Chapter 846: Link, Distinguishing Friend from Foe

Just as Xia Duo was attempting to familiarize himself with this state, he suddenly heard several exclamations; the five overlapping consciousness projections instantly dwindled to only three!

He could clearly distinguish that the other two were Niya and Wensen, respectively.

—As expected! A relatively gentle 【Mind Link】 is easily interrupted due to psychological resistance! Xia Duo thought to himself.

—Is this a Mind Link? It's too magical! Wensen exclaimed without hiding his amazement.

—Are those people not appearing here because they harbor resistance? Niya asked with confusion.

Xia Duo did not answer directly, but instead detached his consciousness projection from the overlapping state; with the link hub gone, the connections of the others were immediately severed.

Of course, as long as the spell has not completely failed, this state can be converted back into a linked state at any time, but those who resisted and left cannot join the link again.

"Wensen, Gelan'na'er, put away the 【Pioneer Scepter】; while carrying it, the Mind Link cannot take effect!"

"And the rest of you, maintaining focus is enough to shield most of your own thought information from being shared; there is no need to panic or resist. This spell is merely a tactical aid, not meant to pry into your minds."

Xia Duo explained the effective range of the 【Mind Link】 once again.

In fact, if a person can completely integrate their subconscious and conscious mind, then even those sensory details can be shielded from the share.

However, even Xia Duo has not been able to fully integrate his subconscious and conscious mind, let alone the others; those passive sensory details controlled by the subconscious are almost impossible to shield while in the Mind Link state.

Of course, there were some things Xia Duo still did not explain clearly, and that is—

In this Mind Link state, as the leader of the spell and the hub of the link, he can influence the subconscious of others to a certain extent, making them more obedient to his commands.

This is the true purpose of the Mind Link!

Merely sharing sensory information, or even parts of one's thoughts, would not be enough for Xia Duo to rack his brains to create—or rather, to integrate and upgrade from the existing Judgment Spell—this 7th Ring Spell.

Up until now, except for the 【Mage Armor】 previously used for Ascending Ring which reached the 7th Ring, none of his other spells have been updated or upgraded yet!

All for this 7th Ring 【Mind Link】!

Could it really just be for the sake of sharing some information or thoughts?

Certainly not!

Resistance causes the Mind Link to disconnect, and the link allows for better command; using this to distinguish friend from foe could not be more convenient.

If someone really tries to stir up trouble, the moment they harbor evil intentions, it will inevitably be reflected in the state of the Mind Link; at that time, Xia Duo would perceive it directly and thus eliminate the accident.

In reality, if someone truly harbors malice, there is no need to wait until reaching the battlefield to discover it; it would be very difficult to hide during these final three days of adjustment.

Because, as long as they resist the link, Xia Duo will directly conclude that they have something to hide!

Whether it is replacing the person or simply kicking them out, both are within the Permission Level of an Advanced Rank Mage!

……

So, among these people, exactly how many have something to hide?

As of now, not a single one!

After Xia Duo provided guidance a few times, everyone completed their psychological preparation and successfully joined the Mind Link with Xia Duo as the core.

Of course, it was only a relatively shallow link; as he said before, this link is not for prying into privacy, but out of tactical considerations.

A deeper link is not impossible, but that kind of near-total sensory and mental sharing without reservation—let alone others, even Xia Duo himself could not accept it.

The realm of the Star Spirit is truly not something an ordinary person can reach.

This is enough; linked but not too tight, just right!

……

After a few practices, in just one day, everyone adapted to the Mind Link state.

The reason it went so smoothly is mainly because the more people there are, the more information is shared, and the complex information would interfere with the Spellcaster's judgment.

However, as long as one maintains focus, one can not only shield most of the outflow of one's own thought information but also shield most of the inflow of sensory information shared by others.

In other words, as long as Xia Duo, the commander, does not have any issues, the others do not need to think too much; just following orders and being a good tool is enough!

After several rounds of adjustment and previous contact, the others had gained an understanding of Xia Duo's strength and character, and coupled with the pressure of the situation, they easily made the decision to entrust themselves to Xia Duo.

Then, would Xia Duo himself have any issues?

If it were the him who had not been to the 【Projection Plane: Underdark】, then there very well might have been issues, but having been to that projection plane and having gone through the hundreds of years of memory and mental torture of the Drow "Brandon"—

Xia Duo already had sufficient experience in integrating sensory information and even thought patterns and thinking information, enough to handle the current minor situation.

Of course, these can only count as hardware adjustments before the battle; only with this foundation can one speak of anything else.

The software aspect is the specific strategies and tactics for dealing with the Elves.

With the guidance of Archmage Fusitemu who arrived a few days early, and the "Combat Manual" later distributed to everyone, Xia Duo did not think his team would have any major problems.

If even his team could not successfully complete the mission and survive, then the other teams would be in even more trouble!

While still maintaining caution, Xia Duo's mindset had improved significantly compared to a few days ago.

……

Two days passed quickly, and the time arrived at the operation start date mentioned by Fusitemu three days ago.

By this day, the atmosphere of the entire camp had become increasingly tense.

In the early morning, everyone was called to assemble on the plaza where the Portal was located, but except for the Orc slaves and Gnome craftsmen in the distance who did not know why the war was happening and were still making noise—

The plaza side was almost completely silent, with emotions of nervousness, fear, excitement, or fanaticism constantly spreading.

The team of Xia Duo and the others was inconspicuous mixed in the crowd, but he had no extra emotions to vent at this moment; his gaze was attracted by those two teams of Battle Mages at the edge of the plaza.

Including Tena, whom he had seen before, there were twenty people in total, but unlike the crowd on Xia Duo's side, those twenty people all had calm expressions, showing not the slightest emotion.

Looking from afar, they gave people a feeling of being as steady as an abyss and as unfathomable as a mountain.

Of course, Xia Duo knew that if there were no accidents, those people were all just Advanced Rank Mages; the unspoken rule that only Advanced Rank Mages at most would appear in this war was no longer a secret.

This was a tacit understanding reached between the higher-ups and the Elves; even though the conflict had tended to become overt, both sides still maintained a certain degree of restraint.

……

With over a hundred Advanced Rank Mages and Arcanists present, as well as Archmages or Senior Arcanists whose exact numbers were unknown but who were still on standby even if they did not need to participate in the battle—

Under these circumstances, even a Great Arcanist would find it difficult to put on any airs!

Just as Xia Duo had expected, not long after everyone had arrived, the Great Arcanist Badijiaer appeared in the middle of the plaza.