Pregnant

"What?"

"How dare someone attack the immigrant procession!"

Hudson flew into a rage.

In the Southeast Province, a place right on his doorstep, someone dared to lay a hand on his people; it was practically defying the powerful.

"Count, now is not the time to be angry. The most important thing is to have the other teams strengthen their defenses and prevent similar incidents from happening again."

Based on the reports from below, the enemy mobilized hundreds of people; it's impossible for such a large group to operate without leaving any traces.

The fact that we didn't detect it beforehand means someone must have provided cover for them. There are only a handful of organizations in the Southeast Province with this capability, and even fewer that dare to do it.

However, we have already sent people to keep an eye on the Dalton Family. If they were to mobilize their forces, we should have noticed something unusual.

Unless we underestimate this dominant force in the southeast, they possess even more hidden power that we haven't yet detected.

Kane analyzed with a serious expression.

Clearly, things had taken him by surprise. Most of the information about the Dalton Family in the Mountain Territory came from the Hollisir Family.

Before the rise of the Coslo Family, the two most powerful families in the province had a lot of friction and were fairly familiar with each other.

After the decision was made to head north, the information about the Dalton Family was packaged up by Count Oran and handed over to Hudson.

To ensure the smooth progress of the land swap, Hudson had long ago sent people to keep an eye on the Dalton Family's hidden forces.

"That's unlikely. Judging from the strength the enemy has shown, although there are quite a few people involved in the attack, there are very few experts among them."

If the Dalton Family were to attack us, it would be a swift and decisive blow; there's no need for such a noisy but ultimately ineffective move.

The battle report showed that the enemy clearly still had the strength to continue fighting, but they retreated directly after losing dozens of men, which was obviously illogical.

It's highly likely that some powerful force is trying to stir up trouble, frame us, and lead us astray, so they deliberately did this.

The real mastermind behind this might not necessarily be targeting us; it could be targeting the Dalton Family, or even the kingdom itself.

There are more than just one or two forces that want to see the Warcraft Legion plan fail. Finding no breakthrough elsewhere, they'll target us—that makes perfect sense.

There are too many suspected forces involved; based on the intelligence we currently have, we cannot determine who the real culprit is!

After hearing Rudolf's words, Hudson also became confused.

From a purely internal perspective, finding enemies is incredibly simple. Looking at the history of the Coslo Family's rise to power, the number of major powers they've offended is very limited. A little deduction is enough to guess seven or eight out of ten.

The Alpha Kingdom, if magnified, is beyond comprehension. Hudson hasn't even fully grasped the current international relations, let alone found the real culprit.

"Take your time investigating, there's no need to rush. Our immediate task is to complete the immigration relocation as soon as possible. Who's behind this isn't that important."

Besides, the enemy left behind dozens of corpses. It shouldn't be too difficult to find out their identities before they died!

By peeling away the layers and pulling out the tendons, we'll eventually uncover them. Then, we'll settle the score with them!

Hudson said sternly.

Despite his loud pronouncements, Hudson had absolutely no confidence. Even with his best efforts to keep a low profile, the Mountain Territory had inevitably become a vortex of storms.

The more you know, the more questions you ponder, and naturally, the more things you fear.

Compared to the current state of confusion, if we were to uncover a powerful force that we can't afford to offend, that would be a real problem.

Not retaliating would make one appear cowardly and could easily lead to a collapse of one's public image; taking action to retaliate, however, would leave one lacking the strength to back it up, and would likely result in self-humiliation.

The Coslo Family's greatest advantage is its large population. However, if they were to fall out with a powerful force and resort to underhanded tactics, this advantage would crumble instantly.

Without these foundations, Hudson is at best a slightly more powerful rogue cultivator. If he wants to rebuild a major force, he'll have no choice but to join Heretical Cult.

This isn't about choosing sides; it's about those who control the narrative saying you're a member of Heretical Cult, so you'd better actually be Heretical Cult member.

With a loud bang, Hudson's homemade alchemy furnace was once again sacrificed. If he hadn't dodged quickly enough, he would have been covered in dust and dirt again.

After repeated failures, Hudson had to admit that he was not a genius at Potion-Making at all.

Holding the recipe and following the instructions step by step, you'll fail at least nine out of ten times. Even the one successful attempt may not be as smooth as you hoped.

There's no need to be discouraged; the vast majority of alchemists on the continent are at this level. Mastering the formulation of a magical potion comes from constantly accumulating experience through failures.

As for Hudson's unique alchemy furnace method, it was purely a matter of luck. Due to the unqualified raw materials used in the furnace, furnace explosions were a common occurrence; it was an accident if it didn't explode.

Whether the furnace explodes or not is unimportant; the key is the result. The same magical potion recipe always produces many strange and wonderful products in Hudson's alchemy furnace.

Of course, the ability to create special products is the result of channeling energy into the furnace through Mysterious Compass.

If you skip this crucial step, you'll basically end up with nothing but a pot of medicinal porridge. As for its specific effects, you'll have to try it to find out.

Even knowing that the furnace would explode, they still persisted because Hudson's creations were sometimes truly practical.

For example: previous Bear Brand Feed Pills, Giant Dragon Brand Aphrodisiac Pills, Desire Bewitching Pills, Beast Evolution Pills...

Especially the Giant Dragon Brand Aphrodisiac Pill, which is an essential treasure for Maxim to control all beasts. Otherwise, even the Giant Dragon's kidneys wouldn't be able to withstand the endless stream of female beasts.

The Beast Evolution Pill is even more powerful; this thing directly evolved Hudson's bull into a magical beast. Even the lowest level magical beast is still a remarkable achievement.

Unfortunately, the side effects are quite severe. Based on hundreds of previous experiments, beasts that have taken the Beast Evolution Pill have always either failed or died.

Perhaps due to the small sample size, the success rate cannot be calculated to date. In short, apart from that bull, only one wild mouse has completed the evolution so far.

Hudson also tried feeding it to the monsters, but they all rejected it, as neither his own dragons nor bears would open their mouths.

After deliberately capturing a wild magical beast and forcibly feeding it to him, there was no reaction whatsoever. Even after increasing the dosage thirty times, he only experienced diarrhea.

Instead of any benefit, the monster was exhausted. After several experiments, it finally succumbed to the torment and died.

"Hudson, you've exploded again!"

Seeing Melissa's uncontrollable laughter, Hudson retorted without hesitation, "Laughing so happily, did your magic potion succeed this time?"

"Of course not!"

"I'm only Intermediate Mage, and I've only just started getting into Potion-Making. Failure is perfectly normal."

Unlike a certain Magus who can create his own system and change the magic and potion-making of the continent, he still ends up getting himself all humiliated and defeated every day.

Melissa said with a grin.

Failure is okay, the key is having someone to accompany you. If you see others succeeding every day while you keep failing alone, I doubt anyone could bear that kind of pressure.

Hudson and Melissa are a classic example of finding joy in hardship. They've even gone so far as to seek comfort in mocking each other's failures.

"That's just plain jealousy. No matter what, I'm a Magus now, and you're still a novice magician."

Even if some people work hard for another twenty years, they probably still won't even get close to becoming Magus. And yet they're here laughing at me—who gave them the audacity?

As they spoke, Hudson had already pulled Melissa into his arms. Judging by their restless hands, it seemed a fierce battle was about to erupt.

"Hudson, let go! Don't mess around here, or I'll get angry."

"Melissa said angrily."

Upon seeing this, Hudson decisively stopped what he was doing. But he defiantly shouted, "See if you dare laugh at me again!"

If it happens again next time, I won't...

Before he could finish speaking, Melissa suddenly showed signs of vomiting. Her face turned pale, which startled Hudson quickly cast a spell to check on her.

Mages who also work as doctors are a unique feature of the Aslant Continent. Almost all high-level mages need to know a little about this, otherwise they wouldn't be able to concoct potions.

After a long pause, she slowly said, "Melissa, it seems you're pregnant!"

This news not only startled Melissa, but also gave Hudson a fright.

It's been less than three months since we got married, and I've already won the bid, which is quite unexpected.

"Hudson, are you sure you're not lying to me?"

Melissa asked hurriedly.

"How could I possibly lie to you about something like this?"

Hudson quickly assured him.

He had long heard that the Coslo Family had a powerful talent for procreation, but he had thought it was just a rumor. He didn't expect it to be proven so quickly.

Isabelle had been in a relationship longer, did not get pregnant because both of them were deliberately using contraception.

Hudson didn't want to have an illegitimate child before her wedding, lest it become a laughing stock; Isabelle, on the other hand, wanted to pursue a higher level of cultivation and didn't want to get pregnant and have children so early.

If it weren't for the fact that women's right of succession to titles is so far down the line, even lower than that of close relatives and collateral branches, nobles with only daughters on the verge of extinction would probably be scrambling to snatch up sons-in-law from the Coslo Family.

After all, no matter how good the relationship is among relatives, it can't compare to the closeness of one's own direct bloodline.

Hudson hadn't even had enough of the sweet life of newlyweds when a third party interfered, and to make matters worse, he had to treat this third party like a treasure, leaving him speechless.

I should have used contraception.

However, he could only think this to himself. If he dared to say it out loud, not only would Melissa make a scene, but all the elders of the Coslo Family would also come over to give him a talking-to.

Although the saying "many children, many blessings" is not popular on the Aslant Continent, for a great nobleman, the more descendants the better.

A large and prosperous family is an important sign of a family's flourishing development. Families that have only one son per generation for several generations are seen by outsiders as having lost the favor of the Lord of Dawn and are on the verge of extinction.

The lord's wife's pregnancy was a landmark event that caused a sensation throughout the entire Mountain Territory.

Everyone was immersed in joy, and even the shadow left by the attack on the migration team was greatly diminished.

If Melissa hadn't stopped her, Hudson would have thrown a celebration. Having lived two lives, it's impossible not to cherish the arrival of their first child.

If it's a son, he'll be the future master of the Mountain Territory; even if it's a daughter, she'll be Lord Hudson's darling.

Regardless of whether it's a boy or a girl, as long as Hudson's offspring are born, it proves that the lord and his wife are capable of having children, and the hearts of the people in the territory will quickly settle down.

Kevin, dragging his wounds home in Beda City, had a terribly gloomy expression.

Due to a previous unexpected accident, communication with the hidden realm in the Mountain Territory was temporarily interrupted, which unexpectedly led to a major disaster.

The lack of timely intelligence exchange led to a misjudgment, and the meticulously planned attack ended up hitting their own people.

What's worse is that he, the person in charge, wasn't killed by the enemy; instead, he was ambushed by his own people.

Unfortunately, he couldn't blame anyone, because by deliberately concealing his identity, the other party had no idea he was one of their own.

Such a coincidence, that things just happened to happen to coincide, made him feel depressed just thinking about it.

After taking the healing potion, Kevin, exhausted both physically and mentally, forcibly suppressed his anger.

He glanced at the demoralized crowd and said irritably, "Why is everyone so quiet?"

It's just a failed mission. We can find a way to make up for it elsewhere. Don't act like your parents have died!

Now, those of you who need to recover should recover, and those of you who need to clean up the mess should get on with it. The operation failing is fine, but the organization's information must be kept secret.

He spoke lightly, but inside he was panicking. This blunder couldn't be reported to headquarters at all, and they even had to deliberately suppress the news.

Otherwise, if word got back, everyone would just think Kevin was incompetent, that he could even launch a well-planned attack on "his own people."

"My lord, this incident was entirely accidental. The main problem was that the enemy was far too powerful; otherwise, our operation would have succeeded."

Hearing this explanation, Kevin's anger flared up again. What nonsense about an accident! He had given the order to retreat.

Even framing someone requires cooperation. If all the spies the organization sends out are killed by their own people, who will be responsible for diverting the enemy's attention?

As locals, if they investigate in the right direction, they'll eventually find clues.

"Wagordin, are you questioning my command abilities?"

Kevin couldn't help but question him.

As the person primarily responsible for the failure of this operation, Kevin had no intention of shirking responsibility. After all, he wouldn't report such misfortune and had no concern about taking responsibility.

"My lord, I... I wouldn't dare... that's not what I meant..."

Kevin glanced at the terrified Wagordin and lost interest in pursuing the matter further. He was now focused on restoring contact with the dispatched spies.

To maintain secrecy, only single-line communication had been maintained until now. Even the spies themselves were unaware of each other's identities.

The personnel responsible for intelligence work in the Mountain Territory died in an accident six months ago. Immediately afterwards, a large-scale personnel reshuffle occurred, and the original methods of contact became completely unusable.

When large organizations develop to a certain extent, they inevitably suffer from a series of drawbacks such as dereliction of duty, shirking responsibility, and bureaucracy, and the Church is no exception.

After assigning new liaisons, they waited for the dispatched spies to come to them. Unfortunately, all the spies had been transferred out of the territory, so they naturally had no opportunity to make contact.

Since we're doing espionage, we need to be highly vigilant. We've always operated this way, so if we suddenly change our methods and proactively try to re-establish contact, the other side will inevitably become suspicious.

Once trust is lost, subsequent intelligence gathering becomes problematic. Their personnel might be reported by "their own people" as soon as they arrive.