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

Fen, sitting to the side, simply smiled and watched.

After a moment, Yang Hao, who couldn't come up with a solution for the time being, could only say that it was a good idea—but let's talk about the demon race.

"Demons? Heh, they're quite docile. They know who's protecting them. They won't start a rebellion in the Elf Forest—but Your Majesty, Regent, you intend to take them in, don't you?"

"...Yes. After all, we need people. We need more people. We also need more warriors. The demons are the best warriors, and their hatred for Roman is even greater than mine."

"If the little empress were treated the same way, you would only wish that not enough Romans had died."

"Perhaps."

The exact number of demons accepted by the elves is now over 72,000.

Among them, werewolves and cat people are the most numerous, bear people are fewer, and the rarest are the Listeners who, upon sensing danger, immediately follow the spiritual connection of their own kind to come over. There are probably more than two hundred of them, but none of them are as powerful as Naruja, who can create golems independently and control them precisely.

Therefore, Naruja directly became the leader of all the Listeners—who, after joining Gaparia and navigating the initial chaos, became members of the Golem-making brigade. They disliked conflict and would be extremely willing to secure a place for themselves by creating Golems.

But dealing with werewolves, cat people, and bear people is much more complicated.

These demons, unlike the Listeners, lacked spiritual connection and were not able to integrate into their original tribes quickly—they had many conflicts among themselves. The werewolves had once competed with the cat-people for foraging grounds, and the bear-people had stirred up chaos in various places during the spring. They were currently united only because of their status as refugees, forced to prepare for the impending catastrophe. However, to truly unite them as one, they would need the help of other forces.

Religion is a powerful force—Yang Hao had long known that Theresa had been secretly praying for the demons in St. Petersburg in the newly built chapel, and he also knew that she seemed to have the ability to perform miracles. In a sense, she was actually a saint of light, so he knew that Theresa would definitely do something for the poor demons.

Because that's just how she is; she's sharp-tongued and her tongue can cut through flesh and pierce the heart. In reality, she's a little nun who can't bear to see normal, pitiful people suffer.

Even so, Yang Hao never considered ordering Theresa to make any contributions for him.

Just as he had said to Theresa before—he had been indulging in his whims with Theresa for far too long.

He hoped that Theresa's desire to help the demons was genuine (a little bit of selfishness), and not something she would do because of his orders, even if she found it troublesome and annoying. After all, it was something Theresa deserved.

They had weathered the toughest times together, and it was only natural that they should treat each other with respect and tolerance for each other's flaws—although Yang Hao always felt that he owed her more.

"Actually, as long as the demons are willing to obey our orders, the Elf Forest is also willing to treat them as its subjects."

Just as Yang Hao was contemplating the beauty of Teresa, Finn suddenly blew a soft breath.

This made Yang Hao freeze, and after stammering a few words, a few drops of cold sweat trickled down his forehead.

After all, even if he lacked emotional intelligence, he would understand Finn's hints.

As long as the demons are willing to obey "your and my" orders—if Theresa were here, she would probably start cursing right away, right?

By directly using the demons' public opinion as a pretext, Yang Hao would be forced, under a calculated scheme, to admit that he was on par with Fen, or even had a close relationship with him... Even if Yang Hao was unwilling, the elves would likely treat him as their founding father. Given the elves' stubbornness, no matter how much he tried to explain, he would never be able to shake off the inexplicable constraints that had been placed upon him...

That's just how elves are; once they've made up their minds about something, they'll never back down.

He didn't want that! He had already planned that if the little queen and the chief judge were rescued and the little queen was still willing to stay by his side, he would let the little queen call Theresa his godmother... But Finn, you suddenly stabbed me in the back like this, what am I supposed to do about my future plans?

To avoid Finn delving further into the topic, Yang Hao could only use the excuse of drinking water to deflect Finn's displeasure, and then laughed as he talked about the changes in the elven society over the past ten days.

The introduction of the Japa 1404 rifle sparked a wave of change in Gaparia's society.

Almost everyone was captivated by this magical rifle, and the elves quickly discovered that the Japa 1404 rifle, among the types of firearms, was actually as basic as a primitive bow.

Some elves worked day and night, neglecting sleep and meals, discussing with their friends how to improve the rifle. Their ingenious ideas were even faster than Yang Hao's own design efforts, but the most unexpected among them was Dr. Joseph.

Since arriving in Gaparia, Dr. Joseph and his family have become completely obsessed with the medical skills of the elves.

One day, he overheard an elf passing by talking about the power of the Japa 1404. Out of curiosity, he learned a little about the situation and suddenly said that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, the bullet's tip was the key to the damage—but from the perspective of an ordinary creature, the caliber of this gun seemed too large.

"This thing can smash half of a pig's body to pieces when it hits it! Its power is ridiculously excessive!"

This was the conclusion Dr. Joseph reached after excitedly watching the elves conduct target practice. He then discussed it with his newly acquainted elf friend, and they agreed that they could reduce the caliber, making the gun lighter and able to carry more ammunition—

To devise a weapon capable of continuous firing.

After all, Dr. Joseph was a simple and honest doctor. He believed that healing the sick was his duty, but if he could quickly reduce the enemy's manpower on the battlefield, wouldn't that mean that the number of wounded on his side who needed to be operated on would be greatly reduced?

If the Japa 1404 rifle could fire continuously without interruption, becoming a "shortbow" among firearms, then the enemy's casualty rate would surely increase to an unacceptable level.

A significant increase in enemy casualties would mean a significant decrease in one's own. Assuming the enemy could not replicate the weapons, Mr. Joseph believed his idea was feasible.

...

Then the doctor simply abandoned his job and planned to talk to Arthur, one of Emperor Yang Hao's subordinates, about his thoughts. But whether it was Arthur's intention or his girlfriend's doing, when Dr. Joseph arrived at Arthur's residence based on the intelligence, he saw Viya staring blankly at the door and keeping watch, and Arthur being fucked by an elf inside.

Because the imagery was so striking, Dr. Joseph was still bewildered by the elves' views on marriage. However, his idea did reach the ears of the elf bow makers, and those skilled in bow-making thought, "Isn't this gun a bit too interesting?"

They abandoned their regular jobs and gathered together, chattering away. They even dragged Viya, who was staring blankly with dead eyes, over for a long discussion. After that, they came to a conclusion:

Reducing the aperture is feasible.

Making firearms and ammunition lighter and more portable is also a viable option.

The ability to fire continuously in the upgraded variant of the Japa 1404 is an even more exhilarating experience.

But the questions are: what kind of structure should be built? How should it be designed? When will the ammunition supply be able to keep up with the consumption caused by continuous firing of the firearm?

These are all good questions...

After all, the bow makers knew the Regent's temperament well: the man didn't like complicated things, so they had to come up with a simple design that would be acceptable.

And so, before Finn's policies were even implemented, the bow makers abandoned their original professions. They transformed into gun makers, and the joyous changes they brought naturally affected every aspect of Gaparia.

Passersby discussed how the introduction of guns would change the originally simple and boring archery competition.

Some elf merchants have even gone so far as to cook gun-themed snacks and desserts—but eating bright orange bullets is really a headache just looking at it... However, the elves seem to be enjoying them quite a bit.

But what surprised Yang Hao and Fen the most was the vitality displayed by the elven society.

Vitality is the key to the reform of the Elf Kingdom!

If the Elf Kingdom was initially a stagnant, sweet pool of water that never changed, it is now a vast, turbulent sea along the coast.

Although we don't know where the current vitality will take the elves... but change means that the elves will not be abandoned by the times.

This is a good thing.

Fen smiled and said, "This is all thanks to Your Majesty Yang Hao. So, what kind of reward would be appropriate for you?"

Yang Hao suddenly broke out in a cold sweat: because Fen had no intention of letting him off the hook. Her actions were only meant to dig a pit for him, so Yang Hao used Theresa as an excuse, saying that Theresa wanted him to go home and rest early tonight.

"How could that be? Miss Theresa just went to deal with the demons. Even if you go back now, she probably won't have finished dealing with them yet."

"that..."

A troublesome sprite. A troublesome night.

Yang Hao is engaged in a difficult war of defense and attack against Fen.

Meanwhile, having obtained Yang Hao's permission, the little nun, in high spirits, was on her way to the church.

Just then, she suddenly felt a divine feedback from St. Petersburg—it seemed that her previous efforts had been effective?

"Let's assume this is so you can survive... so it's reasonable for me to use your image to perform [divine revelation] on them, right?"

Theresa muttered to herself, praying sincerely for the light while also thinking that if the light discovered her underhanded actions after its revival, it might as well just smash its coffin lid in anger...

Never mind.

Even if it's just offering these poor demons a little comfort, or even just self-gratification, it would be good...

Theresa was genuinely happy about this, even if she might not actually be able to do anything for them.

But at least she can let them die with hope.

"...My bad dog. Let the Cult of Light disappear from this world."

She prayed, took her holy book and statue of light from the church, and then, accompanied by several elven guards, headed toward the settlement of the demons.

Meanwhile, within the Redemption Army's positions, Redemption Army priests were discussing the next steps with the Redemption Army's provisional general.

"We can't wait for the parish's expeditionary force! If we want to have more money in our hands, we must take the lead and plunder the Monster Forest and Elf Forest before the [Final Battle]! Otherwise, the money and glory will go to the main force, and it will have almost nothing to do with us!"

The priest angrily voiced his dissatisfaction with Bishop Stephen. Of course he was dissatisfied, because being a priest in the Redemption Army meant that when the main force launched its attack, the Redemption Army would be unable to snatch food from the main force's mouth, meaning he would be the one who earned the least in this expedition.

While pastors shouldn't compete in terms of worldly wealth, it doesn't mean they can't be greedy!

Driven by greed for money and status, the Redemption Army priests are preparing to radically leave the parish's main force's patrol area and lead their 8 elite troops to directly attack the Monster Forest's defenses on the 15th.

After all, according to his calculations, the elves should have already used half of their arrows—if half of the arrows hadn't caused him much damage, he should be able to achieve a resounding victory if he charged into the monster forest and engaged the elves in hand-to-hand combat.

Meanwhile, the leader and staff of the Redemption Army—who was also the bankrupt village chief of Schul—kept nodding in agreement.

Because they already owed the parish several thousand gold coins. If they couldn't get enough money from the Redeemers, they would face endless forced labor.

But there's still one problem—how do we explain this to Bishop Stephen?

The bankrupt village chief and the leader of the Redemption Army looked at each other, and finally, without prior agreement, they both turned their gleaming eyes to the priest.

"But what about His Holiness the Bishop..."

"Ignore him. He won't care as long as he has money. All we need to do is win. Besides, our operation is under the watchful eye of our lord. The elves are like candles flickering in the wind. Even with that traitor's help, they can't stop us from advancing."

The pastor's casual remark made the bankrupt village chief nod repeatedly:

"Yes, you're right! Yang Hao, I watched him grow up, so of course I know what kind of people he and that white-haired wild child really are... Although he has the ability to achieve results in the Roman Empire under the leadership of the late emperor, he absolutely cannot improve the strength of the demons when he is all alone with just a nun."

Not to mention, the demons, the demons don't even have weapons! How could they possibly withstand our attack! So, Priest, I... I'm willing to serve you like a slave, but what about the spoils of war...?"

"I'll give you five more points. That's the most I can give you."

"Thank you, thank you! By the God of Light! Thank you for giving me this opportunity..."

Upon hearing this, the bankrupt village chief was so grateful that he almost knelt down in front of the pastor and kissed his boots.

The pastor, on the other hand, looked up at the roof of the house.

His eyes were filled with the confidence that his army was about to trample the monster forest.

This chapter has not been approved.

The dawn of June 15th, in the deepest darkness before dawn.

When Bishop Stephen's messenger arrived at the Redeemer camp, he was astonished to find that apart from a few dozen supply soldiers still organizing arrows and other supplies, the entire camp, which had tens of thousands of people, was deserted.

"Where have they gone?!" The messenger grabbed a supply soldier by the collar. "Where's the priest?! Does he even know that this is disobeying Bishop Stephen's orders?!"

Bishop Stephen strictly ordered the Redemption Army to wait until the Northern Expeditionary Force had marched north together before launching any large-scale military operations. However, it was clear that while Bishop Stephen possessed some military acumen, it didn't mean his priests did. He probably couldn't have imagined that the biggest reason the priests were unwilling to obey the commandments was because he saw that the core of this Northern Expedition was profit, and victory was secondary.

In this situation, the best outcome for the Redeemers would be to be used as slaves. The worst outcome would be to be used as food reserves. For the Redeemers' priests themselves, this meant that they would receive almost nothing during this great expedition.

To avoid a complete loss, the priest decided to take a gamble, marching out in the dead of night before Bishop Stephen's messenger arrived—a time when even the birds were still. To further boost the morale of his 80,000 elite troops, he ordered the cooks to add all the addictive drugs to the breakfast prepared in advance that day...

Naturally, by the time Bishop Stephen's messenger arrived, they were already gone. Not only were they gone, but this vast army had already marched more than ten kilometers along the road. The soldiers were panting from the long march, but the drugs in their bodies provided them with a continuous, almost manic, surge of morale.