"The Kingdom of Cassander?"

"The situation in the south remains unchanged. If the Empire does not intervene, I'm afraid history will continue as it has."

Cassius thought so while sitting on the Iron Throne. At this moment, he was narrowing his eyes, quietly waiting for the arrival of the envoys from the Kingdom of Cassander, while recalling his past memories.

After all, he had the memories of his past life, was familiar with Erezega's background, and understood the general process of the collapse of Holy Fadlan.

We are now only in the first stage of the great collapse - the "Battle of the Three Emperors".

The so-called "Three Emperors" refer to Wilham of Thrace, Otis of Cassander and Philip of Seleucid.

Ten years ago, Aragon I said: "Teotihuacan is the most brilliant jewel in the imperial crown. Owning it means possessing imperial power."

As a result, the descendants of these three emperors launched a protracted and almost crazy war for the "City of the Sun" Teotihuacan.

They all claimed that they were the only successor to the old emperor and the future emperor of Holy Fadlan.

After years of war, Teotihuacan was reduced to ruins, millions of people died there, and this former "Sunny City" became a meat grinder.

After the "Bloody Sunset War", the three kingdoms were severely damaged and no longer able to control their territories. The nobles of the gods in their territories led their troops to independence and established one kingdom after another on the territory of the former Holy Fadlan Empire.

This is the second and longest stage of the Collapse of Holy Fadran—the Clash of Kings.

Tiamat's dragon tyranny occurred during this period.

"A Clash of Kings."

Cassius thought so.

Now, the three kingdoms that inherited almost all the legacy of the Holy Fadlan Empire are still too powerful. Each of their kings controls a divine legion composed of dozens of legendary strongmen - that is the legacy of the "Scorching Sun Legion".

If the Empire rashly launches a surprise attack, it will inevitably provoke a vigorous counterattack from the Kingdom of Thrace.

By then, it would have been a great help to the already powerful Cassander Kingdom, giving them the opportunity to unify Fadlan.

This was something Cassius never wanted to see.

"Tsk tsk, at this stage, we still have to use diplomatic threats, blackmail and deception as the main means to get as much tangible benefits as possible from the three kingdoms."

"At least we need to take over the Katepah Hills south of the Anzeta Corridor and gain a foothold for expansion into the mainland."

Cassius slowly opened his eyes, a greedy light flashing in his light golden pupils.

The voice of the tiefling guard came from outside the door.

"Your Majesty, the envoys from the Kingdom of Cassander are already outside the palace."

"Let them in."

With a rumbling sound, the heavy palace door slowly opened.

The delegation outside the gate entered the palace under the guidance of attendants. They were quite large, with more than a hundred people. The delegation included guards, officials, scholars and other people. They also brought heavy and ornately decorated wooden boxes with gold threads.

The leader looked to be in his thirties, wearing a bright long suit, a yellow, red, and orange gold-threaded cotton robe, and a sunburst headdress - the standard attire of Amaunator priests.

Obviously, the Kingdom of Cassander attached great importance to this diplomatic mission. Not only did it want to make friends with the Burning Empire, it also conveyed to them the message that "it is the orthodox Fadlan."

The leading priest stepped forward, bowed deeply, and said:
"See——"

His tone paused, but he continued without leaving any trace: "Your Majesty the Emperor."

"I am Naven Besalius, an envoy of the Kingdom of Cassander. His Majesty Otis sent me to greet you and congratulate you on unifying the Great Wasteland of Anzeta and being crowned the Emperor of the Burning Empire."

"This is a small gift, representing the personal friendship of His Majesty Otis."

Naven raised his hand to signal, and several strong warriors immediately moved the boxes over and opened the gold-rimmed lids one by one.

Suddenly, golden light filled the palace, and the boxes were filled with gold and jewels.

Cassius smiled and praised:
"As expected of the king who rules the Land of Sun God's Gift, he is really wealthy." "Naven, thank His Majesty Otis for his gift. Please tell him that I am happy to be friends with such a generous human being."

"Of course, Your Majesty."

Naven bowed again, looking calm and unhurried.

Several tall and strong ogres came to the hall, carried the heavy boxes on their shoulders, and took them all away.

Cassius continued:
"However, an ambitious monarch like His Majesty Otis probably brings more than just personal friendship, right?"

"Do you - or the Kingdom of Cassander - have any requests for the Empire?"

Suddenly, Naven's face showed joy, and he quickly bowed and replied: "Your Majesty, your wisdom amazes me."

"His Majesty Otis does wish to cooperate with the Empire. He even wants to sign a secret contract with you and become a close ally."

"ally?"

"But as far as I know, the Empire has never had any intersection with the Kingdom of Cassander. There is no interest relationship between them, so how can we talk about an alliance?"

Cassius asked in a flat tone.

Naven calmed his expression and said solemnly: "But the Burning Empire and the Cassandra Kingdom have a common enemy."

"What enemy?"

Cassius still pretended to be ignorant.

Naven hesitated for a moment, but still firmly said the name:
"The Kingdom of Thrace."

"You must be very clear in your mind that if the Burning Empire wants to expand southward, the Thracian Kingdom will be the biggest obstacle in your way."

"And if you cooperate with us, we can destroy the Thracian Kingdom together with the Burning Empire."

Cassius did not agree or deny, but just smiled and said: "People who know me know that I have always been a peace-loving monarch who puts the people first, so."

His tone paused.

Naven sneered at these remarks in his heart.

A peace-loving red dragon who just destroyed a kingdom?

What a joke.

Although he thought so, he did not show it and was still listening nervously to the next words.

Cassius stared down at Naven with his golden pupils and whispered, "If I cooperate with you, what can my Burning Empire gain?"

"Two-thirds of Thrace."

"I promise you on behalf of His Majesty Otis that all the lands north of the Glorious Mountains will belong to the Burning Embers Empire. The Kingdom of Cassander only needs the area south of the Kingdom of Thrace."

Naven seemed to have prepared his words long ago, and his answer was particularly fluent.

Moreover, his words sounded quite tempting, causing Dolo, who was listening in the hall, to breathe a little faster.

But Cassius knew Otis's true purpose.

South of the Glorious Mountains, in Augustus, the "City of the Sunrise" which was the capital of the Thracian Kingdom, there was a pyramid of the sun god.

Legend has it that the new emperor will own all the pyramids, and on the summer solstice, he will hold sacred priest ceremonies in all the pyramids simultaneously.

By then, the sun god will once again bring down his endless power, and the newborn descendants of gods will once again continue the glory and honor of the holy Fadlan.

Otis probably didn't want to make friends with the Burning Empire, but he thought that the Burning Empire would be vulnerable to the Kingdom of Cassander, or the Second Fardlan Empire, which had just held the "Sunshine" sacrificial ceremony.

The lost territories were only temporarily stored and could be taken back at any time, and the Burning Empire could even be destroyed. (End of this chapter)