Chapter 474: Communication Spell Dispute

After completing the test of the 【Delayed Teleportation】, the two returned to the Tower of Time together. Aiboke went to the Library, while Xia Duo prepared to rest a bit and return to Linshui Village. Just then, Niya returned, and she looked rather anxious; she even barged directly into his room without contacting him through the tower spirit first.

"Niya?! Why are you back?" Xia Duo was very surprised. Niya had never barged into his room like this before. Was there some urgent matter? "Did you receive the message I sent back a while ago?"

"Received it? What about it?"

"Then why didn't you have any reaction at all?" During this time, Niya had been waiting for Xia Duo's reply, preparing to discuss with him how to deal with Huo Ke Territory, but she hadn't expected that after sending the previous message, there would be no echo at all.

Originally, she had been somewhat reserved, but after waiting and waiting without seeing a reply, she became anxious and asked her teacher for leave to return.

Xia Duo hadn't expected that Niya would return just because of this matter, so he said jokingly, "How about we let that 'Aquilain' go?"

"You can't let him go!" Niya's reaction was very intense. "If you let him go, Lord Duolaisen will have no scruples. What if he decides to target you?"

Xia Duo finally caught on; Niya was worried about him. Regardless of the reason, it moved him somewhat, though his reason for not releasing Aquilain was a bit different from Niya's.

If Lord Duolaisen of Huo Ke Territory really wanted to target him, then whether Aquilain was in his hands or not wouldn't be an issue; he just didn't want to release him, purely and simply.

If he had to give a reason, it would probably be that Aquilain's prison sentence wasn't over yet. It had only been half a year since they agreed on ten years of imprisonment!

"Niya, I already have a way to deal with it. Aquilain is not the point; the key is still Lord Duolaisen. As long as I handle him, everything will be resolved."

Xia Duo's seemingly relaxed words surprised Niya greatly. "Do you know what you are saying? Lord Duolaisen is an existence close to a Great Arcanist. How are you going to handle him?"

Niya's eyes were full of disbelief, and there was another very important factor: the Elves. At the Lord's Conference, Lord Duolaisen's relationship with the Elves was no longer hidden; anyone with a discerning eye could see that they were colluding.

Whenever Elves were involved, everything became more troublesome. Niya knew this, which was why she was so anxious about this matter.

Actually, Xia Duo knew it too, but he always believed that Elves and humans couldn't get along. As long as Lord Duolaisen lost his utility, why would the Elves continue to support him? As for Lord Duolaisen's utility, Xia Duo could be certain of one thing—it wasn't because of his own combat power; at least, that wasn't the main reason.

After all, he wasn't even a Great Arcanist; how could the Elves support him just because of that? They might as well win over a Great Arcanist directly.

Xia Duo felt that the Elves should value some special influence Duolaisen possessed, or perhaps Duolaisen had taken the initiative to surrender and become the strongest guide, thus receiving the greatest level of support.

However, Xia Duo was not very willing to believe the latter, because it meant that the Elves' infiltration into Netheril was deep enough.

As for the specifics, Xia Duo couldn't be sure, but regardless, striking at some special influence Duolaisen had was a very good choice.

Whether it was something he brought with him, or something the Elves had artificially created for him.

As for what Duolaisen's influence actually was, Xia Duo already had a guess. Besides his status as a lord, it should be the so-called new type of communication spell.

Xia Duo had seen it more than once in the monthly journal of the Arcane Union, and currently, the negotiations between the Arcane Union and Lord Duolaisen regarding the introduction of the new communication spell were still ongoing.

The progress was very slow!

Although one couldn't know the specific content of the negotiations from the Arcane Union's monthly journal, the fact that it was mentioned multiple times should in itself be a piece of information. Who could resist the Arcane Union on their own?

Furthermore, the Arcane Union itself represented the interests of Spellcasters. Although there were ideological disputes internally, introducing a new spell would certainly not let the innovator suffer a loss.

There was one more point: Lord Duolaisen had taken the initiative to announce that he had mastered the new communication spell, which was what attracted the attention of the Arcane Union. If he really didn't want to negotiate, why announce it to the public?

This was enough to prove that he had ill intentions.

Initially, Xia Duo only thought he wanted to gain more benefits, but judging from what happened at the Lord's Conference, involving the Elves, Xia Duo felt this matter wasn't simple.

Xia Duo couldn't strike at Lord Duolaisen in other aspects for the time being, but regarding the communication spell, he still had some confidence.

If it were before experiencing the Projected Plane Arcane Empire, Xia Duo might not have had so much confidence; after all, he only had a relatively vague concept of the new communication spell and would need in-depth research to gain anything.

This was not something that could be achieved overnight.

But the Arcane Empire itself had ready-made communication spells, and they were different from the traditional 【Sending】 series of the Main Plane; they were a more advanced type of communication spell.

The Communication Department of the Arcane Empire was specifically responsible for national communication. Although Xia Duo hadn't obtained the most advanced communication spell, the original version was already enough.

However, considering that the Great Sage of the Arcane Empire might have come from the Main Plane, and that direct citation was somewhat inappropriate, Xia Duo decided to combine his own new ideas about communication spells to create a new one.

Perhaps doing so would have even better development prospects!

Xia Duo hadn't told Niya about the communication spell matter yet. Before everything settled, the fewer people who knew, the less risk there was. Anyway, she would know sooner or later.

After all, Xia Duo couldn't confront Duolaisen personally; he still had to go through the Princess's route via Niya, letting the Princess stand at the front, while he just needed to obtain the actual benefits.

The destruction of the Projected Plane Arcane Empire still made him feel lingering fear even now. Before he truly possessed the ability to protect himself, he didn't want to enter the Elves' field of vision so early.

Perhaps a genius or two didn't matter, but blocking their path might not lead to a good outcome.

"Niya, I still need to consider this matter further. Lord Duolaisen shouldn't turn hostile right now, should he?"

Xia Duo speculated that as long as the negotiations with the Arcane Union were still ongoing, Lord Duolaisen couldn't ignore the Princess's deterrent power and come to attack him.

However, he wouldn't pin all his hopes on the other party not launching a surprise attack; he would be ready to run at any time. Even a surprise attack by a Great Arcanist couldn't be without warning.

With Xia Duo's current abilities, if he simply ran away at the first sign of trouble, there shouldn't be anyone who could stop him.

After pacifying Niya, the two went to see Lord Aipusi in the Stasis Chamber together, and afterwards, Xia Duo sent Niya onto the Teleportation Array. Only after that did he return to his residence to continue resting.

(End of chapter)