Immortal Kingdoms

Chapter 96 Deception

?"How do I put this? Remember when you talked about how a second, third, and even a fourth tiger will follow in the tracks of the first? Well, your words didn't only come to pass, but worse…" Queen Adeline started, sighing.

"I didn't expect your lockdown to be so serious, we couldn't reach you no matter how many envoys we dispatched so I decided to come personally."

Queen Adeline was obviously talking about herself, excluding Valeria from the explanation. That begs the question, what does the former High Elf Queen have in mind to visit Leonardo?

Valeria leveled a calm gaze at Leonardo before opening her mouth, "I heard of that meeting. Back then, you said that you were merely caught in the crossfire between two powerful factions, I believe."

"This is indeed the case," Leonardo nodded.

"Well, I'm afraid that the entirety of planet Arcadia is about to be riddled with holes from being caught in the crossfire as well. My brother-in-law the High Elf Lord will open a spatial passage in the Elven Domain, allowing Xiaver's people to safely make it through the atmospheric membrane of Arcadia."

"The thing is, his ambitions blinded him. That fool is willing to allow an army of invaders from a different planet to safely make it past Arcadia's final line of defense, all in the hopes of conquering the Human and Beastkin Domains by burrowing the momentum of their armies."

"It is known that when it comes to home-field advantage, my Elven Domain is an impregnable fortress. However, the armies we can dispatch are limited, hence why Xavier's offer of handing over the entirety of Arcadia to High Elf Lord Richard enticed the latter so much."

"For a man who assassinated his own brother, his own flesh and blood for power, putting an entire planet in jeopardy to wield even more power makes no difference."

Valeria furrowed her brows, "You don't seem particularly concerned about this?"

As she explained, she noticed that Leonardo wasn't showing much of a response whatsoever be it negative or positive. Of course, just because he didn't show any, that didn't mean he wasn't hiding his emotions.

Anyone on their level would have some control over their body language and facial expressions, and it didn't help that Leonardo's eyes were literally blind at the moment so she can't infer his thoughts from his gaze.

As for monitoring his spiritual fluctuations, forget the fact that it'd be rude, that could outright harm if not kill him in his current condition, something she didn't wish for.

"Oh, are you done?" Leonardo raised his head in Valeria's direction, tapping away his fingers on the table in a stable rhythm.

"What do you mean by 'am I done?' Don't you see the consequences of Richard's stupidity? How did things escalate from you, to Xavier, to an entire planetary catastrophe?! Do you think you have nothing to do with this?"

"You're talking as though I put a blade to Richard's throat and forced him to cooperate with Xavier and the invaders," Leonardo interrupted Valeria lightly, his tone unhurried yet sharp.

"Adeline, what was my piece of advice on that meeting?"

"To keep neutral, but Leonardo…"

"No more. There you have it; keep neutral. Without inside help, their numbers and power would have been significantly lower. Now, it seems like I have to reevaluate my plans to defend my city, and I believe you'll have to take precautions because trust me, you're inviting a pack of wolves into the heart of your house if your brother-in-law doesn't stop."

"Do you honestly believe that every one of those higher realms people will be as smart and collected as Xavier? Let me tell you this right now; far from it. In fact, Xavier could be considered an oddball among them."

"Those people look at you the same way you look at non-cultivators. They won't treat you as equals, much less promise you a single thing. Furthermore, Xavier can be considered a failure at most. He had a mission, he failed it, and he'd be lucky if he weren't executed for such a blunder."

"While you're here trying to force me into joining your camp, your brother-in-law is out there discussing deals and promises with a man on his death row. Yet here you are, in all your seriousness, trying to pin the blame on me?"

"Enough!" Valeria interjected, her aura on the verge of exploding. Then, she looked over at Queen Adeline who had a helpless expression on her face.

She then looked back at the composed Leonardo before talking seemingly to the void, "I know that a powerful senior is observing as we speak, can you please show yourself?"

Queen Adeline tensed up, while Leonardo was confused.

What senior?

Then, space behind Leonardo rippled and a silver-white fox stepped out, curling up on Leonardo's left shoulder as her tail coiled over his neck.

Leonardo subconsciously reached over to rub her little head, a hint of surprise in his voice, "Aria? Weren't you keeping the children company? Did Leona calm down?"

Queen Adeline and Valeria eyed this little fox curiously and warily. In the past, Queen Adeline could feel the fluctuations of a saint's essence from Aria's body. Now, however, it felt as though she wasn't even present.

As expected, Leonardo didn't seem to realize the extent of this fox's true power, she thought to herself.

"You're here not for this brat, but for me, aren't I right?"

Aria lazily narrowed her crimson eyes while stretching over Leonardo's shoulder. Her voice was as enchanting and charming as always, but a hint of unconcealed majesty lingered within.

Leonardo was surprised, feeling weird inside.

Was Aria really that powerful? He was skeptical. However, these two wouldn't make light of something like this, meaning it had to be true. However, at this point in time, this isn't something so shocking anymore.

"I apologize if I happened to offend you, but this matter relates to the billions of lives on planet Arcadia." Queen Adeline said.

"Arcadia is Arcadia, Leonardo is Leonardo, while I am me," Aria responded in a lazy voice, not particularly interested in the flow of the conversation.

No kidding, just who was she? Did they expect her to bother with the lives of some ants in a backwater nowhere like Arcadia?

"I understand," Valeria interrupted Queen Adeline from playing the sympathetic card on someone like Aria.

"What do you need in order to help me?" Valeria asked directly, not using any flowery words or sweet-talking her way through.

Leonardo also remained silent as he wasn't about to tell Aria what to do and what not to do.

"I haven't made myself clear enough it seems. This child is on a tempering experience, I will only act whenever his life is in immediate danger, and other than that, it's none of my concern."

"Doesn't Arcadia belong to some faction from the higher realms? Wouldn't they help?" Valeria pressed on.

This time, Leonardo responded, "The people from the higher realms who have their eyes set on me will naturally be dealt with by me. However, the invading forces from the other planets in the middle realms have nothing to do with me; they're merely profiting from a cooperation between your High Elf Lord and Xavier."

"Just so you know, even if they rallied some support, the main striking force will still be the invaders. Thus, I suggest you dispatch your second-cycle and above saints to intercept them outside the atmospheric membrane of Arcadia, that is if you want to prevent them from destroying your forest as they march my way."

"Of course, you'd have to— I see how it is! Haha!" Leonardo suddenly realized something, laughing involuntarily as he shook his head.

"I see how it is, I understand now," Leonardo shook his head with a mocking expression on his lips.

"Your mother is truly something else, Juvia," Leonardo took a deep breath to calm down from laughing all of a sudden, tapping the table in front of him.

"You too Adeline, you too… Just whose idea was it? Hm? Guilt trapping me with some twisted sense of righteousness to bear the brunt of the invading army? Was the Beastkin Domain on this too? No… No no no no, they're not clever enough. It's probably something you two came up with on the spot after meeting on your way here, I presume… Anyway, that doesn't matter. The answer is no, you're on your own." Leonardo impatiently waved them off, not even the least bit of courtesy involved.

"What? Boss, I'm confused as hell!" Miko scratched the back of his head.

Judging from Queen Adeline's stiff expression and Valeria's indifferent expression, something big must have happened.

"Nothing much! These two wanted to use our forces to delay the invasion. Well, more accurately, they wanted to bait me in order to force Aria to act on my behalf, ultimately protecting their little precious Arcadia. I can't believe it went right under my nose!"

Although Leonardo couldn't see, he was sure their expressions must look wonderful right now. However, he didn't care for that.

"Richard must be in control of the Elven Forces, so he obviously wouldn't send troops to interject the invasion in outer space. As for the Human Domain, they're not about to sacrifice the lives of their people to pervert an inevitable outcome. No matter what they do, the armies will eventually descend, it's just a matter of when. I don't even need to mention the Beastkin, they're not the type to look for conflict unprovoked."

"At the end of the day, everyone is after their own profits, and of course, the most conservative option to both the Elven and Human Domains is if the battlefield was relocated to outer space."

Leonardo sighed in admiration. If he wasn't injured right now and if it wasn't for Aria's attitude, his pride might have truly led him to a decisive battle in outer space. Unfortunately for them, he no longer had that bloodthirsty attitude, and he wouldn't confront an army of hundreds of thousands on his lonesome.