Chapter 1806: Crown King Mystery, Sword Art Master

On the other hand, where there are those who rise, there are naturally those who fall; once an Upper Family falls, there is basically only one outcome: to be carved up and then start over from scratch.

Who knows, perhaps after a few thousand years, they might return to the peak!

But unfortunately, it is easy to decline but difficult to rise; most of the current Upper Families of Yierlan survived the Crown War, and only after failing to find opportunities for development or advancement in Shaerwen did they risk establishing an independent nation.

But such opportunities are extremely rare; if it were not for the fact that Siluwende was powerful at the time, and Shaerwen needed a barrier to block the invasion of Siluwende from the northwest, Yierlan could not have been established at all.

The development and growth of the Upper Families of Yierlan actually accompanied the development and growth of Yierlan itself; how much danger was involved and how much effort was spent, as a younger generation, Xierdalanna finds it difficult to comprehend.

She only knows one thing: the class stratification in Elf society is extremely rigid, and only by letting turmoil break the classes is it the only way for those in lower positions to rise.

This is also the real reason why, even though she is clearly very dissatisfied with the Crown King's reforms, she still stands with the Crown King on key issues.

She knows deeply that order overrides everything; the Crown King's reforms cannot topple the Upper Families, but turmoil can. As long as there is no turmoil, no matter how Yierlan reforms internally, it is just changing the board to continue playing, while the players remain the same.

It is just that the point about the Crown King being a suspected member of a mysterious organization still casts a thick shadow over Xierdalanna's heart; she is already certain that the assassination of the Evereska Elder was the work of the mysterious organization.

From this incident alone, one can see that the mysterious organization seems dissatisfied with the current order and is attempting to destroy the current order through violent means and establish a brand new order that better suits their interests.

But what role does Crown King Helien play in all of this?

Xierdalanna cannot figure it out no matter how she thinks; theoretically, there should not be much difference between her and the Crown King in their mindset regarding Yierlan, and her first reaction upon learning the identity of the assassin was that the mysterious organization must not be left alone.

She believes that the Crown King definitely knows no less about this than she does, yet the Crown King remains ambiguous with the mysterious organization; this is not the mindset of a normal ruler.

At least, not the mindset of a normal Elf ruler.

As a ruler, one can do whatever one wants in private, but in public, all attitudes must be clear; if one is ambiguous, it will inevitably lead to misjudgment from subordinates and even other countries.

Crown King Helien should not be unaware of this, unless—

Is there some reason why he must do this?

Coerced? Or controlled? Or perhaps tempted by some interest that cannot be refused?

While lamenting the difficulty of the current situation, Xierdalanna introduced to Xia Duo and Puman the situation of the Lier Chamber of Commerce's supply base in the Ansai Mountains, which is the secret base of the mysterious organization.

Soon, after passing through a hidden Portal set up in advance by Xierdalanna, Xia Duo and his party arrived near the Ansai Mountains.

This was also a supply base, only it had already been controlled by Xierdalanna in advance; here, Xia Duo saw another participant in this operation—

A Gold Elf Warrior wearing armor, with a long sword hanging at his waist and sharp eyes.

"This is my friend, Sword Art Master Andaluosike; he will act with us." Xierdalanna introduced him to Xia Duo and the other, while also briefly introducing Xia Duo and Puman to the other party.

In Elf society, the title of Master is not easily obtained; one must reach the pinnacle of achievement in a certain field.

Sword Art Master, according to Xia Duo's understanding, actually means that this Andaluosike can at least defeat a Senior Mage head-on.

Elf Mages often distinguish levels by "Elite" and "Senior"; a Senior Mage is equivalent to a Senior Arcanist among Netherese Mages, at least having touched the Magic Net Eighth Layer.

Such a Sword Art Master can even be said to be highly intimidating to High Mages; after hearing Xierdalanna's introduction, Xia Duo suddenly felt a chill down his back.

And Puman was even more exaggerated, actually pulling away immediately; Xia Duo was not surprised by this at all. If this Andaluosike's combat power was truly as he imagined, Puman would only have the option to run away if ambushed at close range.

As for Xia Duo himself, although he also felt some pressure, that was all; the strength and technique of humans (including Elves) have limits, and even with Magic Items or Spell enhancements, it is difficult to break through such limits.

Even if he might not necessarily be able to beat the other party, the other party should not think of beating him either; even in a head-on battle, there is no doubt about this, and even when he becomes familiar with some of the other party's methods, a reversal might happen immediately.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo also took out the Blade of Veto and hung it at his waist; what he wanted was deterrence.

Seeing that Xia Duo also took out a sword, and one of ancient Elf standard issue at that, Andaluosike's eyes lit up, and he was no longer the cold and aloof figure from the beginning, asking with interest:

"Does Lord Xia Duo also understand the way of Sword Art?"

Xia Duo smiled slightly but did not answer directly, but Xierdalanna helped him answer:

"Anda, I forgot to tell you earlier, Lord Xia Duo once defeated Master Furuisi in the Cloud Crown Palace of Evereska in front of the kings and leaders of the Northland countries; you must not underestimate him!"

Master Furuisi?

Upon hearing this name, the look of frivolous and arrogant scrutiny in Andaluosike's eyes immediately turned into awe, and even vigilance.

Furuisi is also a Yierlan Elf; of course, that one is a Moon Elf, but besides the identity of "Sword Art Master," the other party is also a Senior Mage.

Facing Furuisi, the only thing Andaluosike can be proud of is his identity as a Gold Elf, but in Yierlan, although Gold Elves have an upper-class status derived from tradition, there is no such strict distinction as in Keman.

Complaining in private might be okay, but if he dared to do so in front of Furuisi, a Senior Mage who is also a Sword Art Master would definitely teach him how to be an Elf again.

Xia Duo did not care about this change in Andaluosike's attitude; he knew the Elves' attitude toward humans well. Even if he defeated the other party in their field of expertise, the other party would still find ways to make up for it elsewhere.

Such as lifespan, family history, appearance, demeanor, clothing, or even whether one steps with the left or right foot first when walking.

To truly change the Elves' impression and attitude toward humans, it is not enough for individual human Elites to appear; one must present an overall strength no weaker than theirs.

After a brief interlude, Xia Duo and his party soon began to move; there was still a considerable distance from the temporary base controlled by Xierdalanna to the base of the mysterious organization.

How to get there without being detected by the other party was the first problem they had to solve.