The current King Borei III of Slien was forty-eight years old, at the peak of a leader's strength and vitality. He was also one of only two Imperial Marshals among the Grand Electors. Although every Grand Elector necessarily held at least the rank of lieutenant general, either active or reserve, an Imperial Marshal's rank carried real weight. Without sufficient ability and military achievements, no one could possibly be worthy of the baton inlaid with the pattern of a war dragon.
In the history of the empire, there had been a Grand Elector who served as a Privy Council minister for twenty years, including three years as Keeper of the Seal. He was covered in honorary marshal titles from more than a dozen surrounding minor nations, yet because he truly had no military achievements worth mentioning, he died without ever obtaining the Imperial Marshal's rank he had yearned for all his life.
The current King Slien had distinguished military achievements and was by no means a mere warrior. He was skilled in military affairs and even better at military administration. He was not an especially powerful psyker, only around average among the Grand Electors. Compared with King Sorein, the first of the Grand Electors' hot-tempered enforcers, his disposition was gentler. He had even accumulated some diplomatic experience.
A complete talent in both military and civil affairs like this was actually better suited to permanently staying at the Privy Council than that musclebound brute, King Sorein. However, the reason His Majesty the Emperor and the Privy Council had placed him here to handle both military and civil affairs was naturally the result of comprehensive consideration.
First of all, everyone knew that beyond the Gate of Glory lay another vast, undeveloped new world.
The empire's exploration, development, and colonization of the new world