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

“Um…? Your Majesty? My name is Siren. I am a professional engineer from Isgard—but apart from me, the other Sirens who came with me are just ordinary children. They haven’t fully completed their engineering studies yet, so it would be better if you didn’t place us on too high a position.”

"...I haven't asked anything yet? But never mind. Miss Kino, you are very self-aware, which will make the Sirens' work go more smoothly—of course, I swear by my name that I will not force the Sirens to do work they don't like. But I hope that after the Sirens immigrate here, they will try their best to abide by our laws."

"Of course~ But Your Majesty, may I ask what your name is?"

"Yang Hao".

Communicating with the self-aware siren made Yang Hao feel quite comfortable. After stating his name to her, the rest of the work actually had little to do with this little siren.

After all, this is a diplomatic period between the two nations. At Black Dragon's reminder, the United Nations stated they would honor their promise and deliver what Ysugard needed. However, if Black Dragon hoped for deeper trade, Ysugard would need to demonstrate even greater sincerity.

Considering that the Romans are not afraid of guns or people, but are afraid of enormous dragons and gods, Yang Hao hoped that Nia could spare some time from April 17th to April 30th to remain in Constantinople on standby, ready to be dispatched by the United Nations at any time. After some thought, Nia agreed to Yang Hao's request, but the question was, what conditions could Yang Hao offer?

"More trade incentives, in addition..."

"Your Majesty Yang Hao, considering how much I've done for you, can you give me a definite answer? The Kingdom of Eden will definitely install a large number of artificial magic reactors for the United Nations in the future... When those artificial magic reactors are decommissioned, can you give us, Isgard, priority in handling them?"

"That's..."

Chirp, chirp, chirp.

Their discussions were incredibly efficient, something Kino had never witnessed before—after all, even in President Issugard's court, when it came to important matters, the councilors' efficiency in deliberations was shockingly low.

Kino couldn't comment on whether the parliamentary system led by the President was better or worse than the current dictatorship of the United Nations, but at least everyone liked efficient negotiations. Therefore, when Lady Nia and His Majesty Yang Hao talked, although they seemed very tense, anxious and constantly in conflict, they would immediately calm down and move on to the next topic after discussing one issue.

In general, Kino, as an engineer, likes this efficient way of communicating—but then again…?

(Why does Lady Nia unconsciously make seductive gestures while wearing such conservative clothes? Wait, does that clothing even work?) Siren muttered to herself. (This kind of movement only works when wearing a figure-hugging, revealing dress...? Wait a minute? Lady Nia? Have you stooped so low as to seduce others?!)

The siren was filled with astonishment: after all, that was Lady Nia!

As one of the best among the Black Dragons, Nia undoubtedly has many suitors within the Isgard kingdom. However, the best attitude Nia ever showed towards them was simply kicking them out—otherwise, she never actively seduced anyone, and even when facing men who were also young stars of Isgard, she never even gave them a second glance...

This is a black dragon that values ​​the development of the country more than its own life and happiness—but now, it seems that this black dragon is actually actively seducing a man because of its own emotional problems?

No, no, no, no... Kino, Kino... perhaps this is just your imagination.

This is merely Lady Nia choosing to seduce others for the sake of the country. It's impossible that Lady Nia truly harbored such thoughts, is it?

Seeing the Black Dragon pressing Yang Hao for more bargaining chips, and then looking at Lady Nia's seemingly smiling but actually stern expression... Kino finally concluded that Lady Nia must have no choice but to do this for the sake of Ysugard!

Poor Lady Nia, you have sacrificed so much for this country...

Kino was somewhat moved.

The black dragon, who was striving to gain favorable conditions for Isgard, subconsciously shuddered, feeling as if someone was inexplicably eyeing him, which was strange.

(It couldn't possibly be that Margarita got into trouble in Isgard...) The Black Dragon sighed, looking at Emperor Yang Hao, who had already agreed to the other conditions but still refused to let go of the question of how to deal with the [artificial magic reactor after its decommissioning], she gritted her teeth and decided to press on:

"Your Majesty Yang Hao, what exactly do you need to do to get you to agree to this being a win-win situation for both of us?"

If all else fails, Nia can still use some trump cards... After all, the sirens have come, so she has more room to maneuver, right?

To Nia's further disappointment, His Majesty Yang Hao once again flatly refused on this matter:

“That belongs to the Kingdom of Eden, and strictly speaking, we have no right to deal with it—perhaps you'll have to talk to Elena in person?”

"...Alright then."

Black Dragon sighed heavily. Having confirmed that he would be on standby awaiting orders starting April 17th, and that Ysgard would receive more support, the meeting was tentatively scheduled.

Then, under Finn's magic, Yang Hao and the others left the observation deck. Watching them depart under the power of magic, the Siren finally spoke, remarking with a sigh:

"Wow, magic can be used like this in places with abundant magic... I'm so envious. After all, magic is so scarce in most parts of the continent of Orros that you can only cast a few fireballs at most before it's over."

"That's why I wanted to get my hands on that reactor...sigh."

Nia sighed, patted her junior's head, and said she had to go back and settle the other Sirens.

...........

After concluding negotiations with the Black Dragon, the first thing Yang Hao and his group did upon returning to Constantinople was to meet with Theresa to determine the next military action and to advance their southward plans.

Upon receiving the news, Theresa quickly and efficiently completed all her tasks—after all, this concerned the life and death of [Light], and she couldn't help but be anxious. Especially considering that this might further weaken the God of Light, or even allow her to [kill] him, Theresa became increasingly agitated.

Once a monarch becomes impatient and reckless, it is not a good thing for his people. So after comforting the little nun for more than half an hour, Yang Hao tapped the table and said that they must ensure the normal development of the country before sending a small force across the Roman Empire's border, which was now practically non-existent, and then engage in a decisive war with the fanatical army after arriving in the territory of Shkur.

"We must break their morale in the first round of fighting and drive them toward the central region... I don't want the forests of Shkur and Kagard to remain teeming with bandits after they become our territory."

At the same time, we cannot allow this military action to bring our domestic development to a standstill. We must ensure that our society and industry continue to develop as planned...

Therefore, how to conduct strategic planning and how to strike a balance between war and development will become our top priority.

War is the period when technology develops most rapidly. However, Yang Hao doesn't need much war technology right now, because the United Nations' war technology is already far ahead of his own. The United Nations now needs more advanced industrial technology to ensure a solid foundation for future development. And these technologies can only be researched during peacetime.

To use a simple example, during exams, students cram for the exams by memorizing the answers to key questions, but these answers, written directly from memory without in-depth understanding, have no meaning outside of the exam itself.

To truly master this knowledge, cramming at the last minute is impossible. Students need dedicated and attentive learning...

Applying this to the United Nations, war might improve their skills in killing, but it won't make them better at building their own homes. However, improvements in home-building technology could allow them to advance their war efforts further in the future...

Therefore, deciding on the personnel allocation is a good question—especially considering that Theresa must be present to activate the church's mechanisms after the battle...

The size of the army should ideally not exceed 2000 people. This is the maximum number that can be used to minimize the impact on domestic development—but how else can it be arranged beyond that?

"Would it be alright to use golems?" The Ling Clan Chief tilted his head and offered his suggestion first: "After all, golems... even golems made of stone and earth can pose a deadly threat to ordinary militiamen and fanatics... so using golems is feasible, right?"

“Golems are definitely useful. But we can’t divert too many golems from the country – firstly, it would take too much time for golems to walk there, and secondly, we need to use our golems for development in the country.”

"Let my kids make the cheapest golems on the spot?"

“Of course we can—but Naruja, we can’t bring too many Ling people with us. You know how big the shortage of Ling people is right now, don’t you?”

Yang Hao's wry smile made the Ling Clan Chief tilt his head helplessly.

After all, the United Nations is currently facing a severe shortage of manpower. In addition to the general lack of manpower, the shortage of the Listening Clan is the most significant of all the shortages.

After all, golems cannot create golems themselves; only the Listeners can. Therefore, the Listeners must produce both military and civilian golems, and even research more advanced golems...

It can be said that apart from Naruja, there are almost no Ling people who can be freely transferred from their positions—under such circumstances, it is even less likely that Yang Hao would bring the Ling people to the territory of Shikuer just to create a bunch of cheap stone golems.

So, what should we do after Naruja's suggestion doesn't work out?

Everyone looked at each other, and finally Fen raised her hand and said, "Perhaps this time we should be a little more 'traditional'?"

"Besides archers, Yang Hao, have you forgotten that our elves' magic can also be very useful?"

The archmage of the elves has been doing very little work other than teleportation lately.

Bored out of their minds, they began experimenting with crafting new staves from guns—in this context, it seemed like a good idea to let the elven archmages stretch their muscles and teach the peasants a lesson with magic.

Yang Hao thought it made sense. With the magic storage device, the local magic limit should be enough to support the mages in casting a few forbidden spells... But then again?

"We're planning to build a new [Elf Forest] in the Shkur and Kagard territories... Finn, are you sure we can officially start construction this year if we overdraw the local magic power in advance?"

Faced with Yang Hao's question, Fen remained silent for a long time before shaking her head:

"It won't work. Even with magic storage devices, it won't be enough—the main problem is that the mages' spells might severely damage the terrain... just like during the previous parish war. Unless we only cast forbidden spells like [Rain of Life], our magic will always cause drastic changes to the terrain."

"If the changes in terrain don't affect the church, then the construction of the Elf Forest won't be negatively impacted?"

"I can only say—it's hard to guarantee. After all, Yang Hao, you've been in Gaparia for so long, you should have noticed that the Elf Forest is a completely flat forest, right? Although this is partly because the oak trees themselves have the ability to modify the terrain, the location where the Elf Forest is built should ideally be surrounded by a flat plain..."

The awkward part is that elven mages can't just cast forbidden spells—Yang Hao meant that if they hadn't planned to build an elven forest in the Shkur Territory in the first place, then it wouldn't matter if the elves turned the land upside down.

The problem lies in Yang Hao's development plan, which stipulates that the mines in the Shkul Territory will be mined using the Oak Mine. And the establishment of the Oak Mine requires the radiation of the Elf Forest.

That's how things got stuck—

To put it simply, the forbidden spells cast by the elven mages are like "Hua O Shi" (a type of magic spell), while Yang Hao and his group's plan is like "going to work".

If you don't need to go out all day and can stay home and enjoy life, then it doesn't really matter how much Wao Shi you eat or how many times you go to the toilet.

But if you have to go to work at some point in the future... then before you take Wao Shi, you should consider whether you might start experiencing stomach pain on your way to work...

In the current situation, if the elven mages use forbidden magic to deal with the fanatics, it will almost certainly cause serious damage to the terrain. If Yang Hao wants to build the Elven Forest, he'll have to find a way to reshape the terrain into plains, which would be counterproductive.

However, if the elves don't use forbidden techniques to defeat the enemy, then conversely, it's very likely that they will enter a rather disgusting tug-of-war phase, and it's even possible that tens of thousands of people will just run around and cause chaos in the nearby forest.

Those fanatics, while they may seem like a threat, aren't actually that much of a threat.

But while you can say they're negligible, they're like those giant cockroaches from the south that suddenly appear in the toilet when you're using it—you want to ignore them, but their striking presence draws all your attention...

Although Yang Hao knew his idea might not be very realistic, to be honest, was there really no way for us to completely eliminate these cockroaches while ensuring that the terrain would not be severely damaged?

"Aren't our machine guns pretty good?" The little nun in Yang Hao's arms pouted. "Why don't we just use the machine guns to take them out?"

“Machine guns are useful, and we will use them. We don’t deny the advantages of machine guns... but even with machine guns and mounted artillery, we still lack weapons of mass destruction—research on these weapons is still ongoing, and until then, our efficiency in killing fanatic armies is destined to be relatively slow.”

"Still slow?! Honestly, since the invention of firearms, the number of people killed by firearms in just a few years has already exceeded the total number of people killed by swords, bows, and crossbows in the previous hundreds of years, right?"

"But it is indeed very slow—no... perhaps... we can think of a way to help Joseph..."

Suddenly, Yang Hao had an idea.

The United Nations currently lacks weapons of mass destruction, and Dr. Joseph has actually developed a costly prototype.

Although the kill radius is only about 100 meters, if the yield could be increased to spread the blast radius to nearly 1,000 meters, that would actually be pretty good.

Yang Hao doesn't need weapons of mass destruction capable of killing all life within a kilometer; he only needs weapons that can injure everyone within a kilometer radius!

After all, compared to the dead, the wounded who are unable to fight are undoubtedly a greater burden. The dead can simply be buried in a pit, but the wounded need manpower and medical care, and their unbearable pain will cause them to wail and damage morale. More importantly, this means that even if they escape from the battlefield wounded, they will not live long and will die miserably from infection.

Even the most elite troops would suffer heavy casualties from weapons of mass destruction, let alone a peasant army unprepared for medical supplies. In such a situation, even if some of the bandits who survived the bombardment and fled into the forests, they would have no access to medicine to treat themselves...

Untreated wounds are the most likely to become infected. In resource-scarce wilderness environments, once symptoms of wound infection appear, death is often just a step away.

In this way, Yang Hao could not only defeat the enemy on the battlefield, but even if a large number of wounded soldiers fled to the surrounding forests after the battle, they would eventually die from infected wounds. The only price to achieve this was to give Dr. Joseph a large sum of money to expedite the development of the new product, while simultaneously keeping the logistics elves busy for a while...

...This was a good deal. But then again...

Why should we torture our own logistics instead of ruining other people's logistics?

Yang Hao recalled the powerful magical technology of the Kingdom of Eden—yes, the Edenians possessed advanced industrial technology. Those things that were torture for the elves might be as easy as children's toys for the Edenians to manufacture... Why don't we try to get the Edenians to produce weapons for us instead of foolishly doing it ourselves?

Especially with Elena coming to visit tomorrow... couldn't we talk to Elena and tentatively let the Edenians try to develop a prototype? Anyway, it's a done deal that Eden will become a core ally of the United Nations, so letting them learn about some of the designs of new ground weapons shouldn't be a big deal, right?

(While we still need to ensure the critical enchantments are secure... but if we're just having them produce the appearance, that should be fine, right?)

Yang Hao fell into deep thought. The three girls looked at him, their faces alternating between green and red, unsure of what to do.

Chapter 8: Asking for a date in front of both empresses! -8K

4 month 15 day.

The day that the Kingdom of Eden had arranged to visit the United Kingdom.