Warhammer: Return of the Dragon.

Mazov nodded, greeted the dragon first, then slowly came to Katerina's side. In the princess's fearful look, he sat down cross-legged helplessly.

"I think Boris... not only Boris, but also your grandfather and great-grandfather... have tried their best to describe Raskol and me as two monsters. Can you tell me how the Boha family evaluates us?"

"You are the villain who sold Kislev to the elves, and Raskol is the madman who dragged Kislev into hell."

"That's it?"

"Ah."

Mazov burst into laughter, his eyes full of sarcasm.

"Is there anything wrong?"

Katerin's question only made Mazov shake his head and stop laughing.

"There's nothing wrong with that. From your perspective, Raskol and I did do these things. But do you want to hear a story? Katerin Boha, a story about thousands of children from Kislev, wandering outside..."

…………

Imrik woke up from his meditation state. His spiritual communication with Catherine was just an occasional one. What was worth noting now was not the tsarine who was waiting to grow up.

The Phoenix King sat alone in his office, picking up his quill, reviewing various submissions as per his daily habit. Ruling was a very boring thing, requiring him to be reminded every day to take care of various matters. While maintaining stability, he also had to prevent impending crises and occasional troubles.

For example, now, when Cohill opened the door of his office, he knew that trouble was coming.

"Your Majesty, Talarion has returned to Ulthuan with the Staff of the Old Woman. He prays for your permission to summon the spirits of the Phoenix Kings to divine the whereabouts of the remaining fragments."

The Phoenix King rubbed his brows, thinking that this action was a bit stupid. The ratmen's actions near the Withered Swamp were becoming more and more frequent. Now it was certain that this double-tailed comet was an evil creation of the ratmen.

The only reason Talarion continued to act now was to cover up the investigation of Rhonin and Iron Wolf, and to divert the attention of the Chaos Gods from the Dragonspine Mountain Temple to the conspiracy of the Skaven evil god.

"Who does he want to summon?"

"One Piece King, Wise King, Conqueror King, Guardian."

"Aenarion?" Imric glanced at the captain of the guard, trying to confirm the news again. Aenarion had long since merged with Asuryan. You might as well ask me in person instead of asking the guardian.

"Yes, the Spellblade believes that Aenarion will know the whereabouts of the last fragment."

"Reject it. Let him find another way. Whether it's mobilizing all the waystones in Ulthuan for divination or borrowing the Southern Star Pyramid, I can agree to it... but I can't agree to summon the soul of the Phoenix King."

"Do you need to give him an explanation?"

"No need, just follow the orders."

All the souls of the Phoenix Kings have been taken back by Asuryan. Holding divination will inevitably cause fluctuations in the Platinum Flame Temple, which is different from Imrik's idea.

Even if he were to wage a full-scale war against the ratmen now, he had to make sure his offspring could be born safely.

It sounds selfish, but he will never regret it.

After the captain of the guard left, another person entered the office, the Imperial Ambassador Bartholomew Corey.

The ambassador sat respectfully at the table of the Phoenix King, quietly waiting for His Majesty to finish drafting a document, without saying a word. The Phoenix King, who was drafting a bill to expand the members of the War Council, looked up at the ambassador and said, "Bartholomew, I hope there is no trouble in the Empire again. I have cleaned up the mess for Rick County many times, but your emperor always does something that surprises me."

"That's not the case..." Bartholomew nodded in respect and took out a letter with the emperor's emblem: "His Majesty the Emperor hopes to hold a summit of heads of state in Altdorf. I cordially invite you to attend and discuss the great cause of world stability."

"So the affairs of your old world still require me, the Phoenix King, to step in." Putting down the quill, Imrik shook his head and took the letter.

According to security regulations, these letters should first be checked by the White Lion Guards, then read word by word by the Flame Knights, and only be delivered to His Majesty after it is deemed safe.

Of course, His Majesty certainly did not take the security regulations seriously. There were not many people who could kill him, but it certainly would not be through the boring method of words and papers. Moreover, all the Flame Knights were transferred to the Dragon Ridge Mountains, which made the Phoenix King feel very uneasy... right.

The high Logan language written by His Majesty the Emperor himself, cut open with a folding knife, fully demonstrated Karl Franz's political means.

The letter invited the Phoenix King to attend the summit in a neither humble nor arrogant manner...

Under Ambassador Bartholomew's expectant gaze, Imrick finished reading the letter and put the paper down.

"Bartholomew, as the Phoenix King, I am happy to attend this summit. Your emperor is wise and knows that in this critical moment, all races and forces should put aside their previous disputes...

But are his intentions really as sincere as he stated in the letter?

King Lauen of Bretonnia is deeply mired in the religious war. As far as I know, he is no longer able to control the religious crusade led by Bastogne, and can only barely keep Bretonnia nominally unified in the name of Saint Gilles.

Needless to say, the Southern Kingdom has essentially become the sphere of influence of the Phoenix Court.

The Tsar of Kislev has unfortunately disappeared, and his only daughter, Katerin Borha, has been forced to come to Ulthuan as a hostage at the request of various domestic forces...

The Mountain Kingdom is the Empire's inherent ally. No matter how much the elves have reconciled with them over the past two hundred years, you still adhere to the ancient sacred covenant.

I think Karl Franz is planning to use this summit to contact the Dwarf High King, suppress Bretonnia and Kislev, and establish the new emperor's prestige in front of the Electors."

Ambassador Bartholomew narrowed his eyes. "Your Majesty, you misunderstood. His Majesty Karl Franz cares about the peace of the Old World..."

"I don't care what he really thinks, but this is a good opportunity. It has been more than two hundred years since the last time the various forces showed their strength. The Phoenix Royal Court needs a window to show that its interests in the Southern Kingdom cannot be violated or provoked...

But this summit can only be held one year later.”

A summit meeting is scheduled in three months... Imrik believes that he cannot leave Ulthuan for the time being. Sending someone as a representative is feasible, but the confidence is still a little insufficient.

Besides, the Phoenix King himself wanted to meet the hammer-wielding... Karl Franz, the man hailed as the greatest emperor after Magnus, and he wouldn't mind giving him a hand if necessary.

One year later?
Bartholomew thought about it. The original reason for holding this summit was to resolve the conflicts of interest among various forces. The expansion of the elves in the old world was too terrifying.

Today, the area south of the Grey Mountains, except for Bretonnia, has almost all become the sphere of influence of the elves, which makes the electors very uneasy.

His Majesty the Emperor needs to prove one thing to the empire: he can protect the interests of the empire.

The focus is not on other countries, but on the Elf Empire...

Bartholomew pushed his chair away, stood up and nodded: "His Majesty the Emperor is looking forward to your arrival." (End of this chapter)