Chapter 1771: Assassination, Re-contact

The so-called "basic thinking pattern" is, in essence, the reduction of an Artifact Spirit to the simplest state capable of thought; however, at this point, the Artifact Spirit can no longer be called "intelligent," possessing only instinctive reactions similar to neural reflexes.

And the so-called "simplest state" is merely something Xia Duo arrived at based on his own experience, understanding, and even intuition; there is no standard for it in any strict sense.

To find more basic thinking patterns, other than slowly bumping into them over time, there is almost no other way, but fortunately, this is an experiment that is more akin to "what you think is what you get." As long as one is willing to think and willing to summarize, one can always find them.

In the time that followed, Xia Duo went to the Blue Crystal Plane with Niya every day to build the Floating City, chatted about Myth Lock Design during breaks, and in the afternoon, he would lock himself in the Laboratory to analyze his own consciousness during Meditation.

If nothing unexpected happened, this state of his would have continued until winter arrived, but accidents often come so unexpectedly.

……

At noon that day, after Xia Duo and Niya finished lunch in Linshui Village and were preparing to meet the new subjects recruited through Buluode, the number of people coming through the Portal had become fewer and fewer since it was opened.

But Xia Duo had not yet formally met them, and this time, just as a Spellcaster had voluntarily migrated over, he prepared to go see what exactly was going on.

The two discussed how to arrange this Spellcaster who did not belong to the Tower of Time sequence while heading toward the settlement in the fourth village of Linshui mentioned by Laidun.

Halfway there, Niya's expression suddenly changed, "Xia Duo, something major has happened on the Elf side!"

"What happened?" Xia Duo slowed his pace slightly and asked, "News from the Arcane Union?"

Although the several Mage Towers in the Nan Jing currently all have Formal Member status in the Arcane Union, they still belong to the Tower of Time in terms of major factions.

Therefore, sources of information like general major announcements, monthly journals, and supplements are sent directly to the Tower of Time, and since the Tower of Time is essentially connected to Niya, she can naturally know about them at the first opportunity.

"The Great Elder of Evereska was assassinated while visiting Siluwende; it is said that they are already beyond saving." When Niya said these words, there was both shock and confusion in her eyes.

Just a short while ago, Evereska had announced to all parties that it had become a permanently neutral country. Unexpectedly, the situation suddenly took a sharp turn for the worse; the Great Elder of Evereska, who is roughly equivalent to the Crown King of other Elf nations, was assassinated just like that.

Who knows what will happen next!

"It is said they are beyond saving? Has the news not been confirmed yet?" Xia Duo immediately noticed the key point in Niya's words.

"That is what the news from the Arcane Union says, but I suspect that if the source of the message was translated from Elvish, it might already be confirmed!"

Translated?

Xia Duo was lost in thought. If the original source was in Elvish, according to Elf tradition, they generally do not say "dead," but if it was a similar term, then it was basically irreversible.

But why would the Great Elder of Evereska suddenly visit Siluwende? Hadn't they previously let Laruian visit on their behalf?

And who was the assassin? Assassinating a head of state at this critical moment—although Evereska is only a small city-state, it is also a Formal Member of the Northland Alliance.

In such a matter, the Northland Alliance cannot possibly sit idly by, even if the perpetrator is a powerful figure from Cormanthyr; they will very likely have to pay a heavy price.

Xia Duo instinctively felt that there was a problem here, and a big one at that, but he just couldn't figure it out, always feeling as if there was a layer of window paper that seemed thin but was difficult to pierce.

……

"Let's go, back to the Tower of Time first!"

Xia Duo immediately dismissed the idea of meeting the naturalized Spellcaster and pulled Niya back to the Tower of Time. Just as he was preparing to contact Iolum to ask for details, an unexpected Magic Mark was triggered.

It was Xierdalanna!

Should he see her? Xia Duo hesitated for a moment. It is hard not to associate this time node with the assassination of the Great Elder of Evereska. Was this incident orchestrated by Yierlan?

It is not impossible.

Of course, Xierdalanna "calling" could also be for something else. Xia Duo felt it would be good to see her, and he could also take the opportunity to probe Yierlan's views on this assassination.

……

Arriving at the Communication Room,

Xia Duo slowly cast a spell. As the Projection unfolded and the scene changed, he saw Xierdalanna with a mysterious smile on her face.

To Xia Duo, the appearance of a Moon Elf was still within his aesthetic, but at this moment, Xierdalanna's smile made him feel a chill down his spine for no reason.

"Ms. Xierdalanna, long time no see. What action do you need my cooperation for this time? You had better be prepared with the corresponding reward!"

"Lord Xia Duo, I have come to inform you of the result of that matter from last time. At the Northland Alliance meeting not long ago, the proposal by the Special Envoy of Crown King Helien regarding the full opening of trade was rejected by the various countries. It is said that Crown King Helien was quite furious about this."

Mentioning this, the corners of Xierdalanna's mouth lifted slightly, and she could not help but feel a sense of satisfaction. The blow to the Crown King's prestige was the best news for families like theirs who resisted the Crown King's reforms.

For Xia Duo, although this news was just heard, it did not exceed his expectations. Fully opening trade was disadvantageous to Netheril, and the Seven Towers would have had a very high probability of opposing it anyway.

Furthermore, the current situation in the Northland is no longer what it was a year ago when the Northland Alliance was first established. Small countries have formed alliances with each other, greatly enhancing their voice in front of the five major powers.

If fully opening trade is disadvantageous to Netheril, wouldn't it also be disadvantageous to the small countries? The small countries, whose voice has increased, would naturally raise objections.

"Is that so? I also believe that such a radical proposal is not suitable for the current Northland. Its rejection only shows that everyone's views are consistent."

Xia Duo did not dwell too much on this issue but asked about Xierdalanna's real purpose in finding him; he did not believe the other party was just reporting the result of that matter.

If that were truly the case, there would be no need to use real-time communication; if she had the mind to, sending a message would have been enough.

Facing Xia Duo's inquiry, a hint of disappointment appeared on Xierdalanna's face, "Humans are always so impatient. Lord Xia Duo, I wonder what you think of the 【Light of Inspiration】 potion?"

"Light of Inspiration?"

Xia Duo was stunned for a moment, then reacted and said ambiguously, "It certainly exceeded my expectations!"

He then immediately asked, "Ms. Xierdalanna, what exactly do you want to say?"

In fact, Xia Duo had not yet used that bottle of potion. There was only one bottle, and it came from the Elves; even though he had paid a high price, he was not prepared to use it without preparation.

It was just that he did not understand why Xierdalanna would suddenly bring this up. Could it be that she still wanted to trick him into going against that Moonshadow Family?