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

Originally, the demon servants only intended to assimilate the Romans into demons, allowing them to play a greater role while freeing them from the suffering of human life and enabling them to become beings better than humans.

But now?

The demon servant lay wearily atop the demon nest, which had been corrupted from the Roman capital. Behind him, the demon larva, transformed from Prince Garsen, was enjoying a carefree and leisurely life under the protection of the head maid, who was a high-ranking demon.

...Prince Garsen's laziness and greed after transforming into a demon were changes the demon servants had already anticipated. Similarly, the head maid's attitude of being oblivious to everything else and solely devoted to serving Prince Garsen after transforming into a demon was also entirely expected.

If that were all, the demon servant wouldn't be so exhausted.

What truly exhausted him was the infighting between the Roman Demon and the Primal Demon.

"We just want to make the entire Demon Realm more suitable for demons to live in... Do you Roman demons really need to stop us with violence? Won't you benefit from the improvement of the Demon Realm? Why would you want to fight against your own kind?"

The demon servant looked down at the chaotic battlefield outside the Mother Nest.

Yes, it's the "battlefield"—if it's just a normal "fight" that happens when fighting for food, perhaps there's nothing worth questioning about it for the demon servants.

The problem is that the demons assimilated by the Romans have already clashed violently with the newly born primordial demons—a conflict that is completely incomprehensible to the demon servants.

In reality, the reason why the primordial demons born from the newborn nest head towards the location of the Roman demons is twofold: firstly, to make the world within the demon realm better and more suitable for the demon race to survive; and secondly, to establish the foundation for the future expansion of the nest, so that the world within the nest can expand.

The problem is... Roman's demons don't fall for that. Even if the primal demons modified the terrain and left, Roman's demons relentlessly attacked all the primal demons who went to work, slaughtering and devouring their larvae and juveniles.

This thoroughly enraged the collective mind of the primordial demons. Amidst the roars of the newborn nest, the newly born primordial demons began to fight amongst themselves, provoked by the Roman demon.

It's hard to say who ignited this civil war among demons... but what is certain is that this is the first civil war in demon history.

This was precisely why the demon servant was having a headache. He suddenly realized that he hadn't gathered a fresh force for the upcoming demonic calamity; to put it another way, he had only brought together a bunch of idiots who were completely uncontrollable and incapable of even getting along amicably...

These Roman demons couldn't even grasp the concept of "win-win," nor could they understand that "the enormous gains a minute from now will definitely be greater than they are now"—the demon servants had even arranged for the primal demons to communicate with them through mental links, so why couldn't they understand?

Headache. Headache. The demon servant sighed heavily, watching his kin slaughtering each other below... He couldn't very well go down and intervene, nor could he not. He could only stand there and observe. Caught in this dilemma, he suddenly began to recall the knowledge he had gained about the Roman Empire after emerging from the underground.

...In my memory, it seems that ordinary civilians in the Roman Empire were also like this. If in a parish they could ensure their stability and blind obedience to policies through strong religious indoctrination, then in other places, even the implementation of favorable policies would inevitably cause great chaos.

How exactly did you manage to implement a series of policies under such absurd circumstances?

The demon servant felt as if his brains were about to splatter out of his skull. But soon, he began to feel fortunate, fortunate that he hadn't been foolish enough to directly assimilate Roman the Demon's "history and knowledge"...

When demons assimilate, they incorporate the biological genes and other advantages of the other species into their own species.

Although the Demon Mother Nest may vary slightly in different regions, in general, all the best genes that have been tested will be preserved in Purgatory, allowing the Demon Mother Nest to reach a higher evolutionary ceiling.

However... while demons can absorb the genes of their victims and efficiently learn their technology and fundamentals, they are also inevitably at risk of being "contaminated".

The pollution caused by technology and its foundations is something the demons can simply avoid using in the future. For example, the pollution technology left behind by those madmen who went insane on the continent of Orros thousands of years ago is a case in point.

However, the demons do not have the ability or qualification to easily "cleanse" the pollution of the group's will and spirit.

To use a simple analogy, it's like you can easily sweep up the trash in the house, but you can't easily resist the overwhelming weariness in your heart.

The former can be solved by simply putting in the effort, while the latter requires extremely strong willpower.

The demon servants dared not gamble that the Mother Nest of Roman Demon Realm possessed such willpower... nor did they dare gamble on any risk of the entire demon race being corrupted.

Therefore, he was very fortunate that when he was assimilating the Romans, he deliberately shielded the Roman race's thoughts through the Demon Realm Heart... At least for now, the demon's will can still maintain its original state, which is really great.

"...Ugh."

The demon servant sighed one last time.

He looked down at his wrist; after repeatedly choosing to evolve his mind, his limbs had become extremely thin—but this was only apparent among high-ranking demons.

Despite their weakened state, the demon servants still possess formidable power—but can a demon with only power truly survive in an ever-cooling universe?

"...Our world is getting colder and colder...This world must become our next colony and home."

The demons' home world—a world called Purgatory—is constantly growing colder. To escape its fate of utter desolation tens of thousands of years from now, the demons' only option is to invade other worlds.

While it's unclear whether this is the last chance... one thing is certain: if the demon servants can completely stabilize this demon realm, then turning it into another hell is only a matter of time.

To achieve all this, a resolute determination to make tough decisions is essential. While assimilating the Romans has indeed consumed vast resources, if the Roman demons remain so irredeemable...

Therefore, it would be better to discard them completely.

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

Meanwhile, in Constantinople at night, after waking up and reviewing Natalia's ideas, Yang Hao and the others agreed to Natalia's arrangements and decided to entrust the matter of the "mortgage" to Natalia.

But then he thought that since the black dragon had already flown towards the Issugard colony command post earlier, and even if Natalia wanted to negotiate with the Issugards herself, it would be to no avail, Yang Hao still took on all the work that followed.

And it was not long after he had a brief playful exchange with the presiding judge and accompanied little Anna on a walk around.

Back in his office, Yang Hao learned from Theresa that the Protestant Church seemed to be making all the necessary defensive preparations in the direction of the Demon Realm. This greatly surprised Yang Hao, especially after noticing that Cecilia and Priscilla were standing on the front lines in the intelligence report.

"I thought they would choose to leave."

"But it seems not now?"

Theresa yawned, while Finn went to Gaparia once again to handle his work. Now, in the office belonging to the Purple-Robed Royal Family, they had a rare moment of alone time together.

"But frankly, let them do whatever they want on their own turf—we've already achieved our goal. The God of Light is dead, we have a strategic buffer zone, and more importantly, this buffer zone doesn't require us to provide any products. Great!"

Theresa's small cheer brought a smile to Yang Hao's face as well. But he quickly shook his head, saying he thought Cecilia would choose to run away again. He never expected her to give up this opportunity.

"Then tell me, where can she escape to?"

Theresa's question prompted Yang Hao to point to his own face:

"Let's not even talk about where she can escape to. To put it bluntly, Theresa... do you really think Romans look that different from other races?"

"...Hmm? I don't think so?" The little nun tilted her head, then rose from her throne and plopped down on Yang Hao's lap. "Putting aside personal looks... the Romans don't have any unique racial characteristics, you know?"

Unlike the Ling people who have antlers, unlike the elves who have pointed ears and emerald eyes, and unlike the Edenites who can freely disassemble their bodies...

To be honest, if a Romani were to infiltrate the Bayern people, setting aside common sense and social customs, it would be very difficult for us to tell whether they were Romani or not.

“Yes. If you only look at their appearance, no one can tell who is a Roman and who is a Bayern. So, if Cecilia and the others really use divine magic to disguise themselves and escape to our city, how many people do you think would be able to recognize them?”

The young nun frowned, then muttered a few words with her head down. After shifting her bottom to better fit the shape of the cushion beneath her, she sighed.

"I'm one. Finn will definitely recognize me too. Lalumia will definitely recognize me too, and besides that... there's Elena?"

"Not even Naruja?"

"She's so silly. It's okay for her to recognize golems, but she can't recognize people... Last time she even confused me with Lalumia."

“That’s quite normal… So, after confirming how many people can distinguish their disguised identities, Teresa, do you think we have the capacity to monitor their lives after they fled to our city?”

As he said this, Yang Hao gently pulled his wife into his arms. Before leaving to work at the colonial military base, he wanted to enjoy this rare moment of peace—and faced with Yang Hao's barrage of questions, Theresa remained completely silent.

Indeed, the United Nations would never allow its high command to fuss over two insignificant figures. Even knowing that the Saintess and the Witch were living in Constantinople under disguise, as long as they didn't do anything outrageous, the United Nations would never allocate precious resources to them.

Theresa and Finn go without saying; they have to deal with major domestic affairs, and every decree they issue concerns the well-being of tens of thousands of people. They even have to go into battle when necessary... Asking them to deal with two insignificant little people who are like mudfish burrowing around everywhere? Forget it.

Lalumia might have the time—but Lalumia is a deity representing [light], and Yang Hao didn't want to put the deity in a difficult position. After all, if the Holy Maiden and the Witch were truly secretly living in seclusion in Bayern with the intention of starting a new life, then Lalumia certainly wouldn't want to disturb them.

What about Elena?

She not only has the time, but also the energy to capture the saintess and the witch—but here's the problem: what use are they if you capture them?

If they lived peacefully and contentedly, the United Nations would at most send them back. But the problem was that they could not only secretly find a place to live within the United Nations, but also travel to the future Khanate of Khuttod and the Issugard colony, or even simply sail to Issugard itself to live.

The Romans, like other races, are all human beings and have no external racial characteristics whatsoever—if they really wanted to run away, there are far too many places in the world where they could hide.

For this reason, the United Nations is even less likely to allocate its precious high-level resources to these two people who want to run away at any time.

That's why Yang Hao exclaimed: You guys didn't run away but chose to stay in that godforsaken place.

"...Actually, Theresa, the reason I didn't object to your negotiations at the time was partly because our United Nations did need a buffer zone for future contact with the two countries...and the most important reason was that you didn't really wipe them out."

Yang Hao gently rested his chin on Theresa's white hair. He sighed with his eyes closed and said that it was precisely because he hadn't gone all the way that he had approved of Theresa and Finn's suggestion at the "junkyard."

"Because the Romans are the same as other races...at least outwardly there is no difference, so if the Protestant Romans want to and are willing to study hard, they will eventually be able to break away from their own race—not to mention whether they can enter the territory of the United Nations, but at least they should have no problem running into the territory of Isugard or the Khanate of Khuttod."

The Protestant monastery was located in what was theoretically the place with the largest collection of cultural materials in the Roman Empire. Although St. Petersburg was destroyed, a large number of books were buried under the rubble... If the Protestant Romans really wanted to leave the garbage dump, they still had that opportunity. And it wasn't just St. Petersburg; other towns in the diocese also had a large number of books... and the nuns around Cecilia were literate.

If they truly wanted to change their situation, they weren't in a desolate, icy wasteland, but rather in a mossy land where, though cold, hope still existed. Spring might not last long on this mossy land, but at least they had the possibility of getting out.

Moreover... although we unilaterally and completely rejected any trade and diplomatic requests related to Protestants, they can still provide assistance to the other two countries—perhaps the Issugard colony and the Khutto Khanate are unwilling to provide unconditional aid, but the Protestant Romanians are able-bodied and, even if they only undertake manual labor, they can still have a relatively stable life after getting through the most difficult year or two.

...Perhaps the only variable lies in whether the colonies of Isgard and the Khanate of Khutto will exile large numbers of Romans to Protestantism. But as you know, Theresa.

Protestants do not lack the right to reject those of Roman descent.

Yang Hao paused for a moment when he said this. Talking about the Romans always reminded him of his sworn brother, Natalia and Anna, Arthur and Dr. Joseph's family, and the Romans who had escaped the Roman Empire.

Hatred will never be eliminated.

But at least Yang Hao was willing to give them one last chance to be self-reliant. He could ignore their spontaneous efforts to improve themselves within this dump. He could allow capable Romans within the Protestant region to leave this dump, and he even permitted the Protestant Romans to establish diplomatic relations or even engage in trade with other countries or tribes outside the United Nations. Mainly because they had the capability.

If they truly possess this ability, it proves that these Romans can still be saved. If they genuinely choose to completely give up, Yang Hao wouldn't mind letting them stay in their small place and continue to give up.

If Yang Hao truly wanted to completely exterminate these Romans, he would have done so long ago. Given his current prestige, he could even build a factory within the parish to efficiently process the living Romans in batches.

Like processing products on an industrial assembly line, it's incredibly efficient, potentially killing thousands every minute—if he truly intended to exterminate the Romans, he had every opportunity. Even the refugee crisis, which Theresa described as plunging Protestantism into chaos, was, for Protestants, an optional danger.

Protestants could simply refuse any potential future influx of refugees by erecting barricades at the border to prevent their entry. This would not only prevent them from running out of food but also ensure that their territory does not exceed its capacity.

This is their freedom of choice—and in a sense, if those refugees were to attempt to forcibly enter Protestant territory from other directions, the United Nations would offer silent assistance because of the border issue.

In this context, is Protestantism today truly a complete and hopeless dumping ground? Not necessarily.

This is a place where there is still hope. And for the Protestant rulers... Saint Cecilia and the witch Priscilla could simply choose to flee, just as they had done before.

Yes, it's about running away.

In Yang Hao's vision, this was the best arrangement for both the saintess and the witch.

Since they've already run away so many times, why can't they run away one more time?

If they truly do not want to shoulder the hopes and pressures of the Protestant Romanians, they could simply choose to escape, just as they have done in the past.

No one will blame them. Because neither the United Nations nor any other country has any need to pay attention to Protestantism.

Even if there are any dissenting voices within Protestantism, they will most likely disappear in the ensuing chaos or disorder. At the very least, if these voices stabilize...

Can the fleeing saint and witch still hear those voices?

They could easily put it out of their minds and deceive themselves with lies or facts as they always have. They could easily get any life they wanted again; the only difference would be that they would be certain that Yang Hao would have no future connection with them.

They had no connection whatsoever; they could live as ordinary people, and their education and skills were sufficient to support them in doing so...

As long as they run away as they have in the past, they can likely live a happy and stable life for the rest of their lives.

So why not run?

Yang Hao sighed heavily.