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

In other words, the charge of genocide against him is real. But he wasn't the one carrying out the execution—though it doesn't really matter now.

But Yang Hao felt he needed to find out. At the very least, he needed to know who had massacred the Kagard people.

Or, to put it another way, who did the Qagadians slaughter before?

............

Meanwhile, Theresa was humming a song as she led Golem and two Listeners to search through the ruins of the church.

She knew Yang Hao was bound to do something terrible next, so to avoid putting him in a difficult position, she had no choice but to make an excuse and leave.

But...

"This man is really... sigh. Back when the little witch forced him to leave home, he dragged me into this mess and still thought, 'As long as I didn't see it, it'll be fine.' I don't know whether to call him innocent or stupid... But speaking of which, has the little witch and he been lovers for so long without even kissing or anything like that? Sigh."

Theresa was constantly troubled, as Yang Hao seemed to regard her as someone who needed to be protected.

Although she was happy about this, Theresa was also holding back a lot of resentment: the Purple Princess was not such a delicate person! And she didn't want to be the one being pampered.

She wanted to be one of the two supporting each other.

That's why she was extremely troubled. And that's also why she supported all the decisions Yang Hao made—because her man had indeed accumulated too much pressure, not to mention, the Kagards... already had problems.

(Given their incredibly skillful raid on the Listeners in the forest, who would believe they'd never done anything like this before?) Theresa glanced back at the Listeners, then at the corpses strewn all around: (In other words, a massacre must have happened here in Kagard before... but that's not my concern. What I need to worry about now is buying time for our evacuation to the Elven Kingdom.)

Only a fool would pin their hopes on the possibility that "the enemy's main force hasn't noticed us"—what have they done? They've captured an important town in a count's territory, and probably killed more than 30% of its inhabitants! If the Roman Empire's army doesn't react under these circumstances, then that empire will probably collapse on its own in six months...

Therefore, knowing that the enemy will definitely come after you, how to delay the enemy's stay in Kargard Town as much as possible is a good strategy.

what can we do about it?

Theresa was somewhat troubled. Just then, she noticed that there seemed to be someone still alive not far away.

"Oh?"

Upon closer inspection, they appeared to be attendants of a priest from the Church of Light.

Theresa walked forward with interest and squatted down about two meters away from the squire. She gestured for the Listeners to control the golem and pick up the squire. Just as the golem approached, the squire, who had been lying on the ground pretending to be dead, began to tremble violently.

"Spare me, spare me—"

As he was being grabbed, the sergeant pleaded, the dagger he was clutching falling from the sky, yet he still did not release the sacred book that was of vital importance to the clergy.

Theresa looked at the squire and suddenly realized something.

For the now faction-divided Roman Empire, the Kargard Massacre is a responsibility that no faction will willingly take on.

In other words—if the Roman Empire's army could clash with the parish's friars in Kargard, and something terrible were happening in the town...

The Roman Empire would then be embroiled in endless arguments over whose fault it was, and might even refuse to rescue the town's survivors, because they would first need to find someone to take the blame.

This is a serious matter that cannot be easily dismissed by simply shifting the blame to His Majesty the Regent.

This was a massacre of a count's town by demons from the Demon Forest who bypassed the border, and neither the parish nor the military district arrived in time to stop it before the terrible incident occurred.

They both have to choose one to take the blame, but who should it be? This could go on for a day, two days, or even a month or two—by then it won't matter who takes the blame, because by then Yang Hao and I will probably have settled down in the Elf Kingdom and be struggling to make ends meet...

Um...

Okay, that's settled then.

Thinking of happy things, Theresa smiled charmingly:

“Use your divine magic—send urgent communications to the Roman Empire’s army and the diocese of St. Petersburg. I personally guarantee that as long as you do as I say, you can leave this church alive.”

This caused the squire to look at him with extreme distrust, but after the stone giant put him down and Theresa used her divine magic to sign the [contract], the squire still trembled as he pressed his finger on the contract that appeared out of thin air.

The immense power of the Church of Light emanating from him merged with Theresa's contract the instant they made contact. The attendants, desperate to save their own lives, failed to notice that Theresa, after a brief moment of surprise, directly converted his divine power into her own.

(So ​​this is how you can restore my lord's power!) Just as Theresa was marveling at something, a ray of golden light suddenly burst forth from the attendant's hand.

The golden light rose into the sky, and finally split into two, one flying north and the other south.

Then, the attendant asked him nervously if he could leave. Theresa smiled and nodded.

He ran away.

They rushed out at top speed, breaking through the remaining windows of the church.

Then he was smashed into a pulp by the stone giant outside, and died without even knowing what had happened.

"Ara ara~ After all, I only allowed you to leave the church alive. As for what will happen after you leave the church? Hehe, ask the Ling clan."

Theresa smiled as she watched the tragedy unfold before her. She knew it would make her look like a despicable woman, but oh well.

It would be too strange if the woman living with the regent were an innocent, cute, and pampered baby.

Let me be that despicable and shameless woman.

She hummed a song, turned around, and left with her entourage.

Meanwhile, Yang Hao suspended Kagard III above the tip of the church cross that still stood atop the collapsed bell tower. He listened calmly to Kagard III's pitiful explanation.

"Your Majesty—Your Majesty the Regent—spare me, please spare me! A massacre did occur in Kargard, but it wasn't what you think... Please spare me, I will definitely plead your case in the Imperial Council, please spare me..."

Two massacres have occurred in the Earldom of Kagard.

The first incident occurred after Yang Hao and his sworn brother defeated the barbarians of Kagard. In their pursuit of an even greater victory, they continued to chase after the main force of the barbarians. As a result, the barbarian families living within Kagard territory were massacred by the Kagard people, who were in a daze from the slaughter.

Blood flowed like rivers for miles around. The victorious Kagard slaughtered all the old, weak, sick, and disabled barbarians. So much so that the logistics troops that caught up from behind couldn't even find a clean stream when they were boiling water and cooking, because every river was filled with human heads and blood.

This was the first massacre in Khagad. Tens of thousands of barbarians in Khagad vanished, leaving only Khagadians in the land, and the fields became exceptionally fertile because of the barbarian corpses.

The second instance occurred shortly after the establishment of the Roman Empire, when Yang Hao met with a merchant ship from the powerful nation of Isugard across the sea.

The Khagadians entered the monster forest near the north, invited some of the primitive demons there, and then killed them during the March 1st celebration.

Antlers, or other parts of the demon race that are unique to them, are cut off and sold to parishes in exchange for countless gold coins. Some demons who look similar to wild beasts are also bled and have their flesh cut off to become the jerky that the Khagad people love.

No wonder Naruja said that the people of Qagad always have a putrid smell.

No wonder the false charges leveled against him were so heavy.

With a sigh in his heart, Yang Hao reached out and cut the rope that was suspending Khagad III in mid-air.

"Aaaaaaahh ...

As the rope snapped, under the influence of gravity and weight, Kagard III wailed as he sat down at the tip of the church cross.

The top of the cross enters through the anus, untouched by any friction, and its ornately decorated, uneven edges would make the death of Kagard III exceptionally painful and protracted.

Yang Hao sat beside the cross, gazing thoughtfully at the blood-soaked scene outside the church. He instructed the Ling tribe to use this time to take away all the food, resources, and necessary medical supplies they could find through the Golem.

I must say, Golem is really useful.

He can fight battles and, with the help of his tribe, transform his back into a basket to carry supplies and the wounded. He is an almost omnipotent warrior, except for not being able to cook or cast spells.

The operation requires the presence of a member of the Listening Clan, and after this, it's estimated that the Listening Clan will have to return to the forest where they lived in their time, while I and Theresa will have to make a difficult journey towards the border of the Elf Kingdom...

Such an outlier must buy time.

"--His Majesty!"

Just as Yang Hao was pondering something, a loud shout suddenly woke him up.

He looked back and saw that it was three humans who had come with the Ling people.

The man in the lead was still wearing the uniform of the Red Cross chief doctor. He looked thin and his clothes were covered in blood, clearly indicating that he had been through a tough battle.

Yang Hao lowered his head and took out the surgical kit from his arms:

"Is this yours?"

He asked the doctor, then tossed the surgical bag at him.

The doctor caught his surgical bag and knelt on the ground, weeping as he recounted the sins he had endured over the past year. But for some reason, Yang Hao could only imagine a future where he could live an ordinary life with Teresa.

"Your Majesty...please return...please burn this corrupt empire to ashes...do not let these human beasts harm the kind people any longer..."

The doctor, who called himself Joseph, was in tears, his body convulsing uncontrollably. He coughed, and perhaps because he was so emotionally overwhelmed recounting the grievances he had suffered over the past year, he suddenly fainted.

Joseph's wife and daughters clung to him in a panic, while Yang Hao gestured for Naruja to help him. After settling Joseph's family on Gorem's back, he began to consider the important matter of dealing with the town.

And it was at this moment that Teresa returned.

Upon returning, she first glanced in surprise at the three people on Gorem's back, muttering, "There's still the chief physician who didn't run away?" Then she walked behind Yang Hao and, in front of the Ling tribe, said:

"I just captured a squire~ then I had him cast a spell to notify the military and parish to clean up the mess~ now what are you going to do, you bad dog?"

This deliberate use of words of power caused Naruja, the chieftain of the Ling clan, to change her expression drastically: What on earth is this woman doing?!

The enemy has sent two reinforcements; doesn't that mean our escape will be even more difficult? What is she thinking? Does she want us all to stay in this town and perish with the enemy?!

This is absolutely incomprehensible!

Naruja looked at Teresa with intense distrust in her eyes. But surprisingly, Yang Hao didn't react at all.

He simply hummed in agreement, and then said:

"General Dreschuka's army will definitely try to shift the blame to Peter the Elder's army... but if the situation in the city isn't dire enough, they might still abandon the rescue of the city and directly track our evacuation route."

Therefore, Miss Patriarch.

He turned to look at the Ling clan chief, and then gave his order:

"When we leave, leave some magic for the golems so they can act mechanically and block all the city gates."

Then let the golems attack every living person except us. Every single one.

As long as there are enemies, massacres, and residents in Kargard, both the Guardians of the Faith and the military district's troops will be bogged down in the quagmire of Kargard, prioritizing the elimination of the Golems before even considering the important task of tracking down the culprits.

Since that's the case, then so be it.

He got up and left.

As they left, they took Mother Teresa's small hand, which appeared frivolous and cheerful on the surface, but was actually nervously looking down at the ground.

Chapter Twenty-Seven: Reactions from All Sides, Bayer Jehn's Prophecy

Finally, only about twenty Golems, the best-preserved ones, carrying wounded soldiers and various supplies, left with Yang Hao and the others.

The golems were piloted by members of the Listener race who hadn't participated in the battle. They carried on their backs mostly food and medicine, which were crucial to the Listener race. They were now heading towards the Listener village, where the Listener race needed to reunite with those remaining, and where Yang Hao and Theresa would collect their due rewards.

The members of the Listening Clan who had participated in the battle rested on the backs of their golems, preparing to relieve their companions. The Listening Clan chief, Naruja, stood alone at the front, letting her golem clear the way while also making room for the two who seemed to be whispering to each other.

Theresa appreciated her understanding, but how should she begin to talk to Yang Hao now? Theresa was somewhat confused... but she figured that what they should talk about was the town of Kagard behind them, which was now filled with golems and screams.