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

“This is an elf, Your Majesty.”

Even their worst eyesight is better than the best human archers. Don't be fooled by the elves' slender figures; if the door below were to clamp down, my third leg might break off any day now.

Given such a vast difference in physical abilities, you actually—Hey! Sister, don't hit me with your Holy Light Cult's holy book! I hate the Church of Light!

"I fucking believe in the light, not that damned traitor God of Light! And don't fucking tell dirty jokes in front of my man!"

"You, as His Majesty's woman, can't even control him? Are you perhaps also a witch of the night?"

"You fucking said you wouldn't touch married women?!"

"Those noblewomen of the Roman Empire used to be called 'wives'? They openly flaunted their beauty in the court; they were just prostitutes in the name of 'wives.' This doesn't violate my principles!"

Where is your moral compass?!

"This is called a flexible and adaptable moral bottom line!"

The two people behind him seemed to be arguing, but Yang Hao gained a deeper understanding of the social structure of the elves.

Given the vast differences in physical abilities, what is grueling training that is comparable to torture for humans is merely child's play for elves.

In other words, the elves aren't the kind of people who are universally considered soldiers, as humans understand it...

Simply mobilizing the entire population to fight is not enough to describe the current situation of the elves!

They are a race where everyone is a hero or an elite...

...But this very race did not choose the conscription system to expand its military strength, but instead continued to use the ancient method of "volunteer military service"?

This... considering the upcoming war, is something that must be changed.

Yang Hao seemed to be deep in thought, and inadvertently stated his opinion:

"Although the shooting accuracy seems flawless... as expected, warriors without discipline are nothing more than powerful mobs. Even if they are elves."

His words silenced the two noisy people behind him. Before Theresa could even frown and voice her doubts, Arthur agreed first:

"Yes, Your Majesty. What the army needs is discipline and obedience to orders—don't be fooled by the fact that these elven prodigies are all sharpshooters. On the battlefield, delaying orders due to their own impulsiveness is a minor matter. The real danger is that they might lose their composure because of the death of their comrades and impulsively expose crucial ambushes or other strategies..."

"So I've decided on the first step of the reform—starting with conscription and training... Oh, by the way, I heard the Church of Light is planning to launch a war against the Elf Kingdom..."

"You already knew?"

"That's it."

During today's morning meeting with Fen, Yang Hao gained a general understanding of the crisis facing the Elf Kingdom.

The first thing to bear is the invasion by the parish at the end of the year, followed by the possible demonic calamity within the next decade, and sandwiched between them is Ysgard's colonial invasion of the continent of Elusia.

Leaving aside the possibility of the latter becoming a temporary ally, the first two types of aggression by the parish must be addressed.

Yang Hao didn't trust the organization and combat effectiveness of these elf child soldiers going to the battlefield right now. Therefore, it was crucial to immediately organize them for military training, to help them understand the essence of being a soldier and a military man, and to instill in them obedience and discipline...

In addition, there is the mobilization of resources to support military reforms, which is essentially a form of mobilization.

In Yang Hao's mind, one aspect of the elven reform was already clear: the reform of the conscription system and the overall mobilization of the elven kingdom. At least until the diocese invasion was withstood, the mobilization should not be lifted.

But what should we do next?

Yang Hao urged Arthur to take him to a useful place for inspection without stopping, while Arthur shrugged and let Yang Hao push his wheelchair and point the way.

This time they arrived at the bow factory, about ten blocks away from Arthur's house, across the River of Friendship. Arthur said his wife was working diligently inside, but it wouldn't hurt to go and bother her.

Where is your child?

"The children are being cared for by my mother-in-law's great-grandparents."

"..."

It was truly unimaginable to see a family spanning dozens of generations living together. Yang Hao and Mother Teresa looked at each other in silence, yet they could see the envy in each other's eyes. They couldn't help but blush at the same time, and then quickly turned back to their work.

They entered the bow factory, and before Arthur could excitedly stand up from his wheelchair, a cold, blond-haired, blue-eyed elf walked directly up to him with a stick in hand.

The staff seemed to have been enchanted with something that was highly sought after in the Roman Empire. In Yang Hao's limited knowledge, the staff was covered with three enchantment arrays: [Durability], [Pain], and [Non-lethal].

If a mage capable of this kind of enchanting effect were in the capital of the Roman Empire, the nobles and landowners would probably spend their entire fortunes to hire him... But now, for elves, they can enchant an ordinary wooden stick at will?

Just to break her cheating husband's legs?

She stared expressionlessly at Arthur, who was sweating profusely, then glanced at Yang Hao and Theresa, who were standing far behind Arthur and seemingly not intending to intervene. Finally, she returned her gaze to Arthur—but her shifty gaze lingered on his broken left leg, his intact right leg, and his third leg in between.

"Arthur, my husband."

The elf's cool voice caused cold sweat to pour down Arthur's forehead like a waterfall.

“You remember the promises we made to each other when we got married. Now I’ve found out that last month, while I was focused on my work, you were having an affair with Helivia in the bathroom in the office on the second floor above me. Not only that, when I asked you about it, you said you had a stomachache and it would take you more than two hours to go to the bathroom.”

Now, left leg, right leg, or third leg, which do you choose? Because I also need your third leg, I'll break it four times, and each time I'll have a sorcerer come to heal it—I'll break it four times in front of that auntie who slept with you seven times this year, so what do you plan to choose?"

"Well, Viya... well, it's still her left leg, right? If her right leg is broken too, then there'll be no way to explain it to the children..."

"Oh."

The elf, whom Arthur called Via, nodded, then raised the exquisite wooden stick in her hand, which looked like a work of art, and delivered a heavy blow to Arthur's left leg.

Arthur was quite tough; facing his wife's heavy blows with the enchanted staff, he didn't even utter a sound, only showing a pained expression that he was used to and quickly hugging his wife's leg.

"Viya, my wife—now that His Majesty has arrived, at least let me properly guide him, right?"

"That's natural."

She shrugged, placed the intact stick on the ground, and then put her hand on Arthur's bleeding left leg. With a flash of green light, the bleeding stopped, but the leg remained broken and showed no signs of healing.

Why didn't this woman just beat Arthur to death?

Theresa felt that this was not enough to vent her anger, and just then, Viya turned Arthur's wheelchair around and pushed him to Yang Hao.

“Thank you for taking care of my worthless husband before,” she said. “And I have also heard about your deeds and the little queen’s affairs… Please believe that it is not you who are wrong, but Roman’s barbarian.”

"...Thank you. But is Arthur alright?" Yang Hao pointed to Arthur, who remained silent.

"It's nothing. It's just a broken leg. I'll have that old lady come over in a month to cut off his leg and then let it regenerate—but then they might have to spend another hour or so in bed for treatment, so I'll be watching the whole thing this time."

"Oh...oh...your family life seems quite happy."

"Thank you. Everyone says so."

"..."

I have so much to say, but I don't know how to begin.

Seeing the female manager around them who hadn't forgotten to greet Arthur, Yang Hao and Theresa exchanged a glance and noticed that the weariness in each other's eyes had deepened.

Even at this point, they still haven't divorced. Yang Hao and Theresa really have nothing to say except wish Arthur and his family happiness in the future...

...This time, the one taking over the commentary from Arthur was Miss Viya, whose head was faintly glowing with countless green lights.

Based on what they had seen and heard along the way, Yang Hao and Theresa had good reason to suspect that the female elf at the bow factory had probably slept with Arthur more times than Via, his legal wife... But even so, Via still loved Arthur, and Arthur loved Via from the bottom of his heart—perhaps this was the elven tradition of valuing promises.

I made it clear when I got married that I would definitely cheat. If you said you'd break my legs if I cheated, and you're still willing to get married and become a family under those circumstances, then this couple, with their occasional broken legs, is indeed a happy family...

In short, we've gone off on a tangent.

“This is a workshop specializing in longbow making. As you can see, we still practice traditional elven handcrafting.” Via explained, pointing to a craftsman nearby who was intently sculpting a bow. “As for our longbows… Arthur should have already explained it to you. Our people have been doing this for thousands of years, and it remains so even now.”

“I understand. So, are the arrows manufactured elsewhere?”

"I suppose so—the arrows are produced in the oak forests north of Fingel, around the oak mines. After all, that's where we get our mineral supply."

"Is Oak Mine a place name?"

"It's not just the place name, but also because that mine was commissioned by us to be mined by an ancient tree in the Elf Forest."

"Oh?"

This made Yang Hao's eyes widen again: This, allowing ancient trees to be excavated?

Could it be true that the ancient trees of the elves can stand up?

He looked at Arthur, who finally nodded in affirmation.

"Some tree-people can stand, but most ancient trees are rooted to the ground and cannot move—yet even so, the trees of the Elf Forest have formed a symbiotic relationship with the elves. Without damaging the environment, the ancient trees mine minerals for the elves..."

"Well, Your Majesty, do you understand? Elves don't need miners to mine. Within the Elven Forest, minerals can be collected from ancient trees. Therefore, items requiring metal, like arrows, will naturally settle around concentrated mining areas..."

"...I'm just surprised that the rumors are true."

"You didn't even show this expression when you discovered my title 'Emperor of the Night' was real back then?!"

An emotional Arthur was slapped on the head by Viya, and then he obediently lowered his head with a wronged look.

Chapter Seventeen: The Flames of Elf Revolution, The Login of the Isgard Fleet

In the Elf Kingdom, there exists a symbiotic species called the "Tree People".

With the introduction of Ms. Viya, who is already 300 years old—well, that's still quite young for an elf—Yang Hao and Theresa gained a general understanding of the ecological relationship between the tree people and the elves.

They are an inseparable ecosystem. The magic of the elves makes the Elf Forest more habitable for trees, and the trees, in turn, give the elves better places to gather.

The two sides exchanged gifts back and forth, much like childhood sweethearts who had been exchanging presents every day since they were young and had eventually been married for decades. They were already inseparable—one could say that if the elves perished, the Elf Forest would also disappear, but before that, all the ancient trees would make the intruders pay the price.

Conversely, if the Elf Forest is destroyed, the elves will launch a desperate attack on the invaders.

In this situation, it is reasonable and even a matter of course that the ancient tree would be willing to mine for the elves in a way that promotes mutual survival and harmonious growth.

However, the way the ancient trees "mined" was hard to describe.

Using an analogy that Yang Hao could understand, the ancient tree would send its roots directly into the ground where the mineral vein was located, and then suck out the mineral from underground like sucking jelly with a straw.

Not only do they extract minerals, but they also process them within specialized tree cavities—according to Viya, this is the result of the combined efforts of elven magic and the ancient tree.

With the aid of elven magic, the cavities of ancient trees possess the high temperatures required for smelting metal without being burned by the intense heat. This method of mining not only avoids environmental damage but also allows for the direct extraction of finished products such as metal blanks or steel ingots.

It looks perfect, but the efficiency... is truly indescribable.

The combined efficiency of the Roman Empire's slave mines and forges was far greater than that of the Elven oak mines in producing the metal ingots necessary for arrow making. Although it caused significant environmental pollution, damaged the terrain, and might even result in occasional deaths, the total amount of iron ingots they produced was much greater, at least three to four times more efficient than the Elven production capacity Yang Hao had heard about.

The Elven Oak Mine, on the other hand, trades efficiency for environmental protection and integrated product manufacturing. Yang Hao had some reservations about the inefficient output, but upon reflection on the symbiotic relationship between the Elven Forest and the Elven people, he felt relieved.

This is the unique forest industrial base of the elves, which must coexist with the Elf Forest—not all places are suitable for the early, heavily polluting human factories. Since the elves have their own characteristics, it's sufficient to make suggestions based on their characteristics.

But then again...

I've heard that the ancient trees can mine metal ingots, but with extremely low efficiency—do they actually possess the processing capabilities and minimum efficiency required for basic industry? How long does it take for an oak tree to grow to its full potential? That's another good question.

Yang Hao fell into deep thought, while Miss Viya, on behalf of her dissolute husband, explained to them some unknown details about the bow factory.