Chapter 1491: Not Wanting to Let Go, The King of Proliferation

Regarding how to choose the path of unification, there are countless cases on Earth that can be used as reference. Xia Duo does not deny the possible sincerity of Cormanthyr, but their sincerity definitely does not reach the level of allowing the upper echelons of Akaola to maintain their original status.

Perhaps they could agree to a small number to divide the upper echelons of Akaola, but even if the minority faction includes the Crown King and the family of Aisibilan, they might still encounter a "Why does Your Majesty rebel?" situation at a critical moment.

After all, the Crown King's rule does not stem to a large extent from his own power, but is jointly supported by a group of Upper Families. Once the support from below is lost, the Crown King is nothing.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo roughly guessed the two unification routes of Cormanthyr: one is to maintain the superficial legal authority of Akaola's rule and persuade the Crown King to merge with Cormanthyr; the other is likely to first get rid of the Crown King (causing him to lose the legal authority to rule), and then eat away at the scattered Upper Families in batches.

If the former has no follow-up actions, it can barely be called the Kingly Way, while the latter is entirely a conspiracy. In Xia Duo's hometown, the latter approach is generally called a "color revolution."

And if the Akaola Crown King himself were to die due to some accident, it would be an unexpected joy for Cormanthyr during a special period, which could be fully exploited.

So, is Cormanthyr a country that follows the Kingly Way?

Xia Duo hopes it is, but unfortunately, it is not—at least the "Kingly Way" they follow is not within the scope of Xia Duo's understanding.

After that Sword-Guardian Mage gave two promises regarding the Divine Sword Trial, the Akaola Crown King remained unmoved and politely refused. And next, the words of that Priest completely confirmed Xia Duo's guess.

What the other party mentioned was also an old matter: "Crown King Kaiersaike, Prince Se Er fell in love with Princess Mili at first sight. During this time, he has spent almost day and night in the Temple praying to the Main God, hoping that the Crown King can fulfill his sincere heart."

Xia Duo had never heard any Elf from Akaola mention the matter of Prince Se Er and Princess Mili before. Now, hearing this news suddenly, he could not help but frown tightly.

One side wants unification, the other wants a marriage alliance; it is clear that Cormanthyr does not want to let Akaola go.

If it weren't for concerns about international public opinion or worries about heavy losses from a forced attack, perhaps Cormanthyr would have actively provoked a war of unification before the Northland Alliance was established.

As for whether it was the former or the latter, Xia Duo leans more towards the latter. After all, Cormanthyr had just experienced the Drow War and suffered heavy losses; the domestic situation likely would not allow Yilisier Mianwang to provoke another foreign war.

Now that the Northland Alliance has been established, a direct attack is no longer appropriate, but a normal merger or stirring up some color revolution to cause internal chaos in Akaola, and then having Cormanthyr take over, has no major taboos.

Especially now that the underground war has stabilized, as long as no accidents occur, it is basically impossible for the Drow to rush to the Surface.

Under such circumstances, it is easy to understand why Cormanthyr is reconsidering the unification of Listar Forest.

In front of Xia Duo, an Envoy of Netheril, the Cormanthyr Priest did not hide their plan, which shows that Cormanthyr's ambition is already clear to all.

Upon hearing this, the Akaola Crown King also frowned, not only thinking of the various means the other party might use, but also because—

"Priest Lagelun, Mili is not yet an adult, there is no need to bring this up again!"

"Crown King Kaiersaike, Prince Se Er has also just reached adulthood; for Princess Mili, he is willing to wait a few more years!"

Priest Lagelun was about to argue, but was suddenly interrupted by Aisibilan: "Is Yilisier Mianwang so impatient? Or is it that in your heart, Priest Lagelun, there is no longer any room for tradition?"

Priest Lagelun dared not respond to either of these two questions; the former concerned the reputation of the Crown King, and the latter involved the Doctrine of the Main God. Thus, he could only lower his head and recite prayers, seemingly explaining himself to the Main God.

Seeing this scene, Xia Duo roughly confirmed the true intention of the Akaola upper echelons not to compromise with Cormanthyr.

Of course, the possibility that the Akaola upper echelons are colluding with the Cormanthyr Envoy to act for him cannot be ruled out, but this possibility is almost zero.

As long as Akaola does not merge with Cormanthyr immediately, any delay is a good thing for Netheril.

For the Netheril side, regardless of what tacit understanding or conspiracies the Akaola upper echelons and Cormanthyr have, as long as they do not merge for a day, and given that the relevant agreements have already been signed, there is always an opportunity to intervene.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo could not help but speak up and ask Priest Lagelun: "How many unmarried offspring does Yilisier Mianwang of your country have?"

Under normal circumstances, Xia Duo's question might have been ignored by the Cormanthyr Envoy, but Priest Lagelun was currently in an awkward position where saying anything or nothing was difficult. Encountering Xia Duo's question, he immediately took the opportunity to break away and asked Xia Duo in return:

"Human, are you trying to pry into the privacy of the Crown King by asking this?"

"No, I have no such intention. I am just thinking, if Yilisier Mianwang has enough unmarried offspring, could he marry all the kings and leaders of the Northland countries? If so, Yilisier Mianwang would be the well-deserved 'King of the Northland'!"

Although Xia Duo said this in a teasing tone, all the Elves in this courtyard did not take it as a joke, but were seriously pondering its feasibility.

And next, Xia Duo's words further stimulated the nerves of the Cormanthyr Envoy—

"I once heard that in ancient times, when many kingdoms stood, there was a king with many offspring. Every time he married into other royal families, after some years, the offspring of the other kings withered away, and in the end, the offspring of that 'King of Proliferation' unified the land. Could Yilisier Mianwang be imitating that 'King of Proliferation'?"

"You—I have never heard of any ancient 'King of Proliferation'. You arranging my King like this is simply blasphemy!"

Priest Lagelun was suddenly furious and nearly incoherent. He could almost imagine the impact on Yilisier Mianwang once the reputation of the 'King of Proliferation' spread.

More importantly, Cormanthyr does indeed have a similar plan to use offspring to plot against countries; these words from the Netherese simply poked right into his heart.

"Human, tell me your name!"

This time, there was no need for Xia Duo to speak; the Akaola Crown King introduced him personally: "This is the Lord of Daxia Territory in the Southland of Netheril, and also a student of Iolum—Xia Duo."

"Xia Duo, Daxia Territory?"

Lagelun muttered softly, then his expression gradually returned to calm. He looked directly at Xia Duo and said word by word: "Indeed a brave one, I hope you can continue to be brave in the future!"

The term "Daxia" is merely phonetically similar to the "Daxia" of Xia Duo's hometown; in reality, it originates from Elvish, meaning "Yong Zhe Kai Tuo Zhi Di."

But translating from Elvish to Netherese, and then from Netherese to Elvish, the meaning changes significantly; at the very least, it is difficult to point directly to the original meaning of "Yong Zhe Kai Tuo Zhi Di."

Lagelun knows the original meaning of Daxia Territory; it is highly probable that he had learned about Daxia Territory before today. Without needing much thought, Xia Duo immediately reached this conclusion.

And the other party's words were almost equivalent to a threat.

To this, Xia Duo naturally fought back without hesitation—