Chapter 387: Permanent Landscape

On the other side, just as Xia Duo saw the vortex at the source of the Linshui River transform into a gushing spring, Master Oulinsi of the Hand of Secrecy shouted to initiate the backup plan. Xia Duo felt a jolt in his heart; he stepped back a few paces without leaving a trace, while simultaneously moving closer to the Linshui River. Immediately after, Aigeberde exited the perimeter of the Mythallar Ruins and came outside. Xia Duo was still some distance away from him and could not judge what he had done, but soon—

A portal with shifting light suddenly appeared beside Aigeberde. Xia Duo retreated a little further, and then the portal stabilized, looking like a hazy water mirror where a few blurry figures could vaguely be seen on the other side.

Following the movement of those figures on the other side, a foot stretched out from the portal, followed by a head, an upper body, and another leg. Before long, all five people had come through.

Leading them was a priest who looked like a middle-aged man, wearing a Blue and White Star Holy Emblem on his chest. Embroidered on the back of his blue cloak was a delicate palm, held upward in a supporting gesture, with a cluster of blue and white flames above it.

Looking from afar, the flames seemed like a living thing, leaping gently. Xia Duo did not rashly step forward to speak; instead, he gripped the Pioneer Scepter and leaned closer to the riverbank again.

He noticed that the Arcanists who had been watching the spectacle earlier had already left.

Now, in the vicinity, there were only the seven Arcanists who had previously participated in constructing the Elemental Channel, Xia Duo, and the five people from the Hand of Secrecy who had come through the portal behind them.

Except for the priest in the lead, the other four were all wearing simple blue Mage Robes. Xia Duo's gaze lingered for a few seconds longer on one of them.

That was a young man who looked about the same age as him. Xia Duo was not yet sure whether the person was an Arcanist or a priest, but being sent over as part of a backup plan, they must not be simple.

And even less simple was the leading priest. As soon as he arrived, he noticed the predicament of Oulinsi and the others, and also noticed Xia Duo's gaze. He nodded slightly in acknowledgment before taking the lead and rushing into the Mythallar Ruins.

Thus, Xia Duo saw a corner of the strength of the Hand of Secrecy—a "small organization" that was not an organization in Niya's eyes—and from this, he couldn't help but think that those organizations possessing Great Arcanists must be even more powerful.

Seeing the leading priest enter the Mythallar Ruins, he immediately took over the Ritual Spell previously led by the seven Arcanists, and the four Arcanists who were not part of the Hand of Secrecy, such as Weisili, took the opportunity to withdraw.

The other four who had followed that priest earlier then filled in.

Together with Oulinsi and the others, the eight members of the Hand of Secrecy here stood in an arc around the source of the Linshui River, semi-encircling the vortex spring, which was gushing with increasing intensity.

Subsequently, Holy Power and Arcane Energy intertwined. With the leading priest's Holy Power as the lead, a complex and exquisite Magic Array appeared, constantly vibrating the Magic Net and reshaping it into a specific form.

From afar, separated by the rioting Magic Net of the Mythallar Ruins, Xia Duo could not perceive the specific details, but the constant churning of the Magic Net and the actual changes in the material world made him realize that these newcomers had begun to exert their power.

He saw the originally narrow channel at the source of the Linshui River suddenly expand, with the riverbank extending all the way to the feet of the eight people casting spells, turning the source of the Linshui River into a miniature lake with a diameter of about twenty meters.

If one looked down at the ground from a high vantage point, the two-meter-wide Linshui River looked like a thin needle stuck into a circular surface of water.

And at the bottom of the lake where the water flow had not yet spread, Xia Duo clearly saw that it had already turned into a kind of gray stone texture with a faint blue tint; no matter how swift the water impact was, it remained completely unmoved.

At this time, the vortex spring, which had originally gushed to a height of nearly one person, also receded, but the members of the Hand of Secrecy did not stop.

Soon, a smooth circular platform, thin at the top and thick at the bottom, slowly rose from the center of the miniature lake. The center of the platform was concave, and a column of water the size of a bowl sprayed out from it.

It reached about ten meters high, and at its peak, the water column dispersed like a ceremonial umbrella, slowly falling and covering the entire miniature lake.

"Did they just build a fountain?"

Just as this thought occurred to Xia Duo, a voice reached his ears: "Lord Xia Duo, the Elemental Channel is complete, but there is one more thing that requires your decision. There are two plans now: first, end it here; second, have us, the Hand of Secrecy, shape it into a permanent landscape."

This wasn't permanent yet? Almost subconsciously, Xia Duo asked, "What is the difference between the two choices?"

The voice replied: "If we end it here, the Elemental Channel will eventually collapse naturally. By then, a Magic Net Dead Zone will form with the Elemental Channel as the center. We, the Hand of Secrecy, will at most leave one person here to continue repairs. You should know that the Elves left too much destruction on this land, and Magic Net Dead Zones have the lowest priority."

"But if we shape it into a permanent landscape, this area of the Magic Net will always remain in an active state. Although chaotic, it will be easy to repair, and eventually, the Magic Net here will return to normal."

As soon as Xia Duo heard this, he knew the latter was definitely better. Having a Magic Net Dead Zone in his Territory was an eyesore. But if he chose to let the Hand of Secrecy shape it into a permanent landscape, he would definitely have to bleed money.

Upon inquiring, he soon received an answer: because of a previous calculation error, the Hand of Secrecy was willing to pay half, and the other half would need to be paid by Xia Duo.

It didn't add up to much—only 100,000 Gold Coins—but it had to be settled with Mithril or Gemstones. This did not include their "labor costs," or rather, they were doing the work for free.

"In other words, I'm spending 200,000 Gold Coins worth of materials just to build a fountain?"

Although this fountain was related to the Magic Net, it was still a fountain!

Although it was a fountain, it was related to the Magic Net! As his thoughts turned, Xia Duo couldn't help but reveal a wry smile. He didn't know if the Hand of Secrecy had calculated this day long ago, but if he missed this chance and looked for them again, they might charge labor fees.

"Shape it into a permanent landscape, but I need time to gather the 100,000 Gold Coins worth of Mithril or Gemstones."

"No problem. Just pay it before the Magic Net restoration is complete. I believe that Lord Xia Duo, as the husband of Her Highness the Princess's student, surely won't default on the debt."

Once these words were spoken, Xia Duo immediately felt a bit of regret. It wasn't because of using Niya's name, but from the other party's words, he inferred that the time for the Magic Net to be fully restored might be much shorter than he had thought. Furthermore, even if he didn't agree, the other party would likely have shaped it into a permanent landscape on their own.

After all, the temptation of completely restoring an anomalous Magic Net area exceeded a mere 100,000 Gold Coins.

100,000 Gold Coins was not a large sum for Xia Duo. As long as he was willing to give up all research and put all his energy into making Magic Scrolls, he could save it up in a few months.

Of course, this was for Xia Duo; for other Mages, depending on their success rate, it would take several times longer.

But it was certainly not an unattainable figure.

This figure was likely even less of a problem for the Hand of Secrecy, but since he had agreed, Xia Duo couldn't really go back on his word.

And after receiving his confirmation via Sending, the other side also took action. The leading priest kept taking various materials out of his Dimensional Bag and throwing them into the Magic Array between the eight people.

They were mainly Mithril, Five-Colored Gems, and a few other unknown materials.

(End of chapter)