Chapter 3181: Another Failure to Reach an Agreement, Laruian's Hint

"Consultant Xia Duo, sometimes I really cannot understand you. In the south, you could destroy a city of Commoners without the slightest hesitation, yet in the Northland, you are unwilling to accept even the slightest risk for ordinary Mages. Which one is the real you?"

Kalishi had originally assumed that someone who could kill Commoners without hesitation would never care about the minor risks his project posed to ordinary Mages, but he had not expected that the biggest obstacle to this project would be Xia Duo.

After hearing these words from Kalishi, Xia Duo could not help but sneer inwardly; if the other party had understood even a little bit of the Daxia Code, he would not have said something so lacking in standard.

Perhaps the other party had understood it long ago, yet still regarded the Daxia Code as merely his unique technique or means of maintaining rule, rather than the spirit that the Code itself openly and uprightly manifested.

Kalishi, or rather many people in the current era, could not understand the significance of the populace, merely treating the populace as objects of rule rather than the main body of a country or organization.

Take Evereska, for example; it had communicated and cooperated with Xia Duo, and was even currently introducing some content from the Daxia Code to reconcile class contradictions within Evereska, but in essence, Evereska regarded such reforms more as a means to maintain rule or increase international competitiveness, rather than truly wanting to improve the situation of the lower classes.

Therefore, Xia Duo could actually fully understand why Kalishi could say these words now; as for killing Commoners in the south without hesitation, that was merely collateral damage of war.

No one can guarantee that there will be no damage to Commoners during the process of war.

In reality, given that the proportion of Psionic Mages in Zhamudasi exceeds forty percent, the Commoners in Tuokesente City and the surrounding areas could not be called Commoners at all, but should instead be considered potential armed forces.

Under such circumstances, in order to achieve the effect of a rapid counterattack, Xia Duo naturally could not distinguish one by one who was harmful to him, and then issue notices to let those people evacuate before launching a strike.

"The differences of opinion within the Council of Elders are actually quite large, but it must be denied that the supporters do indeed account for the majority; after all, Kalishi's plan does not require us to personally bear the risks, it merely provides the other party with some convenience."

This was the first time Xia Duo had clearly obtained the attitude of a certain country toward the Kalishi Project; as for Netheril, although Iolum said everyone was very rational and would not easily trust Kalishi, based on Xia Duo's judgment, it was probably not too optimistic.

Seeming to see signs of Xia Duo loosening his stance, Kalishi was also willing to say some polite words:

"So, does that mean Evereska is actually more inclined to support Kalishi's plan?"

As for what the promises actually were, let alone whether Laruian knew, even if she did, it was impossible for her to reveal such information.

"Then I will propose an idea: if you want to collect Arcane Wisdom, perhaps it can be collected in batches in advance, rather than being collected in real-time during the ritual process. That way, if an accident occurs, there is still a chance for remedy."

This time, the communication between the two stalled again. Regarding such a result, Xia Duo had actually anticipated it long ago. He smiled and said to Kalishi:

Kalishi was interested in Arcane Wisdom, but was Xia Duo himself not interested? As long as the risks were controllable, what would it matter even if the other party really managed to forge an Artifact?

Even now, Kalishi remained noncommittal toward the idea proposed by Xia Duo; in fact, it was resistance. This guy hoped to collect Arcane Wisdom in real-time from the Computing Power Pool during the process of forging the Artifact.

In Xia Duo's view, Arcane Wisdom should be an Arcane Magic Ziliaoku at the level of consciousness, a collection of the understanding of Magic by all Arcane Mages participating in the project; this should be a resource that could be collected over a long period.

This is reality.

From the very beginning, he had clearly told the other party that the Artifact Project could not contain uncontrollable factors, but in the past, Kalishi's attitude had also been very firm.

After meeting, Xia Duo did not beat around the bush and directly asked the other party for their current view on the New Artifact Project: "Since we parted last time, too many things have happened. I wonder what Elder Laruian's current view is on Kalishi's plan?"

"To be honest with Consultant Xia Duo, I actually regret it. This plan has long exceeded my expectations, but the Council of Elders is still in a wait-and-see state regarding this plan; it all depends on how Kalishi handles the Zhamudasi Yushi next."

"Actually, saying those things now is perhaps too optimistic. Currently, the Zhamudasi Yushi is in Evereska, and we must first pass that hurdle before there can be any follow-up."

And now, Kalishi had also revealed the attitude of the Evereska Council of Elders; it must be said that it quite matched Xia Duo's predictions.

Laruian saying this made Xia Duo think of the sudden change in Yierlan's attitude previously, so he could not help but ask: "Has Kalishi given you any promises in private?"

"I am certainly willing, but the plans I proposed cannot satisfy everyone, especially your satisfaction, Consultant Xia Duo, which made my plan difficult to push forward from the very beginning."

This hint was more than obvious. Xia Duo immediately understood: those supporters in the Evereska Council of Elders had in all likelihood received private promises from Kalishi.

"I understand, and I thank Consultant Xia Duo for providing the information. Next, I need to prepare materials for the confrontation with the Zhamudasi Yushi, so I will not entertain you further. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will invite you to be a guest again."

Although this meeting brought new doubts, the goals he had before coming were mostly achieved. Since Kalishi had issued an order to leave, Xia Duo went with the flow and ended the meeting.

"Which one is the real you is not important. What is important is whether you, who proposed the New Artifact Project, are willing to consider risk management for the Northland Mage community?"

"At the very beginning, he promised to trade with the Alliance and let Psionic Mages of Evereska origin take charge of the Artifact. Whether he did later or not, I do not know; at least I did not receive any promises."

If Kalishi wanted to use such a case to accuse him of being inconsistent or attempting to strike at his adherence to his principles, then he could only say—he was overthinking it.

"Fine, then I will not disturb you."

It was just that he did not know why Kalishi insisted on real-time collection during the ritual process; perhaps it had to do with Psionics, or perhaps Kalishi harbored some ulterior motives.

Leaving Cloudtop Tower, Xia Duo hesitated for a moment. He did not immediately return to the Alliance Headquarters, but took a detour and arrived at the Golden Maple Manor halfway up the mountain. He was lucky today; Laruian happened to be home.

For Xia Duo, Psionics were unknown, so he was more willing to believe that Kalishi harbored ulterior motives detrimental to Northland Mages.

Even now, although Xia Duo felt regret for the Zhamudasi Commoners who were caught in the crossfire and died in that strike, if he were to choose again, he would still choose to strike decisively.