Chapter 2127: The Death of the Elf Prince

Subsequently, Xia Duo brought the Calimshani Envoy Fadila onto the Floating City and changed the Floating City's flight direction, turning it back toward the south and heading in the direction of Kalim, as guided by Fadila.

On a terrace near Hengchun Square, Xia Duo and Fadila sat opposite each other, the two chatting with great rapport about the local customs and practices of Calimshan.

Regarding Calimshan, Xia Duo actually did not know much; even now, he could not understand Calimshani, knowing only that it was a very romantic, casual, and changeable language, one that was in no way inferior to Elvish in terms of linguistic complexity and richness of expression.

He and Fadila communicated in Elvish, and from their exchange, he could see Fadila's mastery of Elvish; aside from a slight accent, it was as if they were not a human at all.

It is hard to say that this was not the result of training in Calimshani.

As for other aspects of Calimshan, Xia Duo mostly obtained them from some Elven literature; there was almost no information about Calimshan in Netheril.

And even in Elven literature, most only provided a single sentence stating it was a "southern human kingdom," a few would mention that Calimshan was a kingdom in the desert, and very few would mention Calimshan's Bloodline Magic and some of its current situation.

It was only through his exchange with Fadila that Xia Duo finally established a preliminary impression of Calimshan—

It was a kingdom ruled by many Pashas, the leader of whom was called the "Syl Pasha," and what maintained the rule was not "power," as Xia Duo had initially assumed, but a class order similar to a caste system.

In this order, the Pashas occupied an absolute ruling position, below them were the "Viziers," who were the actual managers of this country, and only after them came Scholars, Warriors, Merchants, Commoners, and Slaves.

These titles were both class divisions and could be used to refer to one's status.

This long-established class order could actually be categorized into the realm of "human nature," possessing a certain degree of rationality.

Anyone who wanted to challenge this order, unless they could fight through every class, would find it difficult to change an order that had long been deeply rooted in people's hearts and was unanimously maintained by everyone, including those at the very bottom.

Fortunately, this order was not without its progressive aspects; basically, classes below Warrior could obtain class advancement by participating in war, which, for the slaves among them, was almost their only chance to change their fate.

But this opportunity was also something almost all slaves could obtain, which is why Xia Duo said they were progressive.

After all, in Netheril, slaves had no way to be liberated unless the lord agreed; this might look quite lenient, but in reality, it was all based on the lord's personal will.

It was fine if one encountered a benevolent lord, as one could basically redeem oneself with a little money (from family, friends, or passersby), but if one encountered a stubborn lord, they would want to squeeze out every last drop of blood.

Additionally, the conversation with Fadila also changed a misunderstanding Xia Duo had about Calimshan; he previously thought Calimshan only had Wind Element Bloodline, but in reality, this was incorrect.

It should be said that there were all kinds of elemental bloodlines, but in long-term bloodline research, the study of Wind Element Bloodline gradually became the mainstream, and it suppressed the research and development of other elemental bloodlines.

This point reached its peak after the Wind Bloodline General Magic System was finally formed, and with the development and growth of the Bloodline Magic system, it became increasingly difficult to change.

Therefore, when you see a person with fiery red hair in Calimshan, there is no doubt that the other party possesses a Fire Element Bloodline, but if you think they only know a little Fire Element Spell, then you would be greatly mistaken.

The other party not only knows Wind Element Spells, but is also more likely to have mastered more advanced general spells outside of elemental spells.

After all, in the countless years of the past, because of its "convenience," the Wind Element Bloodline had long ago "infected" all Calimshan people; one could not survive in Calimshan without a Wind Element Bloodline.

Even if one awakened a higher concentration of other bloodlines, one would eventually return to the development path of the Wind Element Bloodline.

Finally, there was universal spellcasting, a goal Xia Duo had not yet achieved in Daxia Territory, but which Calimshan had basically already completed!

This was admitted by Fadila personally; Xia Duo did not think the other party would lie about an issue that could be easily verified, and the other party also mentioned that, limited by the level of perfection of Bloodline Magic, only those with a certain "concentration" of Wind Element Bloodline had the opportunity to reach the top within this magic system.

In other words, Calimshan's universal spellcasting was not essentially different from the elite model of other countries.

Of course, this was the unanimous view of Fadila and indeed all of Calimshan, but in Xia Duo's view, universal spellcasting largely meant that all citizens could use Magic Items with just a little training.

Measuring their value with combat power was simply picking up sesame seeds while losing a watermelon; their true purpose was to open a brand-new era of magic industrialization.

In fact, at the very beginning, Xia Duo could not understand why a country where everyone could cast spells had not yet developed industrialization.

After communicating with Fadila, he discovered that the class solidification of this country was severe; those below the rank of Warrior could obtain promotion by participating in war, but the impact on class could only reach the level of Merchant at most.

When Merchants participated in war, they could at most obtain the expansion of their commercial territory, inevitably expanding from this territory to another, or from one scope of operation to another.

But once the war went poorly, a large group of merchants would often suffer, being demoted to commoners and needing to start over.

There was no stable channel for obtaining the Warrior status/class, and yet this status was related to the study of magic; in Calimshan, only those with the status of Warrior and above were qualified to learn magic.

In other words, most of the commoners in this country could not come into contact with real magic, having only a little bit of Bloodline Spell; in a country where everyone was a Bloodline Sorcerer, this counted for nothing and was not valued at all.

No, it should be said that it could still be valued; after all, Calimshan fought wars almost every year, and without the replenishment of lower-level soldiers, relying only on the upper levels to fight to the death, this country would have long since collapsed and disintegrated.

……

Besides some basic current situations in Calimshan, in the process of communicating with Fadila, as that unknown veil was lifted bit by bit, even if the other party did not say it, Xia Duo clearly felt the many predicaments this country was currently facing.

The most intense perception was the complex emotion Fadila had when mentioning war, which contained both undisguised pride and unavoidable bitterness.

Xia Duo roughly guessed the purpose of that Calimshani Grand Emperor inviting him; it was highly likely related to the Northland Alliance, perhaps wanting to find allies or cannon fodder for the southern situation, or perhaps having heard some rumors and wanting to seek cooperation.

"I hope it is cooperation!"

Because of the presence of Kaitemier, an Elven country that looked quite Buddhist-like, the Northland had never been involved in the wars in the south.

Although there were often conflicts and even wars within the Northland, compared to the frequency and intensity of the southern wars, the Northland could almost be said to be a peaceful paradise!

And for Calimshan, the situation was even more serious; it was not just external wars, as there seemed to be many problems internally as well, which could be seen just from the dozen or so territorial disputes Xia Duo saw in less than half a day after entering the country.

Perhaps this ancient country, which had been established long before the independence of Evereska, was about to face a great change it had not seen in thousands of years!