Chapter 546: Duolaisen's Invitation and Strike

The next day, the Snow Melting Competition remained postponed, and since the exchange meeting had already concluded successfully the previous night, Xia Duo did not intend to go out.

He planned to stay in the Mage Tower and work with Niya to finish "identifying" the spellbook titled 【Feierde's Arcane Staff】, preparing for the subsequent bridging of the Mithril Component for further decryption.

However, just as he was preparing to contact Niya, he suddenly received a message with the content "Test 28"; the message appeared directly before his eyes, somewhat like a virtual projection, yet it was not a projection.

This was a message sent via the 2nd Circle Spell 【Magic Net Background Communication: Text Message Version】; although the content seemed meaningless, Xia Duo knew it came from the Magic Scroll he had left with Jiabasi.

After manufacturing a simplified version of the Communication Magic Tool based on the 5th Circle Spell 【Magic Net Background Communication】, Xia Duo had also produced several Magic Scrolls, some of which remained in the Territory, while others he carried with him.

Xia Duo had previously taken in two Adventurers who manufactured fake Mithril ornaments and later arranged for them to stay in Seventon to continue producing replicas of Ancient Magic Artifacts; knowing that the Adventurer named Jiabasi could use Magic Scrolls, Xia Duo had left behind several Communication Scrolls.

All messages were preset, but based on the numerical codes, Xia Duo knew which people held the Communication Scrolls that sent these messages.

"Test 28" came from Jiabasi.

But the problem was, Xia Duo had told Jiabasi to only use the Communication Scroll in an emergency; if it were merely that the replica of the Ancient Magic Artifact was finished, there would be no need to contact him via a Magic Scroll.

Besides, the restoration time Xia Duo had given was half a month, and only a few days had passed—could it be—

"I hope it's not trouble caused by those fakes!"

However, Jiabasi and his partner had been making fakes for many years, and they weren't selling them in Seventon; they had only sold one in Seventon, which Xia Duo had bought, so the possibility of being tracked down by a previous buyer was very small.

But Jiabasi shouldn't be someone who lacked a sense of proportion, otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to live safely until now.

Regardless, there might truly be some emergency situation over there.

However, Xia Duo did not rush over in a panic; a Scrying spell was essential. Even in Seventon, where the possibility of an accident was very low, he did not let his guard down because of that.

As the field of the Scrying spell extended over, Xia Duo's senses also extended with it; it was still that dilapidated small workshop, and Jiabasi and Boke were both there, but—

There was a third person!

A strange Spellcaster who had suddenly appeared in Xia Duo's field of vision!

The age did not look great, appearing to be about thirty or forty years old, looking suave and elegant, but that was not the point; the point was that he possessed quite a few Magic Items, and every one of them was a boutique, with Magic Auras shining so brightly they practically "blinded" Xia Duo's "eyes"!

Moreover, just as the other party suddenly appeared and Xia Duo looked at him, the other party immediately responded, locking eyes with Xia Duo with a piercing gaze.

"Lord Xia Duo, I didn't expect our first meeting to be under these circumstances!"

"..."

To be honest, Xia Duo was truly startled by this sentence; it was his first time encountering such a situation, but after calming down, he understood that the other party couldn't truly see him, but had only "seen" his Perception Field.

He himself could achieve this level, and if one had some understanding of a Spellcaster's identity, calling out the other's name would not be strange.

It was just that now, the other party knew his identity, while he did not know the other's, which put him at a disadvantage.

And there was another problem: Xia Duo currently did not have the ability to cast spells through the Perception Field of a Scrying spell, which meant he could only see and hear, but could not "speak"!

Seeing that Xia Duo did not react, the mysterious Mage smiled lightly, "Lord Xia Duo, my name is Duolaisen Huo Ke; surely you must have heard this name!"

"It's him!"

How could Xia Duo not have heard this name? Wasn't he the Lord of Huo Ke Territory! The Arcanist under his command, Aquilain, was still locked up in the Tower of Time!

Duolaisen continued, "This occasion is not suitable for conversation; I will wait for you at the Arcane Union!"

Having said that, he teleported away under Xia Duo's gaze.

Back at Giles Tower, Xia Duo was silent; although they had only met once, this Lord Huo Ke did not leave a good impression on him—finding Jiabasi directly, and then using a Teleportation Spell casually in a place where it was clearly forbidden.

These behaviors more or less indicated that the other party was not someone who followed the rules.

Of course, for a Senior Arcanist approaching the level of a Great Arcanist, ordinary rules might not apply to him.

So, should he meet with him?

Xia Duo hesitated; logically, for an enemy who was almost clearly defined, he should stay as far away as possible, but the problem was that blindly avoiding him was not a solution.

He could not hide in the Mage Tower forever; as long as he was outside, he could be ambushed by the other party, and even if Xia Duo could withstand it once, could he withstand it every time?

At this moment, Xia Duo remembered an important purpose for his coming to Seventon: to present a gift to the Princess, offering a complete communication solution based on Magic Net Background Communication; obtaining a reward was secondary, and selling Communication Magic Tools in the future was also secondary.

His initial purpose was merely to strike at the trump card that Lord Huo Ke relied on to confront the Arcane Union—the new type of communication spell.

Without this trump card, Lord Huo Ke surely would not have had such great confidence to dare to conduct so many negotiations with the Arcane Union, which ultimately did not succeed.

Although the Arcane Union later provided some countermeasures, due to internal disputes within the Arcane Union, it certainly could not reach the point of direct seizure.

Lord Huo Ke appeared to be in a difficult spot, but as long as his trump card was not lost, the Arcane Union, if they wanted to obtain that new type of communication spell, would ultimately have to return to the negotiating table.

If Xia Duo's communication solution could replace Lord Huo Ke's new type of communication spell, what would the Great Arcanists, who had been kept waiting by Lord Huo Ke, think?

Even if they didn't take direct action to strike, there would at least be some reaction.

Everyone has a temper, let alone those who possess powerful strength!

Moreover, Lord Huo Ke had a very obvious pro-Elf inclination; at the New Year Lord's Conference of the Seventon Council at the beginning of the year, this point was exposed without doubt, and many people knew about it.

Thinking it over, Xia Duo decided to meet Lord Huo Ke; however, before that, the communication solution could be handed in—anyway, he hadn't promised to go to the Arcane Union to meet immediately.

Subsequently, Xia Duo contacted Niya and asked her to help contact Archmage Greta to book a time; only then did Xia Duo relax a little.

Having a Senior Arcanist approaching the level of a Great Arcanist waiting for him outside was quite a headache!