Warhammer Divine Throne

"Marinburg, is it?" The Griffin Duke finished reading the letter and handed it back to the Emperor: "Your Majesty, what do you think?"

"Marinburg is part of the Empire's territory, that is fundamental." Carl Franz indicated that the two could return: "I think we must recognize a fact, Marinburg counts as part of the Empire's land, but not as its subjects."

"However, these subjects are far wealthier than their master." The Griffin Duke spoke seriously, his blue eyes shining with wisdom: "Your Majesty, I believe without a doubt we must dispatch troops for this battle, but perhaps we can seize this opportunity to reclaim part of Marinburg's sovereignty… or at least make these Business Princes cough up enough gold."

"I think so too... My Duke, there's plenty of time, let's have a good discussion." Death's Claw swept over the forest and landed in front of the two, the Emperor mounted it, and the Griffin Duke whistled, a giant griffin no less imposing than Death's Claw roared in from Griffin Cliff, this was the Griffin Duke's mount—Beast Calamity.

Riding swiftly through the sky, the Emperor and the Duke arrived at Griffin Castle.

Atop a mountain cliff rising hundreds of meters high stood golden statues of angels and griffins, wings spread to soar, and Griffin Castle was built by the mountainside, with over thirty-meter high walls encircling the base of the peak. The majestic city was established in this sacred mountain, embracing the Griffin Duke's Domain.

Griffin Castle was divided into five levels, each with independent walls and entrances. The road leading into the top fortress was winding and circled the mountain, and various defensive mechanisms densely spread across each segment of the massive castle walls, many griffins flew joyously in circles around the castle.

The land of the Griffin Duke's Domain is extremely fertile, with crisscrossed paths and orchards everywhere. Each private farm had fences, barns, kilns, and numerous ditches flowed along the mountain's contour, traversing this green land into the Rick River, which is a typical geographic representation of the Emperor's direct territory—the Rick Domain, directly governed by the Emperor himself, is a very fertile plain, with mild climate, rich soil, and a large population.

Back to the Duke's residence at the top of the castle, the Duke opened the secret chamber, which was dedicated to discussing confidential matters. The room had only one entrance, with the other three directions entirely cliffs. As they entered, a warm fire was already lit, and the servants had placed various fruits, foods, and red wine within. Seeing the Emperor and Duke enter, the servants bowed, then pulled the heavy door shut and left.

Carl Franz sat in the main seat, casually tossing the letter onto the table, and with a wry smile turned to Ivan saying: "Well, my Duke, let's discuss how to proceed."

"Just call me Ivan, Your Majesty." Ivan Ferdinand seated himself on the long sofa to the Emperor's left, having understood the Emperor's intent.

Sending troops to support Marinburg is undoubtedly a lucrative assignment.

The war with the Green Skins cannot yield too much loot, but Marinburg is wealthy, this affluent Old World's largest port city indeed overflows with riches. In the city's crisis, the Marinburg Council certainly must shell out vast amounts of real gold and silver to satisfy the Empire's appetite, thus the greatest beneficiary would be the chief commanding the reinforcements.

As Ivan predicted, the Emperor spoke: "Ivan, let the Griffins go for a ride, breathe some fresh air for this war."

"Your Majesty, won't you personally lead the army?" The Griffin Duke's expression remained calm, showing not a hint of surprise.

"I have other things to attend to, this time the reinforcements are solely under your command." Calmly ordered Carl Franz: "So tell me, Ivan, how do you plan to fight this war?"

"We face several difficulties, Your Majesty, many local rebellions have just been settled, and the newly stabilized territories require sufficient garrison troops to maintain order." Ivan raised his red wine glass: "Next is the spring plowing season, the troops we can recruit might be far fewer than expected, a great Waaagh! requires adequate forces to contend."

"I will allocate more Great Swordsmen and Musketeers for you, but you still need to recruit enough troops, the costs will be entirely borne by Marinburg, no need to worry about that." Carl Franz took the wine glass handed by Ivan Ferdinand, the Emperor shook his head: "The Griffin Knight Order cannot be lightly moved, you can at most take three companies of knights this time."

"Alright, then the anticipated forces will be even smaller, and… Marinburg informed us that we cannot defend the city, must engage in field battles." The Griffin Duke took a full gulp of red wine: "For field battles, we need enough knights."

"The Flame Sun Knight Order is headed south to Brescia Territory for beastman expulsion, the Rick Guard needs rest, the number of knights is insufficient, making it difficult to defeat the Green-skinned Army in the wild." Ivan frowned, knowing well that this war is indeed lucrative, yet the shortage of troops is a concern. Due to upcoming spring plowing and other affairs, he may struggle to recruit adequate soldiers, as many standing armies across different territories just quelled rebellions and shouldn't be lightly moved.

The Rick Guard, compared to an imperial army, essentially serves as Carl Franz's family private military. Without the Emperor's personal deployment, the Rick Guard wouldn't be dispatched either. The Griffin Knight Order is of national importance and cannot be simply revealed, forcing the Griffin Duke to face a shortage of troops.

"Can I seek reinforcements, Your Majesty? I need enough knights."

"Who will you seek reinforcements from then?" Carl Franz nodded to Ivan Duke's view but imposed a restriction: "It would be best not to let other Prince-Electors meddle with Marinburg's matters."

"Across the Gray Mountain Range, doesn't the Empire still have our knight allies?" The Griffin Duke's eyes flickered with wisdom's light: "Knights don't require spring plowing, nor do they harbor thoughts about Marinburg. A mere payment of gold can settle them."

"Very well." The Emperor nodded: "Then begin."

......

In mid-February, afternoon, at Amber Avenue 53, home of Laine Macado.

Recently, Marinburg's law and order has been somewhat chaotic, with rumors of the Green-skinned Army assembling spreading out unbeknownst to anyone, thus causing panic among the people. Doomsday prophecies are frenziedly circulating, forcing the Marinburg Council to repeatedly suppress them and promise that the Green-skinned Army can't possibly reach here, and that imperial reinforcements will soon arrive, managing to barely quell the chaos in people's hearts.

However, this doesn't affect the tranquility of Amber Avenue, because if Marinburg even experiences turmoil in this area, it would be close to a complete collapse.

In the study on the second floor, Laine is sitting behind the desk reading a book. The weather outside is bad today, which gives him a perfect reason to stay at home and rest.

"Knock, knock, knock~" The door of the study is knocked, Laine raises his head: "Come in!"

Little Maid Amelia and Miranda walk in carrying tea snacks and juice. Both girls are dressed in black and white maid outfits, white stockings, and fawn short boots, with white headscarves tying their long hair. Amelia speaks first: "Mr. Laine, afternoon tea is here."

After spending some time together, Amelia has gotten accustomed to calling Laine by his name.

"Master." Miranda doesn't have such privilege; she has to call him Master.

"Oh! You're here, put the things over there, Amelia, stay for a bit." Laine stands up, gesturing to place the platter on the table for receiving guests at the front of the study, away from the desk and books.

"Yes!" Both little maids comply, Amelia stays, while Miranda gives a very envious look at Amelia. Although the little maid is quite confident in her looks, the stipulated starting bid of a hundred Gold Mark at the auction confirms it, yet compared to Amelia's looks and temperament, she falls short by more than a little. Amelia is like a mountain spring, sweet and refreshing, and many times Miranda wonders how Amelia became Laine's maid.

Since coming to this house, there's been no imagined torture and abuse, no fate of being treated as a breeding tool as imagined. Miranda finds herself simply being a maid, and beyond that, enjoying better meals here than during her time as a lady back home. As the head of the household, Laine is strong, handsome, and well-built, speaking gently and full of knowledge. Miranda even reversely wishes he would treat her as a breeding machine.

No, the little maid discovers that this human hero, apart from occasionally looking at her legs in white stockings longer, has never intended to do anything to her, not even hinting.

The Dark Elf is so beautiful yet she's never seen Laine do anything to her either. At night, Miranda often rests with her in a servant's room, only Amelia can make him regard her differently.

Harboring envy and hope, along with a bit of unwillingness, Miranda cautiously exits the study.

"Has the household been peaceful during this time?" tasting the exquisite pastries made by the girls, Laine asks about something he is concerned about.

"Actually... nothing major has happened, but there are two things I feel it's necessary for Mr. Laine to know." Amelia thinks for a moment: "The first thing is about Miranda, she noticed Mr. Laine likes it, secretly shortened her skirt, and got reprimanded by me, saying the length of the skirt is designed by Mr. Laine."

"The... Dark Elf rarely speaks, but... according to Miranda, she often talks strangely in her sleep and suddenly wakes up, Miranda says she seems to be in pain." Amelia continues stating the second issue.

"Waking up from a dream? Strange talk in dreams?" Now Laine pays attention to this matter: "Did Miranda tell you the frequency? Does this happen every night?"

"Yes, it happens every night, Miranda complained she's having a hard time handling it, so during this period, I set up a bed for her in a corner of the living room, letting her sleep alone." Amelia seems quite troubled.

Hmm... A captive high elf, originally a noble but now has strength even less than ordinary people, nightmares at night, Laine thought a bit, he immediately understands that the High Elves must have used magic on Ollica, either stripped her potential or harmed her soul, ensuring she could only be a slave without being able to do anything else.

He better check what is really going on with Ollica.

A loud Griffin screech pierces through the sky, its resonant roar travels through the clouds, sweeping across the entire Amber Avenue: "Ahhhhh!!!!"

"That sound is! It's the godfather's Griffin, the sound of the Beast Calamity!" Laine instinctively stands up, his face showing excitement, elation, and a hint of small anxiety.

He doesn't notice the change in expression on Amelia's face either, a mix of panic and worship flashes across the little maid's face.

This state doesn't last long, outside the house a mature and elegant male voice rings, although the voice is pretty loud.

"Laine! You little brat! Get out here!"

"It's the godfather! The Griffin Duke is here!"