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

Miss Black Dragon muttered to herself.

I had a vague, extremely ominous premonition.

..........

12 month 3 day.

The diplomatic corps and caravan of Issugard officially entered the capital of Gaparia, the Hanging Gardens of Fingar.

All the people of Isgard were overwhelmed by the oppressive weight of the city that seemed to float in the clouds. They had never seen anything like it in Isgard, not even before the highest imperial presidential palace.

Compared to a city, a tall building is merely unique in its height, while the height of a city is like a heavy mountain.

Nia the Black Dragon silently calculated in her mind how much it would cost if Ysgard were to build a city like the Hanging Gardens.

She came to a horrifying conclusion: if Ysgard was determined to build a city similar to the Hanging Gardens, it would directly drain the resources of the entire Ysgard.

A city that would drain the resources of the entire Isgard appeared within the territory of the Elven Kingdom! And this was their capital!

This inevitably made Nia think more deeply: after all, to be honest, no matter how ancient the city looked, the fact that it had stood for thousands of years was enough to prove the elves' remarkable craftsmanship...

A species with exceptional craftsmanship, coupled with a capable regent...

...The Elf Kingdom must never become an enemy of Isgard. Nia swallowed hard. Although Isgard had an absolute advantage in total population, this advantage was completely ineffective in a cross-sea battle...

As expected, Margarita's ruthless kidnapping scheme had to be abandoned immediately. Nia dared not allow Ysugard to provoke such an enemy, especially since she had no chance of success!

(Let's also take a look at this country's industry later... By the way, we saw quite a few giant oak trees on the way... What are they used for?)

With mixed feelings, Nia followed the elves up the elevator and finally entered Fingel's city.

This was an exceptionally prosperous city. Although the elves wore expressions of sorrow, their bodies were visibly robust.

Bow-making shops were everywhere—though I don’t know why they’ve closed down now.

Enchanting shops are everywhere—and they all look incredibly busy, though it's unclear what they're doing.

There are also gourmet restaurants that can only take root and flourish in bustling big cities, as well as unique cultural museums.

The existence of these buildings is enough to prove the strength of Gaparia.

But for Nia and the other people of Isgard, these matters of daily life were not their primary concern...

They stared intently at the giant golems carrying and dragging large amounts of raw materials along the streets, watching them disappear from one corner of the street to another. Then they turned their attention to the elven residents who routinely and skillfully cleaned the streets.

"An alchemical golem...something we're still developing...they've already made it?"

An Isgardian diplomat couldn't help but swear in Isgardian. This left the elves, who didn't understand Isgardian's official language, looking at each other in bewilderment.

It's no wonder the diplomat was so flustered. After all, in Ysgard, the [Alchemy Golems] project is a top-secret undertaking. The goal is to mass-produce mindless alchemical creatures, similar to [zombies], using readily available raw materials like stone, and gradually establish them as a new pillar in the military and civilian life.

Ysgard has been researching this for almost ten years. In those ten years, the people of Ysgard have failed more times than an average resident would eat salt in a lifetime—they simply couldn't find the knack for making alchemical golems [move]. Some scientists believe this is related to the scarcity of magic on the continent of Ysgard, while others believe that the idea of ​​[alchemical golems] was never feasible from the start...

Now, the feasibility has been demonstrated in Gaparia. But how exactly did they manage to do it? Can we purchase their core technology for creating alchemical golems?

Nia considered the funds, goods, chips, and crucially, the power she could "advance" with her authority... But Nia realized with some dismay that she seemed completely unable to trade core technology with Gaparia?!

Damn it! Damn it!

Black Dragon was so jealous she wanted to grind her teeth. But she managed to maintain her composure and arrogance for the time being—and then, in the next moment, that composure shattered.

A group of elven soldiers, seemingly heading to the outskirts of the city for training, passed by on the main road ahead.

They looked energetic, and each of them carried a familiar-looking gun on their back.

A squad of elven soldiers, about 50 men, with 50 guns to their name, and bullet belts wrapped around their bodies.

The ammunition belt was not filled with the cardboard bullets that Nia was familiar with, but with bullets with metal casings.

Furthermore, judging from the almost identical bullet caliber, these bullets don't seem to have been hand-molded... Even if they were hand-molded, the guns don't look handmade either!

Nia, at least, didn't believe that guns handcrafted by individual artisans would have identical barrel lengths and stock materials! This was clearly a product of industrial production!

(There's no way a craftsman could produce something almost exactly the same... Craftsmen choose different materials to make things they like, and they might even add or remove unnecessary structures—but the gun on the elf's back looks like a mass-produced industrial product!)

When we first encountered the elves, they were still using longbows.

And now, less than a year later, you're telling me you've started equipping all your personnel with rifles?!

No...you can't do this!

What kind of nonsense is your industry?! If it were us, it would take at least six months just to go from imitation to finalization! Not to mention that after finalization, we'd have to adjust the factory's production line and get the workers back into the swing of things...

So you elves accomplished in less than a year what might have taken us one or two years?! Monsters! A bunch of monsters!

If she could utter those words, Nia would have done so long ago.

When she happened to see a group of alchemical golems passing by, and those alchemical golems did not have hands but instead carried a cannon and claws for loading shells,

She unleashed her fury. A torrent of curses, delivered with gusto, using dragon slang, drawing stares from the elves.

...........

in the afternoon.

The meeting between the elves and Isgard went smoothly. Yang Hao didn't even participate; a rather unremarkable welcoming ceremony concluded in the blink of an eye.

The people of Isgard still need time to adapt to life in Fingal, but their caravans have already begun setting up their own shops on the commercial streets arranged for them by the elves, selling Isgard's specialties and attracting a lot of attention from the elves.

Although Yang Hao didn't go, Theresa bought some goods on her way back from the demons. Yang Hao is now using those goods to study just how powerful Isgard truly is.

"Light bulbs...they need electricity to work. Come to think of it, we use magic, glowing gems, or candles for lighting at night here..."

"This is... a black and white television? It can't be turned on without electricity, but the quality of life in Isgard seems higher than I imagined. The fact that they can produce such a rudimentary television, even one that seems to lack a signal receiver and can only play CDs or tapes, proves Isgard's efforts in new industries..."

"By the way, what exactly is on this tape?"

Yang Hao looked at the cassette tape in his hand over and over again. The tape's description contained a brief explanation.

This seems to be a fantasy love story about a paladin and a vampire fighting each other, and finally getting married under the stimulation of their strong values—the people of Ysgard even have the concept of "movies"... A unified empire that already has the resources to develop in the direction of "entertainment" is truly terrifying.

Yang Hao sighed, put the cassette tape in the box and packed it away. While Teresa was preparing dinner, he took out paper and pen and carefully wrote down his ideas.

Without a doubt, Isgard is a country with the resources to develop entertainment, and it is a worthy partner to befriend.

Not only can Ysgard dump its goods on Gaparia, but the elves should also be able to dump their goods on Ysgard in return.

What are the elves' advantages? They have [Enchanting] and [Artwork]. Conversely, in terms of entertainment items and overall skill, the elves are still at a disadvantage...

Um...

"Let's discuss with Finn tonight about dumping some enchanted items on the Ysgard caravans—oh, and that way, we can also consider researching the [Scroll for One-Time Enchanting]..."

Yang Hao muttered to himself thoughtfully. Just then, Theresa, who was busy in the kitchen, finally came out.

Tonight's dinner is buttered bread and roasted venison, along with some fresh fruits and vegetables from the Fairy Forest. Theresa prepared five servings, as Naruja and Arthur are expected to come as well.

Dr. Joseph and his family were free to make their own arrangements. He said he wanted to celebrate his daughter's birthday and go on a trip to the beautiful countryside nearby, so Yang Hao generously gave him a month-long vacation. But then again, he didn't order Dr. Joseph to do anything, did he? He was already on vacation, so wasn't Yang Hao's action redundant?

Yang Hao chuckled twice, then Teresa, who was tidying up the table, rolled her eyes and gave him a sharp tap on the head:

"Don't work while preparing dinner! If you have to work, do it tonight!"

"I just wanted to make use of my time..."

"I don't want you to be calling my name and scribbling on paper while you're on top of me at night! To prevent you from only thinking about work in the future, I have to keep an eye on things now."

The little nun, who never holds a grudge, has recently become exceptionally beautiful because of the abundant food she eats.

She sat arrogantly on Yang Hao's lap, as if Yang Hao were her seat—Yang Hao was already used to this condescending attitude.

He simply pinched Theresa's stomach with practiced ease, and then, amidst her screams, the Regent added expressionlessly:

"You've gained weight."

"what?!"

"Hey, you've gotten fatter compared to when we were in the Monster Forest. Back then, you could sit on my lap without me feeling any weight, but now I feel like I have to use both hands to lift you up."

"Why don't you just say you've been feeling weak lately... Waaah... You've really gained weight..."

The nun, her eyes brimming with tears, stroked her belly, which was already big enough to be pinched into a small rice cake. Yang Hao, on the other hand, smiled and rested his chin on her shoulder, watching her as she softly murmured her weight loss exercise plan.

They seemed to be getting closer and closer to the life they envisioned—Yang Hao planned to rescue the little empress and the chief judge by the middle of next year, at which point he could step down and rest.

They can have a home, peacefully watch the little queen grow up after her physical injuries are healed, and then slowly grow old in the small house, surrounded by children and grandchildren.

Then, he could finally face his sworn brother and sister-in-law without shame, and finally stand tall before them when he died peacefully in his old age.

But...

The parish wouldn't even spare a corpse...

The tombs of my sworn brother and sister-in-law... also need to be moved here.

The regent, holding his beloved in his arms, was deep in thought.

They enjoyed the tranquility of the moment, each harboring their own secrets.

...

And throughout the Roman Empire.

The Romans, however, discovered a commotion emanating from some long-forgotten underground passages.

They feared it might be rats that had multiplied in the sewers, or perhaps monsters living in the filth. They added countless bricks and stones to block the passage, while the survivors at the back of the passage, realizing there was no hope of opening the door, simply gave up on their futile efforts.

The guardian of the Bayezid Empire, the moment the pillar of light appeared at dawn, rushed back to the underground Constantinople with his child as fast as he could.

There, the last survivors were greatly encouraged. They formed expeditionary forces, spreading this inspiring news to their citizens in other underground cities who were still fighting demons through primitive underground marches and remnants of the underground portal network.

In addition, an expedition team, under the orders of the Council of Elders, climbed onto the ground through narrow gaps and struggled to make their way down the cliffs to the surface.

They were to travel to where the light appeared, to find the last purple-clad princess of the prophecy, and to tell her that the empire awaited her return like lightning.

Chapter 1: In-depth exchanges with Isgard, and the Eagle Flag 8K on the border

On December 5th, Nia was quite surprised that Isgard's products were so popular in Gaparia. Without any advertising, the store's goods were sold out in less than two days.

She had initially thought that the elves, dressed in artistic-looking clothes, would look down on the expensive but relatively unattractive stockings... but judging from the enthusiasm of the twenty-odd elven women for them, perhaps she should adjust her strategy and have more silk fabrics shipped from the country?

Perhaps. Although Nia had this thought, she clearly had more important things to do today.

Today is an important day for Nia, who will be communicating with the King of Gaparia for the first time in a true sense as a [Ysgard Diplomat].

She was prepared for a tough battle and was even thinking about how to verbally compete with the petite [Fin] to secure the best possible benefits for her country.