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

More importantly, it can be programmed, and it will still have practical value even decades later—in a sense, this is the kind of good thing that the United Nations should mass-produce at this stage!

Finn agreed with all the advantages Yang Hao mentioned. However, she also said that everything good has its downsides. "Since you say that small golems have so many advantages, and can even replace the work of most humans and elves, doesn't that mean that many commoners no longer need to work?"

This would be fatal for a country. But according to Yang Hao, the prerequisite for ordinary people not to make an effort is that they continue to do low-end labor. As long as ordinary people can continue to work and study in high-end industries, these small golems will not pose a threat to most people for a long time.

"After all, Finn, as I said last time, whether it's demons, elves, or Bayerzans, our current population structure is too distorted. It's so distorted that even if we hand over all the low-end jobs to golems, the people won't complain. That's because our manpower shortage has reached the point where we can't even make up for it by robbing Peter to pay Paul. In other words, our path of developing small golems is definitely the right one."

On the other hand, the things you're worried about are also important matters that must be carefully considered... In the future, as the total population increases and small golems are further developed, they will inevitably take over the working and living space of ordinary residents.

But finding a balance between the two is our job as leaders. We cannot reject development simply because it may bring conflict; after all, isn't the world a place that develops by finding footholds amidst contradictions and conflicts?

"...So I understand, I'm just worried about it...You always manage to convince me, I know that perfectly well. So let's proceed with your suggestion for now. More important to me right now is whether we can sell those small golems as merchandise?"

"of course can."

Yang Hao nodded, indicating that they could sell, since they were the only ones capable of producing small golems and they could set the price. How could they not sell them?

"After all, there's no way that Isgard could have the environment to produce small golems. Even if they conquered Roman, they couldn't possibly establish their most important industries and new research institutes on this unstable continent within a century—besides, I seriously doubt whether they can even handle Roman's current situation... Hmph, I can already foresee the trouble the people in the occupied territories will cause them when they conquer a place and are preparing to govern it with their own self-satisfaction..."

"Your words sound like they're mixed with personal grudges?"

“Finger, you’ll understand once you’ve seen the extravagance of the Roman capital. I’m just stating a fact—after all, what the superiors do, the inferiors follow, not to mention that the Roman foundation is already rotten to the core… In short, I don’t think the people of Isgard would risk establishing such important research institutes and talents in Elusia, just as you wouldn’t let Fingel appear outside the Elven Forest. It’s only human nature.”

"I see... Then I'll choose to believe you. So, how do we handle the pricing and [protection] for the smaller golems?"

Resting her chin on her hand, Fen uttered soft, languid words. Her bright green eyes were simultaneously fixed on Yang Hao's face and secretly observing the judge's every move.

For some reason, Fen sensed a sense of tension emanating from the presiding judge. She tried to analyze the cause of this feeling, but in the end, Fen realized that the judge's tension only intensified when she and Yang Hao acted very intimately.

...In a sense, is this another rival? Finn smacked her lips, feeling wronged. She thought, "I haven't even achieved the kind of relationship with you that Teresa had, yet you went to rescue the little queen and attracted someone else... Ugh."

"Theresa, are our men just walking sex machines when they're out?" Finn muttered to herself. Just as she appeared languid on the surface but was actually tense and aggrieved inside, Yang Hao, who had been silent for a long time, finally shrugged and said:

"Pricing needs to take into account the purchasing power of Isgard before making a decision. After all, we can't let people without money shop here, especially since they're planning their major invasion of Roman..."

As for the protection of our technology, that can only rely on the efforts of the elven mages—the Isgardians can't easily create golems like Naruja and her ilk using their racial talents, but they are very energetic... so we must protect these magical creations.”

“You just said that Isgard doesn’t have the magic to conduct such research and production?” Finn raised an eyebrow, her little foot under the table lightly kicking Yang Hao’s calf, making him slightly startled and further uneasy Natalia beside her. “Why are you saying that now?”

"After all, it's one thing for the other side to lack the material resources, but it's another thing for us to be prepared."

"Okay, I understand."

After chatting about Isgard for a while, they started talking about the festival.

The celebration of the United Nations has been postponed to February 5th, partly because everyone needs more time to prepare, and partly because Anna's feelings have been taken into consideration.

To ensure that her tongue would have full function after it grew back, the elves performed a conservative, lengthy, but ultimately reversible limb amputation treatment.

This treatment will continue until February 4th. By then, Anna's tongue will have healed, and she will be able to speak and eat normally—but even so, the experience of having her tongue cut off for more than two years may still temporarily deprive this poor little girl of the ability to speak.

She needs to relearn how to speak with her tongue. Fortunately, she no longer has to worry about losing her right to speak.

That's why Yang Hao decided to postpone the celebration—he didn't want Anna to be left helplessly staring at the delicious food in front of her during the celebration. In a sense, this man had already poured too many resources into Anna; he truly treated her like his own daughter.

This preferential treatment even affected Yang Hao and Teresa's normal lives. However, this was only temporary. Probably.

"In general, the celebrations will be held simultaneously in Gaparia and Bayerzans... Considering the little queen's condition, wouldn't it be better for her to stay with Finger? It's safer here, and Bayerzans can't provide enough nutritious food for her to grow properly at this stage?"

"That's what I was thinking... but I still hope Anna will... never mind. Anyway, we don't need this much time."

"Hehe, you really are a man who spoils his children." Fen shook her head with a smile. "If you really have children in the future, I'm afraid you'll take care of them the same way."

"Perhaps...after all, Fen, you understand."

"I know. By the way, I heard that your proposal encountered some resistance from the Elf Council, right?"

"Yes... I don't quite understand why the masters advised me against it, saying things like, 'This proposal won't be convincing if no one takes the lead'... I just wanted to propose this proposal to give the people a new choice after it passes normally. I really don't know why they would do this."

Yang Hao looked somewhat bewildered at this point.

After all, this was the first time the old elves had unanimously opposed their own proposal. But frankly, the idea that "someone needs to take the lead" is a good one in itself.

Now, who can Gaparia and Bayezid find to lead the charge? Yang Hao felt a headache coming on. He just wanted to put this law in place so that women's pursuit of men wouldn't be restricted by law, and slowly see if population growth would have an effect... Why do you old elves do this?

Ugh!

All I can say is that I'll have to discuss with Theresa when I get back whether we need to make some adjustments...

The man muttered to himself, took a sip of his now-cold coffee, and remarked on how peaceful the days had been lately.

The Roman rift has completely disintegrated. The only military district with cohesion that could potentially threaten the United Nations now has to deal with both domestic rebels and the impending attack of the Ysgard fleet from abroad.

The civil war in the diocese was raging. Cecilia had finally managed to barely control her own faction, but she still lacked the ability to make money and organize an army to launch a fierce attack on Bishop Peter. Similarly, although Bishop Peter knew how to manage and make money, he was completely unable to stop the corruption of his bishops.

In this situation, with both sides locked in a stalemate, it inevitably ended in disaster.

The only thing worth noting is St. Petersburg, shrouded in "angels"—Yang Hao and Theresa discussed this a few days ago, and Theresa, while clinging to his back, pouted and said it was just moving corpses. However, the God of Light has been forced to the point of using the Corpse-Giving Divine Art to create "angels," perhaps the God of Light's days are numbered.

"I heard from Theresa that the 'angels' in religion can't appear directly like the birdmen in St. Petersburg, because there are no 'angels' in orthodox religions at all. The so-called 'angels' actually refer to those martyrs who fight alongside God?"

"I'm not entirely sure about that. But at least within the Church of Light, angels certainly don't exist."

"I see... So, it seems there really isn't any threat to our surrounding area?"

Does that mean the United Nations is completely safe?

Yang Hao took another sip of coffee, looked out the window for a while, and then pondered how to make good use of this hard-won peace.

Barring unforeseen circumstances, the United Nations should be able to secure a two- to five-year development period before Roman's complete demise.

Over a two-year period, he could further upgrade Gaparia's industry, then combine the industries that might be transferred from Isgard with the existing steam plants to develop an industrial system unique to Bayern...

Mass-produced miniature golems should be able to gradually spread throughout the United Kingdom over two years. However, this means the Listener's population will also have to grow slowly...

The Listeners have become a superior, scholarly race within the United Nations. With the elves acknowledging their inability to fight without the Golems, the Listeners have become an object of protection for the entire United Nations.

However, upon closer reflection, the only problem facing the Ling tribe right now is their small population... They currently number no more than 500. Could they perhaps find a way to increase the Ling tribe's fertility rate? After all, such a small population truly puts them in grave danger of decline...

what can we do about it?

Yang Hao pondered the peaceful development.

But at that moment, Fen sighed and said, "Not necessarily."

"not necessarily?"

“Yes, not necessarily.” She nodded, looking at Yang Hao’s stubble with her bright green eyes. “Your Majesty, Regent, you are well aware... that in the north of the Demon Forest, there is a threat called the [Barbarians].

"But it hasn't been seven years since they fled back to the north, has it?" Yang Hao was greatly puzzled. "In seven years, could they really recover their strength and continue south? Impossible, right?"

Back then, my sworn brother and I practically crippled their entire race's war potential... Even if they could have 20 offspring per litter, it would still take them at least ten years to muster enough military strength to march south and threaten us, right?

You can't say they're like insects, that you killed them yesterday and another batch hatched today—that's impossible, right?

Yang Hao's confusion left Fen with no choice but to bring out the bombshell evidence.

Those were the elven rangers' investigation reports from the north. Yang Hao flipped through the reports that Fen had taken out from somewhere, admiring the beautiful elven script and lifelike illustrations on each page.

Through the illustrated map, he could see that the green icons representing the barbarians had formed a line across the entire north, and between the barbarians and the monster forest, there was a medium-sized country labeled as a "slave state".

"It's not even as big as the Roman Military Region," Yang Hao muttered subconsciously, then immediately saw the problem.

The barbarian tribes had banners of a single, uniform color. They possessed a unified symbol, and it appeared their tribes were migrating south...

...The unified flag colors and symbols signified that the barbarians had once again regained their Khan. Their southward migration foreshadowed a new invasion.

But shouldn't it be like this?

"...They are like the Bayer Gems now, their entire population structure should have been skewed...How could they risk complete extermination by moving south again in less than ten years?"

Yang Hao couldn't understand it. If the barbarians continued fighting, they might truly be wiped out, as they had already lost too many warriors and men in the previous wars. If they were to invade southward, they would likely consist only of old men, children, and a group of women.

"It should just be a normal pasture migration, right? Maybe it's because the northern pastures have been eaten clean?"

He suggested a possibility. But Finn shook her head and told him he was wrong.

The petite elf said that in the lands where the barbarians had lived for generations, the pastures grew lush and abundant. But the barbarians showed no intention of resting and recuperating. They harvested the barbarians' hay and barley, slaughtered their cattle and sheep and made them into jerky that was easy to store for marching, and held grand martial arts tournaments on the grasslands—traditional competitions that selected suitable warriors to serve as officers. And when this was combined with the other important matters mentioned above, the elves could only conclude that they had to march south.

"After all, all their preparations are related to [marching]...and you guessed right, this barbarian invasion includes a large number of armed women and children—they seem determined to head south no matter what, but before they do, the small country we've blocked in the middle will become a sacrifice for the barbarians..."

"...Women and children have taken up arms? It's less about 'invading' and more about being forced into a corner and having no choice but to 'flee'."

"Are there any other terrifying enemies to the north of the barbarians? For example, their natural enemies?" Yang Hao flipped through the intelligence in his hand. "Even women and children have to go to the battlefield... As far as I know, the barbarians are not a cowardly race—they are a typical male society, where only men have the honor and right to go to war... Under these circumstances, even women who are not valued have gone to the battlefield..."

“That means they are truly desperate—of course, there’s also the possibility that the Khan intends to reform society,” Fin continued Yang Hao’s words. “That’s why I said we might not be safe during this period. The elves will investigate the reasons for the barbarian’s unrest, and in the meantime, we may need to prepare to defend against a barbarian invasion—to be precise, Bayerzans needs to prepare its city defenses.”

Japaria is located deep in the forest, and nomadic tribes would never march through the forest unless absolutely necessary—after all, for centaurs, harpies, or trolls, the forest is a painful and resource-poor terrain.

They couldn't cultivate the land in the forest, nor could they feed the livestock they brought with them. To the barbarians, the forest was a terrain that brought nothing but harm, much like how parents of high school students on Earth see internet cafes as utterly useless.

But Bayerjaas is different... or more precisely, Constantinople, perched on the edge of the forest, is different.

She was stuck in a position that was far too important. To the west, the troops of Constantinople would threaten the barbarians' logistics and reinforcements, and if Constantinople wasn't captured, the barbarians certainly wouldn't feel comfortable having a thorn in their side. Not to mention, besides its strategic importance, the land surrounding Constantinople was suitable for both farming and grazing, making it an ideal relay station for the barbarians.

...If it were possible to negotiate with the barbarians, Yang Hao wouldn't mind letting Constantinople function like an inn, exchanging barbarian resources for space to rest and recuperate, and then just watching them storm into Roman territory and wreak havoc.

The problem is, the barbarians prefer to eliminate all problems with their swords rather than engage in trade. Yang Hao has already encountered the barbarians far too many times, and he knows very well that it is impossible for them to coexist with humans at this stage.

After all, the population a piece of land could support in that era was limited. There was never any logic in starving one's own people to feed an enemy. Applying the barbarian theory, they would rather slaughter all foreigners and use their land to feed their own people than consider the possibility of coexistence.

In this situation... it's better to hope that the barbarians will send a declaration of war before they invade than to hope that Constantinople won't be invaded—at least that would mean they're slightly more civilized, but a fight is still inevitable.

Thinking of this, Yang Hao fell silent.

He pondered how many cards he had in his hand could stop the barbarian hordes from invading Constantinople, but then he thought that if he couldn't stop the barbarians in the north, then the port that Ysgard had given him would be completely looted.

Not to mention the possibility of heavy casualties to the landing forces of Isgard after the barbarian invasion—while Yang Hao hoped Isgard would be bogged down in a quagmire, that didn't mean he wanted Isgard to suffer a crushing defeat outright...

Not to mention, if the barbarians were to achieve a complete victory and seize all the rich lands of the Roman Empire, it would be extremely troublesome to fight back later...

So after thinking it over, we realized that we not only had to stop the barbarians, but also had to find a way to annihilate them so that the colony army of Isgard wouldn't be stillborn.

I really don't know what to say...

"Ugh."

His Majesty the Regent sighed.

"In that case, we'll have to use our old technology to fight the barbarians."

Do you have any ideas?

"The Japa 1405 machine gun will enable these horse-riding peoples to sing and dance, and the existence of the barbed wire will put the barbarians in a dilemma. Then, with the help of Gorem's machine guns and howitzers, I don't believe their land troops can break through our defenses."

"They might even step over the corpses of their comrades to get ahead."

“Then we’ll lay down more barbed wire—to put it bluntly, apart from the trolls, the other barbarian land units are still flesh and blood. Their arrows and javelins don’t travel as far as our rifles, let alone engage in melee combat with golems.”