Chapter 2003

The decisiveness and resolution of Yierlan exceeded the expectations of most attendees, and the one most pleased by this was naturally the Keman Envoy; in fact, he had come with the task of doing everything possible to facilitate the intervention of various nations in Yierlan.

The reason, naturally, was that Keman had already investigated and discovered that the attack on Prince Saier had been instigated by Yierlan, and Keman had lost a great deal of face over this matter.

Although they had ultimately used this opportunity to achieve a partial reconciliation with Netheril, which in a sense could be considered a decent outcome, at least for the current Keman, it was so.

But since Yierlan had so painstakingly plotted against Prince Saier and intended to stir up old grudges and new hatreds between Keman and Netheril, Keman could not remain indifferent and had to give the other party some retribution.

This was not because Keman intended to make things difficult for an ally that had been, and perhaps could be again in the future, but because Yierlan had brought it upon themselves; the moment they made the decision to plot against Prince Saier, today's result was destined.

"I represent Yilisier Mianwang in expressing support. Now that the Northland Alliance has been established, the chaotic side of the Northland should be relegated to history. The future Northland should be orderly and cooperative. This move by Yierlan undoubtedly challenges the legal principles of the Northland Alliance's existence, and as a member of the Northland Alliance, we naturally must put a stop to it."

The Keman Envoy's words were also very polished; although he did not explicitly state how much effort they would contribute, at least the attitude was there. After him, the Seven Towers Envoy also expressed support.

The Seven Towers was currently busy preparing for the Ascension Ritual, but why not go along with such a decision that followed the crowd and also benefited Netheril?

If effort was required, then there certainly was none; Yierlan alone providing the effort was completely sufficient, and Netheril would at most provide some war supplies.

Before departing for Aifuruisi, the Seven Towers Envoy had already clarified the bottom line for this trip.

After the Seven Towers Envoy stated his position, among the major nations of the Northland Alliance, besides the party involved, Yierlan, only Danzo had not expressed a stance.

The various envoys in the meeting hall focused their gazes on the Danzo Envoy. Under these circumstances, the Danzo Envoy, who had just been squinting his eyes and pretending to sleep, had no choice but to "wake up."

"I say, everyone, is it necessary to make things this tense? Why not call the Yierlan Envoy in and let everyone discuss it properly? It is somewhat inappropriate for us to unilaterally decide to intervene behind their backs!"

Regarding Yierlan's attack on Siluwende, Danzo held a special position distinct from the various nations of the Surface; on one hand, they were indeed annoyed by Yierlan's reckless behavior.

Even if the talk of Demon Descendants was true, at the very least it should be confirmed by the Northland Alliance before deciding how to handle Siluwende; how could they unilaterally launch a war like this?

This set a very bad precedent!

But on the other hand, the vast majority of Danzo's territory was in the Underdark, with only one city on the Surface, Ascol, which conducted trade with the various Surface nations; of course, a portion of the area nearby also counted.

For the Dwarf, war on the Surface actually didn't matter in terms of who won or lost, or who was strong or weak; the special environment of the Underdark ensured that the Dwarf's enemies were not on the Surface.

Under these circumstances, Danzo naturally did not wish to be enemies with any party, and would avoid even conflicts as much as possible.

In the past, Danzo, Yierlan, and Netheril had signed an aid agreement lasting seven hundred years. Initially, the agreement was extremely favorable to Netheril, but as Netheril developed and grew, the once-friendly agreement gradually became a shackle.

Netheril had to negotiate to revise the agreement with Danzo and Yierlan almost every few years. Danzo actually didn't mind revising the agreement much; that human nation was growing at an almost visible speed, and Danzo naturally did not want to be enemies with them.

Only Yierlan held onto the old agreement tightly and refused to make the slightest concession. Under these circumstances, Danzo did not want to offend Yierlan either, so they only privately opened some small loopholes for Netheril.

In a sense, Yierlan used themselves to strengthen the friendship between Danzo and Netheril.

Even toward Keman, which had little trade with Danzo, Danzo always maintained a friendly attitude, not caring how much benefit the other party could bring, but fearing that the other party would ruin things at a critical moment.

Of course, the actual situation was—the Underdark had Keman's mortal enemy, the Drow, and therefore Keman's attitude toward Danzo was far friendlier than toward the various Surface nations.

In the previous Drow War, Keman's level of aid to Danzo could be called the greatest among all nations.

It was also because there were not many conflicts of interest, and because Danzo was on good terms with various nations, that in reality, the various nations were also relatively friendly toward Danzo; after all, the Drow in the Underdark had not been completely exterminated yet!

What the Drow hated most might be Keman, which claimed to be the promised land of the main god, but their attitude toward the other Elf nations was not necessarily any better.

As an entity that "bordered" the Drow directly, Danzo naturally received special attention from the various Surface Elf nations.

It was precisely because they knew their nation's status was special that the Danzo Envoy dared to claim at a secret meeting excluding Yierlan that they should call the Yierlan Envoy in.

If it were any other envoy, even the Keman Envoy, they probably would not have broken the tacit understanding like this.

The tacit understanding of the Surface nations was not the tacit understanding of Danzo. The Danzo Envoy was very clear about this point, and after proposing to call the Yierlan Envoy in to discuss together, he once again feigned sleep.

This could also be considered as stating Danzo's attitude—coming here was indeed with the intention of maintaining the order of the Northland Alliance, but they would not deliberately exclude Yierlan.

Actually, what Danzo truly hoped for was that Yierlan, upon seeing so many voices of opposition, would voluntarily stop the war, and at most, just have the existing occupied areas be attributed to Yierlan.

This would at least maintain a general harmony, and the only one hurt might be Siluwende.

But Danzo was not completely unconcerned with Surface affairs; at the very least, they attached great importance to the matter of the Demon Descendants. One must know that the demons left behind in the Underdark by the previous Drow War had not been cleaned up yet!

If any more Demon Descendants popped up and linked those demons together, or even contacted the Drow, it might turn into another great war.

This was something Danzo could not accept.

According to existing intelligence, Danzo had already confirmed that traces of Demon Descendants had indeed appeared on the Main Plane, and it was not as simple as just a war excuse found by Yierlan!

From this perspective, letting Siluwende be the only one hurt could be considered reasonable.

It wouldn't do for the Demon Descendants to appear in Yierlan, and then for Yierlan to use this as an excuse to attack Siluwende!

As for the Ancient Fortress or whatever, Danzo cared even less. The Dwarf's Magic system differed greatly from the Elf's, and even if there were something to learn from it, the significance was not great.

Furthermore, no matter which side ultimately gained the profit, Danzo could share in the other party's harvest by virtue of their own special status.

In the legends of the various Northland nations, the Dwarf might always have an impression of being rigid and stubborn, but as a race and as a nation, if they were truly that rigid and that stubborn, they probably wouldn't have survived until now.

After the Danzo Envoy finished speaking, the Yierlan Envoy was stunned for a full few seconds before laughing out loud, "The Danzo Envoy is right. Great nations must act with proper methods; we are not as crude as Yierlan.

"Since a resolution is to be initiated in the Northland Alliance, then Yierlan must certainly be notified. Of course, if they choose not to come, that actually does not affect the final passage of the resolution."

After finishing, he swept his gaze around the meeting hall and continued: "Since this secret meeting was convened by me, then I shall also be the one to notify Yierlan!"

Although it was called a secret meeting, the location was actually chosen at the Northland Alliance Headquarters; Yierlan might not have been unaware, or rather, they should have realized it long ago, so what would it matter to notify them!