Chapter 187: Unifying Thought

"Lord, perhaps we can contact the Elves from Konnifila City and resolve this through negotiation."

Commercial Director Dailike suggested.

His domain was commerce, and he had dealt with Elves more than once or twice; Dailike knew well that the Elves, who seemed distant and unapproachable to outsiders, were in essence no different from humans.

If there were Elves hostile to the Territory, there could certainly be those who were friendly. As for the so-called resolution through negotiation, it was merely an instinct of a merchant.

These words from the Commercial Director reminded Lord Aipusi of Feierbosi, who had died in the Territory; the Liyadun Chamber of Commerce had a good relationship with the Elves.

So, was the Elf currently opposing the Territory here for Feierbosi? If not, it seemed he could ask Lady Patti to help pass a message to the Elves.

Lord Aipusi calculated various possibilities in his mind, and next, Military Supervisor Keyaan also offered his own views, though his perspective was much more aggressive.

"Lord, I believe the Territory must enter a state of combat readiness. Patrols in the Green Pearl Forest must not only continue but must be intensified. I suggest requesting Spellcasters from the Tower of Time to participate in the patrols. Elves are not of Iron Body; they also need to rest and eat. As long as we force them out, we can surround and kill them."

These words made almost everyone in the conference room frown. People at the bottom might find Elves beautiful and elegant, but these people were all capable of touching the Reality of the world.

The reality is that there are no purely beautiful and elegant creatures; without powerful strength, beauty and elegance themselves are a source of disaster.

And the Elves did not achieve their current status by relying on human pity.

Hearing this, Lord Aipusi also shook his head inwardly. Keyaan still understood too little about Spellcasters; if they could not guarantee their own safety, that unknown Elf Mage would never expose their own existence.

However, Lord Aipusi was very pleased with the fighting spirit of his followers; at critical moments, one must dare to fight. Thus, he said:

"Keyaan, your idea is good, but there are no Spellcasters available for now. I will have Sain open the First Armory and prioritize equipping the patrol squads. Report immediately upon encountering an Elf. The Territory's soldiers are not valueless consumables; I will dispatch Spellcasters to engage."

The Lord's support brought joy to Keyaan's heart, but he also felt immense pressure. The so-called First Armory contained the finest equipment the Territory could obtain, including even a small amount of Magic Equipment.

Seeing the Lord's attitude, the others also understood, and one after another, they voiced their own opinions, mostly leaning toward meeting the Elves head-on.

However, only the Lord himself knew his true thoughts.

The meeting did not conclude with any rigorous plan, but it did roughly unify the thinking of the various leaders within the Territory, laying a psychological foundation for potential conflicts ahead.

However, after returning to the Mage Tower following the meeting, Lord Aipusi still revealed his true intentions to Aiboke: "The risk of going to war with the Elves is simply too great. If everything goes smoothly in Konnifila, perhaps we can avoid conflict."

"But Aipusi, this time the Elves took the initiative to come here; this is not something we can decide." Aiboke was quite cautious and worried about this matter.

"When my grandfather pioneered the Savile Territory, Elves also came to stop him. In the end, through the mediation of the Silver Leaf Family, he succeeded in pioneering it. The current situation might be like that back then."

"But Aipusi, you are not a Great Arcanist now!"

Aiboke's words stung Lord Aipusi a little, but he knew Aiboke meant no mockery and was instead very worried. "Aiboke, don't worry. Princess will send people to the celebration in ten days, and there is also Archmage Olong; the Elves will not act rashly."

"What about the 【Pleasure Blessing】? Others have already come to our doorstep; are you still holding onto ridiculous fantasies of peace, Aipusi?" Aiboke's words were quite blunt.

"Aiboke, you—" Lord Aipusi sighed. Managing a Territory was not as simple as just fighting and killing. Rushing into war might be satisfying for a moment, but the final outcome would be unpredictable!

At this moment, Lord Aipusi hated himself immensely. Why could he not be a Great Arcanist who mastered powerful strength like his grandfather?

"Aiboke, this matter is decided for now. As long as the other party does not provoke us further, we will use peaceful means to handle it as much as possible."

Lord Aipusi patted Aiboke on the shoulder and left on his own, leaving Aiboke standing there alone, pondering for a long time.

On the other side, Xia Duo enjoyed a few days of crisis-induced focus, and his progress in Spellcasting Training advanced by leaps and bounds. Although he could not yet catch up to the experience others had accumulated over time, he felt he had improved significantly.

This morning, as soon as the practice with Mentor Niya ended, Jianaer left impatiently. Perhaps knowing that his younger brother did not have many days left, Jianaer had been coming and going in a hurry these past few days.

Xia Duo, who was also preparing to leave, was stopped by Niya. "Mentor, are there any other instructions?"

Niya's expression was strange and hesitant. Xia Duo thought to himself that it was a bad sign; such an expression never meant anything good, and he immediately wanted to avoid it.

"Mentor, if there is nothing else, I will head back first. There are many things to handle over there."

After saying this, Xia Duo wanted to slip away, but was called back by a "Wait" from Niya.

"Mentor?"

"Xia Duo—" Niya was still very hesitant at this point. A few days ago, she had personally told Xia Duo not to leave the Mage Tower, and she had not expected to turn around and want to send him out.

But this was ordered by her father. Niya had refused, but had not succeeded. Now, she had to personally break her previous words. "Xia Duo, I have a task for you."

As expected! Xia Duo knew there was nothing good, but he could not refuse. "Mentor, please instruct me."

"I want you to leave the Mage Tower and invite Lady Patti to the Mage Tower."

Isn't this very simple? What is the difficulty? Xia Duo was somewhat puzzled. Furthermore, does the Mage Tower need to specifically send an Official Mage like him to invite someone?

Just because he is Lady Patti's Private Mage Consultant? Then what is Lady Patti's true identity?

Xia Duo had not yet thought of Niya's point of difficulty. One was that although he remembered Niya's previous warning, he would not hold onto it rigidly. If his superiors wanted him to go out, could he really object?

Moreover, he did not believe that leaving the Mage Tower would necessarily be dangerous. If the safety of the town area could not even be guaranteed, then the Savile Territory would have been finished long ago.

"No problem, Mentor, but I cannot guarantee whether Lady Patti will come."

"It's fine, you just need to invite her; you don't need to be responsible for the follow-up." In fact, Niya was also somewhat dissatisfied with her father's approach.

The murderer who killed Feierbosi had not been caught yet, and they had even wanted to suppress the matter before. Now that they needed the other party, they could not bring themselves to go personally, so they had to make things difficult for her Apprentice!

Xia Duo's unhesitating agreement to leave the Mage Tower, without mentioning the warning from a few days ago, made Niya feel relieved and also gave her a bit more affection for this obedient Apprentice.

If Xia Duo had brought it up, her face would have been lost to the Other Plane.

Of course, if Xia Duo could win a relatively good ranking in the Arcane Competition, Niya would be even happier!