Warhammer: Return of the Dragon.

In the Golden Palace of Marienburg, in the scorching summer, the merchant lords actually felt a chill to the bone.

Not for any other reason, but because the High King had implicitly expressed to the Council of Electors that he hoped his allies would be a complete empire, not a human force that was missing an important port city.

This has a long history. When Sigmar established his empire, the territory under his rule was not so vast.

Among them, Nordland was not officially made a barony until about 300 years after the founding of the Empire. Strictly speaking, its alliance with the Empire originated from Sigmar.

Marienburg could see the loopholes in this and thought it lacked rigor, since there was no Marienburg under Sigmar at the time, independence had nothing to do with the dwarves.

But the weak merchants didn't dare to do that. The High King's reputation in the Empire had been built over thousands of years. If Marienburg dared to take advantage of the loopholes in the Holy Covenant, the Electoral Parliament would impeach the Emperor the next day.

The merchants immediately thought of a backer to fight against the High King. Since the Phoenix King is here, can we use some reasonable means to ask His Majesty the Elves to give some advice to the Dwarf Mountain Kingdom and not to interfere in the affairs of the Empire?

The bearded businessman who was the leader of the Golden Palace said solemnly and firmly, "As long as we can give the elves enough benefits, the Phoenix King will definitely be able to stop the High King's decision. We have waited for this moment for too long and cannot let anyone stop us!"

"What is sufficient benefit? Do you think the elves will lack gold? The sugar sold in Ulthuan within the empire alone is enough to eclipse all of Marienburg's achievements." One person immediately retorted. They found that they did not have the chips on hand that could impress the Phoenix King.

If it were usual, they could use the preferential trade regulations as a reason for negotiation, but if the Elector Council terminated the autonomy bill signed by His Majesty Magnus, whether it was Nordland or Talabekland taking over Marienburg, they would not mind giving the Phoenix King a good political gesture.

This is a dead end, but it is the only way out.

"Where is Dite IV? We gave him so many gold coins, and we watched the elves and dwarves interfere in the internal affairs of the empire?!" The bearded merchant was extremely angry, but underneath this anger was a deep fear.

They did not have the courage to attack the rulers of the elves and dwarves, and now Imrik was in the city, protected by less than a hundred guards.

But is this a reason to take action? A large army of elves is stationed in the Laurent Forest, and hundreds of dragons can fly over Marienburg at any time and burn the thousand-year savings of the ten major families.

"Take action against the Phoenix King?" This tentative statement caused everyone to remain silent.

This is probably not a good choice, but it is also the most correct choice.

The person who spoke was the leader of the Romour family. He clenched his teeth on his fat face and looked around at the surprised allies.

"The Romoul family is willing to make the sacrifice, but if it succeeds, the position of chairman of the council must be assumed by us."

"can."

"Reconsideration."

"A smart, brave and fearless move."

The reason why no one dares to take action is that they are afraid to take the risk. But if there is one person willing to take the risk, the benefits that can be obtained will be unimaginable.

The Romoul family has won the respect and expectations of everyone. If the Phoenix King stays in the manor honestly, it means that he does not want to get involved in the affairs of the Empire and is afraid of the alliance between the Council of Electors and the Dwarf High King.

But if the Romour family is destroyed by thunder and lightning, the Marienburg Council, which has not yet separated from the Empire, can make a big fuss about this matter and ask the Electoral Parliament to expel the Phoenix King...

However, in the end, this world is ruled by strength.

When hundreds of mercenaries disguised as thugs walked to the manor where the Phoenix King was staying and surrounded the exit, Captain Creon narrowed his eyes with murderous intent.

The meticulous Flame Knight had not yet encountered a situation where he was blocked by someone. He walked up to the thugs and spoke in a "gentle" tone. "I won't ask you what you want to do. This is totally unnecessary... If you continue to stand in the manor for one more second, human blood will be spilled in your city."

The battle-hardened thugs would not be afraid of just one sentence. There were thousands of people hiding in the alley, and they could kill the elves with just the number of people.

Moreover, the Council has begun to use its influence to incite anti-elf sentiment among the city's residents. If the Flame Knights dare to kill ten or a hundred people, do they dare to burn the entire civilian area to ashes?

However, there are always some elves who do not regard humans as equal species. They are just a group of lucky bipedal creatures. Apart from being able to speak, they are no different from monkeys walking in the trees...

The thugs looked provocative as the Flame Knight Captain's face became calmer and calmer: "This is the human empire, the sacred legacy left to us by Sigmar! We have the right to protest against the elves' infringement on the interests of the empire.

You should return to the island instead of acting like the masters of the world and interfering in the affairs of other races!"

"Go back to the island!"

"Elves shouldn't be in the Empire!"

Creon managed to remain restrained. Protests like this could happen anywhere, and if he started killing people just because of a few words, it would make the Phoenix Court appear overly sensitive.

But a few words he heard made the captain completely unable to suppress his inner anger.

"What Phoenix King? He is nothing but a villain who rose to power through schemes and power politics. He made the White Dwarf and the Witch King fight to the death and got a kingship for nothing."

The Flame Knights who had been standing indifferently outside the manor, wearing golden dragon-wing helmets, all stared at the source of the voice, their fiery eyes filled with undisguised anger.

The most important duty of the royal guards, in addition to protecting the safety of their master, is to link the king's honor to their own.

There is nothing wrong with criticizing the elves' actions, as the starting points of interests of any race are different.

But when this criticism turned into slander, and power and honor turned into strategy and power, the Flame Knights raised their butcher knives against the thugs.

Creon did not take the initiative to attack. He watched one of his men pick up a lapis lazuli mace and slowly walk to the side of the slanderer.

The wrist wrapped in golden arm armor gently hit the mob's cheek, and then a fresh watermelon was broken.

The Flame Knight held the headless corpse by the collar and announced something in an emotionless tone.

"Anyone who slanders the elven monarch, the Phoenix King, will be killed without mercy."

The bystanders who were splashed by the watermelon juice were filled with panic and started fighting without saying a word?

He pointed at the Flame Knight, his trembling fingers showing his fear.

"you you……"

The Flame Knight mistakenly thought that the human was going to continue talking nonsense, so he smashed out with the weapon in his right hand.

"In the Phoenix King's residence, animals are not allowed to bark recklessly." (End of this chapter)