Tello Hailar naturally convened a high-level meeting the moment he returned to Mir City and raised the matter of changing allegiance. But just as he had expected, the idea met with everyone's opposition, with almost no one supporting it.
"There aren't many followers of the God of Knowledge in Mir City, much less followers of Void Mask. Why should we change sides and go over to them?" This was the most common attitude.
"Changing sides itself isn't a problem, but how many benefits can the Northwest Republic give us? Are those benefits worth us taking such risks?" Those who said this were the selfish, unscrupulous members of the upper ranks.
"Mir City is not some dispensable minor player like Golden Tower City, nor is it some frontier like Gray Tower City that has long been semi-independent. As a city with a legendary mage in residence, we can be called one of the pillars supporting the grand edifice of the Arcane Tower Federation. How can we leave the Federation? This is simply absurd!" The one speaking was Hailar's junior brother, the second-oldest among Master Mir's living disciples. He had always been upright and mild-tempered, but now his words struck the ground like iron.
Seeing that things were growing tense, another junior brother hurriedly stepped forward to smooth things over. "Senior Brother merely made a suggestion... But in my opinion, this really is inappropriate. Let us not speak of sentiment; given Mir City's importance to the Federation, the Federation cannot possibly allow us to leave."
"Yes! What if a group of legendary mages comes after us? What would we do then?" An old judge with white hair and beard said tremblingly, "I'm old. I only want to live out my days in peace. City Lord, please stop stirring things up."
The moment