Chapter 1353: Ailintar Observations, Sun Courtyard Talks

Among these, what Xia Duo cared about most was the news regarding another human nation in the Northland.

According to Angelin, a number of scattered human settlements near the border of the Ilfaran Mythallar were integrated, proposed by Ilfaran and facilitated by Netheril.

Based on those human settlements, a small city-state was directly established, and this human nation, named "Irusk," would also become one of the Formal Members of the Northland Alliance.

This detour through Ilfaran was, to a certain extent, also to gather the various national forces of the 【Netheril-Ilfaran】 camp to set off together.

As for whether there would be more secret talks before departure, Angelin did not reveal any more.

Xia Duo did not continue to press for details, though this Northland Alliance felt increasingly like the United Nations on Earth to him, and what was worse, they were all the permanent members!

Netheril, Ilfaran, Cormanthor, Eaerlann, and Danzo.

……

As they chatted, Angelin suddenly fell silent; Xia Duo followed the other's gaze toward the entrance of the Teleportation Hall, where Badijiaer and Iolum were walking in side by side.

"Everyone is here, so let's set off!"

At Badijiaer's command, the previously somewhat blurry portal in the center of the Teleportation Hall suddenly became clear, and one could see that the other side was also a tall and spacious hall.

The difference was that the Teleportation Hall here was built inside a Mage Tower, while the one on the other side seemed to be located in the angle where two streets intersected.

The hall had no walls on any of its four sides, only stone pillars standing tall at the four corners and an ornately decorated dome; the hall over there was more like an elongated, enlarged version of a pavilion.

Looking into the distance, many young Gold Elves were riding giant deer, frolicking and running wildly on the streets, while slightly older ones were already able to ride Pegasus and play freely in the areas outside the streets.

Almost without needing anyone to remind him, Xia Duo found the illusion of the capital performed by Ilfaran mages during the Snow Melting Competition from his memory.

The other side was the coastal city of Ailintar, far away in the west!

Ailintar was a classical city that inherited the ancient Elven style, with multiple levels; the portal on the other side was not on the ground, but on the third level above the ground.

The streets where those young Elves were playing were actually neat stone slabs suspended in mid-air.

And nearby, a tall Gold Elf Mage suddenly appeared; at this, those little children frolicking near the portal immediately scurried toward the end of the street and leaped down into the void.

Just as Xia Duo was breaking into a cold sweat for those little fellows, the mage on the other side had already acted; those seven or eight little ones, every single one of them, flapped their little arms and began to fly, quickly flying toward a Patrol on the lower level.

Xia Duo had once entered a Projection of the ancient Elven Kingdom of Miyeritar, Sukanweisa City, so he naturally knew that jumping off the floating streets would not cause any harm, but there were always accidents in everything.

Judging by the practiced movements of those brats jumping off the street to run away the moment they saw an adult coming, they probably did this often; if they really waited until something went wrong, it would be too late for regrets.

……

After Xia Duo, Angelin, and the others followed Badijiaer and Iolum through the portal, he even took a special look at the lower street level.

Most of those children had been sent away by the Patrol, and only two or three of them had been caught by parents who had already rushed over, and were being held across their knees for a spanking!

From far away, even Xia Duo's side could hear the wailing, and the Mage Tailun, who was responsible for receiving them, seemed to lose face; it was unknown what he said via Sending to the other side, but the wailing quickly disappeared.

"Everyone, please follow me, the Crown King is waiting for you in the Sun Courtyard."

Tailun said this while summoning a floating stone slab, then stepped onto it first and made an inviting gesture, after which the ten humans on Xia Duo's side also followed.

Then, the stone slab moved rapidly, and on the way to the Sun Courtyard, Iolum, Badijiaer, and Tailun set up a Soundproof Barrier and began to talk secretly.

As for Xia Duo, he was briefly introduced by Angelin to the Mage Tailun who had come to receive them and the Sun Courtyard they were about to visit; the former was a close minister to the Ilfaran Crown King and a High Mage, while the latter was one of the grandest places in Ailintar for receiving foreign guests.

Of course, it was generally held in the form of a banquet.

……

"Look, that over there is the Sun Courtyard!"

Following the direction of Angelin's finger, Xia Duo saw a floating building with no support underneath; although it was not the tallest in Ailintar, it could still rank among the top few.

It was currently noon, and the Sun Courtyard shone brilliantly under the sunlight; for a moment, Xia Duo actually felt a bit of anticipation.

Soon, the floating stone slab docked at a gap on the edge of the courtyard that seemed to have been specifically left empty, and it merged with the surrounding ground.

After everyone left the stone slab, Xia Duo specifically looked back and saw the slab slowly detach from the courtyard boundary and sink downward, leaving a large gap in its place, which seemed to have become a docking spot for later arrivals.

……

Under the guidance of Mage Tailun, Xia Duo and the others arrived at the garden in the center of the courtyard, but at this time, there was no banquet as Xia Duo had expected, but rather a very serious multi-party meeting.

The Crown King sat in the high seat, and below were humans, Dwarves, and of course, there was no shortage of Elves.

On such an occasion, even Iolum did not have many opportunities to speak; after taking his seat, he, like Xia Duo and the others, watched Badijiaer perform.

However, the various parties talked back and forth and there was nothing much to discuss; the topics always revolved around those few things, either worrying that the Drow could not be controlled, or accusing Cormanthor of having too much ambition.

Of course, there was also the question of what the intentions were of the Envoys sent by the southern nations to observe the ceremony on the day of the Northland Alliance's founding and signing.

Although Xia Duo did not participate in it, listening to it gave him a deeper understanding of the current situation in the Northland.

At the same time, he finally learned about the other forces in the 【Netheril-Ilfaran】 camp; besides the small human city-state of Irusk, which had only just been established, there was only one Dwarf tribe, Besmoer.

If it weren't for the fact that their tribal settlement was near Ilfaran, perhaps they would have been more inclined toward Danzo, which was also a Dwarf nation.

There was also a Dwarf tribe, Amalinda, near Eaerlann, but that tribe was stronger and closer to Danzo, so naturally, they would not completely lean toward Eaerlann, but instead remained neutral alongside Danzo.

And the Dwarf tribe near Cormanthor did not have such good luck; they undoubtedly leaned completely toward Cormanthor.

On the contrary, the Elven Kingdom of Akaola, which occupied a corner of the Listar Forest, had always remained outside the Cormanthor camp, and even harbored faint hostility.

Regarding this, Xia Duo, who had once served as the Cormanthor Crown King in a Projection, understood it very well; if Cormanthor wanted to unify the Elf World, it had to first unify the Listar Forest.

And as for the Listar Forest, the part not occupied by Cormanthor was the area where the Akaola Kingdom was located; under such circumstances, how much harmony could there be between the two sides?