Chapter 714: Waking from a Dream, the Assassination Mission

"Lord Xia Duo, I have already prepared a banquet for you, please—"

After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Aozikaer opened a Portal for Xia Duo. Xia Duo made a quick calculation and discovered that the location on the other side of the Portal was between the South Tower and the West Tower, near the Netheril River.

Most crucially, this location was situated exactly outside the surveillance range of the two Mage Towers of Rodney Territory.

Xia Duo knew that this had definitely been done with care. Just as he was about to step into the Portal, a person who looked like a butler came running over, panting and puffing, not far away. However, his voice arrived even earlier than he did, sharp and mean, making one frown the moment they heard it:

"Master, who is this person! Trespassing on the Territory cannot just be let go like this!"

Xia Duo stopped in his tracks and looked at Aozikaer. Being so enthusiastic just a moment ago and now pulling this stunt, what was this supposed to be?

At this moment, Aozikaer's expression turned gloomy in an instant. He had almost forgotten about this old thing. As soon as Butler Lali walked up to him, he stepped forward and slapped him.

Seeming to feel that one slap was not enough, he followed up with a backhand slap. He used his full strength for this blow, knocking the other party directly to the ground, while simultaneously berating him:

"Are you blind? This is my good friend, Lord Xia Duo of the Southern Daxia Territory. Why haven't you moved aside yet? Get lost!"

After finishing, Aozikaer changed like a chameleon, saying to Xia Duo in a friendly manner: "Lord Xia Duo, pay him no mind. He is old, and his brain isn't working so well. Please, come with me!"

Xia Duo looked half-believingly at the middle-aged butler on the ground, who seemed to be younger than Aozikaer, sighed slightly in his heart, and followed behind Aozikaer into the Portal.

As for Lali, who was left behind, even after the two had left and the Portal had disappeared, he still hadn't come to his senses. He remained lying on his side on the ground, clutching his face and muttering:

"I was actually hit! I was actually hit!"

He kept repeating this sentence, his heart filled with an unwillingness to accept it. Four years ago, when he was first sent to Rodney Territory, he was only a low-level Mage. Facing the very unfamiliar Rodney Lord, he had only been cautious and trembling.

It was not until he thought he was familiar with the Rodney Lord's personality and had grasped his weaknesses that he gradually let go of his restraints.

Time and again he tested him, and time and again he received concessions from the Rodney Lord. This made Lali feel incomparably smug, to the point that he even developed the illusion that he was the one who was the Rodney Lord.

Only, he had never thought that reality would slap him in the face so quickly and fiercely. This one blow had completely stunned him.

"Why? Why! I have that person behind me! How dare you! How dare you!"

Lali subconsciously smashed his fist against the ground, as if venting the angry emotions in his heart. Of course, calling it fear might be more appropriate.

"Sss—"

Seeming to have hit a small pebble on the ground, the pure physical stinging pain made Lali sober up quickly. He hurriedly stood up and subconsciously looked left and right.

The few Mages in the distance who had been startled out by the sudden alarm had not yet returned to the Mage Tower and seemed to still be pointing at him, which made Lali even more annoyed.

While checking the wound on his fist, he walked slowly toward the South Tower. Unlike the anxiety he felt when chasing the Rodney Lord earlier, he now just wanted to know why all this was happening.

Recalling what Aozikaer had just said about "Lord Xia Duo of the Southern Daxia Territory," a thought that had never occurred to him before suddenly flashed through Lali's mind. Perhaps that was the reason.

……

Meanwhile, on the other side, in Aozikaer's waterside manor.

The grand banquet Xia Duo had imagined did not appear. Of course, it was not a trap either; there was only some simple food that Aozikaer had taken out from his Dimensional Bag.

Xia Duo was no stranger to this kind of food. He had some himself, which he kept in his Personal Space and Dimensional Bag to deal with various special situations.

"Rodney Lord, this is—"

Even if he needed to keep a low profile, Xia Duo could not ignore such an obviously rude act. He pointed it out on the spot.

Facing Xia Duo's accusation, Aozikaer neither flew into a rage out of shame nor acted as friendly as before. Instead, he appeared quite indifferent, as if this were his true self.

"Lord Xia Duo, please forgive me. This is the best hospitality I can offer. Even what I use daily is just this!"

Xia Duo did not believe a single punctuation mark of this obviously excuse-like statement. However, since he was already here, he was not prepared to beat around the bush anymore and asked immediately:

"I don't know why the Rodney Lord invited me here. You must know that our two sides previously—"

Xia Duo did not finish his sentence. He knew the Rodney Lord could understand; it would be more accurate to say they were hostile before.

Even if the Rodney Lord had defected to the Seven Towers Group, it didn't have much to do with Xia Duo. At most, the relationship between the two sides had changed from hostile to cold; that should still be a distance away from an invitation!

"Lord Xia Duo, you—"

Aozikaer stared at the young man with firm eyes in front of him and sighed slightly in his heart. With things having reached this point, he naturally could not use excuses like welcoming a visitor to brush it off, although he did indeed want to ease the relationship.

But if he didn't tell the truth now, the situation might get even worse. It was not impossible for hostile situations to arise even within the same Seven Towers Council. Besides, there was still that mission!

At the thought of the mission that person had specifically entrusted to him, Aozikaer felt a wave of irritability. If he had known it would be this troublesome, he—

He still would have made this choice!

"Lord Xia Duo, inviting you here this time is actually because there is a matter that requires your help!"

That's more like it!

Xia Duo felt slightly relieved in his heart. Would the Princess really be so idle as to have him run over here for nothing? At the same time, he also saw that this so-called help was probably not a small favor; otherwise, why wait until he arrived to say it!

Wouldn't it have been better to say it before he came!

That way he would have had an excuse to refuse!

At this moment, what Xia Duo most wanted to say was a collective term for some plants with soft stems from his hometown. This so-called favor was definitely related to safety.

There was no need to think about the reason.

In Netheril, a Lord was already considered the ruling class, even if he was a Pioneer Lord. Without a sufficient reason, even a Great Arcanist would not assign a mission that would endanger a Lord's life.

After all, if one could assign a Lord and assign a mission once, there would be more people and more times, and all Lords would feel insecure.

Even for a Great Arcanist, without vassals, their influence would be greatly reduced, not to mention that there was more than one Great Arcanist; there were plenty of Great Arcanists willing to accept vassals.

And the cost was merely providing some basic protection, which was simply too cost-effective.

Xia Duo couldn't help but wonder if it was the Pioneer Lords who had no human rights, or the Arcanists who had no human rights. The Princess had really done a poor job this time!

If she had informed him of all the information in advance, Xia Duo, after weighing the pros and cons, would very likely still have agreed. Unlike now, where he was almost tricked into coming, it was impossible for him not to have any resentment in his heart.

"What exactly is the favor? Please, Rodney Lord, explain clearly!" Xia Duo asked in a deep voice.

Aozikaer was surprised by Xia Duo's courage, daring to question a Senior Arcanist. However, their fates had long been linked together; concealment was unnecessary, and anger was even more unnecessary.

After using Spellcasting to mask all information in the hall where the two were, Aozikaer spoke slowly:

"The higher-ups hope that Lord Xia Duo can be assassinated once in Rodney Territory!"

"……"

Xia Duo was almost speechless. So it was this kind of mission, this kind of favor! Was this because they thought he had lived too long?

No wonder he had to be tricked into coming over before being told!

If he had known in advance, Xia Duo certainly would not have agreed, and he imagines Niya would not have consented either!

No wonder Niya has been unable to contact her teacher recently; so that's what was waiting here!

Sigh—