Chapter 1374: Opening a Second Battlefield, Great Power Policy

"I agree as well!"

After Crown King Shaerwen and Prince Akaola also expressed their positions, half of the nations in the Northland Alliance had already signaled their agreement.

Now, only the opinions of Yierlan, Keman, and their vassals remained; since aiding Danzo and opposing the Drow was the overall objective, these two nations naturally would not stir up trouble at a time like this.

Especially Keman; during the day, Yilisier Mianwang had just demonstrated his determination for Five Races Equality and Prosperity, and although this was now regarding the Dwarves, he would not tear off that hypocritical mask.

Thus, the first item on the agenda of the first meeting after the establishment of the Northland Alliance was passed without a ripple.

Afterward, the kings and leaders of the various nations discussed how to accelerate the progress of supporting Danzo, as well as how to more specifically address the Drow threat.

This mainly involved two proposals, one of which was "opening a second battlefield in Amalinda," proposed by Prince Baside of Danzo.

The other was a requirement for each nation to provide direct forces, convertible technologies, or even simple strategies and policies against the Drow and demons, based on their own strength.

The latter point had already been reflected in the negotiations before the establishment of the Northland Alliance; the Demon-Slaying Arrow and Demon-Slaying Amulet that Xia Duo had previously obtained were provided voluntarily by Keman during those negotiations.

Now, it was merely a matter of extending this requirement to all members of the Alliance; regardless of whether the great powers intended to weaken the strength of the smaller nations, this was truly beneficial to the war situation in the Underdark.

Aside from a few who abstained, the vast majority of the thirteen nations agreed, which of course included the five great powers.

However, the topic of "opening a second battlefield against the Drow in Amalinda" proposed by Prince Baside was met with strong opposition from King Ozukudar of Amalinda almost the moment it was raised.

Although both were located in the Underdark, Amalinda was clearly not as powerful as Danzo; if a second battlefield were opened in Amalinda, it might well lead to the destruction of the nation on the spot.

Although Amalinda was currently facing the threat of the Drow, at least they had not yet been driven to their doorstep, and this sense of urgency was different from that of Danzo.

This point was also reflected in the attitude of the Surface nations; the Drow had not yet appeared on the Surface, which was why they had the leisure to slowly meet and discuss countermeasures here.

Conversely, Keman, having just experienced the Drow War not long ago, was more nervous and attached greater importance to this aspect, and they were willing to release major weapons like the Demon-Slaying Arrow without hesitation.

However, although "opening a second battlefield" had a direct interest for Amalinda, the power of decision did not lie in the hands of King Ozukudar.

When Prince Baside put forward this suggestion, it was immediately recognized by the Surface nations; expanding the battlefield could stretch the front lines and buy time, as for whether doing so would cause Amalinda to suffer heavy losses or even be destroyed.

To put it cruelly, these were not within the considerations of the Surface nations.

"King Ozukudar, there is no need to worry too much; Keman will prioritize supporting Amalinda to ensure that the battlefield is opened outside your country's borders."

"Yierlan will also provide some support to your country!"

Prince Baside even said: "Before the meeting tonight, I had already contacted my father. He promised that if Amalinda can provide the necessary conditions for opening a second battlefield, Danzo will support Amalinda with five Holy Hammer Warriors. At that time, I will also personally go to the front line of the second battlefield; unless I die, I will not let the war happen within the territory of Amalinda."

With Prince Baside speaking so resolutely in front of the kings and leaders of the Northland nations, even King Ozukudar himself was somewhat moved, and his attitude softened slightly.

In fact, from the moment Prince Baside first proposed the "opening a second battlefield" suggestion, Ozukudar knew very well that Amalinda had to take on the main responsibility of opening the second battlefield.

Otherwise, if a few high-level Mages were to secretly lure the Drow over, it would not be his turn to object at all.

As for whether the Surface Elven Nations, or even their blood relatives in Danzo, would do such a thing, Ozukudar did not dare to gamble.

Rather than being forced to fight, it was better to be proactive, which could also allow them to secure more support from the Alliance.

Of course, the most important point was—Amalinda was too close to the Drow; once the opponent freed up their hands from the Danzo battlefield, they might immediately and easily wipe out Amalinda.

In fact, long before the Drow attacked Danzo, many underground forces had already been wiped out by them; if it were not for their failure in the war against Keman, perhaps Amalinda would no longer exist by now.

Once Ozukudar relented, the internal atmosphere of the Alliance was naturally joyous, and various nations promised to provide support, including Danzo, which was currently at war with the Drow.

In addition to promising material support, Netheril also promised to allow Amalinda to recruit war mercenaries in Netheril.

This promise was something that even Danzo, which had a closer relationship with Netheril, had not enjoyed.

Currently, most of the Adventurers from Netheril who went to Danzo to participate in the war were there by chance while in the Underdark, and it was only through word of mouth that those actions followed.

A more critical point of this promise was that Amalinda could directly recruit Spellcasters from the Seven Towers to participate in the war, rather than just private Adventurers of varying quality from the civilian sector.

Xia Duo found it hard to comment on the decision of the Seven Towers, but he always felt that the Seven Towers were a bit too enthusiastic in dealing with Alliance affairs.

Their own country had not yet been fully developed, yet they were already providing all sorts of support to others; it was truly somewhat unwise.

This was different from the "Black Continent" policy of Xia Duo's hometown; under nuclear deterrence, the landscape of great powers was basically stable, which gave them the ability and necessity to play games of vassalage or proxy wars.

If one did not have the strength to truly settle matters with a single blow, and could not even guarantee the status of a great power, how could one talk about subsequent operations to expand international influence?

Thinking of this, taking advantage of the gap while the kings of various nations in the center of the hall began to discuss building the Alliance Headquarters and sending Plenipotentiary Representatives to reside in the Alliance, Xia Duo quietly made a gesture to Iolum containing design elements of the Mythallar and asked:

"Does the Seven Towers know too?"

Iolum was stunned for a moment at first, but then he reacted, "No, but I have hinted that such things should not be discussed here; who knows how many eyes are watching us!"

After hearing this, Xia Duo immediately shut his mouth, but he also roughly understood the reason for the Seven Towers' enthusiasm; once the large-scale Independent Arcane Fire Device was realized, the strength of Arcanists would be greatly improved.

Perhaps it was because of this that they had the confidence to be so active.

Of course, it was also possible that the Seven Towers had other trump cards, but regardless, as a human nation, it was not necessarily a good thing for Netheril to be too active in an organization like the Northland Alliance, where other races occupied the vast majority.