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

Under the illumination of the spell, they could vaguely see that the one commanding the elves in their battle against the demons seemed to be the former regent.

Former regent.

These four words caused almost all the bishops to collapse into their chairs.

That was a nightmarish name. Ever since the Regent left the Roman Empire, everything in the Roman Empire had become particularly unlucky, and even seemed poised to get worse.

The bishops originally didn't care—after all, after the regent left the Roman Empire, what happened in the Roman Empire shouldn't affect the diocese, their faith, or their wallets.

But now someone is telling them—that the regent has truly become the regent of the elven kingdom, and even the leader of the demon-elf alliance?!

On Earth, this would be as terrifying as if Mike Tyson, the boxing legend who had no prior conflict with you and with whom you had no interaction, suddenly wanted to fight you.

What's even more horrifying is that the diocese also pinned the blame for the "smog" incident caused by the God of Light on the regent.

What if the Regent plans to come for revenge? If the Regent comes to the Holy City to fight openly, we certainly won't be afraid. But what if the Regent plans to use some dirty and underhanded methods?

Everyone was worried.

But soon, everyone suddenly realized another problem.

What did you just say? "Corpse Regeneration Divine Art...?"

"That bastard Stephen actually used it?! We haven't even figured it out yet! And we haven't even had a chance to disguise the [Corpse Rebirth Divine Art] as a Heroic Spirit Divine Art, and he's already using it on me?!"

Leader Peter immediately launched into a tirade of curses, his fat face trembling with rage. He couldn't help but be furious!

The "Corpse-Giving Divine Art" is the parish's biggest, most core, and most likely secret to become a scandal.

After Peter received divine revelation from the God of Light, and after Saint Cecilia secluded herself and the ascetic nuns underground, Peter finally had the opportunity to study this gift from the God of Light.

Although this system of divine arts seems incompatible with the God of Light, upon further reflection, if the God of Light even allows a greedy person like Peter to be a leader, then there's no way to expect him to be a "good god."

Everyone does it this way. The leaders offer their faith to the God of Light for money and power, while the God of Light demands that the leaders and bishops portray themselves as pure as virgins—that's why Leader Peter is so aware that if the [Corpse-Giving Divine Art] is brought to the forefront without any embellishment, it will not only turn the Church of Light from the largest Roman religion into a cult, but it will also enrage the saint who knows nothing about it.

Saint Cecilia gave Bishop Peter the impression of being the illegitimate daughter of the God of Light—a God who doted on Cecilia, showering her with countless blessings and protections. However, the God of Light kept Cecilia from knowing any of the parish's sordid secrets.

Just as a mafia boss wouldn't let his worldly daughter know the dirty secrets behind his father, Saint Cecilia was actually a flower that had been pampered in a greenhouse... She was pure, kind, and stubborn—and because of this, she couldn't tolerate the slightest filth in her eyes, nor would she doubt the cultivation she had received from the God of Light.

If the rumors of the [Corpse-Giving Divine Art] reached the Holy Maiden's ears, it wouldn't be a matter that could be resolved by simply losing his own head—Public Leader Peter, drenched in sweat, gritted his teeth and shouted to his attendants:

"Immediately announce the closure of St. Petersburg's gates! Execute everyone who spreads rumors! Also, have the Griffin Knights patrol the skies above the Pentecostal Church day and night, and have the Knights of the Faith occupy all key intersections leading to the Pentecostal Church. I will not allow anyone to deliver rumors to the Pentecostal!"

"And another thing! Guard the ancient elevator in St. Peter's Basilica to the death, and have our people personally deliver meals to Her Majesty the Saint—the person delivering the meals must be a eunuch with his tongue cut out, and absolutely no information must be leaked to Her Majesty! Absolutely not!"

Master Peter, panting, felt something was still missing, so he added further:

"Also, quickly use money and women to recruit the fleeing routs! We need them—although we can raise another 20 men now, without Bishop Stephen, we don't even have a general who knows how to give orders! Without a general, 20 militiamen are just 20 pigs! They simply can't withstand their invasion!"

"But Master! What should we do with the [Corpse Rebirth Divine Art]?"

A bishop's question left Bishop Peter speechless for a long while.

Then, the obese man wiped the sweat from his brow and said that he had his own plans—they could also accelerate the secularization and honorification of the [Corpse-Giving Divine Art]. They could encourage the support of the [Corpse-Giving Divine Art] by issuing inexpensive honorary certificates to every family of believers with deceased members, and by bestowing upon them false lies.

"As long as the living can reunite with their long-deceased loved ones, then the biggest scandal of the [Corpse Rebirth Technique]—the desecration of corpses—is not a big deal! Just give us some time..."

Before Bishop Peter could finish explaining his arrangements, a familiar-sounding deacon burst in from outside, screaming.

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, while the deacon screamed in a hoarse voice, like that of a hen being strangled:

"Elves! The armies of the elves and demons are attacking!"

What?! They've attacked now?!

A meaningless gurgling sound came from the throat of the patriarch, and then the agile fat man fell directly from his throne, sprinting across the ground like a ball as he made his way to his residence at the top of the tower, all the while issuing commands:

"Close the city gates!!"

The bishops, their faces pale, exchanged glances and finally, trembling, began their work under the direction of Bishop Peter.

Ten minutes later, all the gates of St. Petersburg were closed. The believers and gamblers who were preparing to go to the Demon City to watch the competition complained bitterly about the priests' actions, while the soldiers on the city walls watched nervously as the flags in the distance rang the alarm bells, signaling an impending attack.

Accompanied by the alarm bells, St. Petersburg was silent for several minutes—after all, for the residents of St. Petersburg, the holy city had not been attacked for a very long time.

The alarm bell sounded like a hallucination. At first, everyone thought it was just a guard accidentally ringing the wrong bell. They continued their noisy stroll through the opulent church district, muttering about their plans to have some fun and gamble in the Demon City that night.

But soon—the alarm bells rang louder and louder, and there were even scenes of large numbers of soldiers rushing to the front lines.

It was only then that the peaceful believers, priests, and nuns realized that St. Petersburg seemed to have truly been attacked.

The pedestrians looked at each other in bewilderment, while the nuns and priests quickly returned to their respective churches, locking the doors and windows and leaving the believers outside. They knew that as long as they stayed inside the churches, even if St. Petersburg fell, the secret space beneath the churches would be enough to protect them through a siege that could last for months or even years.

But for believers who are already struggling financially, this is not a good thing.

The believers immediately descended into chaos. Before the respected leaders could take charge, some gamblers who had already ruined their families took advantage of the confusion to commit robbery and theft.

Although the St. Petersburg city police are doing their best to catch those scoundrels who are taking advantage of the chaos, even priests and nuns in St. Petersburg have been corrupted by money and become like johns and prostitutes, so don't expect anything from those fat and strong guards who make a fortune from city fees!

They couldn't even catch up with the gamblers who were risking their lives for a while! Panting, the guards could only pray that the soldiers could repel the enemy so that St. Petersburg could return to peace.

But for the guards on the city walls, this was not good news...

Although the armies of the elves and demons do not appear to be numerous.

However, several crosses were neatly arranged on the carts they brought with them.

On the crosses hung more than a dozen prisoners of the Northern Expeditionary Force. On other crosses hung numerous nameplates, priest rings, and scepters belonging to members of the Knights Defenders, who were treated as war trophies.

Every plaque, every ring, every scepter signifies the death of a priest or a member of the parishioner's corps. Each priest and member of the corps is invaluable to the parish. Displaying them as spoils of war naturally exerts immense psychological pressure on the parish's soldiers.

But the best news for the soldiers was that the enemy's forces clearly couldn't besiege St. Petersburg; at most, they would surround it without attacking, so there shouldn't be any immediate concerns about the city's safety... Wait a minute?

What are you planning to do by pushing those carts with prisoners tied up up here?

The garrison in St. Petersburg exchanged bewildered glances. Meanwhile, on the ground, Yang Hao, who had already destroyed more than seven villages and two towns in the parish, waved his hand, signaling everyone to leave the car there before preparing to replicate the [Corpse Life Divine Art] on the spot.

Yang Hao's idea was very simple: while performing the [Corpse Life Divine Art], he would use the elves' [inability to lie], a virtue that had been recognized for thousands of years, to publicly declare to St. Petersburg the ugly and evil practices that Bishop Stephen had committed against his followers during the previous attack on the Demon Forest.

Although many believers will certainly refuse to believe this fact—frankly speaking, Yang Hao is simply expressing his attitude and making the parish show the believers an attitude.

If the parish really didn't do such a thing, why are they unwilling to swear an oath in the name of God and have the saint come out from underground to bear witness?

If the parish really did such a thing, then why should we still believe in the Church of Light, to the point that in the end our corpses are stripped naked and used by you?

The parish will then be caught in a dilemma. Admitting it would tarnish its authority. Denying it would require the saintess to intervene. However, Cecilia's personality compels the saintess to investigate thoroughly, and she will surely notice clues within the Church of Light. Once she does, a civil war within the parish will be inevitable.

Of course, the saint may continue to live a life of seclusion, but she cannot remain seclusion forever. The parish may be able to stall for a day, two days, ten days, twenty days—but it absolutely cannot stall for two months, three months, half a year, or even a whole year.

At that time, the parish will be like a farmer trying to stop a dam from bursting during a rainstorm by using sandbags. It would be better to release the water in time, but for various reasons, he has to choose to continue to pile up sandbags.

As you keep blocking it, it will eventually leak, and Yang Hao naturally has no interest in constantly monitoring a dam that is destined to collapse.

He was more concerned about the satellite cities of St. Petersburg, the places known as the "Demon City".

As a newly built city, [Demon City] doesn't even have stone walls; the only protective structure around the city is a thin wooden wall. Even so, the city displays an abnormally large size and vibrant energy.

Even from a distance, he could smell the stench emanating from the city. He could see many churches in the satellite city with gold-plated towers, and he could even vaguely see bags of fresh meat lying unattended on the muddy ground outside the tightly closed wooden city gates.

If the meat was normal, Yang Hao could only say that the Roman Empire was suffering from both frontal and rear shortages—but the meat was definitely not normal, so Yang Hao felt that the city needed a round of purification.

He silently drew his command sword.

The elven mages will not participate in the siege because they need to stockpile magic for the upcoming teleportation. Some elven archers will need to be wary of the threat from St. Petersburg and prevent the enemy from launching a counterattack. At the same time, they will also make the prisoners on the pyre scream even more pitifully, using magic to spread their voices and the prisoners' screams throughout St. Petersburg.

Our side uses howitzer golems, which are more effective than counterweight catapults, along with other conventional golems, for sieges. Furthermore, the castle walls are made of easily collapsible wooden structures, so there's no need to worry about insufficient firepower.

Yang Hao raised his command sword high, and just as he was about to swing it to order the allied forces to launch an attack, the nun who had been by his side smiled and said that she should make the preparations.

"Let the Church of Light see for themselves whose side the true 'Light' stands on."

She smiled and took Yang Hao's arm, the cross deeply embedded in her chest shimmering with a faint white light.

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

It was afternoon. Accompanied by the screams of prisoners, deliberately amplified by elven magic, being burned but unable to die, and the elven reciting the words of the "Corpse Life Divine Art".

The magical city that brought countless riches to St. Petersburg has been breached.

The soldiers guarding St. Petersburg witnessed firsthand how, on the combined forces of elves and demons, a power of light purer than the God of Light was aiding their enemies in slaughtering their own comrades.

The bright white light was warmer than the golden light of the God of Light, but it genuinely boosted the morale of the elven and demon troops, provided healing for the wounded demons, and even created a barrier to prevent the demon city's defenders from raining down arrows on them.

Unsurprisingly, under Golem's heavy blows, the wooden wall, which was not even as sturdy as the church's stone wall, was pushed to the ground. After more than a dozen breaches appeared in the city wall, elven and demon warriors filed in, and soon, countless screams of agony echoed from within the demon city.

This is inevitable—even if elves can restrain themselves, demons cannot.

Demanding that demons restrain themselves is like asking a father whose entire family has been murdered not to strangle the murderer.

Countless demons, their eyes bloodshot, stormed into the city, killing anyone they saw. Along the way, they found their kin imprisoned in the demon city, female kin imprisoned in the underground tribunal and tortured to the point of near death, and even the corpses of their own kind being sent to the slaughterhouse for "making the most of their resources."

Rage and pain filled the hearts of the demons. Yang Hao allowed them to slaughter in the demon city to vent their long-suppressed emotions, but before the demons cleaned up the city, he, a part of the elf team, and the nuns waited outside for it all to end.

Yang Hao didn't want Naruja and Theresa to be frightened by the scene inside. But Naruja had experienced the massacre in Kagard, and Theresa was already prepared to fall into hell with Yang Hao—they couldn't possibly be frightened by the scene inside. On the contrary, the elf Fen seemed a little uncomfortable.

“I think we’ve wasted a lot of time. We need to get the mages to plan the formation as soon as possible, and then teleport everyone to the outskirts of the Monster Forest after everything is over so we can get home quickly.”

What Fen found difficult to adapt to was that the demons' retaliation was ineffective. They also needed to gather the treasures of the demon city and care for the wounded demons—all of which took time.

What worries the elves even more is that the Roman Empire's border garrison might arrive at any time to reinforce the diocese's predicament. If this small army is captured by the military district's border garrison, Finn will have to consider teleporting away in advance.

Yang Hao simply gave a mysterious smile in response:

"Fen, you actually expect the military to come and help the parish?"

"Isn't this the proper thing to do?"

Finn was puzzled, while Yang Hao and Teresa just laughed heartily, as if they were listening to a joke.

After briefly explaining the current situation of the Roman Empire to Finn, they concluded, with Finn's greatly puzzled expression, that the military district would not come to support the diocese under any circumstances.

In the end, however, they still chose to respect Fen's opinion, sending follow-up troops into the city to plunder the demon city's wealth, settle the wounded demons, and prepare for the subsequent teleportation.

Meanwhile, the Roman Empire's border troops, observing from the sidelines, showed no intention of assisting the diocese.

"Those fanatical believers, those charlatans who won't support us even if they're amassed wealth! Let them die under the elves' attack, the more gruesome the better!"

The border troops were cursing and swearing angrily, clearly hating the parish's previous actions.

Since the founding of the nation, the military region has been at odds with the diocese. The diocese has adhered to its borders and refused the military region's request to station troops there. It even drove the military region's troops back and publicized it extensively. It's like the military region kindly came to deliver a gift, only to be splashed with excrement and then filmed and posted on the neighborhood's social media group.

From that time on, the military district and the parish were irreconcilably at odds. Even if General Dreshka of the military district were willing to make some concessions and compromises with Bishop Peter of the parish, the hatred of the lower-ranking officers and soldiers towards the parish still outweighed their feelings of brotherhood for national unity.

It's safe to say that even if the parish were invaded to the death, the military would absolutely not send a single soldier to reinforce it. The reverse is also true.

This is the current situation of the two major military blocs of the Roman Empire—and it is precisely because of their animosity that the elven-demon alliance, which was originally likely to be trapped in the Demon City, has also made ample preparations for three hours.

Under the watchful eyes of everyone, using an improved teleportation magic, they openly and arrogantly left the Demon City with all the warriors and their wealth.