Chapter 2484: The Seven Towers' Proposal

"What kind of proposal makes even you, Teacher, feel it is somewhat special?" Xia Duo continued to ask.

He understood that for Yinaole to say "somewhat special," it was already far more than just "special"; it would certainly have a massive impact on the current situation.

"The Seven Towers have proposed merging both the Council of Great Arcanists and even the Arcane Union into the Seven Cities Council," Yinaole said unhurriedly.

This statement seemed calm, yet it stirred up great waves in Xia Duo's heart. Integrating the Arcane Union and the Seven Cities Council was, in fact, one of the follow-up operations he and Yinaole had previously discussed.

It was to be done after re-establishing the Seville Covenant; after all, the current dual structure had unclear powers and responsibilities, which easily left hidden dangers for the future, so reform was inevitable.

It was just that he had not expected the Seven Towers to be the ones to propose it first, and at this particular time node. However, thinking about it carefully, this was within reason; the opportunity for the Seven Towers to break through lay right here.

The Seven Towers were not stupid; did they have to follow the path he and Yinaole had designed completely? If that were truly the case, there would not be the current tug-of-war.

"Then what are their conditions?"

For the Seven Towers to put forward such an outrageous demand, they would inevitably offer extremely generous conditions—at least, from the surface, they should appear extremely generous.

Regarding this, Yinaole's answer was, "Regarding the New Sevinton Council proposal they put forward, the conditions they gave are to completely open those three sub-planes—not just open them, but transform them into Free Territory."

"Free Territory? What kind of new concept is this?"

"It is actually just another way of saying 'ownerless land.' Those three sub-planes have actually been developed to maturity; there is no land that is truly ownerless in the literal sense. But the Seven Towers have decided to cede a portion of the land. After deducting the land of the outstanding Pioneers from these past few hundred years and the land of the free citizens who gave up their land to return to the Main Plane to pioneer, there will still be a portion left to be transferred to the lords of the Main Plane."

"But what is the point of this? Does the Seven Towers expect to use a portion of the land from these three sub-planes to appease those lords and Great Arcanists who actually want the Seven Towers to fall from their Executive position?"

"That is only one part of it."

Yinaole sighed softly, "Don't you want to hear how the Seven Towers want to merge the Arcane Union into the Seven Cities Council?"

Once Yinaole mentioned this, Xia Duo immediately reacted. Previously, when he and Yinaole discussed re-establishing the Seville Covenant, the so-called cancellation of the Seven Towers' Executive status was, in actual operation, to merge the Council of Great Arcanists into the Seven Cities Council.

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As for the Arcane Union, it would exist as a subordinate institution of the Seven Cities Council.

But whoever proposed this first would be able to use it to win over those Great Arcanists. As long as they saw an actual increase in power, as for what the proposer gained in the process, that was not the key.

Because as long as there was a first time, there would be a second, a third, and even more. Sooner or later, it would head toward a situation like an Advanced Spellcaster republic.

"Teacher, how do the Seven Towers intend to establish the New Sevinton Council?" Xia Duo actually already had a guess in his heart. The so-called New Sevinton Council was actually the New Sevinton Covenant system; the only difference was who led it.

The proposal from Xia Duo and Yinaole was not to grant anyone special privileges, but simply to add an executive body to pave the way for future reforms. Major matters would still be discussed by the Great Arcanists, only it would be more legitimate.

As for the Seven Towers' proposal, it would likely not be too extreme. Having the Great Arcanists formally occupy seats on the Seven Cities Council was the bottom line, but they would certainly demand to retain the Seven Towers' Executive status. Even if it were only in name, it would be enough for them to maintain sufficient dignity and tangible interests.

And to other Great Arcanists, this was not unacceptable. After all, the Seven Towers had long held the Executive position in the past, and the benefits gained through this were limited, not to mention that in the situation where all Great Arcanists obtained seats on the Seven Cities Council.

Yinaole's subsequent answer completely matched Xia Duo's guess. The Seven Towers indeed demanded to retain their Executive status, and one key point—

From the surface, the Executive status the Seven Towers demanded was only reflected in the position of Speaker. In other aspects, one could not see any special privileges from Yinaole's description.

The Seven Towers would internally decide who would be the Speaker, and the rest would sit in ordinary seats just like the other Great Arcanists, with no special voting rights.

It could be said that, at least in the eyes of most people, the Seven Towers had conceded to the extreme.

Considering that the Great Arcanists in the sub-planes were also largely cultivated by the Seven Towers, although there was a bit of a misunderstanding now, as long as this knot was untied, even if they became independent, there would still be a sense of shared heritage.

But in exchange, the Seven Towers legally integrated the entirety of Netheril, unlike in the past where issues involving Great Arcanists, even if passed by the Seven Cities Council, still had to be taken to the Council of Great Arcanists for discussion.

Regardless of whether the latter's discussion supported the former's decision, it was a shock to the existing system. If the Council of Great Arcanists were merged into the Seven Cities Council, everything would be legitimate.

Through such an operation, the Seven Towers would leap to become the true transcendent power of Netheril. As long as they maintained a neutral attitude as an arbiter, their prestige would continue to accumulate, and no one would be able to shake them again.

This was similar to the classical feudal kingdoms on Earth; as long as the king did not act recklessly, all lords would consciously maintain this order. Unless later challengers could overturn the entire system, they could only obey the existing order.

Not to mention that in Netheril, the independence of the lords was even greater. Even Xia Duo himself was more inclined to maintain this system rather than the opposite.

As for whether the Seven Towers would deviate from neutrality, rather than worrying about this, it was better to worry about whether ambitious elements among the lords or Great Arcanists would start a civil war for the sake of the Executive position.

After understanding the core content of the Seven Towers' proposal, Xia Duo had a premonition that the consultations in Sevinton might end very soon. Compared to the reform of the political system, the ownership and arrangement of a mere three sub-planes were truly too insignificant.

Although those three sub-planes were the fuse, the fire had long since been lit, so what the pretext was actually did not matter. The power distribution in the new system was the key.

"What is your opinion now?" This was what Yinaole asked Xia Duo before ending the communication.

Xia Duo understood that the reason Yinaole asked this was that Yinaole himself was already more inclined to agree with the Seven Towers' proposal. If one insisted on canceling the Seven Towers' Executive status, compared to the current situation, the disadvantages might outweigh the advantages.

Regarding this, Xia Duo was quite open-minded. He had never made things difficult for the Seven Towers in order to obtain the Executive position, even though in his plan, Yinaole would become the first Speaker of the New Sevinton Council.

But plans could not keep up with changes. The current situation was not unacceptable; Yinaole himself had even agreed to it!

Moreover, his initial goal was to help Puman, to connect those three sub-planes with the Main Plane, and to use the momentum to demand that the Seven Towers hand over the intercepted mountain, for Sustainable Development.

And now, his goals seemed to be on the verge of being achieved!

Those three sub-planes would be connected to the Main Plane. Although the Seven Towers demanded to do it in their name, regardless of whose name it was done in, the matter was considered a success. Correspondingly, Puman's demands were also met.

As for the Sustainable Development Initiative and the return of the intercepted mountain, the Seven Towers also had an explanation for this, which was actually one of the main reasons Yinaole contacted him today—

The Seven Towers would also propose the Sustainable Development Initiative in their own name and lead by example by returning the mountain that had become the base of New Sevinton.

Although the process seemed somewhat unpleasant, Xia Duo was an adult and naturally understood that the current situation could already be called the best ending.

All parties had compromised, and all parties had obtained what they wanted.

As for how the situation would develop in the future, let time be the witness!