Chapter 1710: Laierlesi: Hostile Forms

Not long ago, Xia Duo proposed at the Seven Towers to "compel Cormanthor to relinquish the assessment and investigation rights attached to the Magic Restriction Treaty," which, on the surface, did not bring any intuitive benefits to Netheril.

It merely dissolved Cormanthor's power and, during the chaotic initial period when the treaty was first implemented, alleviated a certain amount of anti-magic pressure for the remaining countries in the Alliance.

Regardless of whether Cormanthor is willing to accept it, unless it "withdraws from the group" immediately, it is almost impossible to resist this collective will coming from the Alliance.

This approach is the same as when Cormanthor previously proposed signing the "Magic Restriction Treaty"—even if other countries, such as Illefarn, which is an ally of Netheril, clearly expressed their approval, as long as Netheril does not withdraw from the group immediately, it can only bite the bullet and accept it.

So, will Cormanthor withdraw from the group?

Of course not.

It is just that, unlike Netheril's reason for not withdrawing—which is to gain more development opportunities—Cormanthor's reason for not withdrawing is largely to use the Alliance's influence within the Alliance's framework to suppress the momentum of Netheril's rise.

In other words, as long as Netheril does not withdraw from the group, Cormanthor will not withdraw.

Correspondingly, even if Netheril withdraws from the group, Cormanthor might not necessarily exit; isn't dragging the Alliance along to suppress Netheril less strenuous than doing it alone?

At the same time, it can also use the Alliance's resources to develop itself.

However, once Netheril withdraws from the Northland Alliance, Illefarn will almost certainly follow suit and will not remain in the Alliance to suffer, at which point the Northland Alliance will truly exist in name only.

In the latter half of the meeting, Xia Duo did not chat much with Laruian about topics related to the current situation, but instead turned to topics related to local life in Evereska.

Such as the journals he bought here when he hid his identity last time, the Sun Rose in the Sky Garden, or topics like the Mythallar.

The atmosphere was not as serious as it was at the beginning, and Laruian later called over his eldest son, Laierlesi, who is the father of Lunaxisi.

"Lord Xia Duo, I am going to the Cloud Crown Palace. Let Laier take you on a tour of the city first; the Council of Elders will surely give you a satisfactory answer later."

"Please feel free, Elder Laruian. I get along very well with Laier. I look forward to your good news."

After Laruian left, Laier offered to take Xia Duo for a walk around the city, but Xia Duo refused and instead stayed in this small garden, waiting for Laruian's news.

Of course, the main reason was to chat with Laier about the Mythallar; after all, one can go sightseeing at any time, but exchanging ideas with a high-level Mage who specializes in Mythallar research is not something one can do at any time.

Laierlesi, as the eldest son of Elder Laruian, had received systematic Magic Education since childhood and possessed profound attainments in the field of magic.

Although Laruian had not introduced him just now, Xia Duo still keenly sensed the powerful strength that Laierlesi was deliberately hiding.

Perhaps because he had only recently become a high-level Mage, Laierlesi had not yet gained good control over that power to manipulate the Magic Net, but it was Elven Magic after all, which inherently emphasizes coordination with the Magic Net.

If another Great Arcanist had come, they might not have been able to detect this, but Xia Duo had incarnated as an Elf many times in the Projection Plane, had received a complete Elven Magic education, and had even gone deeper.

When he discovered that Laierlesi was also a high-level Mage, his surprise was not insignificant.

As far as Xia Duo knew, this Laierlesi was just over 300 years old, which, converted to human lifespan, was around 40 years old.

Becoming a high-level Mage at this age, if not unique in the Elf World, could at least be called exceptionally gifted.

When Xia Duo was communicating with his high-level Mage follower Aierfeiqi in the 【Projection Plane: Cormanthor Birth】, Aierfeiqi had mentioned more than once that there were almost no Elven high-level Mages under 300 years old.

Laierlesi was just 300 years old; this talent could almost be considered top-tier, though of course, it still could not compare to Xierdalanna becoming a high-level Mage before the age of 300.

But for such a genius Mage to emerge in a small country, it appeared exceptionally rare.

At the same time, this also gave Xia Duo a brand-new understanding of the potential of these small countries.

Due to the extremely long lifespan of Elves, small countries might be able to accumulate a number of high-level Mages no less than that of large countries; the difference between large and small countries might just be the proportion of true Elders who have only one breath left.

Of course, the influence of population factors also exists, but in Elven society, where Magic Education is not popularized among the entire population, the influence of population size is almost negligible compared to time. (Only a small number of Elites in the upper echelons have the opportunity to receive complete Magic Education; these Elves are always in the minority, and large and small countries cannot create a difference in order of magnitude.)

Although in terms of static strength, small countries may not be weaker than large countries, once a real fight breaks out, a small country without enough high-level Mages capable of sustained combat will almost certainly be crushed by a large country.

And most crucially, once those true Elders are exhausted, they cannot be replenished for a very long time, which is the crisis of national subjugation.

Of course, correspondingly, large countries generally do not go to war directly with small countries; although the result is destined to be a win, the losses caused during this period are immeasurable, and it is possible that after the fight, they would be destroyed by another large country.

Therefore, Xia Duo inferred that future hostility between the Northland countries would take the form of covert operations and low-intensity conflicts, and it was unlikely that large-scale formal wars would occur.

A total national war like the one in 【Projection Plane: Arcane Empire】 is almost impossible to appear in the Main Plane.

The war in that Projection Plane was entirely planned by the "Great Sage" from the Main Plane from the moment the Empire was born, and it was only initiated after nearly a thousand years of preparation; in any case, no matter how intense the fighting in the Projection Plane is, it cannot affect the Main Plane.

If it were the place where he himself lived, Xia Duo did not believe that anyone could truly be determined to drag everyone, including themselves, down with them; if there really were such a person, Xia Duo would be the first to crush them, and he believed the Seven Towers would do the same.

The exchange with Laierlesi went very smoothly; at the beginning, Xia Duo only asked the other party some superficial questions, but the other party did not have any intention of being perfunctory and answered seriously, which exceeded Xia Duo's expectations.

Thus, he naturally went deeper, asking questions related to Distributed Nodes, and even some questions about the Floating City Mythallar design he had just started to initiate recently.

Regarding this, although Laierlesi was surprised at a human's understanding and proficiency in the Mythallar, he still did not refuse to answer, and from his answers, Xia Duo could also see that the other party was not being perfunctory.

"Laier, I didn't expect such a big surprise this time. If there is a chance, please be sure to visit the Tower of Time."

"There will be a chance."