Warhammer Divine Throne

The nobles never expected the Empire to dispatch its Griffin Knight Order, keeping hidden until now. It seems there's no longer any worry about Marinburg's safety. The real concern now is, what exactly does the Empire intend to do?

Griffin Duke Ivan personally rode his gigantic Griffin Beast Calamity at the forefront of all the knights. With a single roar from the enormous griffin, the cavalry of the Iris Guard fell off their horses one after another. Mercenaries looked with shame and anger at their trembling mounts lying on the ground, intimidated by the Beast Calamity.

The Griffin Duke cast a disdainful smile at these soldiers and mercenaries, then pulled the reins, and the Beast Calamity soared skyward, heading straight for the Marinburg City Hall.

At the City Hall's entrance, members of the upper and lower houses of Marinburg were already waiting for the Griffin Duke's arrival. They stood on the plaza at the City Hall's entrance, and the nobles of the Upper House were extremely uneasy once they learned that the Griffin Duke himself was leading the Griffin Knight Order to assist.

What they awaited was not a visiting Griffin Duke, but a massive banner that descended from the sky with a deafening sound in the winter air. The banner sliced through the air, producing a tearing noise.

"Boom!" Dust rose in a cloud across the plaza, forcing Marinburg's great nobles to retreat repeatedly, somewhat discomfited.

The flagpole stabbed straight into the plaza's ground, displaying the golden two-headed eagle. The Empire's symbol waved in the wind at the City's Hall entrance, and then the massive Griffin Beast Calamity glided down from the sky, landing before Marinburg's great nobles: "Gentlemen, good afternoon!"

The Griffin Duke lightly leaped off the Beast Calamity's back, and as his feet touched the ground, the knights of the Griffin Knight Order had already moved into the City Hall entrance's plaza.

"Lord Ferdinand, what exactly do you intend to do?!" Before the Griffin Duke could speak, Baron Grimmer, a member of the Marinburg Upper House, stepped forward indignantly, his face flushed with what seemed like a great insult: "To humiliate us in such a manner—haven't you, Lord Ferdinand, learned etiquette?"

"Etiquette?" The Griffin Duke lifted his head, looking at Baron Grimmer, and said dismissively: "Which etiquette have I violated? Could this gentleman enlighten me?"

Baron Grimmer immediately pointed to the golden two-headed eagle battle banner causing such a commotion at the City Hall entrance: "Such an act is tantamount to a declaration of war!"

"Damn!" The Duke of Marinburg's face changed slightly: "Grimmer acted rashly."

"Declaration of war? Baron Grimmer, I will give you one last chance to rethink your words." But Ivan paid no heed to Baron Grimmer's warning and instead asked all the attending great nobles of Marinburg: "Tell me, gentlemen, which country's territory is Marinburg part of?"

The members exchanged glances, all silent. In a moment of impulsiveness, Baron Grimmer suddenly realized something and his face turned ashen, retreating repeatedly.

"Speak, then! According to the founding ceremony written by His Majesty Ludwig, Marinburg was granted autonomy, but!—Which country's territory is Marinburg a part of? Would you, gentlemen, care to tell me?" Ivan stood before Baron Grimmer, looking down on him: "As the Griffin General, appointed plenipotentiary by His Majesty the Emperor, I raise the Empire's two-headed eagle flag on the Empire's soil. Pray tell, Baron Grimmer, do you have any opinions?"

Every movement and sharp gaze of Ivan's seemed to signal a slight collapse in the space around him, with light dimming as he moved, leaving behind an unfathomable darkness. It told everyone present that the Griffin Duke had reached the Holy Sanctuary Tier.

Watching several massive griffins rise proudly over the City Hall plaza, observing dozens of Half-Griffin Knights pouring in from all sides, getting closer to themselves, Baron Grimmer and the members of Marinburg turned pale. They knew this was a warning from the Empire.

Having wealth doesn't truly allow you to do as you please, at least Marinburg's great nobles could agree that even if they brought out all their private armies, even if all Marinburg's Guardians were to come out, they were no match for the Griffin Knight Order and the Griffin Duke.

The Duke of Marinburg sighed as he stepped forward and said to the Griffin Duke: "Grimmer was a bit confused, since the time of Emperor Charlemagne, Marinburg has always been a part of the Empire, always."

"On behalf of Marinburg's members, I welcome the arrival of Griffin Duke Ivan Ferdinand!" The Duke of Marinburg was the first to express his welcome to Ivan, and the members of the Upper and Lower House of Marinburg, whose morale had been utterly crushed, joined in welcoming Ivan's arrival, all forced to reiterate: despite enjoying autonomy, Marinburg remains an inseparable part of the Empire.

Laine and Ivan's eldest son, Anton, stood afar, watching their godfather flex his muscle, and smiled helplessly: "Godfather is still as mighty as ever."

"These business princes have become too cocky. This time, my father intends to give them a firm lesson." Anton said with a dangerous gleam in his eyes, holding the Longsword: "These past few years, due to the Empire's political turmoil, these business princes indeed had quite a carefree time, but things are different now. Under the new Emperor's rule, the Empire is becoming stable, so my father thinks it's time to spare some effort to educate them."

"Ah, well." Laine shook his head with a wry smile, then asked Anton: "So this reinforcement was led by your godfather?"

"Yes, indeed. That's the Emperor's intention." Anton suddenly patted Laine, teasingly saying: "Long time no see, Laine. You've been quite the sensation lately; I'm tempted to spar with you."

"Spar with me is fine, provided you don't use your griffin to bully me." Laine could sense the danger emanating from Anton. The Griffin Duke's eldest son was slightly less powerful than him, but not by much.

"Hahahahaha~" The two of them laughed as they exchanged glances.

"Speaking of which, how many men has your godfather brought to support Marinburg this time?" Laine recalled something important: "According to scout reports, the number of Green Skins gathering at the Ginter Mine exceeds 10,000 and is still increasing, with final projections of at least 30,000 Green-skinned Army."

"We've brought three thousand this time." Speaking of the specific number, Anton was a bit embarrassed.

"Three thousand? Anton, you must be joking, right?" Laine gaped as this number, no matter how elite they were, was indeed too few.

"With spring plowing around the corner, the number of soldiers we can summon will significantly decrease. The Rick Territory has just settled its rebellion not long ago, and many local troops cannot be moved casually, and moreover..." Griffin Duke's eldest son squinted his eyes: "When the large reinforcement arrives depends on the conditions my father negotiates with these business princes."

"Hmm!" Laine understood Anton's meaning; good negotiation terms would bring a steady stream of reinforcements, while poor negotiations would yield nothing.

Subsequently, in the City Hall of Marinburg, Griffin Duke Ivan and the diplomats sent by the Empire had a candid, efficient, and constructive discussion with members of Marinburg's Upper and Lower Houses.

The Empire's terms were as follows.

"1. Marinburg must reduce at least 80% of the massive trade deficit with the Empire within the next 20 years."

"2. Goods exported by the Empire's Emperor directly from the Rick Territory to Marinburg shall enjoy tariff reductions, with specific amounts to be negotiated with the Empire."

"3. Marinburg must open its market to the Empire and must not oppose or obstruct the Empire's official investment in Marinburg."

"4. All military expenses for this deployment shall be borne by Marinburg, and Marinburg must additionally pay at least 50,000 Gold Marks as deployment costs."

"5. The Empire will deploy troops to ensure Marinburg's safety."

The members of Marinburg were stunned.

What kind of conditions are these?

These terms were practically the Griffin asking for the sky!