Chapter 1643: Hede Territory and the Southern Situation

The next day, the exchange meeting continued.

Considering that the Q&A and debate sessions of yesterday's exchange meeting had run long, today's meeting was scheduled for the morning, which also happened to be convenient for connecting with last night's train of thought.

As for Xia Duo, he had spent the entire previous day in the Xiu Xi Shi displaying information solely via Projection and had not shown his face, but this time, he came to the venue in person.

Moreover, he sat right among the crowd, without any separate, additional seating arranged.

Naturally, the people present did not show any strange emotions regarding Xia Duo's appearance; after all, Xia Duo had always enjoyed a good reputation, and having had close contact during yesterday's exchange meeting, everyone had their own measure of him in their hearts.

Furthermore, this was Seventon, and most of those present belonged to the Seven Towers; as for a Great Arcanist from outside the Seven Towers, as long as they maintained respect, they did not worry about being persecuted by him.

With yesterday's groundwork, today's atmosphere was even more lively; after Beilaila went on stage to warm up the crowd, an Arcanist soon went up to speak.

"Everyone, today I would like to introduce several common mental interference Spells and their means of Protection."

Hearing this topic, Xia Duo's heart stirred, and he immediately sent a Sending to Beilaila to inquire about the basic information of this Arcanist.

Beilaila had long been prepared for this and replied immediately: "This Arcanist Andate Laibu does not come from the Seven Towers, but from the Hede Territory in the south. Because his ancestors had old ties with the Nether Family, he has remained at Giles Tower to conduct research."

"Before the Princess ascended to godhood, his status at Giles Tower was very special, but after the Princess ascended, Lord Sikumu did not think much of him; being able to contact him this time can be considered an accident."

"The other party originally wanted to return to his territory, but he stayed for a few more days after hearing that this exchange meeting was organized under the commission of Lord Xia Duo."

So that was it!

Xia Duo immediately searched his mind for information on the southern Hede Territory. It was not that he hadn't collected any; it was just that in the information he had gathered, the contemporary Lord of Hede was an Archmage, and he had been the lord for decades.

If nothing unexpected happened, this Arcanist Andate Laibu should be the offspring or a collateral branch of the contemporary Lord of Hede.

As for the location of Hede Territory, it was close to Rodney Territory and could be considered the southernmost part of the Core Area, and not far to the east was the Verdant Tower Alliance where the newly promoted Great Arcanist Keluosi resided.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo asked Beilaila again: "Is Hede Territory a member of the Verdant Tower Alliance?"

"No. Although Hede Territory does not belong to the Seven Towers, because of its relationship with the Nether Family, it can likewise receive the protection of the Seven Towers and does not need to huddle together with others for warmth."

Beilaila's answer reminded Xia Duo that initially, the Verdant Tower Alliance was just a mutual defense organization formed to cope with the Orc Tide.

And now, after Keluosi became a Great Arcanist, this Alliance had a natural rallying core, but it was unknown what plans Keluosi had for the Verdant Tower Alliance.

But there was one thing Xia Duo was certain of: life in Hede Territory was probably not going to be easy from now on.

After the Princess ascended to godhood, the Nether Family was effectively extinct, and after Sikumu took power, even if he did not openly suppress the forces left behind by the Princess, it was impossible for him to continue taking care of Hede Territory as he had in the past.

Although there was no longer much of an Orc Tide in the Core Area, there was an Alliance organization nearby that might expand rapidly. Putting himself in their shoes, Xia Duo did not think the Lord of Hede could sleep soundly.

This time, Andate Laibu left Seventon to return to his territory, perhaps not only because he was not favored by Sikumu here, but likely also due to the situation in the south.

At this moment, a rough map of the Nether Territory appeared in Xia Duo's mind; the Verdant Tower Alliance, Hede Territory, and Rodney Territory were considered the southernmost parts of the Core Area.

Further south was the New Expansion Land, where it was mainly the lords from the south of the Core Area who were pioneering.

Continuing south, the place newly named "Kelong Plain," which faced the Kangqi Plain across a river, was the best choice for the lords of the Inner Land.

And the southernmost end of the Kelong Plain was the Maihete Lake line; continuing south was the Nan Jing, which was also the tacitly approved territory of the Savile Territory.

Earlier, Niya had already sent people to establish a stronghold on the south bank of Maihete Lake; although they had not actually pioneered it, it could be considered marking out a sphere of influence.

Later, a trading market was opened on the east bank of Maihete Lake, which could be considered a reward for the northern Pioneers not crossing the Maihete Lake line.

The land between the Verdant Tower Alliance and the Kelong Plain was not as large as the Kelong Plain, yet even such land still needed to be shared with numerous forces.

If Xia Duo were Keluosi, he would undoubtedly use his status as a Great Arcanist to rapidly expand the scope of the Alliance, thereby occupying a dominant position in the pioneering actions, as well as the greatest dividends.

It was not impossible to even take a bite out of the Kelong Plain while the lords of the Inner Land were not yet firmly established there.

If that happened, Hede Territory, which was right next to the Verdant Alliance, would become a thorn in their side—either join or get out.

With the Seventon Council pressing down from above, although it wouldn't reach the point of forced expulsion or occupation, it was a league of territories against a single territory, and the league also had a Great Arcanist sitting in command.

As long as they wanted to, they could always find an opportunity and an excuse.

"Should I intervene?"

In all honesty, Xia Duo did not have the energy to manage the affairs of the Inner Land right now, especially when facing an alliance, which would further consume a large amount of his energy.

However, that Verdant Tower Alliance gave him an instinctive, faint sense of crisis.

Tracing his Subconscious, Xia Duo discovered that he was worried and afraid that the alliance would be integrated into a unified whole.

Although it was a league of territories, it was not impossible for it to become a single entity; just the methods Xia Duo could think of for lords to give up their territories were numerous.

Among them, the one Xia Duo was most familiar with was the evolution of "fiefs" that had appeared in the history of his homeland—from the initial enfeoffment to later just collecting money, it was a process of the central dynasty constantly centralizing power.

Of course, things like the "Order of Pushing Kindness" could only be used by the Seventon Council in Netheril, but once used, it might lead to a situation similar to "the King of Chu asking about the tripods."

As long as the alliance could guarantee that the benefits obtained by the lords were consistently higher than the income from their territories, then entrusting the entire territory and even the population to the alliance for management was not something unacceptable.

What Xia Duo was worried about was this trend; if the Verdant Tower truly began the path of integration, it might become his greatest competitor.

After all, how could one civilization tolerate the development of two transmigrators!

And such worries were not limited to this; Xia Duo also thought that a top-down centralization reform had already appeared within Yierlan.

And in Yilisaier, although no rumors of centralization reform had spread yet, they had long since begun the integration and unification of the Mythallar, a point that even far exceeded Yierlan.

As for Keman, although Yilisier Mianwang had not started a centralization reform, the thousand-year duration of his rule had endowed him with a transcendent status; if he really wanted to initiate reform, it would not be difficult.

By comparison, the racial discrimination and even oppression within Keman were the main problems.

So what about Netheril?

Had the Seven Towers thought about establishing a more centralized system?