Chapter 2162: ＊Non-Proliferation Treaty

This is somewhat different from the Magic Restriction Treaty proposed by Cormanthor previously; for the Elves, whose magic system was already relatively mature and who were resting on their laurels, the Magic Restriction Treaty was merely a matter of enduring a period of pain.

But for Netheril, which was developing rapidly, the further they went and the more they needed to develop, the greater the price they would have to pay; it could be said that at the time, Netheril was the most steadfast opponent of the Magic Restriction Treaty.

It was only because one cannot twist an arm against a thigh that they had to hold their noses and agree.

And now, Xia Duo was using his slight advantage in war spells to demand restrictions on war spells, and he believed it was almost impossible for the Elves to object.

The Magic Restriction Treaty only imposed limits on resources, but war spells were a tangible threat of force; in a situation where one had no certainty of resistance, being able to make capable people voluntarily self-restrict was truly for the best.

The only thing Xia Duo was relatively worried about was that the Elves might disregard everything to wage war against him and nip him in the bud, which would be quite troublesome; while the Annihilation Light was powerful, it was not powerful to the point of being invincible.

Had he not just encountered a city barrier in Zhamu Dasi? Although it could only withstand low-energy Annihilation Light, no one knew if the Elves might have more powerful trump cards.

Not to mention that the Elves still had a living main deity; who knew if that one might suddenly descend to the Main Plane and slap him to death.

In short, Xia Duo had never thought of having a full-scale war with the Elves; even if competition existed, it did not hinder the possibility of cooperation.

Therefore, after receiving the visit application from the Elves, he endured the intense discomfort at the consciousness level and did not rest, but instead had Niya approve the other party's application immediately and issued a formal invitation on his behalf.

This was to avoid the other party's misjudgment as much as possible.

……

Floating City, Hengchun Square.

Niya supported Xia Duo as they arrived at the reception venue temporarily set up there; later, while Xia Duo met with the Elf Envoys, she would return to the Tower of Time to meet with the Seven Towers Envoy Bulundesi on Xia Duo's behalf.

Now that she was already a Senior Arcanist, she naturally would not feel constrained when facing an Archmage, but she could not help but feel uneasy about Xia Duo's side.

"Why not rest for a few days before seeing them? I'm really worried about you like this!"

"Rest assured, Saville will be coming in a moment, don't worry about me. As for you, you should carefully consider how to respond to Bulundesi later."

"You—"

Niya's footsteps paused, and she stared straight into Xia Duo's eyes, "You know the worry I'm talking about isn't this; no matter how bold the Elves are, they wouldn't use a formal envoy as an assassin. The only thing I'm worried about is you!"

【To be honest, I've been using Yeguo Reading to catch up on books recently. There are many sources and many reading voices; both Android and Apple are supported.】

"Uh—alright." Xia Duo avoided Niya's intense gaze and made a promise, "After I finish meeting the Elf Envoys, I will go to rest immediately!"

"……"

Niya did not speak and just kept staring at Xia Duo, but Xia Duo also refused to give an inch; the two of them stared at each other until the Elf Envoys and Bulundesi arrived at the Tower of Time, and in the end, it was Niya who conceded first.

"Keep it brief. I'll come over as soon as I'm done with Bulundesi; don't make me do anything impolite."

After Niya finished speaking, she returned to the Tower of Time. Soon, Xia Duo, accompanied by Saville, met the four Elf Envoys and one Dwarf Envoy.

Although he had always been uninterested in Surface affairs, Dan Zuo still showed sufficient attention to dangerous forces that could threaten himself.

The envoy who came this time was Prince Baside, whom Xia Duo had met before but had little interaction with, and the Elf Envoys were also "acquaintances" of Xia Duo—

Suweilisi of Cormanthor, Xierdalanna of Yierlan, Tailun of Yierfalang, and Laruian of Aifuruisi.

"I can probably guess the intention of your visit. As you think, the commotion in the south just now was indeed caused by me. As for the reason, I think you all should have already received some news from Mage Suweilisi."

Xia Duo was currently a "patient," and with Niya's "threat" hanging over him, he naturally did not want to beat around the bush and tried his best to be straightforward and communicate candidly:

"Zhamu Dasi attacked me without any reason. I survived by luck, but I also received great soul damage because of it. To tell you the truth, I am only holding on now by borrowing a treasure from my teacher to meet with you all."

As he spoke, Xia Duo raised the Focusing Gem in his hand and continued: "According to the principle of reciprocity, Zhamu Dasi must pay the price for this, which is why there was the retaliatory action just now."

"But retaliation against commoners is too cruel!" Tailun said with some intolerance.

Before coming, he had already obtained some relevant news; according to conservative estimates, Xia Duo's retaliatory action just now had caused at least two hundred thousand Zhamu Dasi people to die.

This was still because the core of the war spell's eruption was constrained to the center of the city; only Tuokesente City and some nearby satellite towns were completely wiped out, while a large number of villages and farms further away survived.

It is imaginable that if the constraints on that war spell were lifted, Zhamu Dasi would likely lose more than one-twelfth of its population directly.

Even though Tailun was an Elf, he felt great sympathy for those two hundred thousand humans who were implicated and died; in fact, he himself was of commoner origin.

Or rather, Yierfalang did not have Upper Families in the true sense. At this moment, all of Yierfalang was deeply wary of the highly efficient means Xia Duo possessed to kill commoners, which was why he had made this visit.

……

Regarding Tailun's questioning, Xia Duo smiled slightly and did not answer directly, but instead asked Tailun in return:

"If I do not retaliate, can Mage Tailun guarantee that Zhamu Dasi will not take further actions? Can you guarantee that my other enemies, whether existing or potential, will not challenge my bottom line again and again?

"If I just let it go lightly, does Mage Tailun think that with Zhamu Dasi's domineering nature, they will not retaliate back? If they retaliate back, do I need to continue to retaliate again?

"Mage Tailun, please answer me!"

Tailun fell silent. It was not just Tailun; the gazes of the other envoys toward Xia Duo had changed to some extent, especially Prince Baside of Dan Zuo, who greatly approved of Xia Duo's approach:

"Actually, in the Underdark, there are also means similar to those of Lord Xia Duo. Everyone knows that whether it is us Dwarves, or the Drow or other creatures hostile to us, we all live in relatively independent underground spaces. That place has a completely different environment from the Surface, and the most significant point is the space itself—

"I don't know if you have experienced a scene where the sky collapses and the earth sinks. I have experienced it, and many Surface friends who assisted us in fighting the Drow War two years ago have also experienced it. In that situation where everything from the material to the elemental level collapses, except for a very few brilliant spellcasters, almost no one can survive.

"Inferring from this, the most efficient means of war in the Underdark is actually to send a spellcaster to sacrifice themselves to collapse the space where the enemy is located.

"But we all know that the final result of such a war is that everyone perishes together, so I can fully understand Lord Xia Duo's approach—

"Sometimes, it is precisely because of some of the most cruel means that some of the most brutal things are avoided."