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

"Chen Shu: I have diplomatic talks with Miss Heilong Nia tomorrow... Will His Majesty Yang Hao come along?"

"That's your battlefield with Ysgard. But if you invite me to sit in, I certainly won't refuse."

"Then, I'll formally invite you to come over... Besides that, how often do you need that [equipment]?"

"By April 17th—our military operation will be swift and effective. Thank you."

"Hmm. Would you like me to provide you with an airship?"

Yang Hao was somewhat bewildered by this sudden transaction involving the synthetic doll.

But soon, the man realized the advantages of the airship in the air, and the various technologies derived from it... Now that Elena was willing to give it to him, he had no choice but to accept it!

How can I refuse a deal between friends?

He happily accepted Elena's gift, and then asked Elena what she wished to receive.

Elena thought about it for a long time, but in the end she didn't say "I hope to know you better".

She simply said that she hoped Yang Hao could come to the Kingdom of Eden after the war ended, to see the fruits of her labor, to see the place where she was born, and finally to discuss important matters concerning the [Cataclysm of Ice] and the [Demon Servant] of the Roman Empire.

But then Elena added that she would be very happy if Yang Hao were willing to come alone as a friend.

"But as the emperor, I certainly have no choice in the matter, you know? Elena, you couldn't possibly come alone, could you?"

"Question: I can do it. But why can't you do it, Mr. Yang Hao?"

"Because I'm just a fragile mortal, you know," Yang Hao said, half-laughing and half-crying. "If I die, this country might collapse... so I have to ensure my safety, understand?"

"Question: Then why don't you consider our magical puppet technology, which could give you the possibility of resurrection even if you die?"

Elena tilted her head and made a suggestion that Yang Hao didn't know how to answer.

He remained silent for a long time, and finally could only laugh awkwardly and say, "Let's see later."

......

Elena's direct date today ended in victory for the synthetic doll.

Natalia and Naruja looked miserable. Anna, still feeling unsatisfied, had forgotten the purpose of bringing her two older sisters along. Yang Hao, meanwhile, stared blankly at Elena's departing figure on the airship and wondered, "Does she really just want a 'friend'?"

maybe.

Looking at the floating ships left behind by the Edenites.

Yang Hao was full of confidence.

Chapter 1: Gunships, Thermobaric Bombs, Traps, and Surveillance Cameras—8K

On April 16th of Imperial Calendar 006, Nia, the Black Dragon of Isgard, borrowed the Purple Palace meeting room in Constantinople, the United Kingdom, to hold talks with Elena of Eden regarding trade between nations.

During this time, Yang Hao, as an invited observer, sat in the corner of the conference room, while Nia, upon seeing Yang Hao enter the conference room as well, revealed a dejected expression that said, "It's all over now."

For no other reason than that, given Elena's apparent interest in Yang Hao, her invitation to him already revealed her stance. Faced with this situation, Black Dragon felt his stomach constantly spasming and convulsing.

She genuinely didn't understand why Isgard, which had clearly become an ally of the United Nations, would be targeted in this way—but then she thought that perhaps it was because Isgard's "covenant" with the United Nations wasn't entirely equal.

After all, Isgard is currently constrained by the colonial army, barely functioning thanks to trade agreements with the United Nations... Under these circumstances, even if His Majesty Yang Hao wanted to offer us preferential treatment, he couldn't foresee a day when such treatment would bring us any benefit...

Ugh!

If a country is weak, is it even subject to selection for the right to receive favors? Indeed, if one wants to have more say or to be respected and treated equally on the international stage, does the key lie in how to improve one's national strength?

The black dragon pondered, the meeting with Elena naturally ending in failure—after all, Eden was indeed far, far away from the continent of Orros. Even if Elena agreed to build an artificial magic reactor for Isgard, given the distance, it would probably take a year and a half before construction could officially begin.

Not to mention that Elena would not agree to hand over the nation's most important assets to a foreign country at will—unless, the United Nations is an exception.

After the frustrating meeting ended, Yang Hao clapped his hands, smiled, and invited the two to lunch. He then told Nia to prepare to assist them in a military operation the next day, as agreed.

“All I can say is that if Nia, you do well, then our United Nations is naturally willing to offer more conditions to Isgard.” He patted the dejected black dragon on the shoulder, speaking with a touch of earnestness: “After all, our United Nations also values ​​the existence of Isgard—but given the physical distance, the only one in Isgard who makes us feel that you are actually doing something.”

"Should I be happy about this?" Nia rolled her eyes. But inwardly, she wholeheartedly agreed. "While it's true our colonial army has caused the United Nations a lot of trouble, we did bring that port and the Sirens, didn't we?"

"But isn't the core still your hard work? At least that's how we see it—let's eat. We need to evaluate the Sirens matter in a few days, let's talk about everything tomorrow."

After finishing her meal, Nia kept thinking about whether tomorrow's military operation was related to demons.

Meanwhile, after finishing their meal, Yang Hao and Elena arrived at the makeshift airship dock outside the Purple Palace. There, Arthur and Dr. Joseph, who had rushed over from Fingel, were modifying the airship.

The airships of the Kingdom of Eden were not initially designed for military use. As civilian vehicles primarily used for transporting cargo, they were almost entirely unarmed, featuring large cargo holds and comfortable cabins instead.

Yang Hao's goal is to convert the airship, which was not originally intended for military use, into a military airship. And if nothing unexpected happens, Yang Hao only needs it to be able to launch a barrage of fire at the ground.

For this, he needed data on the airship—at least he needed to figure out which parts of the airship could be removed without causing the entire ship to lose power and crash.

"Confused: Mr. Yang Hao, is this why you need my help?" Elena tilted her head, clearly displeased with Yang Hao's request. She had thought he had something more important that he wanted her to come, and she had even asked the magical dolls to dress her up for that purpose. "...Frustrated."

“Yes, I’m sorry—! But Elena, this is really important! It really concerns our military operation tomorrow, and I called you here not just for this, but also because of Anna’s little tea party and stuff…”

"...snort."

Upon hearing this, the synthetic doll's expression brightened slightly. She tiptoed around in front of the airship, stopping and starting, and then, under the strange gazes of Arthur and the others, she pointed out several parts that absolutely could not be disassembled.

Firstly, there are the basic armored units and small magic reactor engines, as well as battery-like facilities used to provide concentrated magic power to the reactor.

Secondly, there are the load-bearing columns and keel that maintain the ship's structure.

After that, there's nothing else to be careful about.

"Explanation: As long as we maintain balance and prevent the center of gravity from tilting too much, the airship will not capsize... As a civilian vehicle, the airship itself is designed with the possibility of civilian modification in mind..."

Question: What are you planning to do?

"..."

Elena's curious question caused Arthur and Joseph to temporarily stop what they were doing.

After handing over all the work to his sister-in-law Hydra, Arthur, looking weak, shrugged and nodded to the embarrassed Emperor Yang Hao:

"We plan to install high-angle-of-attack machine guns on the airships—the kind Golem uses—and then use belt-fed ammunition to see if we can create a hail of bullets in the air to inflict devastating damage on the enemies below..."

In addition, four Japa 1405 heavy machine guns will be installed around the perimeter to ensure we have a chance to retaliate against enemies like the Griffin Riders...

However, the most important thing is that we want to open a hatch at the bottom of the hull to drop bombs—since Miss Elena said that the bottom armor cannot be removed, then we will have to install hooks on both sides of the airship..."

Arthur's lengthy explanation was essentially Yang Hao's definition of the militarized modification of the airship, designated as an "airborne gunship."

After all, in an era where air power is largely dependent on dragons, eagles, griffins, harpies, and other alien races, the "gunships," which require air superiority to be used in Earth's concept, can actually shine in this world.

The only problem is that there aren't the same level of observation and aiming equipment as on Earth—in other words, as an air gunship, its accuracy might be unacceptable...

But this wasn't actually a problem for Yang Hao.

"On the one hand, we launched an attack on the feudal and primitive infantry from a high position... The Roman Empire's army basically still uses the old phalanx tactics. They will form dense formations to meet the enemy's charge or launch their own charge. Under such circumstances, no matter how off-target our shells are, they can still cause terrible casualties to the crowd."

On the other hand, height advantage is like a father beating his son. I don't want to make it sound too bad, but height advantage is becoming increasingly important these days—if you're tall enough, it's like we're shitting on their heads and they still have to accept it with a smile.

Yang Hao was very satisfied with his idea, but after observing him thoughtfully for a while, the small synthetic doll gave a suggestion that made Arthur and the others even more uneasy:

"Question: In that case, has Mr. Yang Hao considered the tactic of directly hoisting Golems onto the ship and throwing them directly at the enemy's heads?"

"Huh?"

"Explanation: The Golem's structure is perfectly capable of withstanding impacts from the sky. The only problem is that the Golem's weight and reconfiguration capabilities require specialized design... However, I think with the Listeners present, this isn't really an issue..."

"But perhaps it's too hasty to proceed with this installation now? We can experiment with it later, but for now..."

Explanation: I will come anytime I have time later.

"I see..."

...Watching Elena talk, she seemed to be leading Yang Hao further and further astray.

After exchanging glances several times, Arthur and Joseph sighed and said, "Perhaps another country will be annexed by the United Nations?"

After all, Elena's actions were indeed a bit too deliberate... Although it's unclear whether His Majesty Yang Hao noticed Elena's subtle actions, to be honest... um...

Elena has already given that hint.

Our Majesty should... know very well, right?

...I think so?

Joseph shook his head.

And just then—Hydra walked up from behind and bumped into Arthur from behind. Arthur's sister-in-law then spoke:

"Brother-in-law—this airship technology is amazing... We might be able to install more machine guns, which would cause any traditional land-based enemy to collapse in morale due to aerial attacks. But then again, what about the ammunition consumption of these machine guns?"

"Is the ammunition being consumed very quickly?"

"It's incredibly fast!"

Hydra pursed her lips, reached into Arthur's pocket, and took out her favorite candy.

She made a rough calculation: if the modified airships were to unleash their full firepower, ignoring the possibility of machine guns exploding, a single airship could expend nearly a year's worth of machine gun ammunition in a single day—of course, the airships couldn't possibly hold that many shells, but such a terrifying rate of ammunition consumption... if they didn't find a way to increase ammunition production, perhaps the United Nations would be stuck in a predicament of "wanting to fire but not daring to fire" for a long time to come?

To this, Arthur could only say that the supply of bullets would likely only become more frequent and abundant after the United Nations had occupied the mining areas within the Roman Empire—of course, if Dr. Joseph could develop a simpler way to produce artillery shells, that would be ideal...

“All the shells I researched are useful!” Dr. Joseph said, quite dissatisfied. “Although they are a bit expensive and troublesome to maintain, my products are still useful, aren’t they?”

"What you call 'more expensive and more troublesome'?! Have you forgotten that the elves in charge of logistics really have the urge to kill you?!"

"So what if I made them tighten screws for twenty hours?! They missed a few screws during assembly, is that my fault?!"

"You have the nerve to say you spent twenty hours tightening screws?!"

Sparks flew between Arthur and Joseph, and under Hydra's deadpan gaze, their argument escalated to the point where it seemed a brawl was brewing...

Meanwhile, Yang Hao finally realized that he had seemingly been unwittingly led by Elena away from the dock and into the courtyard of the Purple Palace. Here, he could only lead Elena towards the location of the tea party, and it was at this moment that Elena asked Yang Hao about their plans:

"Question: Mr. Yang Hao, after resolving tomorrow's operations and the Ice Calamity... what are your plans?"

"what do you mean?"

"Travel? Getting around? Or is it for work or something?"

Elena tilted her head and gradually moved closer to Yang Hao as she walked along the cobblestone path.

"Or do you intend to go to Isgard as agreed?"

"Of course I'll keep my promise. After all, our united nation can't be the ones who break their word, you know? But, how should I put it... when I go to Isgard, it might be more than two years before I can see you."

"Question: Is it due to geographical issues?"

"It's not just because of the geographical distance, but also because if everything goes smoothly, I will be very busy with things back home... very busy—not to mention, we also need to develop technology to deal with the next calamity."