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

“We are facing the same predicament as the Arese. Now, the Arese are reaping the consequences, but we still have enough resources on our land for another ten years.”

"Wow... In other words, the Ares have become our textbooks?"

"It is something we can learn from—after all, based on our observations, an industry that loses its raw materials is simply not worth mentioning."

As an archipelago nation, Allese faces a more severe resource shortage than Issugard.

According to Nia, they have almost exhausted all the metal resources on the island. If they want to continue mining, they can either go directly to the mining area in the eastern part of Roman Magic Domain or find a way to build a marine mine in the shallow sea.

The former presents a greater problem—because the mining district is defended by the Mining Council, which split off from the Roman Empire. Even if the mining district is conquered, how to transport the minerals to the Alesse Islands is another significant issue.

The latter problem is significant, but at least the Aleser people have a solution... At least under Nia's watchful eye, the Aleser people have begun to try using sand to reclaim land from the sea and build their own offshore mines in areas where there may be mineral deposits.

However—before that mine can officially operate, the Aleseans will be in the awkward situation of having no ore available for a long time. Their factories will be shut down for a long period of time, and after the last batch of molten iron is completely emptied, the Aleseans will no longer be able to produce their ironclad ships.

Nia fully recognized the importance of raw materials to industry. She regarded the Aresers as a model that Ysugard could learn from, and paid more attention to the results achieved on the continent of Elusia.

Although the territory that Ysgard can occupy is not very large, at least the mineral resources in those places are enough... As long as it can maintain friendly relations with the United Nations, Ysgard will not be in a predicament due to the lack of raw materials.

But getting back to the main point, Isgard doesn't need to worry about what the Ares will do to the rest of the voyage.

They can't even repair the boat! Let alone take it out for any activity!

Nia was very confident in her prediction, and Margarita agreed after careful consideration.

However, she was still reminding Nia—reminding Nia to ensure Yang Hao's safety again and again.

If Yang Hao were to get into trouble, not only would the problems in Issugard remain unresolved, but the passionate relationship between the two countries would also plummet to a freezing point.

Issugard cannot afford such a loss.

"I know. I'll arrange it. And while I can't protect everyone, flying away with His Majesty Yang Hao in an emergency is a piece of cake... So, that concludes today's arrangements? Do I need to inform him about the Sirens?"

"No need. You can decide on the Sirens' side yourself. After all, we can get feedback if the United Nations makes progress, right? But Nia... please hold back, at least until we return home before taking any action, okay?"

"Margarita, you want to come too?"

Nia looked at Margarita with suspicion in her eyes.

Enraged by Nia's idea, Margarita said, "If you really care, I'll just send you out yourself." She then hung up the call and decided to rest before starting work this afternoon.

To be honest, she envied Nia for finding her sweetheart... but frankly, if Ysgard really wanted to establish a closer relationship with the United Nations, Nia and Yang Hao's union would be enough.

She is destined to work hard alone, striving for the next day's sun in Ysgard... But then again, is it possible that they will go to war with the United Nations in the future?

Margarita muttered to herself, "War is impossible. We can only survive with the help of the United Nations. Only a fool would want to start a war."

However, Margarita still hopes to achieve as much equality as possible between the two sides... but how can she do that?

President Blood Demon fell into deep thought.

But at that moment, she suddenly realized that everything around her had stopped.

Time seemed to stand still. The blood in the cup no longer shimmered. The bird outside the window fluttered its wings in the same spot, but its body could no longer move forward. Instead, it turned its head and stared intently at Margarita in the office with its black eyes.

"Long time no see, Margarita."

The bird uttered a lively, girlish voice. Margarita paused for a moment, then sighed in relief:

"Long time no see, Gaia—you've finally come to find me after all these decades?"

"The achievements on the continent of Elusia have been accomplished in ways I could not have imagined... Although the process was different, at least in terms of the result, an empire capable of fighting against demons has been established."

"So, you're here to mock me for not doing a good job?"

"No, I'm here to warn you."

The being known as Gaia shook her head.

"Beneath the mountains of the continent of Orros, the mother nest, which had been burned to death, is showing signs of resurgence."

On the continent of Orros, lies the only slightly raised mountain range within the kingdom of Isgard. Deep within Isgard's most important mineral-producing region lie countless carbonized demon skeletons, burned by karmic fire thousands of years ago.

Margarita had discussed with Nia the crucial question of whether any demons might have survived, a question that remained unresolved.

But now, the problem is solved.

There are still demons alive.

This is absolutely terrible.

Chapter 3: The President's Difficulties and Missiles-8K

Inside the Roman Demon Realm, in the Roman Mother Nest, out of the sight of Prince Garsen, who had transformed into a demon, and his head maid, a demon servant with both hands severed observed the Roman demons outside the realm who were in a state of disarray and infighting. At the same time, he solemnly poured his life force into the Mother Nest, hoping to awaken yet another Mother Nest on another continent that was on the verge of death and had entered a state of hibernation.

Frankly, the hope is slim. But for the demon servants, it is the necessary path to ensure the survival of their race.

"...After all, I can't guarantee that the Ice Calamity will survive and devour my body, inheriting my intelligence and evolutionary abilities..."

The demon servant, weakly pinned to the siphon of the mother nest and constantly losing blood, said.

"These humans have a genuine [god] helping them... If they were truly fearless, they could actually kill the Titans..."

I can't put all my eggs in one basket. I have to find a backup plan and create a new life for our species.

The Mother Nest on the continent of Orros, which wasn't completely burned to death, is the best option...

Demons are a peculiar race. At least that statement applies to the original demons.

Every few hundred years, the primordial demon race gives birth to a special type of demon known as the "Healer"—a flying octopus-like demon with the ability to heal its companions. In a sense, they are the most valuable "technicians" among the demon race.

However, the reason why the Healer is so precious is not because of its healing ability—on the contrary, almost all demons have the ability to heal their companions.

However, demons concentrate their main power on their special abilities, making their healing abilities appear extremely weak. This leads outsiders to mistakenly believe that healers are the only high-ranking demons capable of healing demons, and thus they receive high levels of protection from all demons.

But actually, this is wrong.

What truly makes the Healer so precious is not its powerful healing abilities, but rather the fact that the Healer possesses the most vigorous life force among demons—something demons call "evolutionary potential."

By consuming evolution potential, healers possess healing abilities far more powerful than other demons. Similarly, if a healer demon lives long enough, it will learn the skill to control the evolution potential of its companions.

At that time, the Healer will become a [Mother's Nest Assistant] within the demon horde—it will be able to [blend] demons to break through their evolutionary limits, transforming them into more advanced demons. Simultaneously, it will learn the ability to directly transfer its life force to the distant demon mother's nest...

The former means that some demons will be able to break through the existing evolution limit and become more advanced units; the latter means that as long as there are [Hive Assistants] alive, and as long as the destroyed demon hives still have a breath left, the demons can [resurrect] the destroyed hives in the distance.

The demon servant needs the latter—although he is not a healer demon, if all his life force as a high-ranking demon is given to the dying hibernating mother nest on the continent of Orros, although it cannot heal immediately, it can awaken the other party and start producing demon larvae...

...However, this means that the life force required has exceeded the limit of the demon servant.

He calculated that awakening the demonic lair on another continent would likely lead to his immediate death—although the demon servants were prepared, his meager life force was indeed insufficient when he needed to leave a legacy for the Ice Calamity simultaneously...

What should we do? How can we ensure sufficient vitality?

The increasingly weakened demon servant pondered.

And it was at this moment that, sensing the presence of his own kind... he noticed the primal demons approaching.

"...What are you doing here?"

The Roman Mother Nest currently lacks the ability to produce high-level demons, let alone Titan demons.

So what comes here are larvae or juvenile demons produced by the mother nest some time ago.

Under normal circumstances, the larvae are carefully placed in the safest part of the demon mother's nest. The young demons who can move on their own are assigned various tasks according to their size and abilities. With the Roman demons waging war on themselves in the demon realm, the young demons, after completing their transformation of the land around the Roman mother's nest, can only stay in this relatively safe area to wait for their growth.

Normally, they wouldn't come here.

So, why did you come here?

The demon servant stared blankly at the weak demons gathered around him, and then he saw the larvae and juveniles resting on the absorption tank.

"..."

A vast amount of life force surged from the demons. These lesser demons, who would be of little use for a long time to come, chose to transform their bodies into the most basic life force to replenish the consumption of the demon servants.

The demon servant wanted to say something, but in the end, he swallowed all his words back down.

after all.

Needless to say.

In the world of demons, sacrifices are made in a specific order.

The most numerous and easiest to produce ordinary demons will spontaneously sacrifice themselves for precious individuals.

The Demon Realm of Romance needs demon servants. The next great demonic calamity will also require demon servants.

Even newborn demon larvae possess a sense of self-sacrifice for the greater good of their species.

The demon servant knew that nothing he said would make a difference, and he also understood that he didn't have the strength to struggle.

He could only passively accept the sacrifice of his kin. He escaped the guilt of his kin's sacrifice by closing his eyes and experiencing everything that happened in the Demon Realm.

It was only while experiencing the Demon Realm.

He always noticed the Roman devil who was engaged in civil war.

Watching those Roman demons wantonly destroy the environment of the demon realm, watching them fight each other over trivial ideas.

The demon servant felt that the demon realm he had painstakingly created might ultimately be less effective than simply opening the rift and invading it step by step.

......

Meanwhile, in Issugard.

After learning about the demon's actions from Gaia, Margarita immediately went to the area surrounding the Isgard Mountains to discuss the mining of the minerals beneath the mountains with her political advisors.

It must be admitted that Ysgard has never seen a demon. Even if Margarita now knows that the demon is about to awaken, how to present this fact in a way that makes it believable is another good question.

It's like knowing someone's wife is cheating on him, but you don't know how to subtly bring it up or get the poor guy to believe it... Margarita has to do it gradually, rather than directly telling him that you're being cheated on.

Otherwise, even if Margarita's own staff were willing to believe it, the neutrals probably wouldn't... If disagreements arose within the country on major issues, it would mean unacceptable losses for Margarita.

"Therefore... we may need to deal with the issue of minerals in the mountains ahead of schedule."

As Margarita pointed to the mineral map in front of her, she also paid attention to the area Gaia called the "Bottom of the Abyss." That was Isgard's largest iron ore deposit. There were still about ten years' worth of mines left to extract.

"Although the minerals from the continent of Elusia cannot be transported here in the short term, it is clear that we must prepare for the construction of infrastructure and the upgrading and development of weapons, and all of this requires a large amount of steel."

Demanding increased mining efforts under the guise of "national development" wouldn't attract much attention... Then, during the mining process, an "accidental" threat of a demon is discovered, gradually convincing the people of the demon's existence. Based on this, the nation prepares its citizens and subjects psychologically, while simultaneously strengthening national cohesion for unforeseen circumstances...

This is Margarita's plan.

But she also knew.

"But...Mr. President? Is it really necessary for us to directly exploit the limited mineral resources underground? You know, once we really deplete them, the future will be..."