Chapter 1373: Alliance Meeting, Unsightly Greed

In fact, even without Lunaxisi's reminder, Xia Duo would not have easily headed to Zhamu Dasi; after all, psionics were simply too unfamiliar to him.

Even for a nation like Calimshan, which utilized bloodline power he had some understanding of, he was prepared to wait until the floating city was completed before going to take a look; it was even less likely he would just go to Zhamu Dasi casually.

The two were silent for the rest of the way, and after returning to Cloudtop Tower, Xia Duo was summoned by Iolum and informed that the celebration banquet originally scheduled for tonight had been temporarily canceled, replaced by the Alliance's first formal meeting.

Furthermore, Iolum hoped Xia Duo would also go to observe; Lunaxisi's visit to find him earlier had been at Iolum's behest.

"Teacher, the plan changed suddenly—has some accident occurred? The war situation in the Underdark? Or something else?" Xia Duo asked.

"All of the above!"

Iolum first glanced outside, then cast a spell of Avoidance of Detection, only then letting out a long sigh and saying to Xia Duo with considerable emotion:

"The main thing is that Cormanthor, Yierlan, and our ally Illefarn have all set their sights on the Evereska Mythallar, preparing to use the pretext of protecting the Alliance Headquarters to demand participation in the Mythallar repair work, and requiring access to some of the key Permission Levels of the repaired Mythallar."

"How could this be?"

Xia Duo was greatly astonished by this; the Alliance had only just been established, and their greed was already this unsightly?

Evereska had already declared itself a place of permanent neutrality; if it could not maintain its independence even under these conditions, and was to be forcibly occupied by major powers under the guise of protecting the Alliance, would that not violate the original intent of the Alliance's founding!

The original intent of the Alliance's founding was, of course, to maintain peace and stability in the Northland, and the threat of the Drow was merely the greatest incentive that facilitated the rapid establishment of the Alliance.

Yet this Alliance had now become a tool for major powers to oppress, exploit, and even forcibly occupy smaller nations; Xia Duo knew such situations would surely happen in the future, but he never expected it to happen just as the Alliance was being established.

Should one blame the Elves for being too realistic? Or blame Evereska for being too weak?

"Teacher, what is the attitude of the Seven Towers?"

"Badijiaer has already contacted the home country; the Seven Towers unanimously believe that Netheril should also obtain the rights it is entitled to. If they don't agree, then none of them should get anything."

"Sigh—"

Xia Duo sighed inwardly; he had long known this would be the result. How long had it been, and they had already automatically learned the "divine skills" of the five major powers.

Additionally, once Cormanthor's policy toward other races shifted, Illefarn's attitude also became ambiguous; it seemed they had completely forgotten that the two sides were extremely hostile just yesterday, and today they were going to sit together to discuss the distribution of benefits.

"By the way, Teacher, what exactly is the use of that new Mythallar born during the day?"

"It has great utility; primarily, within the framework of the Northland Alliance regulations, it constrains the decisions and actions of the leaders of each nation, and at the same time, it can provide the necessary binding force for various contracts signed within the Alliance later on."

Speaking of this, Iolum sighed again, "Elder Kuide did a remarkable thing. If the Mythallar could operate independently, perhaps tonight's events would not have happened, but unfortunately, due to reality, the main Permission Levels of that Mythallar are held in the hands of the five major powers."

Iolum's explanation still left Xia Duo with some doubts, but at least it confirmed that there should be no major problems with the Mythallar. As for why the main Permission Levels were held by the five major powers—

To borrow a phrase from Earth: it is not that the five major powers need the Alliance, but that the Alliance needs the five major powers.

Although the five major powers' willingness to form an alliance was very strong due to the threat of the Drow, it did not change the reality that the five major powers were the strongest forces in the Alliance.

If their own interests were severely damaged because of the Alliance, then "withdrawing from the group" was not a difficult thing for the five nations to accept.

Understanding this, Xia Duo knew that tonight's events were likely inevitable. To some extent, the fact that the five major powers could decide this matter so easily was thanks to the legal support provided by the Mythallar created by that Elder Kuide!

However, knowing that the Mythallar also had binding power over the leaders of the five major powers, Xia Duo also knew that Evereska would likely not perish as a nation.

Of course, all kinds of implicit encroachment would certainly be unavoidable, just like this time when the five nations were demanding access to the Evereska Mythallar's Permission Levels.

As long as the nation does not perish, there will always be an opportunity for a rise in the future.

Perhaps this was the best gift that Elder Kuide left for Evereska to face the surging new situation in the Northland!

……

Because they were on someone else's territory, Iolum and Xia Duo ultimately had some reservations; the two did not talk in depth, and they soon received an invitation from Badijiaer to attend the first formal meeting of the Northland Alliance together.

The Cloud Crown Palace at the very top of Cloudtop Tower.

The banquet venue that was shrouded in mist last night had turned into an exceptionally serious and formal meeting venue tonight.

Similar to the formal meeting hall of the Arcane Union, the Cloud Crown Palace tonight was also arranged with a circular conference table, surrounded by a ring of thrones, thirteen in total.

Directly facing the palace gates were five thrones that were clearly taller and more exquisite and ornate than the others; they must belong to the kings and leaders of the five major powers.

As for the observation seats for Xia Duo and the others, regardless of their status, they were all outside the central circle of thrones, behind their respective kings and leaders.

When the four of them (including Badijiaer's student Angelin) arrived, half of the thirteen central thrones were already occupied, all by kings of smaller nations, of course.

Among the five major powers, Netheril was the first to arrive. When Badijiaer, a human, sat on one of the five major thrones, a wave of discordant undercurrents immediately surged through the great hall.

After Badijiaer took his seat, Prince Baside of Danzo also arrived quickly, and even began whispering with Badijiaer as soon as he arrived.

Afterward, when all the kings and leaders of the small nations had arrived, the kings of the three Elven Kingdoms finally arrived late.

"Everyone, we have received news that the Drow's offensive in the Underdark has intensified again, which is why we have summoned you all at this time, which should have been for celebration, to discuss response strategies together."

The first to speak was Crown King Luoruian of Illefarn; he shared the latest intelligence from the Underdark with the kings present, and this intelligence was also confirmed by Prince Baside.

"The progress of aid to Danzo must be accelerated. Additionally, I believe we need to issue a formal warning to the Drow in the name of the Northland Alliance; if we can make the other side hesitate, perhaps it will allow us to be better prepared."

Regarding the proposal of Crown King Luoruian of Illefarn, Prince Baside of Danzo was the first to express his agreement.

After him, Badijiaer also expressed his approval on behalf of the Seven Towers and Netheril. With these three major powers stating their positions, the remaining small nations, such as Amalinda, Besmoer, and Irusk, naturally followed suit immediately.

This also prompted some neutral nations to state their positions, such as Evereska; their Supreme Elder might not yet know about the other important decision of this meeting, otherwise they would not be so calm.