Chapter 1000: Grilled Fish, Repair Pause

And on the other side, the Tower of Time in Nan Jing.

After Xia Duo told Niya the answer from Archmage Bulundesi, Niya was silent for a long time, and in the end, even suggested wanting to return to Seventon to take a look, but Xia Duo expressed his opposition without a moment's hesitation:

"Have you forgotten the hint your teacher gave you? No matter what happens in Seventon, it won't affect Nan Jing for the time being. It won't be too late to make a decision after everything becomes clear!"

Xia Duo guessed that the vague information the Princess had left for Niya before might also have meant this; rushing headlong into the eye of the storm was truly unwise.

However, Xia Duo also knew that while Niya appeared weak on the outside, she was very strong on the inside; her saying this now actually meant she had already made up her mind.

Xia Duo worried that she would really act recklessly and run off to Seventon, so he said again: "It is an indisputable fact that Her Highness the Princess has successfully achieved Ascension to Godhood. Even if she can never descend to the mortal world again in the future, others will not treat those she left behind too harshly. If you participate as a student of the Princess, it will be very easy to complicate matters that were originally simple!"

"Listen to me, stay at the Tower of Time! I think this is also what your teacher would hope to see. If you are still worried about something, why not try to contact your teacher? Perhaps she will give you a more definitive answer!"

Xia Duo naturally never thought he could persuade Niya to give up going to Seventon so easily, but after saying these words, he directly brought Niya to the Daxia Territory outside the Tower of Time.

This place was within the coverage of the Tower of Time's power, so if they encountered a strong enemy, they could call for support from the Tower of Time at any time; yet, at the same time, it was not inside the Tower of Time, and compared to Xia Duo's current Permission Level, Niya's Tower Master Permission Level only differed by the convenience of communication.

This way, she wouldn't be able to slip away before Xia Duo noticed.

As for Niya, although she could force her way out, she also had to consider her husband's feelings, so she could only stay in the Daxia Territory for the time being.

"Alright, don't think about those troublesome things. Perhaps in a few days, Her Highness the Princess will return, who knows!"

"Mm."

Niya nodded stiffly and took the grilled fish Xia Duo handed over. Just then, two neighs came from the sky.

Immediately following, two huge figures, accompanied by a gust of hot wind, landed beside Xia Duo and Niya—well, mostly beside Niya.

Although Xia Duo had brought these two Pegasus back, he rarely took care of them; Niya had always been the one doing these things, and she enjoyed it.

This time coming to the Daxia Territory, Xia Duo had brought these two big guys out as well. Previously, the two of them had been in Seventon for nearly ten days, and Yabo and Pamela had been locked inside the Arcane Garden.

Having enjoyed the nearly boundless sky outside, how could the Arcane Garden possibly satisfy them? Thus, as soon as these two big guys were let out, they flew off until they were out of sight.

Only now, presumably because they were hungry, did they know to come back!

Two huge horse heads sniffed around Niya, their wings flapping, looking very happy; it was as if the words "I want to eat grilled fish" were written on their long horse faces.

Pegasus themselves knew how to catch fish, but how could raw fish be as fragrant as grilled fish? Yabo and Pamela had only eaten it a few times before they were unwilling to eat raw fish again.

Niya held the grilled fish in her hand, not knowing whether to eat it or not. In the end, it was Xia Duo who spoke up to end her conflicted state of mind: "Give it to them, I'll grill more for you!"

"Then I'll help you grill together!"

Saying this, Niya shared the grilled fish in her hand with Yabo and Pamela, then rolled up her sleeves and started grilling with Xia Duo.

By the Elemental Fountain, this picnic lasted for a long time. Of course, the vast majority of the food the two prepared ended up in the big bellies of the two Pegasus.

But if this could make Niya feel more relaxed, Xia Duo didn't mind doing it more often; it was only a bit of food, after all.

After the meal, the two rode the Pegasus together to roam the sky. It had recently started snowing in Nan Jing, though it was intermittent and hard to accumulate. But looking down from the sky, the occasional speck of white was also quite pleasing.

After flying for a long time like this, letting the two Pegasus finish digesting their food, Xia Duo finally brought the still-unsatisfied Niya back to the Lord's Villa on the east side of the Altar Square.

Just as the two were preparing to settle their minds and begin their respective research projects, Xia Duo suddenly received a Sending from Laidun, saying that Aigeberde, an Arcanist from the Hand of Secrecy, had come to visit.

The name Aigeberde was not unfamiliar to Xia Duo; in fact, he was one of the eight Arcanists who had been repairing the Magic Net in the Mythallar Ruins where the Tower of Time was located.

And among those eight Arcanists, half were from the Hand of Secrecy. He didn't know what the matter was this time.

Xia Duo didn't think too much and immediately sent a message to Laidun, telling him to bring the person to the Reception Room on the first floor of the villa.

Afterwards, Xia Duo looked at Niya, feeling a bit hesitant. Seeing this, Niya immediately guessed Xia Duo's thoughts: "If someone is looking for you, then go ahead. I'll read some books in the Study."

"Uh—"

There was no need to state it clearly; Niya knew Xia Duo's thoughts, and Xia Duo understood Niya's mind, knowing she had temporarily dismissed the idea of going to Seventon, so he walked downstairs with a light step.

Soon, Aigeberde arrived. After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Aigeberde stated his purpose:

"Lord Xia Duo, I have received a message from the organization to return to Seventon. I have come specifically to bid you farewell."

"Oh?"

Xia Duo immediately linked this to the Princess's Ascension to Godhood. Otherwise, why leave the fresh, damaged Magic Net without repairing it?

And it just happened to be at such a time node!

"Will the other three people from your organization in the Daxia Territory be leaving as well?" Xia Duo asked the question he cared about most.

To this, Aigeberde's answer was—"They have already left, and they asked me to apologize to you for not informing you of their departure in advance."

"..."

Actually, Xia Duo didn't really care about them leaving without saying goodbye; even not saying hello was fine, as long as they didn't cause trouble.

What he really cared about was, besides these people from the Hand of Secrecy, had the other four Arcanists left?

If all eight of these people were gone, then who would repair the Magic Net in the Mythallar Ruins?

The Magic Net in this area was currently considered "fresh and hot"—this was not an exaggeration, but a fact. The Magic Net here had only been damaged and rioted two years ago due to the collapse of the Mythallar.

Now should be considered the best time for repairs. If one waited until later, when the Magic Net completely fell into a dead state, although it could still be repaired, it would be a completely different level of difficulty compared to now.

It would be no exaggeration to say it would be half the work for twice the result.

After Aigeberde left, Xia Duo immediately went to check the locations where the various Arcanists had been repairing the Magic Net, and sure enough, they were all gone.

Except for some temporarily built earth and stone structures, not even a trace was left behind. In fact, he should have noticed this when he was playing in the sky with Niya on the Pegasus just now.

After all, the commotion of repairing the Magic Net was not small, but it was hard to perceive from far away, and coupled with the fact that he hadn't even thought these people would leave in his subconscious.

That was how this oversight occurred.