After King Philip's strong statement, the hall fell into a deathly silence.
Bolívar, the leader of Gran Colombia, took a deep breath, forced himself to stay focused, and struck the gavel three times.
"Very well, in accordance with the King of Spain's request, I hereby announce that we are now proceeding to the formal voting process."
However, Bolivar's voice sounded somewhat dry.
He was no longer as confident as he had been at the beginning.
"Leaders of each civilization are requested to state their positions in turn: either support or oppose the cessation of Spanish military action against Crete."
First and foremost, it's Gran Colombia itself.
Bolívar stood tall and solemnly declared: "We, Gran Colombia, firmly believe that the fundamental purpose of the World Conference is to maintain peace and development, and we support the cessation of all military actions not authorized by the Conference."
"Gran Colombia, I agree."
Next came the two leaders from Greece.
That's right, as the host country, Greece has two votes.
Pericles rose gracefully and straightened his robe: "The history of Athens tells us that democracy and peace are the foundation of civilized progress."
"We cannot tolerate any civilization launching a war of aggression without permission."
"Greece agrees."
Leonidas, in his characteristically concise style, stated: "Although Sparta is a military city-state, we also cherish the value of peace."
"Therefore, we oppose Spain's military action."
"Greece agrees."
Within minutes, the three leaders in the central region began to express their views, and it was clear that they all hoped that Spain would immediately withdraw from the territory of the Cree civilization.
Just then, the Spanish leaders behind him began to whisper among themselves, but Bolívar, in order to move the process forward quickly, turned his gaze to one of the leaders next to him.
"Please have Portugal state its position."
King João III of Portugal slowly stood up, his eyes filled with obvious helplessness.
“Although we have a deep alliance with Spain, we believe that even the best friends need to have frank exchanges of opinions.”
Upon hearing this, Pericles and Bolivar smiled.
But what King João III said next immediately made their smiles disappear.
"But in any case, Portugal's position is very clear and will not change."
"We understand Spain's security concerns, but the approach is debatable."
"Perhaps the problem can be solved through economic sanctions or other non-military means, but it is not appropriate in our view to ask Spain to completely return the territory to Crete and withdraw completely."
"Portugal objects."
Clearly, many of the leaders here did not expect King João III of Portugal to say such a thing.
So the hall immediately became noisy again, and Pericles and Bolívar watched in disbelief as the Portuguese king sat back down.
When it was the turn of the Persian leadership, Nadir Shah wore his signature cold smile.
"The Persian Empire has witnessed the rise and fall of countless civilizations."
"Of course, that includes ourselves."
"But history tells us that the law of the jungle is an unchanging rule."
"While we also believe that Spain's actions were too hasty, in our view, Spain's actions had legitimate reasons."
"Persia opposes it."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Tomellis of Scythia stood up impatiently.
"Wolves on the grasslands also have their own hunting rules, and Spain's actions are simply challenging the entire international order."
"But this is at least much better than some hypocrites, not to mention that we Scythians only respect the truly strong."
"If you can solve it with your hands, don't use your mouth."
“Scythians object.”
At this moment, the number of votes for and against is almost equal.
Of course, besides these leaders in the central area, there are other leaders behind them.
Now, it's the leaders' turn to speak.
"Our people have lived in ice and snow for generations and know how difficult it is to survive."
"Spain's war will consume resources that could have been used for people's livelihood."
Agreed!
"If we cannot use violence to defend our legitimate interests, are we just going to let the other side keep provoking us at the border?"
"We are fully aware of Spain's position and understand its situation!"
"This is not aggression! This is the defense of power!"
"be opposed to!"
......
The atmosphere in the hall grew increasingly tense, with more and more leaders beginning to publicly express their views on Spain's invasion and cast their votes.
Nan Tong stood beside Lin Ke, observing the tense situation in the meeting hall.
This seasoned magician, who had experienced countless battles, never showed the slightest fear, even when facing the siege of the Hebrew army or even when confronting powerful gods.
But at that moment, he couldn't help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
After all, in the past, Holy Egypt had only faced individual kingdoms and civilizations.
Here, however, making a choice will immediately gain you like-minded "friends," but at the same time, it will also create many "mortal enemies."
Clearly, in Nan Tong's view, as long as his Holy Pharaoh makes a choice, Holy Egypt will immediately become one of the two powerful forces below.
He could see that one side was a civilization led by Gran Colombia and Greece.
On the other side were civilizations led by Spain and Portugal.
One side will be a friend of Holy Egypt, while the other will immediately become an enemy.
Based on the current situation, after the World Conference concludes, those civilizations that chose the opposing side will likely become enemies of Holy Egypt.
Nan Tong was well aware that the Holy Pharaoh had come here to make more friends and to spread the name of Holy Egypt.
But Holy Egypt was forced into this situation out of necessity; in his view, even Holy Pharaoh probably had no better solution.
He glanced furtively at the Holy Pharaoh beside him, only to see Lin Ke still sitting upright.
Lin Ke's face was calm as water, his eyes were indifferent, like an old monk in meditation, detached from worldly affairs.
This nonchalant attitude stood out particularly sharply amidst the surrounding clamor.
Nan Tong took a deep breath, leaned close to Lin Ke's ear, and spoke in a voice that was almost a whisper.
“Your Majesty, the situation is urgent.”
He paused, and after making sure no one was watching, continued whispering.
"Look, even Bolivar of Gran Colombia has started urging other countries to make a statement."
"We...we, Holy Egypt, what should we choose?"
"But in my humble opinion, no matter what choice we make, it will be far removed from your original intention in coming here."
"you......"
As Nan Tong spoke, beads of sweat began to appear on his forehead.
Even his tone carried a strange anxiety, as if delaying the action would be detrimental to Holy Egypt.
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