Chapter 263: Newcomers to the Phoenix Knights
Siyuan City.
Today, Siyuan City is in a state of disrepair, with construction sites and busy crowds of people rebuilding homes everywhere.
At that time, Emperor Marius burned the supplies in the city, and the Legion of Terror and the rebels fought in the city, making this prosperous capital a mess, but it also left only one voice in Siyuan City.
The nobles who could run away had already run away. The noble senators in the Senate would neither participate in "brutal battles" nor "coolie-like construction". They would not tighten their belts and donate the hidden supplies in their homes for centralized supply at the call of Emperor Marius.
In fact, the original Senate probably no longer exists, and Emperor Marius has reorganized a new Senate Council.
All members of the Senate are elected from all classes of citizens, and unlike in the past, current members of the Senate all hold important positions and have made outstanding contributions to the country.
Among them were Governor Justus, the old noble, Marius’s adviser, the initiator and promoter of the reform, and the new imperial treasurer;
There is General Creon, a rising noble who was born into a commoner family and has been fighting against the Snake Cult and the Red Death;
There is the newly appointed Siyuan City garrison commander General Valleus - he was once the lord of the burned-down Olega Castle, and now he is the garrison commander in charge of the construction of Siyuan City. He has been leading the residents of Siyuan City to respond to Marius' call. Whether it is withdrawing from Siyuan City to organize fortifications or returning to Siyuan City to rebuild their homes, Valleus is the leader of the residents and craftsmen.
There was also General Ivaylo, who was born a serf but successfully defended the Imperial Port. Emperor Marius gave this "pig-raising general" a formal general title - he was originally going to be appointed as the administrator of the Imperial Port, but the serf general refused the appointment, thinking that he had no experience and ability in governing, and did not want to cause the people to suffer because of his incompetence, but he could be a general leading troops in battle.
These four new senators represented the old nobles of Bacchus, the emerging nobles of Pendor, the residents and craftsmen, and the farmers and serfs respectively.
This has always been Marius' vision.
The Senate should be both the hand of the emperor assisting him in governing the country and a bell hanging over his head representing all classes to supervise the emperor's behavior, but it should never be a battlefield for power struggles and factional struggles.
At this moment, there are no factions in the Senate, or rather... they are all Marius who support reform, so naturally there will not be any serious internal friction.
And in the new five-seat Senate, the last seat is still vacant.
This seat should be reserved for the spokesperson of the armed forces, that is, the military representative.
This was of course left to Agathon.
Only Agasson will not be opposed by anyone. He comes from the Shadow Legion, but at the same time he supports reform. He has made outstanding contributions and always undertakes difficult tasks. He is the best candidate to balance the military power.
In addition, Brutus was appointed as an intelligence officer by Emperor Marius, an important position in the Bacchus Empire responsible for intelligence gathering and surveillance investigations.
But in fact, the real controller of this position is Alina, and Brutus can only be regarded as her deputy at best.
Because those professionally trained spies were originally Justus's subordinates, they only listened to Alina's arrangements. At the same time, only Alina could get General Sura of the Shadow Wolf Pack to help her - General Sura would only respond to requests from two people in Bacchus, one was Emperor Marius, and the other was Alina, who was entrusted by Emperor Marius to contact him when he was in the most dangerous time.
But Alina currently does not have any position.
Not giving Alina a position was Justus's request. He didn't want his daughter to work in intelligence because this job always involves contact with the dark side. He was worried that if the position was made public, his daughter would not be able to get married in the future.
In fact, the child has been refusing to talk about anything related to blind dates, and keeps saying that she will only marry the child of prophecy, but there is no such thing as a child of prophecy...
But after Alina lost her position, the secrecy of the intelligence department was greatly enhanced.
Alina now often appears and disappears wearing a mask, and even Justus doesn't know where she is.
Sometimes she would hide behind the screen in the council chamber, with a little notebook to provide information to Marius;
But more often than not, the person behind the screen was not Arina, but Brutus's sister, Elena. She looked very similar to Arina, and now she was wearing exactly the same clothes. If you didn't look closely, no one could tell them apart...
Emperor Marius knew that Arina had such a substitute, but only Marius knew it.
At this time, the new members of the Senate were holding a small meeting in the conference hall.
The huge black stone conference table is hollowed out, with a brazier placed under the table. The firelight reflects the hollowed-out part of the table top, making the table top show obvious patterns and lines.
Those hollow lines and patterns represent fortresses and roads.
This huge conference table is engraved with a map of the continent of Pendor.
A black metal chess piece carved into the shape of a sharp sword was placed at the Qicha Fortress on the map, while another blue-gray chess piece carved into the shape of a giant crown helmet was placed at the Leila Fortress.
"This is the situation three days ago...Have the people sent to Leila Fortress returned?"
Emperor Marius was placing a red chess piece in his hand next to the Seven Forks Fortress, and placing another red chess piece with a crown logo towards Sarleon City.
"Your Majesty, we have contacted the Phoenix Knights, but according to the Phoenix Knights, it was General Titus who asked them to stay put in the Leila Fortress... General Titus claimed that he wanted to hold on to the Leila Fortress and buy time for the empire together with General Agathon. For this reason, he requested Your Majesty to allocate troops, money and food to him, and asked him to establish a new legion..."
The person reporting was intelligence officer Brutus, who conveyed the situation expressionlessly, his words devoid of any emotion.
"If he really cared about the empire, he should have defended the Sava River Fort instead of illegally occupying Agasson's territory..."
General Cleon shook his head, thinking that Titus's statement was unreliable.
"That's not the case... Lela Fortress is indeed easier to defend than Sava River Fortress. Titus's retreat is understandable. He can stay in Lela Fortress to protect the capital, which means he has no intention of treason. He is just greedy and wants a higher position. But holding the Phoenix Knights to threaten the Empire to supply money, food and soldiers is very dangerous... The Empire can't give him money and food now!"
Governor Justus shook his head and flipped through the account book in front of him.
The empire needs money everywhere, and there is not enough money and grain to rebuild Siyuan City. He, the finance minister, is probably the poorest in the history of the empire, and the treasury really has no money.
"Ivaylo, do you have any opinion?"
Seeing that the serf general had remained silent, Ma Lue spoke out his encouragement.
"Your Majesty, I am just a pig farmer and I don't know how to run a country... My only opinion is that the country is sacred. Even if facing a powerful enemy, as a general, you should not abandon any inch of land."
Ivaylo said softly with some hesitation.
"That's right! Titus abandoned Sava River Fort when he could have held on, and he did so after Agathon successfully attacked the Qicha Fortress. Not only did he abandon his country, he also put Agathon, who was determined to help him, in a desperate situation! Maybe this bastard didn't commit treason, but he betrayed the people he ruled! Countless civilians in Sava River Fort will die because of his evacuation, and even more people will be homeless!"
General Valleius' attitude was more radical. It was obvious that he cared more about the life and livelihood of every Bacchus. It was no wonder that Emperor Marius appointed him as consul.
"Now is not the time to discuss charges... The key is how to get the Phoenix Knights out of Titus' control and quickly assist Agathon. Since King Severus appointed Leon as the marshal, it is obvious that he intends to invade the empire, so Agathon would risk his life alone to attack the Qicha Fortress to buy time for the empire, but he probably won't be able to hold on for long..."
Justus was obviously more practical.
"Sura, are you friends with the Phoenix Knights?"
Emperor Marius turned his head and asked towards the shadow in the corner.
The place was dark and looked like no one was there, but General Sura's voice was heard: "No... Although Phoenix and Shadow both exist to fight against the Snake Cult, and I admire them for what they are, they are noble knights who shine like blazing flames in the open, while we are just Phantom Wolves who hide in the dark and don't want to attract attention..."
That's true. The Shadow Wolves are all civilians and probably don't have much in common with the noble knights of the Phoenix Knights. Their only mission is to deal with the Snake Cult.
"Your Majesty, gentlemen, I just received new intelligence... Qicha Fortress was burned down by General Agathon, and Titus is trying to take Agathon's troops for himself!"
A pleasant female voice came from behind the screen.
It was Alina's voice, and everyone around the conference table turned their heads.
Alina came out in a hurry, covered in dust, and handed a letter to Emperor Marius.
"Agathon...is he still alive?"
Emperor Marius frowned. He did not ask what Titus had done, but was more concerned about Agathon's life and death.
"He's still alive. I saw him. But General Agathon is injured now. He was detained by General Titus in the Leila Fortress. Titus is currently forcing General Agathon's troops to pledge allegiance to him... Fortunately, I brought back this letter. General Agathon said it was written to you by Count Leon."
Alina pointed to the parchment scroll sealed with wax in Marius's hand.
"Alas... the empire's enemies always come from within... but the external enemies are actually thinking about the empire. How ridiculous..."
After reading the letter, Emperor Marius looked down at the map on the table and sighed deeply.
"Everyone, prepare for battle with your troops. Gather all the empire's troops between Siyuan City and Leila Fortress... I will personally go to Titus to 'provide troops, money and food'..."
After just a few seconds of squinting his eyes, Emperor Marius made his decision.
"Your Majesty, if we mobilize all the troops now, then the eastern region... will we ignore it? The Fierce Lion King appointed Leon as the marshal, which obviously means that he intends to let Leon lead the army to enter from Karen Deer Castle..."
General Cleon was a little confused.
"Agasson brought back a covenant. Leon intends to do business with me. He won't set his sights on the eastern region... Of course, this deal must be bargained for. I have to talk to him face to face. Alina, send a reply letter to Leon. I will meet him at the Leila Fortress. Titus's matter will only be dealt with in passing..."
Emperor Marius shook his head, with a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. "However, Titus is a member of the Ashborn Empire after all. I have to give some respect to His Majesty Manius of the Ashborn Empire. I plan to make him a glorious Phoenix Knight..."
…
Leura Fortress.
General Titus was in a state of manic rage and was forcibly taken away from the fortress to the east by a group of Phoenix Knights.
He felt betrayed.
Betrayed by Emperor Marius, betrayed by the Imperial Senate, and betrayed by the Order of the Phoenix...
Because the Phoenix Knights had actually ignored his orders and were preparing to go to Karen Deer Castle, and they were forcing him to go with them...
The reason why the Phoenix Knights went to Karen Deer Castle was because the current lord of Karen Deer Castle, Count Leon, destroyed the army of the Snake Cult and created a vaccine to suppress the Red Death. This was confirmed by all the leading figures of Bacchus, including Emperor Marius, and Count Leon even told them on the spot how to make and vaccinate the vaccine.
The Phoenix Knights originally came to deal with the Snake Cult. No matter which country's lord they were from, they would be the ally of whoever could deal with the Snake Cult. They came from the Ashborn Empire of the Amara continent, and originally did not want to get involved in the struggles between the countries of the Pendor continent, especially the struggle for power.
Therefore, the Phoenix Knights planned to build halls in Karen Deer Castle and Malasburg respectively to ensure that the Snake Cult would not revive.
Not only that, Emperor Marius personally decided to let Titus join the Order of the Phoenix and become a new Phoenix Knight.
This was the first time that the Order of the Phoenix, which had been passed down from father to son, had recruited outsiders for the sake of Emperor Marius. This was certainly an honor, and it seemed as if Emperor Marius was praising Titus.
But the problem is that Emperor Marius has taken back Titus's position as the liaison to the Ashborn Empire. He is no longer the emperor's envoy...
Titus' mission was over, and his status as envoy would of course be revoked. Emperor Marius even gave Titus a larger territory as a reward for successfully completing the mission - all the land around the Sava River Castle, including villages and towns such as Emeilin and Levulun, were all considered Titus's territory.
But the problem is... these territories do not currently belong to the Bacchus Empire - Leon's army has marched to the south of Sava River Fort, and all these territories are under Leon's control.
Moreover, judging from Leon's expression, he probably won't return it to Titus...
In this way, Titus himself was just a figurehead general. After losing his status as an envoy, he could no longer control the Order of Phoenix - he was now a newcomer who had just joined the Order of Phoenix. The Order had its own organization and levels, and a newcomer like Titus naturally would not have any authority.
The guys in the Ash Empire are all stubborn, with only muscles, blood and fire in their minds!
Except me...
All Bacchus are bad people, they are all xenophobic!
Emperor Marius is even more of a treacherous man! He said he treated me equally, but in fact he never trusted me!
And that Li Ang... He's just a young man who was lucky enough to win a few battles. What does he know?
Sooner or later I will take back the Sava River Castle! And the Karen Deer Castle...
Titus thought angrily.
