Chapter 2001: Exclusion and Intervention

Not to mention the blow to morale from the successive sacrifices of top-tier power; Xia Duo didn't even need to guess to directly assert that, at most, two more would likely be the limit of what Siluwende could withstand.

If too many High Mages are lost, even with trump cards and even if they wait for intervention from various countries, any future hope of revival would likely be a pipe dream.

However, to Xia Duo, this was actually a good thing. In fact, he already had an excuse to appear and intervene, but compared to Yierlan, the potential and ambition of Siluwende made him feel more worried.

If Siluwende must exist, leaving behind a crippled Siluwende was clearly more in line with his interests.

Furthermore, there were the Demon Descendants, from whom no news had emerged even now. The reason Xia Duo could still sit still, besides wanting to wait for Siluwende and Yierlan to continue consuming each other and force out their respective trump cards, was also the intention of waiting for the Demon Descendants to jump out.

"So, how much longer must we wait?"

Of course, Xia Duo wasn't bored enough to just wait. While monitoring the battlefield situation, he actually had more things to do, such as organizing the Knowledge Star Chart for Jieyi, designing test papers, answering questions, and so on.

These did not require too much energy; as long as the war situation changed, he could set off immediately.

Meanwhile, in Aifuruisi.

Inside the Northland Alliance Headquarters, a secret meeting excluding Yierlan and Siluwende was quietly underway. Most of the attendees were Elves, but there were also figures of Humans and Dwarves.

"I didn't expect Yierlan to make such a big scene before the war, yet they have been slow to take down Siluwende. I really doubt how they managed to win back then!"

The one who first stirred up the conversation was a Gold Elf from Yierfalan. After him, the Keman Envoy chimed in with quite a tacit understanding:

"The main force in that battle back then should have been Shaerwen, right? It was only later that Yierlan took advantage of the situation, and in the end, they actually rode on top of Shaerwen. I think the Shaerwen Envoy should have more feelings about this!"

That last sentence caused the gazes of the various Envoys in the conference room to focus on the Shaerwen Envoy. But although this was a secret meeting that excluded Yierlan, it was only that the Yierlan Envoy hadn't been invited; who knew if there were Yierlan eyes and ears inside?

Even if there weren't, the Shaerwen Envoy could guarantee that if they accidentally said anything complaining, they wouldn't even need to wait until the next day; it would likely reach Yierlan the very next moment.

In the current game of great powers, it was best for small countries to hide far away.

It's just that many times, you don't go looking for trouble, but trouble comes looking for you. The Shaerwen Envoy had such a feeling at this moment, even though they had clearly tried to be as inconspicuous as possible.

Yet the Yierfalan Envoy and the Keman Envoy, one after another, almost never left Shaerwen out of their sentences, as if they really wanted to seek justice for Shaerwen.

But no one who could sit in this room was a fool. The Shaerwen Envoy knew very well that while the war between Yierlan and Siluwende was indeed stuck in a stalemate, that was no reason for Shaerwen to jump out.

Siluwende could not possibly be a match for Yierlan. Once the other side freed up their hands, with Shaerwen's current strength, they would likely follow in Siluwende's footsteps.

Although they disliked Yierlan very much in their heart, the Shaerwen Envoy remained silent.

But this inevitably offended Yierfalan and Keman: "Shaerwen Envoy, are you dissatisfied with us? Why don't you say a word? Or is it that Shaerwen is dissatisfied with our two countries and must face us with silence?"

"I—"

The Shaerwen Envoy was full of grievance, yet still squeezed out a smile, indicating that they had no dissatisfaction, and that Shaerwen had no dissatisfaction with the two countries either.

Yierfalan was about to continue questioning, but was interrupted by the Aifuruisi Envoy: "The Honorable Envoy should not make things difficult for the Shaerwen Envoy. Yierlan's national power is strong; although they have encountered setbacks for a moment, it is not something we small countries can criticize."

"Oh? Does that mean Aifuruisi doesn't want to know the true cause of Elder Ankalita's death?"

Upon hearing this, anger flickered in the eyes of the Aifuruisi Envoy, yet they still spoke neither humbly nor arrogantly:

"The Council of Elders has already reached a conclusion. Elder Ankalita was assassinated by the Demon Descendants, which has nothing to do with either Yierlan or Siluwende. If we investigate, we will only look for the Demon Descendants."

Regarding the incident of Elder Ankalita's assassination, there were many different opinions about the mastermind behind it.

Some said it was Siluwende, with the goal being the Small Nations Alliance behind Aifuruisi, but this claim was groundless and did not conform to normal logic. Siluwende had already experienced defeat and its national power was in decline; how could they have the ability to take on another enemy?

A more credible theory was that Yierlan was the mastermind. The claim of the Demon Descendants' assassination first spread from Yierlan. By killing Ankalita under the name of the Demon Descendants, they not only struck at the Small Nations Alliance led by Aifuruisi but also found a reason to launch a war against Siluwende.

And in fact, Yierlan did indeed launch the war on the grounds that Siluwende had been infiltrated by the Demon Descendants, which made it hard not to make associations.

But what was strange was that the theory of the Demon Descendants' assassination was also acknowledged by Siluwende. According to common sense, Siluwende should have denied it, so as not to give Yierlan a reason to launch the war.

Yet they happened to acknowledge it, bearing the risk of national subjugation. There must have been irrefutable evidence, and perhaps this was the main reason why the Aifuruisi Council of Elders determined that Ankalita was assassinated by the Demon Descendants.

The secondary reason, of course, was that they could not afford to offend Yierlan. Even if it really was Yierlan who killed them, what could Aifuruisi do? They still had to swallow their pride. For them, this result was already the best kind.

But now, the main theme of this secret meeting was the war between Yierlan and Siluwende. The Yierfalan Envoy clearly did not want to let the Aifuruisi Envoy off, and continued to provoke:

"Elder Ankalita was assassinated within the borders of Siluwende. This matter is not only a loss for Aifuruisi but also a provocation to the Northland Alliance."

"Originally, the Northland Alliance had prepared to send an investigation team to Siluwende to investigate the specific ins and outs of the incident. I didn't expect the war to come so quickly, and the scene of the assassination was destroyed immediately. It's hard not to make associations!"

This was indeed a suspicious point, but as the saying goes, even if it really was Yierlan who did it, Aifuruisi had no power to pursue it. At most, they could protest to the Northland Alliance, but how much effect could that have!

The Aifuruisi Envoy knew that the most urgent matter for Aifuruisi right now was not to hunt down the murderer, but to inherit the late Elder's will and stabilize the Small Nations Alliance.

Only in this way would Aifuruisi have a say in the future Northland Alliance; otherwise, they would be like Shaerwen today, having to smile along with whatever others said and face them with silence.

"Alright, enough with the digressions. Yierfalan summoned us here, surely not to avenge Elder Ankalita, right? Let's talk about business!"

The speaker was the only Human present, an Envoy from the Seven Towers. Although their words were somewhat disrespectful to the late Elder of Aifuruisi, they unexpectedly won a trace of goodwill from the Aifuruisi Envoy.

And after the Seven Towers Envoy spoke, the Yierfalan Envoy did not continue to pester. They still had to give face to Netheril; after all, the two countries were still allies.

And if they could persuade Netheril to participate, it would surely make Yierlan suffer a great loss!