After being forced to step down, the once-annoying nun eloped with me.

They are capable of mass-producing standard armor and iron bars and swords that have become police equipment, but they still cannot produce the barrels and springs needed for high-precision new rifles.

Because these necessary parts could not be industrially produced, the cost and production time of the new rifle reached a point that Ysgard could not accept...

After much deliberation, the president gritted her teeth, turned to the general who had learned how to operate the new rifle in less than five minutes, and said:

"My general, tell me, if we fully equip ourselves with these weapons, to what extent can you achieve?"

The general pondered for a moment, awkwardly loaded a bullet into the new rifle, and then, under the guidance of the scholar beside him, aimed correctly before firing a shot that sent the target flying three hundred meters away.

“We can unify the continent of Elusia, where the Roman Empire is located, and establish a powerful transoceanic empire—provided that our finances do not collapse directly because of the full deployment of new rifles.”

The benefits of the new rifle are obvious.

A general from a peasant background who had never been exposed to a new type of rifle learned the three main steps of loading, aiming, and firing in just five minutes.

Even the most inept recruits could learn the necessary skills to operate the new rifles in a single day and be ready to go to the front lines to fight the enemy that same day.

Moreover, the new rifle brought about a revolutionary tactical change.

Ysgard was originally known for its crossbows and arrows. They were skilled at firing arrows at the enemy from a distance and then charging at the confused enemy with their spare weapons after running out of ammunition.

But if these new rifles could be deployed—why bother charging? The enemy would be mostly wiped out from a distance before they even got close. Who would hate a war that's like shooting at targets?

This new tactic can directly reduce the casualty rate of the Issugard army by ten percentage points!

that is...

this...

It's just too expensive.

The general sighed and gave the rifle to the scientists.

The recruitment cost of a team of twelve archers is equivalent to the cost of purchasing a single new rifle.

The money spent recruiting twelve archers would be enough to live a life of luxury in the capital of Ysgard for a whole month.

If a solution to the cost problem cannot be found, it will take much longer than a year for Ysgard to equip itself with these weapons—it's a massive expense that could take years or even a decade to complete.

What should we do?

They looked at each other in bewilderment, and finally the vampire president led the general to the conference room at the testing site.

Here, she summoned all her staff. In less than six hours, before the sky had turned from light to dusk, everyone had arrived and sat up straight, having already learned about the headaches facing the president.

Before the president could speak, the Minister of Industry stood up and stated that upgrading the current domestic industry was almost impossible. Ultimately, Isgard's status as an "industrial powerhouse" was relative; their industrial base was quite weak compared to other industrialized nations. The best way to solve this problem was to... introduce foreign technology.

"But where can I find other industrialized countries?"

The president was greatly puzzled, and it was at this moment that the Minister of Commerce, responsible for commercial circulation, stepped forward:

"Miss President, the Roman Empire—the Roman Empire's steam factories, according to the descriptions of those escaped scholars, can meet our production needs for new rifles and further enhance our country's productivity. The only problem is that the Roman Empire is generally unwilling to allow our people to enter the factories for 'inspection'."

"...Don't those scholars understand the structure of a factory? No, I mean—the structure of lathes and related equipment?"

“Miss President, we ourselves would never leak such a secret, let alone the empire across the sea. They are likely keeping a tight grip on this factory that was advocated for by that regent.”

"So how do you suggest we acquire those technologies while the other side is heavily guarding against them?"

The president frowned, while the Minister of Commerce and the Minister of Industry exchanged glances before looking at the Minister of Political Affairs.

The elderly gentleman, who looked to be over seventy but was actually younger than the baby-faced president, stood up while coughing, only to be immediately pressed back down by the president, who gently comforted him:

“Little Al, you are not feeling well. You should stay home and continue to rest. There is no need for you to come over now—but since you are here, I will allow you to sit down and talk.”

"Thank you, President."

An elderly man with white hair respectfully addresses a baby-faced little girl as "elder sister"—this would probably be a heinous scandal in the Roman Empire, but it makes perfect sense in Isgard.

After all, in this multi-ethnic nation, the little girl you see licking an ice cream cone on the street might actually be a three-hundred-year-old vampire or a dragon descendant. You might think a thirty-year-old human man on the street with a wife who looks less than five years old is committing a crime, but in reality, the wife might be the one committing the crime.

Everyone is used to this. Ysgard has achieved this harmonious unity only after going through countless hardships due to the union of multiple races. Here, humans, vampires, dragonborn, or sirens are all equal and respect each other. Even when dueling in private, they must address each other as "sir" or "madam".

So the staff in the meeting room just chuckled good-naturedly, and then the old man sitting in the chair coughed twice before saying seriously:

"We have roughly two ways to obtain the technology of the steam plant—one is to send our spies to secretly land on the continent of Elusia, on land outside the Roman Empire, and then disguise themselves as suitable technicians to gain the trust of the Roman Empire's officials. After that, they can work in the steam plant and try to draw or even steal the design blueprints or replacement parts."

Secondly, we should directly approach the Regent and respectfully invite him over—from what I understand, the reforms of the steam factory and the Roman Empire were both accomplished by the Regent. If we can gain the Regent's gratitude, or even [immigration], Isgard becoming the world's sole superpower will be just around the corner.

The words of Political Minister Al fell silent in the meeting room.

Subsequently, the military generals stated that building a secret port was feasible, but finding the regent would undoubtedly be like finding a needle in a haystack.

"Who wouldn't want to invite such a capable person over? If I met him, I would be eager to invite him to stay at my house with the highest honors, and then find a few beautiful sirens to serve him comfortably... But the problem is that we don't even know which region the Regent is in, let alone find him by searching for a needle in a haystack—and would the Roman Empire let us bring him over? Impossible, right? They must have secretly placed him under house arrest, probably."

"Probably? I think you've just listened to too much exaggeration from those exiled scholars! Who knows, maybe the one who was expelled was just a decoy, and the real regent is just being kept under house arrest in the palace, to be used when needed..."

twitter.

For now, everyone has accepted the plan to establish a secret smuggling port on the continent of Elusia. After all, who wouldn't want something as advanced as a steam-powered factory? Since the Roman Empire will never deliver it, then...

Then we'll have no choice but to resort to any means necessary.

After stretching, the president left the conference room first. She then transformed into a swarm of bats and flew to the outside of the test site, gazing at the moon in the sky in deep thought.

Meanwhile, in the Monster Forest on the border of the Roman Empire.

Yang Hao also woke up under the watchful gaze of the morning sun.

He miraculously survived the freezing to death last night, but what about the person in his arms?

Before he could even get up in a panic to check on Theresa, a spoonful of hot soup was placed in front of his mouth:

"Silly doggy, I'm still here. Let's rest for a while. We were rescued by the demons."

It was Theresa's voice.

But demons?

Chapter Seventeen: The Listeners, the Followers and Bandits of Kagard

Demons?

Upon hearing these three words, Yang Hao was stunned for a moment before realizing that they had somehow ended up living in a tent made of animal hides, leaves, clay, mud bricks, and a little bit of wood.

It was filled with a primitive atmosphere. But judging from the mat filled with unknown fur lying beneath him and the entire bear skin spread on the tent floor, Yang Hao tentatively concluded that this should be the gathering place of some relatively primitive tribes in the Demon Forest.

In the Roman Empire, all non-human races are referred to as "demons." Even the primitive tribes in the Demon Forest are not recognized by the Roman Empire if they are not human.

So which group of demons is rescuing us now?

Yang Hao had a bit of a headache. There were just too many different kinds of demons in the Demon Forest—but Theresa's next sentence brought him back to reality.

"They are a group of women with antlers."

"...Then it's not someone I know."

A woman with long antlers? Yang Hao didn't know about demons with long antlers... but since she had saved Theresa and him, he should treat her with courtesy.

Yang Hao was already planning how to express his gratitude to the other party—but he soon realized a problem.

How did you learn their language?

There is almost no common language among demons. Even demon tribes living in the same area may have developed dozens of completely different languages.

So Teresa, how did you know what they were saying?

Yang Hao's doubts did not silence Mother Teresa.

She simply scooped up a spoonful of the broth made with bread and some unknown meat, blew on it slightly, and then put it in her own mouth. While chewing the meat, she also scooped a spoonful for Yang Hao.

"Although the power of my Lord is waning and may kick the bucket any day, I can still use His power to unleash a kind of [word magic] so that we can speak normally with each other."

"...What are your impressions of them?"

"Fortunately. They originally captured us for revenge—I heard that the farmers of Earl of Kagard captured their people as heretics and were preparing to burn them at the stake, so the demons here rushed to rescue their people. We were rescued when we were huddled together like a couple in the freezing cold."

"Then why didn't they make a move?"

"You mean this? After discovering that we had nothing to do with the Earl of Kagard and were just poor souls trekking through the Demon Forest, these demons treated us with great courtesy—if they hadn't brought us warm clothes and vacated their chieftain's residence for us to use, we probably would have died in that cave long ago... Oh, and the meat in this bowl of soup was also a gift from them."

"...Then we must thank them."

"The chieftain said to wait until you've rested and dressed before going to see her. Although she did have malicious intentions at first, we hope that in light of her friendly reception, you can help her answer a few questions—it's probably related to the Earldom of Kagard. Sigh, why the rush? Let me feed you."

"But I can eat by myself—whoa?!"

Mother Teresa, in an undeniable manner, squeezed the cooled broth directly into Yang Hao's mouth. Meeting Yang Hao's resentful gaze, she squinted and giggled.

......

After getting dressed, giving Theresa a routine hug and checking that she had no wounds, Yang Hao, led by Theresa, walked out of the tent.

The silver armor on the ground had not yet entered the chemical phase, and the surrounding temperature was still very cold, but the boots Teresa had bought for him and the warmth of her hands warmed Yang Hao's body and mind, giving him the motivation to continue forward, and also allowing him to take this opportunity to observe the demons around him.

As Teresa said, this place is full of "women with antlers".

But calling them deer antlers isn't quite right—those antlers weren't as hard as the ones Yang Hao had seen before; they were more like an ear-like organ than antlers.

Moreover, their antlers would occasionally flash with a pale green light... Is this some kind of unknown magical talent?

Before Yang Hao could come up with an answer, the stone giant operating not far away nearly made his jaw drop.

"what is that?"

Yang Hao stared in astonishment at the stone giant, which was nearly seven meters tall. The giant was covered in green moss, had no eyes, but possessed human limbs and extremely thick, flexible knuckles. Whether it possessed self-awareness or was being controlled, it was crudely pushing through the earth, constructing a simple fortification in a certain direction.

Theresa glanced at the giant, then shrugged.

"The chieftain said that it is a Golem, a creation of their people for generations, and only they know how to make it."

"These golems are simply unparalleled monster warriors. Without the assistance of mages or priests, the Roman Empire's army can only pose a threat to them with siege equipment..."

"But the problem is, this is the area surrounding Earl Kagard. Although Earl Kagard isn't exactly parish territory, there are a lot of believers here, so there are quite a few priests who know how to deal with these creatures, you know? Ah—the chieftain is over there, let's go over there."

Bringing himself before the demon chieftain, Yang Hao sized up the demon woman in front of him who seemed to be communicating with her own kind using the antlers on her head, and decided to wait until she resolved her own affairs before proceeding further.

Soon, with a series of nods, some antlered women left with young children, and the demon chieftain finally took the time to look at Yang Hao and Theresa.

"...Thank you for waiting for me to finish my business."

"Under the influence of the [Word Spirit] divine spell previously released by Theresa, the words of the demon chieftain were transformed into a language that Yang Hao could understand."

“I am Naruja, the chieftain of the Listening Clan. We have lived here for generations and have no connection with humans. But a terrible thing happened a dozen days ago, and because of that, I accidentally mistook you for people from the Kagard side and started tracking you.”

Despite being a demon with brown hair and purple eyes, his words were full of politeness and rationality. Yang Hao was somewhat flattered—this seemed to be the only polite person he had encountered in the past year, besides Theresa.