Chapter 1796: Each Has Their Own Stance, None Are Good People

"Yes, Asikeer has the safest Underground Passage, and at the same time, the connected Danzo is also one of the safest regions in the Underdark, while on the Surface—"

"To the east, there is an Underground Passage leading directly to Netheril, and the Narrow Sea guarantees the exchange of bulk goods; to the west, there is the water trade route of the Riven River basin, connecting Yierlan and Illefarn."

"You see, Asikeer may not be as prosperous as an Elf city, but you must know that Asikeer has almost no local residents; this is a city that exists entirely for commerce and trade."

The Envoy shook his head, looking quite like a wise man, but Gelu was already becoming impatient. "But Uncle, what is the use of saying all this?"

"Sigh—"

The Envoy shook his head helplessly and glanced at Gelu with some disappointment. "What I want to say is, while the existence of Asikeer certainly has certain geographical factors, the main reason lies in—Danzo has always adhered to the principle of neutrality!

"Think about it, if Danzo leaned toward Cormanthor, would the Illefarn Elves still come to Asikeer to do business? Would the people of other small nations feel safe coming here?

"Take the grain from Evereska, or the wine and ore from Netheril, for example—would they hand these bulk commodities over to us?

"If a war were to break out, I mean if, the greatest possibility would be demons and Orcs. The former is related to the Drow; Cormanthor can barely take care of itself, so how much support could it give us?

"And the latter is actually the common enemy of all the Northland nations, including Illefarn, Yierlan, Netheril, and even Cormanthor itself. Because we only have Asikeer as a foothold on the Surface, and due to the unique nature of our commerce, we are actually under the protection of multiple nations.

"Do you think that just because a Prince went missing in the Courage Arena, Danzo would lean toward Cormanthor?

"Finally, let me remind you of one more thing: don't forget who created the demons of the Underdark! It was the Drow, yes, but how did the Drow come to be? Who do the Drow want to take revenge on the most?

"It is Aryvandaar, and where are the last remnants of Aryvandaar? Think about it yourself!"

The Envoy's final words were almost explicit. Gelu rubbed his head, lost in thought. Although he did not hear Danzo's true thoughts on Cormanthor from the Envoy's words, he did understand one thing—

Danzo would not accept Cormanthor's threats; even if the other party wanted to hold the Courage Arena accountable, they would not back down!

"But Uncle, what about me? Will the King protect me?" Gelu asked foolishly.

Upon hearing this, the Envoy rolled his eyes immediately. "What do you think? If the King didn't intend to protect you, he wouldn't have sent me here! It's not just you; everyone at the Courage Arena will be fine. It's just that Prince Saier was indeed attacked and went missing here, so just endure a little grievance for now!"

The Envoy was Gelu's distant uncle, but more importantly, he held another identity—the martial arts mentor of King Baside, and also the mentor of the King's most outstanding second son.

His arrival meant that King Baside was paying close attention. This time, the investigation team sent by Cormanthor was led by Ailikante, who was not only a high-level Mage himself but also had a rather extraordinary status as the younger brother of the wielder of the Divine Sword.

If the Envoy had not been present, even though Gelu was a Holy Hammer Warrior, he likely would not have escaped some form of magical interrogation. Now, being able to sit comfortably in the Xiu Xi Shi drinking and chatting, he had his uncle to thank the most.

……

The Cormanthor Elves had already left, and the Envoy continued to sit for a while before preparing to depart. However, just as the two of them stood up, the person in charge of the arena hurried over:

"My Lord, it's bad."

"What happened?" It was not Gelu who asked, but the King's Envoy who had come from the Underdark. After all, Gelu was only there to oversee the venue temporarily, while the true owner of the arena was the King.

"This—"

The person in charge glanced at Gelu, who was present, appearing somewhat hesitant, but the Envoy smiled slightly. "Speak. Gelu is not an outsider. If the King didn't trust him, he wouldn't have sent him here."

"Yes."

The person in charge actually felt a bit of regret in his heart. He lowered his head and quietly glanced at Gelu, who was still holding his wine glass. Seeing that the other party did not seem to care about his previous behavior, he couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief:

"My Lord, Mage Sade just discovered that he had been affected by a mental Spell, but it wasn't from those Cormanthor Elves just now; it happened before the Elves arrived. Later, I had him check on others and discovered another one. That person is the gatekeeper of the arena, but he may have been affected by different mental Spells simultaneously, so his thinking is a bit chaotic and he can't say anything. But it is certain that they must have seen the attacker."

"Understood, you go back to your work!"

The Envoy waved his hand, intending to dismiss the man, but the person in charge was a bit anxious. "My Lord, this is a clue about the attacker. If we can find the attacker, we can prove that this matter has nothing to do with the arena."

"Understood, you go back to your work!"

Unlike the first time, the Envoy's tone was clearly more severe this time. The person in charge did not dare to persist in arguing and instead cast a pleading look toward Gelu.

Gelu saw it, but he hesitated. Thinking that his uncle had already spoken, he felt that his uncle was a wiser man than him, so he did not speak up.

Seeing that Gelu was unwilling to speak for him, the person in charge gritted his teeth and retreated. He decided to find Mage Sade to investigate on his own; he could not let the Elves slander him.

……

After the person in charge left, the Envoy gestured for Gelu to sit back down. "Are you wondering why I didn't let him continue the investigation?"

"Why?"

"It's unnecessary. For Cormanthor, evidence is certainly important, but the lack of evidence does not prevent them from forming their own conclusions. The number of suspects capable of doing such a thing is very limited."

The Envoy raised his wine glass, put it down without drinking, and continued: "I suspect this matter is highly likely related to Illefarn, and it is very likely that evidence related to Yierlan will be found.

"But whether it is Yierlan or Illefarn, we have no need to offend them. As long as we don't participate, they will naturally offer gifts afterwards; this is the tacit understanding.

"If they don't provide compensation, then next time, if such a situation happens again, we will have an excuse to participate and demand more benefits from Cormanthor.

"As for now—it's best if Cormanthor can find evidence, but if they can't, it's none of our business. At most, we'll just suffer a bit of verbal abuse. Are the Children of Stone afraid of such things?

"We certainly don't wish to be hostile toward Cormanthor, but does Cormanthor really wish to be hostile toward us?

"Just keep your eyes open and watch carefully; the infighting of the Elves is much more exciting than us Dwarves!"

After finishing his words, the Envoy drank the wine in his glass in one gulp.

Watching his distant uncle, with whom he usually had little contact, drinking so freely, a thought suddenly popped into Gelu's mind—

"None of these people involved in politics are any good!"