Chapter 854: Thunder Purgatory, Retreat

Just as Xia Duo hesitated and watched, he also discovered other Perception Fields; it seemed everyone was observing, but soon, the first supporter appeared.

It was Fuluosite, a High Mage from Giles Tower!

It was just that his arrival position seemed somewhat unfortunate; no sooner had he appeared above that circular gray-black land than a bolt of lightning emerged from the void and struck him directly before he could even react.

No one would fail to make full preparations before a support teleportation; a single bolt of lightning was not enough to overwhelm a High Mage.

But the problem was that the momentary distraction when the lightning hit caused him to fall directly from the sky, and he performed another teleportation before even hitting the ground.

The person was gone.

A wasted effort in support!

Soon, Xia Duo received a Sending from Fuluosite, "The loss of control and the fall triggered a teleportation spell just now. I have returned to the camp. The Magic Net in that area is extremely abnormal, and it has everything to do with those Elves. We cannot let them complete the spell!"

But it was already a bit too late when he said these words.

Right under Xia Duo's gaze, those Elves completed the spell, and the violent fluctuations stirred up in the Magic Net at that very instant nearly caused Niya's Perception Field, which was suspended in the air, to dissipate.

And the next moment, in his distorted perception, dense lightning beams erupted above that circular gray-black land like a curtain of rain, like a waterfall!

The powerful energy even caused a visual lag in the Perception Field, as if watching a slow-motion scene; those massive lightning beams began to slowly converge toward one direction.

Forming a giant, tilted flower of lightning in space, with roots constantly branching out and radiating!

It was just that the root of that lightning flower was not the source point from which the lightning branched and spread, but the focal point where the lightning converged from other directions!

This focal point vibrated violently, as if it were about to tear a large hole in the Magic Net, letting endless energy pour out.

However, the Magic Net could not be torn so easily; Xia Duo held his breath and focused, watching silently.

Although it looked very slow visually, the moment he saw this scene, he already understood that the attack had been completed!

Just as that lightning focal point was slowly moving toward the defensive position where Qiaoyisi and the others were unable to move, he suddenly received a message from Qiaoyisi—

"Talan Sen Tu Si didn't manage to escape! The mission has failed!"

Qiaoyisi's tone was low; besides being somewhat dejected, there was also an undisguised lingering fear and terror. After hearing it, Xia Duo found it hard to imagine that a High Mage who had been chatting and laughing not long ago was just gone like that.

As for those Intermediate Mages, who couldn't even perform Teleportation, death was their only outcome in this situation.

And at this time, Fuluosite also sent a message to all the High Mages in the agreement, saying with some lingering fear: "So, did I just escape with my life?"

No one answered, but the silence itself foreshadowed the answer.

"Retreat? Or what should we do?" Xia Duo calculated silently in his heart.

First of all, giving up the mission directly was obviously inappropriate; the higher-ups were watching, and if they just gave up like this before the final moment, they probably wouldn't have a good outcome upon returning.

Then they could only take some risks!

Just as Xia Duo was thinking about how to persuade others, Qiaoyisi sent another message, "I have decided to withdraw. I don't want to take risks. Even if I have to be punished when I go back, I accept it!"

"……"

Xia Duo really wanted to curse out loud; this guy was just quitting like this, and he even sent it to everyone—wasn't he intentionally destroying everyone's morale!

It would have been better if he had just died earlier; how did he even manage to escape!

During the brief moment of silence just now, the delayed image perceived in Niya's Scrying spell finally finished "playing"; the final lightning focal point suddenly erupted when it approached Qiaoyisi and the others, and Qiaoyisi and the others were instantly gone.

Of course, Xia Duo knew that Qiaoyisi had run away, while the others had not been able to escape, especially that Mage Talan Sen Tu Si.

"Several Excellencies are watching us! If we talk about retreating at the slightest setback now, will we still have the Courage to contend with the Elves on the Main Plane in the future? Think carefully about this war, this mission—is it really just for a Sub-plane?"

Regardless of whether the higher-ups had the intention of making the subordinates take sides and using the war to temper their courage to fight the Elves, Xia Duo simply concluded that it was!

This was not only a necessary path in the development of Netheril as he saw it, but also a choice that any human who wanted to achieve something on the Main Plane had to face!

Did they really want to cower in the shadow of the Elves for generations?

These High Mages could be considered the rare elite of Netheril; if even they dared not fight, could more ordinary people ever develop the heart to resist?

At this moment, Xia Duo was absolutely certain that any leader with even a little ambition who wanted to see Netheril develop would find ways to break the natural worship, natural fear, and natural non-resistance toward Elves in the hearts of the Netherese!

For this Green Field Plane, among the Seven Towers, only these four parties—Giles Tower, Gustav Tower, Jilan Tower, and Jannick Tower—forcibly conscripted personnel to participate in the war.

The other three parties used missions to attract people, perhaps out of some consistency of the Seven Towers Group, and had no choice but to do so.

Perhaps within the Seven Towers Group, only these four were truly standing together; at least in their attitude toward the Elves, they were highly consistent!

This also happened to align with Xia Duo's wishes!

It was just that people always had base instincts, always hoping that others would sacrifice for them while they themselves were spared; Xia Duo was no exception, but when truly involved in the matter, how could one easily abandon their stance!

It was somewhat similar to what was often described in the novels Xia Duo had read: "Once you retreat, a mental barrier will arise, and it will be difficult for your cultivation to progress further thereafter."

Although the reality was not that exaggerated, this abandonment was not only a dead end in one's own camp, but this alienated choice was also a reshaping of one's own philosophy and values, turning into the kind of person one did not want to become in the past.

If there were many such choices, it would be a complete distortion of values, or rather, a fall!

Of course, this was from Xia Duo's perspective; perhaps Qiaoyisi himself was very resistant to this forced conscription and also very resistant to fighting the Elves, and now that he had found an opportunity, he immediately chose to give up.

He was simply a typical collaborator; his values and philosophy were already different from Xia Duo's, so there was no talk of change, distortion, or falling.

He just made the most normal reaction for someone like him.

However, Qiaoyisi came from Jannick Tower, which was interesting.

At the mobilization meeting before departure, Great Arcanist Hadelaien of Jannick Tower had appeared in person, and Qiaoyisi had seen it with his own eyes, so why did he lack even this bit of political sensitivity now!

Did he still want to hang around in Jannick Tower in the future?

Such a thought flashed through Xia Duo's mind, but then he shook his head and continued to send a message:

"It is not yet the time when we have no choice but to give up. I suggest that each of our teams select thirteen people to form a standing mobile squad; wherever there is an abnormality, we will support it collectively!"

For now, the Intermediate Mages could not be allowed to return directly; they were the pillars that maintained the Archmage-level combat power of a High Mage, and at the same time, this whole was an indispensable force for containing the Mythallar Node.

If there were no containment, the Elf Mages would certainly gather in large numbers to seek a decisive battle; in that case, humans might not really be able to defeat the Elves.

They must fully utilize the advantages of humans!