Chapter 264: Bargaining Chips
Perhaps Emperor Marius was not a fair emperor - he treated Titus much more harshly than he treated Kyros.
You know, Kairos had once held Marius hostage, which was considered treason. But Emperor Marius did not punish Kairos directly, but instead allowed Kairos to cause trouble for the Snake Cult, and only sent the Shadow Wolf to follow him secretly.
Titus merely showed his intention to become the second Livius. He did not rebel, commit treason, or even break the law. But as soon as he showed signs of wanting to become a warlord, Emperor Marius suppressed him by praising him openly but criticizing him secretly, and even exiled Titus to the frontier.
In fact, there is a reason for this distinction.
Kairos was able to hold Marius hostage because the Shadow Legion only obeyed his orders - they dared to go against even the Emperor.
This means that once Kairos is killed, the Shadow Legion will inevitably rebel. But the current Bacchus Empire cannot withstand such a rebellion.
Although Titus brought the Phoenix Knights from the continent of Amara and they seemed powerful, he did not have the control that Kairos had. The Phoenix Knights would not obey his orders, but only helped him based on Titus' previous identity as a messenger.
The Phoenix Knights are the protectorate knights of the Ash Empire. The only one who can make them obey absolutely is the Emperor of the Ash Empire, Manius III.
In fact, the history of the Phoenix Knights is not long, but it is full of glory and its strength is indeed strong.
This order was founded in conjunction with the Ashborn Empire.
At that time, the Snake Cult had almost occupied the entire Amara continent, and the armed forces in the old Bacchus Empire that resisted the Snake Cult were only left with one last castle, the Fang Castle.
But they are still fighting tenaciously.
The Snake Cult sent an unprecedented force to deal with the last bastion that dared to resist its rule.
The Lord of the Fang Castle died on the front line, but his young son, Marnius Calgar, put on his father's armor and stood at the front like his father, bravely leading his few comrades to continue to persevere.
It was a hard and protracted battle, and most of Manius's comrades died on that day, but they successfully repelled the Snake Cult army and won the final victory.
Heartbroken by the loss of his father and so many friends, Manius held a mass cremation to cremate all the bodies.
The flames that night were so hot that all the survivors felt as if their armor was melting.
No one knows what happened that night, but the next morning Manius and his soldiers found themselves fully clothed but without their armor.
When they went to investigate the remnants of firewood that were emitting a faint blue smoke, everyone saw a dazzling red light flashing in the embers, but no heat was emitted.
Confused, Magnus pushed aside the ashes and found that all their armor was hidden under the embers. Each piece of armor looked as if it had been forged by flowing flames, but the metal was cool to the touch.
After this miraculous event, Manius and his surviving comrades began calling themselves the 'Asheborn' and spread the news of their victory at the Fang.
The people of the continent of Amalar therefore realized that the Snake Cult was not invincible, and most areas began to arm themselves in resistance.
Soon after, Manius Caraga announced the establishment of a new empire, the Ashborn Empire, and he became the first emperor of the Ashborn Empire, Manius I.
And those warriors who had fought with him in the Fang Castle formed the original Phoenix Knights.
Today, when members of the Order of the Phoenix die or retire, they pass their armor and swords to their sons, just as Manius once wore his father's armor and continued to fight.
The name of the Phoenix Knights also means that the Ash Empire will continue to be reborn like the phoenix. They believe that after each rebirth from the ashes, the phoenix will become more powerful.
So their flaming armor always shines at the forefront, and their shining swords that never retreat can always bring firm determination to their allies.
Even when facing the Legion of Terror, they can still bravely stand at the forefront after most of their men have died in battle.
Moreover, no matter how great the losses were, as long as their Phoenix banner returned to the Fang Castle, the Knights would immediately be fully staffed again, just like the rebirth of the Phoenix - the sons of the Phoenix Knights would be trained in martial arts and armor repair techniques from a young age, and they were always ready to put on their father's armor and inherit their father's glory and mission.
It is precisely this kind of spiritual inheritance that has enabled the Ashborn Empire to continuously recover its homeland. Over the past few decades, its territory has gradually expanded from the original corner of the Fang Castle to half of the Old Bacchus Empire. Today, under the rule of Manius III, the Ashborn Empire can compete with the Snake Cult.
The Phoenix Knights are the most powerful heavy-armored knights in the Ash Empire, and their strength lies in the fact that they never back down in the face of any powerful enemy.
So, on the way they followed Titus to the continent of Pendor, they encountered the warships of the Legion of Dread Infantry. They did not retreat and won the battle at sea.
Later, they ran into Bahaman, Lord of the Duchy of Desha, and Brennus of the Kingdom of Serenity near Sava River Fort. Both of them were looting civilians in the area under the jurisdiction of Sava River Fort, so they beat them up again as a reward for Titus's help in destroying the port of the Snake Cult.
But afterwards, Titus ordered the Phoenix Knights to retreat from Sava River Fort, taking away all the supplies in Sava River Fort, leaving the helpless civilians to the armies of the Kingdom of Sarleon and the Principality of D'Shar.
Moreover, that was indeed a time when there was no need to retreat.
At that time, Titus was planning to let the Kingdom of Sarleon and the Principality of D'Shar fight each other, hoping to watch the fire from the other side of the river, but this was not in line with the usual style of the Phoenix Knights...
They were Manius's personal troops, allies of Emperor Marius, not Titus's private soldiers.
They can help their allies fight the toughest battles, but are unwilling to be a knife in the hands of others in power disputes.
It was just that Titus was Marius's envoy, and Emperor Marius had provided generous assistance to the Ash Empire when it was in danger. The Phoenix Knights respected Titus's status as an envoy and did not abandon him immediately.
So from that time on, Titus could no longer command the Phoenix Knights at will.
He could only stay in the Lera Fortress, trying to use the Phoenix Knights as bargaining chips to ask Emperor Marius for money, food, and manpower, and then use the manpower and money he asked for to make the Phoenix Knights obey his command.
Unfortunately, Emperor Marius did not give him the opportunity to get something for nothing.
However, Emperor Marius actually believed, like Leon, that "everyone has his or her use."
He deliberately sent Titus and the Phoenix Knights to Karen Deer Castle.
The Phoenix Knights and Titus were actually bargaining chips for him to negotiate with Leon.
One day ago.
Emperor Marius and Leon were bargaining like two merchants trading cabbages.
"Your Majesty, exchanging those small villages north of Walwenburg for Eichkoman is a very good deal for you!"
Li Ang swiped the map and pointed to the bay between Siyuan City and Ashcoman: "With Ashcoman, the economy of the Bacchus Empire will recover quickly, and you can also get war horses..."
"Heh... Let's talk about it after we take down Ashcombe... It's north of Walven, and Imayer is also north of Walven! That's not just a small village... And the area of that land is much larger than Ashcombe!"
Emperor Marius shook his head to indicate that there was nothing to discuss.
"Your Majesty...Okay, even if we don't mention Ashcomb, what about the Sava River Fort? I asked Agathon to burn down the Qicha Fortress. Isn't that enough sincerity? You won't do this?"
Leon glanced at Agasson standing in the distance.
"Burning down the Seven Forks Fortress will indeed prevent Ulric's troops from leaving Sarleon City... But I know you're not doing this to reassure me..."
Emperor Marius smiled and stared into Leon's eyes. "I know that the Seven Forks Fortress has a special meaning to the Sarleon Kingdom. This is the place where your country was founded. It must be rebuilt after it is burned down. And the reconstruction will cost a lot of money and food, but the laborers in the Sarleon Kingdom have to be hired with money, even if it is forced labor. ... Now in the entire Sarleon Territory, probably only you, Count Leon, have so much money and food to repair the Seven Forks Fortress... Do you want to become everyone's creditor?"
"Oh? You figured it out... Yes, debtors will always be polite to their creditors... But in any case, this is a good thing for the Bacchus Empire, isn't it?"
Li Ang sighed and looked at Emperor Marius. It was indeed difficult to negotiate with such an emperor who knew everything.
"Yes, that's a good thing... Don't you just want to remind me that I owe you a debt? And you let Agasson take advantage of the land... Is he the kind of person who would do such a thing? Leon, the Bacchus Empire will not trade territory. You took Karen Deer Castle while the border was empty, and no one can complain about that, but in this kind of deal, I can't sell out the territory, even if I have to exchange a small village for a big city."
Emperor Marius looked at Leon with a smile on his face. His attitude was indeed polite, but his tone was not at all relaxed.
"So what are your plans? If you don't offer suitable conditions, I will occupy the Sava River Castle and not return it... Anyway, this result is enough..."
Leon patted the map and covered the Sava River Fort with his palm.
"Don't think I don't know. You can't have Sava River Castle. King Sarleon will never give it to you... It will only become the territory of Ulric or Brunus. Otherwise, Sarleon City will not feel safe."
Emperor Marius also stretched out his hand, but he was covering the Seven Fortress. "This is one of the reasons why you asked Agathon to burn down the Seven Fortress. You wanted to force Ulrich to rebuild the Seven Fortress. Sava River Fort faces both the Desha and the Empire at the same time. Now that it has lost the support of the Seven Fortress, it can't be defended at all... I don't need you to return Sava River Fort to me. It's easy for me to take it back."
“Your Majesty, if you say so, then there is no point in talking… Bacchus is so poor that he is almost bankrupt. Don’t you plan to go with me to Dexia to subsidize him?”
Le Ang now felt a little toothache, and Emperor Marius was like a worm in his stomach.
"Of course I have to go. In fact, I have already sent people there... I am indeed willing to form an alliance with you - an alliance with you, not with the Kingdom of Sarleon. But I plan to trade with you for something else..."
Emperor Marius pointed to the Castle of Karen: "The Knights of the Phoenix."
"What do you mean? The Phoenix Knights are not your troops. How are you going to trade with them?"
Li Ang was a little confused.
"I will have the Phoenix Knights regard you as the 'Snake Cult Killer' and prompt them to build a hall in Karen Deer Fort so that they can use you."
Emperor Marius sighed and said, "Huh... You want the land north of Walwenberg, but I can't give up my territory. So, I will give the large tracts of land and villages around Imer as fiefs for the Phoenix Knights. You will actually gain control of that land... Of course, in name it is still the territory of the empire."
"Are you planning to use my money and food to support the Phoenix Knights? And that area has been ravaged by the Red Death and the Snake Cult, and I have to spend money on disaster relief, right? This is a very smart deal..."
Li Ang gave a thumbs up and began to wonder if Marius was also a profiteer before he became emperor.
"Whether it's disaster relief or providing supplies for the Phoenix Knights, isn't this what you want? Otherwise, forget about this deal. You can lend me another sum of money and I'll go to provide disaster relief myself, using Imer as collateral."
Emperor Marius is indeed a profiteer with excellent judgment. Leon is indeed willing to provide disaster relief and support the Phoenix Knights...
"Ha! You want to win the support of the people and spend my money at the same time... You haven't paid back the last loan yet! No way!"
Li Ang could see that this emperor was both cunning and shameless, and much more shameless than himself.
"See, I knew you wouldn't want to lend it... You are now occupying the Sava River Fort on behalf of the Sarleon Kingdom, so I will transfer Titus to the lord of Imaer after a while. But Titus only represents the Empire in name only. I won't provide him with any troops or supplies, so you can just capture Imaer directly - after all, you are the enemy of the Empire, and Titus is a ready-made pretext for attack. You should know that he has killed many noble prisoners of war from the Sarleon Kingdom..."
Emperor Marius shook his head and smiled.
"Huh... You really know how to utilize resources... You can even sell Titus for a good price!"
Li Ang felt that if this emperor gave up politics and went into business, he would probably become the emperor of a business empire.
"Leon, to be honest... I don't care that much about my reputation. You are richer than me now, so go and help the civilians in the Imer area find a way to survive... I can't give up the land, that's my duty as an emperor. But I hope that everyone in the land can have enough food and clothing, even if they will regard you as a better ruler than me... I know you won't treat the civilians harshly, I have heard about the things in Fidener Village..."
Emperor Marius stopped smiling and spoke softly in a serious manner.
