My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 185

"...what?"

A man's voice, trembling, came from the other end of the communicator after years of being buried in a dusty memory.

Theresa paused for a moment, then she realized what was going on with the person she was talking to...

"...Uncle Auster?"

"Ah. It seems you are indeed doing well. You can shout so loudly. You are definitely doing much better than when your father first left us."

"......ha."

Uncle Auster—in Theresa’s memory, he was one of her father’s adjutants.

Although he was only a major, Uncle Auster's abilities and convictions were highly appreciated by Theresa's father. After Theresa's father lost power and was hanged due to his own orders, Auster became Theresa's guardian—or more precisely, the officer who took care of Theresa.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. Theresa had suffered too much of a blow at the time. All she knew was that she had argued with the wounded soldiers and Uncle Auster before running off to receive spy training. She never imagined she would be talking to the uncle who had taken care of her for so long under this strange identity... Uh? What identity was it again?

Is she the mistress and subordinate of a duke in Ursus who's been cheated on countless times? Um...

She sighed, then quickly said:

"Yes, I've been doing quite well lately. Ah, have my friends arrived yet? Has the old man's grave been dug up? Or has the Great Knight Territory already been taken by Columbia?"

"Haha, we've protected the general's grave very well, and even if Colombia is captured, we'll exhume the coffin and move it to a safer place. But Theresa, you really..."

"Wait a minute? What did those two guys say to you?"

"Not many. They said you want to be the Grand Duchess of Kazimir."

"..."

This is fucking not? Boss? You've already given the order?

Theresa was bewildered. She wasn't prepared at all; she hadn't even glanced at the political books she'd borrowed from the library—

But forget it.

Even now, having transitioned from a girl into a woman, Theresa still knows what she should do.

"—In short, Uncle Auster, barring any unforeseen circumstances, I should be returning home to visit you soon with a huge amount of family and property. And, if all goes well, I might bring a certain man along too, who is—"

"Huh?! A man?! Teresa, tell me quickly, were you... by some little brat—"

"That's it—! Uncle Auster, please don't die, you and the other uncles, wait for me to get back, okay?! I have things to do, I'll hang up now!"

Theresa hung up the phone. She really wasn't comfortable talking to older people... But oh well, since they had already let her know they were safe, it was reasonable for her to hang up early, wasn't it?

On the other hand, how am I supposed to introduce my boss then?

Theresa was really worried about this. After all, she genuinely didn't know how to explain her relationship with Yang Hao to these old folks, but then she thought, it doesn't really matter, does it? Hmm.

If all else fails, just tell the truth? What—you have a domineering boss at home or something? Hmm...

Row.

Theresa was ready for the work ahead.

Meanwhile, after confirming that Theresa was indeed preparing to return to Kazimierz to start a great career...

Major Auster wiped the tears and tear stains that involuntarily streamed down his face with his hairy hands, then turned to look at Mars and Lily:

"Alright. Theresa's two friends—we roughly know why you've come."

He softened his tone. It seemed these people truly trusted Theresa and her family.

"Ah—could you give us a list? After all, without a detailed number of people, we don't know exactly how much stuff we need to ship in."

"Okay. Here is our personnel list."

Auster had his staff produce the personnel statistics. Mars and Lily took a look and discovered that the number of remaining soldiers seemed slightly larger than they had expected...

There are 5200 remaining soldiers living near the slum where Theresa's father's grave is located, and they still retain their weapons.

In addition, there were some remnants of the army in other cities or rural villages. If all the remnants were included, the force would be close to 10,000 men.

However, although they have equipment, a formal organization, and a fairly high level of training, but—

...

It wasn't what Mars said.

Ever since she started enjoying the excellent rations of the Duchy of Koschche, she really looked down on those... rusty armors that were several years out of style.

"If I may ask, what is the current equipment of the Kazimir army...?"

“I heard they seem to have a lot of trendy new gadgets—I mean, those unreliable gadgets.”

"I remember that was a gladiator knight's..."

"Forget about distinguishing between competitive knights and conquest knights now. In the face of Colombia's poison gas, they are all knights who will die."

"Hiss...this..."

Mars opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something but then stopped, and then hesitated to speak.

Since Kazimir's military equipment seems rather strange right now... then equipping these remnants with the equipment of the Ursus regular army later shouldn't be a problem, right?

She thought about it for a moment and felt that it might be possible.

Chapter 39

[Event: Contacting the remnants of the Kazimir army]

Your spy has successfully made contact with the remnants of the Kazimir army, who, under the name of the Nowitzki family, are willing to pledge their loyalty to Theresa.

However, their equipment was really poor, and they needed better equipment.

Now, the remnants are gathering in the name of Theresa at the Grand Knights' Headquarters in Kazimierz.

'...well done.'】

In Yang Hao's private office at the Duke of Koschke's mansion, he was sharing the office with Theresa, who was working at another table, and Sonia, who was reading a book. Standing by the window, gazing at the distant scenery, Mr. Yang Hao was deep in thought as he looked at the message that popped up on his [Puppet Stage].

The spies' operation has yielded significant results. Is there already an armed force in Qazimir willing to take the command of Ursus—or more precisely, the future Grand Duchess of Qazimir?

Yes, that's good news. However, although Kazimir has opened its civilian border to Ursus, given the current international situation, it's still not advisable for Yang Hao to send those [military equipment] to Kazimir via [civilian caravans]. So, at this point, he can only rely on the Kazimirians?

"Hmm... Theresa, you want to hire Ms. Therese's Sarkaz mercenaries in your name, and then have them join up with the remnants while helping us transport military equipment...?"

"Huh? Ah—okay. But I don't have their contact information?"

"Here it is. I'll prepare the replacement equipment first."

Yang Hao handed Theresa the contact information for the mercenary leader under Theresa's command. Watching his little pony calmly dial the communicator and clearly state their requirements, he nodded thoughtfully. Was there anything else the Thinker should be aware of?

Yes, there's still a lot to do.

The remnants and Sarkaz mercenaries will then wage guerrilla warfare in Casimir in the name of Theresa. The food and chemical protective equipment they receive will greatly delay Colombia's advance—but that's all they can do, just delay, that's all.

Yang Hao will cut off supplies to Casimir to the point where it can only slow down their demise. In the end, Casimir will still be unable to break free from Colombia's iron heel on their own. In the end, the Casimir people will still have to surrender to the official government of Ursus and send out formal diplomatic communications.

But when Yang Hao thought of how these stubborn Kazimirians had previously refused the visit of the Ursus Empire's diplomats and insulted them, he felt quite calm—fine, you were the ones who rejected our proposal first, so this time when it's your turn to come, don't expect to leave with any dignity.

Yang Hao needed to seize everything from the current Kasimir regime on that important occasion—whether it was their resources, their dignity, or even the public's trust.

Once he has these items, he can help Theresa purge all the knightly families within Kazimierz who disobey her orders and authority... Then, Theresa can establish a dictatorship in Kazimierz, becoming her protectorate, allowing Ursus to expand its influence and territory without waging war...

Well... Teresa is ultimately just a mortal. She certainly won't live for hundreds of years.

Yang Hao didn't want to end up cleaning up the mess left behind after his little pony died of old age, so...

"...By the way, Theresa. If you had to choose, would you prefer a mirror, or something else?"

"Huh? Oh—you mean this?"

The little pony, having put down the communicator, looked up at Yang Hao in confusion. She pondered for a long time, then finally shrugged.

"Hmm... I just treat mirrors as a necessity in my life, something for grooming and such... If I had to say what I really like, it would definitely be..."

"still?"

"Hehehe~ I won't tell you."

"..."

Yang Hao barely suppressed the urge to take Teresa right there and then—after all, Sonia's mother was watching!

But since Theresa didn't say what she liked, then... shall I help you look for it?

He shook his head, setting aside this potentially distant matter for the time being, and then sighed:

"If nothing unexpected happens, the situation in Kazimir will tend to stabilize. Kazimir will engage in a protracted war of attrition with Columbia, and the current Kazimir regime is incapable of stopping Columbia's slow advance—Theresa, you should be prepared. If Kazimir formally requests military assistance from the Ursus Empire, we will not agree immediately."

"Huh? Why—oh, I think I understand. It's about the Ursus diplomat being sent back?"

"Yes. And we also need a pretext that will make Casimir owe me even more before declaring war on Colombia. This pretext needs to be strong and compelling, perhaps even garnering support from other countries..."

"Hmm... Mr. Yang Hao, you mean that matter, right?" Sonia's mother, who had been silently reading, nodded thoughtfully. "It's about getting Ms. Koschche to..."

“Hmm. However, Karina’s condition is very dangerous, so the plan may need to be changed slightly—after all, the reason Koschei wanted to change bodies is because Miss Green’s political resources have been almost exhausted. It’s not because of illness, nor is it for any reason that she has to die... If we change the planned ‘death’ to ‘serious injury’, that will be enough.”

"But have you spoken to Ms. Koschei? Child, these things should be discussed with loved ones first."

"Actually, Koschei should already understand what I'm going to do... Sigh, that's just how she is. Sometimes, taking advantage of how well she knows me, she won't say what her demands or bottom line are, and just expects me to guess based on what I know about her..."

"Why do I feel like you're showing off your relationship, boss? But then again, so that's what Koschche is like? You mean, the one who achieves immortality by possessing another's body?"

Theresa, who knew nothing about Koschke, looked at Yang Hao with a puzzled expression. But this was something she hadn't understood before, and now it was time for her to understand.

Thinking of this, Yang Hao shrugged, turned around, walked up to Theresa, reached out and rubbed behind her ear, and smiled:

"Yes. But that's not the point—I'm leaving now, I still need to have some counseling with Miss Karina. Be back in two hours, and remember to get my work done for me."

"Yes Yes Yes..."

The little pony puffed out its cheeks in dissatisfaction and began to deal with its work with a gloomy expression. Meanwhile, Sonia's mother smiled as she put down the book, then hugged Yang Hao from behind and left with him, beaming.

They were going to find Miss Karina to resolve her obsession problem.

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

...

"Ah—welcome, Mr. Yang Hao, Ms. Sonia. Hmm? Didn't Hela come with you?"

"Hela seems to have been taken out by Monica, so it's just Sonia and me this time. Um, Karina, don't be so reserved, okay? Just act like usual."

"Ah."

On the afternoon of the 22nd, near dinner time, Yang Hao and Sonia approached Karina—who was in her room reading, looking at some personal books that she had brought with her.

After Yang Hao sat down, he casually picked up a book from Karina's desk. Looking at the book, which didn't even have its original cover and was just bound with white paper and staples, he concluded that it must be an ancient book or research material that had been dug up from somewhere.

Um...

It was something noteworthy, perhaps related to Karina's ascension. He silently examined the book in his hands, then turned to the first page and was immediately drawn to the strange ritual described inside.

"Kelina, what is this...?"

He pointed to a strange, ritualistic-like entry in the notebook called "Right of Passage to Wounds," and asked the girl working diligently at her desk with curiosity.

“Hmm? These were found in my ancestral home.” Karina looked up and then smiled shyly. “My father was a nobleman, but he had a passion for archaeology… These things were all given to me by him before he passed away.”

"...terribly sorry."

"No, it's nothing serious. My father died at the happiest time of his life, when he unexpectedly found a ruin full of ancient books... Although I regret that he couldn't study the contents of those books, I think he must have been incredibly happy when he died."

"Perhaps you and Ms. Kal'tsit have a lot to talk about? As far as I know, Ms. Kal'tsit is also a researcher like that—of course, as far as I know."

"If I could, I'd like to meet her. But the area is a hotspot for infected people... I'm hesitant to go there."

"Ok?"

Yang Hao was taken aback. He thought that Karina shouldn't be afraid to go to the infected area to watch the excitement even with guards around, right? After all, the infected area in the Duchy of Koschei was not the same as the infected area in the neighboring Saint-Germain Castle. Our infected area is very safe, not only safe, but also quite lively and developing in some ways.

People are all honest and simple. If the only concern is getting Oripathy, it shouldn't be a big deal, right?

Yang Hao recalled that Oripathy was an incurable disease in Terra, and then he remembered that Ms. Kal'tsit, with his strong support, had developed an experimental drug—he understood what Karina was worried about, so...

“To be precise, I’m a little hesitant to go with people I don’t know well. I hate that… how should I put it… feeling helpless in an unfamiliar place… After all, my guards don’t know anything about the infected area either,” Karina said with a wry smile. She looked up at Yang Hao, then at Sonia, who was also sitting in another chair reading a book. Finally, her wry smile turned into a mischievous grin: “If Mr. Yang Hao could come with me, then maybe I wouldn’t be so scared, right?”

-

Sonia's mother paused for a moment, then turned her head and stared intently at Mr. Yang Hao, who was sweating profusely.