Immortal Kingdoms



Emily also knew that she was asking for far too much help from Leonardo. However, their agents in the Black Market provided information that beautified his capabilities in political warfare and human psychology to the heavens above. 

Furthermore, to think that someone from a rural planet that wasn't introduced to cultivation ever since its inception had such illustrious achievements defied common sense. Unfortunately, their agents wouldn't be able to dig up information about the planet since it was allegedly self-destructed by Maria Evernight in her bid to escape the clutches of the Interstellar Supreme Court. 

The latest intelligence reported that Leonardo's first disciple, Wendy, accompanied Maria Evernight and left the stellar world, and disappeared into the void beyond the world barrier. The more she thought about this young man's origins, the more perplexed she felt. Nonetheless, she smiled at the teasing expression in Leonardo's eyes. 

She said, "How about we leave the tab open for now? When the time comes, you can ask me for something in return, as long as it is within my capabilities. After all, this is a deal between you and myself; I am requesting your help within your capabilities." 

Leonardo hummed a soft response in acknowledgment. "Alright, I'll take you up on that offer— don't shrink from the responsibility later, provided that your capabilities will extend to your subordinates, of course." 

Leonardo didn't need the help of a Tier 7 cultivator as their individual power was useless to him. However, if he were to help her rise and get himself a promise from someone influential in a prefecture-level family, that would make his efforts worth it. 

Emily understood this point too. Hence, she rolled her eyes and responded, "Naturally… I wouldn't take advantage of your brain power. Do we have a deal now?" 

Her tone was quite eager as she asked. 

"You have yourself a deal," Leonardo nodded, his honey-brown eyes twinkling with infinite calculations. 

"Good!" clapped Emily. "Let's go and join them in their meeting, see how things are progressing, and gain some understanding of the overall situation." 

Emily waved her sleeve to engulf Leonardo within her domain. Then, she parted the layers of formations and space within the sub-dimension and strolled her way inside with the latter strung along. Leonardo didn't resist one bit. 

… 

On the second floor of the War Conference building, the generals and their lieutenant generals, first and second, in addition to the left-wing, right-wing, and military advisors gathered up in a wide hall. 

On the massive sand table that depicted the stretch of land also known as the Seven Stars Province, the surface area was clearly dissected into seven regions, each marked with a specific noble emblem. 

The area under the emblem of the Qing Family occupied the least surface area of the overall province. A few large-sized cities and even less medium-sized cities, and the small-sized cities needn't even be mentioned despite their large numbers. 

Obviously, the terrain provided to the Qing Family was borderline inhabitable with the lack of trade routes, favorable weather, and high risks of encountering beast tides from the uncharted wilderness, constantly wearing down the protective formations surrounding the cities. 

The meeting had been going on for a while now as Leonardo and Emily hid in the shadows, listening. Leonardo suspected that out of everyone present, only the military advisor picked up on their sudden intrusion a while ago. 

Everyone in the room was listening to the left-wing advisor and the right-wing advisor discussing the prospects of deflation and inflation respectively. At this moment, the left-wing advisor pointed at the sand table and elaborated. 

He said, "Our position as it is, squeezed between House Xia, House Freya, and House Levi leaves our lines stretched thin; we can't afford an all-out war with either of these families as their covert and open interactions indicate a subtle alliance between the three families. In my opinion, they must have already picked up on our cycle of inflation and deflation; they'll be prepared for the upcoming inflation." 

Many of the high-ranking officers nodded their heads in agreement with his sentiment. If their tactic has been seen through, it is only natural for the other families to tighten the net around House Qing and force the military to exhaust the resources that have been accumulated secretly over the last few decades of warfare. 

However, the right-wing advisor had something else to say. From his point of view, if they were to exhaust their military accumulation no matter what, the best option would be to invest this power in blazing a path of survival. 

He argued back and said, "It doesn't matter if they picked it up or not, we can't carry two cycles of deflation lest we lose valuable resources, trade routes, and relatively safe hunting zones for the locals of our cities. If we shrink back our territory anymore, we will inevitably infringe on the territories of hidden sects, we have no choice but to push forward on the weak link in their alliance and gamble that the other two won't push us too much." 

Once again, the high-ranking officials nodded their heads in agreement. The left-wing advisor's call to deflation and the right-wing advisor's call to inflation both had their pros and cons, but no one dared speak their mind without input from the mentor of these two; the military advisor. 

These officers had one job, to carry out the strategies delegated by the advisors and bring the military campaign to success. Their expertise lay in the open fields, not behind lavish desks with quills and papers. 

The two advisors were locked in a heated argument with their intelligent eyes, neither willing to back down from the respective opinions, not after they'd have accumulated decades of experience with their strategies. 

Both men were confident. Moreover, both men knew that this upcoming military campaign wasn't like any other; this was the real deal. The first wanted to retreat and counterattack like a gust of wind, the other wanted to take the initiative and strike like a bolt of lightning. 

As they both hit a deadlock with their eloquent speech, they turned their eyes toward their mentor, the military advisor.