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

The catapult's range was too short, and it might be directly covered by the enemy's city defenses. Moreover, the stones it threw would not pose any threat to city walls that were more than six meters thick.

It would be impossible for a battering ram to get close to the enemy's city gate under these circumstances, not to mention that the enemy's city gate seemed to be a mechanical telescopic structure rather than a pull-up drawbridge.

Are we really forced to use ladders to attack the city under enemy fire? But let's not even talk about how many casualties we'd have to suffer to get close to the fortress. Even if we could just climb the walls, who can guarantee that the enemy won't build an inner city inside the castle?

The more the Khan and the Kheshig discussed it, the more their scalps tingled. This fortress was truly not to be attacked; if they were to attack, they should at least wait until the Khuttod Khanate possessed equivalent weapons.

After all... this is not a man-made natural barrier that can be dealt with by steel blades and iron armor.

The Khan sighed heavily in his heart.

Finally, an idea suddenly came to me:

Since the other party is not Roman, why don't we negotiate with them and then use their route to go south?

He explained his thoughts to the Kheshig.

After a period of eerie silence, all the Kheshig (imperial guards) ignored the feelings of the Polan people who had acted on their own and said, "Fine!"

...........

It was the same late night. While the Khan in the north was preparing for negotiations, at St. Peter's Basilica, the God of Light once again displayed his divine grace.

But unlike last time, this time he did not release golden mist, but instead shone golden light into the underground area of ​​St. Petersburg—to be precise, the former underground area, now the bottom layer that has risen again.

There, in some secret chambers, the God of Light discovered the remains of many demons and Bayern people. It would be a great pity to let these remains go to waste, so now that faith was dwindling and the power he had seized was waning, the God of Light decided to further develop the [Corpse-Giving Divine Art], striving to become the [God of Corpses] as soon as possible—a conceptual god.

But before that, he must prove that he has the ability to control corpses.

crunch.

Bathed in golden light, the demon's remains emitted a shattering sound—the result of a struggle between magic and divine power. Even a demon's corpse, if it retains any magic, cannot be easily utilized by the God of Light.

With one crisp sound after another, the demon's remains shattered into pieces, and finally, under the illumination of the golden divine power, they turned into powder, into dust, and disappeared without a trace.

There seemed to be a sigh from the depths of the earth. But soon, the God of Light turned his gaze to the bones of the Bayezids.

Although they are just bones that look like they could be crushed at any moment by various external forces, at least there is no magical residue on them. In other words, they are good things that can be compatible with divine power.

He attempted to cast divine spells on the bones of the Bayezids.

With a series of crisp sounds, this time, the skeletons stood up under the influence of divine power—although they had no consciousness or power, these skeletons could become the cornerstone for the future development of the God of Light.

The God of Light once survived by drawing light from the faith of the Bayerzans, and now he wants to suck the marrow from the bones of the Bayerzans to go higher and farther.

He manipulated the skeleton with unrestrained skill, finally fixing his gaze on the location of the Protestant cult. He could sense that the saintess who transformed the power of light was channeling less and less faith into him... Perhaps he had to take over this body sooner rather than later.

"but not now."

The secret chamber of the tomb fell silent once again.

This time, the God of Light no longer cares about the believers on the surface of the earth.

Chapter 5: The Three Kingdoms Alliance, The Fall of the Sky Continent (8K)

The morning of January 5th.

On the devastated battlefield, the barbarians reappeared before the barbed wire.

Unlike others, they carried aloft a banner representing their willingness to negotiate. Four noble-clad kheshig soldiers, unarmed yet each holding a long pole, propped up a small tent on the wasteland. However, due to the barbed wire that had been re-laid the previous night, they couldn't approach the bastion and could only shout from afar, hoping the United Nations would send someone to negotiate.

Seeing that they had placed a table and chairs inside the tent, Yang Hao assumed that his strategic plan had been partially accomplished—at least the barbarians were willing to lower themselves to negotiate, which was a good thing.

However, no one can guarantee that both sides will reach a satisfactory outcome during negotiations. Therefore, after carefully considering his own weak physical strength and the generally strong and robust physique of the barbarians, Yang Hao chose to bring along Fen and an elven guard. He also had the archmage cast protective spells on each of them before accepting the barbarians' invitation, ready to see what they intended to discuss.

"So, is it really okay to negotiate with them in the wild?" Fen's question made Yang Hao nod slightly. "At the very least, we could ask them to come in and negotiate, right?"

"This involves a balance between the two sides—and frankly speaking, we also need to give them a way out. This will not only facilitate the subsequent negotiations, but more importantly, it will demonstrate our attitude. It will show that we are willing to negotiate with them on a relatively equal footing."

“I know. But we have the upper hand right now.”

"...We don't want to waste our manpower fighting these barbarians in the north. If Theresa were here, she would probably have explained to you how much trouble Bayer Gems is causing her right now, but she's not here, so you probably don't understand the current human resource shortage at Bayer Gems."

Although Bayer Gemdale currently appears to have ample human resources, once the planting season begins and the workforce is excluded from farming, the available labor force will immediately decrease significantly...

Not to mention, after rising to the ground, a baby boom gradually followed. More and more women becoming pregnant not only means that the country's future birth rate will increase, but more importantly, it means that the current labor force will become increasingly scarce in the future.

Especially as pregnant women's bellies begin to swell, residents who were previously able to work will be temporarily unable to do so, further exacerbating the labor shortage in Bayer Zander...

Not to mention that newborns need human care after birth; even with socialized care, it still requires hiring educated personnel to raise those lively infants day and night...

...Under these circumstances, Yang Hao and Theresa also had to prepare for their upcoming southward march—after all, the elven soldiers were few in number, the Golem operators, the Listening Girls, needed sufficient manpower for protection, and after capturing several designated locations in the Roman Empire, putting the mines there into production would also require human resources...

...

Overall, the manpower shortage is indeed getting bigger and bigger in a short period of time.

Moreover, the labor shortage may last for at least ten years—unless the small golems can increase production in a short period of time, the labor shortage will become the top priority facing the United Nations.

However, the current production capacity of small golems is limited. Unless the number of Listeners increases further, the total number of golems and golems that can be produced each year will likely remain the same at best.

It is virtually impossible to significantly increase the workforce in a short period of time using golems and golems.

On this basis, if Yang Hao and his group really fail to reach an agreement with the Khuttod Khanate and have to continue their confrontation with this nomadic state, it will very likely make their already scarce labor resources even more scarce.

After all, the territory of the Demon Forest is so vast that even the elves cannot ensure the surveillance of the border, which will inevitably require the soldiers of Bayrzans to do the work. And establishing outposts in the border areas will inevitably require even more manpower and soldiers... And all of this will eventually become a huge snowball that continuously devours the human resources of the United Nations, until the day when the United Nations can no longer hold on, or the Khanate of Khuttos can no longer hold on.

To avoid this endless vicious cycle, Yang Hao must negotiate a crucial compromise and cooperative agreement with the Khan. This isn't about saving face, but about genuinely making the united nation a better place.

Moreover, Yang Hao was confident that he could reach an agreement with the Great Khan.

After all, the Khan's southward march was a necessary need rather than an optional one, and the Allied Powers' desire to coexist peacefully with the Khutto Khanate was an optional choice rather than a necessity.

The fundamental goals of the two sides were not equal from the beginning—in a sense, even if Yang Hao said nothing, the Khan would have a very high probability of bowing down first.

But as for the specifics... we'll have to see for ourselves.

After crossing the gap in the barbed wire, Yang Hao and his group arrived at the tent erected by the Khan's envoy. After having his guards follow him into the tent, Yang Hao finally had the mind to observe the Khan, Hutot Khan, who had been waiting for a long time.

He was a nomad in the literal sense, possessing some of the characteristics of nomads that Yang Hao knew. Broad-shouldered and burly, with a robust build, his thick beard and hair made him look like an enlarged version of a dwarf from a fantasy story.

It seemed that every nomad had bowlegs—just as Yang Hao was pondering this, he heard the Khan ask this straightforward question:

"So, you're not Romans? An unknown elven queen and a king from an unknown country? What's the situation in the south right now?"

Nomads always seem to like asking questions so directly—Yang Hao nodded, indicating that Fen would just stay by his side as a mascot, and then he answered:

“We are a new nation jointly created by the Union of Gaparia and Bayern, not a part of the Roman Empire. You may call me Regent, and for her, simply address her as Finn.”

"Alright, Your Excellency, Ms. Fin... then can you tell me what exactly happened in the south? The Polan people in my army thought you were Romans and disobeyed orders by charging straight at us. Please believe that our Huttot Khanate has no ill intentions. Also, Huttot is my name, and 'Khan' means 'king' among us nomads."

Seemingly having heard some extraordinary name, the Khan visibly paused for a moment, then continued the conversation as if nothing had happened.

"Understandable."

For Yang Hao, however, he obtained an important message through the Khan's words.

The blame was directly shifted to the troops who launched the attack without authorization—either the Polan people had been completely abandoned by the Great Khan's army, and any complaints they might have had would be suppressed, or the Great Khan's methods were so skillful that even the Polan people would not complain.

After pondering the matter and concluding that communicating with a smart person would ensure the smooth progress of the upcoming negotiations, Yang Hao explained the changes in the south to the Khan in a concise manner.

Yang Hao concealed many things related to the Roman Empire. On the one hand, the relationship between Huttod Khan and them was still unclear. In order to prevent Huttod Khan from doing anything detrimental to the United Nations and Isugard, Yang Hao slightly concealed the current situation of the Roman Empire—of course, all he did was conceal the fact that the Romans were cannibalistic and that there was a large group of undead people living within the Roman Empire.

As Yang Hao recounted the events, Hutod Khan finally understood the chaotic state of affairs in the south...

"Simply put, the Roman Empire is in internal strife, and their ally, Alesser, is planning to plunder us, but they've underestimated our strength?"

"Correct."

"And then your United Nations were fighting against the Roman invasion with Isgard, but because of your geographical location and the observation of our army's gathering, you had to build fortifications here to intercept us?"

"Correct."

"And more importantly... you were once the regent of the Roman Empire? No... I've heard that Emperor Benjamin did indeed have a capable brother... So that brother was you? May I ask how His Majesty Benjamin is doing now?"

"The coffin is in the current capital of the United Nations, namely Constantinople."

"Ah...this?"

The Khan was taken aback again. But this time, his face showed visible astonishment and regret.

For Khuttod Khan, the Benjamin Emperor was destined to be his rival—but as a fellow chosen one of the world's chosen people, he still held the warrior in high esteem.

Although the nomads of the Khuttod Khanate fought fiercely with the Roman Empire, this did not diminish the Khuttod Khan's reverence for the Roman emperors.

And now, suddenly, a man who once served as regent of the Roman Empire tells me that the revered emperor is dead, and his body is not in the Roman Empire, but in another country?

It's as if leaving a corpse in the Roman Empire would lead to something extremely bad... What on earth is going on? In less than ten years, why has the country that once defeated us become so... strange?

The Khan was completely baffled. They had no way of gathering intelligence from the south on the steppes—but that shouldn't have happened, right? In such a short time… wasn't this too strange?

Huttok Khan looked at Yang Hao blankly, hoping for an explanation. Yang Hao shrugged, offering a very simple explanation: the Romans had killed their own emperor; he himself was supposed to die, but escaped by chance...

"Anyway, Khutot Khan, just think of it as the Roman Empire being in chaos right now—your tribe can freely enter the heart of the Roman Empire and fight the Romans at will, but I must warn you, the Isugards are our allies, and we will not stand idly by while you attack towns occupied by our allies. So if you want to continue south, you might as well sign a treaty with us..."

"A contract?...A non-aggression pact, right? What else?"

"Commercial contracts are also an option. Considering the current border issues between our three countries, and the fact that we have a common enemy, the Roman Empire, we can establish an alliance against the Roman Empire during this period. This alliance will last until the Roman Empire is completely conquered, and the areas to be occupied can be discussed together."

"Do the United Nations and Isgard really have the confidence to conquer Romance?"

"In fact, we all have that capability. But the key locations we need won't conflict too much. If we really have to fight each other and end up losing all three of us, it would be too much of a loss—so it would be best if we could resolve the issue of profit distribution at the conference table."

Yang Hao spoke eloquently, while Fen's lips twitched as she thought: How can this be a lose-lose situation?

Strictly speaking, if Khuttod Khan's army were to enter Roman territory, and the United Nations and Issugard were to launch an attack on Khuttod Khan's army under such circumstances, the Khuttod Khanate would suffer the greatest damage.

Geographically, their northern logistical supplies and reinforcements had to pass through the rhomboid fortress of the United Nations located in the pastures. Militarily, after entering Roman territory, the Huttok Khan's army was effectively surrounded by the United Nations, Issugard, and the Roman Empire—three major powers simultaneously.

They didn't carry much supplies, didn't occupy any cities initially, had a large army, and after the drought in the Roman Empire ended, not many areas had been cultivated. Even if they had, they were probably trampled clean by the rebels and the undead. In the end, these nomads would have to beg us to sell them some supplies.

Of course, it's not impossible that they might plunder the United Nations and the territory occupied by Ysugard—but the problem is that the barbarians live in a true age of cold weapons.

Raiding the United Nations would mean his own rear would explode and he would suffer enormous losses. Raiding Issugard, on the other hand, would simultaneously provoke an uprising from the United Nations... In this situation, Khutot Khan seems to have countless choices, but in reality, the only option left for him is to gradually become the United Nations' lapdog...

All I can say is that Yang Hao is truly ruthless. Even the elves wouldn't go this far, so why is he so audacious? Didn't they agree to treat each other as allies?

Finn's lips twitched, and just then, she suddenly heard the nun's voice in her ear:

(Because that's just how he is. Everything he does is for us.)

How did your voice get through to me?

Finn frowned, then relaxed after realizing that the nun might be using divine magic to protect the area.

(In short, I'll use divine magic to ensure your [safety] at all times, and incidentally, detect whether this Khan is telling the truth, since it was planned yesterday... Of course, I'll also help Yang Hao record everything related to this meeting. Sigh, just thinking about how diligently I've worked and [Light] is still asleep makes me angry... Never mind. I won't bother you for now. Don't show too much emotion, that's all.)