Chapter 605: Suri Elf, Star Appearing in Daylight

The matter of the Elf refugees was, after all, just a small interlude in the Midsummer Festival; even if it were deemed important, it would have to wait until they arrived. However, judging by the flight of the Silver Leaf Family, Xia Duo felt that perhaps more Elves would flee toward Netheril.

For humans, this situation might seem like one where they could watch the fire from the other side and gloat, but once the situation in Cormanthor rotted, no one could guarantee that the Drow would not charge into human Territory.

Xia Duo had once seen the predecessors of the Drow—the Suri Elf—in the 【Projection Plane: Maiyuelita Sukanweisa City】. In fact, a significant portion of the citizens of Maiyuelita were Suri Elf.

Moreover, the Suri Elf had even established an independent nation known as the Kingdom of Ilythiiri; brave, militant, and skilled in battle was the common evaluation of the Suri Elf by other Elves at the time.

In the era where Xia Duo's Projection was located, the Drow—the black-skinned, short-statured ones—did not yet exist; they were still the fair-skinned, tall, and robust Suri Elf. As for why they became Drow, Xia Duo had not found detailed information.

He only knew that during the Crown War, in the war against Aryvandaar, the Ilythiiri, who had originally held the advantage, suddenly disappeared. It was rumored that due to a curse from the Elven pantheon, they were buried underground.

In the game Xia Duo played before he transmigrated, there was also this plot point, referred to as the "Descent of the Drow," but it was also described vaguely.

As for the specific circumstances, perhaps only the Elven pantheon knew.

After all, thousands of years had passed since the Crown War; even Elves might not necessarily live that long.

But regardless, at least in the eyes of the Drow themselves, they had experienced conspiracies, betrayals, oppression, curses, and other negative effects, which would certainly bring about a great deal of resentment.

Otherwise, if they were living perfectly well underground, why would they insist on coming to the surface! It must be the dual effect of hatred and environment that made them seize any opportunity to charge toward the surface!

Under such circumstances, they might attack the Elves first, but what reason would they have to spare humans?

Furthermore, whether it was the existing data from the Main Plane, what Xia Duo personally experienced in 【Projection Plane: Yierlan Yinguangcheng】, or the background setting of that game on Earth before he transmigrated, the Drow were synonymous with cruelty and cunning.

Under the shade of the trees in the Temple garden, even though Xia Duo and Niya stopped chatting and returned to their respective states of research, Xia Duo's heart could not remain calm.

How long had it been since they had a stable life, and now another Drow issue had popped up; who knew when days like these would ever end!

This also strengthened Xia Duo's determination to follow the path of civilization development. No matter how outstanding an individual is, their ability is always limited; only by gathering the Wisdom of countless people can one possess near-infinite ability.

If nothing were changed, then the final outcome for Netheril might be the falling of the Floating City and the end of the nation thousands of years later, with future generations only able to catch a glimpse of Netheril's past from the remaining ruins in the desert.

A Magic Empire that spanned thousands of years leaving behind only a few fragmented legends at the end was somewhat sigh-inducing.

Xia Duo was in the midst of it and found it hard to stay out of it. Besides, even if he wanted to leave, where could he go? It was better to work hard in a place where he had already established a foundation and was relatively familiar.

Constantly pondering the potential impact of the Drow's appearance and his own positioning in the future, time passed unknowingly until dusk, and the sun was about to sink below the horizon.

Xia Duo put away the Spell Notes he hadn't looked at for half the day, leaned back in his chair, and looked past the high wall not far away toward the sky, which had been gilded by the setting sun.

"Hmm?" Xia Duo suddenly sat up straight.

He rubbed his eyes and looked toward the west again, or more accurately, the northwest, or even further north, at an altitude of about 60 degrees from the ground, where a star was flickering.

If it were just a star flickering, Xia Duo wouldn't be so surprised; due to atmospheric refraction and such, star flickering was a normal phenomenon and common knowledge.

But the problem was that it was dusk, the light was not dim, and the last afterglow of the setting sun had dyed half the sky golden. To be able to see it flickering under these conditions showed just how bright this star was.

That wasn't all; Xia Duo could spot it in the afterglow of the sunset at a glance not just because it was bright—after all, it was just a star, and no matter how bright, it had a limit and certainly couldn't compare to the sun, even a setting sun—

At this moment, the sun hadn't even completely sunk below the horizon!

What truly allowed Xia Duo to distinguish this star from the golden sky background set off by the sunset was its color!

Scarlet, faintly revealing a hint of ominousness!

The anomaly on Xia Duo's side soon startled Niya, who was preparing to put away her notes. She looked toward the northwest following Xia Duo's gaze, but saw nothing, and her eyes couldn't help but look a bit blank.

So, Niya directly tapped on the small round table between the two and asked, "What are you looking at? Your expression is so strange!"

Hearing the voice, Xia Duo immediately withdrew his gaze and looked at Niya. Seeing Niya staring at him curiously, Xia Duo pointed to the northwestern sky and explained, "There is a flickering scarlet star there. Your position might be blocked by the trees; you can see it if you go to the side."

"A flickering scarlet star?" Niya was a bit skeptical, but more so uncertain about such a phenomenon. She knew Xia Duo had no reason to lie to her about such things.

Since Xia Duo said she couldn't see it from her position, Niya simply stood up and came to Xia Duo's side, holding onto Xia Duo's chair, crouching down slightly to get close to the angle Xia Duo had just been looking from, and looked toward the northwest.

Soon, she discovered the target, "It's actually true?!"

"Of course it's true!" Xia Duo slightly avoided Niya's head and asked, "Do you know what star that is?"

The breath almost brushing against her ear made Niya blush. She hurriedly sat back in her chair and took a small sip of her tea to cover it up.

As for Xia Duo's question, Niya was a bit troubled. She had no research into astrology, so she could only say, "I don't know!"

Seeming to feel that saying so was a bit perfunctory, she hurriedly added, "Not only have I not seen it, I haven't even heard of it. The Tower of Time has no similar records. As for Giles Tower, perhaps I can wait until I go back to look for it."

Even Niya didn't know, so Xia Duo couldn't help but feel a bit disappointed. After thinking about it, he contacted Aiboke and Bishop Anbulier; perhaps he could get some information from them.

A star appearing in the daylight—no matter how one looked at it, it didn't seem like a normal phenomenon. And that color—he didn't know if it was psychological or some other reason—gave Xia Duo a faint, ominous premonition.