Chapter 2755: Political Asylum

In the end, Xierdalanna did not respond to Xia Duo's promise of political asylum, but she did propose that after the Midwinter Festival, he could have Aoruipusi contact her, and she would personally arrange all matters regarding the Tower of Time's Void Warehouse entering the Yierlan market.

Xia Duo expressed his gratitude to Xierdalanna, then asked her some details about the Yierlan Grand Banquet before leaving the secret chamber in the trunk of Seslodian.

The location where he left was not the same as where he had entered; although he was still in the Seslodian urban area, he was separated by more than one branch, forcing him to take a long detour before returning to the Netheril Embassy located in the Saratotia urban area.

But this time, before he could even warm his seat, Feilifa came again—though not to invite Xia Duo to an appointment, but to visit the embassy in person.

As a Consultant to Crown King Helien, and having had some interaction with the other party previously in Meitelier, Xia Duo did not go so far as to refuse a meeting, instead receiving the visitor in the embassy's Reception Room.

"Consultant Feilifa, do you have any guidance for me today?"

"Guidance is not the word; I am merely here on behalf of the Crown King to explain two matters to Lord Xia Duo."

"Oh?"

Xia Duo immediately realized that what the other party likely wanted to explain was the scale of the banquet in two days, or perhaps to probe what he had discussed with Xierdalanna, as he did not believe his meeting with Xierdalanna in Taiweimansa could be hidden from Crown King Helien.

"Consultant Feilifa, please speak—"

Taking advantage of the moment Feilifa was contacting the Crown King, Xia Duo picked up his teacup to mask his actions and sent a message to Ambassador Dalanna to ask for her understanding of the Midwinter banquet from two days ago.

Digging a little deeper, that was not Crown King Helien's true purpose; he wanted to capture the lurking Magic Bloodline Family.

But regardless, that matter had little to do with me; I am only here for the food and drink, and to collect the official reward for the previous Metier Incident.

Xia Duo suddenly understood everything; the Yierlan side was likely not wanting to launch an operation during a small banquet, but had raised the scale of the otherwise normal banquet to that of a Grand Banquet for the sake of this operation.

And now, Dalanna's reply was—

Xia Duo had not expected so many schemes behind a single celebratory banquet; on the surface, this banquet was to honor the contributors to the Metier Incident.

Although he knew Feilifa was unlikely to easily tell him the details of the secret operation, Xia Duo still asked; he simply wanted more.

And judging by the importance Crown King Helien and the Council placed on this operation, that long-lurking Magic Bloodline Family was likely not a weak one, but rather very powerful—powerful enough to require a specially designed trap for an ambush.

If it were a normal awards banquet, only Xia Duo, as well as Dumu and Sikaote who were at Metier, would attend; it would have nothing to do with Ambassador Dalanna, and at most she might go to make an appearance, but usually, she wouldn't even be invited.

Previously, when Ambassador Dalanna took him to visit the embassy, she did not mention the banquet in two days; he had not thought the banquet would be a Grand Banquet at the time, so he had never thought to ask her.

Previously, the extra reward Fema'ai gave him through the Northland Alliance Magic Bloodline Intelligence Research Lab channel did not satisfy him; it was only because those extra rewards were given in the name of the Northland Alliance that Xia Duo did not make a scene.

"After the Metier Incident, we discovered a long-lurking Magic Bloodline Family. The Crown King and the Council decided to launch an operation during the Grand Banquet. I have come specifically to inform Lord Xia Duo that no matter what changes occur at the Grand Banquet, there is no need to worry; everything is under the control of the Crown King and the Council."

"The first matter concerns the Midwinter banquet in two days. Due to some special circumstances within Yierlan, the scale of the banquet was not explicitly communicated to you beforehand. The Crown King has sent me now to explain this to you, to inform you that the banquet the day after tomorrow is a Grand Banquet, and to ask about your dietary preferences and restrictions."

So when Feilifa told him that the Yierlan side would be taking action at the Grand Banquet in two days, Xia Duo had wanted to ask if Dalanna knew about these circumstances.

"I am very sorry, I truly do not know about that."

As for the anti-magic operation at the Grand Banquet mentioned by Feilifa, Dalanna expressed complete ignorance, though the Ambassador also mentioned, "I will go to the palace later to see Crown King Helien and ask about the specific situation in two days. Please wait for my news, Lord Xia Duo."

"Please do."

While Xia Duo was deep in thought, Feilifa's explanation did not stop, "The second matter also concerns the Grand Banquet in two days. Of course, this matter also has a certain connection to you."

"I have just received confirmed news that the Midwinter banquet in two days is a Grand Banquet. Before this, there was no confirmed news, but there were indeed signs of preparations for a Grand Banquet here in Taiweimansa."

"Lord Xia Duo, before the operation begins, the identity of the target is unknown even to me, let alone the details of the operation during the Grand Banquet. I apologize that I cannot answer those questions for you."

Besides this, whether there were other schemes, Xia Duo could not guess, but it was a rare Grand Banquet after many years; if he were Crown King Helien, he would certainly make full use of it.

Digging deeper, the Crown King wanted to use the Metier Incident to consolidate local administrative power; this was the easiest to see, and it was what the Yierlan Council did not want to see and ultimately could not avoid, but it had truly been advanced, and it had come so swiftly.

Why would this matter require a Crown King's Consultant like Feilifa to handle it personally? Xia Duo knew this was certainly not the main purpose; it seemed the latter matter was the true goal.

After a moment of silence, he proposed, "I will consult with the Crown King."

Thus, Xia Duo ended the communication quickly, and Feilifa was naturally not slow either, and he also represented the Crown King in proposing a compromise to Xia Duo:

Now he wanted to see what else the Yierlan side could offer as an official reward.

"Regarding Lord Xia Duo's concerns, the Crown King attaches great importance to them, but to ensure the operation goes smoothly, the target's identity still cannot be revealed in advance. However, the Crown King agrees to grant you special Spellcasting Permission Level to deal with any contingencies during the Grand Banquet."

But if it were a Grand Banquet, then Dalanna could not be bypassed; for an occasion of that scale, neither Xia Duo, Sikaote, nor Dumu, who worked for the Northland Alliance, could represent Netheril, so Dalanna would have to go as well.

So that was it!

"Which family has been infiltrated by the Demon Descendants? What do you plan to do during the Grand Banquet?"

"Didn't you say everything is under the control of Crown King Helien and the Council? If the identity of the Demon Descendants is unknown, what if I accidentally sit next to a Demon Descendant at the banquet? How do I know I won't be accidentally injured?"

After speaking, Feilifa hesitated for a moment; although he was very confident that he would not let Xia Duo be accidentally injured by the Demon Descendants or their operation, it was indeed a hidden danger.