Chapter 241: Tacit Invasion
A busy day ended, and Lena, an hour earlier than expected, lay in bed.
She dried her hair, her eyes soft as she looked at Angel by the bed.
“Why the sudden urge to knit a scarf?”
“I wanted to make one for Ling Ling and the others, I’m afraid they’ll get cold,” Angel said, her hands busy, her voice soft. “I used the black velvet from the inventory, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not, it would be even better if you made one for me too.”
“Pfft, of course you’re getting one, silly!”
Angel, seeing Lena’s pout, chuckled. “I was actually making it for you, I just wanted to see your reaction.”
Well, the cat was out of the bag~
Lena pouted. “You’re teasing me again, be careful or I’ll go find another woman.”
“You dare!” Angel’s eyebrows shot up.
“Hey, I dare you to guess if I dare~”
Lena jumped out of bed, tossing her hair.
“There are many bad women who are secretly in love with me, if you don’t have a sense of crisis, I might be snatched away by those wolves in sheep’s clothing.”
So come and hug me~
Hold me tight, and I won’t run away~
Lena imagined Angel crawling towards her, her face flushed, biting her skirt, her smooth, white stomach exposed…
“Whoosh—“
The entire mansion seemed to shake.
The chandelier swayed precariously, the lights flickering, a frightening sight.
“Lena!”
Angel immediately rushed over and hugged her, her instincts taking over.
After the shaking stopped, she realized her back was drenched in sweat.
“Are you okay?”
They asked simultaneously.
“You scared me!” Angel lightly punched Lena’s chest, burying her face in it. “Why didn’t you run? What if the house collapsed?!”
“A small tremor is nothing to worry about, a big one, you can’t run from.”
Lena gently stroked Angel’s head. “Besides, you didn’t run either, you came to save me.”
“I…”
Angel blushed.
She had been terrified, afraid something would happen to Lena. After all, this was the first time she had loved someone so deeply, if Lena left her…
Her heart ached, a pang of sorrow.
“Hey, hey, I’m fine.”
Seeing his wife about to cry, Lena quickly comforted her. “Don’t worry, a small earthquake can’t hurt me, I’m not that easy to kill.”
Compared to the fear of death, Lena couldn’t stand seeing Angel’s tears.
She had promised not to make Angel cry, and she would keep her promise.
“Hmph…”
Angel wiped her tears on Lena’s chest, a hint of sweetness in her heart. “It’s all your fault, I cried again…”
“When my wife cries, it’s my fault.”
Lena kissed Angel’s lips, savoring the sweet taste of love.
This feeling was addictive.
Only those who had experienced it knew, two people in love had a special attraction, like magnets, pulling them together.
“To bed?”
Lena carried Angel in her arms, kissing her as she walked towards the bed.
“Wait… not now!”
Angel struggled to get down. “Go check what caused the earthquake, and that strange sound.”
“What sound? I didn’t hear anything.”
“Don’t play dumb!”
“Wifey, wifey~ forget about the sound, a moment of passion is worth a thousand gold coins…”
Lena lay on the bed, patting the space beside her, her eyes sparkling. “What could be more wonderful than this?”
“If you don’t go check, I’m not getting into bed.”
Angel was adamant.
Lena, helpless, had to suppress her desires, grabbing a coat and heading out.
“Wait for me, I’ll be back soon.”
“Mm, be careful.”
…
Lena searched the Falmouth mansion, but found nothing amiss.
No cracks in the ground, the walls still sturdy, the commotion hadn’t even woken anyone up, snow falling gently outside.
Lena recalled the details, it wasn’t an earthquake, but more like the aftershock of a heavy object falling.
“I’ll check the central area, that’s the only place I haven’t checked yet.”
Lena walked through several courtyards, the sound of falling snow and the surrounding scenery making the journey less tedious.
She soon reached the epicenter of the earthquake.
A towering “snow mountain” stood in the center of the courtyard, two little fox girls climbing it, sitting on either side.
“Sister Sasha, were you also kidnapped by bad people?”
“Roar.”
“I see, Sister Sasha was lucky to meet Sister Cheryl, but Ling Ling and Lian Lian weren’t so lucky.”
The little fox girl wagged her tail, her face not showing any sadness.
“But, Ling Ling has also met her true love, she… ah!”
A gray figure appeared.
Seeing Lena, Ling Ling’s tail wagged at an incredible speed.
“Miss!”
She called out from above.
Lena looked up, her surprise turning to shock.
This wasn’t a snow mountain, but a giant brown bear!
And Ling Ling and Lian Lian were sitting on its shoulders, waving at Lena.
“Where did this bear come from?”
Lena noticed Cheryl shivering nearby, her brow relaxing, her voice filled with exasperation. “Go take a hot bath…”
The two foxes and the bear had successfully bonded, forging a deep friendship.
Only Cheryl was left out in the cold, almost frozen solid.
“This… was… an accident… achoo!”
Cheryl shivered, soaking in the hot tub.
She tried to explain the situation to Nicole, embellishing her failed attempt to tease the fox girls into a grand accident of the world’s greatest beast tamer.
“I’m sorry, I’ve caused trouble for the Boss and her family,” Nicole said, her head lowered.
Lena didn’t care about the details, the outcome was good. “On the contrary, it’s a blessing in disguise, who would have thought my children would find their relatives in a foreign land.”
She glanced sideways.
A two-meter-tall, dark-skinned beauty had a small fox girl sitting on each of her legs, and the beauty herself was the human form of the Great Moon Bear, Sasha.
“Haa~”
She yawned, her eyes closed, looking like a lazy bear.
“Hello.”
“You can speak human language?”
“I’ve learned a little, it’s not too difficult.”
Sasha stood up, and the two little fox girls jumped down, running to Lena.
They had already marked their scent, exchanging pheromones, which meant they and Sasha had formed an alliance, an unbreakable bond.
“I’ll protect them.”
As if answering Lena’s unspoken question.
Sasha anticipated Lena’s thoughts, assuring her, “The Great Moon Bears and the foxkin have been allies for generations, I’m also a part of the foxkin family.”
She revealed her identity, her words carrying more weight.
“I see.”
Lena smiled, nodding. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, I also wish them well.”
Sasha glanced at the little fox girls, then changed the subject. “Actually, I came to the Imperial City for three things.”
“Oh?” Lena was surprised. “What three things?”
“Megan’s request, the nature of the invasion, and the beastkin’s artifact.”
Lena knew about the first two, but the last one was a mystery.
Did this invasion have another purpose?
“Megan asked us to come to the Imperial City to win this invasion, while she went to the Second Empire to appeal.”
Sasha’s choice of words, “win,” not “stop,” was significant.
It meant the war was inevitable and uncontrollable…
“Then what is the nature of the invasion?”
Lena gave a signal, and everyone else left the room.
Only the two of them remained.
Sasha took a deep breath, then said slowly,
“Hegemony, dictatorship, invasion, occupation… these are all the Second Empire’s usual tactics, under their oppressive rule, the people are suffering.”
“The dawn born in a deformed world is called invasion. Conquering territories, seizing resources, procreating, creating a new world.”
Sasha explained the Beast King’s philosophy.
However, this initial philosophy was soon overturned by the Beast King himself, because he discovered that invasion only brought pain and despair, just like when humans invaded the beastkin’s territory, they were driven out and slaughtered. This problem was clear when viewed from the other side.
“What do you think of the Second Empire’s invasion plan?” Sasha asked Lena.
“Utterly foolish.”
Lena’s lips curled into a sneer. “If it were me, I would never rashly provoke, let alone attack, another country without a solid plan. The resources required for a war are astronomical, whether it’s a blitzkrieg or a prolonged war, war is always the most expensive ‘sport’.”
But she couldn’t deny that the beastkin must have been driven to desperation to consider invasion as an option, whether it was right or wrong, whether it was their only way to survive.
Perhaps their own country was already on the brink of collapse.
“This invasion isn’t the Beast King’s will.”
Sasha stood by the window, her lazy demeanor gone, her gaze fixed on the distance, her voice heavy. “The nine-headed serpent, the mermen, the boar-men, the harpies… as far as I know, these radical factions, who have defied the king’s orders, have already infiltrated the Imperial City through various back channels, they could attack the palace at any moment, killing the woman on the throne.”
“You mean, the invaders have nothing to do with the Second Empire?”
Lena pondered.
Sasha shook her head. “They are from the Second Empire, that’s undeniable, but the Beast King hasn’t stopped their invasion, a tacit approval, a kind of experiment. The Beast King is looking for something, something in the palace’s treasury.”
“…”
Lena was speechless.
Why did a bear know more than her?
Looking at it this way, she, who had been gathering intelligence, was just a clown.
“My race is the Great Moon Bear.”
Sasha touched her semicircular ears, her expression returning to its usual languor.
“The Great Moon Bears hold a high position in the Second Empire, you can trust me.”
“Ah, how high…?”
“Well…” she thought for a moment, her dot-like eyebrows furrowing.
“The Beast King’s mother was once defeated by my mother, so the Beast King has always considered me his rival…”
Oh, a race that could defeat the Beast King, they must be incredibly powerful.
At least Countess rank and above, their status undeniable.
Lena waited patiently for Sasha’s reply.
After a long while, Sasha finally said, “He’s my godson.”
