Chapter 317: Firmness, Postponement

The communication magic tool returned to silence. In the room, only Aquilain remained, head bowed in silence. The Lord's words, "You disappoint me too much," kept echoing in his mind, leaving his mood unsettled for a long time.

It is unknown how much time passed before Aquilain raised his head from the darkness. At this moment, there was not a shred of hesitation left in his eyes.

The Lord was not wrong, but that only applied to genius Arcanists; the time wasted on acquiring Divine Grace could not compare to the progress they would have made otherwise.

But he was not wrong either; it was simply a matter of different choices made by different people. Although acquiring Divine Grace was time-consuming, compared to someone like him who had almost no room for progress, what did this bit of time even matter!

Moreover, in Aquilain's heart, there was a vaguely less-than-honorable thought; he felt that the Lord must have been hiding something from him—

Otherwise, why was the Lord younger when he became an Advanced Arcanist, and why was it the Lord who ultimately approached the level of a Great Arcanist?

The two were actually about the same age, but because the Lord's lineage had spellcasters in every generation, while he was born into a commoner family.

It was the difference in lifespan that led to the difference in their seniority.

Compared to admitting his own shortcomings, Aquilain preferred to find an excuse for why the Lord had surpassed him.

And now, the Lord's words, "You disappoint me too much," truly stung his sensitive heart. At this moment, he, who had always obeyed orders, gave birth to a different thought for the first time.

Thinking of the message previously sent by that mysterious Mage Jiasi, claiming that the Tower of Time was not complete at all and was now severely damaged.

This made him firm in his idea once again. Of course, it was impossible for him to pay out Arcane Crystals, and he didn't even want to spend a few Gold Coins.

Originally, he had thought about using the death of Asaer and the threat of the Huo Ke Territory to force the other party to open the Mythallar Ruins, but now that he knew the Tower of Time was severely damaged, he didn't even need to find an excuse.

He could just go over directly!

He did not believe the other party would actually dare to do anything to him!

As for whether the news of the Tower of Time being severely damaged was accurate, Aquilain felt that since Mage Jiasi wanted to discuss cooperation, such basic information should not be wrong.

Of course, even if it were wrong, he wouldn't care; he was full of confidence in the Huo Ke Territory behind him.

The only thing that made him somewhat worried actually came from the Huo Ke Territory; he worried whether doing this would cause the Lord to come over directly and capture him.

This was his first time violating the Lord's orders, and Aquilain was still somewhat uneasy.

However, since the decision had been made, he had to carry it through to the end! Aquilain subconsciously traced a Blue and White Star Holy Emblem on his chest, using the name of the Master of Mysteries to strengthen his will.

……

Time returns to a few hours ago, shortly after Aquilain's consciousness sensing field had departed and Mage Jiasi had killed his subordinate.

Inside a private residence in the Saville Town South District, Mage Jiasi, who was flipping through books to pass the time, seemed to sense something suddenly. He abruptly waved away the rest of his subordinates, closed the door, and then took the communication magic tool from his waist, placing it respectfully on the table.

Then he knelt before the table, motionless. A moment later, the communication magic tool hummed, and a projection appeared above it.

At the same time, a majestic voice came out, "Jiasi, how is the matter proceeding?"

Mage Jiasi did not even dare to raise his head, remaining prostrate on the ground, and said with some trepidation: "Great Master, the other party did not agree to attack the Tower of Time directly, but your subordinate has already passed on the news of the Tower of Time's damage; presumably, there will be results soon."

"Very good. But other aspects cannot be relaxed either. I have received news that their Lord will not be returning. Dismantle the rule of the Tower of Time as soon as possible. The Empire has long since fallen; in the future, I will establish my own kingdom there. Everything is Supreme for Arcane!"

"As you command, Great Master. Everything is Supreme for Arcane."

No more sound came from the communication magic tool on the table, but Mage Jiasi remained respectfully kneeling on the ground, not rising for a long time.

……

Three days later, Xia Duo once again brushed off Mage Depake, collapsed onto his bed feeling somewhat exhausted, and stared at the ceiling, his thoughts flying off to who knows where.

The day before yesterday, the two materials, Topaz and Peridot, in the Tower of Time were completely exhausted. Although some were gathered from the Savile Territory later, it was of no avail.

The shortfall was quite large!

Consequently, Mage Depake came over time and again to ask him when Niya would return, but how would I know when Niya is returning?

Xia Duo was also somewhat annoyed. It was clearly agreed that she would return in two or three days, but now, if the day of departure is counted, today is already the sixth day.

Niya still hasn't returned even now!

At this moment, Xia Duo was very much like a husband worried about his wife not returning, but what he worried about more were the various consequences triggered by Niya's prolonged absence.

These past two days, due to the lack of repair materials, many repair tasks had stalled. Xia Duo was helpless about this; one couldn't force people to work without materials, or dig into their pockets to take their own materials.

Besides that, the most critical thing was the impact on morale. Xia Duo did not know what Niya had said to the Mages when she left, but he could clearly feel the wavering morale over these two days.

Xia Duo lay on the bed, arms spread to both sides, and sighed in a low voice, "When morale is scattered, the team is hard to lead!"

It is unknown how much time passed, but just as Xia Duo was about to fall asleep in a daze, the Tower Spirit's voice suddenly sounded—

"Mage Xia Duo, Mage Aiboke requests you to go to the No. 1 Conference Room on the Public Level for a meeting."

Hmm? Aiboke is back?

Xia Duo jumped off the bed with a start. Aiboke being back meant Niya was also back, but he quickly realized something was wrong.

Before today, he had never experienced anyone other than Lord Epps and Niya using the Tower Spirit to notify him!

Although Xia Duo did not have much interaction with other Mages, from his own perspective, a Permission Level of 4 was not low, yet he still could not command the Tower Spirit to contact others.

If one wanted to contact others, one could only send a message personally.

As for Aiboke's permission level in the Tower of Time, Xia Duo was somewhat hesitant, but regardless, he would go over first to take a look and see what exactly had happened. Why did they only return now?

……

Public Level, No. 1 Conference Room.

At this moment, quite a few Mages who were already on the Public Level had arrived first, but as they looked at the empty main seat and then at their equally bewildered companions, they were even more confused in their hearts.

"What's the situation? I received news that it was convened by Mage Aiboke."

"Me too. There has never been such a situation before."

……

Several people were discussing in low voices the various possibilities regarding today's notification and this meeting.

Before long, more and more people arrived. Some Mages who were more familiar with each other had already sat together, forming small circles, and began to converse using spells.

And in their spell-based conversation, the scale of their discussion was even larger: "Has something gone wrong with the Tower of Time again?"

"Why do you say 'again'?"

"Who knows? Perhaps the Tower Master has something important to announce!"

"I hope so. I don't want to change places and start from scratch again!"

……