Chapter 297: Hand of Secrecy

Arriving at the Reception Room, Xia Duo did not see any so-called guests; only Niya and Saixili, another female Apprentice of Lord Aipusi, were present.

The two were whispering about something, but they stopped immediately upon seeing Xia Duo approach, and Saixili even gave him a slight bow, which actually made Xia Duo feel much better.

"Saixili, you go back first; I will look for you later."

"Yes!"

Saixili responded, left quickly, and gave Xia Duo another slight bow before departing. After Saixili left, Niya remained silent, just staring at Xia Duo with a rather complex look in her eyes.

*Cough—*

"Um—Niya? Mentor?" Xia Duo gave a dry cough, breaking the stalemate first. With Lord Aipusi absent, he found Niya even harder to fathom.

Hearing Xia Duo call her Mentor, Niya slightly restrained her gaze and said, "You don't need to call me Mentor from now on; call me Niya."

"Oh, alright!"

"There are mainly two things I called you here for." However, Niya changed the subject and asked, "Do you know where the Tower of Time is currently located?"

"Is it at the Mythallar Ruins?"

Because of the matter regarding Lord Aipusi, Niya was likely very sensitive about this place, so Xia Duo could only speak cautiously. But what connection could Niya's search for him have with the Mythallar Ruins?

Niya said again, "The pioneering of Daxia Territory cannot stop. I will have Town Mayor Sain provide you with sufficient personnel and supplies."

Huh?

Xia Duo glanced at Niya in surprise, but he could not see anything unusual from the expression on her face.

Was it because of his status as a Pioneer, or something else? Xia Duo kept speculating in his heart, but he agreed quickly, "No problem, I understand!"

"There is one more thing; some troublesome guests are coming soon." Niya pointed to the seat beside her, "Sit next to me, don't say anything, just listen."

After she finished speaking, she seemed to remember something and quickened her pace of speech: "Right, take out the Pioneer Scepter granted by the Princess! Hurry! They are here!"

Xia Duo was a bit confused, but he quickly took out the Pioneer Scepter and sat beside Niya. With his Crimson Robe, the Silver Staff, and the face Xia Duo deliberately kept straight, he looked quite the part.

Only a few seconds after sitting down, he heard faint, intermittent conversation coming from outside the Reception Room. There were about four people, and Xia Duo could only tell that one of them was Aiboke.

The other three must be the visitors Niya mentioned. He just didn't know where they were from. Listening to the content of their conversation, it sounded like they were talking about some interesting anecdotes from Seventon?

Were they people from Seventon? From the Arcane Union? Or someone else entirely?

Just as Xia Duo was secretly guessing, the people had already entered. Besides Aiboke, there was an old man and two middle-aged men.

Huh—

If he hadn't known beforehand that the arrivals were guests, and specifically the troublesome guests Niya spoke of, Xia Duo would have thought these people were Aiboke's friends.

Like Aiboke, these people were all wearing blue Mage Robes, with Blue and White Star Holy Emblems hanging on their chests, and they all wore their hair a foot long.

The only difference was that these three guests each had an additional gorgeous cloak and a short scepter, while Aiboke only had a longer staff.

"My Lady, Lord Xia Duo, these three are Arcanists from the 【Hand of Secrecy】—"

Aiboke pointed to one of the middle-aged men with a slightly serious expression and introduced him: "Master Oulinsi!"

The other two, the one who looked like an old man was called Jielepu, and the other middle-aged man was Aigeberde.

Afterwards, Aiboke introduced Niya—Tower Master of the Tower of Time and Lord of the Savile Territory—and Xia Duo—Pioneer and Lord of the Daxia Territory—to these three Arcanists.

Of course, there was also the most important part—the ruins outside belonged to the Daxia Territory, Xia Duo was Niya's husband, and the Tower of Time happened to be stuck right in the middle of the ruins.

After some introductions and pleasantries, they finally reached the main topic. Arcanist Aigeberde, acting as the representative of the three, said:

"Tower Master Niya, Lord Xia Duo, the 【Hand of Secrecy】 discovered not long ago that the Magic Net here has suffered damage. If it is not stopped and repaired in time, I fear it will lead to greater harm."

After hearing these words from Aigeberde, Niya immediately understood the situation, "The three of you, the Mythallar is located within the Daxia Territory, and the Tower of Time is one with the Daxia Territory. I have already arranged for Aiboke to carry out the repairs, so there is no need to trouble the three of you."

"No trouble, how could it be trouble! The 【Hand of Secrecy】 has always been committed to maintaining the stability of the Magic Net; wherever there is damage, there we are!" Aigeberde looked righteous. Seeming to feel that enthusiasm alone was not enough, he added:

"Besides, Mage Aiboke only recently advanced to Arcanist, right? How can he compare to the three of us who have experience? If the Magic Net here is not repaired while it is in a state of riot, once it settles into silence, who knows how many times more energy it will take to fix."

After speaking, Aigeberde looked at Aiboke, seemingly wanting to get his confirmation.

Seeing that everyone was looking at him, Aiboke could only nod, "That is indeed the case. Your Excellency Aigeberde is correct. The Magic Net of the Mythallar Ruins is currently still in a riot stage; it is the best time for repairs. Once it settles down, it might truly become troublesome."

"Is that so!"

Niya glanced at Xia Duo, and seeing his expressionless face, she nodded secretly in her heart, "I understand. The Tower of Time will not cause any obstruction to the actions of the three of you. However—"

"However what?" Aigeberde asked hurriedly.

"I heard that when the 【Hand of Secrecy】 repairs the Magic Net in other territories, they always hire locals to be responsible for vigilance and guarding. The Daxia Territory will provide the three of you with 300 soldiers as guards."

"No, you cannot do this!" Before Niya could finish, Aigeberde cried out in horror. This was not a simple matter of hiring; hiring locals required payment using Arcane Crystals.

So-called Arcane Crystals were actually crystallized Arcane Energy. Arcane Energy was born from an Arcanist's Arcane Fire, and every single Arcane Crystal had to be accumulated by an Arcanist over time.

If they really followed the convention, hiring 300 people would likely bankrupt the three of them. This was absolutely not something they could agree to!

"Tower Master Niya, we are all Arcanists; we really don't need that many guards. I think 30 would be enough!"

On the other side, Aiboke almost broke out in a cold sweat. He had only mentioned that they could make these three bleed a little, but he hadn't expected Niya to be prepared to swallow them whole, skin and bones included.

Fortunately, these three were not people with perverse personalities, otherwise, they might have turned hostile on the spot. Aiboke hurriedly sent a Sending to Niya, "The fact that they are willing to hire 30 people already far exceeds my expectations. Quit while you're ahead!"

Reminded of this, Niya also realized she had miscalculated, but since the words had already been spoken, they could not be taken back, so she could only say:

"30 people it is! If the three of you have any other needs, feel free to bring them up; everything is negotiable."

"No, no need." Aigeberde waved his hands hurriedly.

"Your Excellency Aigeberde, this is a complimentary service for hiring 30 people!"

"This—" Aigeberde certainly knew that the price of hiring 30 people was too high, but in order to obtain Divine Grace, he could not help but grit his teeth and accept, especially given the situation where the other party's Mage Tower was already stuck in the ruins.

Now that he knew there was a complimentary service, Aigeberde's mind became active again. He couldn't help but look at Master Oulinsi, and seeing the other party nod imperceptibly, he finally felt relieved.

He knew that the Lord of the Daxia Territory couldn't actually make the decisions, so he spoke directly to Niya:

"Tower Master Niya, we hope to excavate a river channel from the ruins to the Wolfburg River in the west!"