More importantly, none of those rumors reached the ears of the Saint and the Ascetic Sisters, and the Church of Light showed no signs of splitting for the time being."
"That's good news. What do other places say?"
"The royal family... seems to be holding a meeting over there. General Dreshuka seems to have directly put the blame on us, so..."
"Get ready, I'll be there right away."
Patriarch Peter sighed bitterly.
A tiger in dire straits is bullied by a dog - if Bishop Stephen had not lost a battle, would the diocese have fallen to this state
But now that things had come to this, he had no choice but to bite the bullet. He had to attend the round table meeting and he had to let the parish rest and recuperate for a while.
…
Patriarch Peter is preparing to go to the capital for a meeting.
On the other side, Bishop Stephen's attendants had already received the news of the bishop's death.
But unexpectedly, the servant did not take away Bishop Stephen's wealth, but sat on the sofa in Bishop Stephen's mansion, looking in the direction of the Elf Kingdom and fell into deep thought.
There once appeared a pillar of light. A pillar of light, as the language calls it.
"It seems that my compatriots can't hold on underground anymore - the Bayerjans, a terrible opponent, a group of lunatics who would rather die than drag their enemies into the grave... They are about to rise again. I have to find a better opportunity to complete my infiltration of the Roman Empire."
As the attendant muttered, his figure changed. If he looked like a well-dressed gentleman at first, this time his clothes gradually fell off, revealing the twisted purple organs moving under his translucent skin.
His face no longer looked handsome. He had a long triangular face, a long and flexible tongue like a venomous snake, and a pair of eyes with four pupils that emitted a faint purple light.
A pair of bat-like wings spread out from his back, his feet turned into sturdy goat feet, his right hand turned into a spear that could fire flesh javelins, and his left hand turned into a composite limb that could function as both a shield and a greatsword. On his chest, the Great Rift Mark representing the Demon of the Disaster was emitting a faint purple light.
"Where should I go next? The elves are definitely out of the question... The Great Khan? No, it's too far away and too wild. Besides, the Great Khan has a strong will and I can't influence him... Then where should I go to "assimilate" a person of status to complete our invasion in ten years?"
The demon flapped his wings and flew high. Under the protection of his translucent skin, his body gradually became transparent and was almost invisible when he flew out of the window.
The devil finally set his sights on the capital of the Roman Empire. If nothing unexpected happened, he should be able to find a powerful person in the capital who could be "corrupted" and assimilated into a devil...
That little queen is a good candidate... But she is just a puppet after all, so there is no point in assimilating her.
As expected, I still have to find that prince.
With this thought in mind, the demon rose high into the sky and flew towards the capital of the Roman Empire in the clouds.
Meanwhile, in the capital of the Roman Empire, Prince Gasson, who was being haunted by the devil, was holding a round table meeting without Patriarch Peter present.
All the representatives at the meeting had solemn expressions. Whether it was Prince Gasson himself, General Dreshuka, or the representatives of the nobles and landowners—
Everyone was looking down at the report from the parish. They were all scanning the words in the report that said "The former regent led the coalition of elves and demons to capture the demon city", while not forgetting to keep their eyes fixed on the losses of the parish.
That man...really dared to do this?!
After the demons entered the demon city, they slaughtered for two hours, and almost all the Romans were killed...
Not only that, the former regent also used his knowledge of Roman city defense to help the coalition forces break through two important towns and seven villages in the diocese. Wherever they went, not only was there no grass left, but even the entire land and floor tiles were stained red with blood...
He even had the elves "pollute" the ruined city! Now there were golems everywhere, and the parish's current army couldn't even break through the stone giants' blockade and rush into the ruins of the city without the help of priests, let alone clean up the ruins and rescue the survivors...
Let the elves step into human land, let the demons slaughter the humans of the Roman Empire, dye the human land red with human blood, and let the human screams resound through the sky of the human empire...
Didn't he have the slightest respect for the land that the previous emperor had fought for? ! Didn't he have the slightest love for the people of the Roman Empire? !
Everyone had a bitter look on their faces, but the most bitter thing was the "rumors" that began to appear in the Roman Empire.
Since when, voices denouncing the current aristocratic bureaucracy began to be heard in the border areas of the Roman Empire, and people began to loudly praise the regent for having a hard time in power.
Amid those rumors, those who spoke loudly used words more sophisticated than those of lawyers to demonstrate how wonderful life in the Roman Empire was under the leadership of His Majesty the Regent.
For example, when His Majesty the Regent was still in power, at least people had free medical help when they were sick, instead of having to spend a lot of money to pay nobles, and the disease might not even be cured.
For example, when His Majesty the Regent was still around, at least the farmers had insurance against drought, and His Majesty the Regent would prepare magical channels for the farmers to fight drought, so that the farmers could still farm no matter how poor their situation was.
For example, when the Regent was still around, those steam factories would take away a large number of jobs for artisans, but at least everyone could buy cheap daily necessities...
For example, say... For example, say...
For example,
"Even we can't come up with such a perfect official explanation?! He must be secretly launching a propaganda offensive against us!"
Prince Gassen's face twisted and he slammed his fist hard on the conference table.
Bang!
The round table shook slightly after the punch. It was as if the punch hit the hearts of all the participants.
After all, this rumor suddenly appeared, and it was a public opinion rumor that emerged from the border area, which was really too sudden.
Moreover, even they themselves had to admit that the words were too perfect, as if they were carefully designed just to plunge the Roman Empire into deeper chaos...
In fact, it was true. The rumor spread much faster than Prince Gasson had imagined.
He was in the western ranch one week, and the next week the news of the Regent's achievements was all over the refugee villages in the central area.
Not only that, even in the towns and the royal capital where supplies were more plentiful, people were whispering about it, and some even compared Gassen's own reputation with the regent's achievements.
There are signs that someone in the empire is deliberately spreading rumors just to threaten his rule. This is something that Gassen cannot tolerate no matter what... But who is it? Who is it? !
He looked at all the participants. General Dreshuka and the Regent were not on good terms, and the Regent had paralyzed the diocesan Archbishop Peter. So, wouldn't the only ones left be the nobles and the landowners? !
There is no way that there will be anyone with two hearts other than the little queen and the court president under the king's rule!
So... are you nobles and landlords out there planning to betray the Roman Empire and me? !
Prince Gasson gnashed his teeth, his anger towards the nobles and landowners revealed on his face. Even the Regent was better at controlling his facial expressions than he was.
Under his angry glare, the nobles and landlords who were already dissatisfied with the previous exchange of interests had no choice but to "admit" their dereliction of duty and not mention it again, and the seeds of resentment were once again planted in their hearts.
At this point, the round table was no longer a place to discuss how the Roman Empire should develop and survive the crisis.
Under the watchful eyes of General Dreshuka, this round table meeting, now that Pope Peter was unable to attend, had turned into a blame-shifting meeting between the nobles and the landowners.
Both were arguing about who started the rumor first - the nobles said that we could not allow rumors that threatened our noble status to appear, and the landowners also said that they could not allow the serfs on their farms to become loyal subordinates of the enemy.
The two sides were fighting, and it seemed that neither could convince the other.
A servant secretly opened the door of the conference room and walked in. After whispering a few words into Prince Gasson's ear, the already anxious prince subconsciously cried out in surprise:
"What?! You said... the western rancher and the eastern silver mine manager invited the Night Witch to a party?"
Going to a party at this time
Prince Gasson suddenly felt his scalp tingling for some reason. But he changed his mind and realized that the western ranchers and the eastern silver mines had no way of surviving independently from the Roman Empire, and the two places were only connected by a portal network in a major city, so even if there was a rebellion, it could be easily suppressed.
Prince Gasson relaxed. He felt that he still had a chance to control the situation...
To this end, Prince Gasson put forward a suggestion: How about we sign a treaty with the Kingdom of Arese in the south and ask them to give us more fish. In return, we will grant them an independent area to build docks, reduce tariffs, and develop together
Once these words came out...
The meeting fell silent for a moment.
…
At the same time, in the lobby of the noble salon in the royal capital.
The Witch of the Night was invited to attend a salon party led by the "Cash Back and Re-Photograph" party.
There were no delicious snacks or tasty drinks at the party, only a group of burly aristocrats and the thick smoke of cigar cigarettes.
The Night Witch subconsciously cast a smoke-blocking spell on herself, and then she heard the Eastern Silver Mine Manager say that for some reason, the border areas have been "spontaneously" remembering the achievements of His Majesty the Regent. Although no one knows what's going on, it's clear that the opportunity is on their side.
"In May of next year... at the latest in June of next year, we will be able to gather enough food and money for the uprising. We have already reduced the supply of food and minerals to the central region. If nothing unexpected happens, the Alese people who contacted us are still planning to fund us..."
"Alesse?"
"It's a small country in the Southern Islands. The only thing they have value is a group of fish. Although they can't provide us with military support at all, it's enough to provide food supply - and after all, they are just a small country."
"But as far as I know, you have no coastal ports."
Priscilla pointed out the shortcomings of the Restoration Party - although the nobles and landowners united to occupy many key areas in the Roman Empire, and even had two crucial pass fortresses facing the western wasteland. But in the final analysis, this splinter faction of the empire did not have the resources of the coastal areas.
Not to mention coastal ports or towns, they don't even have a fishing village - how can they make contact with the Ares people
No... In this case, why would the Alesse people come forward and offer to support you? Is this sure... there is no problem
Facing Priscilla's gaze, the nobles of the Western Ranch stood up and said that it was because the Alesi people were planning to build their own transit station in the western wasteland.
They wanted to avoid the Roman Empire's tariffs and enter the Roman Empire through the borders of the western ranch nobles to sell their goods.
"But fish is difficult to preserve, so they thought it would be better to give it to us for pickling rather than letting it rot on the road - I've seen that pickled fish is actually similar to bacon, and it can be stored for a long time, enough to support our war."
"I see. So, what are you going to do with the military district and the border garrisons? They are die-hard fans of General Dreshuka."
"On this point, we nobles also have our own private soldiers - and after all, General Dreshuka's soldiers are not well-equipped. Although they are more than enough for defense, they will definitely be exhausted if they deal with attacks from multiple regions at the same time..."
"Uh..." For a moment, Priscilla didn't know what to say.
The nobles in front of him seemed to have arranged everything clearly.
But in the final analysis, if you think about it carefully, there are countless problems.
She didn't know whether she should express her support... But in the end, the Witch of the Night did have to make arrangements for her own escape.
Prince Gasson even spared no effort on his own niece... If he continued to stay in the royal family, sooner or later he would face bad news.
Moreover, the Night Witch still had a glimmer of hope in her heart. If she could take the little queen out and hand her over to Yang Hao, maybe...
Thinking of Sister Teresa in his arms at that time, the Night Witch's heart twitched violently.
And when she thought of Saint Cecilia, who still had no idea what happened on earth, the Night Witch's heart began to sob in pain.
On impulse, she nodded her approval of their plan amidst the small cheers of the nobles.
"If only ..."
Priscilla murmured with a pale face.
On the other side, inside the palace.
The little queen and the former president of the court are in a good mood recently.
After they completely regarded the Roman Empire as their enemy rather than their "home", whenever they heard bad news from somewhere in the Roman Empire, they would always be overjoyed, and even almost laughed out loud in the palace.
Although the little queen couldn't laugh out loud, the former president of the court really couldn't hide the joy in his heart.
"Haha, my little queen, don't laugh in front of others. Even though they asked for it, we still have to save our joy until after we escape..."
"Ugh!"
The little queen uttered an ambiguous humming sound to express her agreement, and then the former president of the court half-knelt in front of the little queen. After carefully wiping the grease from the corners of her mouth with a handkerchief, she prepared a glass of cool juice and gently fed it to the poor child.
But at this moment, the former judge noticed an unnatural ripple in the air around her. She turned her head and saw an elf.
The elf nodded at her, and after confirming that no one was around, she spoke:
"His Majesty the Regent has led his army back to Caparia. Now he needs to rest."
"I know. The little queen and I trust His Majesty - but please do not tell him about our situation. I am worried that he will worry too much, and even more worried that he will take risks."
"If that's what you want - rather than this, poor child, we'll be able to restore her tongue in Caparia... But then again, what's the political situation like in your country now?"
Although the elves could collect intelligence at will in the Roman Palace, they could not collect any intelligence on the Roman Empire's politics in the court.
These political affairs could only be explained by the humble former court president. As for the news about the elves, the former court president fed the happy little queen while whispering to the gradually transparent air around him.
From the statement of the former court president, the elves roughly understood that their situation in the palace was not optimistic: Prince Gassen had expressed more than once that he hoped that the little queen would "marry" a prince from Aresai to "continue the family bloodline" - but she was not even ten years old! How could she become someone else's wife
To be honest, the former court president would rather let the little queen go with the elves and stay here to die, she didn't want to let the little queen go through this... But after all, they still have time.
"By October next year at the latest... by then, that bastard Gassen will agree to the request of the Kingdom of Aresai and allow the prince of the Kingdom of Aresai to marry into the family—
But please don't make His Majesty too anxious. Although speed is of the essence in war, if he makes mistakes in a hurry, he will only suffer failure."
"I will..."
After that, the elf left. The former court president sighed softly, wiped the juice from the corners of the little queen's mouth, and then she saw a maid coming in front of her.
That was Gasson's head maid, and she had an unclear relationship with Gasson - it was said that the head maid was once a member of the Roman Empire, but her mother was expelled by Gasson's brother, the prince, for "incest", so in a sense she could be considered Gasson's sister.
This pair of bastards... The former court president gnashed her teeth, but at this point she couldn't push the little queen into a more dangerous situation just for the sake of momentary pleasure.
Fortunately, the head maid just glanced at them and left. Where was she going
The little queen pointed to the Mage Tower not far away. The former court president looked back and seemed to be thinking:
"Come to think of it, that bastard seems to be going out a lot recently. I don't know what he's doing... Well, it has nothing to do with us anyway. Okay, let's go back first - don't let that bastard dirty our eyes."
She picked up the petite little queen and, trying to cheer herself up with the loss of the parish, she walked out of the courtyard with a brisk pace.