My wife is an immortal black snake.

What did Lord Yang Hao leave behind in that Kuranta man's office? Was it his descendant or something else? Serpent Scale Paul couldn't imagine what it was at all, but oh well, it wasn't his business... He'd report to the lord later. For now, he should hurry up and get to work.

...

12 o'clock sharp.

At Paul's command, plainclothes soldiers, the Serpent Scales, and the Knights Templar immediately launched the first-ever "open purge" in the history of the Duchy of Kosiché, right under the nose of the Emperor's inner guard.

Citizens, driven home along the way, watched in horror as fully armed soldiers stormed the nobleman's mansion. Construction workers on the roadside looked on in bewilderment as plainclothes soldiers casually took the wooden ladders they needed. Moreover, some of the nobleman's servants, vaguely sensing what was about to happen, flung open the gates of the mansion as soon as they noticed the surging crowd approaching...

"What the hell is going on?"

Standing on the rooftop of a building, the Emperor's guards, who had been recording data on the "work relief" operation in the Duchy of Kosiché, watched in astonishment as soldiers launched an arrest operation. They were extremely surprised, as this did not seem like a "normal" arrest of criminals.

Would a routine arrest of criminals really require arresting almost all the nobles and nearly half of the major merchants?! The guards exchanged glances, then dropped what they were doing and rushed through the buildings toward the scene of the incident.

...

[Event: The Great Purge]

The Duchy of Kosiché, along with its dual kings and the ducal mansion, carried out a brutal purge of almost all the criminal merchants and nobles on the list of troublemakers, as well as on the new list, and the Ursus Emperor's inner guard had an obligation to know exactly what was happening.

Or perhaps, before they could figure out what had happened, the nobles who had been arrested had already been stuffed into the concrete of a construction site?

'Let them come, our evidence is ready!'

When Yang Hao saw this incident being discussed, he knew perfectly well that the Emperor's Imperial Guard would definitely cause him a lot of trouble later on.

But whatever, now that the evidence is ready, what good will all that trouble do? He shook his head, casually tossed the interface into a corner, then turned to his wife and whispered something in her ear.

"The Emperor's Imperial Guards are aware of our actions."

“It’ll happen sooner or later, I’ll handle it.” Kosic patted Yang Hao’s hand, indicating that he didn’t need to worry. “Just be bold and do it. By the way, are you free tonight? I want to give you a surprise.”

"surprise?"

"Heh, look at you. Sigh, just wait for me tonight—let's deal with official business first."

Koschich's squinting gesture made her look more like a noblewoman hiding some secret than a thousand-year-old monster. Yang Hao didn't say anything, though. After whispering a few more words to Koschich, he refocused his attention on the political affairs at hand.

Yang Hao was worried about the slow increase in [Stability]. After all, he seemed to have done everything he could, and the national policy tree was already pointing towards the next step of [Work Relief], but stability and cohesion were increasing very, very slowly.

After thinking it over and confirming that there were no problems with the interface in front of him, he suddenly slapped his forehead and realized that he had overlooked a major political matter.

That is.

[Nemesis].

The Duchy of Koschei currently lacks a nemesis. Without a nemesis, the people of all classes in the Duchy of Koschei lack a common goal to unite against external threats. Even after Yang Hao gave Koschei a small gift that could increase stability, this remains the case—the Duchy of Koschei, lacking a nemesis, is destined not to gain significant cohesion, increase its stability ceiling, or further reduce the possibility of resistance.

However, the concept of a "sworn enemy" cannot be declared lightly. It requires a suitable pretext, a suitable enemy, and most importantly—it must convince the people that the enemy is the entire family of the Dukedom of Kosice.

"Kosich, let's just declare the Duchy of Nikolai our archenemy!"

So without a second thought, Yang Hao decided to throw the title of "arch-enemy" onto the head of the Duke of Nikolai—which was perfect since he also planned to "invite" the nobles there to provide a pretext for war. Then, he could send back the diplomatic insults as well, wouldn't that be wonderful?

Chapter 145

"...My dear husband, at the very least, you should find a suitable reason, shouldn't you?"

Faced with Yang Hao's strange and sudden words without any reason, Kosichev shook his head with a wry smile, squeezed the back of his hand, and gestured for Monica to quickly get some chilled drinks so that he could calm down.

Koschke had gotten used to Yang Hao's seemingly nonsensical remarks at any moment. Partly because she trusted her husband's ability to do so, and partly because while Yang Hao's ramblings might seem outrageous at first, upon closer inspection, they actually seemed quite feasible!

Even if you get used to it... there are still some things about Koschke that you can't get used to.

For example, his sweet words after each sexual encounter always made Kosichrie feel uncomfortable—no, she felt too comfortable, so she was not used to it.

For example, this time, Yang Hao's sudden idea made her both laugh and cry: these seemingly nonsensical words do seem to be quite useful if you think about them deeply, but the problem is, you can't let Kosicie let him suddenly act up every time, can you?

Within the Duchy of Kosiché, the Duke of Kosiché could, of course, do whatever they wanted—but the situation was different when it involved another duchy, or territories beyond their reach in the Ursus Empire, or even the Emperor's side.

Koschei believed that everything her husband did would make Ursus stronger, but when it came to places where she couldn't guarantee his complete safety, it was better to discuss things with him before acting rashly.

"Isn't the right reason what I told you before? That matter of inviting nobles."

"Ah...you mean that?"

"Yeah, that's it."

Yang Hao accepted the chilled drink Monica offered. After downing the drink in one gulp to calm himself down, Yang Hao began to explain to Kosiché the numerous benefits that establishing a "nemesis" could bring.

...Actually, there's not much to say. It simply increases the influence of the Duchy of Kosice, making it easier for the people within the Duchy of Kosice to unite against external enemies, while also enhancing their spontaneous patriotism.

But while it sounds simple, these things can actually do a lot of things!

[Influence] is a special resource in [Puppet Stage]. It's a renewable resource similar to Political Points—but its recovery rate is the slowest, especially when there are no nemesis.

It only increases influence by about 0.1 per day, but the problem is that influence can do a lot of things:

For example, you could spend 100 influence points to directly gain the right to claim the neighboring Duchy of Nikolai—saying things like, "Since ancient times, the Duchy of Nikolai has been an inseparable core territory of the Duchy of Kosiché," or "The Duchy of Nikolai was seized from the Duke of Kosiché by our ancestors dozens of generations ago through despicable means, so we must take it back," and so on.

The claim purchased with these 100 points of influence is legitimate and credible—as long as Yang Hao uses his influence to buy the claim, he and Kosiché can openly declare war on Duke Nikolai: declaring war in the name of reclaiming core territory.

Of course, the Ursus Emperor's claim could also be purchased. However, the influence fee, ranging from 1 to 10, was something Yang Hao should consider for the time being.

In addition, [Influence] can also force political enemies to compromise on some important matters: for example, if my Duchy of Kosichear wanted to buy the palace of your Ursus Emperor, under normal circumstances, the emperor would definitely disagree, right?

But as long as I have enough influence, I can force the emperor to submit to my trade terms and obediently send me his palace—as for what's written in the trade terms? Who cares? With the help of [influence], buying a palace for one ruble is not impossible.

It's simply a matter of how much influence will be consumed.

In short, influence can accomplish many things. However, to gain influence, Yang Hao needs to create a nemesis.

However, he had already wasted too much time after arriving in the duchy. He hadn't set up a "nemesis" at the time, which directly led to Yang Hao wasting a lot of opportunities that could have benefited the Duke of Koschche due to his oversight of the "nemesis" system.

　However, it's never too late to mend the fence after the sheep are lost, so he planned to explain things clearly to Kosiché and then get the matter settled.

“…Oh…in short, I understand.” Kosicé frowned, took an elegant sip of wine, then rested her chin on her left hand, gazing thoughtfully at her husband’s face and Monica behind him. “But this is a serious matter that requires careful consideration before proceeding—after all, the outside world is not like our territory. Yang Hao, within our duchy, you can do whatever you want—but when it comes to nobles and territories outside our domain, I must ensure your safety before you can carry out your plans.”

"Huh? I'm not a seven-year-old..."

“But you are not immortal yet, my dear husband.”

Kosicie affectionately smoothed the sleeve on Yang Hao's left forearm, expressing her concern.

In truth, her only concern was this: Yang Hao was far too fragile right now. He wasn't immortal; he was destined for a short life, and an accident could easily take his life.

Although within the Duchy of Koschei, Koschei and her men could guarantee Yang Hao's safety with a 99.999% guarantee, what if that one in ten thousand chance actually led to disaster? Koschei didn't want to gamble; she wanted her husband to prioritize achieving his own immortality. After all, once they completed the transformation into immortal beings, they would have fifty, one hundred, two hundred, three hundred, or even nearly a thousand years to plan, wouldn't they?

"I'm so glad you care about me. But some opportunities can only be used now, you know?" Yang Hao felt warmed by his wife's concern. He smiled and leaned forward to kiss Koschitch's cheek to show his composure, but he still insisted on completing the plan to establish a [Nemesis] this year. "How about this year? If we establish a [Nemesis] this year, after completing the first phase of our economic reforms, I can find time to find the materials needed for immortality. So, how about this year?"

"...If you insist on it... well... then so be it."

Kosichelle sighed helplessly. For a moment, she really felt that her husband was like a tormenting little devil.

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

At 4 p.m. on the 5th.

While Yang Hao and Kosiché were handling one political matter after another in the audience hall, discussing the menu for the evening, and casually chatting about the date they would go to during their rest days in a few days, Monica secretly stepped forward and announced that the "Great Purge" plan had been completed, and all the nobles, big merchants, and their lackeys on the list had been captured.

"But sirs, we don't have enough cells to hold so many nobles and merchants—after careful consideration, Mr. Joseph has decided to execute a few of the more heinous nobles and merchants first to make room for the others. Those people have now been sent to the city court for trial. Would you like to go and observe them?"

"Ah? No, no need. Let Paul and the others handle it themselves. I trust them."

"Let them handle it themselves, and just give us the results afterwards."

The couple said this in unison. Then they smiled at each other, seemingly intending to continue their conversation about their date.

Seeing this, Monica quickly added:

"Moreover, the Emperor's Imperial Guards are on their way. After studying the charges and evidence against those nobles and merchants, they intend to come in person to inquire about the two lords' plans—and the matter of the work-for-relief program."

"...I understand the beginning, but what about the end?"

"I suppose he wants to learn from my dear husband's methods of handling the economic crisis—after all, it's not just our duchy; countless cities throughout Ursus are suffering from the economic crisis. It's quite normal for the emperor to want to use our experience to solve this economic crisis."

"Isn't this plagiarism? Do we have authorization?"

"Heh, what can I do? She's the emperor."

"Ugh..."

Yang Hao sighed helplessly, and Koschei quickly comforted him. If Monica hadn't clearly seen that Lord Koschei's tail had already reached into Lord Yang Hao's pants behind them, she probably would have really thought that the two of them were troubled by serious matters.

So, was Lord Yang Hao sighing because of Lord Kosich's tail? Was Lord Kosich's comforting words merely a way to stop Lord Yang Hao from speaking further and to prevent him from being exposed?

Although Monica wanted to stop them from doing such a thing in front of the Emperor's guards, Lord Koschche had already pulled his tail before she could persuade him.

Thankfully... thankfully Lord Koschche still has some sense of shame.

Ugh...

Monica sighed silently.

Meanwhile, having finally managed to get Kosichrie to remove her tail from his little brother through body language, Yang Hao was intently watching the events unfold before him, lost in thought.

[Event: The Emperor's Inner Guard]

The Emperor's inner guards are aware of everything that has happened in your territory—a group of lower-ranking nobles, in league with wealthy merchants, are plotting a rebellion. The Duke's mansion discovered this in time and promptly dealt with it with an iron fist.

This will be one of the reports the Imperial Guards will give to the Emperor. And they still have many tasks to complete:

1. Understand the specific process of "work-for-relief".

2. Search for all information about "Sherlock Nightclub" and related organizations.

3. Search for "that person" who haunts the dreams of the Ursus Emperor.

...

Perhaps you can use some of the information above to gain an advantage for your territory.

friendly reminder:

There's something on your phone that you can't delete that will bring you a surprise.

Surprise? Or shock?

...

In general, the guards came for only three things:

1. Figure out the specific process of the work-for-relief program. Although Yang Hao did not think that the Ursus Emperor would copy his work, upon closer examination, it seemed that his work-for-relief program was difficult for the existing Ursus government's administrative efficiency to learn from.

Whether it's a franchise store, an anti-corruption oversight body, the faster administrative processing speed after the reforms, or the most fundamental and crucial element—the credibility of the [token]—the Ursus Emperor in the capital might be able to achieve this, but other places? Hmm... let's forget about it.

"I have a feeling that even if the emperor finds out our method, things will still go wrong when they try to implement it."

"Maybe. After all, she doesn't have the support of my reliable husband."

"You're making me blush..."

2. Search for all information related to "Sherlock Nightclub"—that's good news. Isn't Duke Nikolai next door part of the Sherlock Nightclub? And coincidentally, the assassin I captured before, and the head of Nikolai's spy network, are still alive. Lending them to the Imperial Guard will not only earn me a favor, but it will also make my path to "purifying" Duke Nikolai less difficult in the future. Pretty good.

"Could we leak some of Duke Nikolai's dirty secrets to the Imperial Guards—they seem to be looking for information about the cannibalistic nobles as well?"

“In that case, we can get the Emperor to focus his attention on the Duke of Nikolai. This will give us a period of stable development, and we can also get the Emperor’s support after we declare war on the Duke of Nikolai later. I will also expose the matter of the Duke of Nikolai [Tongkasimir].”

"...If it were an ordinary person, they would probably be crying out loud by now. But we're dealing with a real pervert who doesn't even spare his own wife, children, or even his own body."

"If he doesn't cry, then there won't be another chance. Heh, my dear husband? Can't you wait to send Duke Nikolai to your Four Seasons Hotel to enjoy life?"

"No, the criminals sent to my Four Seasons Hotel are at least human beings."

3...that's a bit strange?

The person the Ursus emperor longed for?

Is this emperor still single? And not only single, but also going through puberty? Or perhaps he's already troubled by the issue of succession, which is why he's sending his subordinates on a needle-in-a-haystack search just to find "that person"?

This is truly a strange and unusual thing. Thinking of this, Yang Hao quickly shook his head, realizing that he really couldn't use this matter anymore.

Just as he was about to say something to Kosiché, the emperor's personal guards arrived, accompanied by the hurried footsteps of the attendants outside the audience hall.

Chapter 146

When three imperial guards, wearing strange masks and standing tall, silently entered the audience hall of the Duke of Kosiché's mansion, their first focus was on the two rulers sitting on the two thrones in the most prestigious positions in the audience hall.

They knew the woman was the current Duke of Kosiché, but who knew if she was the real Duke of Kosiché?

They were unaware of the man's lack of racial identity. The guards only knew that he was an immigrant who had traveled a great distance from Colombia to Ursus, and the husband of the current Duke of Kosice. Considering the many secrets surrounding this man, in a sense, he might actually be the real Duke of Kosice.

However, in the absence of substantial evidence to prove their arguments, it is best to maintain proper etiquette to avoid embarrassing His Majesty the Emperor.