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

"Yes."

The messenger nodded and then left with the new orders.

Under General Dreschka's two-pronged approach, the spread of the "doomsday prophecy" was contained in less than a morning. Outside of General Dreschka's actual control, soldiers maintained order as much as possible even without his orders. This was both General Dreschka's good fortune and the best result of his consistent emphasis on military discipline.

Although they didn't have many weapons, they were certainly a competent army, at least in terms of discipline.

General Dreschka remained vigilant. He knew that just because he handled things well on his end didn't mean things would go well elsewhere.

So his third move came down:

"If any refugees or nobles from other places expect us to take over their cities, we should refuse them all," he said solemnly. "We're already exhausted just dealing with our own territories... Those bastards only hope for someone else to save them when things are completely out of control, but why should we give in to their wishes? Leave them alone, guard the city gates strictly, and execute anyone who throws a tantrum. Anyway, Prince Garsen isn't doing anything right now, and he might be even happier if a few more nobles die. That's it."

General Dreschka worried that nobles from other places would demand that he accept their cities at this time. He naturally decided to refuse, because as a Roman, he knew better than anyone just how bad Roman nobles could be.

Roman nobles viewed their lands as their own homes. Under what circumstances would Roman nobles allow an outsider like Dreschuka to control their homes?

That was naturally when the house was about to collapse—they themselves were no longer able to repair their own houses, so they had no choice but to gamble on General Dreschka's abilities.

But General Dreschka wasn't that foolish. He wasn't a regent, and he had no intention of making all Romans better—because many Romans simply didn't deserve to be better.

His task was to maintain strict control and execute everyone who tried to enter from the outside... Just as a city clean inside during a plague would prevent those infected from entering, he had to ensure that the city, already under public control, would be protected from external contamination...

...But how long can this last? Given the current severe shortage of human resources, is General Deshka's only option to further intensify efforts and offer even more generous incentives to encourage enlistment?

He frowned, and finally let out a heavy sigh.

...........

While General Dreschka was overwhelmed with work, outside the military region, chaos and despair, guided by the "Doomsday Prophecy," delivered the most devastating blows to other cities of the Roman Empire.

If towns elsewhere could barely maintain order before the floating continent descended from the sky, then after its appearance and subsequent crash, despair inevitably began to emerge and spread at an unbelievable speed under the guidance of those with ulterior motives.

"This is God's punishment for us!"

A priest wept in despair, holding the holy book of the God of Light in his hand. He appeared to be a religious figure from the north, and the fact that he had not been killed on the spot during the chaos of the coming of the living dead was proof of his high prestige in the region.

But precisely because of this, when a person with high prestige among the people begins to express despair, then for the people of this place, their remaining weak doubts, besides blind obedience, will appear too powerless in the face of this sea of ​​despair.

"The God of Light has decided to bring divine punishment upon each and every one of us! The living dead are the devout believers chosen by the God of Light, because only by entering the state of the living dead in advance can we avoid the fate of falling into hell... It's too late! It's all too late! We should have opened the city gates and become one of them back then, but now it's all too late!"

"It's too late! It's all too late!"

The believers and desperate citizens wailed, while the town guards who tried to enter to maintain order were blocked from advancing or retreating. They attempted to carve a bloody path with their swords to capture and hang the raving scoundrel, but they were quickly scattered by the desperate citizens.

The dozen or so capable guards proved far too weak in the face of hundreds of desperate and frenzied citizens. They were shoved to the ground and trampled to death, while the frenzied citizens, in their desperation, spread chaos and terror around them.

If I have a grudge against someone, I'll just kill them in the street—after all, everyone is going to die when the apocalypse comes, so why can't they die more quickly in my hands?

The woman I once loved, I can now grab and drag away for my own pleasure. After all, everyone will die when the apocalypse comes, so why can't I make an effort in this time, at least to enjoy some happy days before I die?

Even worse, some people think that those who are still maintaining order at this moment are the crazy ones—after all, everyone is about to die, and if you are not crazy, who is?

Thus, the chaos that initially engulfed a few hundred people quickly escalated into despair among thousands, even tens of thousands. The nobles' previous inaction only exacerbated the collapse of order. By the time they finally realized the gravity of the situation, it was too late for them to do anything.

Faced with a group of madmen who had gone mad, raping and killing people in the street and even starting to eat people in the street, these pampered nobles had no choice but to leave their fiefdoms under the protection of their family guards and place their hopes on the military district where General Dreschka was located, or the royal capital where Prince Garsen was located.

Those heading to the military region were quickly stopped at the border, unable to move forward or backward. The soldiers in the military region had already received word and had hastily erected low walls using wood and rammed earth in various locations. They held firm at the few remaining passages and fired crossbows at anyone who approached.

"Cease fire! Cease fire!" the nobles wailed. "We are nobles from the Central District! You fucking stop fire! We have urgent orders to give to General Dreschka! You can't stop us, you can't stop us!"

They were met with a barrage of thick javelins and live ammunition. After watching helplessly as their fellow nobles and their guards were pierced through the heart or smashed to pieces, the nobles could only flee in panic. Some tried to enter the military district from other places, while others turned back to look for Prince Garsen. Some even planned to return to their mansions deep in the mountains to spend the next few days and nights in fear.

The military successfully stopped the nobles' attack, but they had no room to relax. Shortly after the nobles left, a request arrived from the people.

They were a group of citizens who claimed to have finally escaped from the chaotic city. They were trying their best to maintain order, but a bunch of lunatics had made a mess of their city. Instead of directly attacking the military district's border, they waved a white flag and sent representatives hoping to negotiate with the military district's border garrison.

Seeing that they still possessed some rationality, the garrison, recognizing them as potential negotiators, accepted them into the camp. After personally assessing the demeanor of the fugitives and obtaining General Dreschka's consent through long-distance communication magic, the border garrison allowed this group of still orderly residents to enter the military area.

"But you cannot leave the area we have designated for you within seven days! You must earn your own food through labor, and you must not spread rumors about other places, otherwise you will be executed immediately, understand?!"

The soldiers' stern demeanor elicited nods of approval from the citizens. They were the last and only citizens granted permission to enter the military zone, because those heading towards the zone's border would either be a group of shirtless lunatics biting human flesh, or a group of crazed freaks clearly harboring ulterior motives.

The soldiers were on high alert, but the chaos was even more terrifying in the capital region outside the military area.

The capital city had already been sealed off when the undead appeared. Normally, order in the sealed-off capital was maintained by the Imperial Knights and guards, but the Imperial Knights and guards suffered heavy losses in the previous attack. Even though recruitment is underway, the soldiers directly under the command of the Alessars are still struggling to be replenished due to the Alessars' deliberate influence.

With fewer and fewer soldiers maintaining order, it naturally becomes more difficult to calm the people's hearts when chaos breaks out in the city. Not to mention, besides Prince Garsen, who has completely stopped doing his job, there is another demon stirring up trouble in the capital.

Under the illusion of world peace deliberately created by the devil, Prince Garsen was enjoying delicious grapes while receiving a massage from his head maid.

Outside the palace, the already tense citizens, driven even more mad by the [doomsday prophecy], desperately tried to escape the sealed-off city. They attempted to fight the Imperial Knights and Guards, but realizing they were no match for these iron canisters, they turned their attacks on the remaining citizens who maintained order.

The imperial knights and guards were exhausted and outnumbered, unable to cover every corner of the capital. Desperate cries of women and beast-like horns echoed from every corner of the capital's slums and lower city. When the guards finally arrived at the scene, all they saw were mangled corpses and a monster writhing, clutching its remaining lower body.

If humans who display such terrifying expressions can still be called "humans," then everything ugly in this world is more human than the Romans—in fact, the guards killed every criminal they could, but chaos was still inevitably spreading.

They began to tighten their defenses, guiding the still-orderly citizens to the main avenue and square in front of the palace for refuge. They tried to grant these citizens permission to enter the palace for refuge, but the Alessands used their air rifles to tell them: you can guard the outside, but Prince Gassen has not given them the authority to let any outsiders into the palace area.

"Let them in! They are citizens of the Empire!" The Imperial knights were so angry their beards stood on end. "This is our territory!"

“But we are acting on the orders of Prince Garsen, so you have no right to issue warnings to us based on our place of affiliation.”

The Aresians, not to be outdone, positioned themselves high above freezing and placed the Imperial Knight's head on their sights:

“I will ask Prince Garsen for his opinion, but if he is unwilling, then you will either have to come back on your own or maintain order outside—there are nearly a million people in chaos outside! How many of you are there? Instead of wasting your forces outside, you should come in and strengthen the palace's defenses!”

The Alessars actually hoped that the Imperial Knights and Guards would quickly abandon the troublemakers outside and then enter the palace area to ensure that every corner was guarded and stationed.

Given the current chaos, having more soldiers is always a good thing. Besides, at least you can ensure you have enough food in the palace area. What's the point of you protecting those civilians who are destined to die in the chaos outside?

But those Imperial Knights and Guards, whether they were out of their minds or what, preferred to try to establish an order zone outside without any food supplies rather than return to the palace area to continue their work.

This gave the Allese commander a major headache. It also made the Allese consider, for the first time, taking Prince Garsen with them and leaving the country as soon as possible.

The reason was simple: the country was becoming increasingly chaotic. The Aleserans strongly suspected that the country would perish in despair in a few months, at which point there would be no point in them staying in the Roman capital—after all, if the Roman Empire was truly destined to die, it would be better to wait until it was dead and then scavenge its carcass than to die together now, wouldn't it?

But they had to wait for the emperor's orders. Without the emperor's permission, they couldn't possibly lay a hand on Prince Gassen, who lived a life of luxury in the palace...

This is truly bizarre!

"Damn it! How long can our ammunition supply last in this intense fighting?" Commander Alesser cursed. "And what's the condition of our guns?"

"We can hold out for at most two weeks. As for the condition of the guns... some supplies have arrived so it's okay so far, but it's hard to say what will happen next."

"...Then we must first defend using the weapons in the Roman armory. Avoid using air rifles if possible—distribute the remaining weapons from the armory immediately. Who the hell could have imagined that the Roman Empire would drag us down with them before it dies? Sigh!"

Commander Alesser sighed as he prepared for the tough battle to come. Meanwhile, as the situation in the capital grew increasingly chaotic, Prince Garsen's attendant walked towards the kitchen, smiling as he admired the spoils brought by the other [Demon Missionaries], while pondering his next move.

Not long ago, by using the magical remnants from the eastern mines, the demon servants successfully created several "missing persons" in the palace and transformed them into modern demons with missionary abilities.

In the mindset of the demon servants, if future demons still prefer to win on the battlefield with brute force and special abilities, just like primitive humans did in the past, then it is difficult to guarantee that when this demonic calamity occurs, the demons will be able to conquer this world and transform it into a demon world.

He believed that demons should also keep up with the times. After years of exposure to the human world, he came to believe that humans didn't necessarily have to be eliminated or devoured through violence. Demons and humans could achieve a mutually beneficial symbiotic relationship—of course, all mutual benefit referred to demons, not humans.

"We could have created even more despair by inducing corruption and chaos among humanity, just like we are now... Once that despair reaches a certain level, naturally, these human nations that might be able to stop the Great Rift's advance will be powerless to withstand our massive attack..."

In this situation, the demons can achieve more with fewer casualties—which is much more effective than relying solely on brute force as before.

Furthermore, if we could cultivate demon followers among humans and allow them to grow to a certain point, we could even coordinate an attack from within and without, ultimately turning those demon followers into our prey... Right? Why didn't we do that before? Thinking about it carefully, it seems only I, a high-ranking demon, possess experience surviving among humans... Indeed, wisdom is always more practical than brute force.

The demon servant murmured.

He has been working to improve his intellectual abilities during this period. As a result, his physical strength has become increasingly weak.

If he used to be able to easily flap his wings and fly high into the sky, now he needs to exert a lot of effort to barely fly to the same altitude he used to be able to do so, and then glide.

But what use is former strength compared to present wisdom? The servant thought to himself, isn't he more real and more useful now than before?

Indeed, brute force cannot determine victory or defeat... After all these years, the demons should know that only wisdom can make things better, right?

That's how it is...

"I can't do without the strength of my northern kinsmen."

The demon servant murmured. In a world where greater intelligence often equates to weaker physical strength, he fully understood the importance and efficiency of the theoretical division of labor in human society—if he were to become the intellectual mastermind among demons, he would inevitably need a strong and capable arm to execute his plans...

The Ice Calamity was in his arms—although the aura of kin emanating from the floating continent earlier had puzzled the demon servant, he ultimately chose to focus his attention on the Ice Calamity.

After all, that was an ancient Titan demon... With him, it would be just around the corner for demons to conquer the entire continent of Elusia before the demonic calamity descends.

"How should I approach the Ice Calamity? That's a good question. And he's hungry... eating a few people still won't fill his stomach, just like a human can't be satisfied with a few drops of fruit when hungry... I need to prepare enough food before meeting him. That way, we can avoid damaging our relationship and still get him to work for me..."

The demon servant muttered to himself as he entered the kitchen and began preparing desserts for Prince Garsen.

Prince Garsen's corruption is progressing very smoothly. But the demon servant decides to go all out—after all, given the current situation, even if Prince Garsen is corrupted, he can only become a weak demon... Rather than letting him waste resources later, it's better to find a way to make him stronger first...

He got busy. And while the demon servant was busy, in the Great Library of the floating continent of Eden, the negotiations between Yang Hao and Elena were also coming to an end.

Through the exchange of intelligence, Yang Hao learned about the three problems that the floating continent needed to address.

Of the three questions, the demon occupies two; the remaining one is the foundation for resolving the demon issue.

"So... Eden needs to restart the artificial magic reactor before it can help us in the upcoming battle, right?"

When the term "artificial magic reactor" appeared, the black dragon beside Yang Hao couldn't help but gleam with a bright green light in its eyes. Yang Hao also understood the strategic value of this thing that could create magic out of thin air, and he was determined to obtain it, absolutely not giving Isgard any chance to escape from its magic-poor state.

When asked by Yang Hao, Elena simply nodded:

"Confirmed. Eden needs artificial magic to accomplish many things. For example, the production of magical dolls, and the downloading of weapons. Most importantly, only with artificial magic can we launch a fatal attack on the Demon Mother and charge the [Colossus] weapon."

"Colossus weapon?"

"Explanation. This is a weapon designed by Eden to counter the possibility of the surface being overrun by demons. In theory, a fully charged [Colossus] could easily destroy the surface and burn all elements to ashes—currently, our technology can only make them into single-target weapons that pose a lethal threat to a single Titan demon."

"...I understand. So, besides the Demon Mother, what is the problem with the other demon?"

Yang Hao's doubts left Elena speechless for a long time.

Then, as the panoramic view of the continent of Elusia on the conference table changed, everyone saw that the center of the map had been shifted to what appeared to be a continuously spreading ice sheet in the north:

"Explanation: Before the floating continent crashed, we detected a powerful Titan demon awakening on the surface. It was this demon's awakening that caused the previously controlled demons to awaken in succession," Elena explained. "Judgment: Therefore, we need to deal with the demons on the floating continent first, and then launch an attack on the Titan demon on the surface. Because it is an extremely powerful individual among the Titan demons, we must eliminate it before it fully [awakens]."

"...The United Nations is willing to go all out on the matter of demons. But Miss Elena, we don't know how to start the artificial magic reactor, nor are we sure if we have the materials you need in our country. What should we do?"

"Question: Isn't starting an artificial magic reactor just a matter of having seawater?"

"...what?"

Yang Hao looked blankly at Elena, who was also tilting her head and looking at him.

Then, Eden, who was standing nearby, coughed twice in a pretentious manner and said that their artificial magic reactor produced artificial magic using seawater.

Chapter Six: Do you have desires for me, Your Majesty Yang Hao? 8K

The artificial magic reactor in the Kingdom of Eden is a powerful device that can produce large amounts of artificial magic, even enough to forcibly transform magic-scarce regions into magic-rich regions.