Chapter 3396: Mage Xia Duo Joins the Team

————A bit late~

————Caught up to 3395

Xia Duo has done quite a bit of research, especially regarding the Plane Root characteristics of the Main Plane, and none of his research can support the existence of the Underdark as it currently stands.

If the Main Plane model he established had issues, then the Plane Root design for habitable planes he derived from that model was verified in his Semi-plane experiments.

From this perspective, although Xia Duo has not been able to fully analyze the Plane Root of the Main Plane, based on the information currently mastered, the Underdark is actually more like an external plug-in component compared to the Main Plane.

Of course, he does not rule out that this is a peculiarity of the Main Plane; perhaps the Plane Root possesses some special unity of opposites. After all, it is a large-scale plane, and the complexity of its Plane Root far exceeds that of a Semi-plane.

It is somewhat presumptuous to judge the Plane Root characteristics of such a large-scale plane as the Main Plane based solely on Semi-plane experiments.

However, there is one point Xia Duo is quite certain of: the Underdark can basically be confirmed as unique to the Main Plane; other planes known to the Holy Golden Dragon Empire or Netheril do not possess similar environments.

Therefore, Xia Duo wanted to learn more through Divine Envoy Richi, so he asked again: "How deep have the two Divine Envoys gone into the Underdark? Did you feel any limit?"

"I have not been to the deepest part; I only stopped where Taide found the Abyssal Land Embryo, so naturally, it was impossible to feel a limit. Taide, on the other hand, sent subordinates to investigate the demons and Drow, and they might have tracked them to a very deep place; you can ask him for specifics."

"I see! Then I won't disturb the Divine Envoy's rest."

After saying this, Xia Duo left the city square. Richi had just clearly indicated that he would not be heading to the Underdark next, likely wanting to leave the credit for purifying the Abyssal Land Embryo to Taide.

After all, Richi already had the credit for securing the Adamantine order, and as long as the follow-up negotiations went smoothly, it would be enough for him to complete his promotion.

……

After parting ways with Richi, Xia Duo immediately returned to the Control Center of Yongle City and shifted his consciousness back to his avatar. In the short time he was conversing with Divine Envoy Richi, the situation outside had undergone a near-earth-shattering change.

His prediction had come true!

Alliance Headquarters, Command Hall.

Xia Duo's avatar opened his eyes and immediately saw the anxious-looking Dumu, with several Alliance representatives gathered around him.

Just a moment ago, he had temporarily stopped commanding the Alliance field teams on the grounds that he needed rest after a bitter battle, but he still served as the consciousness information Coordinator.

Adding him as a commander wouldn't change the overall situation, so the representatives hadn't said anything before.

But with the situation taking a sharp turn for the worse, whether or not they had Xia Duo's command might even become a key factor affecting the outcome of the decisive battle, so the representatives could no longer sit still and one after another instructed Dumu to urge Xia Duo.

"Since the Tanzan Peak operation, the Alliance hasn't won a single battle. Do you all still think the Illuminati's Time-line War is just an excuse of mine?"

What Xia Duo said could still only be corroborated indirectly and could not serve as absolute proof; after all, there are wins and losses on the battlefield, and it is not impossible for them to have lost everything.

But given the current situation, they would need to rely on Xia Duo's command to have any chance of turning the tide, so the representatives of the various countries naturally would not contradict Xia Duo on this issue again, though they did not immediately acknowledge the reality of the Time-line War, instead skillfully changing the subject:

"Consultant Xia Duo, after the meeting just now, we all contacted our home countries to strengthen recruitment efforts, and at the same time, we have transferred the tasks of eliminating Time-Involving Signals belonging to our respective countries to our elite teams as much as possible."

Speaking of this, the voices of the representatives grew quieter. Even with the elite teams of various countries taking action, they hadn't achieved even a single local victory. Didn't this once again confirm the Time-line War theory proposed by Xia Duo?

However, the representatives still did not mention their recognition of the Time-line War, but instead tried to persuade Xia Duo: "The Alliance has reached its most critical moment, and only Consultant Xia Duo can lead us to victory."

"I wouldn't dare guarantee that."

The representatives of various countries avoided discussing the objective reality of the Time-line War, thinking they could counterattack through tactical command advantages as they had in the past—this was simply wishful thinking.

"If we don't make adjustments at the strategic level, even if the God of War were to command, it would be impossible to defeat the Illuminati and win the final war."

Even if a god possessed max-level War Wisdom and could find breakthroughs on every local battlefield, the war on the time-line simply didn't care about these things; the Illuminati could completely find a path to victory through near-infinite trial and error.

As long as the Illuminati wins once, then on that local battlefield, it is almost impossible for the Alliance to reverse it.

Of course, if the God of War were truly commanding, combined with Time Anchoring the past, the probability of the Illuminati winning would be very small, but unfortunately, Xia Duo, in whom the representatives of various countries placed their hopes, is not a god. He cannot even guarantee a win rate of half across all local battlefields, let alone total victory.

Therefore, the current response strategy must be changed; War Spells must be brought into play.

"I'll say it again: without introducing unconventional power, we will always be at a disadvantage. Whether using my War Spells or the countries' own applications, the time has come when we must use War Spells!"

After Xia Duo finished speaking, the representatives looked at each other, hesitant to speak. In truth, in terms of absolute strength, every country was confident of achieving victory on every local battlefield.

But the problem is that the current Illuminati does not care about the outcome of individual battlefields; instead, they disperse the battlefield—the Time Signal Source—into countless parts and form a near-absolute single-battlefield winning momentum by manipulating the time-line.

And when the winning momentum of single battlefields converges, it becomes the winning momentum of the whole.

The Alliance responds passively, unable to disperse its forces too much or concentrate them too much, caught in a dilemma, losing ground, and despite having stronger absolute power, they remain at a near-absolute disadvantage.

The most direct reason Xia Duo demanded the Alliance use War Spells was his hope to achieve local victories through War Spells, and then he would go and anchor/lock the past of such local victories.

However, in this situation, once the Alliance follows his advice and lets War Spells enter the fray, they will still be unable to sustain it later; after all, this counts as a war of attrition.

And it is a war of attrition targeting a near-infinite number of local battlefields; no matter how large the foundation, it cannot withstand such consumption.

Not to mention that the War Spells of the Elf countries are mostly cast by War Mages using War Magic Artifacts, which in terms of consumption and recovery cannot compare to the field interference scheme of Yongle City (mainly referring to the attack spell Annihilation Light).

Even if they could hold on in the end, it would greatly consume their own war potential.

Therefore, doing so almost inevitably leads to one result: opening the Permission Level for War Spells within their respective countries to Xia Duo, so that Alliance Mages on local battlefields can summon the Annihilation Light of Yongle City.

And this would cause serious damage to the authority of each country, and after the war, Xia Duo would inevitably gain great influence because of this.