My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 162

"Back then, we fooled the slave soldiers of Kazimir for a month with a wall that looked like it was several meters thick of iron plates—but was actually only a few centimeters thick of wooden planks. I think these monsters are not as smart as those slave soldiers, and besides the brittle planks, we also have concrete blocks and bricks on the ground, right?" The old sergeant was very confident in his plan and optimistic that this strategy would be effective—but as optimistic as he was, he was well aware that many people would die in the battle to come.

The veteran sergeant could only hope that the regular troops would arrive quickly to support them. Because almost no one here was a true soldier; the fact that they could hold their posts while wetting themselves was already a miracle. How could they possibly fight those monsters and then be pushed all the way down?

impossible.

He smiled to himself.

Ten minutes later—just seconds after his "decorative" model was laid on the steel plate—the aliens closest to the slope had already stepped their left feet onto the slope's surface.

Chapter 101

When Yang Hao arrived at the roof of the ceremonial building where Hela was located at 6:20 p.m. with Monica and the guards, he received news that the second slope defense line had officially engaged in battle with the tidal wave of monsters that had been guided there.

Their makeshift defenses went smoothly, with most monsters being guided through the narrowest intersections. However, a small number of more intelligent monsters—or simply, more physically stronger aliens—jumped high to bypass the militia's defenses.

Following the two incidents, a total of 3200 of the 6000 militiamen were killed or wounded, and the local sergeant in charge was killed in action. The regular army soldiers who took over the defense are now in command, but they can't hold out for long. This is not only because there are no high-quality reserves to reinforce their casualties, but more importantly, they have found that the defenses there are too weak.

Now they were facing ordinary aliens, and these piles of bricks, stones, wood chips, and thin iron plates were only so-called "artificial" and could still be somewhat effective. When the fleshy monsters and golems from the rear arrived together, that would be the time when the second slope defense line would be breached. According to Yang Hao's calculations based on the map, that wave of aliens would take about 20 minutes to arrive. With all three defense lines under pressure and the Sarkaz reinforcements outside taking another half hour to arrive, all he could do was have Hela immediately stop the ritual and then take her to the scene to take command.

"Hoo... Hela! Stop the ritual immediately, immediately!"

He wiped the sweat from his brow and called out to the living doll who was still intently performing the ceremony not far away. The doll, after a moment's hesitation, obediently followed her father's command.

She canceled the ceremony, but there was no intention of refunding any of the resources consumed. Yang Hao tenderly hugged the child he hadn't seen for several days who rushed towards him, and then, under her confused gaze, he carried her back, intending to immediately head to the second line of defense to relieve the pressure on the scene with Hela.

"dad...?"

“The plans have changed. Now Duke Nikolai is launching a full-scale attack on us. This attack will either be won by us or by him—so we will not hold the ceremony. We need your strength now, okay?”

"Ah."

Hela nodded obediently, her heterochromatic eyes fixed on Yang Hao's chin. Then, for some reason, her brows furrowed deeper and deeper, as if she had discovered something strange about Yang Hao:

"Dad...there's something strange about you..."

"Ok?"

Yang Hao initially thought she was referring to whether there was something strange stuck to his clothes, but when he got to the car and checked them, he found that his clothes were perfectly clean.

He suddenly wondered if there was something on his face. But when he noticed that the head maid Monica also looked confused, he realized that it wasn't a problem with him—it was that, in Hela's eyes, there was something strange about him.

What, the spirit world?

He rubbed Hela's forehead, signaling her to tell him everything she knew.

“Hmm… it seems like Daddy is being targeted… someone is trying to point something at you, like possession or body swapping…” Hela said in a clear voice, uttering a sentence that made Monica, the head maid, and the surrounding guards change color drastically. “It doesn’t seem like Aunt Koschei… I’ve noted Aunt Koschei’s name—and there’s nothing in what she left behind that would harm Daddy.”

"...I have a feeling it was Duke Nikolai who was behind this."

Yang Hao smacked his lips, thinking that among the people he knew who possessed supernatural powers, were obsessed with insidious methods, and could also switch bodies, his wife was one, and the other was probably Duke Nikolai and his ascendant.

This is... really strange. Yang Hao didn't think his body was powerful enough to make people drool. It would be more practical for you to target my body, rather than just the body of this Templar Knight who drives the vehicle.

After much thought, Yang Hao still couldn't understand Duke Nikolai's thought process. In the end, he could only regretfully say that perhaps Duke Nikolai had also made himself stupid.

Although he appeared so relaxed, his head maid didn't think so...

“My lady, this…” Head Maid Monica opened her mouth, her expression revealing nothing but tension. “You need to report your situation to Lord Koschche immediately! And Hela, you know—”

"—Dad, don't worry."

Before Yang Hao could calm Monica down, he heard his beloved daughter in his arms shake her head.

They were all stunned for a moment, and then they all looked at Hela, hoping to get an explanation.

Faced with the gazes of her two closest people, Hela simply blinked and said:

"Mommy will protect Daddy—"

"--Forehead?"

"...Master Yang Hao?"

...

Monica's eyes suddenly sharpened. Yang Hao felt that although he didn't seem to need to face a life-or-death crisis anymore, in a sense, the life-or-death crisis at home seemed to have become even more severe.

To this, he could only laugh awkwardly and say that perhaps he would have time to figure out what the "hasty lie" was all about after everything was over.

Ok?

Monica temporarily accepted his explanation.

Then, at 6:30 p.m., Yang Hao and his guards arrived at a safe location behind the second slope defense line. This was a place to temporarily house the wounded and store supplies. Further ahead, the sounds of aliens fighting with soldiers echoed through the sky.

"...Hela?"

"Yes, Dad, I'm fine."

Hela nodded. After Yang Hao left the car, she jumped down from his arms, bent down, patted her little skirt, and rubbed the tip of the sickle against the ground. She seemed very worried about Yang Hao's safety here, watching him intently, wanting to say something but not wanting to interfere with her father's plans.

Faced with his beloved daughter's worry, Yang Hao simply sighed, squatted down, and gently massaged her ears.

"I'll be watching from a safe, high place. And Daddy will also be on-site to oversee the situation and make adjustments as needed, okay? Monica will protect Daddy, so you have to concentrate... okay?"

"Ok!"

She nodded. Encouraged by Yang Hao, she led a group of Templar Knights away from there, heading to the front lines.

With Hela there, the second slope defense line should be safe. But then again, I've even reached the point where I have to rely on my own child... Sigh.

While he couldn't completely disregard the idea that the elderly would rely on their children for support, this situation still further aggravated Yang Hao's emotions. Muttering to himself, "I'm afraid my enemies will be furious and call me a father who only knows how to exploit his children," he led the remaining guards and Monica to a nearby high point.

As mentioned before, he needs to keep an eye on the nearby front lines. Furthermore, being on the front lines makes it easier to trigger events that could change the course of the battle. As long as he stays safe, doing so is definitely worthwhile.

Chapter 102

Hela's arrival truly relieved the pressure on the second slope defense line. Although she appeared petite, every time she swung her scythe, she would slice hordes of aliens into pieces under the horrified gazes of the surrounding soldiers and militia.

This was not only due to the sharpness of her black scythe blade, but more importantly, Hela was very compatible with these aliens.

Representing desolation and ultimate annihilation, she is the Death Doll, reaping souls, and these pitiful aliens still retain the souls they should have possessed. Perhaps these aliens do indeed possess powerful regenerative abilities, but when Hela takes their souls—they will naturally and completely perish.

“I see… If Hela goes directly to the battlefield, we can at least guarantee the safety of one narrow defensive line.” He muttered to himself, observing through binoculars atop a distant tower, a small pony now beside him. “But Hela, as an imperfect living doll, has her limits… She’s already showing signs of fatigue. We can’t let her waste her energy on those common aliens. She needs to rest until those high-threat tumor monsters arrive.”

However, this doesn't mean Hela can eliminate all aliens indefinitely. She has her limits—after all, she's not a perfect living doll, and physical strength, a crucial factor for any living being, has a real impact on Hela.

Under the relentless attacks, her speed quickly slowed down. She began to pant, and before Hela could truly tire, Yang Hao used the [Puppet Stage] command to make her temporarily retreat and rest until the tumor monster climbed up.

"So this is the Hela you were talking about, boss? Oh? You've gained a child while I was in the hospital? That's truly an unheard-of wonder."

"I'll explain that later—in short, what's the current state of the barricades?"

The pony beside him asked in surprise, while Yang Hao seemed helpless at Theresa's question and her arrival. Under his questioning, and with the head maid Monica glaring at him as if she wanted to devour him, Theresa shook her head and brought Yang Hao some not-so-good news:

That is, the flesh and blood tissue that the barricades encountered was like a tree, proliferating and proliferating, and it had been proven to be impossible to eliminate. The fire on it could not keep up with its self-replication speed accompanied by red light, so the soldiers on the barricades could only defend while retreating, and eventually they retreated to the position of the second barricade.

Fortunately, thanks to the formidable strength of the barricades, even when facing concentrated attacks from aliens and living puppets, the soldiers, led by Sonia and her juniors, still had the will to hold out. They could probably hold out for several more hours, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, the war with Duke Nikolai should be over within a few hours.

"It's good that you had the defense line pushed forward, boss—the growth of those trees requires the help of the fungal carpet on the ground. How should I put it? They can grow without the fungal carpet, but very slowly. With the fungal carpet, their growth rate is faster than the first man to ejaculate, and they will quickly reach the edge of the fungal carpet."

"That's good news... but where did you learn those dirty jokes?"

"Back when we were still carrying out espionage, our head housekeeper—I heard she tricked several innocent, bright young men who had just graduated from college—but I don't know what happened after that."

"...Is this a custom in Kazimierz?"

“At least the customs of Kazimierz in my memory aren’t that bad.” Theresa curled her lip, it seemed that this former knight-errant still had some affection for her hometown.

Hearing this, Yang Hao breathed a sigh of relief, feeling slightly relieved by the stability at the front lines, and changed the subject.

"Never mind then. What about the condition of the first slope defense line?"

"Over there—with that Great Sarkaz man guarding it, the pressure isn't too great. And those Sarkaz mercenaries are truly excellent; they have ample combat experience and a fearless spirit. More importantly, there's naval gun support over there, so it can't be worse than this slope, no matter how bad it gets."

The first slope defense line was garrisoned by Mr. Bozokasti and ten thousand Sarkaz mercenaries, with several salvaged naval cannons providing support. In a sense, it was the safest spot; even with a large enemy force, the pressure of the uphill attack should prevent it from falling directly.

Now that all three lines of defense are secure and steadily improving (except for the barricades), Yang Hao finally has the energy to focus on other aspects of the battlefield.

He first sized up the Sarkaz mercenaries who were rushing to reinforce the second slope defense line in the wilderness—they were almost there, and if nothing unexpected happened, they would attack the aliens from behind in the next ten minutes. After breaking through the alien blockade in front, these tough guys could take up positions at the rear of the second slope defense line after suffering some casualties, and the second slope defense line would truly enter a safe period.

Therefore, this was a force that didn't require much attention. After briefly glancing at their route and confirming that there were no problems, Yang Hao turned his attention to the situation of the most important and worthy of his attention: the [noble private army].

Those were not troops he could directly control. Under Kosich's orders, they seemed to have completed their plan to land behind the living city and were now splitting into small teams to clear out the remaining aliens within the living city, moving towards the city control tower of the Duchy of Nikolai.

Having learned from the experience shared by the Duke of Kosiché via communicator, these noble private soldiers brought along all the spirits and incendiary materials they could carry—although the fleshy trees weren't something that could be killed by fire and spirits, as long as they could clear the creep step by step, then—

They can do it! They should be able to cause Duke Nicholas a lot of trouble.

Yang Hao's brows relaxed completely.

...... ......

The Duke of Kosice was well aware of the large-scale troop movement—Duke Nikolai, now preoccupied with communicating with his living city.

He was very curious about who the little girl fighting on the second slope carved out by the claws was, and more importantly, for some reason he felt as if he sensed the aura of a great being he had seen before in that little girl—he meant something similar.

"That little girl, could she also be a Sichen that existed thousands of years ago?" Duke Nikolai murmured to himself, stroking the enormous heart that was beating in front of him. "But it doesn't seem like it, it doesn't seem like it. The aura on her body is not strong, and more importantly, if she were a Sichen, then there would be no need for her to personally go to the battlefield to eliminate my prepared livestock—she could just destroy me directly. The reason she doesn't do that is because she simply doesn't have the ability to destroy me."

Duke Nikolai was clever; he quickly understood the situation of the little girl with the scythe. However, he wasn't concerned about the trouble the little girl might cause him, because the "fusion" with the heart of the living city—a flesh-and-blood exchange more transparent than human love—both made Duke Nikolai feel ecstatic and gave him the confidence to continue preparing the ritual despite the increasingly unfavorable conditions.

He now realizes that as long as the living city is not destroyed, he is an immortal being who will be reborn infinitely from within the living city—at that time, the living city will be his child, and he will be the living city's child, their bloodlines intertwined.

In a sense, this so-called "incestuous" relationship—if one could say so—made Duke Nikolai even stronger. He felt his body constantly changing, even experiencing hallucinations at times—unfortunately, Duke Nikolai regretfully felt that this was not enough.

Even as his body gradually transforms into a "feast," he still needs a vessel to possess. He needs to control the new body to devour his old one completely; he needs this!

We must immediately prepare a ritual to take over that man's body—

Just as Duke Nikolai was planning to carve the misunderstanding symbol on the heart of the living city, he sensed that an outsider had set foot in this place, accompanied by the screams of his adjutant, who had become one with the flesh and blood walls around the heart.

Are they soldiers from the city? No—those private soldiers aren't coming that fast yet.

He slowly turned his neck, and the neck that he twisted twice without breaking finally fixed his face on the side facing the door.

That gate—the same gate of white iron that Duke Nikolai knew so well, the gate that had been replaced by flesh and blood after his ceremony—was now strangely white.

The silence and decay—the aura emanating from there caused Duke Nikolai to turn around and involuntarily take two steps back.

Is it Si Chen? No...

That wasn't Si Chen, but it was a being of a higher level than me...

Duke Nikolai swallowed hard. The cup in his stomach churned, and the blood flowing out filled him with immense pleasure—it was true! This proved that his guess was indeed correct! He could indeed ascend step by step through the ritual, eventually seizing everything from that crimson Holy Grail and becoming a great being comparable to it... He was excited about this and didn't even try to guess what the people who came here were up to.

He watched excitedly as the door slowly opened, but paused for a moment when a barefoot woman in a black lace dress and carrying a scythe stepped out.

Then, when he noticed that the woman's face was shrouded in a dim black mist, leaving only her bright blue eyes to gleam with an alluring blue light, he paused for a moment.

"—What a high-level existence you are, you...you represent the setting sun...no, no, no, no...who exactly do you represent? This lady who brings deathly silence, no...you won't tell me who you represent...The beings I've seen with your aura are always silent, not even willing to utter a single word!"

The setting sun—a great being whom Duke Nikolai once saw in a dream, representing a tragic ending, and a celestial being on par with the crimson cup.

But this one? No, she couldn't possibly represent the setting sun! But she also didn't seem like someone Duke Nikolai knew. He racked his brains, and finally could only come to one conclusion: this kind of person, whose very presence exuded an aura of death, wouldn't utter a single word.

That's just how those guys are! Even the emcee can only manage nine words in three hours of recollection, nine words!

"..."

Faced with Duke Nikolai's mutterings, the woman wielding the scythe simply lowered her head. Her scythe sliced ​​through the flesh and blood of the ground, and the earth beneath her feet instantly transformed into a snow-covered plain.

Duke Nikolai originally thought she wouldn't say a word—but he was wrong.

"If you hadn't intended to target him, perhaps I wouldn't have appeared. Poor, deluded believer, of all the rituals you've performed, only one sacrifice is correct. You can't even ascend; you've merely transformed your body into a monster among the immortals. You can no longer distinguish between reality and illusion."

She stated it in a crisp tone, and the deathly stillness surrounding her made Duke Nikolai's heart skip a beat.

"—What are you saying?" he said, enunciating each word clearly.

“...You’re obsessed.” The woman shook her head and slowly raised the scythe horizontally. “And if you hadn’t misplaced your intentions, I might have been happy to use you as a test.”

"No—! I didn't! Everything I saw was real, and everything I know can make me ascend!"

"Your ritual materials are all wrong. Perhaps your body is indeed the body of an excellent immortal, perhaps your body is indeed an excellent altar that even the Crimson Grail would find difficult to replace, but you are too obsessed—there is another matter, the Sichen you once met was not the Holy Grail. She was called the Crimson Grail."

The lady was no longer inclined to argue. Looking at the duke who still firmly believed that everything he had done was "real," she knew very well that there was no need to waste words on a believer who was already too obsessed.

She slowly raised the scythe, and the duke, who was still deeply immersed in the ascension psychedelic state, provoked by her, also revealed his mutated organs—aggressive organs covered in bone spurs and concentrated acid.

"See! This is proof that I'm about to fly even higher!" he laughed, charging towards the woman. "Your flesh and blood can also help me go higher!"

"..."

The woman remained silent. She simply looked at the pitiful madman with pity. If this man had never seen the Crimson Cup, perhaps he could have become a capable minister in governing this empire. If he hadn't been so captivated, he could at least have become a renowned figure.