Chapter 351

"Mm. I know about it. I even used it just now," Anser replied truthfully.

"The timing of this thing's appearance is too strange. Could it have something to do with the Goddess of Darkness?" Rand asked, somewhat worried.

"Legend says the Shadow Weave is saturated with negative energy. You should've been able to sense that easily enough."

"That's true, but it's very different from the Weave. Could it have come from the Chosen of some other deity?"

"That... is possible," Anser replied vaguely. "Have you used it?"

"I have. It wasn't much help when preparing spells, but spellcasting was considerably more stable." Rand nodded.

The process by which paladins and clerics prepared spells was tied to sacred oaths and generally required establishing a connection with the Outer Planes. The Spirit Net covered too small an area to provide them with much of a benefit.

However, the Spirit Net could create a stable magical environment, which was also somewhat useful to spellcasters who still relied on spell slots for casting.

"Using the Spirit Net to communicate costs money. Could it have something to do with Waukeen?" Rand continued speculating.

He and Zahir had spent quite some time studying it without making any headway, so he wanted to see whether Anser, a genius sorcerer, had discovered anything unusual.

"I'm not sure either. Let's wait and see for now." Anser waved a hand and quickly changed the subject. "Get ready. The operation is set for the day after tomorrow. I'm going to find Delira and her sister."

"All right." Rand rose to see Anser off.

Anser spread his dragon wings and flew toward the Wood of Sharp Teeth.

'I didn't expect everyone to be so sensitive to this. Then again, the timing really is unusual.' His thoughts raced.

Rand had raised all sorts of possibilities, yet never once mentioned the possibility that someone might be stealing the Weave.

It wasn't that the thought hadn't occurred to him. It was simply impossible.

With Karsus's lesson as precedent, everyone knew that such a thing would never be allowed to happen again.

The "Weave" had originally been a cosmic mechanism independently created and governed by Mystryl, the first goddess of magic. She was the Weave itself.

The current Weave was a form of authority that even the Overgod Ao regarded as extremely important, a cornerstone that stabilized the world. Even gods couldn't bear its weight, much less ordinary mortals.

Perhaps, from Ao's perspective, the struggles between gods were little more than children playing games.

In theory, as long as Ao didn't intervene, everything happening now fell within the bounds of what was "reasonable."

'Overgod... what are you busy with? The Weave is a pretty big deal.'

Even though Anser didn't believe in the gods, he still didn't dare speak Ao's true name aloud. Even so, he couldn't keep a few thoughts and speculations he probably shouldn't be having from creeping into his mind.

While he was pondering this, he had already reached the skies above the Wood of Sharp Teeth.

At the edge of the lush forest stood a small village still under construction. The scattered figures coming and going were all dressed in cloaks.

'Looks like there are more people now.' Anser swept his gaze over the area and quickly noticed the change.

When Delira and her sister had been hunted by Lolth's Chosen, only a few dozen followers had remained at their side after suffering heavy losses.

Now, however, at least a hundred drow were bustling around the village, not even counting those who were resting or currently away.

Besides the drow, there were another three or four hundred enslaved Underdark creatures here, including goblins, kobolds, and duergar.

Enslaving other creatures truly was a traditional drow specialty.

'The speed at which they're winning people over... is pretty astonishing.'

His blatantly obvious observation soon attracted the drow's attention.

A figure emerged from one of the buildings. She had silver hair and silver eyes, a voluptuous figure, and large expanses of exposed skin that gleamed pale as pearls.

Anser landed in front of her and folded away his dragon wings.

He was just about to speak when he noticed Valera studying him with keen interest, as though she had never seen him before.

"Valera?" Anser frowned, immediately growing wary.

Something about Valera felt different. Her appearance and attire were clearly the same, but her bearing and the look in her eyes had changed.

"Anser, I thought you'd forgotten about us." Valera smiled, pursing her lips.

"How could I? Delira and I were communicating through Sending just last night," Anser replied evenly.

"I know. You want our help, don't you? But mind flayers aren't easy to deal with, and we can't afford to expose ourselves so easily right now." Valera wore a smile, seemingly intent on negotiating terms.

Anser narrowed his eyes. Delira had agreed without hesitation last night.

It wasn't as though he absolutely needed the two sisters, but he had saved both their lives, and they had previously been the ones asking him to cooperate with them. There was absolutely no reason for them to refuse.

Anser stared at her for a moment. The die slowly turned, and a line of information appeared:

[Eilistraee's Chosen—Valera (Divine Infusion), Drow Elf, Level 16 Cleric (Light Domain), Level 5 Wizard (Bladesinger)]

'Divine Infusion? Divine descent!' Anser forced himself to remain calm, betraying nothing on his face.

Valera had originally been an 11th-level cleric. Now she had abruptly reached level 16, bringing her total class level to 21. She had already stepped into the legendary tier!

It was difficult for deities to appear directly on the Material Plane, so they usually descended through other means.

Besides the best-known method of manifesting their true selves in avatar form, there were numerous other methods, including possession through divine consciousness, Divine Infusion, and divine avatars, each with its own rules and restrictions.

Anser didn't understand Divine Infusion, but he guessed that it involved sending down a portion of a deity's divinity and divine power along with the deity's consciousness.

"You can actually tell. How perceptive." Valera suddenly spoke, a hint of surprise entering her eyes.

"Lady Eilistraee? What about Valera?" Anser remained secretly on guard.

Divine descent came at no small cost. A deity wouldn't descend for no reason. Something he didn't know about must have happened.

"What kind of person do you take me for? She's fully aware of everything happening right now. Come inside and let's talk." Valera gave him a radiant smile and reached out to pull Anser along, but he dodged her hand.

Valera didn't mind and simply walked into the building.

Anser followed behind her and found that it was nothing more than an ordinary wooden house, protected by a simple soundproofing ward.

The door gently closed. Valera sat down languidly, revealing a trace of fatigue.

"I didn't come here for you. I just happened to run into you and wanted to meet you before I left."

"Disappointed?" Anser's interest was piqued.

"No. I'm actually rather pleased. Fortunately, you're not Him. Otherwise, Delira would definitely be heartbroken." Valera teased him, making no attempt whatsoever to conceal that she had intended to kill him.

"Who is He?" Anser immediately tensed.

"Why don't you guess? Lolth's Chosen told me." Valera's lips curled into a playful smirk.

Anser cursed inwardly. He hadn't expected Lolth's Chosen to be this underhanded. When their alliance fell through, she had even gone around spreading stories about him.

If Eilistraee hadn't been able to tell the difference, the two of them might already have been fighting by now.

"If I may ask, what's happening with the gods...?" He seized the opportunity to ask.

Deities had different temperaments, and this Eilistraee seemed relatively easy to talk to.

"You don't have much reverence, do you?" Valera wagged a finger, smiling ambiguously. "The gods have had a tiny disagreement. Things might be chaotic for a while."

"That's all?" Anser obviously didn't believe her. Her casual words contrasted far too sharply with the sight of Chosen fighting one another everywhere.

"That's all." Valera chuckled. "Chaos is a ladder. Your opportunity has arrived."

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