Chapter 653: Coercing the Masses, Resolution

The middle-aged man before him, who walked over with a flustered and unwilling expression, had completely lost the smug, self-satisfied air he had possessed while networking among the various merchant caravans in the Trade District the night before. Xia Duo cast a cold glance at him, then cast 【Ghost Sound】 to project his voice across the entire scene:

"Everyone, quiet down!"

With the foundation of the gale that had swept back when he descended from the sky earlier, Xia Duo's words were immediately met with a response. Aside from a very few still whispering something, the rest of the people had obediently shut their mouths, casting their gazes toward Xia Duo and the middle-aged man who had inexplicably been pushed to the front.

"Come, tell everyone, what did you do when you went to each merchant caravan the night before last? Tell the truth!"

The mental spell 【Command】 is a spell with a coercive nature; those affected by 【Command】 will involuntarily obey the Spellcaster's orders, including but not limited to telling the truth.

However, every order has loopholes. If the person being 【Commanded】 is clever enough, they will find ways to twist these orders—for instance, telling the truth is not the same as the whole truth; sometimes, being evasive can lead the listener to reach the exact opposite conclusion.

Therefore, it is best used in conjunction with 【Stun】, which makes the person being 【Commanded】 answer questions subconsciously, essentially based on their first reaction.

Unless that person is a habitual liar, it is generally the closest thing to Reality.

And right now, Xia Duo considered that the person being 【Stunned】 would have a dull expression, and words spoken in such a state might not be accepted by the crowd. Instead, a response that had struggle and resistance, yet was unable to refuse, with some twists and turns, would be more convincing.

Thus, this 【Commanded】 man began his performance: "My lord, I only notified the others to request ships from the Town Mayor to return to the north; I didn't do anything else!"

If besieging the Town Hall could also be considered a request, then this man was not entirely wrong. Xia Duo looked at him with surprise; he was indeed worthy of being a Merchant, having tested the limits of the spell so quickly.

However, if he were allowed to pass so easily, there would be no need for Xia Duo to stage this at all. The previous question was actually trivial; after all, most people present knew what he had done the night before, so he asked again:

"If the request does not go smoothly, what will you do? Tell the truth!"

This question touched upon the core. The middle-aged man's face revealed expressions of struggle, fear, and worry, full of inner drama, but in the end, he could not overcome the coercive effect of the spell. He very unwillingly told the truth:

"If it doesn't go smoothly, I will propose to the Town Mayor that I step forward to coordinate and appease the others, in exchange for a chance for myself to board a ship returning to the north."

Once these words were out, the middle-aged man immediately covered his mouth subconsciously, but then let it go at once, hurriedly looking at the crowd and loudly defending himself:

"It wasn't me, I didn't say that! It's Magic! I was controlled, I couldn't help myself!"

Xia Duo watched his performance quietly, but the more he defended himself, the weaker his words became, and the colder the gazes of the others toward him grew. Such a thing, let alone being said by the person involved, would arouse suspicion even if someone else merely hinted at it.

And no matter how much this middle-aged man talked, he could not come up with a convincing reason. By the end, looking at the consistently icy gazes of the others, he could no longer bear it and collapsed to the ground, still subconsciously muttering:

"It wasn't me, it wasn't me, I just wanted to go home early, wuwuwu—"

Seeing this scene, Xia Duo shook his head inwardly and waved his hand, letting the nearby guards take the man away, before speaking to the others present in a serious tone:

"I know that the masters behind you are basically various lords from the Inner Land, but in Savile Territory, you must still follow the rules of Savile Territory. I imagine your masters would not be happy to see subordinates who do not follow the rules!"

This actually spoke to the orderliness of Netheril. Aside from the influence of the Faith of the Lord of Radiance, a Mage is also an orderly creature by nature. If they had succeeded in this matter, even if they had all returned to the north, they would not necessarily have had a good outcome.

In Netheril, this method of "coercing the masses" is inherently ridiculous; if not for the special circumstances this time, such a thing could never have happened.

If Xia Duo were more ruthless and killed all these people, it would be completely reasonable and justifiable at the level of rules. Of course, in reality, he would certainly suffer the backlash from the masters behind these people (though paying some money could settle it).

Hearing Xia Duo's words, almost no one present dared to raise their heads again, all burying them low. Seeing this, Xia Duo felt bored and continued:

"On the recent fleet returning to the north, Savile Territory has reserved some spots for you. If you want to board, you must follow the rules: go to the Town Hall to register, then wait for notification!"

After finishing, Xia Duo told the nearby soldiers that if there were any more sieges, they were to be arrested immediately, and if they dared to resist, their lives would not be spared.

Xia Duo said these words clearly in front of these people to the soldiers. In fact, if other factors were not considered, ordinary soldiers might not necessarily be a match for these people.

The guards of these merchant caravans would have Magic Items in their hands to some extent, and it would not be strange at all to even have Spellcaster guards; it would be strange if they didn't!

It was just that once they took action, the nature of the situation would change completely, leaving no room for maneuver.

After Xia Duo left, the crowd gathered here gradually dispersed. Afterward, some merchant caravan leaders began to enter the Town Hall to inquire about registration matters.

On the other side, in Lady Patti's manor villa, Patriarch Aoruipusi of the Silver Leaf Family had just sent away a patriarch who had come to inquire about the boarding list. Since the day before yesterday, other families had constantly tried to contact him.

They were probing the situation of the boarding list openly and secretly, and Aoruipusi had dismissed all those Elves on the grounds that he could not make the decision himself and needed to grease the palms of the humans. Of course, he had also hinted at some requirements, but they just hadn't reached an agreement.

And even though two days had passed, and there had been a Drow Assassin incident in between, resulting in the death of an Elf, until now, not all nineteen Elf families who had come to Savile Territory had come over.

Excluding the few who considered themselves powerful and certain to be able to board, the main reason was the complex and lengthy etiquette of the Elves during meetings.

Because every family contacted could potentially become a source of new foundation for his own family, Aoruipusi saw this situation in his eyes and felt anxious in his heart.

Yet he had to maintain the dignity of the Elves in front of other Elves. In this situation, he envied humans once again; if they were humans, perhaps it wouldn't be so troublesome!

If such thoughts of his were placed in Cormanthor, they could be called rebellious; if any of it were shown, it would be no different from social death. But who could truly know what the real thoughts in every Elf's heart were?