Chapter 3195: Unexpected Intruder, Cooperation

Xia Duo had already made preparations to resurrect all forty-six of his territory residents; what remained to be seen was whether the Illuminati would actually launch an attack on the day of the Midsummer Festival.

Due to the approaching Midsummer Festival, Xia Duo also focused more of his energy on his Territory rather than on Evereska, where he basically just went to clock in during the day, check the operating status of the Computing Power Pool, and then idle in his office.

Or he would return directly to Golden Maple Manor; if there were any emergencies, his assistant Charles or Dumu could contact him.

The eve of the Midsummer Festival.

As usual, Xia Duo conducted a Psionic Awakening experiment under Niya's supervision. The result, unsurprisingly, was another failure. Although he was somewhat anxious, he did not deliberately accelerate the progress, still attempting it at most twice a day as before.

If Niya asked, he would even just do the bare minimum of one attempt.

After this experiment ended, Xia Duo was just about to go back to rest with Niya when he unexpectedly received an alarm from Yunfeng Manor. Xia Duo's expression changed instantly; he teleported back to the bedroom directly with Niya and then told her:

"There is an emergency. A little thief has broken into Yunfeng Manor. I'll go handle it and be back soon."

After saying this, Xia Duo's main body collapsed onto the bed, his consciousness shifting to his avatar far away in Evereska. When he walked out of the Secret Ritual Chamber where the avatar was kept, the intruder had already reached the interior of the manor.

The many protective measures he had previously set up were all triggered one by one, but limited by Evereska's restrictions on renovating the manor, the configuration here mostly relied on the original, older setup.

"First, tell me who you are? If I recall correctly, there shouldn't be anyone like you in the Zhamudasi Yushi delegation!" Xia Duo's tone was very unkind.

Arriving at the open space behind the garden, the steward Lajieer, who had heard the news, arrived late. Xia Duo first let Lajieer go back to rest, then he went alone to face the intruder, looking the other person up and down.

Regarding such alarmist talk, Xia Duo merely sneered, but he did not speak his mind fully, instead letting the other party continue to explain.

Under these circumstances, Xia Duo could only choose to trust the intruder, but out of caution, he still re-cast a Protective Spell. To Xia Duo's surprise, this spell actually contained both Psionic and Magic components. (He had a Psionic Detector.)

But the intruder seemed to completely ignore Xia Duo's tone and still explained sincerely:

"So you intend to kill him to prevent him from bringing brand-new opportunities to the Northland Alliance?" Xia Duo asked again.

Just as Xia Duo was preparing to personally take action to control the intruder, the intruder also discovered his presence and attempted a Sending—

"I don't know about Psionics, but very few spells should be able to break through the blockade of this Secret Ritual Chamber. Even if you did, it's impossible to hide it from me. If you have something to say, just say it; don't look around anymore."

Tuoruisi explained further: "Kalishi should have told you that he found a way to fuse Psionics and Magic. He believes this is the true path to reaching the truth. What I want to tell you now is—Kalishi is not wrong!"

"Who are you? Why did you trespass into my manor?" Xia Duo asked.

Thus, Xia Duo merely bound the other party in an open space instead of transferring them into the spell traps he had already set up.

"Is this room safe enough, secret enough?"

"Brand-new opportunities?" Tuoruisi sneered. "All he can bring is destruction and enslavement. You underestimate the New Artifact he has envisioned. Once he controls the New Artifact, perhaps the entire Xilu and even the entire Main Plane will have to bow at his feet."

Xia Duo's hand paused for a moment, but he did not stop; instead, he coordinated with the manor's protective Jieti to bind the intruder. During this process, the intruder did not resist.

"Consultant Xia Duo, it is inconvenient to talk here. Can we find a more secret place?"

"Fine, I trust Consultant Xia Duo."

Thinking of this, Xia Duo couldn't help but ask the question in his heart, "Your delegation has negotiated with the Alliance many times without reaching an agreement. Why do you think that if you come to me privately, the Alliance will definitely agree to cooperate?"

"Fusing Psionics and Magic is indeed a possible path straight to the truth, and the most critical point is that this path is held in the hands of Kalishi alone!"

The symbol the other party had just gestured represented the Anti School of Zhamudasi. Xia Duo had previously "absorbed" the memories of many Lingneng Dashi and was not unfamiliar with that symbol.

This also meant the intruder was not controlled but was still resisting the protective Jieti, attempting to enter the main building at the center of the manor.

"Do you think that's possible? It's not like I haven't destroyed a mere Psionic Artifact before!"

"A Zhamudasi person? You certainly have a lot of nerve!" Xia Duo asked coldly.

"Consultant Xia Duo, please slow down; I have something to say!"

"I come from the Anti School of Zhamudasi. I am indeed not in the delegation that came to the Northland this time; I arrived in the Northland much earlier. Consultant Xia Duo can call me Tuoruisi."

As he spoke, the intruder extended a hand from his pitch-black cloak and gestured a rather complex symbol that was not unfamiliar to Xia Duo.

Having done all he could, Tuoruisi then spoke slowly, "I represent the Anti School and the Zeqi School of Zhamudasi, requesting to unite with the Northland Alliance to jointly eliminate that extremist fanatic, Kalishi."

However, he was not worried that the other party would suddenly attack; instead, he let the other party cast their spell. He wanted to see what kind of incredible things the other party could say.

"Hmm?" Xia Duo was startled; to be honest, he had not anticipated this result.

But this did not mean the other party was definitely from Zhamudasi; after all, since even he knew the symbol, it wouldn't be strange for other non-Zhamudasi Mages to know it as well.

Speaking of this, the Zhamudasi person who called himself Tuoruisi became somewhat nervous. He looked left and right inside the Secret Ritual Chamber and asked Xia Duo:

The other party went to such lengths to break into the Arcane state, full of various worries, and the result was just wanting to unite with the Northland Alliance to eliminate Kalishi? Did they not want the Remains of the First Mentor anymore?

Seeing this, Xia Duo hesitated for a moment, then directly cast a spell to transfer the other party to the underground Secret Ritual Chamber of the manor. Afterward, he deliberately erased the traces of the other party's infiltration before returning to the Secret Ritual Chamber.

At the same time, the intruder unfastened the cloak on his body. It was indeed as Xia Duo had judged: a human he had never seen before!

"Consultant Xia Duo, I know the Northland Alliance cannot agree to the delegation's demand to hand over Kalishi directly, and even the demand for Kalishi to exchange for the Remains of the First Mentor is hard to satisfy, but those are only on the surface."

"Please forgive my unauthorized entry; it's just that this matter is truly not suitable for publicizing. I ask that Consultant Xia Duo please listen to my explanation," the intruder said very sincerely.

But the intruder was wrapped in a wide white cloak, and even his face had been magically shielded from any attempts at observation. From his tall, straight figure, one could only roughly judge that he was either a human or a Gold Elf.