My wife is an immortal black snake.

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“Of course, Your Majesty,” Yang Hao replied with a smile, then settled into his seat—it seemed this place had become his personal domain? Hmm, not bad. “We can officially take action tomorrow. However, we’d better make an appearance, then sell them a victory—and finally let those bastards, in their self-righteous triumph, be locked in the oven and roasted until they’re crispy on the outside and tender on the inside.”

"Heh, they're all about to die anyway, what's wrong with keeping them in suspense...?"

"Yes. And Your Majesty, there is one more thing—"

"Don't worry, I'll arrange your position. In addition to the position of the new Imperial Speaker—no, it should be the permanent Speaker of my new cabinet in the future... I will give you an even better position, which is also your reward."

“That would be best... but Your Majesty, I will have to return to the duchy once the civil war begins.”

It's wonderful that Her Majesty Catherine remembers her promise—that way I won't have to replace you.

Yang Hao was pleased by this, but His Majesty was somewhat surprised:

"So fast?"

"what?"

"What? So fast?" Yang Hao was stunned for a moment, then blinked blankly at His Majesty, who seemed somewhat regretful for some reason.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

At 9:10 AM on April 7th.

On the day of the incident, all the members entering the Imperial Diet smelled a faint aroma of strong liquor. Some recognized it as a specialty from some exotic land, a potent spirit brewed with chili peppers—according to them, this kind of liquor, which produces a strong, pungent smoke when lit, should be an extremely expensive luxury item. Why would such a sacred place as the Imperial Diet be found with strong liquor?

Those legislators who knew the truth simply chuckled to themselves before hurrying to their seats. Those who were completely bewildered, however, shook their heads and exchanged pleasantries, learning quite a few strange things in the process.

For example, the sacred building of the Imperial Diet had to undergo a routine inspection for some reason. Now, apart from the main road they used to enter and exit, only the main road facing the Imperial Palace and two security passages were still usable—the rest of the area was either blocked by construction debris or was inaccessible due to renovations.

"I heard the renovation was handled by His Majesty's private engineering team—can't those old fogies even spare one night? Giving it to us halfway through maintenance, what kind of nonsense is this?"

"Exactly. And on another note, have you noticed that the ceiling light isn't unusually bright?"

"Is this happening?"

The councilors discussed the matter animatedly, while those on Her Majesty's side remained silent, exchanging cold, sweat-drenched glances—they realized that Her Majesty might not only intend to burn all the councilors from the Sherlock Holmes who defied her, but she also didn't intend to spare even the neutral reeds...

"I suppose the Ursus Empire will soon embark on a terrible path of dictatorship?" The councilors who sided with the emperor thought to themselves, but in the end, they remained silent as the empty seats in the Imperial Council gradually filled up.

Then, the main figures of the council arrived. His Majesty the Emperor and the representative of the Duke of Kosiché walked together from the main road at the rear, with the white-haired, red-eyed guard still following behind him. They looked very happy; today was a day worth celebrating for them.

And it was right after Yang Hao arrived, before he could even sit down, that a member of the Sherlock Holmes nightclub made a sarcastic remark, saying that the Duke of Koschei's husband was indeed a commoner who was popular with women, as he could always get involved with noblewomen wherever he went.

This sarcastic disdain was not only defaming Yang Hao's reputation and Kosich's personal reputation, but also defaming His Majesty the Emperor's personal reputation—but for some reason, the councilors of the Sherlock Holmes nightclub were surprised to find that the two people in the council were not angry at all.

Her Majesty the Emperor, a woman who never interferes with the normal operations of the Council, is one thing. But you, who was hurling insults at our Imperial City three days ago, are you smiling now? Have you gone mad?! What do you take us for?!

If Yang Hao knew what they were thinking, he probably would have said, "I treat you like you're dead." But unfortunately, he had no idea what these scumbags were thinking. He was simply confirming his plans for the day with Ms. Sonia beside him, completely ignoring the sarcastic remarks of the councilors.

"To put it simply, after today's events, Her Majesty Catherine asked me to handle the matter of bestowing official positions and noble titles with her alone—I understand why she wanted to do this, after all, it's really outrageous that we obtained the position of Speaker of the Imperial Council right after burning someone to death on such a special occasion. So Sonia, you don't need to worry about me tonight, okay? I'll be back after I'm done."

"Really? Hmm... I understand." Sonia now looked at her child like a mother looking at her child who, for the first time, insisted on going to and from school alone without parental assistance. Although worried, she nodded in support. However, she still left herself a few lines—that is, if Yang Hao didn't return... "But I'll wait for you to come back before I rest. If you haven't returned by a certain time, then I'll come looking for you."

"...Alright then. But Sonia, you're worrying way too much..."

"How could I not worry about something that concerns our safety?" Sonia's mother smiled helplessly, then remained silent, waiting for Yang Hao's plan to officially begin.

......

9:10 am.

When the current Speaker of the Imperial Council arrived at the Imperial Diet to preside over the meeting, Yang Hao subtly winked at His Majesty the Emperor, indicating that they would "just say a few words and then leave."

Her Majesty the Emperor nodded cryptically. She had already confirmed the current situation of the Imperial Guards and police with Yang Hao beforehand. Once they left, they could burn everyone inside to the ground, completely eliminating the cancer and parasites that were entangled in the Imperial Council.

Shortly after they finished exchanging glances, the Imperial Speaker, citing "today's priorities," began to address the first task the council would handle that day—namely, the task of limiting the military power of the Duchy of Koschche.

"Given the current military strength of the Duchy of Kosiché...in order to ensure that the Duke of Kosiché will not cause military confusion for His Majesty the Emperor and the Parliament, we propose to reduce the military expenditure of the Duchy of Kosiché and require the Duchy of Kosiché to limit its army to less than 1 men."

"agree."

"agree."

"I think the number should be reduced to 5!"

I couldn't agree more.

Knowing they couldn't significantly influence the Duchy of Koschei through the "United Cities" and "Work Relief" programs, this group of scoundrels decided to shift their focus—directly weakening the Duchy of Koschei militarily.

This was undoubtedly a brilliant move! In this situation, the Sherlock Holmes councilors, due to their numerical superiority, could easily pass the proposal. Furthermore, while Her Majesty possessed veto power, if she were to exercise it now, she would have no way to back down if the Sherlock Holmes councilors subsequently proposed restrictions on her.

However... this is based on the premise that His Majesty the Emperor and Yang Hao did not intend to burn down the council directly.

If they intend to overturn the table and act uncivilly, the parliament will lose its original influence and become a laughable entity, a clown's stage about to be burned to ashes.

-------------Chapter Dividing Line---------------

The clowns' proposal received the approval of countless clowns and reeds. These madmen, overjoyed at their victory, were completely unaware of one thing: why the councilors on the Emperor's side hadn't uttered a single objection.

Perhaps they believed that with their side holding an absolute advantage, the emperor's faction, outnumbered and powerless, had lost the ability to control the council? They were overjoyed, cheering wildly, and many even stood up from their chairs and braced their hooves on the waist-high railings.

In their eyes, Cheng Moyu's silence as a member of the Emperor's faction was undoubtedly a sign of surrender, and Yang Hao's final act of leaving with a cold smile further proved the weakness of the Emperor's faction. The members of the Sherlock Holmes nightclub let out a long, disdainful sigh as Yang Hao and his guards departed, expressing their contempt and victory. They failed to notice the inconspicuous Pure Origin Stone hanging from the ceiling emitting a dangerous red glow, nor did they notice the increasingly strong aroma of alcohol emanating from beneath their feet.

Just as they were pleased with Yang Hao's departure and were preparing to get His Majesty the Emperor to approve the proposal as soon as possible, they discovered that His Majesty the Emperor had also stood up.

"Your Majesty, the meeting is still in progress!" The Imperial Speaker frowned and shouted at His Majesty the Emperor, who was rising to leave, and the Imperial faction members of parliament below who were also preparing to depart, striking his gavel: "You are disrespecting the constitution of the Ursus Empire! You are disrespecting the traditions of our empire since ancient times!"

"To hell with that tradition," the Empress chuckled, gracefully leading her guards away from the booing Imperial Council. She could hear the disdain and discontent emanating from within, along with the inexplicable excitement and fervor—but what was the point? What good would continuing this charade do but waste time?

They're all dying, wouldn't it be better to let them have some happiness before they die? His Majesty the Emperor looked up at the Pure Originium on a chandelier on the ceiling—look, it's turned completely red.

If we don't leave now, it will be too late.

She left the Imperial Council. The Emperor's faction members glanced at the other members, who were still unaware of what was about to happen, with pity before quickly leaving the Imperial Council through the last open security exit—the other exits had been completely blocked by the Imperial Guard and police with various obstacles as planned, and if they didn't leave now, it would be too late!

......

After His Majesty the Emperor and her councilors left, the Speaker of the Imperial Council found that the Imperial Council seemed to have entered a state of extreme fanaticism.

He found that the neutral members of parliament, along with another group, had begun to celebrate their victory in unison. They were like pigs in heat, their faces flushed with excitement. Their chants of "We won!" began as they embraced each other in the parliament—after His Majesty the Emperor and her members of parliament had left, order could no longer be maintained.

The Imperial Speaker struck the gavel several times, but failed to calm the council. This mediocre, conservative old man, who didn't even know why he was in this position, could only shake his head and sigh.

He noticed that, for some reason, the smell of alcohol was getting stronger and stronger in the room...

"Oh my! The smell of wine makes me want to celebrate—" He heard a councilor singing loudly, so the aroma of wine wasn't just his imagination...

But how could the Imperial Council possibly be hiding such strong liquor? And the smell of it seems to be coming from underground...

...For some reason, the Imperial Speaker felt several drops of cold sweat dripping down his forehead. He realized something was wrong. He grabbed his personal belongings; his intuition told him that if he didn't leave along the route His Majesty the Emperor and his entourage had taken, staying here would be disastrous!

...He quickly left. The jubilant councilors didn't notice the Imperial Speaker's hasty escape. They continued to cheer for their victory, some already fantasizing about how to extract benefits from that wealthy territory after the bill to weaken the military power of the Duke of Koschie officially began, satisfying their own desires rather than solving the economic problems of their own lands.

None of these scoundrels even noticed the gradual changes taking place within the Imperial Council—

No.

Someone noticed.

"Have you noticed how it's getting hot in here?" A councilor from the Sherlock Holmes nightclub wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief. He was one of the more level-headed councilors; while his companions were caught up in the frenzy, this hero who had once insulted Duke Kosiché sensed that his seat was unusually hot. "And this aroma of alcohol seems to be getting stronger and stronger..."

"Perhaps it's the smell of wine left behind by the Emperor's private construction crew while they were working last night! Those old fogies are starting to lose their usefulness!"

"But..."

Facing his companion beside him, who was grinning and shouting with joy—a sight that, for some reason, even had black sclera—the senator chuckled dryly, about to say something more—

He saw a ball of fire suddenly erupt from beneath his feet, followed by a burning sensation and pain that spread throughout his body.

"Wow? Wow!!!"

He screamed, leaped from the chair, smashed through the railing, and rolled on the ground trying to extinguish the flames on his legs. But when he lay on the ground, he realized... the floor was scalding hot, unbearably hot!

What happened?! What happened?! All the councilors were stunned. In the midst of the screams of the councilors who were lying on the ground, rolling around trying to extinguish the flames but instead drawing the fire to the carpet, the Imperial Parliament, which had been returning to civilization, was suddenly turned into a marketplace in a short moment.

The councilors closest to the fire screamed, their faces contorted in agony, trying to escape. Those on the periphery, still bewildered by the screams and eager to join the commotion, instinctively pushed their way in, unaware of what was happening inside. A fierce internal struggle immediately erupted between the two opposing groups. Those pushing in and those rushing out split into two factions, exchanging insults, while the councilors still stunned stared blankly at the two groups blocking their path.

They wanted to know what was going on inside, yet instinctively wanted to escape, until the smell of fire and acrid smoke finally became clearly visible in the parliament hall—the neutral and curious members of parliament finally realized the seriousness of the problem.

Their faces contorted as they watched the flames begin to spread along the carpet in the distance. Some of the more astute members of parliament immediately lifted the carpets they were standing on and threw them toward the fire to prevent it from reaching them. However, these members of parliament were soon stunned – because they discovered that the partition under the carpet they had lifted had been opened.

A strong aroma of wine wafted from inside.

"It's strong liquor! It's flammable strong liquor! This is the emperor, this is a trap set for us by that dog emperor!" A knowledgeable councilor screamed, his face contorted with rage. "Run! Run out of here! Otherwise we'll all be burned to death, burned to death!"

"Run! Run!"

They ran around aimlessly like headless flies, and finally, at the sound of someone shouting, "Open the main gate quickly!", they all surged towards the council gate they had come from.

Then they discovered that the gate was sealed off. From the outside, it was completely blocked by heavy barriers.

To prevent the flames and high temperatures inside from damaging the gate, the perpetrators even had people constantly pouring cold water on the council gate from the outside!

"Open the door! Open the door now!" The councilors crowded in front of the door, pounding on the heavy door that, once blocked from the outside, could not be opened from the inside. "We are the future of the Ursus Empire! We cannot die here! We cannot be killed by the Emperor! Open the door now!"

...

Their calls and banging went unanswered. And while they were making their fruitless escape attempts, the raging fire in the council chamber had already consumed the liquor under the blankets, the cheap and plentiful ignition sources... and was beginning to spread toward the main road.

Some members of parliament leaning against the outside watched helplessly as the fire spread. Their faces contorted as they recalled that His Majesty the Emperor and she had intended to leave through a certain passage... These quick-witted members of parliament immediately took advantage of the moment before the fire completely blocked their way and tried to find a way to survive along the edge of the parliament hall.

They had to traverse an obstacle course of flames, intense heat, and pungent, toxic smoke to reach the crossroads—and many failed. Most were held back halfway by their own bulky bodies; exhaustion from the scorching heat and the intense, though not fatal, irritation to their lungs from the choking smoke eventually led them to collapse, coughing in despair, waiting in agony for the flames to lick their bodies.

Some councilors who managed to escape the death race were met with despair at the end—Her Majesty the Emperor left them no chance; she had all the exits blocked! They fled along the passage she had taken, only to find a blocked door and a gavel left on the ground.

"Speaker! Speaker! Are you one of the emperor's men too?!" The councilors roared in grief and indignation, pounding on the blocked security door. They cursed the emperor's name and Yang Hao—because it seemed that all their plans had failed since he arrived.

All they could do in their limited lives was curse. Because of the narrow, enclosed space of the emergency exit, the intense heat and thick smoke from the fire intensified the fire's effects—and soon, the fire spread along the wood and cloth. This small group of politicians, forced to huddle together, howled as they watched the flames engulf them, their screams and grotesque cries a stark reminder of their past actions, utterly oblivious to their suffering.

They never felt it was their fault, even in death. But their fate was already fortunate—on the main road, to escape the ever-approaching flames, the councilors near the outer edge of the crowd kept pushing their way in, while those already squeezed against the wall inside, in pain and wailing, were actually crushed to death against the door.

But the others were oblivious, still frantically pushing forward. One moment the councilors were crushing each other, the next they were being squeezed. Those who couldn't squeeze in were kicked into the inferno. The flames slowly approached the dwindling group of councilors, consumed by infighting, burning their still-active bodies, the liquor beneath the carpet, and providing heat to the fully charged Originium above.

The raging flames and strong liquor in the council hall brought forth countless choking wisps of gray smoke, which swirled around in the closed, circulating ventilation system, only further increasing the temperature inside the Imperial Council Hall, without any intention of being expelled outside.

The interior of the Imperial Diet is now like an oven, with the temperature constantly rising. Even though it's cooler near the door, people inside will eventually be burned alive.

Now that their deaths are imminent, the desperate councilors curse the emperor's name and blame each other—they fight for every last moment of life before the door opens, and some councilors with Originium Arts talent even plan to use their Originium Arts to forcefully endure this difficult time—but they also need a good position, and they also need to survive the brutal internal competition.

But the truth is—none of them could leave the Imperial Council, that giant oven, alive.

As they fought each other for survival, and devoured flesh and blood or even engaged in sexual intercourse to satisfy their carnal desires before death, the pure Originium on the ceiling, already brimming with energy, scorched the fragile ropes binding them.

They fell from the sky before everyone's eyes, smashing into someone's head before sliding down. But most of them crashed onto the hard ground.

They exploded. With the explosion, fragments of Originium crystals pierced countless bodies, and their dust became new flammable material, bringing flames to their vicinity.

The screams rose a few pitches, but soon, there was no sound left at all.

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

"The fire inside will continue for another 24 hours. No one will escape." Outside the Imperial Council, looking at the entrances and exits of the Imperial Council, which were completely sealed off by the Imperial Guard, the Inner Guard, and the police, as well as all the roads outside, Yang Hao explained the next arrangements to the Emperor while nodding in satisfaction: "If there are no unexpected events, we'd better deal with the work first."

"Don't worry, my officers and soldiers will take over the territories of most people—but the area under the actual control of the Sherlock Holmes nightclub can only be resolved through war."

"Haha, I believe in Your Majesty's army, it is..."

"Don't worry, just come to me alone tonight—that's all for now, get some rest, I'll handle the rest."

"Yes."

Yang Hao nodded and left with Sonia.

Before leaving, he looked at the former Speaker of the Imperial Council, who was staring blankly at the Imperial Council—this old man who had survived was a lucky one. He survived because he actually had no contact with the Sherlock Holmes nightclub and had indeed escaped before the emergency exits were sealed off.

One lucky one—but that's all.

He shook his head, beginning to anticipate the semi-official position he would receive that evening—he wondered what kind of noble title he would be bestowed upon him. He meant that he was certain of being the Speaker of the Imperial Council, but he was unsure what his noble title would be...

Could it be a duke like Kosiché? If so, that would be perfect—they would finally be on equal footing. However, if the duke's title would be "Duke of Nikolai," then forget it. Yang Hao hates that name; he'd rather refuse than accept that title.

"Mr. Yang Hao?"

"It's nothing. Let's go back and rest—ugh... I'm exhausted."

"Hehe. Let's go then."

He sighed, stretched under Sonia's care, and decided to go back to rest.