Chapter 2190: Reserved Excuses

————Something came up today and delayed me, so I couldn't finish even one chapter. Everyone go to sleep first; you'll see it when you wake up tomorrow morning~~

————

"What should be restricted is the abuse of war spells, not war spells themselves. Every country has the right to protect itself and to develop armed forces for the sake of that protection."

As soon as Xia Duo said this, Jialanuode fell silent. The look in Badijiaer's eyes as he watched him was also one of confusion, as if to say: we've reached the critical moment of "dividing the spoils," why are you still putting on such an act!

"Sigh——"

Xia Duo sighed in his heart. The orderly voting scene at the Alliance Assembly just now had almost made him forget that this era was still dominated by power-based thinking, even though things weren't much better on Earth.

But under the rule of power, there is always resistance; why not establish a relatively fair system from the very beginning?

Furthermore, most importantly—no power can remain strong forever. If one gets used to treating others with power, once that power declines one day, will submission then become a matter of course?

【Speaking of which, the best app for reading and listening to books right now is Wild Fruit Reading; install the latest version at. Wild Fruit Reading.】

Even without considering the decline of power, this world is vast. Being able to show off one's strength in the Northland for a time does not necessarily mean the same is true for the entire Main Plane.

If one day you encounter an invasion by a powerful force, or even rule by power, would you still be able to muster the heart to resist?

This question seems insignificant, but it actually concerns the essence of a country or an organization. If it cannot be correctly understood, the result will be internal division at best, and destruction at worst.

Xia Duo thinks very highly of the Northland Alliance; he does not want such a promising organization to be ruined by the power-based thinking of a few countries.

"Lord Jialanuode, do you believe that Keman can resolve all the disputes in the Northland single-handedly?"

"How is that possible? If Keman were that strong, it would have already unified the Listar Forest!"

Jialanuode accidentally revealed his truest thoughts. However, Xia Duo did not mind; since it couldn't "unify" in the past, it would be very difficult to complete a "unification" in the future under the order of the Northland Alliance.

"Then, Lord Badijiaer, do you believe that Netheril can resolve all the problems in the Northland single-handedly?" Xia Duo asked again.

"Of course not!"

Badijiaer seemed a bit impatient. "Lord Xia Duo, just say what you want to say. I am not the type of person who cannot listen to others' opinions, and Netheril is not a country that completely ignores the opinions of its lords."

"What I want to say is—there are some things in the Northland Alliance that even if Netheril, Keman, and even Yierlan and Yinerfalan were to join forces, they might not be able to handle well. The attitudes of other countries are also very important."

"For example?"

"Do I even need to say it? The clues to the Dragon Madness Mythallar, the Demon Descendant problem—which one of these can you resolve independently?"

"This—"

Badijiaer reacted immediately. Indeed, there are countless problems in this world that are difficult to resolve by strength alone, and even if they could be resolved by strength, the current Northland countries do not possess that level of power.

But so what?

"If we can't resolve them, are you saying Aifuruisi and the others can?"

"That's not what I mean. I'm saying that if all countries could work together, wouldn't it be easier to resolve them?"

Next, Xia Duo used the "last straw that breaks the camel's back" as an example to explain to Badijiaer that even a meager effort is not without significance.

Take the crisis of the Dragon Madness Mythallar collapsing as an example; perhaps a key clue is hidden in the hands of some small country. If major powers like Netheril could act justly and treat them as equals, they might just hand it over directly.

Otherwise, they could just wait for all the countries to collapse and then clean up the mess themselves.

One must know that the difference between large and small countries in the Northland is merely a matter of scale; there is no gap in technological level that cannot be bridged. And at the same technological level, the smaller the scale, the easier it is to survive when facing a crisis.

The extreme state is an individual high-level Mage; if the Northland fails, they can just run to another place; if the Main Plane fails, they can switch to a new Plane.

A large ship may not necessarily withstand the waves, but a small ship is certainly easy to turn around.

"Lord Xia Duo's thoughts are very profound; Jialanuode feels ashamed of his inferiority. Then, according to your meaning, how exactly should these war spells be restricted so that it is beneficial to all countries?"

Jialanuode's sudden change of tone caught Badijiaer off guard. In fact, he was also nearly persuaded by Xia Duo, but he found it hard to accept the fact that "major powers need the support of small countries more at certain times," which is why he was stunned for a moment. Now that he had reacted, he hurriedly made up for it:

"Lord Xia Duo, the Seven Towers is also formed by a union of various Mage Tower organizations, some strong and some weak, but almost all Mage Tower organizations can be passed down. The key factor in this is the Seven Towers Covenant."

"Yes!"

Xia Duo affirmed Badijiaer's statement. "The Seven Towers Covenant has detailed rules, which is why it can play a practical role. But the Northland Alliance only has a relatively broad charter; we still need to continuously improve and refine it to form a Northland order that benefits all countries."

Xia Duo believed that Badijiaer could understand what he was saying, but human nature is selfish, and double standards are inevitable. However, he was a bit surprised that Jialanuode's attitude changed so quickly.

But regardless, as long as everything is laid out in the open, letting them see the pros and cons, plus a little bit of his own deterrence, he thinks they will be able to make a decision that satisfies everyone.

So he continued: "I still hold the same view as before: every country has the right to protect itself and to develop armed forces for the sake of that protection, and this naturally includes war spells."

"Therefore, I do not support restricting war spells or War Magic Artifacts themselves, but rather restricting the scenarios in which war spells are used."

"Simply put—they can be used for self-defense, but cannot be used for offense."

"They can only be used for self-defense? Then what if a certain country deliberately designs another country to attack it, and then uses that as an excuse to use them?" Jialanuode immediately pointed out the loophole.

However, this was already within Xia Duo's considerations. In terms of influence, war spells are similar to nuclear weapons on Earth, and there are very well-developed rules for the use of nuclear weapons on Earth that can be used as a reference.

"Of course, it is impossible for every self-defense scenario to require the use of war spells. We can fully take the details of this to the Alliance Assembly to discuss with representatives of all countries, but I can also briefly state my point of view here."

Subsequently, Xia Duo introduced the principle of reciprocity from Earth to the two, meaning that if one side uses a war spell, the other side can also use one.

As well as the right to survival, meaning that when a specific and real attack has already threatened the survival of one side, using any means is not excessive, including war spells.

However, Jialanuode did not give a response to Xia Duo's point of view immediately. It can be said that once Xia Duo's vision is realized, in the situation of the Northland, major powers will lose the vast majority of their ability to threaten small countries.

Like Akaola, which has been closed off for many years and still lives just fine. If the Northland Alliance cannot give small countries the treatment they deserve, then why should small countries play along with the major powers!