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

"According to the standard-bearer who called himself Lucas, that should indeed be the case."

"Then it matches our records here—but the ancient kingdoms in the records ultimately perished together with the demons, while the Roman Empire and the Elven Kingdom are still preserved on the continent of Elusia, as well as Bayez, who are still fighting underground to this day? No, if that's the case, why would the Roman Empire be out of place with them? Are they barbarians?"

"You're asking me? Who am I supposed to ask? In short, what was the result?"

"...The Bayern Empire has experience in fighting demons, and I think it's necessary for us to make contact with them—but the Regent may simultaneously serve as regent for two countries in the future, and the two kingdoms might end up ruling together..."

In this situation, Nia, I will now elevate your diplomatic authority. However, I must be informed of important matters immediately—in addition, I will dispatch more diplomats and investigators to assist you before the invasion. Please further enhance His Majesty the Regent's favor towards us, understand?

"I understand. That's settled then."

After the conversation ended, Nia gained more power, but she couldn't laugh about it.

Only those who want to embezzle would flock to power—but Nia wasn't that kind of person. That's why she saw the pressure that came with power.

This is truly real pressure—after all, in terms of the history of the dragon race, the continent of Orros, where Isgard is located, actually had beings similar to the [demons] described by Lucas thousands of years ago.

That was in the "Age of Ruins," before dragons even existed. At that time, the land of Ysgard was littered with ruins. Through the slaves of the archaeologists, Ysgard learned many stories about powerful nations from ancient times.

The story revolves around a nation called Falland, which, under the leadership of a saint, fought against an ancient demon for a century, ultimately sacrificing all its inhabitants to perish together with the demon.

In the current records of Ysgard, that saint has become a niche deity known as the "Goddess of the Fire" in some ancient regions. It is said that everyone was willing to die for her, and in the end, they all died in the same fire, along with the demons.

This is said to be why the magic power in Ysgard is so scarce—because the fire burned for a full century, fueled by magic. That century depleted all the magic power, and naturally, even centuries later, Ysgard's magic power has never recovered to its former state.

The only mountain range in Isgard is said to be the remains left by demons—although Isgard scientists consider this nonsense, Nia knows she must take it seriously.

Because sometimes the most outrageous things are the most likely to be true. Just like how the people of Isgard didn't believe the Romans could be so stupid back then, but now... humph.

Nia knew she had to be cautious, cautious, and even more cautious... To this end, she began to rack her brains to think about all the archaeological data related to the past in the Isgard National Research Institute.

But the more she recalled it, the more she realized the seriousness of the problem.

In the past, murals in archaeological sites have depicted the power of demons to destroy the world and even shape the earth's surface.

Humanity, when facing demons, can essentially only fight to the death. In the past, when magic was abundant, even destroyed nations had to resort to mutual destruction to fight demons...

For Ysgard now, if the legendary demons were to appear, could their homeland withstand the demons' attack?

Facing a legendary symbol of calamity with no experience... While Nia is confident she can survive the first wave of attacks, what will Ysgard do after suffering heavy casualties?

(We absolutely must befriend Bayerz... Ysgard needs to at least acquire their experience and knowledge in dealing with demons.)

Nia muttered to herself. After leaving her residence, she decided to talk to Finn about this important matter today.

As for why it wasn't Yang Hao, she knew his practical abilities, and barring any unforeseen circumstances, he was probably discussing some secrets with the flag bearer.

That is indeed the case.

At this very moment, with the help of the standard-bearer, Yang Hao was learning about the new weapons currently used by the Bayer Zans Empire and the organization of the soldiers using these weapons.

Because they had to face both large units and numerous small enemies in narrow terrain, the Bayern Empire, after hundreds of years of research, put the development of alien weapons called "Transforming Weapons" on the agenda and assigned them to a very small number of elite troops.

According to Lucas, each of the transforming weapons was made from the remains of a high-ranking demon—so the Bayrgans Empire currently has fewer than 2000 alien weapons, and many more have had to be sealed away because they cannot find suitable users.

"Take the weapon I'm using now... the Thunder Staff, for example. It uses materials from the Lightning Demon. Normally, it's the size of a short sword, making it easy to stab from behind a shield."

But in situations with wide terrain and where significant damage to large units is required, press a button, and then...

Lucas suddenly picked up the dark blue, rugged-style short sword, pressed a button, and flung it to the right. The short sword transformed into a short-handled spear, with a pale blue arc of light shimmering on its tip.

"With just a flick of its wrist, it can be programmed into a relatively large weapon and directly unleash the original power of the demon."

However, precisely because of this, not all soldiers can be equipped with alien weapons. And we veterans equipped with alien weapons are assigned to different units depending on the type of weapon—in most cases, we don't fight alongside the main force. We blend in with the paratroopers, operating in small squads led by a captain, specifically targeting demons or large numbers of demon larvae.

Demons possess high resistance to ordinary weapons; they are natural-born sources of magical power, fearing not only [Light] divine magic but also attacks from their own kind. This may be related to the [Gladiator Battles] that occasionally occur within demon hordes.

"Gladiator combat?"

"Yes. Just as humans have kings, demons also have their kings—initially, their kings were appointed, born directly from the womb. But in their centuries-long wars with us, they have also learned from humans how to use weapons, employ tactics, and conduct court politics. They choose their king through battle, and this most powerful individual leads them to victory."

So the demons are becoming increasingly difficult to deal with, and our casualties are rising—fortunately, the vast majority of demons are unable to use our weapons due to their size, which is a silver lining.

Demons learned to use weapons, learn human politics, and learn human tactics during the war.

They would deliberately use themselves as bait, allowing the larvae and larvae to swarm and annihilate the ambushed Bayezians. The Bayezians also knew that their cumbersome phalanx tactics were unsuitable for the intricate underground terrain, so they equipped some elite veterans with weapons crafted from demons and turned them into "hunters," allowing them to hunt demons in skirmish formations.

The demons wouldn't break their ambush for a few humans, and the humans wouldn't be intimidated by their inevitable demise. In this situation, both sides fought back and forth, ultimately suffering heavy losses.

Demons rarely produce offspring that can become [High-Rank Demons] anymore, so they have to resort to the law of the jungle, feeding on larvae with potential and protecting them.

Not everyone on the human side can use alien weapons, so all they can do is recycle the most versatile weapons and then have hunters and soldiers close the gap with the demons through repeated sacrifices.

By now, no one could hold on any longer. If the demons continued to die like this, their species would collapse and be destroyed; if humanity continued this endless battle, they would eventually perish from famine and corruption. They desperately hoped for an outsider to intervene and take over.

For Bayerzans, the prophecy and the elves were the "outsiders" they craved most. As for Yang Hao, while realizing the immense difficulty of this attack, he also realized that the predicament facing the Bayerzans Empire might be more complex than he had initially thought.

The Bayern Empire was short of food, and under the rationing system, they could only last until April of the following year—that is, early spring.

The Bayern Empire did not prepare any winter clothing because they had to devote all their resources to the war. The residents wore clothes that had been passed down for countless generations, and even the nobles were dressed in disheveled clothes and rushed to the battlefield with a sword in hand.

No well-preserved facilities can be found inside the entire Constantinople. If one had to name one, it would be the palace, which was built as the last fortress—but even so, with three-quarters of the palace complex destroyed, it can hardly be considered intact.

More than fighting the damage from the demons, Yang Hao was worried that Bayerzs would be destroyed after rising to the ground due to various problems.

So, thinking about it—Yang Hao said worriedly to Lucas as he returned the weapon to the rack:

"I judge that with the combined attack from above and below ground, annihilating the demons will not be a problem. But Bayerzans is not prepared to face the harsh winter and famine after returning to the surface—although you may not have felt it when you were advancing in the forest and entering the Elf Forest, Bayerzans will face a new crisis once it starts snowing on the surface now."

Not to mention, it wasn't just Constantinople. The citizens of other parts of Bayern—”

"Your Majesty the Regent, only Constantinople remains in Bayrjan – there has been no response from the other cities. We checked through the underground portal, but there was no one there, nor any demons."

“…Then let’s just consider Constantinople.” Yang Hao nodded. Since it was only Constantinople, it was easier to solve. “Gaparia will prepare clothing for Constantinople enough to last through the winter and early spring, as well as food for at least half a year…but agriculture, keeping up with the pace of the modern world…these are all problems.”

"As long as the war can be ended, it is not a problem for us."

“I understand. In short, we will be prepared—you should go back and rest now. We'll discuss the details tomorrow.”

"Yes."

Lucas obediently left. Yang Hao, meanwhile, stared at the weapons on the table, lost in thought.

He has confirmed the next steps and plans, but the biggest variable is how the Bayern will end the war.

Based on Lucas's impression of him, he genuinely believed that the Bayezians would secure a safe position for Gaparia with extremely heavy casualties... If too many people were lost in this battle, then even if the Bayezians were to reach the surface, it would be very difficult for them to restore their kingdom.

Furthermore, Theresa certainly wouldn't want to see Bayer Zins suffer further losses, which would...

"How can we provide the greatest possible assistance while minimizing Bayer Zander's casualties?...Where did they come from? Can we send some equipment and personnel in to temporarily bolster their strength?"

Yang Hao fell into deep thought.

Meanwhile, in the Roman Empire.

Thanks to the parish's propaganda of "Winning is great," the northern part of the Roman Empire is at least trending towards stability.

Although not exactly thriving, at least the believers, under the influence of money, faith, anesthetics, and the effects of Mass, temporarily forgot the losses of the previous war. After capturing and executing the few remaining defeated soldiers, no one mentions the defeat anymore.

Although the nuns are frequently active underground, they at least for the time being show no interest in matters on the surface.

Let these nuns stay underground with the saint forever!

Leader Peter was utterly exhausted. Although the artisans still couldn't be replenished, at least winter had arrived, and dark clouds were beginning to gather in the central region. The Roman Empire should be able to weather the drought next year.

As long as the food supplies from Isogard and Alessar arrive, the Roman Empire will eventually be able to stabilize and avoid splitting, and the parishes will be able to take the opportunity to develop further.

For some reason, Master Peter felt his eyebrows twitching. He had a bad feeling, but he didn't know where it came from.

"...The military region personnel are recuperating, and the nobles and landowners, even if they wanted to resist, lacked the military strength..."

"It couldn't possibly be the Aresers and Isugardians planning an invasion, could it?"

The cult leader felt a headache coming on. Just then, a meeting reminder from the Round Table Council arrived in front of him.

What's going on? What's going on? Why are we having another meeting?

The Pope Peter took the letter, puzzled, then opened it and his eyes widened in shock:

Amid a prolonged drought and the loss of relief supplies.

In the central part of the Roman Empire, a group of peasants revolted.

It was neither a riot nor a march.

They launched a rebellion under the guise of "cashback and restoration" and "execution of the Empress and restoration of the Regent."

Chapter Six: Judge Natalia, Alesser's Military Support 8K

December 8th. A group of farmers, suffering from drought and driven by hunger and endless misery, chose to revolt.

They destroyed the already dilapidated national highways and dug makeshift defensive lines between their respective villages. Most of these peasant uprisings were veterans who had served in the last war.

They acted blindly, chanting slogans like "We don't want bread, we want the regent!" and "Execute the queen and bring back the regent!" It didn't seem like they had a leader, or perhaps they were truly desperate and resorted to such a desperate measure after reaching a consensus.

The entire Roman Empire was shocked. Not only in the capital, people thought, "How could these veterans rebel when food was almost available? Have they gone mad?", but even people in the dioceses and military districts thought those veterans were brainless.

Because if they chose to join the parish or military district with their martial arts skills, they might not live a very good life, but at least they wouldn't have any problem getting enough to eat.

They suspected that these strange veterans might have started a rebellion on someone's orders. But after further investigation, they reluctantly believed it was truly just an accident—an accident caused by a prolonged drought and the misappropriation of relief supplies by some.

For some, however, this was something completely unexpected.

Wang Du, at a salon gathering of the Party to return to reality.

When the Witch of the Night came here again, she found everyone looking ashen-faced or distressed.

The ranchers of the west and the silver mine owners of the east nodded to her, and then, after the waiter locked the door, they spoke to the displeased Night Witch, still struggling to smoke their cigars:

"I'm sorry, Witch—actually, those veterans have nothing to do with us. To be precise, they have nothing to do with our plans. It's a coincidence."

"..."

"Please believe us—we're not foolish enough to kill the current Empress. Even if it's just to welcome back His Majesty the Regent, we would never lay a hand on the Empress. After all, she's still a child and poses no threat whatsoever."

The words of the eastern silver mine owner softened the Night Witch's expression slightly. After all, the nobleman was right; the nobles of the Cashback Party might have indeed done some disgusting things before, but because of that, they weren't brainless.

They knew that the young empress absolutely could not die, and they were even more aware that their uprising had to be justified by a "greater good"—in other words, the young empress could not possibly die. At least in their eyes, the young empress was essential to bringing the regent back.

Now that the nobles have reached this consensus, what about the veterans of the uprising?

The Night Witch scrutinized the speechless nobles. After a moment, one noble, sweating profusely, raised his hand and, feigning composure, indicated that, barring any unforeseen circumstances, those individuals were likely influenced by the recent "rumors."

“From a long time ago, some people have been spreading rumors in the border areas—specifically, they have been belittling the Queen while praising His Majesty the Regent’s previous achievements and good days.”

We thought this was public opinion we could exploit, so we didn't pay much attention to the spread of these rumors. But unexpectedly, after these rumors reached the central government, they had a surprising effect...