Chapter 2130: Requests and Omens of War

Thinking this, Xia Duo had already ordered his servant to invite Talafu, and he himself descended from the terrace to the first-floor atrium to welcome him in person; before long, he saw Talafu, whom he had not seen for over a year.

This single glance filled Xia Duo with emotion, reminding him of the high-spirited, irrepressible demeanor the other had displayed back in Evereska when he had come to the Northland as an envoy of the great southern power to observe the ceremony.

Looking at him now, there was a hint of old age about him, and when their eyes met, Xia Duo saw a trace of cowardice and servility in the other's gaze.

Perhaps the recent turn of events had truly dealt him a devastating blow.

Even though they had already met, Talafu only moved his lips without uttering a single syllable; seeing this, Xia Duo sighed inwardly once more, then stepped forward to take the other by the arm and lead him toward the third-floor terrace, not forgetting to tease him along the way:

"Talafu, why have you come so late? Didn't we agree that you would wait for me at the border? I punish you to be my personal tour guide for the next few days and give me a proper introduction to this seaside city!"

Although Xia Duo spoke in a tone of complaint and teasing, he had not the slightest intention of punishing the other; he only said this to ease the atmosphere, seeing how pitiful the other appeared.

In reality, given the limited friendship between them, he had no need to do this at all.

As the other party involved, Talafu naturally felt Xia Duo's goodwill, yet the pride that had not been entirely crushed within him kept him from saying anything too sentimental.

He merely signaled his gratitude with his eyes, and then the two arrived at the terrace; perhaps it was seeing the vast sea outside, or perhaps it was because of Xia Duo's attitude, but the anxious mood that had been plaguing Talafu lately finally calmed down quite a bit.

"Lord Xia Duo, I believe you must already know what has happened in my family's territory. Although it is presumptuous to say so, I truly have no other choice. If it is possible, please help the Mairide Family, Lord Xia Duo!"

It was indeed presumptuous! Although Xia Duo had long anticipated Talafu's purpose, he still felt somewhat annoyed when the other actually made such a request.

"Prince Talafu, I have only just arrived in Calimshan, and I have only heard rumors regarding the matter of the Elf prince; I know nothing of the inside story. A request like this is truly difficult for me."

Xia Duo calling the other "Prince" was already a very clear reminder, and he added another sentence, "Besides, as an outsider, what right do I have to change the decision of a great power like Calimshan!"

"Lord Xia Duo, the assassination of the Elf prince is absolutely a conspiracy, not just targeting the Mairide Family, but targeting Calimshan itself!"

Mentioning this, Talafu's emotions immediately became agitated, and he desperately explained to Xia Duo—

"Calimshan is currently at war with Sannata and Zhamu Dasi simultaneously. In such a situation, what reason would we have to assassinate the prince of Kaitemier who came to Calimshan as an envoy!

"I believe that not only I, but many other insightful people in the country can see this. It is only because Kaitemier's attitude is so hardline that the great Syl Pasha had to order the Mairide Family to temporarily withdraw.

"Lord Xia Duo helping the Mairide Family is, in fact, equivalent to helping Calimshan. As long as a war with Kaitemier can be avoided, Lord Xia Duo will not only win the respect and friendship of the Mairide Family, but will also gain the friendship of Calimshan!"

Talafu's reasoning was sound, but as he himself said, if there existed a massive conspiracy behind all this that would drag Calimshan into a state of being an enemy to the whole world, then the mastermind of this conspiracy would certainly not allow it to be easily resolved.

If Xia Duo did not agree, the most he would lose was an opportunity to gain the friendship of Calimshan, and he still had room to choose; but if he agreed, he would inevitably be dragged into this conspiracy, and then he would no longer be the master of his own fate!

In the most extreme case, that assassinated Elf prince might have been sent by Kaitemier to die, specifically to take the opportunity to destroy Calimshan.

Of course, this possibility was very small. Although Xia Duo had never been to Kaitemier, whether in the Main Plane or the Projection Plane, he had some understanding of that ancient nation that had survived the Crown War.

Much like the various Northland nations that had suffered from the scourge of Aryvandaar, Kaitemier was also extremely averse to war.

As far as he knew, for a very long time in the past, Kaitemier and Sannata (the Dwarf kingdom) were allies, jointly resisting Calimshan.

Even after two princes died in a disaster caused by the Dwarves, the two countries did not turn against each other; they merely dissolved their alliance.

It was also around that time that Kaitemier's foreign policy became more conservative, while Sannata gradually fell into a disadvantageous position in its confrontation with Calimshan.

Of course, the war between Calimshan and Sannata was not actually for territory; to be honest, even if Sannata had territory on the Surface, most of it was mountainous and not suitable for human habitation.

The real reason was very similar to today's: the prince of Calimshan's Syl Pasha was killed by Dwarves. This was different from the prince of a regular Pasha like Talafu; the prince of the Syl Pasha almost represented the face of the nation of Calimshan.

Being killed by Dwarves, it was naturally impossible to let it go easily, and thus it triggered a state of war between the two countries that had lasted for over two thousand years, with intermittent fighting.

This history was told to him by Fadila on the way to Calimshan, and Xia Duo did not think Fadila had any reason to lie, or rather, even if it were a lie, after two thousand years, the lie should have become the truth.

So in a sense, Talafu's judgment was based on evidence, and quite sufficient evidence at that, because for the past few thousand years, almost all wars on this southern land could be traced back to the killing of a prince of some country.

So what about now?

Does the killing of the Kaitemier prince signify an unavoidable war?

In Xia Duo's hometown, sages long ago said, "A ruler should not mobilize an army out of anger, and a general should not engage in battle out of resentment," but in reality, even a hero like Liu Bei could not avoid mobilizing an army out of anger.

Even with such a warning from history, there are plenty of people in later generations who resort to violence over a minor verbal dispute; once emotions dominate thought, not even eight oxen can pull them back.

Even if in the past, the killing of a Kaitemier prince did not trigger a war between the Elves and the Dwarves, one cannot always bully the Elves for being easy-going; perhaps this time it has reached the psychological threshold for Kaitemier to launch a war!

To be honest, if it weren't for the knowledge that Talafu's plea was very likely the intention of the Calimshan Grand Archon or the Grand Emperor, Xia Duo would likely have refused to see him after weighing the pros and cons.

Although the two had some friendship, it was not enough to make him take such a huge risk for the other.

Only the Calimshan Grand Emperor or the Grand Archon had the prestige to make Xia Duo temporarily stop considering the pros and cons too much, or rather, once Calimshan was included in the calculation, the pros and cons became very difficult to distinguish.