Chapter 1707: Meeting Again, Laruian

"Oops, I forgot to say my name!"

The human Mage looked at the spot where Xia Duo had disappeared with a look of annoyance, but when he saw the new book floating before him, a joyful smile bloomed on his face.

Just then, an Elf companion beside him reached out and waved a hand in front of his eyes, "Pamier, who is he? You seem particularly—particularly worshipful of him?"

"That is a Legendary Lord from our Netheril Nan Jing, oh, I could tell you but you wouldn't understand!"

"How can I understand if you don't tell me?"

Elves also love to hear gossip, especially these Portal guards; day in and day out, aside from chatting with their companions or occasionally reading a book, it is actually quite boring.

Hearing a bit of different news at this moment, they naturally couldn't help but press for more.

Aside from the Elf guard who spoke first, the other Elves also truly pricked up their ears, preparing to listen to Pamier tell a story.

"Lord Xia Duo, this has to start from the Snow Melting Competition two years ago. By the way, you all know about the Snow Melting Competition, right?"

"We know, we know."

"Remember back then—"

Just as the Seven Towers Mage Pamier was introducing Xia Duo's "glorious deeds" to his two Elf companions, Xia Duo himself had already quietly arrived at Yunding Mountain.

This place is known as the "Upper City of the Upper City District of Evereska"; looking at it from the surface alone, it still retains a primeval forest landscape.

Only starting from the mountainside area and going downwards are private estates situated one after another, becoming denser the further down one goes, until they form a so-called "Upper City District" to the south at the foot of the mountain.

But in Xia Duo's eyes, the area where the Evereska Mythallar blockade is tightest is right here; even though he obtained higher-level Mythallar Permission from Badijiaer, he was still restricted here.

Fortunately, although he had his own purpose and bore a mission in coming this time, he was not here to start a war at all, and his teleportation had actually been reported in advance.

When he arrived at the mountainside path, a slender Elf was already waiting for him here.

"Lord Xia Duo, long time no see. I didn't expect that our next meeting would be under these circumstances!"

Lunaxisi extended a hand with a complex expression, gesturing for him to follow: "Please this way, Grandfather is waiting for you at home!"

"Then I will trouble you, Ms. Lunaxisi." Xia Duo nodded calmly.

To him, Lunaxisi was merely a medium for him to contact the Golden Maple Family of Evereska; even if it hadn't been Lunaxisi he knew initially, there would have been other Elves, it would just be a matter of switching to another family.

Of course, there was a certain coincidence in this, for instance, that Elder Laruian actually came from the Golden Maple Family and was also Lunaxisi's grandfather.

But even without such a coincidence, for Xia Duo, it would just be a matter of putting in a little more effort; he certainly wouldn't be seeing only one Evereska Elder on this trip.

From the Yunding Mountain shining path to the Golden Maple Family's estate, Xia Duo noticed that Lunaxisi had quietly deactivated six layers of security.

However, Xia Duo's expression remained as usual; although the higher-level Mythallar Permission Badijiaer gave him couldn't let him do whatever he wanted in Evereska, coming and going freely was still no problem.

Entering the estate, Xia Duo noticed that the members of the Golden Maple Family all seemed somewhat displeased, not knowing if it was because they had been forced into a bet by the Keman Ambassador not long ago, or because they saw him, this Nether Envoy.

Weak nations have no diplomacy, Xia Duo secretly reminded himself.

Soon, he met the middle-aged-looking Elder Laruian in a garden; Xia Duo immediately realized that there was still a difference between an Evereska Elder and an Elf Court Elder.

This Elder Laruian was most likely already a High Mage, but his life had definitely not reached its end, which meant he could act at will.

Xia Duo was not worried about Laruian taking action against him, but was shocked by the strength of such a tiny country as Evereska.

The Evereska Council of Elders only has seven members, but that is not the point; the key lies in the fact that below the Council of Elders, in addition to an Advisory Group with no limit on magical attainment, there is also a High Mage Council.

Since the latter bears this name, it undoubtedly represents powerful strength.

According to Xia Duo's understanding, the number of members in this High Mage Council is at least in the double digits, although he does not know how many of them are true Elders whose lives have reached their end and are just hanging on by a thread.

But even if there were only ten, and these ten were all true Elders with only one breath left, Evereska's apparent strength would not be weaker than Netheril's.

The final strike of ten dying High Mages would inevitably be earth-shattering; in a one-on-one, no Great Arcanist could beat them.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo couldn't help but feel jealous; the Elf race is truly gifted by nature. As long as they become High Mages, they don't need any extra Longevity Technique; as long as they want to live, they can basically hang on by a thread.

And if one were to use a Life Extension Spell, the effect on Elves is also much better than on humans.

Xia Duo thought of the result of extending the life of the Akaola Crown King previously; the 【Extreme Longevity Technique】 itself was researched for humans, but when used on humans, it could only extend their lifespan by a dozen years at a time.

Yet on the Akaola Crown King, it extended his lifespan by nearly a hundred years in one go.

How unfair is the Heavens!

At least up until now, Xia Duo had not discovered any innate deficiencies in Elves compared to humans; the current appearance of being idle and having a low birth rate is more of a social factor.

The Drow of the Underdark are of the same origin as the Surface Elves, and their birth rate is much higher than humans; if the Drow can do it, the Elves can undoubtedly do it too.

Therefore, Xia Duo had always regarded the Elves as the greatest competitor to the development of human civilization.

For no other reason than that the Elves' racial advantages are too strong, strong to the point that humans simply cannot make up for it!

Steadying himself, Xia Duo stepped forward and bowed slightly, saying sternly: "Elder Laruian, nice to meet you!"

"Nice to meet you, Lord Xia Duo!"

Meeting for the first time, both sides scrutinized each other without concealment. For Laruian, having just been humiliated by the Keman Ambassador, he felt very unhappy to see the Nether Envoy again now.

It was not hard for him to guess the purpose of the Nether Envoy's sudden arrival; although he felt very stifled inside, both his cultivation and his composure prevented him from showing these emotions.

After his granddaughter left, Laruian's mood relaxed slightly: "Lord Xia Duo—"

"Elder Laruian! Do you know that your previous actions almost led Evereska to a dead end!"

Xia Duo had no intention of listening to Laruian's explanation. Now his identity was that of a Nether Envoy; even though Evereska's strength was not weak, and the Elder Laruian before him was something like a national leader, but—

Netheril could become one of the five major powers of the Northland Alliance, it must possess hidden strength capable of clashing with major powers like Keman.