Chapter 3180: Kalishi

————It will be later~~

————

At least in Xia Duo's view, noble ends cannot be achieved through improper means.

Even if some in the Alliance believe otherwise, it is difficult to explain the contradiction in human nature reflected by the acts of stealing treasure versus voluntary sacrifice.

Stopping Kalishi's project is Xia Duo's ultimate goal, and shattering Kalishi's positive image can also be considered a way to achieve that goal.

Just as Kalishi spreads rumors to question his professionalism, professionalism is the fundamental reason Xia Duo can control the Computing Power Pool; no one is more skilled than him in matters related to the Computing Power Pool.

For Kalishi's project to be realized, he must convince the various nations of the Alliance to believe in it, and the act of "believing" itself carries a rather obvious attribute of credibility.

As long as Kalishi's credible image collapses, no matter what he says, the Alliance will hesitate more than they would under normal circumstances.

It is hard to imagine that someone who just stole important treasures from the school that cultivated him would suddenly say he is willing to sacrifice himself to use the stolen treasures to forge an Artifact for others.

Xia Duo is almost one hundred percent certain that even if he confronted Kalishi with the Focusing Artifact, the other party would not admit to the theft but would instead find an excuse.

No matter how absurd, that is exactly the kind of excuse the Alliance leadership needs most; when the interests are too great to make a choice, they will use this excuse to convince themselves.

As for what Zhamu says, that is not important; claiming Kalishi stole the treasure actually further proves the feasibility of the Kalishi Project! Otherwise, why would he be in such a rush?

Therefore, Xia Duo's true intention is not the wine; he does not care what Kalishi says, as long as he can confirm the existence of the Remains of the First Mentor.

In the event that things develop to an irredeemable state, he will have to consider seizing that key Psionic Material.

Of course, he is not taking the material for himself, but will choose to return it to Zhamu; if Kalishi has any dissatisfaction, he can go to Zhamu himself and settle the ownership of the material before discussing anything else.

As for the Alliance side, once Zhamu recovers the Remains of the First Mentor, what reason would they have to send people to the Northland? And without Psionic Mages attacking the Computing Power Pool, the Alliance would have no need to train Psionic Mages.

If there are still Psionic Mages attacking the Computing Power Pool, then just let Zhamu take the blame.

And if they don't train Psionic Mages, then the Artifact is not a necessity; as for Arcane Psionic Fusion, Xia Duo estimates that hardly anyone believed in it at all.

Even if Kalishi demonstrates the so-called advantages of fusion, couldn't such advantages be obtained by grabbing a Psionic Mage or having an Arcane Mage switch to psionics?

If one Kalishi can appear, couldn't more appear?

They are just being used as tools; it's not like those high-and-mighty superiors are personally risking themselves to awaken psionics, so what if they are one-time tools?

Therefore, Xia Duo is not worried about the Alliance coming to trouble him later; perhaps there will be some trouble, but it is all within the range he can handle. If he can properly resolve an event with such potentially great harm as the forging of an Artifact, he will accept it even if it is troublesome.

……

Soon, Xia Duo arrived at the summit of Yunding Mountain. The Cloudtop Tower was built on a platform specifically shaped on the summit. Before he could enter the tower, a sword-wielding guard nearby approached him, bowed, and stated his identity—

"My lord, I am the one arranged here by Supervisor Dumu to listen to your instructions. You may call me A sita, my lord."

"Hmm."

Xia Duo nodded. He did not scrutinize the other party too much but directly ordered: "Take me to Kalishi."

Although this sword-wielding guard who called himself A sita looked like an Elf, he was actually from Netheril, or rather a Half-Elf, and one with a majority of human blood.

Perhaps in the eyes of many humans, possessing an Elven face is something to be proud of, but the ancestors of these people in Netheril who possess Elven blood almost all have a heartbreaking history of being abandoned by their Elven parents.

Therefore, in the eyes of these people, having an Elven appearance is not something to be proud of, but rather a disgrace. Yet, humans have difficulty operating in Elven society, and much intelligence work often has to rely on these humans with Elven appearances.

Think of a person who hates Elves having to imitate an Elf for a mission, and even having to deal with Elves; it is truly a significant sacrifice.

Actually, Xia Duo was very curious about the existence of these people, but out of respect for the sacrifices they made, he tried his best not to focus on their appearance.

Even if he appeared a bit cold now, in the eyes of these people who were Elven on the outside but human on the inside, it might be more acceptable!

……

Dumu's location in the Cloudtop Tower was no secret; at least most Cloudtop Tower guards knew it. Although A sita was arranged into the Cloudtop Tower by Dumu, he had gone through the proper procedures and was not just some guard replaced by spellcasting in private.

Therefore, A sita also possessed the normal guard Permission Level within the Cloudtop Tower. He led Xia Duo to a room on the fourth floor and stopped outside:

"My lord, Kalishi has been staying here during this time. I have previously guided two visitors who came to see him. Should I knock, my lord?"

"Wait."

Xia Duo was not in a hurry to meet Kalishi. Instead, he diverted a portion of his consciousness to his main body to operate Luodasi's Focusing Artifact, using his avatar as a medium to conduct a probe.

The result was the same as the previous few times: he could not detect the target he wanted at all.

While waiting for the probe, Xia Duo also looked at the environment around Kalishi's temporary residence. As he watched, he suddenly asked A sita:

"Is the floor above a restricted area?"

"The floor above mainly contains some display rooms and is not a restricted area. At least with my Permission Level, I can certainly take you to visit, my lord. Even you could go there alone, my lord, as long as you tell the guards there."

"Are all places open?" Xia Duo continued to ask.

"Not exactly. There is a Secret Treasure Storage Room that requires permission from the Evereska Council of Elders to enter. However, it is said that since the Cloudtop Tower was built, not many people have been able to go in and visit," A sita replied.

"So that's how it is!"

Xia Duo immediately understood; that so-called Secret Treasure Storage Room was likely a key Node of the Cloudtop Tower.

Although the City Mythallar of Evereska had been partially controlled by the Alliance under the guise of helping with repairs, important locations like the Cloudtop Tower still had Independent Mythallars.

Even if they were previously linked to the City Mythallar, after the Northland Alliance obtained the Mythallar Permission for the city, Evereska likely separated this side.

It was similar to the practice of transferring assets to hollow out a company on Earth; since they could not take back control of the City Mythallar, they would ensure that control of other associated Mythallars would not be lost.

This kind of disconnected "transfer" under these circumstances was actually an act of self-preservation.

Since there was a Mythallar, there was a high probability of having a Node, and Mythallar Nodes were undoubtedly high-energy existences. Even if they appeared calm on the surface, they were actually capable of exerting a powerful influence on the surroundings.

That Kalishi chose to stay temporarily below the Cloudtop Tower Mythallar Node—Xia Duo simply did not believe this was purely a coincidence!