Chapter 783: Pledge of Allegiance, Pairing

That afternoon, Giles Tower, visitor guest room.

Xia Duo was casting 【Transcription】 over and over again. Several piles of loose pages were already stacked in front of him. Having a Spellbook as a Spellcasting Medium was indeed much less strenuous than casting entirely on his own.

Just as he was preparing to pause for a while to let his mind relax and bind the main pages at the same time, Niya came over and brought back a piece of news that surprised him greatly:

"Teacher said there will be a joint operation soon, and you must participate too."

The implication was that she would also be participating. Xia Duo immediately lost the heart to rest and hurriedly asked Niya: "What exactly is this joint operation? Why is it so troublesome? Can I not participate?"

To tell the truth, he still had psychological trauma from the last trip to Rodney Territory! He had almost died. Although it was a close call, the "fright" itself was enough to make one hate it. This time, he didn't know what kind of trouble would arise again.

Perhaps she had already gone through a mental struggle beforehand, but Niya appeared very calm at this moment. She even softly comforted Xia Duo and then said:

"Teacher said it has to do with Elves. Besides some people from Giles Tower and Gustav Tower, all Pioneers must participate. If you refuse, I estimate you will be stripped of your Pioneer status!"

Xia Duo fell silent. It was not as if there were no precedents for Pioneer status being stripped before; he had heard of it long ago.

There was a person named Misqiwu who, after obtaining the Pioneer title, immediately ran off to an Other Plane, and then the Princess immediately stripped him of his Pioneer title.

As for whether there was any further investigation afterward, that was unknown.

But the problem was that others might truly not be lacking in Territory and also have deep backgrounds, but Xia Duo was different. His current Territory already had considerable potential; how could he just give it up like that!

At the same time, if he really gave it up, perhaps disaster would truly be imminent.

Additionally, Niya said this joint operation was related to Elves and called upon all Pioneers, which made it hard for him not to associate it with terms like picking sides or screening.

It was not even just picking sides. What kind of operation was this so-called joint operation? When both sides meet, it wouldn't just be for tea and chatting. Once one's hands were stained with the blood of an Elf, wouldn't that be equivalent to submitting a pledge of allegiance?

Perhaps afterward, one could only follow the Princess down this path to the end!

Xia Duo did not oppose going to war with Elves. After all, humans and Elves were two different races, and both lived on the Surface; they were naturally incompatible and could be called natural competitors.

But this kind of forced picking of sides still made him feel very unhappy!

Perhaps this was the helplessness of the weak!

However, even if one became a Great Arcanist, it was hard to avoid the problem of picking sides. Where there are people, there will be different stances. So-called neutrality is just that others have no time to bother with you.

When the critical moment truly arrives, it is of no use at all.

Now, Xia Duo could only comfort himself this way. The only thing that made him feel slightly comforted was that the boat he was on now could be considered the largest one in all of Netheril.

If this boat could sink, then there was no need to even mention other boats.

It was just that when it came down to the individual, whether one became a piece of rotten wood on the boat that could be discarded at any time, or the command flag controlling the direction of the vessel, those were two completely different situations.

Some things must ultimately be faced actively. It was almost impossible to survive to the highest position by just hiding, and Xia Duo had never had such a thought.

Thinking of this, Xia Duo asked Niya again: "Do you know more details about the joint operation? Like the time, location, and what method it will be conducted in?"

"The specific time is not clear yet; Teacher only said it would be soon. I guess the location might be in a Sub-plane. Teacher said it was because Cormanthor Elves were discovered in that habitable Sub-plane that this operation came about. As for how it will be conducted, I don't know either, but Teacher will arrange special training for us later."

Sub-plane? Special training?

Xia Duo was thoughtful. If there really was some special training, then the higher-ups must value this operation quite a lot.

Opposite him, seeing that Xia Duo had stopped talking, Niya couldn't help but touch his arm and said softly: "Are you worried about this joint operation?"

Xia Duo held Niya's hand, applied a little force, and gave her a reassuring look. "I'm not really worried; it's just that this matter came so suddenly that it's hard for people to accept it all at once."

Having her palm suddenly held by Xia Duo, Niya felt her face burning. Dazed, she followed Xia Duo's words and said, "I also think it's quite sudden. When Teacher told me about this, I was almost stunned!"

Just after finishing, she felt a bit embarrassed. She broke free from Xia Duo's hand, ran to the side, and forced herself to calmly pick up the teacup on the table to drink tea.

Xia Duo had noticed it the moment she made a move, but Niya's movements were too fast. Just as he was about to say that it was the one he had drunk from, Niya had already finished the half-cup he hadn't finished earlier.

The words reached his lips and were swallowed back down, so he had to take out another cup and brew a fresh one for Niya. When the teacup was handed to her side, Niya had already lowered her head in shyness.

Xia Duo discovered that Niya had become increasingly prone to shyness lately, but this made him like her very much. While drinking tea, he admired Niya while recovering from the mental fatigue brought on by the continuous Spellcasting.

As for that so-called joint operation, it was already a settled fact anyway. Didn't Niya say there would be special training later? It wouldn't be too late to ask then.

A moment later, Xia Duo finished resting, and Niya also returned to her normal state. While Xia Duo continued to transcribe copies, she took over all the binding work.

Whenever the pages of a book were completed, she would start binding. After finishing, she would take out her own book to study diligently, which felt quite like a husband singing and the wife following.

Xia Duo glanced at the two books Niya had bound and found them to be much more exquisite than the ones he had bound, so he was happy to let Niya help.

As the saying goes, "Men and women working together, the work doesn't feel tiring." Near evening, Xia Duo finally had the dozen or so books to be given away fully prepared.

However, he thought of another problem and hurriedly told Niya, "By the way, I don't know when the special training you mentioned will arrive. Why don't we have Beilaila contact the others to combine the two exchange meetings and finish them all in one day tomorrow!"

Under normal circumstances, an exchange meeting would have about ten people, but theoretically, the more people, the better. It was equivalent to putting in 1 part of effort and gaining more parts. Xia Duo doing this still had some logic to it.

Upon hearing this, Niya immediately thought of this problem too:

"I almost forgot if you hadn't mentioned it. Although it's a special situation, breaking one's word to others is not a good thing. It's best to contact them and resolve it in advance!"