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

In the draft law on conscription, the care for the remaining members is of paramount importance.

"This is reasonable, giving the remaining branches a chance to take revenge."

Yang Hao stated his points, gesturing vigorously and vividly. At that moment, he was like a musician, or a conductor. He was stirring the emotions of the old fogies, not only with facts, but also with the contrast between a bright future and a terrible outcome after failure.

"After all, everyone knows that it was the Roman Empire people—or rather, the predecessor of the Roman Empire's Church of Light—who were behind it. It's just that no one has evidence, and the Elf Kingdom is unable to provide them with the help of revenge due to its large population."

But things are different now—the parish has initiated the invasion, and the Remnants can avenge their husbands, their fathers, and their sons without violating their elven oaths. Similarly, the elven kingdom can use this opportunity to make amends for its past wrongs, and more importantly... we need all the resources and warriors we can.

After all, this is a war concerning the life and death of the race. I think the elves know better than I do the filth and corruption of the parish. They won't let the elves go, and this invasion might even be just a ploy to wipe out their own population, because they are truly capable of doing it.

Therefore, we need to unite all forces that can be united and concentrated. Masters, this is not only for the sake of the current Elf Kingdom, but also for the sake of future children who can grow up safely under the shade of the trees!

After saying that, Yang Hao took a breath and rested for the time being.

His words, especially the last sentence, "So that future generations can grow up safely under the shade of trees," indeed silenced the old fogies, especially those who still had reservations about the conscription policy.

Admittedly, they were far too old... their outdated ideas still influenced every aspect of the elven kingdom. These old folks refused to even entertain the slightest possibility until they saw something truly new. They stubbornly believed that the elves were too perfect to change, while the human regent showed them the truth—times had changed.

...In the end, the era belongs to the new generation of children. What these old fogies have to do is to provide a safe haven before they die, so that the children of the elves can grow up safely.

They exchanged glances, and finally, an old elf stood up and slowly walked up to Yang Hao.

The old, decrepit elf gazed intently at Yang Hao's face with his aged yet luminous eyes, while Yang Hao met his gaze without flinching.

After a while.

"You're right."

The old elf spoke.

"The new era belongs to the children; we are too old. We are too old to allow young people to think freely, and we have bound them for too long with our perfect but outdated ideas and traditions, making them repeat the same old paths of thousands of years ago in an ever-changing world."

Humans, we are but a stubborn yet cowardly bunch of old elves. You are still young, do you really... have the courage and boldness to lead us into a new era?

"...Fin wanted me to do this, which is why he made the deal with me. But I must make it clear that I am not doing this for the elves, but for my child far away in Roman, and for the person who saved my life."

“Very honest. Elves like honest people. I believe you. After all, that poor little queen has nowhere to go in Roman, while Gaparia will always be your home.”

The old elf nodded, then took out a dagger from his waist, cut off a lock of his long hair, and solemnly handed the dull golden hair to the bewildered Yang Hao.

Afterwards, the old elf put down his cane, bowed slightly to Yang Hao sincerely, and then left the venue.

As if it were a signal, all the old elves orderly left their seats. They approached Yang Hao, shaking his hands warmly and offering words of encouragement. Each of them cut off a lock of their hair and solemnly handed it to Yang Hao, bowing slightly before turning and leaving.

It was as if doing this would allow them to leave work and have dinner earlier, but for some reason, Yang Hao always felt that their actions had a deeper meaning.

Finally, the archery master was the last to leave.

He pressed a strand of his hair onto the golden mountain of hair, then laughed and left, muttering foolish things like, "I'll wait until that gun is delivered to my hands before I go to sleep."

Only Yang Hao's group, Fen, and Qinna remained in the venue. Yang Hao and his companions looked at Fen, puzzled and hoping for an explanation, but Fen simply smiled and said:

"Find the tailors at Green Garden. They know what to do. Please leave now; I'll come find you later."

"So, this meeting..."

"It's all over now. The old fogies will do everything in their power to support all your changes—please rest now, you've earned the recognition and respect of all the elves."

The man breathed a sigh of relief. After bowing to Fen, he left with the nun and Arthur.

Fen and Qinna stayed where they were for a long time.

Finally, Qinna spoke with difficulty:

"A gesture of allegiance...they've never even done such a thing to you...Fen?"

"Isn't this a good thing? The stubborn old elf has recognized his abilities and approved of the future reforms of the elves. This is a good thing."

“But Finn—this means…this means they’d be more willing to obey His Majesty the Regent than your orders!”

"So this is a good thing."

Finn stood up with a sigh, murmuring to himself—the old elves are pledging allegiance to a human from elsewhere, a human they invited themselves. Isn't that a good thing?

She was not a stubborn human ruler. Fern was the Queen of the Elves. And the Queen of the Elves' responsibility was to make the Elves better.

Even if it means giving up one's rights as a Finn, if doing so can make the elves better and allow them to reach their peak, then it's all good.

But that's how it is...

Your Majesty the Regent must... must remain in Gaparia.

Fen smiled; she had rarely experienced such a strong emotional fluctuation in a long time.

If at the beginning she only regarded Yang Hao as a regent whose position she would be willing to trade for, even if it meant exchanging the title of king for her husband, then now she was beginning to vaguely consider him as the eternal king of the Elf Kingdom and her eternal husband.

Elves are very stubborn in their emotions.

Once the first signs appear, it's destined that the emotional outcome will eventually become extremely morbid.

At this moment, Finn already felt a slight... sour taste in her mouth at the nun's preemptive strike. But after all, she was an elf who respected His Majesty the Regent; she wasn't one of those lonely old women who had lived alone for hundreds of years. How could she possibly lay a hand on the nun?

...

I still need to try my best to impress him during this period.

Fen sighed.

I'm a little disappointed that I didn't wear my best clothes today.

Just as Finaisen was sighing, suddenly, an elven mage burst into the meeting room.

He hurriedly bowed to Fen, then said in a flustered tone:

"It seems the parish acted ahead of schedule! Many natives of the Monster Forest have already fled to the edge of the Elf Forest... They are pleading for our protection. What should we do?"

The parish...acted ahead of schedule? But—why are they attacking the demons of the Demon Forest? Aren't we their target?

Finn blinked, but quickly gave the order:

"Have His Majesty the Regent come to the meeting room to wait for me. I need to speak with him. Meanwhile, the parish's act of sending troops into the Monster Forest has already broken the current promise, so the elves can also reasonably abandon their oath... Send our rangers to conduct reconnaissance within the parish. I want to see what these beastly bastards are planning to do."

She paused for a moment, then added:

"Let the rangers move freely as long as they are safe. If they break the rules first, their soldiers will pay the price."

"Yes."

The war started ahead of schedule.

And Fen probably never imagined it.

The parish invaded ahead of schedule because their "Demon Fighting Clan" was in full swing.

Chapter 1: The Redeemer Army, Oak Factory, Metal Golem, and Allies

[9K5 Large Chapters W]

It was the early morning of May 20th, Imperial Calendar 005, World Calendar 1404.

The slave-catching team of the Roman Empire's diocese, or rather, the "Redemption Army," was currently carrying out their daily work in the Demon Forest, which was to capture demons—or rather, to "welcome" these heretics in the name of the God of Light, allowing them to atone for their past deeds in the diocese's "Demon City," while also enabling them to peacefully ascend to heaven.

In reality, everyone knows what they're really doing. The newly formed "Redemption Army" of the parish is composed of a bunch of religious scoundrels. Before enlisting, they had already attacked countless innocent, non-religious women in the name of God of Light. This time, they can not only continue their old ways, but they can even extend their reach to foreigners they've never touched before—isn't that a wonderful thing?

Of course, simply allowing them to touch women wouldn't be enough to get them into the perilous monster forest with high morale. The bishops paid each member of the "Redemption Army" an extremely high salary, which was kept in the name of the God of Light in the diocese's bank and could be withdrawn at any time.

Moreover, every member of the "Redemption Army" receives leather protective gear in addition to weapons as a safety guarantee—although this leather armor looks of poor quality and is not as good as the ancestral leather armor of the soldiers in the military region, at least it is indeed genuine equipment, isn't it?

So, driven by money, desire, and equipment, the "Redemption Army" marched into the forest in a mighty procession, chanting the slogans of the God of Light.

In less than ten days, they captured approximately ten thousand demons and sold them to the Demon City at high prices.

The Demon City is a commercial and competitive city specifically designed to host the Demon Battle. Although it doesn't look very grand yet, its daily visitor flow is now comparable to the most prosperous capital city and Drake Port within the Roman Empire.

And for some reason, the food in the Demon City is plentiful; if tourists are willing to spend a little money, they can even eat fresh meat.

But what's most attractive about Demon City is definitely the arena competition based on the [Demon Fighting Clan]!

Humans simply love watching others fight. It's not just for the spectacle, but also to choose one side and show off their power—after all, the punches aren't hitting them, and they won't be the ones getting hurt or killed. So naturally, the audience gets excited about the bloody battle between the demons, clenching their fists while hysterically shouting nonsensical slogans and jumping up and down on the platform like madmen.

These are just the regular paying audience members. Those gamblers who wager on words of atonement will have their hearts pounding with excitement at the battle between the demons.

"I heard that the village chief of Shkul village earned several hundred gold coins after participating in the two-day demon-fighting competition..."

A Redemption Army vanguard muttered to himself, his eyes gleaming with envy as he warily surveyed the green forest:

"Hundreds of gold coins, all because he bet on a cat-man who looked incredibly skinny—hey! I thought that burly bear-man would win! But..."

"It seems that demons possess different abilities depending on their race. Cat-people are incredibly agile, while bear-people, though strong, are also bulky and burly. After suffering several bloody gashes on their ankles from the cat's claws, they could only lie on the ground, helpless and at the mercy of their prey..."

"I heard that some beautiful demons are imprisoned in underground courts by priests... Don't you think it's basically a brothel?"

"Very likely. I've heard that some nobles are willing to spend thousands of gold coins just to sleep with a cat-person..."

"More importantly, I heard that the Kingdom of Alese sent us a lot of fish, saying they hope their prince will marry the queen in the latter half of next year..."

"Our empire is thriving! As long as we get through the drought, everything will be alright!"

The demons have made countless profits for the parish.

The strong can fight in the arena and ignite a gambling frenzy, the thin and beautiful can be welcomed into bed by the enormous members of noblemen, and even the thin and ugly—even infants—have their uses.

A member of the Redemption Army bowed his head and stroked the bone cross of the God of Light on his chest: This thing was carved from the skull of a demon. It is said that the younger the demon's skull, the more blessings the God of Light can accumulate.

He spent all his savings to buy the skull cross of a six-year-old demon, which should guarantee him more money after this operation.

And it's not just the skull.

The blood of demons can be used as magical materials for priests to squander on research, and the flesh of some demons has a unique fragrance, which is now the gossip of the high-class people in the parish.

The demons' veins can be used to make bowstrings, and their skin can be used to make tents and blankets.

Not to mention their extraordinary magical organs—even the worst ones are worth collecting, and the better ones are priceless! Demons are truly a treasure trove!

The demons, who were full of treasures, drove the farmers in the central region, who were already desperate due to the drought, to take desperate risks, as did the gamblers who had gone bankrupt and were left destitute.

However, with the addition of tens of thousands of "Redemption Army" members conducting a thorough search of the Demon Forest, the number of demons that can be captured is truly dwindling.

On the afternoon of the 20th, the Redemption Army members were all cursing. They found three villages in the forest that were supposed to be inhabited by demons, but they didn't see a single person or even a single animal in the three villages.

"Where did they all go?! Screw them! I was hoping to fuck Catwoman today!"

Some hot-tempered Redeemers kicked over the cooking utensils they hadn't had time to take. They hadn't caught a single demon all day; it looked like they were going to be out of luck today.

If you don't want to end up with nothing, the best thing to do is see if any of your allies have captured any demons. If they're willing to share some with your side, that would be ideal.