Chapter 559: The Path of the Empire, Captivity

Seventon, New City District, Elf Embassy.

Inside a council hall, Suweilisi sat upright in the main seat, looking coldly at those below, while Jielinisi, also a High Mage, sat by his side.

However, unlike Suweilisi, Jielinisi's gaze remained only on a small ornament he was toying with in his hands, as if he were indifferent to the situation outside.

Below the two High Mages, more than twenty Elves stood in a cluster, heads bowed and silent; they likely knew that the results of today's competition had left Lord Suweilisi very dissatisfied.

Finally, someone unable to withstand the psychological pressure of the High Mage's prolonged gaze shrank into the crowd and muttered softly: "Isn't there still one more event? We can definitely win the 【Grand Illusion】!"

"With what will you win? Do you think Yierlan will let you win without asking for anything in return?"

"We don't need them to let us; we can win on our own!"

"Hmph!"

Suweilisi's expression grew colder. These Elves all had extraordinary backgrounds to varying degrees, but if they thought they could pass through this time as smoothly as before, they were thinking too simply.

Thinking this, Suweilisi glanced again at Jielinisi, who was still toying with the ornament beside him. Seeing his indifferent manner, infinite rage surged in Suweilisi's heart once more; because of him, Cormanthor had lost so much in benefits!

But thinking of the Crown King's instructions, Suweilisi could only forcefully suppress his anger. Looking at the group of juniors below who had gradually become noisy, he raised a hand to suppress all sound and said coldly:

"News has come from the country that the First Defense Line has been breached by the Drow. Except for those participating in the Snow Melting Competition tomorrow, the rest of you return; the Second Defense Line needs Elites like you to garrison it."

"Ah—"

The Elves opened their mouths wide but could not make a sound, only able to look at Suweilisi with terrified eyes. At the thought of facing those terrifying black-skinned ones, their hearts were filled with fear.

And Suweilisi's next words made them even more desperate—

"Mage Jielinisi, you shall escort these juniors over. The Crown King does not wish to see any accidents!"

"Understood."

After responding, Jielinisi put away the small ornament he had been toying with, his expression gradually becoming solemn. Being in Cormanthor, no one would ignore the Crown King's orders.

But this did not mean the Crown King's orders were above all else; it was just that this time, based on various factors, he could not refuse, and at the same time, he did not wish to refuse.

……

Jielinisi left with some of the juniors. Suweilisi waved away the remaining juniors and sat quietly alone in the council hall. It seemed that with his mood, the light in the hall gradually dimmed, converging with the outside.

"The path of the Empire is difficult everywhere! I wonder if my King—"

Suweilisi whispered to himself until there was not a single sound left.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, Old City District, Gustav Tower.

Inside a secret training room, Great Arcanist Badijiaer was giving the final "training" to the contestants who were about to participate in the 【Grand Illusion】.

Let's call it training, anyway!

At this moment in the training room, light and shadow were intertwined, as if real, but Badijiaer ignored those illusions that were realistic enough to deceive, and went straight to the ten little ones who were practicing spellcasting:

"Habulin, how is the preparation? Can you win?"

Hearing Badijiaer's voice, all the illusions trembled and then vanished instantly. The training room returned to its original appearance. Habulin, along with his nine illusionist clansmen, knelt on the ground and replied respectfully:

"My Lord, we have practiced until now and are very proficient, but the opponents are Elves, and we, we—"

Badijiaer waved a hand, interrupting Habulin's wailing, "I don't care. If you cannot win, then the tribe you belong to has no need to exist. Think more about your family and friends before you speak!"

However, threats alone could not fully stimulate the potential of these little things. Badijiaer took out a Gold Paper Document and tossed it casually in front of the leading Gnome, Habulin, "Take a look!"

Habulin dared not stand up, so he just kept his kneeling posture and moved forward a bit, holding the Gold Paper Document up with both hands. He only recognized half of the characters on it—

They were Elven characters.

He had learned them when he was studying spells from an Elf who had saved him. As for the other type of characters, they were human characters; he had seen them many times but had never learned them, nor dared to learn them. Any Gnome who dared to learn human characters never had a good end.

This Gold Paper Document, which was clearly a Magic Item, had a main point that went roughly like this: "The Seventon Council hereby notifies all territories: The Gnome tribe of the Yellow Maple Hills is under the protection of the Council and under the protection of the Seven Towers; unauthorized invasion will be investigated!"

Habulin was quite familiar with Elven characters, and the more he read, the more excited he became.

Gnomes had low status in Netheril; they were either Slaves or pets, or even worse, they ended up as materials on the experimental tables of the Netherese. But now, the rulers of Netheril had actually promised to give them a piece of land, allowing them to multiply and live there.

Even if it was limited to the few tribes where these ten illusionists were located, Habulin had never seen such a good thing before, which made him almost unable to restrain his excitement.

Habulin subconsciously wanted to raise his head to seek confirmation from the Great Arcanist, but he happened to meet Badijiaer's emotionless, cold gaze. Habulin's burning heart instantly dropped to freezing point.

He remembered some things he had heard, seen, or even personally experienced in the past one or two hundred years. Whenever a tribe's clansmen gathered in slightly larger numbers, it would immediately invite a purge by the Netherese.

By now, Habulin had even vaguely figured out where the population red line was. Before the number approached the red line, he had to find ways to reduce the population, either by splitting the family, or by Banishment, or sometimes even by slaughter.

Could the land promised by the Netherese be accepted?

Who knew if it would turn the fate of the Gnomes from free-range to captivity?

But could he refuse?

Habulin buried his head deeply, almost touching the ground, "My Lord, Habulin will definitely defeat the Elves and not fail the Lord's grace."

Looking at the Gnome illusionist kneeling at his feet, Badijiaer did not feel any joy or pride; there was only deep vigilance.

It was not just vigilance toward the Gnomes, but even more so vigilance for his own future and the future of humanity. If an invincible, powerful enemy appeared, would he also be like these Gnomes, kneeling and begging for the enemy's mercy and grace?

Badijiaer did not avoid his inner worries about the future, but at the same time, he was full of confidence in Netheril, because of Magic!

"Rest early tonight. Tomorrow, after you win, Princess Xiya will announce your legal status in front of the representatives of all nations. As long as you obey the order of Netheril, Netheril will grant you protection."

After speaking, Badijiaer did not wait for the other party to speak and left directly.

……