At Yongtein, things were unsurprisingly tense. As the crown seat for the Imperial Council, they were the destined enemies of the Alzar Kingdom and the Li Family and right now, their enemies were negotiating. Regardless of what they decided, as long as they agreed on something, then it was bound to be negative for the Imperial Council. The Li Family was already a tough nut to crack and the Alzar Kingdom was a whole behemoth waiting to swallow them whole. Although the Li Family was forced to surrender the Samfeng Province and pull back their defensive line, that was not necessarily a good thing for the Imperial Council. The Li Family could concentrate their forces and reassess their combat strategy, as well as fortify the hard-to-assault Tailong River. It was not the fleeing of a wounded animal, but a cunning strategic retreat. In a long battle of attrition, it would be hard to tell who would prevail between them.
The Alzar Kingdom was another problem altogether. Initially, the Xingyuu Empire and the Alzar Kingdom were separated by the Maelstrom Gulf and the Desterina Ocean. This meant that passage between the two civilizations was strictly controlled by naval forces. It was extremely difficult, costly, and risky to transport soldiers from the Alzar Kingdom to the Xingyuu Empire and vice versa. Naval expeditions essentially required complete naval superiority from the invading civilization, which lent itself largely to the reason why the First and Second Great Kingdom Wars could persist so long. However, that all went down the drain when the Imperial Council decided to withdraw from the Yunyun Stronghold and the Maelstrom Gulf. This allowed the Alzar Kingdom uncontested access to the continent, supplying an enormous number of enemy troops. According to conservative estimates, there were at least one hundred thousand Alzar soldiers present already with more on their way.
The Imperial Council was plagued by the same problems that the Li Family faced. Their level of military, economic, political, and technological weight was nowhere close to what the unified Alzar Kingdom wielded. And to make matters worse, the Imperial Council described the allied three Great Nobility Families: Shui, Jun, and Jian Families. These three families… They cooperated with each other for fending off the Li Family and seizing the right to rule. However, only one family could stand at the top of the empire! Thus came the tricky question: if they won the war, which family would seize the throne? All three families were ambitious by nature and standing at the top was the pinnacle of glory. There was no way that any of them would refuse it. While a rough agreement was made to defer this decision after they won the war, would any family wholeheartedly devote all their forces for an uncertain cause? They would reserve their forces and prepare for the inevitable clash.
There was also the matter of the individual families. The Jian Family, led by Patriarch Fuwu Jian, stood in the spotlight since his eldest son was Prime Minister Pon-Wai Jian! As the Prime Minister, he held the highest official position in the Xingyuu Empire. However, that was also a fated poison. As long as he stood in the spotlight, other families would want to tear him down from his high pedestal and replace his family as the leader of the Imperial Council. Although everything seemed cordial on the surface, there were countless enemies lurking in the shadows. To navigate these muddled waters, Prime Minister Pon-Wai had countless schemes and plans behind the scenes. He had to watch his step very carefully if he wanted to ultimately prevail.
The Jun Family, led by Patriarch Keigon Jun, was a unique case too. If one ranked the Four Great Nobility Families purely based off their military might, the Li Family would undoubtedly reign as number one followed by the Jun Family. The Jun Family was a powerful military family with deep roots in the army. Many of its members served as high-ranking officers in the Tai Feng Army and the patriarch was even the current Minister of the Military, the second highest position on the Imperial Council. Unfortunately, this was a double-edged sword. Since they possessed such strong military might, they were obligated to provide the most military support in the war. If they expended all their forces against the Li Family and the Alzar Kingdom, then they would be like paper tigers against the Jian and Shui Family. They were on a tough road with no return.
For the Shui Family, led by Patriarch Daiyuu Shui, they were perhaps the most ambiguous and uncertain factor. Out of the Four Great Nobility Families, they were neither overbearing nor subservient. Put into one word, they were average, almost overwhelmingly so. Befitting their name, the Shui Family acted like water, perfectly assimilating into its surroundings. It was not as exaggerated as the monks of Tian Monastery, whose creed was to purify themselves of mortal sin to become the closest devout followers of their god. The Shui Family was more about neutrality, seeking to free themselves of conflict and concern. They never stood out and only maintained their status as one of the Four Great Nobility Families, nothing more and nothing less.
With the Jian, Jun, and Shui Families together, they were approximately equivalent to the Li Family. In this war between the Imperial Council and the Li Family, the neutral Shui Family became the most central and problematic piece. Suffice to say, whoever managed to sway the Shui Family to their side would instantly gain the advantage, but the problem laid here. Minister Daiyuu's daughter, the beautiful Minister Chan Shui, was betrothed to the Li Family's patriarch, Imperian Qiang Li. Should this marriage come to pass, it would instantly tighten the relations between the two families, spelling disaster to the balance of the four powers. For the Jian and Jun Families, they needed to prevent this from happening at all costs. Prime Minister Pon-Wai and Minister Keigon thus 'convinced' Minister Daiyuu and his daughter to stay in Yongtein under the protection of the Imperial Sentinels, preventing them from acting out. All three families had their own fair share of problems.
At the heart of Yongtein was the Imperial Court, a massive and elaborate multi-story building whose grandeur and radiance was only outshone by the Imperial Palace. With flags of the Xingyuu Empire proudly waving in the breeze, this was the heart of the empire's administrative complex! Prime Minister Pon-Wai walked through the wide halls with his usual smile, his pace neither fast nor slow. His aura contained a certain menacing air which made people shrink back whenever they saw him. He was like a snake, eyeing down his optimal prey from the selection in front of him. Out of the Imperial Council, the servants and maids were the most afraid of angering the Prime Minister, and even the ministers were no exception. His smile was like a demon's smile!
By his side was Minister Keigon Jun. The very definition of a 'strong army man', his muscles contorted his uniform and stretched it uncomfortably as his body swelled with an unbelievable vitality of life. Unlike the Prime Minister, his expression was firm and resolved, chiseled and tough. People would be awed and enraptured by his masculinity. Men would yearn for his physique, while women would adore it. As he and the Prime Minister walked side-by-side, it was a strange scene, but ever since the Second Great Kingdom War restarted, the two constantly worked together as the representatives of the Jian and Jun Families. Their cooperation appeared close but in reality, they were the most cautious of each other. As the saying goes, keep your friends close, but your enemies closer.