Immortal Kingdoms



"Sigh, you two built a box around your minds which has, unfortunately, trapped your thoughts…" the military advisor lamented with a sigh after watching the show from start to finish. 

The other two were baffled, and their expressions betrayed their confusion. 

The military advisor continued, "The deflation and inflation tactics worked out for the past one thousand years for two reasons. First, the other six houses allowed it to work. Second, the area we occupy doesn't leave much for the other six families to desire…" 

"What?!" 

Collective gasps of shock echoed in the hall. Then, a trace of surprise flickered in the eyes of the military advisor as he perceived not only the Commanding General nodding her head but also Leonardo who stood by her side. 

After thinking for a moment, the military advisor stood up and bowed in the direction of the void while speaking, "Your Eminence, we had you witness something quite unsavory. I'm ashamed of my teachings." 

Whoosh! 

Everyone stood up to their feet in a heartbeat and bowed in the same direction. It didn't matter to them whether they sensed it or not. Since the military advisor, the strongest person in the room said so, he must have noticed it. 

Of course, if Emily wanted to conceal her presence from him, she could. However, she felt like it was unnecessary. 

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As everyone bowed and called out respectfully, space parted as though it was a curtain, and two figures stepped out. Everyone was a bit surprised to see Leonardo standing behind the Commanding General, then they picked up on his bronze medallion. 

The military advisor smiled. "It is great of you to join us, Your Eminence, and Attendant Ye." 

Emily nodded her head and walked over to the head seat in the hall, directly above the military advisor's seat to the right. As for Leonardo, for the lack of better seats and due to his current persona, he walked right up to Emily's seat and stood behind her. 

His posture was like, even though he was an attendant, he was Emily's attendant and not someone anyone can boss around. 

Astonishment and jealousy flickered in the eyes of the left-wing and right-wing advisors, thinking that the Commanding General was nurturing the military advisor's successor. 

The military advisor didn't care. Instead, he bowed once again and said, "Your Eminence, can I ask to hear Attendant Ye's thoughts on what I just said?" 

The astonishment and jealousy in the eyes of the two quickly morphed into skepticism. However, the military advisor continued, "I assume Attendant Ye had caught up on the matters of our current situation, do you mind sharing a few words?" 

Leonardo didn't immediately respond, but Emily nodded her head and voiced out her consent to the matter. 

Helpless, Leonardo cleared his throat. 

He said, "The overall structure of power distribution across the Core Mainland was set in stone since the dawn of the Three Dynasties, Eight Mountains, Four Pavilions, and Divine Temple. For so long, the board was a tranquil lake… 

"That is until conflict sparked between the Jin Dynasty and Memento Mori, heralding the era of change as two behemoths on this mainland fight it out. In the past, no one had anticipated such a shift in powers, hence, the other six houses had no worries that the Qing Family might act out. 

"The imperial family of the Jin Dynasty is keeping an eye on your seven families for an opportunity to strike, but their attention will most likely shift to their war with the brotherhood. The purpose of the inflation and deflation tactics was two-fold, to put a show of lacking the ambition to the other six families and the imperial family. 

"If the Qing Sector expanded its territory too much, the imperial family would surely act. Thus, the other six families tacitly agreed to this tactic as they figured we won't dare hold onto these lands for too long. However, with the imperial family distracted, acquiring these lands would allow us to springboard our armies into lands of more favorable terrain, something the other six families can't tolerate, especially the ones to suffer immediately from the expansion; these three." 

As Leonardo finished talking, he pointed at the emblems of House Xia, House Freya, and House Levi. 

He continued, "As for deflation, our back is to the buffer zone between two dynasties and we are trapped between three houses from all directions. It might sound insulting, but these three houses are using us as a buffer zone between their ranks; a chip to balance the scale of their powers. They don't need our lands per se, they simply need the Qing Sector to exist." 

Leonardo felt his mouth going dry. This time, Emily couldn't conceal the shock in her eyes. She didn't spot Leonardo nodding his head behind her a while ago, but even if she did, she'd still be shocked. 

The entire hall was silent for a long, long moment. 

Clap! Clap! Clap! 

The silence was broken as the military advisor snapped out of his daze. At first, he thought the Commanding General provided this explanation to this new attendant, but he quickly noticed the shock in the depths of her eyes. Thus, he couldn't help but clap his hands in praise! 

"Exactly!" he nodded his head. "My two students have been too focused on the Seven Stars Province for the past one thousand years, to the point they've grown numb and oblivious to the changes on the greater board, hence their lack of insight on things." 

After waking up from their daze, the other high-ranking officials also joined the applauding, clapping their hands in zeal. It didn't matter to them how low this kid's cultivation was, his brain alone won their utmost appreciation. 

Leonardo shrugged, he didn't care much since unlike them, his vision wasn't limited to the changes in a mere province, prefecture, or even a dynasty. 

"I guess it's about time I introduce my new attendant to everyone," Emily's ethereal voice sounded in this hall, crisp and clear, for the first time in a sentence ever since she made her entrance. "This is Attendant Ye, you've all witnessed his wits." 

The hall sunk into silence as Emily continued, "We will discard the inflation and deflation tactics. From henceforth, we will act according to a new plan proposed by Attendant Ye, thereafter revised by the military advisor."