Chapter 3408: Incidents

————It will be later~~

————

As Jiliu dived to a certain depth, the exterior view projected into the cabin became almost nothing but a patch of deep, dark gloom, and the Mages in the cabin all felt somewhat uneasy.

Even Xia Duo, situated in such a scene, felt a somewhat uncontrollable sense of oppression; however, he did not turn off the external projection in the cabin, but instead took the initiative to converse with Meila, using this method to dilute the oppression brought about by the dark undersea environment.

"How long does the entire journey from Xinnaliya to Beilunuo take?" Xia Duo asked.

"Taking Jiliu as an example, under normal circumstances, it takes about two hours at full speed. If one is lucky enough to catch the favorable currents for the entire journey, it might be possible to arrive about half an hour early."

Hearing that the entire journey took at least an hour and a half, Xia Duo could not help but sigh at the remoteness of Beilunuo; after all, he already knew the speed of Jiliu, which was no slower than modern ships on Earth.

If one also factored in the vertical depth underwater, he could roughly judge that the straight-line distance on the Surface between Beilunuo and Xinnaliya was about 500 to 600 New Li.

It was only a little more than the distance from Xinnaliya to Yierfalang.

Of course, if it were from Xinnaliya to Yierfalang, it would not take an hour and a half, because Magic Ships do not only travel underwater; one could fly directly back and forth.

Furthermore, there is the even faster Teleportation Array.

Although Beilunuo and Xinnaliya have established a relatively close relationship, the two sides have not established an effective Teleportation Array, and a significant part of the reason for this is likely the estrangement caused by the long-term divergence between Sea Elves and Surface Elves.

"Tell me about Beilunuo! What kind of city is it?"

"Beilunuo is located on a plain on the seabed. There are at least three long-term ocean currents nearby. These currents provide the food that Beilunuo relies on for survival. Of course, Beilunuo also farms schools of fish and kelp on the seabed plain, but food is generally still scarce compared to the land. We trade mostly food with Beilunuo."

Speaking of this, Meila's mood seemed somewhat low, and she could not help but reveal her true feelings, "Compared to Beilunuo, Xinnaliya's supplies can be called abundant, but compared to the true continent, it is far too inferior."

"Continue."

"Yes."

Meila collected her emotions and continued her introduction, "Beilunuo has no natural predators on the seabed; its greatest enemy is actually the environment. Although Sea Elves can move freely underwater, they are, after all, not natural marine creatures.

"Their infants cannot adapt to the underwater environment. Even within a Water Elemental Domain, they require long-term care from a nursery worker, and it takes until they are about 10 years old to adapt to normal life within a Water Elemental Domain.

"And to truly adapt to an underwater world without the aid of Magic, one must wait until their bodies are fully mature, which is about 30 to 50 years old.

"Usually at this age, Sea Elves have already become Mages. Without the power of Magic, Sea Elves would be unable to stay far from Beilunuo at all; there are too many accidents that could cause them to lose their lives."

Hearing such a description, Xia Duo immediately formed a preliminary impression of the Sea Elves—they were strong-willed, perhaps even very bellicose, and at the same time, the entire population consisted of Mages, possessing immense war potential.

Fortunately, the seabed environment is harsh and unfavorable for survival, and even more unfavorable for the reproduction of Sea Elves who were originally transformed from land-dwelling races; otherwise, based on Xia Duo's understanding of Elves, those Sea Elves would nine times out of ten attempt to conquer the ocean, or even counterattack the land.

Of course, Xia Duo's judgment carried a certain degree of subjectivity, especially given the current situation where the Sea Elves were involved with the Illuminati, which naturally brought a more critical gaze.

"Since the seabed is so inconvenient, have the Sea Elves ever thought about returning to live on land?" Xia Duo asked again.

He had already learned when he arrived that the current Sea Elves are more similar to amphibians; they can live underwater for long periods and can also leave the water, though they need to regularly moisturize their skin, which has adapted to the marine environment.

And for Beilunuo, where everyone is a Mage, this is not an insurmountable technical difficulty.

In other words, the Sea Elves of Beilunuo could actually return to live on land entirely. Compared to the seabed, the land has far too many advantages for them, as they were originally land creatures.

Regarding this question, after a moment of silence, Meila gave an answer that was very surprising to Xia Duo—

"I feel that the Elves of Beilunuo may have now developed a mindset of self-exile. Such a mindset makes them not want to return to land, and they are even unwilling to have contact with land creatures."

"Why would it be like this?" Xia Duo continued to press.

Meila remained silent. At this moment, Mage Tailun suddenly interjected: "I think it might be the rejection from us land-dwelling relatives that caused them to develop a resistance to life on land."

"Why do you say that?"

Now it was Tailun's turn to be troubled, but under Xia Duo's gaze, he still spoke the truth: "Actually, after Yierfalang had been trading with the Sea Elves for a period of time, they once made a request to us—

"That was the hope of establishing a nursery in the coastal waters of Yierfalang, but it was rejected by us. Since then, although the trade between the two sides continued, the relationship between the two sides never had a breakthrough again."

"Did Xinnaliya also receive such a request?" Xia Duo threw the question to Meila again.

Regarding such a question, Meila's expression shifted, and finally, she gritted her teeth and nodded. After all, since Yierfalang had already admitted to receiving such a request, as those who had a closer relationship with Beilunuo, how could they not have received one?

"Indeed, a long time ago we also received a request from Beilunuo about establishing a nursery in the coastal waters of Xinnaliya, but at that time Xinnaliya itself had not even been able to establish a foothold in the Moonshadow Archipelago, so of course we could not promise Beilunuo anything.

"By the time Xinnaliya was able to control the coastal waters, Beilunuo never mentioned such a request again."

The excuses were all ready-made. Xia Duo actually wanted to ask one more thing: as a concerned and close ally—let alone an ally, just as a friend who had once helped you—if the other party doesn't say it, can't you take the initiative to do something for your friend?

However, his trip was not to investigate why Xinnaliya or Yierfalang did not provide a coastal nursery environment for Beilunuo, but to track down clues about the Sea Elves related to the Illuminati.

In this situation, there was of course no need to speak up for Beilunuo.

But from Tailun, Meila, and the previously mentioned Xinnaliya court lady, Xia Duo also had a relatively sufficient understanding of the Sea Elves, sufficient enough to make him understand to a certain degree why the Sea Elves chose to join the Illuminati.

It was truly that these land-dwelling relatives did not treat the Sea Elves as Elves, so they might as well destroy everything!