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

And so, amidst the swaying, the time came to 10 a.m. on January 1st.

At first, there was a small bulge, followed by the rise of a mountain – after the city’s foundation was finally level with the ground, the dome that had protected the city for thousands of years was opened.

The structures originally used to reinforce the city dome were dismantled before the ascent, and the Bayer Zans will never need them again.

Sunlight shone on the streets of this city, which had been sealed underground for a thousand years. Every Bayer Zionist emerged from their house in a daze, covering their eyes and sniffling in the cold wind.

They realized this might be what the surface called "winter." The sunlight didn't feel warm because of the winter winds, and the surrounding air was so fresh it felt a little chilly.

The mushrooms used for lighting began to wither the moment they were exposed to sunlight, but none of the Bayer Zans felt sorry for the mushrooms they had cultivated for so long.

They just smiled. They had cried too many times today; they couldn't shed another tear. They had finally seen the legendary sunlight, the lush greenery in the distance, the azure sky, and breathed in the fresh air.

"The sacrifices of the Eagle Flag bearers were not in vain..."

The elder spoke in a weathered voice. His eyes were sore and painful from the direct sunlight, but he couldn't tear his gaze away from it.

This is the sunshine, air, and land that the people of Bayer Gesner have always dreamed of.

They finally returned. After thousands of years, they finally returned before they were completely wiped out.

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

After Constantinople was ascended, Yang Hao had the elven logistics team deliver food, warm clothing, and firewood and blankets—items in great demand during the winter—to Constantinople according to the original plan. He also had the elven craftsmen help repair the leaky and damaged buildings on Constantinople.

The elven mages, under Fen's command, also used the earth's magic to heal the corrupted. Some Bayrjans said that while the earth's magic was abundant, it was somehow different from what was recorded.

"I read in the records that the magic used to be so abundant that mages could see all sorts of colorful magic as soon as they opened their eyes... But now it seems that the magic on the surface is so scarce?"

This was a young nobleman who always wiped his face with a dirty cloth, making this remark in front of Yang Hao. Another female nobleman, upon hearing this, quickly covered his mouth.

Yang Hao was very interested in this intelligence. He directly asked the young nobleman to compile and hand over everything he knew, and then he continued his endless work.

This is what happened within the new territory of the Bayern Empire in the Monster Forest.

In the Roman Empire, however, everything seemed particularly terrifying.

The Romans had not made any preparations for earthquakes, nor had they learned any skills to protect themselves during an earthquake—although Yang Hao's night school taught this essential life skill to everyone who went to school, it was clear that the majority of them were not in school and resisted learning.

Because the mansions of nobles in towns were sturdy, the worst that would happen from an earthquake was that all the bottles and jars on top of the cabinets would fall down, causing the already wealthy families to lose a little of their savings.

For ordinary townspeople or farmers, this sudden nationwide earthquake has only exacerbated their already strained financial situation.

The loss of bottles and jars was a minor matter; the fatal problem was that the fragile walls made of clay and wood frames collapsed during the earthquake.

Countless farmers screamed as they fled their crumbling houses, watching in despair as their homes were reduced to rubble in the earthquake. Those whose houses hadn't collapsed were incredibly grateful, while those whose houses had crumbled knelt on the ground in despair and wailed.

They already suffered a complete crop failure due to last year's drought, and now they've lost their houses in the winter. How are they going to get through the rest of the winter?

The peasants in the central region of the Roman Empire watched all this in despair, while the officials who had long since embezzled money paid no heed to their plight. After all, to these officials, peasants were merely tools for making money. They had already profited enough, so naturally they would not part with their money and grain for the sake of the lives of mere peasants.

All of this was destined to plunge the Roman Empire into an even more unstable and chaotic situation. But this was just a minor crisis brought about by the earthquake.

In larger towns with portal networks, those towns suddenly rose several meters high during the earthquake—most of the sturdy houses maintained their original shape as they rose, but after the earthquake, all the townspeople stared blankly at the several meters of extra height that had appeared beneath the city walls.

Those were ancient city ruins—many townspeople who had cleaned the sewers realized something and rushed up into the underground, hoping to see if the suddenly rising ruins contained a treasure that could change their fate. But none of them noticed that the maintenance portal was flickering because of the earthquake, clearly on the verge of collapse.

In another, larger town, the rise wasn't just a few meters, but a terrifyingly high 10-15 meters.

This sudden increase in height has turned these important towns into isolated towers. Until the inhabitants manage to build bridges or find the exits from the city ruins beneath them, these towns will remain isolated for a considerable period.

Not to mention that the portal couldn't withstand such an impact and closed abruptly amidst the shaking—the townspeople could only look at each other in dismay, but for those with ulterior motives, this meant an opportunity.

The members of the Return of Cash Party immediately contacted their comrades through magic. The Night Witch, who was far away in the capital and also felt the earthquake, received their message, but because of her duties, she could not leave the Little Queen and the former Chief Justice's side for even a moment.

She used magic to ensure the two would not be harmed by the earthquake. Then, she used magic to confirm the current state of the capital, discovering that its elevation had risen by more than a meter. She sighed instinctively:

"What kind of earthquake could cause a city to rise by a meter?!"

She then realized, based on information from her party members, that this was due to the nationwide rise in urban development, and she also became aware of the thoughts of the pro-recovery party members.

They plan to launch a coup on January 15th, taking advantage of the fact that most major cities are forced into isolation or the portal is damaged.

However, a coup could not take place in the palace, so the Restorationists hoped that the Night Witch would continue to infiltrate the court to provide assistance when they needed it most, and also to ensure that the young empress would not be harmed by the ensuing chaos.

"We still need that queen." After leaving these words, the Western rancher had the mage disconnect the communication.

This left the Night Witch feeling very helpless, because she felt that taking the little empress out of the palace directly was the best option, but what could she do when the Cashback Party needed her to stay in the palace to provide assistance?

(Let's take it one step at a time.) The witch sighed. (But if the capital city is also rising due to the earthquake, how is Cecilia doing?)

The witch was thinking about her friend, and what was happening in the parish of St. Petersburg was far more shocking than the petty squabbles throughout the Roman Empire.

It was a huge town that rose up from the ground to a height of more than forty stories.

The believers outside the city were all stunned, and then they prostrated themselves on the ground in ecstasy, praising the greatness of the God of Light.

They believed this was a divine blessing from the God of Light. They thought it was a blessing from the God of Light, seeing their piety, that allowed the City of Light to accommodate more people. They believed this was a signal from the God of Light for the birth of Saint Cecilia, a great sign that the Saint's birth would save those suffering throughout Romance!

But for the priests and bishops atop the cathedral, the city's rise brought not joy, but fear and panic.

"Hurry! Hurry! Lock up all the luxury goods and people wearing rouge and powder along the way before the saintess and the ascetics arrive! Hurry!"

Peter the Elder moved his round, obese body around shouting, alarmed as he ordered all the bishops and priests to move, for he knew that the nuns and saints would certainly not tolerate the current extravagance of St. Petersburg.

If the saint could understand how churches use gold and silver decorations to display wealth and attract believers, if the saint could understand how gold leaf adorns the text of holy books to enhance their majesty, if the saint could understand how forging statues of the God of Light in gold would accentuate His greatness—

The saint could never understand the priests and nuns who did such sordid things in public, nor could she understand the brothels that appeared in the Holy City, let alone the casinos and lounges in the Holy City that catered specifically to the bishops.

She couldn't understand why the parish bank would offer loans with interest rates increasing by 30% each month, nor could she comprehend why the money deposited with believers in the parish would ultimately become the parish's wealth. She wouldn't understand why St. Petersburg had abandoned its austere precepts, and she certainly wouldn't understand the "Corpse-Giving Divine Art" that the Church of Light was currently developing.

If the saint were to become aware of these issues, she would dare to order the ascetics to purge the entire diocese! The Pope Peter could not bear such humiliation, but he also lacked the confidence to confront both the ascetics and the saint simultaneously.

Not to mention, if a real war breaks out, the parish will turn from a treasure trove into a money-burning battlefield! Rather than that outcome, Bishop Peter would prefer to do everything he can to mislead the saints and nuns.

Therefore, he decided to order everyone to clean up everything that could be cleaned up from the first-floor platform upwards before the saintess climbed to the top of the tower!

The bishops and priests were particularly efficient in this life-or-death situation. They ordered all priests adorned with gold and jewels to return to their churches and immediately dress in austere attire. They promptly arrested prostitutes still posing as believers on the streets. They went to great lengths, even resorting to divine magic, to make the city appear more austere than luxurious. These magical acts even led the believers outside St. Peter's to believe it was another divine blessing, making them even more devout and causing them to bow their heads even lower.

But all they did could not keep up with the speed at which the saintess ascended in the elevator.

This was the first time that Bishop Peter had ever felt such sturdiness about the elevator system in this ancient city. He watched helplessly as the elevator indicator climbed higher and higher, finally stopping at the original floor.

Saint Cecilia, after the city rose to prominence, was finally forced to break her vow and once again ascended to St. Petersburg with the nuns.

She was still dressed as a hermit as always, holding a holy book in one hand and a crucifix in the other. Behind her followed a dozen or so hermits, strong believers in the precepts.

Each of them is a weakened version of the Holy Maiden, and the Holy Maiden herself can unleash terrifying divine magic even without believers. In other words, each of the ascetic nuns is a powerful member of the clergy who can fight alone.

Now, including the ascetic nuns and Saint Cecilia, they are all puzzled by one question: What exactly happened in St. Petersburg?

They didn't believe it was some kind of "divine grace," because deep underground, they could clearly hear the creaking sound of the gears turning rapidly. They thought it was man-made, and their first suspect was naturally the cult leader Peter, who lived at the top of the tower.

They believe this may be a decision made by the patriarch Peter to force Saint Cecilia to be born—after all, Saint Cecilia's vow to remain underground was only to be kept underground, and now, due to her "ascension" in an objective physical sense, Cecilia has broken the vow.

She was outraged by this and had to ask Peter the Elder for an explanation—but the moment she came to the surface with this thought in mind, the lingering rouge and the various pungent-smelling dust entered their noses.

"What is this? Who allowed those prostitutes to bring rouge into the Holy City?!" The Holy Maiden roared in fury, shouting at the chaotic scene before her: "We allowed those poor women to enter the Holy City in the hope that they could repent their sins in the church and atone for everything they had done—but we did not allow those women to continue entering the Holy City as prostitutes, to tempt believers to indulge in pleasure!"

"You! Stop right now! Don't give me that disgusting act! Tell me, who allowed them into the Holy City?!"

Saint Cecilia directly cast a divine spell, and without any believers gathering divine power for her, her spell caused all the priests and deacons on this floor to stop what they were doing.

They stared in horror at the enraged saint and the crosses and iron canes carried by the nuns. They trembled, and finally, under the saint's fierce glare, a greasy-faced priest, newly dressed in patched robes, collapsed under the mental pressure in front of a carriage, saying:

"Yes—it was Leader Peter who ordered us to do this, it was Leader Peter!"

The nuns passed by the priests and deacons expressionlessly. They easily lifted the carriage lid, revealing to the saints some beautiful women who had been captured and used as prostitutes for the bishops' use at will.

The saintess was stunned. She had thought it was just a prostitute.

The priests trembled even more, because this was the "garbage" that a high-ranking bishop had ordered them to clean up. After all, the saintess would definitely investigate the bishops' lifestyles after her birth. Rather than letting the saintess discover the whereabouts of these poor women, it would be better to take advantage of the city's ascent and throw them directly from a height, using the excuse of "accidentally falling during the ascent" to smash them to pieces, thus saving the trouble of covering up the crime.

But as luck would have it, no one expected the saintess to act so quickly.

No one expected that it was this carriage that couldn't escape the saintess's sharp eyes.

Now, these pitiful women who were wantonly humiliated and had their bestial desires vented have been suddenly and completely exposed to everyone, and this cannot even be explained by the name of "prostitute"!

Everyone could see blood dripping from Saint Cecilia's right hand, which was gripping the cross tightly. In her rage, she summoned the spear of light, pinning the priest and deacon escorting the carriage to the ground. She rushed forward and, together with the nuns, rescued the poor souls.

"Poor girls, tell me, who is it that has subjected you to such humiliation?!"

The Church of Light's magic lacks a healing system, so Saint Cecilia could only hope that these girls still had the strength to speak.

To her surprise, a girl who had suffered the least torture cried out the names of more than a dozen bishops, who were all the bishops currently on the list in the bishop council.

Saint Cecilia was incredulous: what had happened here during her time in the underground asceticism?

What has the Holy City become? Why did the former bishops succumb to their desires?

She couldn't understand it.

After ordering two nuns to protect the girls and return them to their original underground location for treatment, she angrily headed towards the elevator leading to the top of the tower.

She wanted to get to the bottom of things. She wanted to judge these sinful people who had lost their faith in the name of the God of Light.

This occurred three days after Saint Cecilia went to the top of the tower of St. Peter's Basilica.

Accompanied by the personal grace of the God of Light.

on February 1.

The parish was split. Protestants and Catholics, under the grace of God, fought each other to the death. Their leaders were Saint Cecilia and Bishop Peter, respectively. At this moment, there was no longer any friendship between the two sides, only rage to crush and kill each other.

On the same day, large numbers of peasant rebels rose up again throughout the central district. Under various slogans, they occupied the main roads leading to the capital, completely surrounding isolated cities while scrambling for the remaining food and supplies.

With the capital's teleportation portal functioning normally, but others virtually unusable due to malfunctions, Prince Garsen dared not send Knight Robert and the remaining army out of the capital. He ordered the knights to defend the city to the death, had all the strongest warriors guard the plaza in front of the teleportation portal, and sent an urgent message to Alessar's messenger, hoping that Alessar's reinforcements could help them eliminate a few rebel groups on their way to the capital. Only then could Prince Garsen feel at ease sending his knights to wipe out the remaining traitors.

Faced with Prince Gassen's request, Alessar's messenger could only nod reluctantly: This was truly unexpected.

In less than four days, the Roman Empire had undergone a complete transformation. However, these changes were not yet directly related to the culprits behind this series of unexpected events.

In Constantinople, the capital of the newly formed Bayer Geinger Empire, Yang Hao was racking his brains over the development of Bayer Geinger.

For no other reason than that.

It's just because he seems to be short of money.

Chapter 8: We're broke! But we've got a gold mine under our backsides!

January 4, 006 in the Imperial Calendar.

Yang Hao is probably out of money.

In Constantinople, the capital of the Bayern Empire, in the Purple Palace, in Baselisa's office—