Chapter 1765: Danger and Suspicion

And just after Huo En and the other two announced they were giving up their fixed quotas, Magena, who had been the first to speak up and demand more, now said nothing.

As for the others, who had been at daggers drawn just a moment ago, they now showed no further reaction—

Except for Keluosi.

To say the gilded quotas of the Northland Alliance are precious—some might simply not care; to say they are not precious—ordinary Spellcasters would likely be unable to obtain such a quota even if they begged for one.

The Seven Towers giving up these three fixed quotas was nothing more than a gesture; having accepted the favor, one should not speak recklessly from here on out.

Although it was only a small matter, for Keluosi, it could be considered a moment that made him thoroughly recognize reality; understanding the determination of the Seven Towers, he naturally saw no need to save these few quotas for them.

Moreover, perhaps because he had gained some realization about what was to come, his expression had instead become quite calm, and there was even a trace of a strange smile at the corners of his mouth.

He swept his gaze over the dozen or so Great Arcanists present, finally stopping on Iolum, his tone so calm it almost made the air in this Huanxingdating stagnate:

"Master Iolum, I want these three quotas, is that alright?"

After speaking, he turned his head to look at the others, the smile at the corners of his mouth deepening, and asked: "Do you have any objections?"

After Keluosi finished asking, the Huanxingdating fell into a deep silence; Huo En and the other two Great Arcanists of the Seven Towers were now deeply furrowing their brows. Sanctioning Keluosi was something that had to be done, otherwise, if the Great Arcanists all followed suit, Netheril would not be far from disintegration.

Previously, Weide had been sanctioned by the Seven Towers precisely because he committed such a taboo, attempting to control the Xinan Zhuling, including the Rodney Territory, and even the Nanjing Sawier Ling, and he had not yet recovered to this day.

And now, Keluosi was acting even more excessively than Weide, not even bothering to hide it, wearing his annexation, expansion, and centralization on his face.

Even without this matter involving Xia Duo, the Seven Towers were already preparing to react in the near future.

However, Huo En knew very well that while the Seven Towers did indeed want to uphold tradition, they did not want to see it trigger turmoil.

The best outcome would be for Keluosi to submit to the sanctions despite his unwillingness; what Huo En least wanted to see was Keluosi strongly resisting the sanctions, or even escalating into a chaotic battle.

That would not be a good thing for anyone.

In Huo En's eyes, Keluosi was very dangerous at this moment, and he might leave in a rage at any second; after all, anyone who knew it was their turn to be sanctioned next would inevitably feel displeased.

Once that displeasure reached a certain point, there was undoubtedly only the path of war.

……

A Great Arcanist's combat power might be comparable to an organization, but in terms of rationality, it was far inferior to a decision-making system under organizational checks and balances.

"Raising an army in anger" and "causing war out of resentment" were almost inevitable outcomes for a Great Arcanist.

After all, in reality, no one is perfectly rational; sometimes, even knowing full well that the result of starting a war is one hundred percent disadvantageous to oneself, one still has to fight.

Almost subconsciously, Huo En glanced at Haruisi beside him; the two exchanged a look and both saw a sense of resolution in each other's eyes.

Undoubtedly, if Keluosi showed strong resistance to the sanctions, the Seven Towers would inevitably strike like thunder, doing their utmost to wipe Keluosi out.

But for now, neither Huo En nor Haruisi felt there was any need to say more; they would just wait for the result.

Sikumu, on the other hand, looked indignant, but since Huo En and Haruisi hadn't spoken, he knew it wasn't a good time for him to speak either, and he couldn't help but feel some dissatisfaction with Huo En and Haruisi.

With the three from the Seven Towers not speaking, Braun and the others had even less reason to speak; they had just been testing the determination and sincerity of the Seven Towers, and now that they knew, there was naturally no need to get further involved.

Especially now that Keluosi was acting strangely; if things went poorly, they might bring disaster upon themselves and attract hatred for the Seven Towers for no reason.

……

As for Xia Duo, he was currently a bit distracted; the dawn of the intellectual brain made him think about it almost every moment, and besides, the dispute between him and Keluosi could be considered resolved.

He had no interest in provoking the other party at such a time, especially since Keluosi was about to be sanctioned by the Seven Towers; for Xia Duo, offering a little compensation could be considered honoring the tradition of "fighting without breaking" among the lords of Netheril.

After a moment of silence, Keluosi spoke again: "Master Iolum, you see they have no objections, what do you say?"

"Very well, then these three quotas belong to the Verdant Tower."

Since no one else had any objections, Iolum was decisive, directly giving those three fixed quotas to Keluosi; furthermore, if any more Mages from the Verdant Tower applied on their own, he would also try his best to evaluate and retain them.

Keluosi had indeed violated the principle of territorial independence and non-interference in Netheril, but compared to a Necromancer, this taboo was not enough to kill him off entirely; as long as things were restored to their original state, it would suffice.

Was Weide, who had been sanctioned last time, not sitting in this Huanxingdating right now!

……

"The next topic comes from the Seven Cities Council, regarding the climate anomalies in the Nether Core Region from last year to the present. The Seven Cities Council has issued a mission to the Arcane Union to solicit relevant clues."

After Iolum finished speaking, Huo En added some more—

"Although the Seven Towers have not yet found any signs of human intervention, I am certain that there must be human intervention behind this climate anomaly; it is just that the other party's methods are too sophisticated, leaving not a single trace. I hope everyone will take this seriously, as it concerns us all."

Of course, what Huo En did not say was that he suspected some of the people who came today knew about this climate attack; yes, this climate anomaly had already been identified as an attack within the Seven Towers.

Although there was no evidence, such matters did not require evidence; having a suspicion was enough.

The Seven Towers had an orderly succession, especially the Nether Family, which had almost always led the construction and growth of Giles Tower; after the Princess's Ascension to Godhood, she left behind a wealth of precious data for Giles Tower.

Among them were records of the Northland climate over the past several hundred years.

It was very clear that from last winter—or more accurately, from the end of last autumn to the present—the climate had been abnormally anomalous; to say there was no human factor involved simply did not make sense.

Thinking of this, Huo En glanced unobtrusively at Huo Ke opposite him; among those present today, Huo Ke, who was particularly close to the Elf, was the most suspicious.

Even if he did not actually participate, it was very likely he knew about it.

It was just that while one could investigate such things in secret, asking directly would be too foolish.

……

After Huo En finished his addition, Xia Duo also seemed to have thought of something and continued: "Regarding the climate anomaly, I noticed it last year as well. I also believe it does not look like a natural change, but after inspection, I did not find any relevant traces of Spellcasting. I suspect the source of the Spell might not be in Netheril, or perhaps not even in the Main Plane."

Xia Duo's words stirred Huo En's heart, and he hurriedly asked: "Lord Xia Duo, what did you discover?"

"Nothing, but I can provide a line of thought."