Chapter 928: Befriending the Distant and Attacking the Near, Time Anomaly

As for the other Elven Kingdoms in the Northland, due to their weak national strength, which might not even be as good as Netheril's, they might not necessarily dare to come and stir up trouble even if they were given the guts.

Furthermore, they have no territorial or trade conflicts with Netheril, so they are the least suspicious, but they cannot be ruled out.

Even the Dwarves are possible; if humans can obtain Mythallar technology, why couldn't the Dwarves?

It is just that this possibility is the smallest; the living spaces of Dwarves and humans do not even conflict—one lives underground, the other on the surface, which is simply a perfect fit.

If not for the Elves, the relationship between humans and Dwarves might have been even more harmonious.

……

Because of their status, Bailun and Zhenna could not express their opinions casually, but Xia Duo had few such scruples; he not only analyzed every possible culprit but also emphatically mentioned Cormanthor.

It had to be mentioned.

In fact, Xia Duo hoped even more that this matter was caused by Cormanthor. To the east of Green Pearl Forest is the Eastern Forest, and further east is Cormanthor. With the two houses so close, it could be said that Xia Duo was constantly considering the threat of Cormanthor.

Not for anything else, just because it is right there!

There is a saying in Xia Duo's hometown: "How can one allow others to snore on the side of one's couch?" Regardless of whether Cormanthor is truly hostile to Netheril, once Xia Duo develops to a certain extent, conflict between the two is almost inevitable.

The same applies to Yierlan in the west, but Yierlan is not as close as Cormanthor; it has a large buffer zone, and the relationship is still relatively mild.

By comparison, Illefarn is truly the most ideal ally for Netheril at the moment, because it is still to the west of Yierlan.

The so-called "befriend the distant and attack the near," that is about how it is.

……

Just as Xia Duo was speaking, Zhenna suddenly stood up from her seat. Xia Duo was startled, but he immediately reacted and cast his gaze toward Saide, who was slowly waking up.

"Consultant Saide, are you awake?"

This voice—could it be—the President?

Saide, who was still lying flat on the ground, suddenly flailed his limbs, jumped up fiercely from the ground, and looked toward the crowd following the voice. He saw the President at first glance, but then he shifted his gaze to the old man beside the President, and he said in surprise:

"Master Bailun, why are you here?! And, President—"

"Master Bailun was invited by me to come and help, and the fact that we were able to receive your message is all thanks to Lord Xia Duo! And this Bishop Anbulier, it was he who saved your life!"

Zhenna briefly introduced the situation, and Saide, hearing that he had been saved, only then belatedly discovered the anomaly in his body.

Of course, this anomaly was not bad, but rather too good; he felt as if he had returned to his youth, his heartbeat was strong and powerful, and his limbs moved with great vigor.

He stared blankly at his own hands, his eyes full of surprise, turning them over and over several times. Only then did he touch his cheeks in disbelief, and afterwards, he even summoned a water mirror.

The image reflected in the water mirror was not very clear, but it was perfectly fine for distinguishing whether he was old or young.

Saide gazed at his youthful appearance in the mirror and immediately fell into a daze. After a long while, he withdrew his wandering thoughts. As if thinking of something, he cast his gaze toward Bishop Anbulier, his lips moving, not knowing what to say.

"It is exactly as you think. This Bishop Anbulier personally presided over the highest-grade 【Restoration Baptism】 for you, not only removing the injuries you received but even returning you to your most perfect state!"

It was Zhenna who spoke. Although Saide's recovery was a good thing, at the thought of the price the Ming Shui Chamber of Commerce had to pay, she still felt some resentment: "Starting from next year, ten years of your salary and dividends will be deducted!"

"Yes!"

Saide had no complaints about this; he knew the Chamber of Commerce needed to clean up the mess for him. At the same time, regarding Bishop Anbulier, the direct party who saved him, Saide was not stingy with his gratitude.

Of course, this also included the other participant in the rescue, Xia Duo, as well as Bishop Anbulier's liege, Niya.

……

To Xia Duo's surprise, Saide also used magic to conceal his youthful appearance like Aiboke, turning back into his previous middle-aged image before taking his seat to accept questioning from Zhenna and Bailun.

Saide did not explain this, and the others did not seem to find it strange. Only Xia Duo found it very puzzling, but thinking about this question at the moment did not have much meaning, because the interrogation had already begun.

Saide said: "After entering the green light, it was not normal lake water inside, but had turned into another nearly endless Water World. In that world, there were only two types of creatures: one was Murlocs, and the other was water plants!"

"There seemed to be a Mythallar covering it, and the Magic Net had also been reconstructed. I could not explore quickly and could only investigate slowly by casting spells through Arcane Fire. Just like that, nearly two days passed—"

"Wait!"

Zhenna suddenly interrupted Saide's statement, "Are you sure you stayed in that so-called Water World within the green light for two days?"

"I am not very certain about the specific time, but I am definitely sure it was more than one day!" Saide said very firmly.

Hearing this answer, Zhenna and Bailun looked at each other, and then she continued: "Do you know what time it is now?"

"What time?" Saide could not quite understand the President's question.

"From my Perception, only a few hours have passed since you left Seventon and came to Nan Jing, and that even includes the 【Restoration Baptism】 and the time spent waiting for you to wake up!"

"Ah?!"

Once Zhenna said this, Saide immediately understood; he seemed to have entered an area where the flow of time was faster than the Main Plane!

Could it be that the inside of that green light was truly an alien world?

……

Upon hearing this answer, Xia Duo frowned deeply. He knew that the Seven Towers had an 【Annihilation Plane】 where the time flow was 5 times that of the Main Plane, and he had even experienced it personally.

And the reason that plane was called the 【Annihilation Plane】 was because it was already in a state nearing natural extinction, and the Seven Towers had to pay a great price to utilize it.

At least two Astral Mages needed to be stationed there to construct a Sacred Dwelling to accommodate others, and the space in the Sacred Dwelling was limited, so the number of people it could accommodate was naturally limited as well.

It is conceivable that such planes where the time flow is faster than the Main Plane should be relatively rare.

Would the Elves really send such a plane to Netheril?

Or was that just some kind of special magic capable of altering time? But there was no reason to expose it to Netheril!

Judging from Saide's experience, it seemed that as long as the water plants and Murlocs in that Water World were cleared out, it could be utilized at will.

It shouldn't be that simple!

……

Afterwards, the questioning continued, and Saide also continued to recount his experience after entering the green light—

"After two days of investigation, just when I thought I had fully understood that world and was preparing to leave, a cluster of strange water plants attacked me."

When he said this, a feeling of deep lingering fear was revealed in Saide's eyes.