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

That law—the one concerning polygamy that Yang Hao had been facing resistance from at the Elf Council—was finally passed last night.

The old elves' stubbornness caused Yang Hao a lot of trouble, but what frustrated him even more was that the old elves wanted someone to act as their representative.

Otherwise, if you talk about "polygamy" but actually practice "monogamy," then this law becomes nothing more than a symbolic decoration.

Yang Hao originally intended for Arthur to go over as a symbolic gesture—after all, given Arthur's circumstances, he might be marrying over 20 new wives today and then having twenty rounds of wedding nights...

But Arthur hadn't had time to go out since the start of his vacation. So Yang Hao gave up on his idea.

Left with no other choice, Yang Hao could only express, amidst the elves' strange looks, that he would find enough representatives in Bayer Zans to make a name for himself...

At Bayer Palace, where the male-to-female ratio is 1:5, regardless of what the men think, the women have long reached a consensus, and recently there have even been subtle signs of a man dining with two girlfriends.

This is good news, because it means Yang Hao can immediately find men who want to marry multiple women at the same time, and he actually did...

So now that we have the necessary props, tomorrow's wedding can be even more festive—Yang Hao really doesn't know what else needs to be confirmed regarding this law. Does he need to confirm that he's not just marrying Theresa tomorrow?

Yang Hao considered the arrangements for tomorrow. He would indeed marry Theresa tomorrow, but it was only Theresa.

He glanced at the little nun who was still muttering to herself with her head down, unaware that she was secretly watching Finn with a strange look in her eyes.

Fen glanced at Yang Hao and seemed less like he lacked emotional intelligence and more like he needed a push...

The petite elf merely twitched her lips, staring with dead fish eyes as she said, "Yes, yes, yes," while already planning to find a secluded place to sleep with him sometime.

Although elves can wait a long time, how many people can resist stealing a bite of a delicious meal for decades? So Finn's plan isn't actually that bad, is it?

She took a sip of fruit wine and reassured herself firmly: There's no problem!

"Since there's nothing wrong with this law, Your Majesty the Regent, could you please tell me what else is problematic?"

"Let's just say these are the two pieces of news: [aid to Isgard] and [participation in the war against the Roman Empire]. At least we need to reassure our guests in Isgard, right?"

"Hmph... You really are focused on everything. If you keep going like this and actually collapse, I'll have the Archmage carry you straight back to the Green Courtyard."

"Wasn't it supposed to be a spell to restore my stamina?" Yang Hao shrugged. "But never mind... I need to get ready—I still have to continue discussing diplomatic matters with Nia after the celebration officially begins... Even though it's supposed to be a holiday, I'm still really busy."

"So can't you just take a few days off?"

"Yes, but not now—it will happen tomorrow."

"Humph."

Finn smacked her lips, gave the pretentious Mother Teresa a fierce look, and then turned and left.

Naruja looked completely bewildered from beginning to end, but under Yang Hao's care, she touched her antlers that were shimmering with blue light and whispered that the production of the miniature golems had been going smoothly.

Because the first batch of miniature golems was mainly intended to assist the people of Ysgard in producing cardboard ammunition, the miniature golems produced this time did not use particularly precious materials.

According to the mages' improvements, if it's just a matter of mechanically filling the cardboard shell with explosives and projectiles, then you can just use ordinary stones or even mud to make the golems—using metal would be more likely to cause adverse effects due to heat conduction problems, so if you can use stones and mud, then use stones and mud.

"Because we're using familiar stones and soil, our production speed is quite fast... However, there are still too few Listeners. Right now, producing 50 small golems a day is already our limit..."

"After all, the design of the joints is indeed difficult to manufacture, right? Sigh, we need to step up our efforts. At least we need to increase production."

Hearing this, Yang Hao sighed. Fifty small golems a day, that translates to a maximum of 1500 golems a month. That might not even keep up with the baby boom that will follow Bayerzans' return to Earth...

But what could he do? This wasn't something that could be produced simply by industrial upgrading. If the number of Ling people didn't increase, the only way he could increase production was to work on the design and structure... But then again, had any Ling people recently considered forming families with people from other tribes?

Yang Hao asked curiously, and Naruja was taken aback at first. Then, the antlers on her head suddenly flashed with a pink light, and then abruptly switched to green in the next instant.

She said somewhat flusteredly, "The children don't have that idea yet."

But as she spoke, she kept glancing furtively at Sister Teresa, who was holding Yang Hao's right arm. Naruja seemed to be seeking Teresa's opinion, to which Teresa simply rolled her eyes.

Although she had said she wouldn't let Yang Hao vow to love only her at the wedding—it was clear that Teresa still wanted to have her man's love all to herself...

But the current political climate simply doesn't allow for Teresa's selfishness, and Yang Hao and her team aren't powerful enough to allow Bayern to continue developing after leaving Gaparia's support...

...and then imagine the indispensable help Narudya received during that period...

Ugh.

The young nun sighed. Just as she was about to say something, their lieutenant, Kate, stepped forward and said, "The time has come."

It's time for them to take the stage.

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

When Natalia brought Anna to Constantinople Square, a secluded corner closer to the elves.

She was also wondering if she could adapt to life in Constantinople nowadays if she really chose to come and live closer to Emperor Yang Hao.

After all, a closer look reveals that life in Constantinople isn't exactly affluent even today. Despite it being a nationally significant celebration, the desserts served at Bayer Zans were still just crude snacks...

Even within the Roman Empire, where their movements were severely restricted, they still enjoyed exquisite pastries and delicacies—after all, Natalia had objectively become accustomed to life as the Chief Justice and a member of the Roman court. While she could find ways to adapt to poverty, that didn't mean she could adapt to a new environment in a very short time...

Moreover, she didn't know whether Anna would prefer Gaparia or Bayern—if Anna wanted to stay in Gaparia, she would have no choice but to stay there with little Anna...

Conversely, if Anna wants to live here, Natalia must find a way to adapt to the food in the near future...

(Crude snacks, crude porridge...and the food in the palace seems to be quite rough.)

I never imagined His Majesty the Regent and Lady Theresa would adapt to this kind of life. As for me, it would probably take at least a month to adjust.

The judge readily admitted her lack of adaptability. She had assumed Teresa was a pampered aristocratic child accustomed to fine food; if she had known Teresa's past life was far more impoverished, perhaps she wouldn't have thought that way.

She sat down on a bench with Anna in her arms. After letting the little girl sit comfortably on her lap, she waited for His Majesty Yang Hao's speech before the ceremony officially began.

Bayer's executives seem to favor highly efficient speeches. If nothing unexpected happens, His Majesty Yang Hao's speech this time should also be concise, right?

Natalia muttered to herself, recalling the pretentious speeches of the nobles during the Roman Empire—less than 10 minutes of actual content in an hour-long speech, and even when presenting evidence in court, they would subconsciously spend half an hour describing how despicable the other party was...

...She shuddered involuntarily. She truly hated those days—if the Bayer Zans could resolve important matters that could be discussed in five minutes within five minutes, as rumored, perhaps she would move in immediately?

She stroked Anna's hair. At that moment, they looked like a real mother and daughter.

It was at this moment that she saw Theresa and His Majesty Yang Hao appear in the square [Emperor's Platform].

(They are indeed a well-matched couple.) The presiding judge muttered. (I'm truly envious... but I can't interfere with them. After all, this is the happiness His Majesty the Regent has finally found.)

She watched as the two well-matched individuals walked behind the wall of the platform. Then, with the release of magic, their voices became incredibly clear, almost within reach.

No matter where it was, the opening remarks were all rather uninteresting—generally, His Majesty Yang Hao first thanked the people of both countries for their contributions to the celebration, and then he went straight to the point.

"From this day forward, Gaparia and Bayezid, who have always been as close as brothers, will become a unified nation—a United Nations. Under this circumstance, our two nations will maintain their current traditions and autonomy, but in external affairs, we will act in the name of a single nation... This will provide a stronger impetus for our future development."

(A united nation...is better than the Roman Kingdom.)

"Besides, war is imminent. Although we are in a period of development returning to the surface, we must avoid an attack from the Roman Empire. Therefore, after the celebration, we will maintain our original plan, handing over some industrial products to our allies in Isgard to obtain resources. At the same time, we may also launch an offensive against the Roman Empire together with the elves to reopen our supply lines..."

(Another war is brewing—but ultimately, the Roman Empire is no threat now, and expanding our sphere of influence would certainly be a good thing... but I really don't want to see those barbarians again.)

Natalia muttered to herself, she truly loathed those beasts in human skin... But just when Natalia thought the speech would probably end there, suddenly, His Majesty Yang Hao changed the subject, and then turned to the final legal issues.

"Finally, on the occasion of this celebration, Baselisa and I would like to announce that, in order to increase the population as soon as possible, to adapt to the current male-to-female ratio in the population structure, and to meet the needs of the people... Theresa Justinina, Finn of Gaparia, and I jointly announce—from today onwards, in the United Kingdom, polygamy will replace monogamy as our legal social norm. However, this is not mandatory, so please act according to your own capacity..."

(Legal issues? If I'm going to work in Constantinople in the future, I'll need to understand the laws of Bayern... After all, the legal system is incredibly complex, and if I rashly apply Roman Empire laws to make work decisions, I'm sure I'll easily make mistakes...?)

At first, Natalia hadn't realized anything; she was just subconsciously rubbing Anna's face in her arms while worrying about the difficulties of her future work.

But suddenly—when her thoughts drifted to the polygamous system that His Majesty Yang Hao had just mentioned—she froze for a moment.

Your Majesty Yang Hao, what were you just saying?

The presiding judge stared blankly at the man giving his speech on the platform, who then announced, "The celebration is officially beginning."

Unbeknownst to her, her body was trembling. Her previously despairing heart was now filled with ecstatic joy at this sudden event, for she seemed to have a chance to pursue happiness again...

But that's precisely why.

The fact that the legal change had given him an opportunity and made him happy about it made the presiding judge feel disgusted and distorted by his momentary elation.

The presiding judge just stared blankly as the square became lively.

On the high platform, Yang Hao and Theresa watched with satisfaction as their people entered into a celebration—but just as they were about to go down and join in the festivities, another adjutant, Barry, hurriedly approached.

"Your Majesty...something has happened in the north."

Barry said, "There seems to be a rout army coming into view from the north—they don't look friendly. What should we do?"

Chapter Six: The Prelude to the Barbarian Invasion (8K)

......

The date is February 4th. On this day, the Khuttod Khanate and the small northern state of Polan fought a decisive battle on the steppe.

With the entire army of the Khuttod Khanate mobilized, Polan would naturally follow suit with all its might. Polan not only held a numerical advantage, but its geographical position was also unassailable.

Not to mention, Polan also has their prized iron swords—in the northern grasslands, ironware is extremely valuable. A grassland nation where all warriors are equipped with iron weapons is naturally the richest nation on the entire grassland, without exception!

Originally, Polan was a small state that was reorganized in the north after the Great Khanate was defeated. Now that they saw that their former master was planning to come and take back their territory, they were naturally extremely unwilling.

Naturally, when faced with the invasion of the Khuttod Khanate, all the Polan people united as one, preparing to defeat the Khuttod Khanate's invasion through a decisive battle in an important northern town.

Originally, all the Polan people were full of confidence, thinking that their former comrades in the north were now just ripples in a stream, and could not cause any big waves.

But soon, when the Khuttod Khanate actually clashed with them, they realized the seriousness of the problem.

Because Huttod Khan had an entire army equipped with siege weapons! And they didn't seem to intend to attack the city immediately, but instead began constructing the city's camp and preparing for the siege.

Looking at the siege towers and catapults being assembled on the enemy's position in the distance, and then at the city walls of his own side, which were only four meters high and two meters thick, made of wood and stone, as well as the extremely dense military tents inside the castle.

It's no exaggeration to say that if a single stone from a catapult from the Khuttod Khanate were to fall, it could kill more than a dozen people... Are they really going to defend this castle north of Polan to the death?

Knowing that their time in the city was running out, the Polan people had no choice but to abandon the defensive advantage of the castle and choose to fight a direct battle with the Hutto Khanate—otherwise, they would be ravaged to death if they stayed in the castle.

......

When Hutod Khan saw the main force of the Polan leave the castle and deploy their troops outside, he knew he had won.

“If they really hold the castle to the death, I might not be able to raid the surrounding towns for a while and will have to spend a long time here—but since they have chosen to come out of the city to fight out of fear, then we will stuff the spoils of their victory into our bosom and treat them in the way we grassland people do!”

Under the orders of Khuttod Khan, the Kheshig led their respective troops to help remove the siege equipment from the siege camp. They then confronted the Polan army on the plain two kilometers away.

According to aerial observations from the harpies, Huttod Khan's army was outnumbered—the Polan people had a total of about 60,000 troops, while Huttod Khan, having set out earlier, only brought 30,000 men to the battlefield.

However, in terms of equipment and racial characteristics, the Huttok Khan is in a position of absolute advantage.

He had nearly 1 troops equipped with steel. The crushing power of steel over pig iron meant that Khuttod Khan's personal guards could fight ten men against one, not to mention that they were also wearing steel armor.

In the army's composition, harpies formed the aerial reconnaissance and mobility force, and could also transmit communication orders between camps through special magic. In addition, towering trolls were also an indispensable part of Khuttod Khan's army.

They were generally five to eight meters tall, equipped with full steel armor, and wielded spiked clubs made of wood and steel. When they stood at the front of the column, they resembled a small mountain, and their most important role in field battles was naturally to draw the attention of the enemy's main force.

These elite trolls, numbering 100 per unit in Khuttod Khan's army, were deployed on the flanks to draw the attention of the mounted archers. And they never disappointed Khuttod Khan.