Chapter 2108: Planting a Nail, Tactful Refusal

Terminos.

Once one of the central cities of Siluwende, its name means "Boundary Stone," yet now it has truly become the boundary stone between Siluwende and the southern traitors!

Yes, traitors! Although the establishment of the Ailan Kingdom and its subsequent joining of the Northland Alliance have been widely recognized, even including by Siluwende itself, the name of "traitor" is not so easily washed away.

Even the current regime of Siluwende—the former resistance organization 【Ekrix Covenant】—is consciously shaping such a consensus within the country.

It is foreseeable that even without the interference of Yierlan, it would be difficult for these two neighboring countries, which should have been blood relatives, to maintain a relatively friendly relationship.

Xia Duo's Perception "walked" through the streets of Terminos that had been ravaged by the flames of war, vaguely still able to discern the prosperous past projected from the ruins.

And in those Terminos residents who had returned to their homeland, Xia Duo also saw anger, hatred, and the seeds of lingering fear.

"What a fine city!"

Xia Duo lamented the cruelty of war, yet his "pace" did not stop in the slightest, which seemed to indicate that his heart was not shaken by such a tragic sight.

After wandering in the city for a long time, he finally set his target on an Elite Mage who was participating in the repair of the City Mythallar under assignment.

Compared to other Mages, the one Xia Duo chose had a more intense emotional reaction; it was a deep-seated hatred for the southern Ailan Kingdom.

In Xia Duo's Perception, the emotions of the Elves in the city were as obvious as night lights, and the brightest among the Mages was the Elite Mage whom his companions called "Poson-Ekaras."

And in his verbal exchanges with his companions, Poson-Ekaras also displayed a more obvious air of self-importance than other Elves, which was a weakness Xia Duo could exploit.

Out of wariness toward the mysterious divination Magic of the Illuminati behind Ailan, Xia Duo hoped to distance himself as much as possible; even if he had to face the Illuminati in the future, that would be for later, not now.

He had come this time only to plant a nail, and he did not want to stir up any major trouble.

After obtaining the other party's current temporary residence from the conversation between Poson-Ekaras and his companions, Xia Duo temporarily gave up following Poson-Ekaras.

After all, the other party was participating in the repair of the Mythallar, and there was no guarantee that he could not detect his prying using some ability of the remaining Mythallar.

Although it would not hinder the plan itself much, such accidents should be avoided as much as possible.

By estimating the repair progress of Poson-Ekaras and the other Siluwende Mages, Xia Duo found an inconspicuous ruin of a natural stone building on the way home for Poson-Ekaras.

Then, utilizing the characteristic of his Personal Space manifesting with his consciousness, he took out the 【Golden Finger】 he had carefully prepared in advance, gave it a simple adjustment, and threw it into the ruins.

Afterward, he did not intend to interfere further to avoid leaving too many traces; regardless of whether Poson-Ekaras or some other Elf obtained the 【Golden Finger】, it would not affect the realization of the final plan.

Of course, if Poson-Ekaras got it, that would be even better; this could be considered a little game Xia Duo was playing with himself.

Floating City.

The conversation between Xia Duo and Xierdalanna continued, and at this moment, they were talking about the steep mountains near Taiweimansa and the tall oak groves on the mountain ridges that supported the city.

As his Perception was withdrawn, Xia Duo's focus on the conversation gradually recovered, and after backtracking the memory of their previous conversation, he said casually:

"I can't wait to see the miracle of the mountain peaks, Taiweimansa!"

"To be able to receive such praise from Lord Xia Duo, I, as an Elf born in Taiweimansa, feel very honored, but if we are talking about miracles, this Floating Fortress of Lord Xia Duo is the true miracle."

Seeing Xierdalanna finally unable to resist steering the topic to the Floating City, Xia Duo just smiled slightly and did not respond directly; if one were to speak of miracles, the 【Mythallar】 was the one, and the Floating City was merely a shell carrying the 【Mythallar】.

Now the Elves only saw the Floating City and could not see the 【Mythallar】; Xia Duo certainly could not be generous enough to show the greatest secret of the Floating City to the other party.

However, previously in Keman, Kelanni, who was suspected to be an avatar of the Elven main god, seemed to have discovered something, only refraining from further investigation out of fear of the Magic Goddess's certification.

Xia Duo had never forgotten this matter, and at this moment, hearing Xierdalanna steer the topic to the Floating City, he could not help but wonder if the other party had heard some rumors or had received some revelation from the Elven main god.

But regardless, Xia Duo could not possibly open the Floating City for the Elves to inspect at will; allowing them to come to the Public Level to take a look was already the greatest concession he had made.

Now the Floating City was crowned with the name "Floating Fortress" outside, all stemming from the War Spell it carried; Xia Duo did not want to explain that this was actually a city that was extremely ordinary in his planning—let the misunderstanding continue, and let the Elves continue to be wary!

Xia Duo brought the topic back to Taiweimansa, which could be considered a tactful expression of refusal; Xierdalanna's expression stiffened, and the subsequent conversation between the two was no longer as harmonious as before.

Of course, for Xia Duo, it was actually that Xierdalanna had already been fully utilized and there was no need to maintain the conversation; next, he asked the other party about everything regarding Taiweimansa—public information—in a desultory manner.

Sometimes he even deliberately repeated previous questions, which made the conversation between the two appear even more awkward.

If the Floating City had flown slower, or if Taiweimansa had been further away, Xia Duo himself would not have been able to stand this awkward atmosphere; as the Floating City gradually approached Taiweimansa, the atmosphere of their conversation eased somewhat.

"Lord Xia Duo, since we have arrived at Taiweimansa, I will not stay any longer. Later, the Crown King and the Council's Envoys will come to connect with you. I hope Lord Xia Duo will not forget the previous agreement."

"Rest assured, I will not forget," Xia Duo said sonorously.

The so-called agreement was actually the condition Yierlan had proposed for his entry—he could only move around the vicinity of Taiweimansa.

This point actually did not need Xierdalanna to remind him, as Xia Duo would do so anyway; after all, it was something he had promised, and his trip was for travel, not to stir up trouble.

After sending Xierdalanna away, Xia Duo began to control the Floating City to descend. Before long, when the Floating City passed through the boundary of the Taiweimansa Mythallar in the high sky, he received a Sending from an Elf claiming to be an Envoy of the Crown King.

Immediately following, the message from the Council Envoy also arrived.

After Xia Duo set the Public Level, which had been expanded through spatial transformation, to be open to invited visitors, a total of four Elves teleported to the Hengchun Square on the Public Level almost simultaneously.

Among them was one Envoy of the Crown King, while three had come representing the High Tree Elder Council.

From this, Xia Duo also saw that in the recent changes within Yierlan, although Crown King Helien had suffered a loss, he still maintained an advantage.