Chapter 2033: Different Paths, The Illuminati

Hearing Xia Duo call their names, the few Elf Mages raised their heads as if they had just realized it (having been looking down the whole time~). Tailun spoke first:

"The conditions for purifying the Abyss are extremely harsh. I need to contact Ailintar first before making a decision. At present, the expansion of the Abyss is not yet obvious, so we have enough time to deal with it."

Subsequently, Kesita and Suweilisi also expressed their positions one after another, stating that they would not abandon their country's due responsibilities, but at the same time emphasized that the infiltration of Demon Descendants is difficult to detect and hard for any country to avoid, so one cannot assume a certain country is biased toward the Demon Descendants because of this.

Regarding this, Xia Duo expressed his understanding and asked again: "Then, are there any other suspected locations that need further investigation?"

"I will contact the Northland Alliance Headquarters and have them send people to investigate again. Let's end it here for our side!" Tailun replied.

Although the possibility that the remaining suspected locations also contain a Demon Descendant Secret Hall cannot be ruled out, judging from the interrogation records of the captured Demon Descendant Mages, they had only experienced one Secret Hall, and since one has already been discovered, it is estimated that the subsequent ones will all be empty.

Just as Xia Duo and Tailun were discussing how to temporarily seal off this area and how to take Aleikesa and the other Demon Descendants back, Suweilisi suddenly spoke up:

"Lord Xia Duo, may I have a few words with Aleikesa?"

"What do you want to say to him? Looking at his previous state, can he communicate properly? It would be better to wait until we return to the Northland Alliance Headquarters and use proper interrogation methods."

Of course, before returning to the Northland Alliance, he would definitely have to pass him through the Floating City so Xia Duo could extract a few Consciousness Copies first. He said this actually because he didn't want Suweilisi to pull any tricks.

Currently, Aleikesa is restrained by a Wide-Area Prohibition; not only can he not perform Spellcasting, he cannot even perceive the outside world. If he were to speak, many restrictions would certainly have to be lifted, and if Suweilisi had any ulterior motives to destroy the evidence, it would be hard to guarantee that no accidents would occur.

The current Floating City is more adept at offense than defense; who knows what methods Suweilisi might be hiding!

It wasn't just Xia Duo who hesitated; Tailun was even more firmly opposed. "Lord Xia Duo, do not listen to him. Aleikesa is our most critical clue to understanding the Demon Descendants. If there is any slip-up, it will surely affect the overall situation."

Every word implied the possibility mentioned earlier by Aleikesa that "Yilisier Mianwang is aware of or even involved in it."

Facing Tailun's tit-for-tat, Suweilisi acted uncharacteristically and appeared extremely restrained. Cormanthor indeed had tense relations with Illefarn, but it was mostly Illefarn actively provoking them. As for Cormanthor itself, they considered themselves the leaders of the Elf World; in their eyes, Illefarn was actually no different from Evereska!

As long as Illefarn showed friendliness, Cormanthor could also show friendliness in return, but the reverse did not work.

Suweilisi knew that most of the upper echelons of Illefarn were hostile or even hateful toward Cormanthor. Although they had restrained themselves after the establishment of the Northland Alliance, there was still no qualitative change.

In the current situation, Illefarn's support might not have much of a positive effect, but if they opposed it, that would be too troublesome.

Thus, Suweilisi looked at Tailun with a rather complex expression, then explained to Xia Duo and the others present: "In the Northland Alliance, only Yierlan and the nations of the Listar Forest have truly experienced the Demon Calamity!"

"Mage Tailun might know that the conditions for purifying the Abyss are extremely harsh and the cost is enormous, but do you know what specific conditions and costs are required?"

"What cost is required?" Although Tailun did not like Suweilisi, he still asked cooperatively.

"It depends on the scope of the expansion of the Shenyuan Zhidi, but at the very least, it requires the sacrifice of four high-level Mages, as well as a massive amount of Divine Grace."

"So serious?!"

Tailun clearly did not expect the cost to be like this. He had originally thought it might just require some resources, not the cost of lives.

"Is there no method with a smaller cost?"

"Of course there is, and that is what I wanted to say next."

Suweilisi took a meaningful look at the only two humans present. "If it were a Priest of the Lord of Radiance, only one high-level Priest would be needed to complete the purification. The cost is still life and Divine Grace. Of course, if the Divine Grace is dense, perhaps the cost of life would not be needed."

"And if a Main God Priest were to perform the purification, it would require at least two high-level Priests. The cost remains life and Divine Grace, but because the power of the Main God is limited, the purifier would find it difficult to survive even with sufficient Divine Grace."

"I know what you want to say is definitely not just this. Is there more?" This time it was Xia Duo's turn to ask.

Although he knew that Suweilisi would certainly prefer to have Netheril send someone to purify it, that was obviously impossible. Even if it were possible to survive, how much credibility would the words of an Elf have in such a situation!

Suweilisi deliberately mentioning the cost of purifying the Abyss must have something to do with his wanting to have a few words with Aleikesa. Could it be that he could make Aleikesa send the Abyss away?

How could that be possible!

The Demon Descendants control Abyssal Power, not the Abyss itself. At this moment, this area of the Demon Descendant Secret Hall is already nearly a true Shenyuan Zhidi; no matter how many Demon Descendants come, it is estimated that nothing can be done.

Xia Duo's own plan was actually to contact the Divine Envoy Taide of the Kingdom of Radiance. That person can enter and exit the Abyss of the Outer Planes multiple times; they must be more professional in terms of purifying the Abyss.

Not to mention that they have the Lord of Radiance behind them, which is a much closer relationship than that between a Priest and a god. If he couldn't handle it himself, who knows, a God Arrival miracle might just happen!

Taide once said that the Boundless Wilderness of the Outer Planes was once an Abyss, which was purified by the Lord of Radiance. If such a large area could be purified, this little Demon Descendant Secret Hall would likely be hard-pressed to even attract the attention of the Lord of Radiance.

Therefore, Xia Duo was not really concerned about Suweilisi's deliberate attempt to whet their appetites, but Taide, Puman, and the other two Elf Mages all seemed quite interested; one could even say they were eagerly looking forward to it.

Thus, Suweilisi continued to explain: "Everything I just said was about forced purification. If the summoner can be made to cooperate, the cost required would be much smaller. According to Cormanthor's past experience, even if the Shenyuan Zhidi here were to expand tenfold, it would not require the purifier to pay the cost of life."

"Do you think Aleikesa or Luke look like they are willing to cooperate?" Tailun asked back.

In his view, the two sides were already enemies; how could they possibly cooperate for the enemy!

But Suweilisi did not restrain himself this time. "Don't you believe that what Aleikesa just said—that he did not betray Yilisier Mianwang and that the Mianwang was aware of it—is true? I can be certain that I can obtain the order from Yilisier to make Aleikesa cooperate. Do you think that would work?"

"You—"

Tailun was suddenly speechless. He had repeatedly brought up what Aleikesa said earlier, merely to add trouble to Suweilisi's heart and also to draw hatred toward Cormanthor.

But this presented a problem: if what Aleikesa said just now was true, then when Suweilisi brought the instructions of Yilisier Mianwang, how would he conduct himself?

Tailun did not think that Suweilisi could not get the instructions of Yilisier Mianwang. If Aleikesa did not cooperate then, it would be Tailun himself who would be in an awkward position!

"This reason alone is not enough. Who knows if there are some hidden instructions in Yilisier Mianwang's order!"

This was actually just unreasonable quibbling that doubted everything. Tailun probably didn't even believe this kind of statement himself, but his position was set, and he would not easily concede.

Suweilisi also understood this point, so he said again: "Based on my understanding of Aleikesa, even if he really betrayed Cormanthor, I have a certain degree of confidence in making him cooperate!"

"Is that so? Is it just because he calls you uncle?"

Upon hearing this, Suweilisi's expression changed instantly. "Mage Tailun, I am talking about serious business now. Can you be a bit more serious!"

His repeated forbearance had instead caused the other party to push their luck. No matter how high Suweilisi's cultivation was, he could not help but feel anger rising from his heart.

"Don't forget, this place is closest to Illefarn. You should know that when Yierlan encountered the Demon Calamity, they also obtained the purification method from Cormanthor. If we really intended to indulge it, relying solely on Illefarn, hmph hmph—"

Having said this much, there was no need to say anything more. Tailun immediately put away his confrontational face and said to Xia Duo: "Lord Xia Duo, Aleikesa is currently still your prisoner; let you decide this matter!"

Good fellow, shifting the blame onto me!

However, after considering it, Xia Duo agreed. In any case, he had the bottom line of being able to summon the Divine Envoy Taide. If Suweilisi really had any ulterior motives, wouldn't that confirm that Cormanthor had a problem!

Thinking about it, Suweilisi should understand these principles and not pull any tricks!