Immortal Kingdoms

While Leonardo expected to kickstart a massive war campaign by subtly leaking information to the elves and beastkin, there was no chance in a blue moon for him to anticipate the timely arrival of a counterforce dispatched by House Hestia's enemies to ransack the planet of its resources.

Surely, if he knew, he would have abandoned all his plans and rushed back west into the depths of the forbidden domain, fighting tooth and nail, motivated by a feeling foreign to himself and his widespread reputation as a composed and rational devil in a business suit.

Luckily, he was already half the way across the planet on his way to the capital as he had washed his hands clean from the matters concerning the forbidden domain. Furthermore, because Jeffery didn't know what sort of relationship these people had with Leonardo, who similarly invaded their lives out of thin air, he advised Queen Adeline to keep Leonardo in the dark about these developments.

At the moment, on the eighth floor of Tesla's Dine and Shine in the heart of Valdmor's comfort, the various representatives of the three ruling powers and the seven vassal kingdoms sat around a table crafted from energy crystals, dotted with fragmented essence crystals in a fashionable substitute for illumination crystals, and an assortment of wild, exotic meals cooked from the flesh of a saint grade magical beast.

However, no one was in the mood to ogle at such luxuries or bother with the otherworldly beauties playing the instruments in the background. In the hands of every representative was a copy of the casualties report from the battle… No— the massacre that engulfed their armies, the armies of the elves, and the armies of the beastkin.

The statistics were heart-wrenching as there were almost no survivors that made it back in one piece. Those who did, only made it back to deliver a message and a bold declaration.

"Don't dare step foot within a saint's eyesight from this region."

What was the eyesight of a saint? That was enough to cover up a piece of land as vast as ten towns combined into one. That much land is enough to establish a self-sustained dukedom, triple that and you have yourself a fledgling kingdom. They were only six saints and sixty mortal cultivators, yet they dare open their mouths and swallow that chunk of land after merely one battle.

They could only commit open slaughter because the armies had a considerable lack of saints in these preliminary, probationary battles. Not everyone was oh so desperate about these mines, as the elven and beastkin ruling powers weren't involved in this war, merely their greedy vassals.

Thus, the human domain couldn't stretch it and slap the opposing powers in the face by openly dispatching saints to engage in a brutal one-sided slaughter. However, now, the situation escalated beyond their control.

The elves and beastkin are allowed doomed to retaliate, that's inevitable at this point. As for the various powers and factions of the human domain, they merely need to discuss how to coordinate their assaults with and not against the incoming armies from the elven and beastkin domains. The war efforts were successfully forwarded at least ten years, and that open slaughter will mark the initial spark in what people would soon dread as the domino piece for the inevitable countdown for the second War of Dominion.

Hopefully, by the time such war breaks out, Leonardo's forces would be up for the task, lest they get swept away in the wreckage of the senseless battles. Only a little few would actually remember that the cause for all of this was one off-hand remark by a human youth under the supposed coercive tactics.

Some would curse Leonardo, some would curse Azalea, but for now, the masterminds behind the inevitable storm are calmly browsing through the first of many similar reports to come their way, in an ambience nothing short of divine.

"It's probably an effort of retaliation from the organisation behind Prince Leonardo! I suggest we push House Regalia to negotiate with them and see where they're coming from!" A man seated across from House Regale's representative spoke, his eyes dripping with malice as they roved across Azalea's body behind the representative.

"If some of us knew how to put a proper leash on our dogs, things wouldn't escalate this far!" He added a moment later, his words thought-provoking. Moreover, he made sure to address Leonardo as a proper prince, though why he bothered to speak that way, no one knew. Rather— no one hinted that they knew.

Azalea's body quivered as her heterochromia eyes flashed with a hint of fear. She had been subjected to at least five assassination attempts on her way from the outer region of Valdmor to Tesla's, expressing how much these people despised her.

She begged her leader to allow her a safe return trip back to the borders of the kingdom. However, she knew that simply making it into the borders wouldn't guarantee her safety. She had but one option, seek asylum with Prince Leonardo as she believed he owed her that much at least.

He used her, and by extension, basically pronounced her a death sentence. Even though everyone knew she was but a pawn, and he would have twisted her words one way or another, and it would have resulted in the same outcome no matter who was sent Leonardo's way, a crowd of mad people who lost their friends, family, and loved ones desired an outlet, a sacrifice.

Azalea happened to be that sacrifice in the eyes of many.

She knew it, and her leader knew it as well.

"I don't think so!" Jeffery spoke up to refuse the claims, "If Leo wanted to retaliate, this isn't his style. Furthermore, you've all witnessed the scene from three months ago in the ravine of demise; with an expert like that backing him, why would he bother asking for reinforcements?"

"Not to mention that he plans to settle down within my Sylvia Kingdom, why would he cause us harm? Especially when he's investing in my lot of shares!"

Jeffery emphasised the informality when addressing Leonardo with the initials of his name, also making it a point that Leonardo was now, above all and foremost, a citizen of Sylvia. Furthermore, as icing on the cake, the party Leonardo is most likely to support is also that of House Sylvia.

Jeff had to admit that although Queen Adeline is silly sometimes, she has quite a sharp eye and foresight.

Jeffery's remarks ignited an unintentional path of retreat for Azalea who was already desperate. That's right, if she could get through to Leonardo through Jeffery, she could secure herself a safe passage to the territory of House Grace!

Jeffery was unaware of this seed of hope he planted in the heart of this maiden, as he was too absorbed in the discussion about how to properly redress the incoming clouds of disaster rather than pointing fingers.

The factions split into three opinions.

The first group was of the opinion to open negotiations with the mysterious force and offer them a right to some shares. After all, they did it once, they could do it again.

The second group was of the opinion to let the hot-headed beastkin domain serve as a vanguard while they contact the elves and discuss follow-up strategies. War was already an inevitability, it was simply a matter of in whose favour would the war escalate.

The third group was of the opinion to withdraw completely and allow the ruling powers of each domain to deal with this mess. Of course, these were the thoughts of those hoping to fish for benefits after the ruling powers exhausted themselves.

Of course, they wouldn't outright confess these thoughts, they spat out an excuse that the scale of this conflict was already beyond their capabilities as vassal kingdoms and states to the throne.