"Marlin Castle, is it?" The Gryphon Duke finished reading the letter and handed it back to the Emperor. "Your Majesty, what do you think?"
"Marlin Castle is the territory of the Empire. This is the most basic thing." Karl-franz signaled the two of them to turn back. "I think we have to be clear about one fact. Marlin Castle is the territory of the Empire, but it is not a subject of the Empire."
"However, these subjects are much richer than their masters." The Gryphon Duke's tone was serious. His blue eyes were full of wisdom. "Your Majesty, I think there is no doubt that we have to send troops in this battle, but we may take this opportunity to take back part of the sovereignty of Marlin Castle... or at least make these business princes spit out enough gold."
"I think so too... My Duke, there is plenty of time. Let us have a good talk." The Gryphon Death Claw swept through the forest and landed in front of the two. The Emperor rode on it, and the Gryphon Duke whistled. A huge Gryphon, which was not inferior to the Gryphon Death Claw in size, roared from the Gryphon Cliff. This was the Gryphon Duke's mount, Beast Calamity.
The Emperor and the Duke rode the Gryphon across the sky at an extremely fast speed and arrived at the Gryphon Castle.
At the top of the cliff, which was hundreds of meters high, there were golden statues of angels and Gryphons soaring. The Gryphon Castle was built on the mountain. The 30-meter-high wall surrounded the bottom of the mountain. The magnificent city was built on this sacred mountain, hugging the Gryphon Duke's territory.
The Gryphon Castle was divided into five levels. Each level had its own wall and entrance. The path leading to the top level of the Gryphon Castle was winding around the mountain. All kinds of defensive equipment were densely distributed on every section of the walls of the Gryphon Castle. Many Gryphons were happily flying around the castle.
The land of the Gryphon Duke was very fertile, with crisscrossing paths and orchards everywhere. Every private farm had fences, barns, and kilns. Many ditches flowed down along the mountain, across this green land, and into the Rick River. This was also the typical landform of the Emperor's direct territory. The Rick Region, which was directly governed by the Emperor himself, was an extremely fertile plain. The climate was mild, the soil was fertile, and the population was large.
When they returned to the Duke's mansion, which was located at the top of the castle, the Duke opened the door to a secret chamber. This secret chamber was specifically used to discuss confidential matters. There was only one entrance in the entire room, and the other three directions were all steep cliffs. When they entered the room, a warm fire was already lit. The servants had already prepared all kinds of fruits and wine in the room. When they saw the Emperor and the Duke enter, the servants bowed and closed the heavy door behind them before retreating.
Karl-franz sat at the head of the table. He threw the letter on the table and smiled bitterly at Ivan. "Alright, my Duke. Let us discuss what to do next."
"Just call me Ivan, Your Majesty." Ivan Ferdinand sat on the long sofa to the left of the Emperor. The Griffin Duke already knew what the Emperor meant.
Sending reinforcements to Marlin Castle was undoubtedly a lucrative mission.
The war with the Green Skins would not yield much, but Marlin Castle was rich. This prosperous and largest port city in the old world could be said to be overflowing with wealth. Under the situation of the city's crisis, the parliament of Marlin Castle would definitely have to fork out a large amount of real money to satisfy the Empire's appetite. Then, the biggest beneficiary would be the commander leading the reinforcements.
As expected, just as Ivan expected, the Emperor spoke. "Ivan, let the Griffins go out for a spin in this war and breathe some fresh air."
"Your Majesty, aren't you going to lead the troops yourself?" The Griffin Duke's expression was calm. He did not seem to be surprised at all.
"I still have other things to do. I'll leave the reinforcements to you." Karl-franz calmly ordered, "Then tell me, Ivan, how do you plan to fight this war?"
"We're facing many difficulties, Your Majesty. The rebellions in many places have just been quelled. The newly pacified new territories need enough troops to maintain law and order." Ivan raised his glass of red wine and said, "Next will be the spring plowing season. The number of troops we can recruit might be lesser than expected. A big WAAAGH! We need enough troops to deal with them. "
"I'll allocate more Great Swordsmen and Musketeers to you, but you still need to recruit enough troops. The military expenses will be borne by Marlin Castle. Don't worry about that." Karl-franz took the wine glass from Ivan Ferdinand's hand. The Emperor shook his head and said, "The Griffin Knights can't be mobilized easily. You can only bring three companies of Knights."
"Okay, then the estimated number of troops will be lesser. Also … Marlin Castle told us that we can't defend the city. We have to fight in the open." The Griffin Duke raised his glass of red wine and drank a mouthful. "If we fight in the open, we need enough Knights."
"The Scorching Sun Knights are heading south to Brescia to assist in clearing out the Orcs. The Rick Guards need to rest and reorganize. We don't have enough Knights. It will be difficult for us to defeat the Green Skin army in the open." Ivan frowned. Of course, he knew that this war was a lucrative mission. However, the lack of troops was also a problem. Due to the upcoming spring plowing and a series of other matters, it might be difficult for him to recruit enough soldiers. The standing troops in various places were also not easily mobilized because many territories had just quelled rebellions.
Compared to the army of the Empire, the Rick Guards were more like the private army of Karl-franz's family. If the Emperor himself did not take action, the Rick Guards would not take action either. The Griffin Knights were important to the country and could not be shown to others easily. Thus, the Griffin Duke had no choice but to face the situation of lacking troops.
"Can I ask for reinforcements? Your Majesty? I need enough Knights. "
"Who will you ask for reinforcements?" Karl-franz agreed with Duke Ivan's point of view. However, the Emperor gave a restriction. "It's best not to let other Kurfürst interfere with the matters of Marlin Castle."
"On the other side of the Gray Mountains, don't the Empire still have our Knight allies?" The Griffin Duke's eyes flashed with the light of wisdom. "The Knights don't need spring plowing, and they won't have any thoughts about Marlin Castle. They can be dealt with with with a sum of gold."
"Very well." The Emperor nodded. "Then let's begin."
…
Mid-February, afternoon, Marlin Castle, No. 53 Amber Avenue, Laing Macado's home.
Recently, the security of Marlin Castle had been a bit chaotic. The news that the Green Skin Army was gathering had been spread out by someone. Thus, all kinds of doomsday rumors spread wildly. The Senate of Marlin Castle had to suppress them many times and then promised that the Green Skin Army would not be able to reach here. The Empire's reinforcements would arrive soon. Only then did they manage to suppress the chaos.
However, this did not affect the peace of Amber Avenue. Because if even this area of Marlin Castle was in chaos, then it was not far from being completely destroyed.
In the study on the second floor, Laing was sitting behind his desk and reading. The weather was not good today, so he decided to stay at home and rest.
Knock, knock, knock! Someone knocked on the door. Laing looked up. "Come in!"
The two maids, Emilia and Miranda, walked in with tea and juice. The two girls were wearing black-and-white maid outfits, white stockings, and deerskin boots. Their long hair was tied up with white headscarves. "Mr. Laing, afternoon tea is here," Emilia said first.
After spending some time together, Emilia had gotten used to calling Laing by his name.
"Master." Miranda did not have the same treatment. She had to call him master.
"Oh! You're here. Put the things over there. Emilia, you stay here. " Laing stood up and gestured for her to put the plates on the table in front of the study. Don't get close to the desk and books.
"Yes!" The two maids answered. Emilia stayed behind. Miranda looked at Emilia enviously. The maid was actually quite confident in her appearance. The starting price of the auction was 100 gold marks, but compared to Emilia's appearance and temperament, she was still far behind. Emilia was like a clear spring in the mountains, sweet and refreshing. Miranda often wondered how Emilia became Laing's maid.
Ever since she came to this house, there was no torture and abuse as she imagined. There was no fate of being treated as a birth tool. Miranda found that she was really just a maid. Not only that, the food she enjoyed here was even better than when she was a young lady at home. As the head of the house, Laing was powerful, handsome, tall, gentle, and knowledgeable. Miranda even felt that it would be great if he really treated her as a birth machine.
No, the maid found that the human hero had never intended to do anything to her, except for sometimes looking at her legs in white stockings. He didn't even give her a hint.
That dark elf was so beautiful, but she had never seen Laing do anything to her. At night, Miranda often rested in the servant's room with her. Only Emilia could make him look at her differently.
With envy, longing, and a little unwillingness, Miranda carefully left the study.
"Has the house been safe during this time?" Laing asked the question he was concerned about as he tasted the exquisite pastries made by the girl.
"Actually … nothing major happened. But there are two things that I think need to let Mr. Laing know." Emilia thought for a moment. "The first thing is about Miranda. She saw that Mr. Laing liked it, so she secretly shortened her skirt. I taught her a lesson, saying that the length of the skirt was designed by Mr. Laing."
"That … dark elf almost never speaks, but … according to Miranda, she often speaks strangely in her sleep at night, and then suddenly wakes up. Miranda said that she seems to be in pain." Emilia then said the second thing.
"Wakes up in her sleep? Strange sleep talk? "This time, Laing paid attention to this matter." Did Miranda tell you the frequency? Does this happen every night? "
"Yes, it happens every night. Miranda complained that she couldn't take it anymore, so I built a bed for her in the corner of the living room and let her sleep alone." Emilia looked troubled.
Hmm … a high elf captive. She used to be a noble, but now she was even weaker than an ordinary person and had nightmares at night. Laing thought for a moment, and he immediately understood that the high elves must have done something to Olica through magic, either to deprive her of her potential or to damage her soul, ensuring that she could only be a slave and could not do anything else.
He had better check on Olica's situation.
A huge griffin cut through the sky, its loud roar piercing through the clouds and sweeping across the entire Amber Avenue. "Ahhhhh!!!!"
"That sound! It's Godfather's griffin, the sound of the Beast Calamity! " Laing stood up subconsciously. His face was filled with excitement, ecstasy, and a little uneasiness.
He did not notice that Emilia's expression had also changed. A mixture of fear and admiration flashed across the little maid's face.
This state did not last long. An elegant and mature male voice rang out from outside the house, but it was rather loud.
"Laing! You brat! Get out here! "
"It's Godfather! The Griffin Duke is here! "
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