Chapter 2109: Provocation, Response

————Still about two hours left~~

————

Terminos.

Once one of the central cities of Sluwen, its name means "boundary stone," yet today it has truly become the boundary stone between Sluwen and the southern traitors!

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

Even Sluwen's current regime—the former resistance organization 【Ekrix Contract】—is consciously shaping such a consensus within the country.

It is foreseeable that even without the interference of Yierlan, it will be difficult for these two neighboring countries, which should have been blood relatives, to have 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 hometowns, 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, and this seemed to indicate that his heart was not shaken by such a miserable 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 bone-deep hatred for the southern Ailan Kingdom.

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

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

Out of wariness for 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 only intended to plant a nail this time, and did not want to make any big moves.

……

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 by using some ability of the residual 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 other Sluwen Mages, Xia Duo found an inconspicuous ruin of a natural stone building on the way home for Poson-Ekaras.

Then, with the help of the characteristic that his Personal Space could manifest according to his consciousness, he took out the 【Golden Finger】 he had carefully prepared in advance, adjusted it simply, and threw it into the ruins.

Afterward, he did not intend to interfere too much, so as not to leave too many traces; next, regardless of whether it was Poson-Ekaras or some other Elf who 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 was still continuing, and at this moment, they were talking about the steep mountains near Taiweimansa and the tall oak groves that supported the city on the ridges.

As his Perception was withdrawn, Xia Duo's focus on the conversation gradually recovered; after backtracking the memory of the conversation between the two sides, he said casually:

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

"To be able to receive such a description 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 that Xierdalanna finally could not help but lead 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 biggest 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, but only refrained from further investigation due to her wariness of the Magic Goddess's certification.

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

But regardless, Xia Duo could not possibly open the Floating City for the Elves to view at will; letting them 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 an extremely ordinary city in his planning, so 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 polite expression of refusal; Xierdalanna's expression stiffened, and the conversation between the two was no longer as harmonious as before.

Of course, for Xia Duo, it was actually that Xierdalanna had already been used up 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, and this also made the conversation between the two appear even more awkward.

If the Floating City flew any slower, or if Taiweimansa were any further away, Xia Duo himself would not be 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 Magic Net Envoy and the Council's Envoy 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 proposed for his entry—he could only move around in the vicinity of Taiweimansa.

In fact, there was no need for Xierdalanna to remind him of this at all; Xia Duo would do as he promised, after all, he had agreed to it, 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 who claimed to be the Magic Net Envoy.

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

After Xia Duo set the Public Level, which had been expanded after the Floating City underwent 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 Magic Net Envoy, while there were three 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.