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

"It is perfectly normal to abandon personal grudges and hostility in the face of evil."

He stopped talking.

Meanwhile, Elena, having been escorted back to the library by the black dragon, thanked him for his help. However, she also received advice from others, including the magical dolls, that she needed to change into more appropriate attire. They had heard that the King of the United Kingdom was coming.

"Question: While etiquette is important, is it really necessary to do this now?"

"Of course! We need to at least fix the damaged parts of your body! Come on, we'll give you an emergency maintenance check-up, don't worry..."

The citizens of Eden escorted their "daughter" away from here.

Meanwhile, the black dragon, who was inexplicably allowed to move freely within the library, set its greedy gaze on the empty bookshelves.

There are books here, and her goal, naturally, is those books that contain countless pieces of knowledge...

Hopefully, I can find what I'm looking for.

Chapter Four:

When Yang Hao arrived with his guards, the advance team had already secured the area—but even so, the commander still advised Yang Hao not to go to any places that were obviously problematic.

"After all, the demons here are a new breed, and we don't have the ability to identify them one by one... Your Majesty, please be careful and do not leave the protection of Her Majesty Fen and the elves."

"Hmm. Let's get back to work, Commander—ensure the safety of this area, because barring any unforeseen circumstances, this floating continent will become a battleground. So, where are they?"

"here."

The commander pointed out the direction to Yang Hao, and Yang Hao looked in the direction he was pointing and found that it was a being that looked like a robot in his mind.

They have human limbs, but the outer layer of their bodies appears to have been deliberately simplified to suit the needs of war. They have facial features, but unlike the finely sculpted structure, these features appear very rough.

Yang Hao felt that this was a remarkable book with an outline that could contain millions of words, but its writing style resembled a kindergarten child's random scribbling—though considering the situation on site, that made sense.

After all, this was a group of ambitious individuals, much like Constantinople at the time, fighting against evil alone. Given the lack of additional resources, reducing the output of useless parts was perfectly normal.

Moreover, the other side possesses technology far more advanced than that of the United Nations... This technology, which looks like a "robot," and the magic emanating from the rubble on the ground are enough to prove the empire's previous strength.

If we could acquire their technology... that would be even better.

Yang Hao nodded and then led Fen and a group of guards to the envoy.

The envoy had noticed Yang Hao and his companions long ago. After a quick and polite greeting and introduction, Yang Hao learned their names—they were from the Kingdom of Eden on the Cloud Continent, a powerful nation with advanced magic and technology.

“Your Majesty, please come with us—our current leader will meet with you. But she was wounded in the previous battle, so we need to perform some basic care on her to ensure her safety,” the Edenian explained, gesturing for the way. “If there are no problems, please follow behind us—after all, we are running out of time. Although the demons have annihilated one of their forces, as long as the [Mother] is not dealt with, this war will continue indefinitely.”

“I know. Please lead the way—but I have a question. Are all of you...like this?”

"You mean... huh? I understand what you're saying. Not everyone is like this, but most people have become like us—after all, a mechanical body is always better than flesh and blood, at least in combat."

The Edenian explained, and under Finn's strange gaze, began to lead the way.

Yang Hao and his guards followed closely behind, and it was at this moment that Fen whispered in Yang Hao's ear that the magic here was "abnormally" strong.

According to her, if the magic of the Elf Forest is like lake water that has accumulated under normal circumstances, then the magic here is like an artificially filled ocean—she wasn't quite sure how the Edenites did it, but she could sense something unnatural about the magic here, and it formed a fragmented network in the sky above the entire continent.

If this network were complete, Finn would probably immediately conclude that it is a completely artificial creation—but it is so fragmented that Finn can only conclude that it may be the core secret of the Kingdom of Eden, nothing more.

"I know, I'll be careful," Yang Hao whispered to the somewhat anxious Fen. "But I hope you can calm down—after all, there are always people more capable than you, and we don't need to be so anxious, right?"

"...You're right. But for a race like ours with an affinity for magic, seeing such abundant magic in this place inevitably brings different thoughts—but you're right, good luck. I'll help you."

She nodded. Just as they passed through the ruins of the plaza in front of the building, the Edenian leading the way said that the building ahead was the only remaining "Great Library" of the Kingdom of Eden. It contained all the knowledge and most important technologies of the Kingdom of Eden, and was also their current royal palace.

"Your army was a great help back then. If it weren't for your army and that black dragon lady intervening on the battlefield, we might have already lost... However, this is also related to the fact that the demons have unilaterally evolved special abilities to resist us."

"One-sided evolution?"

"We are like a group of crossbowmen who only know how to shoot, and the demons are like farmers—after being shot by us a few times, they will naturally try to use the materials on the spot to make thick shields to approach us."

But we were just a bunch of crossbowmen, with nothing but crossbow bolts... So they unilaterally held off our counterattack with their shields, thus establishing a strategic advantage. Do you understand what I mean?

"Of course... but as far as I can see, aren't all the parts on your bodies [mechanical]? And aren't they also related to magic?"

Yang Hao's curiosity prompted the Edenian who was leading the way to nod in agreement.

The Edenians explained that their current bodies are [Magical Dolls], and although [Magical Dolls] appear to be mechanical, all their parts are actually made of magical materials—in other words, there is no ordinary metal in their bodies at all.

Their current bodies require magic to function. And it's obvious that bodies powered by magic are vulnerable to demons—the Edenites weren't without ideas of alternatives, but their extravagant pronouncements ultimately stunned Yang Hao and Fen:

"Because we can't find any materials that don't possess magic on the floating island—everything here, including the soil, has [magic]... To use gold and silver as an analogy, we were looking for iron to forge a sword, but the whole room is filled with nothing but gold. We're very frustrated about this... but thankfully you came. We are truly grateful."

"..." Yang Hao and Fen exchanged a glance, both able to see the jealousy in each other's eyes.

"His Majesty?"

"It's nothing. Qing, please continue leading the way." Who flaunts their wealth like this?! Yang Hao almost coughed up the food.

But then he thought that all that gold in the room might eventually be used as a commodity by the Kingdom of Eden for cheap trade with him, and his jealousy subsided.

Soon, guided by the envoy, they finally entered the library. Once inside, Yang Hao and his companions curiously looked around at their surroundings.

They saw countless bookshelves being used as cover. These bookshelves were also made of metal imbued with magic, and in Finn's eyes, there were lines connecting the bookshelves, and some of these lines would eventually connect to a place that resembled what Yang Hao remembered as a "terminal."

There, the seemingly injured Black Dragon was nagging and appearing unusually irritable. Yang Hao waved to the Black Dragon, and the disgruntled dragon obediently followed.

She glanced at the Edenian leading the way, then at the other Edenians cleaning up the demon corpses, and under Finn's displeased gaze, she moved slightly closer to Yang Hao, then muttered a low complaint:

"Everything here requires some kind of... [identity verification] before it can be used. I can't even read a book to pass the time."

I think you're not really planning to read for fun, but rather to bring back some important foundational knowledge books to strengthen Ysgard, right?

Yang Hao saw through Heilong's little scheme, but it's common sense between friends not to expose it—besides, with Heilong paving the way ahead, he could avoid being the first to stick his neck out and get shot if he followed.

So he simply replied with a casual "thank you for your help earlier" before asking the black dragon about his opinion on demons.

"I think they seem quite weak? In my opinion, given my status as a black dragon. They don't seem to be good at dealing with individuals like us who can grow bigger and smaller at any time, just like some women aren't good at—cough cough...please pretend I didn't say anything."

"...In short, do you think demons are easier to deal with for you? What about for Ysgard?"

"They are an enemy that cannot be dealt with. Your Majesty Yang Hao, you know better than I do that the individual and the nation are completely different concepts—I was just lucky to be born a black dragon, and my physical strength is hundreds of times greater than that of ordinary races. For ordinary humans, demons are still terrifying enemies. But for a nation lacking in magic, the ability of demons to evolve resistance to certain types of damage is truly a headache."

"So, Miss Nia, are you planning to purchase more magic storage devices?"

"Personally, I hope Your Majesty Yang Hao can consider how hard I've worked and give us some free quotas. You know, I rescued the Queen of Eden, you know? Could you give me some preferential treatment for that?"

Miss Black Dragon sighed heavily, and after some thought, Yang Hao decided that it wouldn't be impossible to curb Isgard's diplomatic influence in the Kingdom of Eden by offering her some benefits...

Let Miss Black Dragon be busy handling the matter of transporting a large number of magical transport equipment back to the country. This way, Ysgard won't have any manpower to deal with important matters concerning the Kingdom of Eden.

After making his decision, Yang Hao nodded, indicating that they would discuss it further when they got back.

Fen looked at Black Dragon with a strange expression, realizing that Black Dragon didn't actually need these material benefits, but rather seemed to want a closer relationship with Yang Hao to plot further.

She poked Yang Hao in the lower back, and after pouting under his puzzled gaze, decided to go back and complain to Theresa later.

......

Led by the messenger, they arrived at a cleared-out reception room inside the library. They were offered only plain, cool boiled water, for which the Edenites expressed their deepest apologies.

"We have no food left on our island for normal humans. After all, we don't need to eat in our current condition... Please forgive our poor hospitality. She will be here soon, please wait a moment."

There were no snacks or delicious drinks, but Yang Hao and the others didn't seem bothered at all. They simply sipped some plain water, glanced around, and then their eyes fell on the bookshelves piled high with books.

The bookshelf was filled with books that appeared to be made of crystal, and the titles of the books could be seen on their spines.

Applications of artificial magic

[Research on the supplementary role of visceral regeneration in surgical medicine and its correlation with human rejection response]

[The possibility of curing cancer cells that have spread through artificial means]

[Research and Possibilities Regarding the Replacement of Original Organs with Artificial Magical Organs]

......

In just a few books, the development direction of the Kingdom of Eden was summarized.

At first, they seemed to believe that real flesh and blood were the true essence of humanity—but perhaps in the face of war or disease, they gradually came to think that [flesh and blood were too fragile], so the vast majority of their research shifted to [mechanical limbs].

In the end, almost all the books Yang Hao could find were in the category of mechanical research.

From simple mechanical prosthetics to sophisticated mechanical internal organs, then to more efficient and refined bodies that can fully enjoy food and even perform normal human sexual activities, and now to specialized combat bodies known as "wartime control," the Edenians have gone higher and higher on the path of mechanical ascension, and they have become increasingly reliant on energy technology called "artificial magic."

Just as over 9% of industries on Earth today rely on electricity, artificial magic is the most basic form of electricity for the Edenites. They cannot live without electricity, and Yang Hao plans to allow the United Nations to also benefit from it, provided it is feasible.

After all, having electricity is better than not having it. With mature technologies readily available for development, only a fool would consider starting from scratch.

He was already thinking about reading some books to broaden his mind before the queen appeared. But just then, Theresa's voice appeared in his mind.

This was the sound she made when using divine magic—before Yang Hao could ask her what had happened, the little nun spoke first:

"I have already used divine magic to explain to the inhabitants of the entire United Kingdom the situation regarding the [Floating Continent] and that we have handled it safely. You don't need to worry about the situation in the country now."

But Yang Hao, the Khan of Khuttod, and the Roman Empire were clearly very concerned about what was happening here. Aside from the Roman Empire being unable to send troops to investigate, the Khan and the Issugard colonial army both seemed to be considering sending people north. They hadn't even dealt with the undead people in front of them... so what should we do?

After pondering for a while, ignoring Theresa's exasperated words, "You can forget about a peaceful resolution now that things have come to this," Yang Hao silently devised his plan in his mind: to have a portion of the army secure the southern passage to the ranch.

On one hand, if the Khan and Isjugard's army wanted to head north to investigate, they would have to pass through that passage. On the other hand, Yang Hao also wanted to demonstrate his stance.

If you want to come and investigate, you can—but you can't send troops. You have to politely ask for our permission first.

Since Miss Black Dragon had already arrived, Isgard only needed to wait for her to transmit information to satisfy some of their curiosity. As for Khan, he was the one Yang Hao needed to strongly dissuade.

As for the Roman Empire?

With even the parishes now under attack by the undead, does the Roman Empire really have the resources to focus on matters in the north? Impossible.

Yang Hao nodded slightly, and Theresa, who was far away in Constantinople, simply said, "I will do it," after learning about Yang Hao's idea.

She hung up the call. And just then, accompanied by the sound of light footsteps, the Queen of Eden arrived, surrounded by the people of Eden.

It was a girl with white hair and red eyes—Yang Hao subconsciously admired her artificial beauty, but he soon noticed the sense of disharmony emanating from her.

Compared to the Eden Magical Doll, which still possesses a human quality, this girl gives off the feeling of being completely mechanical.

Her face was perfect, and her manner of walking was so precise and perfect that it was beyond human capabilities. The distance between her feet was consistent with every step she took, but more importantly, there was not a trace of human emotion in her eyes when she looked at herself. It was more like a computer webcam performing facial recognition verification, filled with a sense of scrutiny and efficiency.

This is an individual completely different from the Eden Magical Doll—Yang Hao came to this conclusion, sitting upright as he watched the girl sit down at the table opposite him with perfect elegance.

"Thank you. Your arrival has brought immense morale and assistance to the last citizens of Eden." The girl expressed her gratitude to Yang Hao in a unique way—though she seemed to have no gratitude in mind, and her voice sounded as cold as a machine, she stated it in a formulaic manner, as if stating an objective thank you. "Question. You seem to have a great deal of curiosity about me? But before dealing with the demon, Eden is not capable of answering your questions."

“I understand. My name is Yang Hao, so could you tell me your name first?”

"...My apologies. I am [Synthetic Doll Elena]. I am the current de facto ruler of Eden. Please forgive my previous rudeness. But this is my first time engaging in diplomatic activities."

"...No need to apologize. Rather, may I ask a question?"