Chapter 3289: Striving to Change Destiny, Recruiting Charles

Regarding such a thoughtful arrangement by Xia Duo, Saiquiya was naturally incredibly excited to accept, and he even recommended his younger brother to Xia Duo—

"My Lord, my brother has excellent magical talent. A Mage from the Anhuo Society once wanted to take my brother as an apprentice, but later, because the society had a limited quota for apprentices and the additional application wasn't approved, it didn't come to pass."

"How old is your brother? What is he doing now?"

"He just turned 50 this year and is working as an apprentice at a Magic Artifact workshop in the east of the city."

"That's child labor!" Xia Duo couldn't help but sigh.

However, as the older brother of a child laborer, Saiquiya had a different perspective: "My Lord, you understand us Elves, but your understanding isn't deep enough. The rumors from the outside world that 100 years old is adulthood mostly refer to High Elves completing their coming-of-age ceremonies."

"For those of us at the bottom—especially Wood Elves—30 years old can fully be considered adulthood, and our actual lifespans struggle to reach the standards of the High Elves."

"The vast majority of Wood Elves don't live to be 500 years old; many find their bodies giving out before 300, so the more this is the case, the more we must fight for time."

"So that's how it is!"

As a human, Xia Duo's sighs regarding so-called Elf child labor were more about their circumstances in Elf society, rather than having much sympathy for the act of a 50-year-old going out to work itself.

Saiquiya's background was also humble, which was why he became friends with Keman, but he and Keman still had one major difference: Saiquiya was a Moon Elf and possessed a magical heritage.

……

"I will, and my brother is very sensible. I will definitely seize this opportunity!"

With all these conditions combined, that was why the Silver Leaf Family ultimately stayed in the Territory.

This was different from the Silver Leaf Family that had previously invested in Ruier; the Wood Elf family was living well in Evereska and had not encountered any irresistible disasters, whereas the Silver Leaf Family had fled there.

It is a pity that it didn't exist in the past, but now that it does, whether it was him, his brother, or any other Elf, they would all choose to firmly grasp this opportunity.

If one were to compare it with an ancient example from Xia's hometown, it would be roughly—

After discussing future plans with Keman, Xia Duo arranged for Saiquiya to take Keman to the Territory. Before the Wood Elf left, Xia Duo left him with a question:

"Have you ever thought about joining the Territory? You don't have to answer me now. I'll give you two days off; you can look around and experience more of the Territory."

"Rest assured, your wish will soon be realized. Once you reach the Tower of Time, you will understand what true fulfillment is! I hope your brother can hold on; it's not easier than being an apprentice at a Magic Artifact workshop. You need to tell him in advance so he can be mentally prepared."

If one could learn Magic and change their destiny just by working hard, then the circumstances of the Elves in this world wouldn't be like this.

Xia Duo still remembers the first time he saw an Elf; that was when he had just transmigrated, at the Old Neil Tavern in Savile Town.

If the Wood Elf still chose to refuse after seeing the Territory with his own eyes, then Xia Duo might have to doubt himself. Could it be that everything he had done really couldn't move an Elf at all?

Keman was very confident in himself; in fact, he wasn't confident in his brother, but rather in the confidence of any person at the bottom who finds effort useless.

Added to the fact that Xia Duo had demanded compensation from other Charles Family members fleeing to the Territory at the time, forcing the Elves of the Silver Leaf Family to leave, they worried they would be harassed if they returned to the Charles Family later, plus their previous cooperation in smuggling.

If they had any other choice, they would never stay in the human world.

"I can fully understand, My Lord. Honestly, after learning about the situation in human society for the first time, I was very envious. Humans might think Elf lifespans are long and can be wantonly wasted, but is waste really what we want? For us Elves at the bottom, who doesn't wish to live as fulfilled a life as humans? The reality is that the bottom wants fulfillment, but the top doesn't allow it. Many times, they would rather have us waste our time than let us use it to do something meaningful."

The Wood Elf could be considered a humble scholar; with proper development, there was still a sliver of a possibility of becoming a High Elf. But Saiquiya was a commoner through and through; unless a miracle occurred, it would be impossible for him to ever become a High Elf.

……

If one really wanted to show sympathy, most ordinary people in Netheril have to help out at home once they are 6 or 7 years old and have a little sense, and most ordinary people in Netheril don't even live to be 70. Isn't that more worthy of sympathy?

The reality is that it's actually very easy to get an Elf to work for humans. As long as the money is sufficient, Elves aren't completely detached from worldly affairs. Who they work for doesn't matter!

Elves at most just travel; they wouldn't consider settling in the human world at all. Currently, there are Elves who have naturalized in Netheril, but they are almost all forced to stay in Netheril, and they all stay in Seventon.

Xia Duo later learned that those few Elves were from the Star Dew Family of the Charles Family, belonging to the High Elves, but even so, the Elves' attitude toward the human world was evident!

And this was Xia Duo's opportunity. Those Elves were his potential supporters; even if they didn't join the Territory, they could still shine and contribute to the promotion of the Xia order.

After a moment of silence, Xia Duo told Keman, "In the future, under my command, Elves will be benchmarked against the human standard of 16-year-old adulthood using the 25-year-old adulthood standard. I will treat you just as I treat humans; I hope you can understand."

If such an opportunity to change one's destiny had been placed before him in the past, he would rather die than let it go, let alone waste it; that would simply be unacceptable.

The first thing those few Elves did upon entering the tavern was to cast a spell to give the tavern a deep cleaning. As for the food provided by the tavern, they didn't look at it at all, only selecting some fresh raw meat before leaving.

Regarding what is happening within Yierlan, it is still necessary to obtain a more comprehensive view through more professional intelligence personnel in order to make more appropriate judgments.

After the Wood Elf left, Xia Duo sat in his office for a while before turning to head to the Alliance intelligence department. The information Keman brought was important, but it was only his personal, one-sided observation.

Therefore, Xia Duo wasn't too sure whether the Wood Elf could bring his whole family to defect. The other party might be able to join his command in the Northland Alliance without any obstacles, but to stake their lives and livelihoods, I'm afraid it's still a bit uncertain.

If the Wood Elf ultimately chooses to join the Territory, it would show that besides the very bottom-tier Elves, there are still many Elves in the Elf World who are dissatisfied with the status quo and want to seek new opportunities.

But to get an Elf to naturalize in a human territory is extremely difficult. This is different from Dwarves; Dwarves have a tradition of traveling, and it's not rare for them to occasionally settle in human territories.