Chapter 1220: Negotiations, Concessions, and Individual Actions

Just as Sikumu's emotions were about to spiral out of control, Lander suddenly proposed: "This matter may not have only one survivor; how could an existence as ancient as Suo En die so easily?"

"Sikumu, I know Giles Tower has some kind of connection with Suo En. I don't want to pry, but I think you could try contacting Suo En yourself."

Lander's words made Sikumu think of something, and his near-uncontrollable emotions were immediately reined in, though he remained furious; only now, his anger was no longer directed entirely at the members of the Seven Towers.

"According to the contract between Giles Tower and Suo En, the summoning Magic Array is running at all times. I checked it before coming here, and there has been no response from the other side," Sikumu said expressionlessly.

Due to the nature of the Eternal Holy Spirit and the Astral Plane itself, if there is no continuous Time Anchor in the Main Plane, the Eternal Holy Spirit cannot establish a connection with the current moment of the Main Plane.

To those in the current moment of the Main Plane, the Eternal Holy Spirit only exists in the past; the moment he achieved the status of Eternal Holy Spirit, he effectively vanished.

Or rather, relative to the present, the Eternal Holy Spirit does not actually exist; he is merely a legendary figure existing in the past.

The existence of the summoning Magic Array is to provide a Time Anchor for the current moment for the Eternal Holy Spirit, summoning the Eternal Holy Spirit, who drifts outside of time, into the present world.

That is to say, if Suo En is not dead, the time he exists in the Astral Plane relative to the time Sikumu summons him in the Main Plane can be infinitely long.

If there has been no response from Suo En during this infinite amount of time, it means that Suo En will likely never respond again.

Although Sikumu was willing to believe in such a possibility, he still had to state this fact in front of everyone.

To the people of the Main Plane, the Eternal Holy Spirit achieved his status over a hundred years ago, but for the Eternal Holy Spirit himself, the time he has experienced may be longer than the time humans have existed in the Main Plane!

What such an ancient existence might do, Sikumu, this "young" leader who had just taken over Giles Tower, had no confidence in knowing.

Or rather, when he told everyone that Suo En had not responded to the summons, a large part of him actually believed that there was a problem with Suo En.

Silence soon descended upon this Projection Hall; even Haruisi did not speak up to provoke Sikumu, and everyone pondered the possible reasons, or even conspiracies, behind Suo En's loss of contact.

After a long while, Badijiaer was the first to break the eerie atmosphere, turning his gaze toward the only person in the hall who was not part of the Seven Towers:

"Lord Iolum, what is your take on this matter? Do you think this is an accident, or the beginning of a conspiracy?"

"I don't know."

Iolum shook his head, completely ignoring the expectant gazes of the crowd, "But whether it is an accident or a conspiracy, before tomorrow, there must be a definitive result that can withstand everyone's scrutiny!"

It is easy to come up with a result, but it is not easy to come up with a result that can withstand everyone's scrutiny; the biggest problem here is—

Right now, even they themselves are not sure of the true cause of Kelifu's death. Even if they wanted to fabricate a result, they wouldn't know where to start, making it even harder to withstand others' scrutiny.

Iolum's words once again laid the most thorny aspect of this matter before the members of the Seven Towers, but besides the overarching premise of maintaining the overall interests of the Seven Towers, the members of the Seven Towers also had their own selfish motives to secure more benefits for their own factions.

A Great Arcanist with a special status died in Giles Tower; this is no small matter. If not handled well, the consequences could be even more severe than if all the leaders of the Seven Towers had died.

Under these circumstances, even though Sikumu was dissatisfied with everyone's attitude, after calming down, he still had to lower his posture and cast a look of appeal for help toward them.

Regarding this, Badijiaer frowned and did not respond, and the others were also lost in their own thoughts; it was Haruisi who seemed to want to say something but hesitated, which made Sikumu feel a surge of irritation.

He realized that everyone was delaying their stance, perhaps waiting for him to speak first, so Sikumu suppressed his irritation and gave his bottom line:

"Everyone, the reasons behind this matter are complex, and it concerns the interests and reputation of the Seven Towers. It has already exceeded the capabilities of Giles Tower alone. I hope you can prioritize the Seven Towers and not hesitate to assist. Any expenses incurred during this period will be covered by Giles Tower."

The meaning was that he was only willing to pay for losses related to this matter; for any extra parts beyond the scope of this matter, he would rather sacrifice the overall interests of the Seven Towers than provide them.

This statement by Sikumu effectively drew a framework for everyone's actions, and Badijiaer and the others had no complaints; this was the usual practice of the Seven Towers.

Only Haruisi, who had previously hoped to take advantage of this matter to fleece Sikumu, did not expect to get such a reply, but in front of the members of the Seven Towers and even Iolum, he said nothing and just gave a vague response.

Afterward, everyone began to discuss their respective tasks. Badijiaer, as the one with the greatest prestige among the leaders of the Seven Towers after the Princess, was the first to assign himself a task:

"Before the investigation results come out, we need to temporarily seal off the news. I will go to the Guanghui Zhi Ta later to ensure that no trouble arises there."

Subsequently, Lander also took the initiative to propose: "I can go to the Astral Plane to investigate, while you start from the Main Plane. Additionally, Archbishop Benniditas is a trustworthy elder; we need to seek his help!"

"Then I will go see Archbishop Benniditas. I hope he can give my father some face and perform a Prophecy Ritual for this matter."

Huo En's words made Sikumu nod repeatedly. If there was anyone present who was most likely to move the long-retired Archbishop Benniditas, it was only Huo En.

Huo En's father was once the lord of Benniditas, and even though Benniditas was later promoted to Bishop of the Great Temple, it did not change this master-servant relationship.

In fact, it was precisely because of the recommendation of Huo En's father that Benniditas was able to have better development and become the highly respected Archbishop he is today.

If it were anyone else, they could only go in the name of the Seventon Council, but that would not be conducive to sealing off the news.

Moreover, given Benniditas's current status and position, even if one wanted to issue an order in the name of the Council, there would be many cumbersome procedures to go through.

It is better to use Huo En's personal relationship, which is more efficient and convenient.

It's just that the value of such a personal relationship is hard to measure, and at the thought of this, Sikumu couldn't help but feel a pang of pain.

After Huo En, the other Great Arcanists also took the initiative to participate in this investigation, and even Haruisi took on the task of communicating with the ambassadors of the Elf and Dwarf nations.

This investigation is bound to cause quite a stir, and to avoid misjudgments by the Elf and Dwarf nations, timely communication is also very necessary.

Among the Seven Towers, Haruisi is indeed very skilled in this aspect.