Each of the fifteen states comprising the Water Kingdom Alliance possessed its own army token. On top of being low-grade Holy Artifacts, those army tokens allowed the owner to freely dispatch state troops, granting absolute control over the generals and armies.
Moreover, the great generals all possessed lesser tokens that allowed communication with the main token holder and facilitated orders.
To strengthen the alliance king's control over the various states, all the tokens remained in his hand. Without them, even the various state rulers couldn't dispatch their troops.
For tens of thousands of years, this practice carried on. Once those tokens fell into the Holy Flame Empire's delegates' hands, the title of alliance king served no purpose and Ernst could immediately pledge his allegiance as a perpetual vassal.
Unwilling.
He was unwilling!
