Chapter 2681: Exposing the Flaws, Striking Decisively

Thus, Xia Duo decided to split up, leaving the Library to Dumu, who would persuade the other members of the investigation team and, most importantly, Envoy Ruien, after which Ruien would come forward to contact the other Mages in the city.

As for himself, he would go find Dakesi, who had been placed in a safe location; the power of a High Mage should not be left on the shelf, and besides, he could learn more local intelligence from Dakesi.

After meeting, Xia Duo did not beat around the bush and went straight to the point, "In the current situation, both you and I are in a cage. We must unite to break the cage and regain our freedom. What do you say?"

Dakesi did not agree or refuse immediately, but instead asked another question: "Did you see Palisi?"

"Yes, I saw him, and perhaps he already knows that I saw him."

Upon receiving a positive answer, Dakesi immediately revealed an anxious expression and hurriedly pressed, "Has the Sacrificial Ritual already begun? Why didn't you stop him?"

Hearing this question, Xia Duo felt a bit dazed; Dakesi's reaction did not seem like someone who was completely ignorant. Surely Palisi hadn't gone out of his way to educate him on it, right?

Considering that Dumu still needed some time, Xia Duo asked in return, "How are you so sure it is a Sacrificial Ritual? Did Palisi tell you? Could he not be lying to you?"

"Answer me quickly, has the Sacrificial Ritual already begun?" Dakesi's emotions began to shift from anxious and restless to somewhat uncomposed.

But Xia Duo still did not answer, instead continuing to ask, "What exactly are you hiding? Are you and Dumu in cahoots?"

That performance could no longer be described as strange; it was completely a scene of a villain completely giving up. Seeing this, Xia Shao could not help but frown deeply. What kind of Sacrificial Ritual could make a High Mage so desperate?

Because it was an interrogation of a Consciousness Copy, Xia Shao did not need to fully observe Yierlan's expressions. The other party's current state of consciousness was completely under his monitoring; expressions could deceive, but the activity of consciousness could not be hidden.

Thinking of this, Xia Shao was not prepared to waste words with Yierlan, directly using a Mind Blast to knock him unconscious, then taking out all the necessary equipment from his Personal Space to begin creating a Consciousness Copy.

Xia Shao himself had just been at the Silver Spire and had observed the ongoing ritual for a good while. He could only be certain that the ritual would cause a great commotion once completed, but he was not sure if it was a Sacrificial Ritual.

Thus, Xia Shao asked again, his tone even approaching an interrogation, "What exactly are you hiding? How do you know that this ritual must be a Sacrificial Ritual?"

It could be said that there were few people in the entire Meteier City who understood the Silver Spire better than him!

Under what circumstances could it be possible that Dumu was unprepared?

There was a difference between the time in the illusion and the real time in the Li Jie. Xia Shao was not worried about wasting time, so he poured out all his doubts at once, giving the other party a little shock first; if one time didn't work, he could always reset it.

"That ritual? You saw it? It's over, everything is over!"

Perhaps because a keyword was triggered, Yierlan's eyes focused slightly, but he still did not speak. Thus, Xia Shao continued, "A few months ago, I predicted that a highly bizarre Mist Event would occur in the Northland, where anyone who entered would completely lose contact. Are we currently in the middle of a Mist Event?"

According to his judgment, it was almost impossible for Yierlan to escape from the Silver Spire, which had a complete Protection system, if Dumu was prepared.

Once his train of thought turned in that direction, Xia Shao immediately realized some details he had not noticed before, such as Yierlan claiming to have been tricked by Dumu into the Silver Spire and then being able to escape.

But now, Yierlan's suspicion was so obvious that he didn't need to be particular about anything. He would get the Consciousness Copy first; once he interrogated the results, Palisi would have nothing to say.

If Yierlan had no suspicion of colluding with Dumu, or if the suspicion was small, then Xia Shao certainly could not be so simple and crude. After all, causing a High Mage to lose consciousness should count as a relatively serious diplomatic incident.

How could Yierlan be so sure?

The scene was still the safe place arranged by Dumu, but it was indeed an illusion. Yierlan woke up slowly, not caring at all whether he had just been attacked, still in a dejected state, muttering to himself:

This could also explain why Yierlan was so certain that Dumu was conducting a Sacrificial Ritual.

"Yierlan, is the Sacrificial Ritual you mentioned related to the Mist Event that suddenly appeared in Palisi territory some time ago? Is the Northland Alliance reconnaissance team that went missing in the northwestern mountains of Palisi also related to this?"

Previously, Xia Shao had not personally entered the Silver Spire and did not understand the Silver Spire's Protection system, but now he had just come out of the Silver Spire and had even completed the reconstruction of the Silver Spire's Protection system.

After calmly separating several Consciousness Copies, he put a few away first, leaving them to be slowly excavated later. Now, he just wanted to quickly find information related to Dumu and the Sacrificial Ritual in the other party's consciousness.

Then there was only one explanation—Yierlan and Dumu were in cahoots, only he didn't know why they suddenly had a falling out, and then Yierlan ran out.

Under such circumstances, it was somewhat unreasonable that only Yierlan could escape, and in a nearly intact state at that.

Considering that searching consciousness directly could lead to consciousness information pollution, Xia Shao prepared to ask in the illusion first. If the other party did not cooperate, it would not be too late to search the consciousness directly.

The only thing he could think of was the Mist Event. Previous multiple predictions had mentioned that even the Northland Alliance was completely helpless against Mist Events, and investigation personnel would completely lose contact once they entered.

Under such circumstances, it was likely that High Mages had to investigate personally, but in the end, it was still to no avail, which showed how bizarre and difficult the Mist Event was.

Although it could not be completely determined that everything happening in Meteier City now was the Mist Event from the prediction, it was certain that Yierlan was not completely ignorant of the concept of a Mist Event, but was highly likely to know it deeply!

One had to know that three other High Mage councilors had also been tricked. Among those three, one was currently in the Secret Ritual Chamber conducting the ritual with Dumu, and the remaining two were missing, perhaps already dealt with.

While he was completely puzzled, a word he had repeated countless times in the past suddenly rushed into his mind—Mist Event!

Interrogating a High Mage was not the first time for Xia Shao. Whether in the Projection Plane or the Main Plane, he had relatively rich experience.

After saying this, Yierlan seemed to have completely lost his energy, collapsing to the ground all at once. Even when Xia Shao kicked him a few times, there was no reaction; he just kept muttering the phrase "It's all over."

"It's all over, everything is all over!"