My wife is an immortal black snake.

Page 253

“Tell me about it now. And you’ll also have to hear what Monica brings back from home later. Right, Monica?”

"...Sigh. Yes."

With a helpless sigh from the head maid, Yang Hao sat facing Karina, ready to listen to her report.

But when she took out a document she had researched from her desk... Yang Hao was stunned.

For no other reason than that he seemed to see a very familiar photo of a certain woman in the documents Karina had shown him...

Chapter 184

......

"In short... according to my research, before the Gallic Empire was 'purgeed,' they were among the world's most powerful in terms of culture, technology, and military strength—this is common knowledge. But I've discovered that a large part of the reason they were able to do this is... it seems that almost everyone on their planet awakened an ability called 'psychic energy,' which is different from Originium Arts."

...Moreover, those who were purged were all those who had awakened [psychic abilities]. Those [non-pure Gauls], like Mr. Napoleon who possessed Originium Arts, were unaffected. Therefore, I personally believe it was a contract between [pure Gauls] and some other entity, rather than [all Gauls].

While explaining her findings to Yang Hao, Karina didn't notice his unusual behavior. Monica, who did notice, was curious but didn't say anything at this crucial moment. She simply stood silently behind Yang Hao, watching her master with curiosity, and that was all.

"Then... through studying the books and artifacts left behind by the Gallic Empire... Mr. Yang Hao, I discovered that [Psionic Energy] is an extremely powerful force... a force even more terrifying than the highest level of Originium Arts. Their records state that every Psionic Master who appeared in the past 40 years possessed the power to directly destroy a city, and during those forty years, they produced ten masters every year—ten every year!"

This is an absolutely unbelievable fact for ordinary countries, but the problem is that it's true... and it means an even more terrifying problem: since the psychic being who made a pact with them could grant the Gallic Empire such immense power in an instant, then, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the being possessing the power to directly wipe out the Gauls should be an almost invincible power in our material world... but for some reason, those psychic beings seem to be creatures that "uphold the pact."

"A creature that upholds its contract?"

"Yes. They are even more committed to their contracts than we imagined: if they say 50 years, they calculate it down to the second. If they say they'll grant an extra ten layers of accumulative wealth each year, they do so without fail. Even now, the reason they haven't launched invasions against neighboring countries is because of a clause in the contracts signed with the Gallo-Israel Empire..."

Karina swallowed hard, then picked up a crumpled old book, carefully turned to the next page, and began to explain:

[Additional: When we are liquidated according to the contract, the "Endless Cycle" should remain within our empire for 50 years before leaving.]

"..."

Yang Hao remained silent.

He had originally thought that the psionic being was indeed unable to launch a blitzkrieg against the surrounding countries because it was not yet fully manifested... but now that he sees it, it turns out that the problem was with the contract?

Before they courted their own doom, the Gauls did leave the world a sliver of hope. If this pact hadn't included any safeguards, this land would probably be covered in purple crystals by now, devoid of any life.

But the Gauls' actions are still heartbreaking: after enjoying yourselves for fifty years, you left us, your descendants, with such a huge mess. Do you really have any shame?

(And that photo just now, I didn't see it wrong, did I? Although it was blurry, that should definitely be Miss Elegy...)

Not only that.

Yang Hao was still preoccupied with the picture album he had just glanced at... If he wasn't mistaken, the person in the photo looked remarkably similar to Miss Elegy from the House of Elegy... in terms of both temperament and other aspects. In short... was that Miss Elegy?

He planned to ask her about it when he went to the House of Elegy today. But before that, he needed to listen carefully to Karina's analysis.

"As for... I haven't found any more information about the contract. But on the other hand, I have managed to figure out some of the use of [psychic energy] through those antiques and the remaining staffs."

"Hmm? Tell me about it, Karina."

"...Psionic energy can accomplish many things. These include, but are not limited to: large-scale destruction, large-scale repair, powering some kind of strange shield or engine, influencing the mind of another during conversation, causing irreversible damage to the entire world through large-scale rituals, or even, its very existence can enhance the human body..."

For pure-blooded Gauls, psionic power seems to be an everyday ability. They struggle to understand why some excel in Originium Arts while others are completely unable to utilize it. Every Gaul uses psionic power; to use our analogy... every pure-blooded Gaul is born with the psionic power of an armored sorcerer in our Ursus army. Their starting point is simply too high... we can't even compare ourselves to them.

Besides this, among the Gauls' nobility, there exists a mysterious luxury item called "Zero Dust"... It's said that a single bottle of Zero Dust can make an ordinary Terran strong and powerful, instantly transforming them into a psionic master... but the price is an extremely high level of addiction, which I imagine is even more addictive than the most addictive painkillers in our medical system...

The Gauls' army was then divided into two units: a royal guard composed of pure-blooded Gauls, and a regular army composed of mixed-race Gauls or immigrants... The royal guard used a staff, the one we now have, broken into five pieces... It could be used to stab, chop, strike, and even fire a special kind of "bullet" from a hole at the top. It was less a staff and more a powerful, multi-purpose weapon...

"So, the pure-blooded Gauls' army is actually... a hybrid of magic and martial arts? Or perhaps, they simultaneously hold the titles of strongest warrior and strongest mage?" Yang Hao pondered, feeling he could understand what was going on. "After all, Karina, you said that psionic energy can also strengthen the body, right? So it makes sense that a royal guard composed of pure-blooded Gauls can fight in close combat and cast spells from a distance... By the way, what was the final outcome for these royal guards? Were there really no mixed-race individuals mixed in?"

"...They were all eliminated. If there were no unforeseen circumstances, even mixed-race individuals couldn't have gotten in—the selection methods described in the book were far too rigorous, involving judgment at the genetic level..."

"...OK."

So, genetic analysis is already underway? The Gauls, you're amazing!

Yang Hao felt a bitter taste in his mouth, because if that being could elevate Gaul to such a level, then that psychic being must be formidable.

Chapter 185

...

Afterward, Karina elaborated on her current research findings for a period of time. She had discovered quite a few things, one of which was how the pure-blooded Gauls discovered psionic energy in the past.

"It's said that it was discovered using science and technology... a product of idealism." Karina said this with a strange expression. "Then, through some special [training], they successfully awakened the abilities of a group of exceptionally talented leaders into mediums. Finally, through research on mediums, they caused the entire pure-blooded Gaul population of the country to awaken psychic powers... But for some reason, it seems that during that time, they hadn't had any contact with that being..."

"Let me think... It's like a little boy wanting a girl to get pregnant, but the prerequisite is that he himself must first mature?" Yang Hao pondered, then gave a similar analogy that made the two ladies roll their eyes repeatedly: "Hmm... Does that mean the entire race must first awaken the power of psychic energy before they are qualified to make contact with that being?"

"Yes. And Mr. Yang Hao... please be a little more reserved."

"Okay, okay... what's next?"

Next, Karina discussed the Gallo-Pacific region's education and civilization of its people...

Because of their awakened spiritual powers, almost all pure-blooded Gauls, regardless of social status, received the highest level of education within the Gallo-Pacific Empire. In contrast, immigrants and mixed-race Gauls did not enjoy such privileges. They could only receive "ordinary education," but even this "ordinary education" within the Gallo-Pacific Empire was far superior to the basic education systems in most other countries around the world today...

“Even a child must learn most of the knowledge that our noble schools can only teach before the age of 12: including etiquette, science, literature, art, social skills, mathematics, etc. The Gauls put a lot of effort into re-education. Apart from the fact that they do not implement free compulsory education, what they do is actually similar to what you, Mr. Yang Hao, did in the Duchy of Cosice. But the problem is that their education is charged—and it is an extremely expensive expense for most non-pure-blooded Gauls.”

"The extremely high cost means that many non-pure-blooded Gauls were actually uneducated?"

"Yes. But these uneducated Gauls were unable to adapt to the various environments that arose after the rapid development of the Gallo-Pacific Empire... To give a simple example: even porters had to be literate or they simply couldn't work. Under those circumstances, class conflict in the Gallo-Pacific Empire was extremely severe... According to this book, it had almost reached the point where public resentment was so high that uprisings were imminent at any moment?"

"Hiss... Then why did the Gauls continue to stabilize afterward?"

The class contradictions were so great that the people wanted a bottom-up reshuffle? Yang Hao frowned, wondering how the Gallo Empire had managed to survive this period.

This is something he also needs to learn, because if things go wrong, he or his children may have to face the same problem: the livelihood issues caused by a rapidly developing country leaving some people behind.

In response to Mr. Yang Hao's question, Miss Karina silently took out the book that Mr. Yang Hao had previously been very interested in, which appeared to be covered in dust and had many tears, resembling the face of the printer, Miss Elegy.

"Hmm... based on my current research... it seems that the one who single-handedly pulled the Gallic Empire out of its internal divisions was a Gallic princess named [Elegy]? However, while the books say she played an extremely important role during that period... she also passed away quite young. And it was after her death that her younger brother inherited the throne and signed a contract with that psychic being..."

"Oh..."

They have the same name? That can't be a coincidence... Miss Elegy, you're amazing!

If I drag you out then, will you be able to help me handle some political affairs? Um... considering I still have to clean up the mess your brother made...

Mr. Yang Hao seemed lost in thought as he wandered into the distance... and Ms. Karina's explanation had also come to an end.

She said that she hadn't yet found the results for the remaining things, and that it would take a long time to research them before she could obtain anything useful.

And now...

"It's getting late..." Miss Karina looked at the clock on the wall with some disappointment. It was exactly 11 p.m., and with Head Maid Monica here, she couldn't very well say that she wanted to stay overnight in Mr. Yang Hao's room... "Um? If there's no problem, I'll leave after I hear from Miss Monica, okay? Miss Monica, is there any news from back home?"

"Ah."

Facing Karina's gaze, Head Maid Monica simply nodded slightly and took a step forward. She placed her hands on Yang Hao's shoulders, and under their puzzled looks, she simply opened her mouth regretfully:

"First of all... Lord Kosichev and Her Majesty Ekaterina have both agreed to Lord Yang Hao's plan to build a military base."

"Oh..." Mr. Yang Hao nodded tremblingly, a sudden sense of foreboding crossing his mind.

"Afterwards—Lord Kosiché, His Majesty, and everyone else held a meeting today... The meeting was about whether to restrict Lord Yang Hao's [going to dangerous areas], so as to prevent Lord Yang Hao, who is focused on his work, from encountering any danger... or being visited by danger."

"Huh? Wait, wait a minute! I haven't been to any dangerous places yet, have I?! Why are you doing this?!" Mr. Yang Hao was stunned, then suddenly objected, "I've always been in the safest places! Monica, you know me, can you explain this to everyone for me?!"

Faced with Mr. Yang Hao's righteous and eloquent defense, both Monica and Karina gave him helpless looks: "Mr. Yang Hao, the place you are in right now is a dangerous area, you know? Aren't you aware of that?"

"If it's just a matter of being assassinated, then I'm not much different from everyone else..."

"But the problem is that the adults in the family are either strong enough to throw the assassin off the balcony, or they simply don't go to dangerous places... Mr. Yang Hao, please have some self-awareness!"

"That's right. Lord Yang Hao, please explain to the other officials when you return—and the most important issue is the wedding with Princess Wei Qing... you understand. Please be sure to prepare yourself mentally for Lord Kosiché and Lord Green..."

"what..."

After all, this is a huge wedding in front of your wife, and they even handed you the invitations... You understand the situation of the two of you now.

Mr. Yang Hao's face turned deathly pale.

After calculating the time, Head Maid Monica felt it would be better to let Lord Yang Hao go tonight—after all, he seemed to be under a lot of pressure right now.

Chapter 186

...

12 month 15 day.

With the help of hospitable tourists from Ursus, Kazdel's security forces are working hard to wipe out all members of the Abomination faction.

Furthermore, with the help of Margarita's prophecy, they successfully captured many "professionals" from other countries. Due to their seemingly respectable identities as "amateur scholars," the Kazdel government was unable to take action against these professionals who had not yet committed any acts that would harm the Kazdel incident.

But just because they couldn't do it didn't mean the Ursus tourists couldn't. So, to the astonishment of the spies from neighboring countries, the professionals struggled on... only to be bound together with rope by the Ursus people and then, like spoils of war, taken directly back to their camp to be interrogated by the hospitable Emperor's Blade, who happened to be visiting.

...

Inside Yang Hao's room.

"In short... those professionals are very tight-lipped. By the time they arrived here, quite a few had already committed suicide with poison hidden in their teeth," Head Maid Monica reported to Yang Hao from behind. "However, for now, we have indeed found quite a few traces of them... the [professionals] in Victoria are likely from the Lion faction, while the [professionals] in Columbia are probably your mortal enemies, Lord Yang Hao..."

"That K? Sigh... I knew it. Compared to our enemies... how's the progress?"

"With the help of our hospitable Ursus tourists, Kazdel has finally managed to escape the chaos. They've arrested a large number of [Professionals] and executed a large number of Demon-Hateers... but we still haven't found any evidence against the Demon-Hateers of Yan. By the way, the Yan ambassador wishes to see you."

"Then let them come over this afternoon... By the way, did Margarita and the others go out today?"

"Yes, they say they're looking for that pet, Sanae?"

"Kelina is still working through the night... I'll go check on her later. By the way, Monica, the next task is going to be troublesome."

"Haha, I understand."

The loyal head maid accepted the task assigned to her by her master with a smile, while secretly calculating how many times she would have to do this job. Meanwhile, Mr. Yang Hao, unaware of what awaited him that night, simply sighed, got up, and left his room to check on Karina.

To be honest, Karina has been working way too hard lately... Yang Hao felt a little sorry for this girl who was trying so hard to show her worth in front of him. She really didn't need to go through all this; Yang Hao could already see her value... So, if possible, he hoped Karina could take better care of her health while working.

However, she wouldn't change her mind just because he thought so. To prevent her from really ruining her health, Mr. Yang Hao had no choice but to go to her room himself to see if this hardworking young woman was still working diligently.

......

Mr. Yang Hao arrived at Karina's room door very quickly.

He knocked politely on the door, introduced himself to the girl inside, and then looked at Karina, who rushed over to open the door. Seeing the dark circles under her eyes, he felt a pang of tenderness and gently hugged her, then patted her hair.

"Rest well when you need to, Karina."

"Well..."

Karina, who was being held and stroked by him, only made unintelligible sounds, then muttered softly, gesturing for him to come in first.

...

Karina brewed Yang Hao a pot of hot tea. She added a touch of sweet spice, which is said to have an invigorating effect.

Indeed, that was the case. Yang Hao felt quite refreshed after taking a sip of hot tea. Noticing the trash cans in Karina's room were overflowing with the residue of used spices, he sighed and said:

"How much of this energizing tea did you drink... Karina, Karina, do I really have to order you to rest before you'll obediently go to bed? Your work on antique research shouldn't be this exhausting..."

“But Mr. Yang Hao… archaeology isn’t just my job, it’s also my hobby, you know? Isn’t it common sense to stay up all night for a hobby?” Miss Karina tilted her head, quite puzzled by Yang Hao’s advice: “Not to mention, you yourself often stay up all night for work, don’t you?”

"But that's not the same as this... Never mind, I feel like you won't listen to me no matter what I say. Sigh... That's true, I listen to them so much at home, but they don't really listen to me..."

"Perhaps it's because all of you adults want to protect Mr. Yang Hao. You might not be so sure?"

"But that's not protection at all! Look at Koschei, she practically wants to eat me alive..."

Actually, I'm pretty much the same.

"...Forehead."

Um...Kelina?

Although I know that as the former successor of Koschei, you must have learned something from her... but it's really not good to be so blunt, is it?

Mr. Yang Hao used the act of drinking tea to observe Karina's expression. When he noticed that although Karina's face was flushed, she was looking at him without any intention of avoiding his gaze, he understood. No wonder she was the former heir of Koschei—anyone who had a successor-training relationship with Koschei... in some sense, would possess Koschei's... that strong and proactive personality.

Although Yang Hao doesn't dislike proactive women, to be honest, if he continues to let girls take the initiative like this, how will he stand up for himself? How will he maintain his position in the family?

So... this man, whose mindset had changed considerably since he became strong and healthy, silently put down the black tea he had finished drinking. He felt incredibly invigorated and full of energy.

"Kelina, I don't want to be the one being eaten every time now."

"Hehe... Well then, Mr. Yang Hao, would you... like to eat me?"

Mr. Yang Hao walked forward, retreating... until finally sitting down on the edge of the bed, looking expectantly at his Miss Karina. For a moment, he suddenly realized that he had come to persuade her to sleep—but then he thought, the prerequisite for someone to fall asleep is to make them tired, isn't it?

Perfect timing, Karina isn't Koschei, this kind of physically demanding activity should allow her to get a good night's sleep later, right?