Chapter 2021: Conditions, Illuminati

However, not everyone, nor every Elf, agreed with Xia Duo's point of view. The Mage Tailun of Yierlan could understand the Netherese language, and there was also a translator from the Seven Towers present at the banquet.

Upon hearing the conversation between Xia Duo and Laili, Mage Tailun immediately expressed his opposition, "If one could obtain the ultimate flavor, I would be content even if it meant death, let alone a little toxicity!"

"Although I am not as exaggerated as Mage Tailun, I am also willing to pay the ultimate price for the ultimate flavor. Lord Xia Duo is still very young and does not understand what we have paid in order to pursue a little novelty."

Elves can indeed "rely on their age to show off" to humans like this. Xia Duo truly cannot experience the lack of novelty brought by a long life right now, not only because he is still young, but also because his pursuits are not just on the sensory level, but also on the spiritual level.

For example, Xia Duo wants to see the scenery of the Ziyou Wangguo; before achieving that goal, everything else can be considered a satisfaction of his need for novelty.

And the realization of this goal is something even Xia Duo himself is not sure he will see in his lifetime. Furthermore, there is the development of Magic, which can be foreseen to be difficult to see an end to as well.

Under these circumstances, gourmet food is merely a diversion in life for him. There is certainly nothing wrong with pursuing flavor, and Xia Duo also values flavor, but he will not do unnecessary things for the sake of pursuing it.

Just like what Mage Tailun said about being content even if he died—even if there were means of resurrection, and even if he were full of curiosity about the process of death, Xia Duo would not try it lightly.

……

By the end of the banquet, the topic had completely drifted. Seeing that the atmosphere was still quite good, Badijiaer did not even wait for the next day's talks and directly proposed at the banquet to establish a closer dialogue and cooperation mechanism among the various countries.

If it is inconvenient to proceed in multiple fields simultaneously in the initial stage, then one might as well take the issue of Demon Descendant infiltration, which all countries currently attach great importance to, as an opportunity to establish a Magic-born Information Sharing Platform.

In fact, it is to fix the behavior of countries disclosing and sharing information about Demon Descendants in the future in the form of systems and agreements, making it a convention.

Hearing this proposal, Commander Adalier of Yierlan expressed immediately, "As long as the various countries no longer demand an investigation into the situation of Demon Descendants within Yierlan, Yierlan fully supports the establishment of such an information sharing platform."

Once these words were spoken, the atmosphere, which had initially shown signs of harmony, instantly turned cold. However, because the proposal to establish the information sharing platform was put forward by Badijiaer, the representatives of the various countries did not express any views.

Thus, the banquet came to an abrupt end. The representatives returned to the Xiu Xi Shi that Xia Duo had prepared for them on the Public Level to contact their respective countries, but Xia Duo received a late reply from Xierdalanna—

"The Spirit Wind Family was exposed by an anonymous person because they participated too much in the sale of 【Light of Inspiration】 potions. After an inspection by the Council, it was confirmed that they were undoubtedly Demon Descendants. This matter caused a huge stir in Taiweimansa. When the Council inspected, basically all the ambassadors of the various countries were present, making it difficult to cover up, so it became the biggest scandal in Yierlan this year!"

In addition to answering the situation of the Spirit Wind Family that Xia Duo had asked about earlier, Xierdalanna also provided some top-secret information that had not yet been made public.

She said that after the Spirit Wind Family, the Council also discovered two other Demon Descendant families. Both were Upper Families in Taiweimansa, but those two families were handled very secretly, and even Xierdalanna could not find out the specific results.

Regarding this information, Xia Duo felt extremely shocked. He did not doubt that Xierdalanna was lying to him, because there was no need for that, but it was precisely because of this that he was even more shocked.

Demon Descendants have already infiltrated the upper echelons in Taiweimansa, and who knows how many are still hidden below? Could it be that, as he guessed before, Yierlan has already been controlled by Demon Descendants?

Thinking carefully, control should be unlikely, but the infiltration of Demon Descendants should be very serious, and perhaps even the Crown King of Yierlan, Heli-en, might be directly involved.

After thinking for a while, Xia Duo returned to the inner Communication Room and sent an invitation for real-time communication to Xierdalanna. Perhaps Xierdalanna had long been prepared for this, as Xia Duo's communication invitation was quickly responded to.

In a phantom scene rendered by Magic, Xia Duo saw the somewhat haggard-looking Xierdalanna. Unlike the masculinity of the Gold Elf, the Moon Elf naturally carries a feminine and melancholic temperament, which also fits human aesthetics quite well. If one adds a bit of haggardness, it truly gives a feeling of being pitiful.

Xia Duo realized that Yierlan is currently facing difficulties, and Xierdalanna's life is probably not easy either, especially since she participated in the capture of Prince Saier earlier, which must have involved the intentions of the upper echelons of Taiweimansa.

But as an actual participant, Xierdalanna must certainly bear greater pressure from Keman.

"Ms. Xierdalanna, long time no see. I have a matter regarding Demon Descendants that I would like to specifically ask you about."

"Please speak, Lord Xia Duo. If I can answer, I will certainly not hide anything."

"……"

Xia Duo was speechless for a moment. What does "if I can answer, I will certainly not hide anything" mean? However, the question he wanted to ask was not only to satisfy his personal curiosity but also a key question that all countries were very eager to confirm—

"Is Crown King Heli-en a Demon Descendant?"

Unlike those representatives of various countries who were full of concerns, Xia Duo had no personal ties with Crown King Heli-en, had no official status himself, and at this moment it was a relatively private communication, so he naturally had no scruples when asking the question.

Hearing such a question, a look of astonishment could not help but appear on Xierdalanna's face, but then it was followed by a sudden realization, "It is understandable that Lord Xia Duo has such concerns. In fact, we also have similar worries in our country. After all, Crown King Heli-en also participated in the buying and selling of 【Light of Inspiration】 before, and his connection with the upstream channels was very close."

"But here, I can give Lord Xia Duo a definite answer—Crown King Heli-en is not a Demon Descendant. This has been unanimously confirmed by many Upper Families."

"In fact, after the incident with the Spirit Wind Family, Crown King Heli-en took the initiative to summon the heads of the Upper Families to honestly disclose the details of the behind-the-scenes transactions related to 【Light of Inspiration】, and voluntarily accepted an inspection for Demon Descendant bloodlines."

"Although I have disagreements with Crown King Heli-en on political views, I must emphasize again—Crown King Heli-en is not a Demon Descendant, and no Demon Descendants have been found among any of his direct relatives!"

Xierdalanna's words were full of determination and had high credibility, but Xia Duo did not fully believe them either, after all, the other party had a vested interest with Crown King Heli-en—which is Yierlan.

If a Crown King of a country were exposed in a Demon Descendant scandal, that would be even more unacceptable than a hundred Demon Descendants appearing in Upper Families, and they would directly become the laughingstock of all countries.

"Since Ms. Xierdalanna has said so, then I have no more questions. I only hope that Yierlan can handle the Demon Descendant problem within the country in the time to come."

Xia Duo did not mention the speculation that (this part of the Demon Descendants that have emerged) might come from a parallel timeline. After all, for the Elves, there is no need to exaggerate the threat of Demon Descendants; they will consciously generate a strong sense of threat.

Compared to the Drow, it might be a bit exaggerated, but it can definitely rank at the front of the threat list.

Regarding Xia Duo's reminder, Xierdalanna expressed full acceptance, "We will. Please trust the determination and strength of the Yierlan Elf."

The communication should have ended after that, but Xierdalanna pointedly suggested, "Yierlan has never forgotten that it is a part of the Northland Alliance, and also wants to make its due contribution to the prosperity and stability of the Northland Alliance. However, in the current multilateral talks, the various countries are being too harsh on Yierlan, which I fear is not a good thing."

"Then, what does Ms. Xierdalanna mean—"

"I hope Lord Xia Duo can convey to the Seven Towers the sincerity of Yierlan in maintaining the prosperity and stability of the Northland and in rebuilding the friendship between the two countries."