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

"...How do you feel now?" To be on the safe side, Mother Teresa didn't choose to ask Yang Hao about his next steps. After all, he had just vented his frustrations, and asking him about his future plans would be pointless; it was better to ask him about his current thoughts.

In response to Theresa's question, Yang Hao simply nodded slightly, holding Theresa's left hand tightly, and said:

"It's better than I imagined—my sworn brother once told me that revenge is not the root of emptiness, but just a necessary path...so I think I feel pretty good now."

"fine?"

"Because the rest of my life is not just about revenge, Theresa."

"...Um."

Theresa understood his unspoken meaning.

It seems there's no need to worry about this little dog collapsing after finishing its revenge, losing all sense of purpose in life.

Thinking of this, Theresa simply smiled. Looking at the golems and listeners around her, Sister Theresa still felt a pang of reluctance at the thought of parting ways with them on her journey to the elven kingdom.

Because these demons are far superior to the humans of the Roman Empire. Frankly, they are more like humans than the demons the Romans arrogantly label as "ignorant."

Sigh... I really don't know what to say—and then again...

She sighed and then asked a question that she was more concerned about.

"When I told you I'd notified the military and diocese to send troops to Kagard, Naruja looked at me with a terrifying expression. She seemed worried I'd betray you. What about you? Aren't you worried I'd betray you?"

Theresa reflected on her previous actions and realized that she had done something foolish.

Without telling anyone else, she took it upon herself to have the enemy's henchmen use divine magic to notify two forces fully capable of wiping them out to send troops to support Kagard Town... If Yang Hao hadn't placed his complete trust in her, perhaps to others her actions would have been no different from those of a traitor.

But why isn't Yang Hao worried?

Theresa recalled Yang Hao's past experiences and tried to empathize with him—but if she did so, she would only feel her own distrust of those around her.

If I were to lie about his past, I probably wouldn't believe anyone in the end, right? Why isn't he worried about me at all? Why is he so confident that I won't betray him?

Theresa turned to look at her man's profile. When she realized that the naughty dog ​​was also looking at her, she guiltily turned her face away so that he wouldn't see the blush on her face.

Faced with Teresa's earnest question, Yang Hao simply gave a natural answer:

Why should I worry that you will betray me?

"...Huh?"

Theresa paused for a moment.

"Because if you wanted to do that, you would have done it already, wouldn't you?"

"...That's true."

Thinking about it carefully, it makes sense... If she really wanted to betray him, she could have done it already.

But no matter what, this unconditional trust is really bothering me...

What do I have to give in order to accept your complete trust with a clear conscience?

Theresa smiled, holding his fingers, and leaned gently against his shoulder.

Behind them, the church in the town of Kaghad was engulfed in flames.

Earl Caggard, impaled on a cross, watched helplessly as his town was destroyed, a few drops of bloody tears streaming from his bloodshot eyes. If he had the chance to go back in time, he would never have pinned this massacre on the Regent.

But now—it's all too late.

Kagard became the first countdom in the history of the Roman Empire to suffer a true catastrophe.

This news was not only transmitted to the parishes and military districts through the magic of the priests' entourage, but also spread rapidly throughout the entire Roman Empire through the mouths of a very few survivors.

Everyone knew that Khagad's portal no longer existed, but no one expected that Khagad would be destroyed by the demons' attack.

For a moment, even the idle people in the capital who were always complaining that the former regent had abandoned them and run away with a mess were stunned. At midnight on March 1st, several survivors from Kagard were brought to the palace and rushed to a court banquet hosted by the Queen's uncle, Garsens.

The nobles, dressed in their finery, felt a wave of nausea as they looked at the guards and ragged commoners who had suddenly burst in. Meanwhile, the Queen, seated on her throne, unable to speak, watched the crowd, accepting the former chief justice's patronage while secretly observing the expressions of the Gassen faction nobles.

Garsen simply waved for the guard to come over. Once the guard arrived, the usually amiable Garsen suddenly grabbed the guard's shoulder and gritted his teeth in his ear:

"Didn't I tell you?! Don't let anyone in unless absolutely necessary!"

Prince Garsen's banquet was not only to secure his "covert power," but also to win people's hearts.

The guards suddenly brought in a group of commoners?! Wasn't that a huge loss of face for him?!

Prince Garsen's angry glare made the guards dare not be negligent. He simply whispered a sentence in Garsen's ear:

"But, Your Highness—Kargard, Kargard has fallen! The demons breached Kargard Town in less than two hours, and now the portal anchor point has completely disappeared. Survivors claim that the demons who escaped from the Demon Forest may have already occupied Kargard Town. What should we do?"

Under the guards' tense and uneasy gaze, Prince Garsen remained stunned for a long while before shouting in astonishment:

"What?! Kagard has been breached by the demons?!"

Upon hearing this, the nobles exchanged bewildered glances, the young empress suddenly seemed to remember something, a glimmer of hope flashing in her eyes, while the former chief judge appeared thoughtful, before his expression abruptly changed, leaving him helpless.

Meanwhile, the survivors of Khagad knelt on the ground, wailing and pleading with the Prince and Her Majesty the Queen to send troops to save their families.

But when Prince Garsen, having calmed down, inquired about the situation at the scene, they couldn't come up with anything. They only mentioned that they had personally witnessed countless stones falling from the sky and earth-shaking footsteps coming from outside the city—other than that, nothing more.

"Immediately send General Dreschka and troops from the parish to provide support!" Prince Garsen roared at the guards, disregarding the banquet he was hosting. "Communicate directly with the Night Witch and tell her to take the Imperial Knights to investigate immediately—what are you all standing there for? Go now!"

Some guards left immediately, but the moment they left, new guards came in.

The guards were pale-faced, claiming that recently, divine power had been transmitted through the town of Khagad—both the military and the parish had received news that Khagad had been breached and the entire town had been turned into a hellish inferno.

The military district has dispatched troops to Kargard Town to trap and annihilate the demons who are plundering the spoils of war in the city. The parish's guardian army has even used the powerful divine magic of the white bishop to teleport directly to a village on the parish's outskirts, not far from Kargard Town.

As for why we didn't teleport directly to the vicinity of Kargard Town, the reason is simple—

In the town of Kagard, there was no trace of the Church of Light's existence. There wasn't even a trace; even if Leader Peter himself were to appear in a place where no followers existed, they couldn't possibly find a way to do so.

But at least 70% of the population of Kargard Town are believers in the Church of Light, so how could there not be a single believer in such a vast county? What does this mean? The nobles here know perfectly well.

In the abrupt silence, someone murmured, then cried out in alarm, realizing what had happened:

"The Karghad Massacre, the Karghad Massacre—this is the Regent's revenge against us!"

Everyone was stunned at first, then cold sweat instantly soaked their bodies. They felt a chill run through their extremities, because they knew that if this really was the Regent's doing, if the Regent had truly brought the false accusation against them to light...

Therefore, almost everyone in this banquet hall was destined for the Regent's purge. Every single one of them had voted for the Regent's death during the Silent Exile incident; if he truly acted out of revenge...

Therefore, everyone here will face the final reckoning.

The nobles exchanged horrified glances, then simultaneously put down their glasses and cutlery. They looked at their leader, Prince Gassen, hoping he could offer them a solution.

But what could Prince Garsen do?

This is absolutely chaotic.

How could the former regent, who had disappeared within the country's borders, suddenly become involved with a demon?

Moreover, he led the demons to break through Khagad Town, and even killed the priests who stayed behind, all to establish the charges in the Silent Exile incident.

His face was covered in sweat; he couldn't understand what had happened.

Fortunately, the military and diocese acted swiftly, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, they should be able to corner the former regent in Khagard Town... If the other side truly intends to use Khagard Town as a base for retaliation, if...

Prince Garsen was sweating profusely, and just as he decided to reassure everyone—

"...Her Majesty the Queen said she wanted to rest, so I took her back first."

A cold, clear voice came from the side.

Prince Garsen turned around in a daze, only to find the former Chief Justice leading the Queen. The former Chief Justice's green eyes were coldly fixed on him, while behind her stood the young Queen—

She was also staring intently at her uncle.

His eyes were filled with a vengeful and joyful satisfaction.

"...Please let her...get some rest."

Gritting his teeth, Prince Garsen could only manage to squeeze out these words.

Just as he placed the tongue-splitting empress on the throne to avoid becoming a target himself.

Although she was merely a puppet, a target—on this occasion, she was the queen. Garsen, under no circumstances could... break the rules on this occasion.

He watched, his hands and feet cold, as his niece and the former judge left the banquet hall.

The nobles gathered around him stared blankly at him.

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

Meanwhile, in the Elf Palace of Fingel, the Sky Garden, the capital of the Elf Kingdom.

Finn of the Elven race also received a message from Khagad, bringing with him the devastating news from the Roman Empire.

It was midnight, but Fen showed no intention of resting.

She summoned her trusted confidante, Qinna, and asked her to verify the authenticity of the intelligence, emphasizing that she should pay attention to one detail.

"Fen, I can't understand..."

“Yes, my dear attendant, you cannot understand the excitement in my heart at this moment... Do you know what this means? It means that His Majesty the Regent has completely given up the possibility of returning to the Roman Empire. He has chosen to wander the world, and the Elven Kingdom, which has border friction with the Roman Empire, will be his next destination.”

Finn's smile left Qinna stunned for a long time.

After a moment, Qinna looked directly into Fen's emerald green eyes and shook her head, saying:

"Yes, I understand your excitement—but why do you need us to confirm... whether there are any traces of [divine power being converted] at the scene?"

The deities in religious beliefs possess their own great power, and they are collectively referred to as "divine power".

Priests borrow divine power to unleash divine spells, and the amount of divine power they can borrow varies depending on the strength of the deity they worship. Divine power cannot be shared between different gods, so Qinna cannot understand what the conversion of divine power truly means.

Faced with the loyal servant's doubts, Finn simply smiled and shook his head:

"My dear servant... do you know about a prophecy?"

"A...prophecy?"

"Yes, a prophecy." Considering the feelings of his loyal servant, the voice used its strength from the abdomen, and finally explained it to her in a way that sounded like playing a poem.

The smile on Finn's face slowly disappeared, replaced by a serious expression that Qinna had never seen before in the past few centuries.

"One of the prophecies... spoken by the last emperor of the Bayerzans Empire before he perished along with the core of the demonic calamity, before he and almost all the cities sank into the ground."

"Fin...doesn't this mean?!"

She stated it.

A thousand years later, the last princess in purple will reclaim the power of light from the false gods' followers, awaken the remnants of the empire with a pillar of light reaching the heavens, and bring the long-forgotten empire back to light.