Chapter 2688: Eloquent Rhetoric, The Final Moment

Soon, the figure of Envoy Ruien appeared in Zhuguang Square. He came alone, without any members of the investigation team or local Mages accompanying him.

After all, if the former accompanied him, it would confirm the rumors of him being controlled, while the latter could not rule out the possibility of Demon Descendants infiltrating their ranks; if a Demon Descendant used the status of an escort to say things that shouldn't be said, that would be even more troublesome.

Therefore, Ruien simply brought no one along and came to Zhuguang Square alone. As a close minister to the Crown King, he did not lack this bit of Courage.

To a political creature, compared to a dull and silent demise, what was the threat of the Demon Descendants anyway!

"Residents of Metelier, I am Ruien, Foreign Affairs Consultant to Crown King Helien. I have heard your voices, and now I have come here to personally answer your doubts. I hope you will not be used by the traitors."

Accompanied by the effect of a Spell, Ruien's words instantly drowned out the noise of the entire square, becoming the only sound in this vast space.

But mere Suppression was not enough. Ruien seized the opportunity to display tokens that could prove his identity, while simultaneously calling out to leaders like Mandatomu:

"Mandatomu, you shameless traitor, do you dare to stand out and confront me?"

Mandatomu was the City Guard Commander of Metelier. From the perspective of the Eaerlann Elf, Mandatomu was already in the wrong, and he did not know what trump cards Ruien actually held.

Under these circumstances, it was impossible for him to stand out for a confrontation, because once a confrontation occurred, the public would start to think, and thinking would undoubtedly dilute the public's fanatical emotions.

"That's right, Commander Mandatomu has always been kind. Under his command, the City Guard has never had any conflicts with the public; there is nothing to question."

Seeing that situation, Ruien could not help but feel a bit nervous, but having reached this point, even if the Abyss lay ahead, he would step into it without hesitation.

……

"This guy is actually quite capable!"

The Conscious Mind was still free and could do other things, not placing too much burden on his consciousness.

The difficulty was extremely high, but Xia Shao had confidence in completing it, and he would certainly complete it!

……

Besides, this ritual itself did not need to use the Mythallar of the Li Jie. Eaerlann used the Mythallar as an important Spellcasting Medium to increase the influence range of the Ritual Spell.

These were things the common people loved to hear, and in the process of telling these stories, Ruien also repeatedly displayed various pieces of evidence that could prove his identity.

"We are more than familiar with Commander Mandatomu; how could he be a traitor! The Envoy must have been deceived by those invaders!"

……

As for what impact a Spellcasting failure would have, it would not be worse than the impact of a successful Spell; this price was completely worth it.

"This Envoy doesn't look like a good Elf at all. He says he's an Envoy? I say I'm an Envoy too!"

But now this Ritual Spell involved the Time Line. No one knew what the consequences of reckless destruction would be, and no one dared to guarantee that doing so would have a smaller impact than the success of the Spell.

The most critical point was that Palisi had no laws against illegal assembly; one couldn't even find a legal basis. Afterward, it would likely be left unsettled, and they might even need to offer a few words of commendation to avoid chilling the hearts of the people.

Since ancient times, cults and conspirators have almost never debated with dissenters, but only used one or two simple slogans to repeatedly brainwash them.

"Tokens can also be forged. A stranger suddenly stands out and says that Commander Mandatomu, whom we see every day, is a traitor—who would believe that!"

Although there was no saying that "the law does not punish the masses" in Palisi, in practice, under normal circumstances, it was actually very difficult to punish "the masses."

Next was to specify a plan to stop the ritual. If it were any other Spell, it would be very simple: as long as the Spellcasting was disrupted and the Spell could not be sustained, it would be over.

Take this time for example: the public gathered here only because of the instigation of the Demon Descendants, but the public's original intention was indeed good—to protect Meteier City and protect Palisi—and so far, no extreme actions had occurred.

Within just a few seconds of Ruien proposing that Mandatomu stand out for a confrontation, voices of doubt emerged from every corner of the square, and the various voices even echoed one another—

Because the truth becomes clearer the more it is debated; once they debated to the end, their followers would easily see through their true nature and make choices contrary to their wishes.

Simply put, it was that the public could shift the blame for anything.

Amidst the torment of countless insiders, Xia Shao quickly completed the analysis of the original Mythallar of Meteier City, and at the same time, he had a preliminary judgment regarding the Ritual Spell that Eaerlann was conducting.

The purpose of this ritual was about the same as what Xia Shao had guessed before, mainly used for Positioning and reversing the Time Line. This was, of course, a firm judgment after Xia Shao's careful analysis, but there were also parts that were speculative.

Xia Shao asked the five high-level Mages waiting in the Silver Spire to help keep watch. In any case, the Collaborative Computing of the Spirit Thought Network currently mainly utilized the Subconscious shared by each connected user.

Remarks like these rang out one after another from all over the square, looking not at all like they had been colluded beforehand, which once again ignited the public's anger.

For example, "It's not just me saying it; others are saying it too. Why don't you go find them instead of picking on me?", "I'm just curious, is being curious not allowed?"

……

After punishing them like that, wouldn't he be afraid of the people's hearts drifting away?

Xia Shao speculated that the final range of influence of this Spell might far exceed the area of Meteier City and involve a much wider scope. Just how wide, he could not assert for the moment; after all, this was a Spell he had never experimented with before.

Therefore, to stop Eaerlann's ritual, one had to seize control of the ritual from Eaerlann's hands and perfectly end the ritual while Eaerlann was simultaneously competing for it or even sabotaging it.

Did that have to be punished too?

The Demon Descendants might know, but they would not tell him. He could only try his best to guess on the larger side so that he could remind himself not to harbor any luck and must go all out.

However, Xia Shao believed that the true effect of the ritual should be very close to his judgment.

Therefore, Ruien could speak eloquently in Zhuguang Square, detailing the various relationships among the upper echelons of Meteier City, and even the so-called truth behind the major and minor events that had occurred in Meteier City in the past.

"Everyone, please listen to me—"

At the same time, he also made a small request to the public: to protect themselves well and keep an eye out for potential attackers in the vicinity, because the traitors did not wish to see the public standing together with the Crown King's Envoy.

Xia Shao silently offered a word of praise and threw himself back into the Collaborative Computing. The reason Ruien was still safe until now was, on one hand, perhaps because the Demon Descendants also wanted to stall for time, and on the other hand, most importantly—

……

Regarding the situation on Ruien's side, Xia Shao had paid more or less attention to it, not to mention that he had asked Feilifa for more tokens and intelligence; after Badijiaer relayed them, he immediately synchronized them to Ruien.

But by standing out for a confrontation, Mandatomu could continue to incite the public, and by having the public speak out, he could dilute the responsibility behind the rhetoric.