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

Although Bishop Peter killed all the troublemakers in a fit of anger, he knew that if he didn't find a way to boost morale and public support, the parish would face endless rebellions.

Therefore, it became a necessity for the diocese to widely publicize Bishop Stephen's victory.

Whether the deceased Bishop Stephen actually achieved victory is not important. After all, what humans excel at most is at attributing victory to clearly failed endeavors, comforting themselves with the thought, "I won."

Under the manipulation of the priests, the "victory atmosphere" created by the Papacy's army, and the threat posed by the other bishops' all-out efforts to capture the routed troops and directly burn them at the stake.

The villages and towns destroyed by the elves and demons were attributed to the "destruction of the defeated army," and the destruction of the demon city was naturally blamed on the defeated soldiers who were tied to the stake.

Although some still doubted whether the parish's victory, which resulted in such heavy losses, was truly genuine, more than half of the parish's believers accepted the view that "we suffered many deaths, but the spirits also suffered many more" after the eloquent argument of the bishop Peter, and devoutly believed that it was indeed a victory for the parish.

If Yang Hao were here, he'd probably be laughing his head off—but it must be said that the Church of Light held too high a position in the hearts of the parish's people; it could only be destroyed from within. Perhaps it was due to sectarian schism, perhaps the God of Light himself descended to devour his own followers, perhaps...

In short, even the other factions in the Roman Empire couldn't stand the parish's actions. However, despite their disapproval, to prevent the parish from turning the entire north into a cesspool of excrement, the nobles and landowners still collaborated with Peter the Elder to publicize their victory.

On the ground, the cult leader's propaganda efforts appear to be going very smoothly.

Beneath the surface, Saint Cecilia remained kneeling before the statue of the God of Light, praying. She had been praying for far too long, so long that she had almost forgotten how much time she had spent underground, so long that she no longer knew what the parish above ground looked like.

Therefore, she did not think she had done anything wrong. The saint's duty was to offer the highest and purest faith to the God of Light. As long as she could pray before the idol, she was fulfilling her duty no matter where she was.

Although the saint has a certain degree of power to assist in the development of the religion or to determine its direction, Cecilia still believes that it is better to let the parish believers decide for themselves what to do in order to develop the parish.

After all, she was merely a saintess. Possessing the power favored by the God of Light did not mean she could foresee the future direction of the empire like Yang Hao or the former emperor.

"Ugh."

Thinking of this, Cecilia sighed softly. And it was after the sigh that she heard strange rustling sounds coming from underground.

This made Cecilia frown. But soon, her brow relaxed: "They're just some rats. Remember, we must not let our selfish desires harm innocent people and public facilities."

Beginning in November, strange noises began to emanate from the depths of St. Petersburg, even deeper than the shrine where the Virgin Mary prayed. At first, everyone thought it was a monster, but after using divine magic to investigate, they could only explore unexplored underground labyrinths. She had already sent idle nuns underground to ensure safety, lest monsters emerge from the ground and harm the believers on the surface.

After a month of arduous struggle, the ascetics found nothing of the monsters except some remains of their ancestors, a broken stone statue that appeared to be a tall, winged demon, and a giant rat that was likely disturbing their sleep.

Perhaps monsters lurk outside the locked doors deep within some underground passages, but after a new round of reinforcements, Cecilia felt there shouldn't be any problems.

Now... the strange noises rang out again. She was so annoyed she wanted to use divine magic to blast the ground open, to utterly and thoroughly obliterate the countless rats and their nests.

But Cecilia eventually calmed herself down. She realized she shouldn't have gotten so angry over a few mice, and that it was unnecessary to trouble the nuns again just because of a few mice.

Moreover, Cecilia felt that she should be even angrier than this, because Yang Hao had never personally contacted her even once.

"Even when such a major event as the border region being breached by the demons happened, he didn't come to find me... Hmph, I would have gone out to help him if he had just come once, why does he have to act like a child and be stubborn?"

Cecilia pouted and complained as she got up and sat down at the table inside. She then rang the lunch bell to let the nuns bring her lunch.

She didn't want to think about the strange noises made by the underground rats, and living deep underground, she didn't realize that this wasn't something that only happened in the basement of St. Peter's Basilica.

In fact, similar sounds were heard from underground in all the important towns of the Roman Empire, as long as they had a [teleportation] network.

In the ruins of Kargard, the sounds were even closer to the surface—but for some reason, the originators of the sounds did not go directly to the surface, but only observed for a while at a distance from the surface or the underground structure before quietly returning to their original path and hiding underground.

This happened in the Roman Empire. Recently, these events, taken together, were attributed by merchants to "changes brought about by a massive rat infestation." They neither sent anyone to clean the underground pipes nor took any precautions against what was happening underground. Everyone continued with their lives as usual; even in drought-stricken areas, many farmers crowded around sewage outlets hoping the rats would crawl out, because then they would have meat to eat, unlike humans.

In the Elf Kingdom, the oldest kingdom in existence, the elves understand even better what this truly means.

At the border that once bordered the Bayern Empire, a dilapidated purple double-headed eagle flag, scorched by flames, with petrified and cracked surfaces, and torn apart and patched up in many places by claws, was fluttering in the wind.

The old elves patrolling the border initially thought it was all a hallucination.

But after repeatedly squeezing his eyelids and confirming that there were soldiers in old-fashioned, worn-out equipment standing under the eagle flag, waiting for their reply and entry permit.

The old elf scurried down from the treetop and exclaimed in delight in a voice as loud as a rooster's:

"The Bayer Geinger's eagle banner! The Bayer Geinger are back!!"

The eagle banner of the Bayern Empire appeared on the border of the Elf Kingdom.

Meanwhile, the last princess they were searching for, prophesied to be the last princess, was wandering aimlessly in Fingel's commercial street, worrying about what to eat that night.

Chapter Two: The Purple Eagle Banner, Meeting Outcomes, and the Tearful Nun (8K)

In the memories of the old elves on the border, the military banners of the Bayern Empire were roughly divided into three categories.

First, there was the white double-headed eagle banner, which was directly modified from the national flag. In the organization of the Bayern Empire, this kind of banner was generally used by those who had failed to achieve military merits, or by ordinary city defense corps.

The number of White Flag legions in the total number of legions in the Bayrgans Empire is extremely small. This is because, given the intensity of the Demonic Wars of that time, a legion that had been established for less than half a month had to be immediately deployed to the battlefield. Legions that could maintain the White Flag formation from their establishment to their demise underground were extremely rare, even fewer than the rarest Purple Eagle Flag legions.

The advancement from the White Flag is the Yellow Flag, with its yellow background and red stripes. The Yellow Flag is the most numerous in the Bayerzans Empire's organization; generally, all legions that have seen battle will be promoted from the initial White Flag to the Yellow Flag. Within the Yellow Flag, there are three main tiers with over 20 levels based on the number of battle achievements. This constitutes the main military force of the Bayerzans Empire.

The three classes, after the [Yellow Flag], are applied to all legions, and all legions will fulfill their duties according to the positioning of these three classes. Based on the upper and lower limits of the combat experience of the legion's subordinate units, the legion will deploy them in the [Youth Army], [Mature Army], and [Reserve Army] for combat deployment.

Among them, the youth army is the youngest and has the lowest combat achievements among all the corps. They are young and ambitious, eager for battle, and their experience is not as rich as that of the mature army. Therefore, they are usually placed at the forefront of the army and are the first to engage in combat with the enemy.

The middle-aged soldiers were seasoned veterans who strictly adhered to discipline, prioritizing it far more than their desire for battle achievements. They were positioned in the middle of the legion, alternating with the younger soldiers to give them rest, and also serving as a second line of defense to halt the enemy's advance after the younger soldiers' defeat.

Finally, there is the reserve force composed of the [Chief Veterans]. They are the oldest, best-equipped, and most tenacious veterans in the legion, whose fighting spirit is so strong that they simply will not retreat. During battle, they are deployed in the third line at the rear to rest and await orders. Only when needed will these elite veterans rise from the ground and advance.

Under favorable circumstances, the reserve forces are rarely deployed to the battlefield. Only when the Bayerns face the most perilous situation will they say—

"It's time for the reserves to go!"

This means that the Bayern Empire's lines have been breached, which is the last thing the Bayern Empire's legions can do, and it also means that it's time for "real big problems to be solved by real big shots."

This is why, sometimes, even after several years, the reserve forces might not have a single opportunity to go to the battlefield. While young veterans and youth soldiers were fighting on the front lines, these elite veterans could only wait for orders.

This drove the reserves crazy. They were even forced to sit on the ground like children watching a play during battle, because their discipline and obedience were notorious.

They would even plead to be sent to the battlefield, and in the old elves’ knowledge, there were indeed several instances of reserve troops going to the front lines to fight under normal circumstances.

The commander of the Bayern Empire had received a request that the reserves would rebel if they were allowed to remain seated on the ground.

...These are the three common classes in the Bayer Zionist Empire's "Yellow Banner".

Above the yellow flag, there is an even more prestigious one, reserved for only a select few legions: a purple-based double-headed eagle flag. It is not a military flag, but an eagle flag.

This is an honor reserved only for the most elite legions, those with countless glorious achievements and the utmost loyalty. In Bayezid, legions bearing the purple eagle banner were almost always wiped out at the last moment. They were affectionately known by the Bayezids as "the royal guards," because every time the purple eagle banner appeared on the battlefield, it meant that at least one member of the royal family was in battle, signifying that the fighting in a certain region had become so intense that the royal family had to personally oversee the rear.

The annihilation of each eagle banner meant the complete annihilation of an entire legion, along with the royal family members who went into battle—and now, with the last purple-clad princess appearing in the elven kingdom, the fact that an eagle banner unit's flag could still appear on the surface truly stirred the hearts of the old elves.

This also made them realize that the underground situation of the Bayer Zans Empire was indeed terrible.

Normally, the flag guard for the purple eagle banner would number three hundred men. But now, there are fewer than ten soldiers standing guard under the eagle banner.

They were old and worn, wearing tattered and patched-up equipment. Their shields had been repaired countless times with countless materials. Only their weapons looked relatively new and had likely been significantly modified for underground warfare.

Could the tales of demons lurking underground be true? The old elves murmured, firing a whistling arrow into the sky in salute to the Bayrjans, before turning to the younger elves and shouting:

"Let them in quickly! They need rest, clean water and food—they've been fighting underground for far too long! As for what they want to do, let them in first!"

The old elves allowed the Bayrjans to enter their borders without permission, and the news of the Bayrjans' appearance at the borders was immediately transmitted to Chinna in Fingel's Hanging Gardens via magic.

Qinna was taken aback by Bayrz's appearance for a long time. Then, recalling the brotherhood between her fathers and Bayrz, she temporarily hid the news and did not inform the council of the old elves.

She then left the Green Garden without stopping and found Finn on the commercial street, seemingly inspecting its new vitality with the nuns. She whispered to Finn:

"The great Finnish... Bayerzans' eagle flag has appeared on the border. What should we do?"

Finn was stunned. She turned to look at the nun still worrying about buying ingredients in the shop, and then subconsciously said:

"Did the elves at the border allow them to enter?"

"Yes. But the Elf Council hasn't received any news."

“We are a people who keep our promises. We will treat the Bayerzens as our most honored guests—but I think I know what they are looking for, though they probably don’t realize that the people they are looking for are currently struggling to make ends meet.”

"So...?"

“Go back and tell Yang Hao—if he’s still in a meeting, don’t disturb him for now. It’s urgent, but we still have time. I’ll use teleportation to return to the Green Courtyard immediately, but whatever you do, don’t let him come over right away.”

"Yes."

After letting Qinna leave, Finn walked into the shop, hesitating in his heart about whether to let Theresa know about it.

After all, Theresa has not yet shown any intention or desire to become Bayezid Baselissa, nor has she said anything about wanting to restore her kingdom—she has only chosen to become the saintess of the demon race while hesitating, becoming the saintess and missionary of the Church of Light.

The Bayrjan Empire's actions are now surprisingly swift. They've already appeared at the border, so they'll certainly be searching for Theresa within the Elven Kingdom in a few days.

The elves don't lie, but they can hide their existence from Theresa—but what's more important now is whether Finn should tell Theresa this news.

If Finn hadn't told Theresa, perhaps he could have seized an opportunity... to make more demands while Theresa was flustered and at a loss, and then do so without anyone noticing...

...But considering that Theresa now genuinely considers him a "friend," and that Yang Hao would definitely not like such behavior.

Finn shook her head, stepped into the shop, and amidst the elves' greetings, dragged the bewildered Theresa onto the street, intending to use teleportation magic to leave.

"Fen?! What are you doing?!"

"Something has happened. Bayer Zans' eagle flag has appeared on the border."

"what?!"

Theresa's bewilderment instantly turned into panic. Looking at the panicked Theresa, Finn tilted her head, thinking to herself that she was right after all—this nun hadn't considered what she should do in this important matter if Bayerzians really did have descendants underground as the prophecy said, and if she really took the prophecy so seriously.

Even so, aren't you... a little too nervous?

Faced with Finn's question, Teresa, her face pale, simply lowered her head and said in a voice barely audible:

"I...I didn't tell Yang Hao about this..."

"...I see."

It turned out to be the case.

Everyone harbors their own little secrets—Teresa was no exception. She never imagined she would become the final princess as prophesied, just as she was greeted not by a successful man but by a down-on-his-luck one. She felt she didn't need to care about the prophecy at all, never expecting the prophetic reality to arrive so quickly.

She never mentioned anything like that to Yang Hao, not even a hint—Yang Hao probably never doubted Teresa's true identity and always treated her like a little nun.

In this situation, the sudden arrival of the Bayer Zans essentially brought to light what Theresa had been hiding. Was Theresa anxious because Yang Hao was angry or even upset that she had concealed something, hence her nervousness...?

Finn sighed. She thought to herself, "You should have explained things to him sooner and prepared things better"—but it was too late now. So Finn could only say, "Let's go back and talk about it later."

Thankfully, she had given Qinna the order not to let him come over immediately—at least she still had time to mentally prepare the nun who was about to cry.

With this in mind, Finn used his elven magic to take Theresa away.

Meanwhile, the negotiations between Yang Hao and Heilong Nia have entered their final stage.

They confirmed various industrial investments, including in rubber and textiles. Yang Hao could receive technology from Isgard almost for free and then adapt it for local use, reducing some of the resistance in elven society through goods. Nia, on the other hand, could acquire scarce minerals and some industrial products from Isgard.

Both sides reached an agreement, and each won once. However, Nia thought that winning only once was too bad, so she decided to try to win a second time.

"Mr. Yang Hao, is it possible to discuss the matter of immigration further?"

Immigration—yes, immigration.