Chapter 1767: Seeing One's Nature Clearly, the Judgment Finally Arrives

Seeing Keluosi stand up, Huo En immediately stared at him with vigilance. Although he did not believe the other party would dare to take action on such an occasion, it at least showed that he was not reconciled to the Judgment of the Seven Towers and was still thinking of struggling one last time.

Keluosi only said impassionedly: "Nowadays, for the countries of the Northland, reforming to establish more efficient organizational methods has become an irresistible trend. If you fall one step behind now, you may need to make up for it with countless steps in the future.

"Every one of you sitting here has selfish motives; you only know how to guard your own little Territory, yet you do not know that only true unification can allow Netheril to win the competition of the future.

"Lord Huo En, I know you are very dissatisfied with me because I challenged the Old Covenant constructed by the Seven Towers, but what I want to say is, what I am doing today might not necessarily be what the Seven Towers will do in the future!

"And you all, the Seven Towers are powerful now, so you echo the demand to sanction me, but when the Seven Towers want to annex you in the future, will you still dare to unanimously raise objections?

"Could it be that this is something only the Seven Towers can do, while I cannot, and none of you sitting here can?"

Keluosi seemed very unwilling to have the cause he believed in forcibly interrupted, but now he was powerless to do anything about it. Thus, he paced back and forth in the Huanxingdating, as if venting this feeling of incomparable grievance and frustration.

His words also left deep ripples in the hearts of those present. Indeed, the Seven Towers were already so powerful; today they initiated sanctions on the grounds of upholding tradition, but who is to say they won't initiate sanctions in the name of reform another day?

Only those with strength have the right to speak. If the current Verdant Tower Alliance were powerful, would the Seven Towers still dare to treat Keluosi with such an attitude of a near-public Judgment?

Regarding this, Huo En immediately retorted:

"The so-called Northland situation is all an excuse. The most difficult times in the past have already passed; could the future possibly be any worse?

"The Seville Covenant is the foundation of Netheril's existence and also the guarantee of your interests. I can tell you all very clearly here: if the Seven Towers take the lead in violating the covenant in the future, then you must unite to overthrow the Seven Towers.

"But before that, any behavior that violates the covenant will be regarded as a provocation to all the lords of Netheril. Keluosi, you don't need to quibble anymore; I will just ask you one thing—

"If the Seven Towers did the same thing as you now, would you be willing to submit to such a new order?"

Keluosi did not answer this question, but the disdainful expression on his face already explained his thoughts well enough. The new order he led and the new order established by others were completely different concepts.

Xia Duo also asked himself the same question in his heart: if the Seven Towers did exactly what he had planned, would he be willing to submit to such a new order?

For this question, it was not difficult for Xia Duo to answer. He had long since reached the stage of seeing his own nature clearly, able to recognize his own heart—whether he truly wanted to see that ideal new world, or whether he enjoyed the thrill of holding the fate of countless people in his own hands.

Without a doubt, what he truly wanted was the former.

If the Seven Towers truly had the sufficient awareness to do the things he wanted to do but might not necessarily be able to do, then what harm would there be in him being willing to be driven by them!

But reality has no assumptions. At least for now, the Seven Towers were still quite far from meeting Xia Duo's requirement for him to "willingly serve as a subordinate"!

However, Huo En saying just now that if the Seven Towers violated the covenant, everyone should unite to oppose them, was somewhat beyond Xia Duo's expectations.

According to his judgment of the Seven Towers, if the situation changed in the future, the Seven Towers were truly capable of taking the initiative to annex others.

It was unclear whether Huo En said this now to extinguish Keluosi's last bit of wishful thinking, or if the Seven Towers internally would truly hold fast to the Old Covenant from several hundred years ago.

Although it was not to say that the Old Covenant could only remain unchanged and could not be altered, key clauses involving the independence of Territories were likely not so easy to change.

The most likely scenario for change would be if the situation changed in the future and the vast majority of Netheril's lords unanimously requested the Seven Cities Council to make changes.

If such a situation could truly arise, then the Seven Towers would likely be following the will of the people.

Xia Duo did not believe this situation could occur in reality, especially since the appearance of Floating Cities in the future would further strengthen the independence between different Territories.

The biggest variable was instead the Nan Jing, which was preparing to truly Popularize Magic Education. When its strength and prestige reached a certain height and the Daxia Order radiated throughout the entire Netheril, wouldn't that be following the will of the people and a matter of course?

……

Perhaps because his selfish motives were exposed in public by Huo En, Keluosi ultimately did not return to his seat. Leaving behind only the words "You will regret this," he prepared to leave.

But before leaving, as if he had thought of something, he turned around, looked at Xia Duo, and said meaningfully: "Among everyone present, you, Lord Xia Duo, are the one I think most highly of. I hope there will be an opportunity for cooperation in the future."

After speaking, he no longer paid attention to the others and teleported away.

After he left, it was Kaboer who stood up and spoke for Keluosi: "My brother is willing to accept your sanctions because he does not want internal turmoil in Netheril that would give the Elf an opportunity to exploit, but time will prove my brother's correctness. I ask that you all do not make a decision that will make your future selves regret."

Kaboer's words seemed somewhat superfluous; after all, regardless of whether he said them or what he said, it would not change the established outcome. However, the people in the gallery might not necessarily know so many inside stories.

His words could be considered a forced attempt to whitewash Keluosi a little bit, as well as laying a bit of groundwork for a future comeback.

Regarding this, the attitudes of the Great Arcanists present were not the same. Huo En and Haruisi were clearly somewhat dissatisfied; the others were either lost in thought and silent, or were subtly arguing a few points in defense of Keluosi.

In the end, the sanctions against the Verdant Tower did not change in the slightest. Nominally, it was Huo En who proposed the sanction plan in the form of a suggestion.

But in reality, this was almost a unilateral verdict from the Seven Towers. Regarding this, even the few who had subtly argued or pleaded for Keluosi did not express opposition.

Thus, the sanction case that could barely be called "triggered by a Communication Magic Tool" finally came to an end. Iolum, representing the Arcane Union, announced the handling results for the previous twelve accusations—

First, the Verdant Tower needed to withdraw all invaders from the relevant Territories and Mage Towers within the specified time; second, promise that similar situations would not occur in the future; and third, provide the relevant parties with the due compensation.

This did not involve the handling of the Verdant Tower Alliance. After all, the Verdant Tower Alliance did not belong to a formal organization—at least in the concepts of the Seven Cities Council and the Arcane Union, it was initially just a defensive alliance formed by the southern Territories to deal with the Orc Tide.

And based on the Seville Covenant, the Seven Cities Council could not interfere with alliances between Territories.

But once the Seven Towers' sanctions were executed, this Verdant Tower Alliance would effectively exist in name only.