My wife is an immortal black snake.

"In short—all three lords are very unhappy with your [deal] with...Ms. Therese. Her Majesty Ekaterina [understands] your impulse for Ursus, but Lord Kosiché and Miss Grin..."

"...I think I understand..."

"In addition, the two lords also hope that you can return as soon as possible, and if possible, complete your wedding with Lord Koschche before Princess Wei Qing and the Great Yan attendant discuss the location with you..."

"Wait, wait a minute?! If we do that, we'll be directly slapping the Great Yan in the face!!"

"—So there's one more thing I didn't get a chance to say. The two gentlemen were just joking, or perhaps they were just being stubborn."

"call..."

My dear wives! Please don't do anything really serious out of spite about this kind of thing...sigh!

Green is one thing, but Kosic, Kosic, you're practically my ancestor's grandmother! Your age shouldn't allow you to be so immature... Ugh! Even if marriage has made you younger, it doesn't have to be like this...

Ugh!

Life is unpredictable, truly unpredictable! While it's a good thing that my thousand-year-old wife has become younger, she's started to get sulky, and I don't know if that's a good thing or not...

After all, if possible, Yang Hao still hoped his wife could possess the same ancient composure as her age...

Ugh!

Mr. Yang Hao took several deep breaths.

He then said, "I understand." After watching Monica leave the room with graceful steps, he slumped onto the table with a gloomy expression, awaiting comfort from Margarita and Karina, who had already finished their prophecy.

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

Meanwhile, the entire territory of Kazdel is also busy preparing for the upcoming "Nationwide Migration Mobile City" event.

With Yang Hao's permission, the Sarkaz mercenaries from Ursus were already on their way back. Theresa and Theresis didn't want to fall out with the old nobles before the army was fully back—in short, they were currently behaving like obedient children, trying to move all the industrial equipment from the ground to the mobile city as quickly as possible, so that the upcoming civil war wouldn't have too much of an impact on New Kazdel.

"I guess it's alright that those old bastards all prefer living in the tribes on the surface...? Sigh. Theresa, has Ursus's equipment arrived yet?"

"Heh, the tourist group isn't willing to lend us their equipment—so we'll have to wait for the army to return. They came after switching to Ursus standard equipment. By the way, sister? I've noticed you haven't been sleeping well at night lately?"

"...It's OK."

"...If anything happens, you must tell me, okay?"

"I'll tell you."

Therese listlessly ate her food: she was truly embarrassed to tell her younger sister that the reason she couldn't sleep well was because of the "trouble" her teacher had caused her... that craving for stimulation.

Fortunately, she managed to hold back—so that's fine.

That said... although Kazdel is currently migrating to the mobile cities, and the second batch of mobile city reception is already in the works... for some reason, Therese has a bad feeling, an ominous premonition that something bad is going to happen...

She recalled the cold, elusive gaze of the maid who used to appear and disappear beside her teacher—she meant that her teacher still came by occasionally these past few days. But each time she came, the maid would follow her closely, always on guard.

...

Has it been discovered?

Therese couldn't help feeling a little guilty: after all, this was a huge scandal on the international stage... The CEO of a security company in Kazdel had actually made a sexual deal with a widower duke in Ursus who had recently lost his wife... Although the duke's wife was still alive on the surface, and their deal was consensual, it was still quite unpleasant to talk about... It might even become the perfect excuse for her political enemies to attack her.

Although there was no reason why Therese had a feeling that the people of Kazdel would be "happy" about this news... but if it were discovered... she still had to be prepared.

After all, barring any unforeseen circumstances, she will be Kazdel's representative as a hostage in the "Three Kingdoms Alliance" of Ursus, Kazimir, and Great Yan, and will be heading to Ursus with her pardoner...

"...This is so troublesome."

"elder sister?"

"No, it's nothing. It's just that it's troublesome to get rid of those old nobles—not all Blood Demons are on our side, but the vast majority of Banshees are... What about the others?"

"...Pretty much. The tribes of each royal court are also divided, and it will be a bloody civil war—for those tribes, and for us as well."

"...Fine."

Therese curled her lip, thinking that a bloody civil war was fine—what Kazdel needed now was a civil war that could break free from its corrupt traditions.

...I just don't know if the teacher can provide more support?

She shook her head, deciding that it was best not to think too much about things that she and her sister could control.

Chapter 222

......

The afternoon of July 3th.

When the Grand Preceptor of the Great Yan Kingdom arrived in Kazdel with the already cold rice noodle rolls, she could see from afar the ground-based military base that Ursus was building, which was almost half completed, as well as the Ursus land-based ship camp not far away.

Although the Grand Preceptor had long known that Ursus and Kazdel had some kind of ambiguous relationship, he never expected it to have progressed to the point of openly building a military base in the Kazdel region.

Looking closer, one could see a significant number of Ursus troops roaming the outskirts of Kazdel, searching for traces of suspicious individuals alongside the local police force...

"...Now I understand why other countries have been making such outrageous statements internationally, claiming that Ursus wants to drag all the countries on Earth into hell..."

The Grand Preceptor recalled a famous prophecy about the Demon King that Kazdel had once made... but after thinking it over, there were countless prophecies in the world that had been altered! How could a group be suppressed as inferior just because of one prophecy? So, although he couldn't understand why short-lived nations always liked to play these dirty political games... in any case, the Grand Preceptor shook his head and slowly walked towards the direction of the Great Yan's land-based warship.

3pm sharp.

When the Grand Preceptor arrived at her land-based ship and handed the cook the rice noodle rolls she hadn't eaten yet, asking them to "heat them up," she went directly to Crown Prince Wei Su's room, knocked on the door, and then used her abilities to ignore the door's security, walking in expressionlessly.

"Imperial Preceptor." Crown Prince Wei Su, who was sitting in a chair, respectfully rose to greet the Imperial Preceptor upon his arrival. "It is truly wonderful that you could come."

“Sit down. After all, this is not something you, as a mere mortal, can handle—tell me the details.”

The Imperial Advisor and the Crown Prince took their seats. A short while later, the cook brought over the Imperial Advisor's rice noodle rolls. After the cook placed the rolls on the table and left, the Imperial Advisor closed the door behind him from a distance, then ate his first meal of the day while preparing to listen to the Crown Prince's thoughts and insights.

Wei Su watched the Grand Preceptor's insistence on doing his own thing even in a solemn setting, and could only find it both amusing and exasperating. He then sighed and explained the reasons for the failure of his operation earlier that morning and the strength of the enemy.

As he explained, while eating the no longer fresh rice noodle rolls, the Grand Preceptor finally understood the ins and outs of the matter.

In short, Wei Su planned a daring early morning raid—after all, as the saying goes, the early morning is when people are most tired, so launching an attack while those anti-demon faction members are most tired is only natural, and it can indeed achieve good results, so initially, the raid was successful.

But the problem is, they don't just attack people; they also attack things that aren't human...

"At first, my soldiers made good progress, killing several stubborn aristocratic soldiers. But soon, just as the soldiers broke through the traitor's last line of defense, what they saw was a [corpse]." Wei Su shook his head bitterly, "A [corpse] covered in purple crystals... containing power that even the most knowledgeable sorcerers here cannot comprehend. Those anti-demon faction members used the power of the corpse to withstand the soldiers' attacks. Not only that, they also crushed one of our lightning sorcerers... into something that looks like a crystal."

"Crystal?"

Yes. Just like this.

Crown Prince Wei Su took out a warning document from his desk, which was kept in a sealed, transparent container. The Grand Preceptor pushed aside the plate of rice noodle rolls he had finished eating and began to carefully examine the contents of the container.

..

It was a purple, translucent crystal, and if she wasn't mistaken, it also had a slightly pinkish tint due to the presence of blood inside.

Furthermore, the size of the crystal does not match that of a person.

"If I'm not mistaken... it broke into many pieces?"

"...Exactly. We didn't have time to collect everything—most importantly, the traitors were using the power of corpses when they escaped. And the power of the corpses further disrupted the site. Crystals cracked and scattered...I think a lot of crystals must have fallen into the city of Old Kazdel, and some even fell into the Ursus camp."

"Compared to this, the old Kazdel?"

"The Kazdel authorities refer to the mobile city they have acquired as 'New Kazdel.' The original ground cities naturally become 'Old Kazdel.'"

"...Alright. Wei Su, step back. Let me see if these crystals will reveal our secret."

"secret?"

"...If I remember correctly, in my thousands of years of life, I have indeed seen some great and ancient beings turn into crystals after they die—and then their knowledge and experience throughout their lives are preserved in the crystals. In case, I mean, in case that the crystal that the Thunder Mage has left is exactly the same as what I guessed...you have to be prepared for the Great Yan's Originium Arts to be leaked."

"...Understood."

Crown Prince Wei Su nodded, his expression stern, and stepped back to a safe distance.

Then, he watched as the Grand Preceptor used his power to open the sealed container and squeeze out the crystals inside.

The purplish-pink crystal seemed to be alive, constantly flashing with a rhythmic light like a heartbeat. The Imperial Advisor carefully studied the crystal, and finally, she squeezed it hard—the crystal turned into dust and disappeared into the air.

...

The Imperial Advisor's expression turned extremely grim.

"National Division?"

“I guessed right… When I crushed this crystal into powder, I briefly saw images of part of that Lei Fa’s life… Kid, immediately have our men collect all the crystals and search for the traitors’ locations—we need to clean up the mess these bastards left behind before the people in other countries realize what’s valuable.”

"Yes, sir. And what if the Ursus people obtain these things?"

"...You are the Crown Prince, so you should consider this—but if I were to give you a suggestion? It's a fact that the Ursus people have become in-laws of the Great Yan, but the relationship isn't entirely secure. Do you understand?"

"...yes."

Watching Wei Su hurriedly leave his work, the Grand Preceptor sighed heavily: Although this was not the worst outcome he had anticipated, it was still quite troublesome.

Chapter 223

...

the other side.

With the help of Margarita's prophecy, the Ursus people are also rapidly moving towards the place that records the secrets of the Great Yan.

"Hurry! Hurry! We have to collect those purple crystals before the Yan people!" Grand Master Napoleon of the Templars, sweating profusely, urged his troops as they circled the streets and alleys of Old Kazdel. "But where are these things?! Isn't there a crystal in this area? Why can't we find it?!"

"They might be on the roof!" a Templar Knight shouted, "but our equipment—"

The Templar Knights wore heavy knightly gear.

Those heavy armors were a heavy burden on the body, let alone climbing walls and roofs. Even walking up stairs would be a difficult task.

Fortunately, the Templar Knights didn't necessarily have to do these arduous tasks—because the Blood Demon and his apprentice were always with them.

So while the Templars on the ground were in a state of panic, Lady Northumbria and Margarita caught up from behind.

"—Leave the things on the roof to us. You look for them on the ground," Ms. Northum said, then patted Margarita on the shoulder, gesturing for her to go up first. "And the things in the sewers—don't forget, the things inside the house are your responsibility too. Anyway, your boss will pay for them, so that's it."

"Really? Please! Miss Margarita, Ms. Northumbery!"

"Don't thank me, I just... never mind."

She pursed her lips and left the ground under Mr. Napoleon's grateful gaze.

Blood Demons possess physical abilities sufficient to allow them to nimbly and quickly switch positions between the ground and the rooftop. But to be honest, even two Blood Demons... climbing a wall in full view of everyone seemed rather strange.

So both Margarita and Northumi quickly reached the rooftop in an inconspicuous way—Margarita transformed herself into black mist, while Northumi simply used her speed. In short, they reached the rooftop and began searching for the prophesied [purple crystal].

According to Margarita, a purple crystal containing the secrets of the Yan Kingdom's [Thunder] fell in the city area of ​​Kazdel... But for some reason, her prophetic abilities lost their accuracy at this time: she didn't know exactly where the thing had fallen, only that it was definitely in a spherical area with a radius of 50 meters.

It could be on the roof, on the ground, even inside a building, or in a stinking sewer—in any case, they would need to find it themselves and return it to the landship for safekeeping.

"...Margarita? Have you found anything?" Lady Northumen stood behind Margarita, who was rummaging through various wooden crates facing the roof of the house, and winked at her apprentice. "We sent out four teams in total, and after Ms. Monica went to Ms. Therese, some of the Kazdel guards also helped us search... But this thing is scattered far too much! Without knowing its exact size, we need to find at least six purple crystals..."

"Hmm, at least 6 pieces, and preferably 8 if possible—after all, I predicted that there would only be 8 crystals to be found, right? And I've also—ah! Found them!"

Margarita hastily tossed aside a nearly empty wooden crate. With the sound of the crate shattering, Lady Northumb, in front of the approaching Sarkaz, tossed him a whole bar of crimson gold as "compensation." Then, her lips twitched as she looked at the purple crystal Margarita had mentioned—half of it embedded in the wooden wall. It seemed she'd have to dig it out, along with the surrounding planks.

"—Could we borrow this plank?"

Without turning her head, she shouted to the Sarkaz man who was hurriedly taking the crimson gold, then helped the distressed Margarita pull out the plank. After cutting off the parts that didn't need to be taken back, she put the purple crystal into her small bag: "Margarita, let's go—don't forget to inform the Templar Knights."

"Oh! Okay, okay..."

...

The master and apprentice hurriedly departed. They still needed to find five more crystals to complete the minimum requirement of their task. Of course, they didn't forget to inform the Templar Knights before leaving.

It wasn't just this one Templar squad. Other groups from Ursus were also active.

Even the Imperial Guards are helping to find the crucial [Purple Crystal] that contains the secrets of the Yan Kingdom... Under these circumstances, it would be a lie to say that the Ursus people's actions are not attracting attention.

On the Great Yan side, Crown Prince Wei Su was extremely anxious about their actions, because they had only found two crystals so far—one of which had already been used by the Grand Preceptor.

"They're on the move..."

Standing atop the landship, gazing at the bustling city in the distance, the Grand Preceptor muttered to himself while observing the Ursus people's comings and goings: "Sometimes groups go back, sometimes groups go out... They don't seem to be looking for [enemies], but rather [searching for items]... I guess they've also discovered the secret of those purple crystals—and are now trying every means to collect them all."

"...My brother-in-law is a shrewd and honest man. Although this marriage is destined to end as a political alliance between the two sides, it doesn't mean he will let go of the secrets of the Great Yan."

"Even if you've already confirmed that he has feelings for the Great Yan, is that still the case?"

"It's more accurate to say that, in his eyes, the feelings for Da Yan are not as strong as those for Ursus."

"He is a loyal and devoted man, worthy of respect—but as an opponent, we must not be complacent. How about this, I will also go with you to find those things, and if we encounter any traitors, I can provide support beforehand... It's Wei Su, kid, does your father know about what's going on here?"

“I already know.” Crown Prince Wei Su nodded, a bitter feeling rising in his heart: although the fault was not his, he still had to bear the corresponding responsibility: “He wants me to execute all the traitors. If possible, bring the bodies back—if not, then tear them to pieces on the spot.”