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

Looking at the artificial magic reactor that the Edenians were building in front of them.

She endured for a very long time before she finally let go of the evil thought in her heart: "Why don't I just take it back now?"

...........

Miss Nia has two objectives for this trip.

Firstly, it was to find out the true purpose of the United Nations' attack, and at the same time, to see if they had done anything extraordinary without our knowledge.

Secondly, she also wanted to check on the progress of her own troops—but unfortunately, the territory of Kagard and the territory of Shkur were quite far from the central region of the Roman Empire... Nia was too embarrassed to transform into a dragon and fly into the sky to investigate, so all she could do was wander around the territory of Shkur.

As Nia walked, she bumped into Emperor Yang Hao, who was directing his soldiers in constructing a camp... Emperor Yang Hao seemed to have a deep obsession with planning. Even if it was a temporary camp, he still wanted to ensure that these camps could be reused later.

Under an almost obsessive-compulsive approach to planning, the United Nations army's camp construction work can be described as extremely slow—but in return, it has the advantage of [permanence].

"I must say, you truly live up to your reputation, Mr. Yang Hao... You even consider the future transformation of a temporary camp into a permanent fortification. This is something we in Isgard would never even dare to dream of."

"Not at all. I'm just used to doing it this way—don't we have to plan for the present with a vision ten years ahead? Instead of that, why don't you take a look at your army?"

"It's so far away, how am I supposed to get there... Sigh, would you mind taking me for a walk around? I don't see you have any strong guards around you? I can be of help in the meantime."

If Yang Hao's woman were here, Nia's statement would be a complete provocation—but who can blame her when Yang Hao is currently surrounded by nothing but a few elf masters and hunters as guards?

So Nia naturally extended an invitation to Yang Hao. After thinking it over, Yang Hao decided that it would be appropriate to have a black dragon by his side, so he accepted Nia's suggestion and took her to wander around the newly established camp.

As a new stronghold for the ancient elven tree to take root and flourish, the territory of Shkur has undergone terrain modifications according to the original plan. The charred remains in the fire trap area in front of the sanctuary church have been cleared away; they will serve as fertilizer for the forest's future growth. But beyond that, the planning of the town and fortifications is of paramount importance.

Considering that the Roman Empire was their enemy, and that the demon servants still had no idea what they were up to, Yang Hao and the others made a careful decision to build the Perpetual Office on the Roman side of the new territory.

These projects are planned to consist of a large number of Colossus weapons from the Kingdom of Eden and Golems from the United Nations. A steep, sloping slope without any cover will be deliberately cleared ahead, and a large amount of barbed wire and traps will be laid on it—of course, these permanent fortifications are not to be built at this stage. They are merely part of the future plan, nothing more.

Town planning is tailored to the distinct characteristics of the two regions. For example, there are city ruins in the Kagard territory, so after clearing away the wrecked city littered with bones, the legacy that originally belonged to Bayerzans can be put to use again.

Aside from a long-destroyed border town, the only settlement in the Shkur Territory was the deserted Shkur Village. Yang Hao decided to raze this heartbreaking village to the ground to build a new elven-style town. It was at this moment, however, that elven miners arrived and announced that they had thoroughly explored the mineral reserves of the Shkur Territory.

As a relatively well-resourced mine in the Roman Empire, the mountains beneath the Shkur Territory Refuge Church contain iron and copper mines that could be mined by the ancient elven trees for about 600 years. In remote areas, there are even extremely rare gold and silver mines.

The situation in the Kargad region is somewhat unique: the veins there are smaller and the mineral reserves are less, but there are more special mineral deposits—such as nitrate, jade with artistic value, and aluminum.

In a sense, the mineral deposits in the two territories would allow the United Nations to avoid worrying about conventional minerals for the next few decades—a fact that not only relieved Yang Hao but also Nia.

This significantly increased the profits for the Isgard colonial army. They didn't even need to venture into the eastern mining regions to find enough mineral deposits to supply their domestic industry... But speaking of which, why is there no sulfur in this area? Given the mountainous terrain of the Roman Empire, I assumed they would have sulfur. Why is this?

Nia's confusion was answered by Yang Hao:

"There are no volcanoes in the Roman Empire. Without volcanoes, there is naturally less sulfur. Although there should indeed be sulfur underground... the difficulty of mining it was simply too great for the Romans at that time."

"But the problem is, weren't there steam factories back then?"

Nia's utter bewilderment prompted His Majesty Yang Hao, who was leading the way, to shrug:

"Guess how many years the steam factory operated before it was demolished? And when was I exiled?"

Yang Hao was very clear about the value of sulfur ore.

It can be used not only to make gunpowder, but also to generate enormous value in agriculture, industry, people's livelihood, and medical care.

The only problem is that he didn't have time to develop at the time—if you Ysgard hadn't been so pushy, I might have had a chance to turn the tide... but who told you to push so hard?

But then again... it seems the harpy army of the Khuttod Khanate had a large supply of gunpowder? Did they actually have sulfur mines that even nomads could easily mine?

Yang Hao recalled the mountains north of the Huttok Khanate... Behind the mountains lay an ancient demon known as the "Cataclysm of Ice".

In other words, if we can defeat the Ice Calamity, perhaps the treasures and natural resources on that mountain will be as easy to pick as a naked girl lying in bed... Hmm... I need to find an opportunity to communicate with Hutok Khan.

Yang Hao set another goal in his mind—and just then, a messenger rushed over, panting, as if something serious had happened.

"...What's wrong?"

Yang Hao helped the soldier, who was coughing and gasping for breath, to his feet. Looking at the murky, black liquid on the soldier's body and feeling the sticky, slippery sensation between his fingers, Yang Hao was stunned.

He just stared at the slime on the messenger... For some reason, a ridiculous, yet fucking obvious, thought suddenly popped into his head...

"Your Majesty...! While we were leveling the village of Shkur and digging and clearing along the direction of the underground pipes in the destroyed town in the distance, we unearthed some strange black oil!"

The messenger, having recovered, turned and pointed to the town ruins in the distance, saying that most of the soldiers with nothing to do were now trying to plug a spring that was constantly gushing black oil underground—after removing the heating pipes and foundation above, it seemed that the spring could no longer be stopped by manpower alone.

Left with no other choice, the elves could only force the growth of tree roots and vines to completely block the spring. But even so, before the spring was completely blocked, the surrounding soldiers were still splattered with black oil.

It is covered in a sticky substance that is difficult to clean and seems worthless at first glance, yet it is an important resource on Earth known as the "lifeblood of industry".

oil.

...After Yang Hao told the messenger to quickly wash off the oil stains on his body, he was both extremely excited and furious as he led Nia and the others toward the small town.

He was excited because he had found oil! Although he didn't know the exact amount, if a spring could be dug in the shallow area where the heating pipes outside the city were located, and it was gushing out and covering the faces of the surrounding soldiers, then the oil field contained enough oil to supply the United Nations for at least ten years!

His anger stemmed from the fact that he knew perfectly well that the foundation of the heating pipeline was located directly above the spring. In other words, the construction of the Schullin heating pipeline must have triggered anomalies related to the oil... So why didn't he know? No... rather than saying he "didn't know," it's more accurate to say that someone deliberately concealed the existence of the oil.

Anger. But after the anger subsided, Yang Hao felt relieved.

Because the few remaining leaders of the Roman Empire who are still alive seem truly foolish—if they let him develop the oil and then tricked him into death, that would be one thing, but at least Yang Hao could hope they had some sense...

But the first thing they do when they discover abnormal resources is not to notify or collect samples, but to choose to conceal it and pretend it never happened?

As expected of you, Roman Empire.

Just like those who firmly believe that they will never get sick if they don't see a doctor, the Roman Empire is already terminally ill... It's perfectly normal for them to do something like this.

But... how will we utilize the oil then?

Yang Hao considered himself to be one of the smarter people on the continent of Elusia... but his mind couldn't hold all the chemical knowledge on Earth—meaning he knew the general outline, but when it came to the details, he really couldn't figure it out.

"It's a resource that's extremely valuable but can't be used right now..."

Yang Hao muttered to himself, and Nia beside him was itching to get his attention, but she couldn't say anything because of her political stance.

They arrived at the outer edge of the oil vent. This was the outer city, about two or three hundred meters from the town of Schulz. It was clear that this place was quite a distance from the slightly elevated ruins of Bayezid.

Let's assume that the cities of Bayezids avoided the locations of oilfields when constructing their underground structures... but why are there no records of oil utilization in the historical records of the Bayezids? Did they simply miss something? Or did those books, like lost classics on Earth, disappear without a trace over the long years?

Yang Hao pondered, crouching down to observe the small amount of viscous oil flowing in the drainage ditch. He turned to look at the small, temporarily dug and waterproofed pit leading to the ditch, praising the on-site commander's keen observation and environmental awareness. After all, if oil were to flow into streams or farmland, the pollution it would cause would be enormous...

Afterwards, Yang Hao summoned an elven mage to communicate with the empresses who were ruling in the Purple Palace using magic. At the same time, he also took the opportunity to ask Elena what her opinion was on [oil].

"Confused...you mean, [Black Oil]?" Elena's voice sounded clear and crisp in the magical communication, but for some reason, it carried a hint of hesitation. "Definitely: The Kingdom of Eden has records of Black Oil...but in specific research, [Black Oil] cannot compete with our magical technology."

“That’s natural, your magical technology is monstrous… But never mind, Bayerzans and Gaparia can use it—so, does Eden have a way to deal with this [black oil]? I mean, process it into a valuable product.”

Yang Hao's question left the small synthetic doll silent for a long while.

Elena then hummed in agreement, and then added, "These kinds of things shouldn't be said over the phone."

"Reason: Because I don't want our secret to be discovered by others... Please come find me quietly when you return. Hmm. Her Majesty Theresa needs me, I'll go report to her first—Goodbye."

She hung up the call, and Yang Hao muttered in bewilderment, "What kind of secret is this technology that is ultimately going to be shown in China?" Meanwhile, Miss Black Dragon, who was far away from him but was actually eavesdropping, was gritting her teeth in anger but couldn't do anything about it.

Nia finally understood. Elena had never stopped monitoring and protecting Yang Hao... Otherwise, why would she have said such ambiguous things in the communication just now?

Saying things like "I don't want my secrets to be discovered"... isn't that just a warning that I've gone too far with eavesdropping? Ugh... if you ask me, isn't it you, the voyeur, who's more problematic?

"whispering sound..."

Nia could almost picture Elena watching intently even when Yang Hao's family was having sex... She was truly shocked by this synthetic doll: how big of a heart does it take to endure that feeling?

If Nia were to put herself in that situation... let's not even discuss the possibility that Nia herself might impulsively rush in and shout, "Let me do it too!"—after all, dragons are like that; this race, capable of doing something for two years at a time, certainly possesses extraordinary energy...

Putting aside the possibility of her joining the team... it's questionable whether Nia can even suppress her inner grievances.

After all, the most torturous torture is simply being able to watch something but being unable to join in due to your political stance or personal feelings.

Nia knew she couldn't help herself, which is why she thought Elena was really outrageous: "You can tolerate this? Elena, aren't you afraid of being bullied to a pulp in the future?"

Black Dragon's mind conjured up the future once more: Miss Elena, having finally had a chance to be alone with Yang Hao, excitedly arrived only to find His Majesty Yang Hao and his entire family following behind...

The image of the tiny synthetic doll, who dared not speak out against its anger and could only accept reality with a wronged expression, is truly absurd.

Miss Nia sighed heavily.

"Ugh."

The sigh reached Yang Hao's ears as he walked over, making the man even more confused and bewildered, while also causing Nia to suppress her own thoughts slightly.

Their work here for today is finished; they can deal with the rest when they get back.

With Heilong's help, Yang Hao once again enjoyed the thrill of soaring into the sky at dusk.

And it was on this very night, in the palace of the Roman capital, after an afternoon of serving Prince Garsen in his mindless pleasures, that the demon servant stood on the palace rooftop, gazing thoughtfully in the direction of the Shkur territory.

This was the first time in thousands of years that he had experienced a situation called "beyond his control" in this world.

“That regent… is a good candidate for corruption,” the demon servant muttered to himself. “Such courage and ability… ah, how could I forget? The Roman Empire’s strength is half due to Benjamin, and the other half to you… Why the hell should I corrupt this Garsen instead of you? But thinking about it, Bayer Zans has already returned, so considering corrupting you now isn’t very realistic…”

...Besides, the arrow was already on the bowstring and had to be released. Alas, I can only blame myself for misjudging it.

The demon servants found the United Nations' sudden attack [tricky].

On the one hand, Ysgard does not have the ability to conquer the capital in a short period of time, but the United Nations does.

On the other hand, the movements of the United Nations might also provoke action from the necrophiles in the north—although the necrophiles have already taken action, the demon servants believe that the God of Light's unusual military actions are more likely to disrupt their plans than sending a bunch of skeletons to spread his teachings...

...He chose to respect his enemy at the strategic level, but in the end, it was only a "slightly tricky" situation.

"If the United Nations is limited to building and plundering two territories, then my Demon Realm is actually safe... In other words, I need to find a way to make them stay in only two places."

The attendant pondered for a long time. There was nothing to say about the military district being independent of the capital; the other noble territories were also fighting their own battles, not to mention the chaotic fighting in the eastern mines, and the Aresers weren't exactly obedient...

In this situation, how can we keep the people of the United Nations confined to the territories of Kagard and Shkur? How can we ensure that even if the God of Light takes military action, it will only be limited to fighting with the United Nations?

...The attendant recalled the fact that beneath St. Petersburg, where the God of Light resided, lay a vast number of Bayern and demonic remains.

Presumably, the Bayrjans were also "nobles" who respected the corpses of their ancestors. The demon servants favored these nobles—because they had many uses, and respect for the corpses of their ancestors was naturally a valuable one to exploit.

"To fabricate a rumor... a rumor that in the St. Petersburg parish, a necrophiliac is massively desecrating the remains of Bayer Zans..."

Then it spread through the mouth of a refugee, a "sober one"... but currently, it seems there are no "sober" people in the Roman Empire?

In other words... can rumors only spread through the mouths of "vagrants"?

The beauty of rumors lies in the fact that those in power know they are false, but the public, due to information asymmetry and complex group dynamics, is willing to believe them to be true.

Just like the saying "three men make a tiger"—the monarch certainly knows that tigers don't just appear on the streets for no reason. But once the rumor spreads, people elsewhere will think that your capital is a wretched place where tigers have been seen roaming the streets.

This is exactly what the demon servant needs—he doesn't expect Yang Hao to believe it's true; he just needs to incite the noble citizens of Bayern and then get their attention to the parish.

So... what should we do?

The demon servant gazed at the rising moon, lost in thought.