The standoff between Leonidas and Nadir Shah continued to escalate, and the venue became increasingly noisy.
The two men stared at each other with hostility, as if they were about to start a fight at any moment.
Just when everyone thought the conflict would likely escalate, Nadir Shah changed his strategy.
Nadir Shah smiled slightly, but the smile contained sarcasm, contempt, and some kind of unfathomable meaning.
"Do you know, Leonidas, your greatest strength and your greatest weakness are the same?"
"honest."
“I admire your undisguised hatred for Persia, but it also prevents you from seeing reality.”
Leonidas merely raised one eyebrow slightly upon hearing this.
"Unable to accept reality? Don't you understand the meaning of 'King of Kings'?"
Nadir Shah continued slowly and deliberately: "What I mean is that the world is not the same as it used to be, and the relationship between Persia and Greece is not black and white."
"The Persian army of a million men did indeed approach the land of Greece, but my conquest was not simply for expansion."
"My actions are beneficial to both Persia and Greece."
After he said this, Leonidas frowned.
Obviously, to Leonidas, these words were utterly incomprehensible and absurd.
But Lin Ke narrowed his eyes slightly after hearing Nadir Shah's words.
Because Lin Ke could tell from Nadir Shah's expression that the other party's expression was not just angry, but also somewhat serious.
Moreover, Nadir Shah's gaze kept shifting between Leonidas and Pericles, as if he were hinting at something to the other.
As for Leonidas, he intended to take this opportunity to humiliate Nadir Shah, but he did not expect the other party to say such a thing.
He simply looked into Nader Shah's eyes: "It's advantageous to Persia, but for Greece to benefit is simply laughable."
Just then, a rough and powerful female voice suddenly rang out in the hall.
"Alright, I've had enough of your two men's jealousy and rivalry."
Everyone turned to look, and saw that Queen Tomellis of Scythia had suddenly stood up again. She looked at the two leaders with no respect on her face, and even with a hint of contempt.
"Hmph, just as I expected!"
“Look at you, the rulers of two great powers, arguing like two children fighting over a toy.”
"The grudges at Wenquan Pass are in the past, why bother arguing about them here?"
"Does this help with the proposal we're discussing now?"
She strode to the center of the hall, completely unfazed by the stares from those around her.
"Greece has been expanding its fleet for many years, and the Cree civilization is no exception; its ambitions are common knowledge."
"As for Spain, isn't it also constantly expanding its fleet?"
"Strictly speaking, Spain was merely striking first."
Her remarks immediately drew the ire of some people. Several leaders stood up to refute her, but were silenced by a sharp look from Tomiris.
Then she continued speaking, her voice growing louder and louder.
"Furthermore, what right do you so-called civilized people have to judge who is a pirate?"
"Which civilization has clean hands: the Athenian merchant fleets or the Persian border patrol boats?"
“You’re all here blaming each other, but everyone’s doing the same thing.”
Queen Tomiris of the Scythian civilization continued speaking, even glancing at the leader of Gran Colombia.
Just then, Pericles looked at Tomillis and slowly spoke.
"At least, we do not call ourselves a pirate nation, and at least in our official Greek army, we have never done such a thing."
Tomiris sneered upon hearing this.
"Oh? Is that so?"
“I remember that last month, on the merchant ship that sank in the Aegean Sea, a lot of Athenian-style pottery fragments were found. Moreover, the ship’s flag seemed to be the same flag that the Spanish attacked.”
“Besides that, I also know very well that the Greeks seemed to have set foot on the land of Holy Egypt, didn’t they?”
These words immediately caused a stir in the meeting room.
Leonidas was obviously aware of this, but at that time he was not yet the king of Sparta, so he still glanced at Link with a slight apology.
Pericles ignored him, simply looking at Tomillis as if pondering a solution.
Beyond that, most civilization leaders were concerned with the sunken ship and why the Greeks had done such a thing.
What began as a discussion about Spain and the Cree civilization has now evolved into a conflict of interests involving multiple parties.
As for Lin Ke, she calmly observed everything.
He noticed that although Nadir Shah and Leonidas appeared to be at odds, their argument had actually strayed from the original topic.
As for Tomillis's point of view, it seems to have a different meaning.
This is a complex power struggle, where everyone tries to maximize their own interests amidst the chaos.
Of course, for Lin Ke, this sudden debate provided him with an excellent opportunity to observe and better understand the positions and networks of various civilizations.
Just then, another leader in the central area stood up.
That was King João of Portugal, who immediately seized the opportunity to speak: "The Queen of Scythia is right."
However, Article 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea stipulates that every civilization has the right to defend its economic interests from infringement.
"Therefore, in my view, Spain's actions are entirely in accordance with this regulation."
Upon hearing this, a leader who was already sitting in front and was quite restless suddenly slammed his fist on the table and stood up.
His skin color was clearly different from that of the people in the central area.
"This is utterly a distortion of the truth!"
"If all countries use this as an excuse to arbitrarily seize the territory of other countries, wouldn't the world return to the chaotic era of the past?"
"Aggression should be opposed by us in a united effort; otherwise, it would be a blatant disregard for the World Conference!"
"Then what is the point of establishing a world conference?"
The atmosphere at the meeting quickly deteriorated, with the leaders of various countries splitting into several factions and engaging in heated debates.
Lin Ke quietly observed all of this and discovered that the seemingly harmonious international order had collapsed in just a few hours, as if Spain's invasion involved many issues.
Bolívar of Gran Colombia struggled to maintain order: "Please calm down! Speak one at a time!"
However, the situation was already out of control.
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