Chapter 1490: The Cormanthor Envoy and the Sword-Protecting Mage's Promise

Then, should Cormanthor, having inherited all the territory and all the people of Jielunsita, also inherit this alliance of never-betrayal?

But the facts are exactly the opposite; the establishment of Cormanthor involved the merger of multiple factions and could not be completed overnight.

Long before the final Sword Trial, the Yilisier Mianwang had already revealed the idea of a merger to the Akaola Mianwang, but it was rejected by the Akaola Mianwang at the time; this is the true reason why Akaola closed its doors to the world.

Later, during the Sword Trial, Yilisier Mianwang ascended to power in glory; since even his predecessor (the last Mianwang of Jielunsita) did not care about the so-called alliance of never-betrayal, how could he possibly acknowledge it himself!

But as for things like alliances, no matter how much one denies them in private, one cannot ignore them too much in public, otherwise, the optics would be too ugly.

In the past, whenever Cormanthor had any unreasonable demands or conspiracies, Akaola would always bring up the 【Alliance of Never-Betrayal】. This time, specifically letting the Cormanthor Envoy pass through there might have been to clarify their intentions once again.

And this time, there is also Xia Duo here; whether this will irritate Cormanthor is really hard to say!

Soon, Prince Fusi brought the Cormanthor Envoys back to the Kongzhong Huayuan. There were three envoys in total, and Xia Duo already knew their identities in advance.

One was the Komansuo Mianwang Special Envoy, one was an Elf Main God Priest, and the last one was a Sword-Protecting Mage.

The first two are easy to understand. The so-called Sword-Protecting Mage is not necessarily a supporter of the contemporary Mianwang of Cormanthor; they support the Sword Trial system.

It is because the Sword chose the Mianwang that they will not oppose the chosen Mianwang. As for whether they support them, that depends on the Mianwang's subsequent actions.

Or to put it another way, they are actually the collective will of the Cormanthor ruling class, at least until the Sword Trial system collapses.

Xia Duo, a human, was naturally very conspicuous mixed in with a group of elves. The three Cormanthor Envoys noticed Xia Duo as soon as they arrived.

Of course, Xia Duo also stared back at them without fear. Among them, the Elf Main God Priest's expression remained as usual, and the Sword-Protecting Mage only took a glance without any special actions.

Only the Mianwang Special Envoy had a look in his eyes as if he wanted to eat someone; dissatisfaction and resentment were all written in them.

Then, without waiting for the Akaola Mianwang to speak first, that Cormanthor Envoy impatiently questioned: "I wonder how Kaiersaike Mianwang has considered my King's proposal?"

Perhaps he was used to being arrogant, or perhaps it was just to suppress the Akaola Mianwang, but in any case, this envoy's rude behavior truly angered the Akaola elves present.

Not to mention that the vast majority of those present were high-level Mages of the Advisory Group, so they naturally would not give him a good look. One of them, an ancient etiquette consultant whom Xia Duo had found quite amiable earlier, immediately rebuked:

"Did Yilisier Mianwang tell you to be so rude? Does his so-called proposal have any sincerity at all? Go back to where you came from!"

The high-level Mage's compatibility with the Magic Net had reached a level that ordinary Spellcasters could not hope to match. With the etiquette consultant's rebuke, the Magic Net within the courtyard automatically transformed, shaping a mental field that felt extremely oppressive.

Seeing this, the Cormanthor Envoy stammered and could not speak for a long time, only able to cast a look of help toward the other two envoys who had come with him.

The Sword-Protecting Mage had no reaction at all, as if the one being oppressed at this moment was not his companion, while the other priest frowned: "Enough!"

Hearing the Main God Priest speak, the Akaola Mianwang's ancient etiquette consultant snorted coldly, but withdrew the invisible oppressive field.

Only then did the Cormanthor Envoy seem to have recovered from holding his breath, gasping for air heavily. Afterward, he put away his previous wild and arrogant posture and said honestly, "Apologies, I lost my composure."

Immediately following this, the envoy acted as if what had just happened had never occurred and continued to press, though his tone was much better than before:

"Kaiersaike Mianwang, do you have any other opinions regarding my King's proposal?"

"I already answered last time. Perhaps the envoy didn't hear clearly last time, so this time, I will answer again. Akaola has Akaola's traditions; we only want to live on guarding the remaining Akaola Forest. Yilisier Mianwang's proposal is good, but it is not suitable for Akaola. Please express my apologies to him."

Upon hearing this, the Cormanthor Envoy became anxious again and subconsciously pointed at Xia Duo, saying: "Is it because of him? Kaiersaike Mianwang, you have actually turned toward the humans?"

*Cough*—

Xia Duo knew it was his turn to speak. "Envoy Maisi, please mind your manners and do not lose face for Yilisier Mianwang. As for your doubts, I can provide you with the answer!"

"It really is because of you!"

Resentment flickered in the Cormanthor Envoy's eyes, but as if thinking of something, he tentatively asked, "Do you come from Netheril, or the south?"

"I come from Netheril!"

"Hmph, a mere Netherese lower person, what qualifications do you have to stand in the same place as us!"

"Hehe, whether I have the qualifications or not is not up to you to decide. How long has it been? Have you already forgotten the lesson from just now?"

Xia Duo stared at the other party, projecting the Stun effect from his mental spell into the other party's eyes using his gaze as the source. Although the effect was not as oppressive as a large-scale response from the Magic Net, it could serve as a reminder to the other party that he was not someone to be trifled with.

Of course, the main thing was that being at an important occasion in another country, Xia Duo could not cast spells without restraint; otherwise, wouldn't he be another rude Envoy Maisi?

However, Xia Duo was ultimately a human. Even with the deterrent effect of Reality, this Cormanthor Envoy remained unmoved and continued to propose to the Akaola Mianwang:

"Internal elf affairs should not involve human interference. I ask Kaiersaike Mianwang to banish this Netherese!"

"Hehe!"

This time, it was Aisibilan who acted. With one move, he directly banished this Cormanthor Envoy from the courtyard, and this time, the Elf Main God Priest did not speak up for him again.

The subsequent negotiations were conducted by the Sword-Protecting Mage: "Yilisier Mianwang sending this sycophant clown here was indeed a lapse in judgment.

"But his proposal regarding the unification of the Listar Forest has been unanimously recognized by the Sword-Protecting Mages. Today, I come to represent the Sword-Protecting Mages to give Kaiersaike Mianwang a promise: after the merger, any Akaola citizen can participate in the Sword Trial without restriction, and the next Sword of Ruling trial will prioritize Akaola citizens!"

At the end, the Elf Main God Priest added, "My Lord bears witness!"

Although Xia Duo did not yet know the specific conditions Cormanthor had given to the Akaola upper echelons, judging from the known conditions, Cormanthor was not without sincerity.

The priority for the Sword Trial alone could potentially result in the next generation of Sword-holders all coming from Akaola; after all, the Sword Trial is not a scoring game, but a first-come, first-served basis.

But the problem is, being able to pass the trial means identifying with and being suitable for the unification concept proposed at the beginning of Cormanthor's establishment; one is already considered a petitioner of the order of "Cormanthor."

Perhaps it is beneficial for the long-term development of all the elves in the Listar Forest, but for the Akaola upper echelons, it may not necessarily bring many benefits.