Chapter 3354: Battlefields Across the Lands

————It will be later~~

————

"It is not about what I want, but what the Alliance needs right now! The Time-Related Magic Research Laboratory needs more details on that ritual spell to break free from the persistent disadvantage against similar rituals discovered elsewhere."

"So—" The Senior Mage quickly understood the importance of this mission and fell silent. Xia Duo did not urge him; the final moment had not yet arrived, and there was still time to wait for the other party's decision.

But he did not wait long. In less than five seconds, he received the other party's promise: "I will fight until the last moment. I hope the Alliance will not forget our sacrifice."

Even in the entire Northland, a Senior Mage is considered a figure at the pinnacle of the pyramid. Such a person is undoubtedly protective of their own life, yet there still exist things in this world that are higher than life.

At least they still exist in the Elf World. Coupled with the traditional Elf belief that death is not the end, that is why such a Senior Mage is willing to sacrifice himself.

If this were a Senior Arcanist of Netheril, I am afraid one could not just grab anyone and find such resolve.

Of course, this is not to say that all Netherese Mages are selfish. Rather, Netheril is currently in an era of classical fading; some superiors still possess classical heroic ideals or lordly qualities, while others have long since fallen.

Under such circumstances, if there is no new ideology of righteousness to occupy the minds of mages, selfishness will expand infinitely until the entire nation completely collapses and rots.

In that single instant, all eight spellcasting sequences showed varying degrees of chaos. Fortunately, the Alliance mages were on the offensive at the time, so it did not immediately collapse.

The reason why the Time Tower Void Warehouse Chamber of Commerce was able to enter the Yierlan market so smoothly was not merely as simple as me saving Meite'er.

And now, Xia Duo saw a hero among the Elves.

Or perhaps they think I am too arrogant—those Elves are mainly Cormanthor Elves, stemming from my performance during my visit to Cormanthor. But regardless of which country the Elves are from, they are quite approving of Xia Duo's personal reputation.

Xia Duo did not promise anything else this time, because I truly did not have a hundred percent certainty of defeating the Darkness Society. Thus, I only used a slogan to express my current determination; Mind Link has that advantage, being able to make people share the same intent.

This group of Elven mages, who were at least Elite Mages, although they had many misunderstandings about the spellcasting instructions provided by Xia Duo, did not lack the basic ability to judge the situation. They knew they had personally wasted the only possible chance to retreat.

As for Xia Duo's promise, those dozen or so Elven mages did not ask for specific details. On one hand, they really could not spare any extra energy to dwell on that under the current situation; on the other hand, Xia Duo's personal reputation was still playing a role.

Order, and the collective interests brought about by order, will become the main theme of the new era. And in order to maintain such collective interests, countless mages willing to sacrifice for it will emerge.

Such a request was somewhat demanding under these circumstances, but the situation forced these Alliance mages to either advance or retreat, to either succeed or die. It took about half a minute before they stabilized their spellcasting.

As for the words that followed, that Senior Mage did not transmit them from his conscious mind, but while in the deep Mind Link, Xia Duo could still perceive what the other party wanted to say——

Yet even so, it allowed the ritual leader of the Darkness Society to stabilize the situation and even find an opening to counterattack.

Furthermore, Xia Duo, by virtue of his current status as an Alliance Consultant, was already representing the official Alliance.

Although there are still many Elves in the Elf World who think I am too simple and crude in my handling of affairs—those Elves are mostly Eaerlann Elves—or think I am too stubborn—those Elves are mostly Illefarn or Evereska Elves.

For a time, the Mind Link was filled with feelings of desperation and resentment. Even the Senior Mage who was willing to sacrifice himself for the sake of the Alliance produced a large amount of negative emotions.

In a sense, it could be considered reaching a state of "sharing a common hatred for the enemy."

"Pay attention to maintaining focus; do not let your mind wander."

The Elf World has both of these factors; it has retained more classical romantic heroic ideals and has also formed the concept of order of the republic of high-ranking families relatively early.

But this also allowed the ritual leader of the Darkness Society to completely gain the upper hand. Now it is no longer a question of whether these Alliance mages want to retreat, but whether the enemy is willing to let them go!

Subsequently, I no longer hid it and informed everyone in the Mind Link that the Alliance needed everyone to try to probe for more details about this ritual, the subtext being that there might be sacrifices.

If Xia Duo had not appeared, this might have been an inevitable trend. But Xia Duo's appearance brought too many variables, with the Northland Alliance on the outside and the New Covenant on the inside.

At my position, what I consider is no longer just my personal interests, but also the Territory, the Alliance, and even the public interests of the future Main Plane; it is also a republic.

This is actually a rare opportunity to shape the consciousness of the Alliance. Xia Duo would certainly not miss it. My words were definitely not just to appease the emotions of those Elven mages, but I would truly do so.

His solid personal reputation also played a very important role.

Some of these negative emotions were directed at the Alliance, some were directed at Xia Duo, but more were directed at the Darkness Society, and at that Darkness Society ritual leader at the bottom of Tear Drop Lake!

It is nothing more than the fact that the current situation in Yierlan is almost half-paralyzed. If even a regional power like Yierlan has been turned into this by the Darkness Society, what kind of ending would other countries in the Alliance face?

Even if my personal power is limited and it is difficult to push the Alliance to provide compensation, I will personally provide full compensation.

After all, even the most foolish Elf would not welcome a foreign chamber of commerce with no guaranteed reputation just because they were grateful for the other party saving them.

"Consultant Xia Duo, do you think the Alliance can really defeat the Darkness Society? I heard——"

Therefore, Xia Duo's current promise, to the thirteen Elven mages by the side of Tear Drop Lake, was no less effective than the guarantees of the official Alliance or the Crown King of their respective countries.

The so-called republic is actually public affairs, and what it represents is naturally public interest. Likewise, there will be superiors and ordinary Elves willing to sacrifice for it.

"The Alliance will surely win!"

"Everyone, please work together to face the enemy. Here, I promise you all that regardless of the outcome of this operation, your families will surely receive the care of the Alliance and myself. The Alliance will not let down any hero."

All along, Xia Duo has been well-regarded for his personal reputation. This is thanks to the widespread dissemination of the Great Xia Code. Even if it is not the specific content, just the act of creating the code is enough to establish an Adamantine-like reputation for me.