Chapter 1987

Xia Duo did not go to extend the invitation in person; he still wanted to probe Naris a bit more, but the result was not what he had expected—Eaerlann did not refuse to communicate.

Instead, they agreed!

Not long after the staff member Naris had arranged to inquire at Eaerlann returned, the Moon Elf Scholar who had glared at Xia Duo outside earlier walked out from within and extended an invitation to Xia Duo:

"Observer Xia Duo, our president invites you to the camp to meet."

"Mage Naris—"

"Please feel free, Observer Xia Duo. I will not follow and disturb you. If you need anything, you can contact me at any time; I will be right outside."

"Then I will trouble you."

After saying this, Xia Duo followed the Moon Elf Scholar into the Eaerlann camp. During this time, he even discovered a hidden Micro-Mythallar, which showed that these Eaerlann Elves had not stepped into a dangerous place without preparation, but rather with full confidence, or perhaps—the resolve to die!

The final meeting took place under a tree suspected to be a Mythallar Node. The president mentioned by the Moon Elf Scholar was a Gold Elf Mage with a humble and gentle appearance.

This made Xia Duo believe a bit more in the other party's identity; it should be consistent with the information provided by Naris—a private society in Eaerlann specializing in academic research.

Seeing Xia Duo, the Gold Elf Mage immediately revealed an expression of surprise yet was exceptionally friendly: "I didn't expect Netheril to be interested in this fortress as well?"

"No, I am only here in a personal capacity to observe and record the war. May I ask how to address you, Excellency?"

"Observer Xia Duo can just call me Yan Xing."

The name Yan Xing did not sound like a real name at all, but coming from the mouth of this Gold Elf, it did not feel the least bit incongruous. Xia Duo guessed this should be an easily distinguishable title.

It was just a pity that he knew too little about Eaerlann; perhaps he had heard Yan Xing's real name, but this title was indeed the first time he had heard it.

"Then, Mage Yan Xing, may I ask a question?"

"Observer Xia Duo must want to ask why I can still stay here even though Eaerlann and Siluwende have already gone to war, right!"

"Uh, that is indeed what I wanted to know."

"Presumably those Elves from the newly ascended 【Ekriks Contract】 have already told you about those so-called joint development rules!"

"Yes, they did indeed say that. So, what different opinions does Mage Yan Xing have on this?"

"Of course I have them!"

Mage Yan Xing seemed quite disdainful of the rhetoric from the Siluwende side. "They even said this Ancient Fortress was rebuilt by their ancestors! Do you think that is really the case?"

"I do not know."

"Not knowing is correct!"

Yan Xing seemed to have rarely met someone with whom he could communicate freely, and could not help but open the floodgates. "When this Ancient Fortress was first discovered, the Suluwende Participation Council notified Taiweimansa. Think about it, if this Ancient Fortress were truly rebuilt by them, why hasn't even a shred of data been passed down?"

Just as Xia Duo was about to speak, Yan Xing preempted him: "You must be about to say it was because of that war over a thousand years ago, but I want to tell you that while that war was indeed tragic, it was not so tragic as to completely erase all traces of a strategic fortress."

"Do you know why Siluwende doesn't drive us away during the war? It is because they have absolutely no way to deal with this fortress, and we do!"

"Our Bemacher Philosophy Society has been deeply involved in the field of ancient ruins since its establishment over a thousand years ago, and members of our society have participated in the excavation and development of many ruins within Eaerlann."

"I can guarantee with my academic honor that this Ancient Fortress was absolutely not rebuilt by Siluwende; it is simply a strategic fortress from the Aryvandaar era that has been relatively well-preserved!"

After listening to this impassioned speech from Mage Yan Xing, Xia Duo suddenly felt a bit bored. Both sides had their own stances; Mage Yan Xing looked quite kind, yet still insisted on defending Eaerlann's interests, regardless of whether these interests were reasonable.

Or rather, in the other party's view, they were reasonable.

However, Xia Duo's purpose in coming to communicate could be considered half-achieved; at the very least, he could not see any traces of Mage Yan Xing being bought off by Siluwende, and the other party should indeed have experience in the study of ancient ruins.

Although he did not believe the other party's claim that Siluwende kept them there to use their hands to crack the fortress, from another perspective, the Siluwende side might indeed not have set up any traps.

Otherwise, this Mage Yan Xing, who had many opinions about Siluwende, would likely have started complaining long ago.

"Then does Mage Yan Xing think Eaerlann's next main offensive direction will be here?"

As soon as these words were out, the humility and gentleness on Yan Xing's face vanished instantly, replaced by a look of vigilance and suspicion. Through this change, Xia Duo judged that the other party might not be as "private" as the outside world believed.

If nothing went wrong, he should be carrying some official mission.

But this question did not need to be probed, or rather, any high-level Mage who stepped outside their national borders was bound to have some connection with the officialdom, just to varying degrees.

What Xia Duo actually wanted to ask was not Eaerlann's main offensive direction, but rather to use this to confirm with the other party whether Siluwende had any special arrangements here at Adofeier.

But clearly, the abrupt inquiry just now had made Yan Xing defensive. Whatever Xia Duo asked next, the other party was very vague, which actually left Xia Duo somewhat stunned.

However, this also indirectly proved one point: that Yan Xing and the Eaerlann officialdom indeed had connections, and to a deep degree.

Who knows, maybe he was some sort of "behind-enemy-lines armed work team"!

Leaving the Eaerlann camp, Xia Duo saw the guide Naris still waiting outside. The other party was currently wearing a smile and looking respectful, but the more Xia Duo looked, the more he felt it was filled with sarcasm.

But without proof, he could not say anything, so he turned to suggest he wanted to go see the Adofier Fortress up close. Unsurprisingly, the other party agreed and even suggested that Xia Duo borrow two experienced surveyors from the Eaerlann camp.

"No need, I will just take a look at the perimeter. To be honest, I am quite curious: how could such a strategic fortress suddenly disappear and then suddenly appear!"

The fortress was in the small forest next to the temporary base; everyone knew this, but no one had ever truly been able to get close to the fortress. Siluwende could not, and the experts from Eaerlann could not either.

Before walking a few steps into the forest, Xia Duo was reminded by the Siluwende Warrior who had followed from the base that they were about to enter the detection range of the Adofeier Mythallar, and if they lacked the corresponding Permission Level, various default reactions would be triggered.

"What kind of reactions?" Xia Duo asked.

"If you withdraw immediately, there are no consequences, but you will be recorded by the Mythallar. If you trespass without permission more than three times, you will be directly banished upon the fourth entry."

"Then what about those two surveyors from the Eaerlann camp earlier? Could it be that they have already mastered part of the Mythallar's Permission Level?"

"If Observer Xia Duo had come earlier, you would have seen that there were a total of six surveyors sent by Eaerlann to probe the Mythallar, and in the end, only two returned. The four who didn't return, if nothing went wrong, should never be coming back."

It was actually "filling the array with lives"!

Xia Duo felt increasingly bored. The Bemacher Philosophy Society, which claimed to be "deeply involved in the field of ancient ruins," was nothing more than this!