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He just didn't know how heavy the casualties would be. The thought filled him with anguish for the people he was about to lose because of the war.
"Sigh... I'll go there first—hopefully I'll be fully alert while I'm taking a bath and still dressed properly."
He sighed, muttered to himself, closed his eyes, and headed towards the House of Lamentations.
Chapter 85 8.8.0
When Yang Hao arrived at the House of Elegy, he found that his spirit was indeed wearing pants properly, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.
After all, he was just worried that he would come over naked! But now that he thinks about it, he probably won't need to worry about that anymore, right? Probably.
"Welcome back."
Just as Yang Hao was feeling pleased with his latest discovery, Miss Wange's clear voice came from behind him. His hair stood on end instantly, and he turned around in a cold sweat, only to find Miss Wange standing in the same spot where he had left before.
He swallowed.
"Um, Miss Elegy..."
"In short, come with me first."
Miss Wange reached out and gently stroked Yang Hao's chin. Just like that, Yang Hao, drenched in cold sweat, was pulled by Miss Wange to sit down at a nearby table and chair. He dared not look at Miss Wange's appearance at this moment, partly because her face was still veiled in a faint mist, and partly because of what had happened that day.
What happened that day was completely unexpected.
Yang Hao not only realized that his "incident" might even have been typed out word by word by Miss Elegy, but also realized that—
No matter what happens in the spiritual world, a reality where there is absolutely nothing will never actually occur.
Even now, he still doesn't understand why Miss Wange acted so impulsively back then, and he doesn't understand what Miss Wange meant by saying afterwards, "What do you think I would do when you have desires?" He only knows that he may face not only the tragedy of being physically drained by his wife and girls, but also the reality that mental exhaustion will follow him like a shadow.
It's awful, absolutely awful. Even those imperial monarchs who died in bed probably didn't suffer as much as I have, did they? He shook his head sadly, realizing that he really needed to ascend as soon as possible—not just to avoid dying of old age, but more importantly, to avoid dying one day in the House of Lamentations, or in his real bed.
"In conclusion, Miss Elegy—"
"What? Mr. Yang Hao, I know exactly what you're thinking. Don't worry, you won't die in Mansu—after all, your soul is under my protection."
She smiled, her long, snow-white hair tied into a ponytail, hanging diagonally across her right chest. The mist on her face was fading more and more; if Yang Hao had previously struggled to even see if she had hair, then at least today, he could clearly see her hair and what should have been two bright blue eyes.
He swallowed hard, forcing a dry laugh as he was about to say something, when he saw Miss Elegy gently trace his chest with her fingertips—
For an instant.
At the same time, the sensations coming from his own fingers and the skin on his chest left Yang Hao momentarily stunned.
After all, it makes sense, since he and Miss Elegy completely share the same senses.
He felt pain, and so did Miss Elegy—and vice versa.
Similarly, he will react accordingly to whatever Miss Elegy touches, which is normal.
But the problem is...
There's something wrong with the fact that when Miss Elegy touches him, or he touches Miss Elegy, they both experience twice the electric shock-like sensation simultaneously.
It's a wondrous experience where a little pressure can directly transform the sensation of touch into pleasure. Like now—Miss Wange's mere touch of her fingertips lightly across Yang Hao's chest has caused him to become rock hard. Can he handle that? Of course not!
In the real world, three women who are obsessed with sucking milk are waiting for him, and his only spiritual haven is also waiting for someone who's starting to drain his soul! What should he do?!
He was heartbroken—and sensing his emotions, Miss Elegy merely flicked Yang Hao's hair with her fingertips once more, then smiled and said that she wasn't really going to eat him up—and then again, I've supported you so much, don't you feel bad if you don't give something in return?
"I—of course I feel bad! But the problem is, can't I choose another way to make it up to you...?"
"Hehe. I'm afraid you can't handle other methods."
"...what?"
Here, we need to mention another concept.
Miss Elegy knows what Yang Hao is thinking, but Yang Hao is unaware of what Miss Elegy is thinking.
Their mutual understanding is hierarchical—and clearly, Miss Elegy is in the superior position.
Therefore, Yang Hao had no idea what Miss Wange was thinking. So when Miss Wange uttered words he couldn't understand at all, he could only respond with a bewildered expression.
Satisfied with the bewildered look on Yang Hao's face, Miss Elegy simply said:
"Let me think... If we were to make an equal exchange, Mr. Yang Hao, it would probably take you hundreds of years to repay what I gave you. Are you sure you want to do it this way? Or perhaps—"
"No, no, no! I... I'm fine as I am..."
If I stay here for hundreds of years, I'm afraid I'll end up as a completely drained idiot who can only say "Aba aba" when I get out!
So let's leave it at that. Sigh, do whatever you want, as long as you don't go too far.
Yang Hao's mindset shifted from initial grief and indignation to a state of complete submission and submissiveness in less than a few minutes. He sighed heavily, clenching his fists in frustration at his weakness. He was resentful, but his shameful manhood offered him no convincing explanation.
Furthermore, within the House of Elegy, Yang Hao had no way to defy Miss Elegy, so...
She slowly approached, having already placed the sickle aside.
While trembling in his chair, Yang Hao also felt a profound, almost spiritual, excitement; he was like a lamb to the slaughter...
Miss Elegy did whatever she wanted to me.
Afterwards, even with the penis inside, Yang Hao was unable to move due to the doubled sensation. He slumped in the chair, feeling breathless for a while.
He sniffed, inhaling the sweet, cloying scent emanating from Miss Elegy. He could feel the tingling, electric sensation from where their skin touched, but now he truly couldn't react at all.
In short—I'll be very busy for the next few months... I probably won't be able to...
"Hehe, I know. So please rest assured and work outside. I've already received my pay for those months."
"...hiss."
His lips twitched as he looked withered, and in the end, he could only manage to squeeze out a breath that could hardly be considered a sign of vitality.
If he didn't ascend soon, he'd die in his bed one day, or in the House of Lament. He thought pessimistically as he was carried back to reality by Lady Lament—
Before he could even recover from the crumbling reality, he discovered that while he had gone to find the House of Lamentation before taking a bath, Koschitch had somehow appeared. She was sitting on his waist, and it seemed they were indeed connected.
His expression instantly softened, becoming wise. He knew his wife was under a lot of pressure lately, almost daily—but was it necessary? To do this while I was asleep...was it really necessary, my dear wife, Koschche?
I can't feel anything at all! At least wake me up before you do that next time, right? Otherwise, I always feel like I'm getting ripped off...
Men are all lustful demons! They might be crying out in the House of Elegy that they're about to die, but when they return to reality, don't they obediently succumb to their wives?
Thank goodness Monica isn't here, otherwise...
Otherwise, the expression on Yang Hao's face at this moment would not be that of a sage, but rather that of a saintly Buddha.
"...Oh, good morning."
Noticing that Yang Hao had woken up, Kosichrie gently tapped his nose with her tail, making a sound that was half-crying and half-laughing while her back was to him. Her body was trembling, and it seemed that it was Hu who had been doing this while Yang Hao was lost in thought; she had been doing it for quite a while.
"Could you wait a moment?" she said, and after a while, she ended this normal conversation between husband and wife with a spasm.
"...Kosiche, next time you do that, at least wake me up, okay?"
Holding his wife, Yang Hao muttered something in a Buddhist-like manner. He sighed, comforting himself with the thought that this might be the last time before the war, while knowing full well that it was impossible.
“I saw you were sleeping soundly, so I didn’t do that.”
"...Hahaha."
I wonder what Koschei would think if she found out that I had been bullied by some woman she didn't know in the House of Elegy... Yang Hao chuckled a few times, hugged his wife who had a satisfied look in her eyes and swayed her body, then asked Koschei if there were any problems with her work today.
Kosiché said no. If there was any problem, we'd have to wait until the battle started to find out—and at 7 a.m. tomorrow, the Duke of Kosiché would be stationed at the pre-arranged location, where they would be in a favorable position. Even if Duke Nikolai wanted to find a breakthrough point other than the salient city, he would have to risk sending his soldiers up the wasteland by using the mobile city's tools.
“It’s the center of a basin surrounded by hills that are several levels lower than our defensive walls. Duke Nikolai’s city can’t break through its own limitations to climb over to our perimeter and attack us—the only thing he can do is have his city ram into our salient. And he can only do that from the route we entered.”
"Is there enough time?"
"They can make it in time. Although they move quickly, their military strength is decreasing every day... My dear, perhaps we overestimated the threat posed by Duke Nikolai's army: they didn't have much baggage to begin with, and now, in order to avoid starvation, they can only eat their own comrades."
"Ho ho... So can we expect that most of them will be wiped out by internal strife before they even attack us?"
Upon hearing this, Yang Hao immediately perked up—that's right! How could he have forgotten?
The current westward strategy of the Duchy of Kosiché, which is delaying the main force of the Duke of Nikolai, is not only to choose a good battle position, but more importantly, to cripple the Duke of Nikolai's supply lines!
After all, the Duchy of Kosiché would have to consider the issue of food in the upcoming war, and Duke Nikolai would certainly have to consider it as well! Moreover, because there might not be any normal food left in their cities, in other words, the only food his soldiers could eat was their comrades-in-arms?
In other words, while the soldiers of the Duke of Kosice could still eat bread to stave off hunger and prepare for battle, the soldiers of the Duke of Nikolai could only fill their stomachs by killing each other and cannibalizing the defeated. Several thousand could die in a day or two, and if the war continued... it's possible that Duke Nikolai's own soldiers would wipe out his entire army!
Thinking about it this way...did we overestimate the actual combat capabilities of these insects?
Just as Yang Hao was getting excited about the good news, the little cat sitting in his lap, squinting and enjoying the warmth from her husband, shook her head, indicating that the situation was not as simple as Yang Hao thought.
"Although they are devouring each other, our scouts have also noticed that the corrupt city seems to be gradually improving the supplies for the Duchy of Nikolai."
"What you're saying...?"
"To put it simply, in Duke Nikolai's city, the parts that have been corrupted by flesh and blood are gradually starting to produce food that looks like apples—although our scouts have no idea what those apples, which may be as big as two people, are made of, I think Duke Nikolai's troops will soon be free from the food shortage that has caused us problems."
"Ah this..."
Yang Hao was somewhat astonished—this corrupt city had actually started to produce food crops on its own, like a living organism?
This was something he had never heard of before... and most importantly, if all of this was true, and if Duke Nikolai's production was indeed keeping up... then they would still be locked in a fierce battle here.
Yang Hao's initial joy had vanished without a trace. He rubbed Koschich's lower abdomen, somewhat dejected, wondering why he couldn't receive any truly good news.
Even just one would be fine! He sighed heavily and decided that if no good news came—then he would bring good news to everyone himself. That wouldn't be too much to ask, would it?
should.
Chapter 86 8.9.20
At 7:8 AM on December 9th.
The Duchy of Kosiché stopped in the center of a small basin surrounded by hills. The terrain there meant that the Duchy of Kosiché could only be attacked from the direction from which they had come, making it an easy place to defend and difficult to attack.
Not long after they settled in the basin, Kosiché dispatched a portion of his troops to build concealed observation posts in the surrounding hills. The sole purpose of these posts was to gather all valuable intelligence on the battlefield from these high vantage points, while also sending messages to any reinforcements that might arrive, lest they crash headlong into Duke Nikolai's stronghold and be wiped out.
"In short—my dear, you must stay in the Duke's mansion for the time being, and at most move around the area around the core city, understand? Ms. Sonia, Monica, take good care of him. If he tries to cause trouble, don't ask me, just lock him up."
"Yes."
"understood."
Holding Hela, Yang Hao sat dumbfounded in his chair, pondering where to inspect the day's events. He stared at his wife, who had so succinctly arranged everything for him in just a few words. He understood Koschitch's plan, but he hadn't expected her to be able to arrange everything so quickly.
He sighed with a wry smile, ultimately forced to accept her arrangement. And just after Yang Hao accepted Koschei's plan, at 7:40 AM, the Duchy of Koschei came to a complete halt in the center of the basin, sealing off all access routes into the city, even the outer edges of the underground warehouse area. All troops were converging on the salient, where the barricades were almost fully erected—these low-lying defensive structures wouldn't be destroyed by the impact of the city's collisions; even in the worst-case scenario, at least half of the structures would remain usable.
The Duchy of Koschei has prepared everything it can. Captain Bozokasti is directing the Sarkaz mercenaries and infected militia to fill the lines, while the Duchy of Koschei's regular army, under the command of the generals, is controlling the city's defenses at various points along the defensive walls. Currently, all residents, except those working in factories or similar production units, are required to stay at home and are strictly prohibited from leaving their homes—the Duchy's administration will distribute food weekly according to a pre-prepared list, which is indeed the case when supplies are relatively plentiful, barring any unforeseen circumstances.
Meanwhile, as the high-ranking force of the Duke of Koschie, the Knights Templar would be directly responsible for the security of the entire ducal palace and the core city during this period. The remaining Serpent Scale troops and the Creed troops who hadn't yet been assigned duties also needed to protect their respective garrisons—Koschie was well aware that they lacked the capability for direct combat, so she hadn't assigned them any combat-related tasks. One could say this was her understanding of her subordinates.
Everyone held their breath, and at 10:20 a.m., Duke Nikolai's main force, along with his city, charged in.
Even from a distance of over ten kilometers, with hills and small mountains obstructing the view, their red military might was still visible. The soldiers responsible for controlling the defensive nodes strained against the spittle, for in the silent air, they saw a multitude of strange, spherical creatures floating above the Duchy of Nikolai. These spherical creatures were bound by chains, suspended like balloons above the city of Nikolai.
Are these new monsters created by those blasphemers over there? Everyone was sweating bullets as they watched the balloons gradually reveal their size as they approached. Each one looked as big as a small town, and as they flew, they would spray clumps of slime downwards. When the slime fell to the ground, the yellowish-brown sand was immediately invaded by mycelium-like structures made of blood and flesh.
Then, in the next moment—the fungal carpet that came into contact with the scorching ground under the blazing sun spontaneously combusted under the high temperature, igniting wisps of black smoke across the desert and bringing extreme unease to the warriors of the Duke of Koschie.
"Those things might cause us trouble at night. Send word—have the sorcerers heat up the temperature in our outlying districts." Koschitch simply issued this order after receiving the report. Then, she frowned and looked at the map in her hand, which showed the location of the barricades that Yang Hao had told her about before—to be precise.
She was looking at the locations of the barricades that could resist the fungal infection. And she needed to lighten Hela's burden. She couldn't let Hela be responsible for cleaning up the corruption in all the areas.
She had to pick a few points that were easy to defend but difficult to attack... and luckily, the preparations her husband made for her were just right.
"Here, here... stuff it all with strong liquor and be ready to ignite it at any time. When the soldiers retreat, destroy all the roads between them, and then directly sever all the links between those districts—just leave the enemy with only one attack route. If we include the underground battle, that's two attack routes."
She then gave the order, and the head maid appeared beside her. After listening to her description, she immediately disappeared to relay the order to her.
...... ......
12:20pm.
The city and army of the Duke of Nikolai entered the range of the naval guns of the salient of the Duchy of Kosiché.
Under the orders of the generals, the cannons of the Duchy of Kosice immediately launched a fierce attack on the army of Duke Nikolai.
The first round of shelling yielded no results because they were aiming at the city.
After being launched, the cannonballs flew straight toward Duke Nikolai's city defenses, which were riddled with blood and flesh. However, just before impacting the defenses, abscesses that had sprung up from the city's flesh blocked the onslaught of the cannonballs that should have pierced the iron wall.
The shell pierced and spun through the abscess, eventually losing all its power before being assimilated into the flesh.
"We can't attack the city directly! We should attack their ground forces and kill as many as we can!"
The generals immediately realized the seriousness of the situation. They ordered the soldiers controlling the ship's guns to aim them at Duke Nikolai's advancing troops on the ground. However, before they could reload and fire a second round, Duke Nikolai launched a counterattack.