Chapter 2898: High-Level Meeting

"Then Teacher, what should we prepare now?"

"That is a good question. To be honest, I have been thinking about this ever since I learned the news that the Council is about to open up Apprentice recruitment qualifications, and only recently have I had some initial ideas!"

Kustuo glanced at the other three elders beside him, then continued, "Our Thorn Society has many ancient legacies and many projects with great potential, but many cannot continue due to a shortage of manpower. Even if we could recruit Apprentices, we do not have many resources to cultivate them, so—"

"I want to liquidate a portion of the Society's assets while betting on the Public Computing Resource Pool that has recently sparked heated discussion. What we need to do now is to organize a universal rapid cultivation plan for Apprentices."

"Then, actively embrace the Public Computing Resource Pool. Once the Apprentice recruitment qualifications are opened, we will immediately recruit Apprentices, cultivate them rapidly, and then restart our projects to obtain long-term, stable monetization capabilities, thereby allowing the Society to develop once again."

After Kustuo finished speaking, two others added some content, mostly agreeing with liquidating part of the assets to cope with future changes. As for whether to bet on the Public Computing Resource Pool, the elders' attitudes were very unified.

Now only the opinions of the other members remained. Whether it was liquidating assets or future choices, both were closely related to them. As a declining society, it was even more impossible not to value the members' opinions.

At this time, an Elf stood up and expressed: "Public Computing Resource Pool? I have heard many Mages discussing it recently. Can this really help us rapidly cultivate Apprentices?"

"The Public Computing Resource Pool is essentially a small-scale Heke Network with many connected users. It has no gain effects for high-level Mages, and using it for Apprentices can even be said to be a bit of a waste. You don't need to doubt this aspect!"

Elder Kustuo continued to explain to the Society members, "But the Spirit Thought Network is not omnipotent. If there is no corresponding legacy, then no matter how many gains there are, it will be very limited for a New Apprentice. Therefore, adjustments still need to be made regarding the legacy, and I will study this with you all next."

"Since you know it is a paid-use model, then you must also know that Mages can obtain income upon connecting. I imagine it is determined by the Mage's level. We four elders are all senior Mages; we certainly wouldn't be unable to afford to raise even Apprentices!"

Xia Duo could not help but wonder if the Demon Descendant already knew the Northland Alliance's response measures, so they were prepared to drag it out until the temporarily assembled action group dispersed, and then suddenly perform multiple rituals.

Northland Alliance Headquarters, Xiu Xi Shi.

But no matter what, the Public Computing Resource Pool is still just a concept and has not been truly implemented yet. Rather than worrying about that, it is better to think about how to rapidly cultivate New Apprentices.

However, it is not entirely impossible. Xia Duo thought of his own situation; if the main body is worried about safety issues, he can use an avatar. At the level of a senior Mage, creating an avatar is generally not a big problem.

Xia Duo turned his attention back to reality from the Spirit Thought Network, feeling somewhat irritable in his heart. Just now in the Spirit Thought Network, he received news from two intelligence officers that the monitoring center had detected a Time-line Fluctuation Signal again after an interval of two hours.

If the situation is not urgent, a temporary assembly is nothing; instead, it saves expenses. But once the situation is urgent, a temporary assembly would be too late, which would easily lead to mistakes.

The Northland Alliance could not react in time due to the haste, which allowed the Demon Descendant to succeed in a sneak attack.

However, this problem does not need Xia Duo to worry about for the time being. He believes that the Alliance leadership should be able to discover this problem. Moreover, it is not just for the Demon Descendant; for any situation, maintaining a high-specification Mage team on standby at all times is very necessary.

But the other volunteers temporarily assembled this time might not necessarily be so. The Subconscious Information in the Heke Network has already revealed this point, and this also includes the members of the action group!

Kustuo's words drew a burst of laughter in the conference room. Isn't the Thorn Society currently being supported by four elders! If they can afford to raise Elite Mages, they can certainly afford to raise Apprentices; the problem is that there is currently no qualification to raise many Apprentices.

One can appeal to their emotions and reason, but in the end, it must come down to resources and funding; otherwise, why would people want to come?

Xia Duo's state was still okay, but he was also a bit worried. It wasn't until Dumu came over to deliver breakfast and brought an invitation for a meeting with the Alliance leadership that Xia Duo finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Early the next morning, a full night had passed, and the monitoring center had not sent any signal messages exceeding 6 minutes. The morale of the volunteers had already begun to waver.

Leaving an avatar in Aifuruisi, keeping it silent normally, and activating it immediately once there is a situation—this is nothing more than a problem of an unobstructed contact method.

Even if the Demon Descendant did not already know the inside story, the two days of waiting exposed a weakness of the Northland Alliance—that is, there is no standing high-specification Mage team, and everything requires temporary assembly.

Thinking about it this way, it is actually very necessary for Netheril to establish such a team. Although this will further strengthen the authority of the Seventon Council, Xia Duo himself is a member of the Council, and in the future, he will lead the Council through the Tower of Time lineage.

Now, he naturally does not mind strengthening the authority of the Council.

Next, it depends on what the Alliance actually wants to discuss.

This promise made the Society members feel very excited, but at the same time, they were also vaguely worried. It was not that they were worried that the elder would not keep his word, but that they were worried that doing so might cause the Society's expenditures to exceed its income.

It is still necessary to wait for future policy changes, but the relevant preparatory work can start now. Otherwise, if they act in a rush in the future, how could the Thorn Society compete with other societies?

But wanting to maintain a high-specification Mage team on standby at all times for a long period is a cost that cannot be underestimated. In other words, the various countries of the Northland need to pay this military expenditure.

The most critical thing is that this team comes from various countries, and even to some extent, they are already high-level figures themselves, and will not be used privately by any individual high-level figure of the Northland Alliance.

But this time it only lasted for about ten seconds, the time greatly reduced compared to the last time. It seems the Demon Descendant intends to play this trick for a long time. Xia Duo does not know if the Northland Alliance has the patience to keep waiting, and he himself has not lost patience for the time being.

This matter is not just the elders' business; it is also the common responsibility of all Society members.

After Kustuo finished speaking, the Society members in the conference room discussed in low voices for a while, and then another Elf stood up and asked: "By the way, Elder, I heard that the Public Computing Power Pool is a paid-use model after it is built. Is the price for using it high?"

……

……

"Of course, regarding the specific fee standards for the Public Computing Resource Pool, we have no way of knowing for now. Regardless of how much it is, all fees for Society members to use the Public Computing Resource Pool in the future will be borne by the Society."

"In addition, I will also find a way for you all to experience the actual effects of the Heke Network, so that you can target the legacy for challenges, especially the cultivation part for Apprentices."

Besides this, there is another very critical problem: how many senior Mages or high-level Mages are willing to serve as Battle Mages for a long term!