Riding and Slashing

Chapter 266 The bargaining chip

Perhaps Emperor Marius was not a fair emperor—the way he treated Titus was much harsher than Kailos.

You know, Kailos once threatened Marius, if it really comes to crime, this is treason.However, Emperor Marius did not deal with Kairos directly. Instead, he allowed Kairos to find trouble with the Snake Cult, and only sent the Shadow Wolf to follow him secretly.

As for Titus, he only revealed his intention to become the second Levius, neither rebelling nor treason, nor even breaking the law.But as soon as the signs of wanting to be a warlord appeared, Emperor Marius snuffed out them with open praise and covert criticism, and even sent 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 listened to his command—they dared to deal with even the emperor.

This means that once Kailos is killed, the Shadow Legion will inevitably rebel.But the current Bacchus Empire cannot afford such a rebellion.

And although Titus brought the Phoenix Knights from the continent of Amala, and it looks powerful, he does not have the control power of Kailos. The Phoenix Knights will not obey his orders, but only rely on Titus It was only to help Si because of his previous emissary status.

The Phoenix Knights are the knights protecting the country of the Ashborn Empire, and the only one who can make them obey absolutely is Marnius III, the emperor of the Ashborn Empire.

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 of knights was formed along with the Ashborne Empire.

At that time, the Snake Cult had almost occupied the entire continent of Amara, and the armed force against the Snake Cult in the old Bacchus Empire was once left with only the last castle, Fangfang Castle.

But they are still fighting tenaciously.

The Snake Cult sent an unprecedented army to deal with the last fortress that dared to resist its rule.

The lord of Fangfang Castle died at the forefront, while his young son, Marnius Calgar, put on his father's armor and stood at the forefront like his father, bravely leading the few comrades in arms to continue.

It was an arduous and protracted battle. Most of Marnius' comrades died on this day, but they successfully repelled the Snake Cult army and won the final victory.

Having lost his father and so many friends, a heartbroken Marnius held a mass cremation in which all the bodies would be cremated.

The flames of 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, Marnius and his men found them fully clothed but without their armor.

When they went to investigate the remnants of the firewood that was emitting faint blue smoke, everyone saw the dazzling red light shining in the embers, but there was no heat coming out.

Perplexed, Marnius pushed aside the ashes and found that their armor was all hidden under the embers. Each piece of armor looked as if it had been forged in flowing flames, but the metal was cold to the touch.

After this miraculous event, Marnius and his surviving comrades began to call themselves 'Ashborn' and spread the word of their victory at Fangkeep.

Because of this, the people in Amara realized that the Snake Cult was not invincible, so most areas began to take up armed resistance one after another.

Soon after, Marnius Caraga announced the establishment of the new empire "Ashborn Empire", and he also became the first emperor of the Ashborn Empire, Marnius I.

And those warriors who fought with him at the Fang Keep formed the original Phoenix Knights.

Today, members of the Order of the Phoenix pass their armor and swords to their sons when they are about to die or retire, just as Marnius donned his father's armor and continued to fight.

The name Phoenix Knights also means that the Ashborn Empire will continue to be reborn like a phoenix. They believe that after each rebirth from the ashes, the phoenix will become stronger.

So their flaming armor always shines at the forefront, and their shining swords that never back down always bring unwavering resolve to allies.

Even face to face with the Legion of Dread, they can still stand bravely at the forefront after most of them die in battle.

Moreover, no matter how much the loss is, as long as their Phoenix Battle Banner returns to Fangfang Castle, this knight order will immediately be fully reorganized, just like the rebirth of a phoenix—the sons of the Phoenix Knights will train martial arts and repair armor from an early age Technology, they are always ready to put on their father's armor and inherit their father's glory and mission.

It is also this kind of spiritual inheritance that makes the Ashborn Empire continue to regain its homeland. In the past few decades, the territory has gradually expanded from the original corner of Fangfang to half of the old Bacchus Empire. Today, the Ashborn Empire is under the rule of Marnius III. It has been able to rival the Snake Worship Cult.

The Phoenix Knights are the most powerful heavy armored knights in the Ashborn Empire, and their strength lies in the fact that they never back down in the face of any strong enemy.

Therefore, on the way they followed Titus to the continent of Pendor, they met the battleship of the Dread Legion infantry, they did not flinch, and won the battle at sea.

Then they bumped into Bahaman, the lord of the D'Shar Principality, and Brennus, the Sarleon Kingdom, near the Sava River Castle. I was beaten, and it was considered as a reward for helping Titus destroy the port of the Snake Worship Cult before.

But after that, Titus ordered the Phoenix Knights to retreat from the Sava River Fort, and took away all the supplies of the Sava River Fort, leaving the helpless civilians to the army of the Sarleon Kingdom and the D'Shar Principality .

Moreover, that was indeed when there was no need to retreat.

At that time, Titus wanted to fight the Sarleon Kingdom and the D'Shar Principality, and wanted to watch the fire from the other side, but this was not in line with the usual style of the Phoenix Knights...

They were the pro-army of Marnius, the allies of Emperor Marius, not the personal soldiers of Titus.

They can help their allies fight the toughest battles, but they never want to be the knife in the hands of others in power disputes.

It was only because Titus was the emissary of Marius, and Emperor Marius provided generous assistance when the Ashborn Empire was in crisis, that the Phoenix Knights respected Titus' status as a messenger and did not abandon him immediately.

So from then on, Titus could no longer command the Phoenix Knights at will.

He could only stay at Leyla Fortress, trying to use the Phoenix Knights as a bargaining chip to ask Emperor Marius for money, food and troops, and then use the requested troops and money to make the Phoenix Knights obey his command.

It's a pity that Emperor Marius didn't give him the chance to be an empty-handed white wolf.

However, Emperor Marius actually believed in the same belief as Li Ang that 'everyone has its use'.

He deliberately sent Titus and the Phoenix Knights to Karen Deer Castle.

The Phoenix Knights and Titus were actually the bargaining chips he used to bargain with Li Ang.

one day ago.

Emperor Marius and Li Ang were bargaining like two merchants trading cabbage.

"Your Majesty, exchanging those small villages north of Wolfenburg for Eichkeman, such a business is very cost-effective for you!"

Li Ang drew the map and pointed to the bay between Siyuan City and Ashcomman: "With Ashcomman, the economy of the Bacchus Empire will recover soon, and you can get war horses..."

"Heh... let's talk about it after defeating Aishikeman... North of Wolverine, Yimer is also north of Wolverine! It's not a small village... Moreover, the area of ​​that land is comparable to that of Ashiko Man is much bigger!"

Emperor Marius shook his head and said that there was nothing to talk about.

"Your Majesty... okay, even if you don't mention Ashcomman, what about the Sava River Fort? I let Agathon burn down the Qicha Fortress. Is this sincerity enough? Don't do this?"

Li Ang squinted at Agason standing in the distance.

"Burning the Seven Fortress will indeed make Ulrik's troops afraid to leave Sarleon City... But I know, you are not doing this to reassure me..."

Emperor Marius smiled and stared into Li Ang's eyes: "I know that Qicha Fortress has extraordinary significance to the Sarleon Kingdom. This is the place where your country was founded. It will definitely be rebuilt after it is burned down. And rebuilding It will cost a lot of money and food, but all the laborers in the Sarleion Kingdom need money to hire them. Even forced labor requires money and food... Now in the entire Sarleon Realm, probably only you, Earl Leon, have so much money and food to repair Qicha Fortress ...You want to be everyone's creditor, right?"

"Oh? You can see it... Yes, debtors are always polite to their creditors... But anyway, this is a good thing for the Bacchus Empire, isn't it?"

Li Ang sighed and looked at Emperor Marius. It was really difficult to negotiate with such an emperor who knew everything.

"Yeah, good thing... You just want to remind me that I owe you a debt too? And let Agathon scrape the ground... Is he the kind of person who can do that kind of thing? Leon, the Bacchus Empire doesn't I will use the land to make a deal. Karen Deer Castle is considered to be "taking advantage of the emptiness of the border" by you. No one has anything to say about it, but in this kind of transaction, I can't sell the land, even if I exchange a small village for a big city. .”

Emperor Marius looked at Li Ang with a smile on his face, his attitude was indeed polite, but his tone was not relaxed at all.

"Then what's your plan? If you don't give me a suitable condition, I won't return the Sava River Castle...Anyway, the result of this battle is enough..."

Li Ang patted the map and covered the Sava River Fort with his palm.

"Don't think I don't know, you can't get the Sava Castle, and the Sargon King will never seal the Sava Castle to you...It will only become the territory of Ulrik or Brennus Otherwise, Sarleon City will not feel safe."

Emperor Marius also stretched out his hand, but he covered Qicha Fortress: "This is one of the reasons why you asked Agathon to burn Qicha Fortress. You are forcing Ulrik to rebuild Qicha Fortress. Sa The Sava River Fort is facing the D'Shar and the Empire at the same time, and now it has lost the support of the Qicha Fortress, so it can't be defended at all... I don't need you to return the Sava River Fort to me, I want to take it back easily."

"Your Majesty, if you say that, then there's nothing to talk about... Bacchus is so poor that he's almost bankrupt, don't you plan to go to Desha with me to subsidize it?"

Li Ang felt a toothache now, and Emperor Marius was like a roundworm in his stomach.

"Of course I have to go. In fact, I have already sent someone to go... I am indeed willing to form an alliance with you-to form an alliance with you, not with the Sarleon Kingdom. But I plan to use other things to trade with you..."

Emperor Mario pointed to Karen Deer Castle: "Phoenix Knights."

"What do you mean? The Phoenix Knights are not your unit, how do you plan to trade them?"

Li Ang was a little puzzled.

"I'll make the Knights of the Phoenix consider you a 'Serpent Cult Killer,' prompting them to build a hall at Cullenbuckkeep, so they can be of use to you."

Emperor Marius said with a sigh: "Phew...you want the land north of Volvenburg, but I can't sell the land. Therefore, I will use the large land and villages around Immel as the Phoenix Knights' land." As a fief, you are equivalent to actually gaining control of that piece of land... Of course, it is still the land of the empire in name."

"Are you planning to use my money and food to support the Phoenix Knights? Besides, that area has been plagued by the Red Death and the Snake Cult, so I have to spend money to relieve the disaster, right? This business is very smart..."

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 that what you want? Otherwise, the deal will be forgotten, and you can lend me another sum, and I will go to the disaster relief myself, using Yimel as collateral. "

Emperor Mario was indeed a profiteer, with excellent judgment. Li Ang was indeed willing to provide disaster relief and support the Phoenix Knights...

"Ha! You want people's support and want to spend my money... You haven't repaid the last loan! Don't borrow it!"

Li Ang could tell that the emperor was cunning and shameless, much thicker than himself.

"Look, I knew you wouldn't want to borrow... You now occupy Fort Sava on behalf of the Kingdom of Sarleon, so I'll transfer Titus as lord of Ymer in a while. But Titus is just It means the name of the empire, I will not provide him with any troops or supplies, so you can directly capture Imer - anyway, you are the enemy of the empire, and Titus is a ready-made excuse for attacking, you should know that he killed Many noble prisoners of the Sarleon Kingdom..."

Emperor Marius shook his head and smiled.

"Huh...you really know how to use resources...You can sell Titus for a good price!"

Li Ang felt that if the emperor abandoned politics and went into business, he might become the emperor of a commercial empire.

"Li Ang, to be honest... I don't really care about my fame. You are richer than me now, so go and help the common people in the Yimer area find a way to live... I can't give up the country, that's the duty of the emperor. But I hope that everyone on the land can live comfortably, even if they will regard you as a better ruler than me... I know you will not treat civilians harshly, I have heard about the incident in Feidna Village ..."

Emperor Mario suppressed his smile, and spoke softly with a serious attitude.

(End of this chapter)