence of some commoner or lower-ranking nobleman, nor some villa—it's right here, in her own bedroom in Koschche. Her bedroom is large enough and comfortable enough, the furnishings can be changed at any time, and they will share a room after they become husband and wife, so... alright, this problem is solved.

However, the second crucial issue then left the immortal black serpent deeply troubled and unable to extricate itself from its predicament.

That is—a question about oneself.

They would soon become husband and wife, and Kosichrie wouldn't mind exchanging her body for his help. But there was a crucial problem: Miss Kosichrie's body was not fixed.

Although she is "immortal," she is also "not immortal." Only her spirit and soul are immortal; her physical body, though "not immortal," will still age and die. And most importantly, while she had mentioned some details before, she hadn't explicitly explained her special nature to Yang Hao.

This was a problem that was giving her a headache. She knew very well that if she hoped for a harmonious married life in the future, for a long-term mutually beneficial and respectful relationship, and for her future partner, who was also destined for immortality (although she was still looking for a way), to work together with her for the prosperity of Ursus, this was an issue she couldn't avoid.

She knew the importance of this matter, but—how could she explain it to him clearly, make him understand, and not scare him?

"Phew... I've lived this long, and I thought I'd seen it all. But now, what's giving me a headache is how to deal with my special nature with my future husband."

While muttering to herself and looking at the messages he had sent her on her phone, Miss Kosiché sat on her bed with a headache, lost in thought.

If there is still time to consider solutions to the issue of her "specialness," then for Miss Koschke, the third matter is a major one that makes her feel very uncomfortable.

That is, Miss Margarita had almost blatantly declared war on her. Although the text message relayed by Serpent Scales made it impossible for Miss Kosiché to imagine exactly how the Blood Demon had declared war, she was very clear about one thing: she herself was extremely displeased with it.

That blood demon is also an immortal being, and she will return in a few decades. At first, Miss Koschie treated Margarita's declaration of war as a joke, but soon, the information she obtained through her snake scales told her that things were not as simple as she thought.

"Prophecy... ability?" This was something Yang Hao had mentioned to Snake Scale in the car earlier. That Margarita possessed the ability of [prophecy].

Although she could only predict the outcome, not the process, the fact that her future husband had stated that she would stand before them decades later made Kosiché genuinely wary of Margarita's existence. She didn't want her husband to be taken away decades from now, for whatever reason.

So... in other words, once he arrives, we have to solidify everything and make him obediently focus his attention on his own territory?

...Wait a minute?

...Kosichrie slapped her forehead: she suddenly realized that she seemed to be too affected by these things. She wasn't behaving like the "Undying Black Serpent" devoted to Ursus at all, but rather like a noblewoman indulging in love. This... wouldn't do. She meant that she had to balance ideals and reality, and not focus on only one side.

"Phew... I need to stop thinking about these things. I need to rest and relax my mind."

Finally, under pressure from the three problems, Miss Kosiché chose to take a break. Now, with the help of the small gift from Yang Hao, her duchy had become much more stable, and she could devote less time to politics. She could use the freed-up time for future dates with her husband or other things.

...While Miss Koschich was resting, in a secret room of the Louisiana state government building in Colombia, the Six-Eyed Mask was reporting the previous situation to Lord K.

"So, the mission failed?"

“Yes. He escaped.” The six-eyed mask spoke respectfully to the distinguished figure standing before a giant, bizarre spherical steam engine. “Two of us died, and he was taken away by Ursus spies. According to our intelligence, it should be a secret force of the Undying Black Serpent.”

"...His abilities are terrifying. Now he has come to the most suitable land for him, a land that is vast yet barren, where social contradictions are almost irreconcilable yet still have a sliver of possibility, where everyone on the border is an enemy of that empire, where court jesters and clowns can influence the emperor's political views, and even the Ursus emperor is thirsting for capable people to assist her in ruling the empire... Once he takes root there through his abilities, then this land will face the most terrifying enemy, a vast and unified Ursus Empire, and a puppeteer who reigns supreme over everyone else."

Lady K explained her insights. The six-eyed mask took a step back and cautiously inquired:

"Do we need to assassinate him?"

"No, it's unnecessary. There's no point in controlling or assassinating him now, and he's already made contact with that black snake. We can't assassinate someone who's destined to be under the highest level of protection on their home turf."

"But they shouldn't have left the Colombian border yet—"

"...The interests of the various states of Columbia are more important than someone who has caught the eye of the Black Snake. Unfortunately, this is a consensus among almost all the top officials in the state governments."

"That guy from Assekhan..."

“Kill him. If he hadn’t acted on his own, we might still have had a chance to negotiate verbally—he messed everything up, he had to die.”

"Yes."

The six-eyed mask respectfully left. Lady K remained watching the spherical steam engine; only from her position could one observe that the steam engine, using its gears, was driving the sewing machine below, sewing various fabrics.

Lady K stared intently at the pen tip, about the size of an adult's wrist, hanging from the sewing machine's spindle. It seemed to flow endlessly with its dark green ink. She watched the sewing machine stitch the fabric, watched the pen tip dripping with magical ink onto the finished fabric. This wrinkled old woman, who had lived since the year the first law was enacted, simply couldn't comprehend why an individual with such terrifying abilities existed in the world, nor could she understand why this mysterious steam-powered sewing machine before her could exist.

It doesn't matter. Since we can't control them through negotiation, killing them won't hurt.

For the sake of Colombia, no matter how many people die, it's just a number.

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

......

"Sir, we have reached the eastern border of Colombia. It will take us about five days to cross the border between Casimir and Sami before we can enter the western border of Ursus."

Just as Yang Hao was yawning for the twelfth time on the night of February 17th, Snake Scale, who was in charge of driving, suddenly spoke.

"...I remember, it was only two or three days after I delivered the gift to Miss Kosiché?"

"That's because if we were operating alone, we could minimize the time spent resting and setting up camp, and increase our speed to the maximum—but now we need to ensure your safety and comfort, so we've slowed down."

In short, he was the one who dragged them down? Yang Hao blinked, thinking that was quite normal. After all, even though his past as a factory worker had made him quite physically strong, compared to these elite troops, calling himself an infant was an overestimation, wasn't it?

But then again... so this was indeed the Ursus messenger from back then? Yang Hao felt the snake-scaled figure was somewhat familiar, so he casually asked:

"On another note, were you the one who took that gift from my hands?"

"...Yes, sir."

"What's your name?"

"Paul".

"That's how the former Ursus messenger, now Snakescale, answered," he said. "He said that once the caravan crossed the Colombian border, entered the no-man's-land, and found a suitable place, they could stop and rest, just like before."

Then, according to the plan, they would spend a long time on the way back. However, that time was also a period for Yang Hao to prepare for his upcoming life in Ursus.

"Over the next period of time, I will explain to you some important points about living in Lord Ursuscosiche's territory."

In the evening, as the convoy stopped behind a hill in a no-man's-land about 5 kilometers from the eastern border of Colombia and began preparing for camp, Paul did not work with his other busy companions. Instead, he walked up behind Yang Hao, who was idly looking at the [Puppet Stage] interface, and said this.

Yang Hao nodded in understanding at Paul's explanation. However, he also hoped Paul could wait a little longer: "I'm currently thinking about the problem of that [K] who was chasing me before. Could you wait a moment?"

“Of course. Please feel free to call me when you are ready.” Paul nodded and stood behind Yang Hao, an excellent bodyguard.

...