Chapter 2140: Scandal of a Neighboring Country

For a moment, Xia Duo even regretted getting involved in such a troublesome matter. He even suspected whether this assassination of the Elf prince was a facade jointly created by the two countries, all for the sake of drawing him into the game so they could conquer the Northland.

This was not his groundless speculation; rather, the Northland Alliance had the potential to attract the attention and even vigilance of the South, especially after the Siluwende war, when the Alliance's prestige was further strengthened and the Alliance's order was further stabilized.

Coupled with the centralization reforms that various countries had begun one after another, an emerging power was quietly rising in the Northland. If Xia Duo were a power-holder in the South, he would also do something.

In international relations, it is perfectly normal for the strong to contain the weak. Even within the Northland Alliance, the major powers were consciously containing the development of the smaller countries; of course, the smaller countries were also uniting to cope with such challenges.

Under these circumstances, the Northland Alliance was both a tool for the games of the major powers and the reliance upon which the smaller countries depended for survival. Everyone needed this alliance, so how could this alliance not develop rapidly!

If the current situation was truly as Xia Duo suspected—a conspiracy concocted by the two, or even four, Southern countries to contain the Northland—then it would be too troublesome.

It was not that Xia Duo would be fine if he ran away now. As the saying goes, "The monk may run, but the temple cannot." Unless he never intended to mix in the Main Plane again, he would very likely face the joint hostility of the Southern Four Kingdoms and the Northland Alliance.

"Difficult! It is truly too difficult!" Xia Duo sighed in his heart.

However, the more this was the case, the more he had to find the key to breaking the deadlock, which was this assassination of the Elf prince. As long as he could find out the origin of the assassin, he could at least retain the Northland Alliance as a strong backing.

Of course, this was on the condition that the assassin was not created by one of the countries within the Northland Alliance.

……

On the south side of Sweet Water Plaza, the Calimshan camp.

Xia Duo closed the investigation report and returned it to Scholar Bolin, then turned to Aisite and said: "Next, I would like to speak with Scholar Bolin alone. Please, Mage Aisite, wait outside the camp."

Logically speaking, an Elf should not have followed him to the Calimshan camp, but Aisite had entered anyway. The questions Xia Duo was about to ask might involve Calimshan's secrets.

Perhaps General Hashimu, who was currently in charge of the camp, did not care, but as an outsider, he still needed to avoid these sensitive points as much as possible. Aisite could now be considered as having been brought into the camp by him, and now that he was asking Aisite to leave, the Calimshan side could not trouble him over this issue.

Regarding this, Aisite hesitated for a moment, his eyes seeming to hold many things to say, but in the end, it all turned into nothingness, and he turned and left the camp without a word.

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"Lord Xia Duo, I wonder what you would like to talk about?" Bolin asked.

"I would like to understand what directions of suspicion the Calimshan side has regarding the identity and origin of the assassin who assassinated Prince Kaitemier?"

Originally, Xia Duo wanted to ask about the war situation between Calimshan and its surroundings, but considering that the Calimshan side might conceal or even deliberately mislead him, he did not ask. He prepared to learn through other channels, and the same went for the Kaitemier side.

However, if he were to ask about the origin of the assassin, there would be no problem with that.

Bolin indeed did not hesitate, not even seeking the opinion of General Hashimu who was still present, and answered Xia Duo directly:

"We mainly have two directions of suspicion. One is that Kaitemier staged it themselves, intending to provoke a war to gain a greater say in the South;

"The other is Zhamu Dasi, that evil Psionic kingdom. Currently, Calimshan is at war with Zhamu Dasi in the Steam Lake region to the east, and is gradually gaining the upper hand. If they could drag Kaitemier into the water, if I were a decision-maker on the Zhamu Dasi side, I would definitely do it without hesitation."

What a "do it without hesitation"!

Xia Duo was both impressed by Bolin's candor and shocked by the attitude of the Calimshan upper echelons toward war. Of course, to say that there was not a single fabricated element in Bolin's words would not be realistic.

At the very least, he did not believe that Calimshan was already gaining the upper hand in the war with Zhamu Dasi. If this assassination was truly planned by Zhamu Dasi, there might even be an idea to completely eliminate Calimshan once and for all!

"Hasn't Kaitemier always been quite quiet? Even in the Northland, I have heard of it. Why do you think they would suddenly stir up trouble and regain their say in the South?" Xia Duo asked again.

This should be an indirect way to obtain intelligence from the Kaitemier side. Of course, this was not the other channel he had thought of at first; the other channel was actually to obtain it through the Northland Alliance.

Especially in Keman, where the capital had a Permanent Teleportation Portal to Kaitemier. If one said they didn't understand Kaitemier, even a ghost wouldn't believe it!

And at this moment, regarding Xia Duo's questioning, Bolin revealed another bombshell: "Prince Xisi was actually not liked by the contemporary Crown King of Kaitemier. Crown King Haigena is already old, yet he lingers on the throne and refuses to abdicate to the virtuous. Lord Xia Duo, guess which prince in Kaitemier has the highest call for succession?"

This could no longer be considered a hint; it was a completely naked suggestion. Xia Duo naturally played along: "Could it be that Prince Xisi who has already died?"

"Yes, it is him!"

A strange gleam flickered in Bolin's eyes, as if he were very interested in discussing the scandals of a neighboring country with an outsider. "Prince Xisi was considered in Kaitemier to be perhaps the most brilliant restoration monarch in three thousand years. But the more brilliant Prince Xisi appeared, the more embarrassed it made that Crown King Haigena who was still on the throne!

"It is said that just before Prince Xisi visited Calimshan, he had a quarrel with Crown King Haigena. Although the Crown King eventually agreed to the prince's diplomatic mission plan, he didn't say he wouldn't give the prince an 'accident'!"

"I see!"

Although the news provided by Bolin had not yet been verified, Xia Duo did not think there was any need for the other party to lie about such easily verifiable news.

If it were truly as Bolin said, the Crown King of Kaitemier had a very high suspicion. But did the other party really have the Courage to bear the reputation of killing their own child?

Elf society has always valued tradition, and killing among relatives is considered the most extreme violation of traditional bottom lines. As long as the Crown King of Kaitemier dared to do it, Xia Duo could guarantee that once the truth was exposed, the other party would inevitably have to step down.

And such a vicious incident of a prince being killed would definitely be investigated to the end, just like the third investigation Xia Duo was currently conducting.

As long as it was found that the Crown King of Kaitemier was the mastermind, even if Kaitemier had completed its centralization reform, the meaning of centralization is the concentration of power, not the concentration of power in a single ruler. That is not called centralization; that is called dictatorship.

In Kaitemier, the Crown King's power is indeed great, but it is not without checks and balances. Once the bottom line is crossed too far, stepping down is the least of it; there might even be some staunch Maintainers of tradition who would carry out physical sanctions against the fallen Crown King.

Similar to the "uprising of the countrymen" that once appeared in the ancient times of Xia Duo's hometown.