Uh... after such a farce, the dining room fell silent again. Chao Lu silently stood behind Ellie.
Then Snow Elf directly lay down at Ellie's feet, resting her head on Ellie's lap, looking exactly like a cat wanting to lie on its owner's lap. This fellow was originally a cat, after all!
Ellie was completely at a loss now. As Chao Lu said, a subordinate would never mistake their creator, but Ellie truly hadn't created these two. It should be said that Ellie didn't have the ability to create them even if she wanted to!
Can one still create NPCs here? Summoning small skeletons and Death Knights without time limits might be achievable with enough effort, but creating a powerful NPC directly is absolutely beyond Ellie's capabilities. Yet, these two were convinced that Ellie was that damned Bai Xia! What was going on?
Ah! I understand!! It can only be this! Ellie suddenly realized. Previously, Ellie's thoughts on the Bai Xia problem were from her own perspective. If she were to put herself in Bai Xia's shoes, why would she create two NPCs so similar to the people around Ellie?
That naturally implies an unspeakable secret! Perhaps, capable schemers don't do things without reason. As for why Ellie would consider that Bai Xia a schemer...
Just imagine... as one of the first Transmigrators, holding the identity of one of the Six Great Gods, who were originally human, and also one of the Eight Greed Kings, and still alive to this day, it would be impossible to achieve such miraculous feats without being a competent schemer or strategist!
So, that means she had some special purpose for setting these two NPCs up this way. However, a prerequisite for this condition is that Lord Bai Xia... possesses an extremely powerful ability to foresee the future.
Otherwise, it would be impossible to explain how she knew Bell and Arche. One must remember that several hundred years separate these events. To foresee events hundreds of years in advance can only be described as outrageous.
Indeed... Ellie herself felt this theory was a bit far-fetched, but if it wasn't like this, who could tell her what was really going on?
Assuming this is the case, and these two are following the real Bai Xia's instructions to treat Ellie as "Bai Xia," then let's infer her purpose.
Bai Xia, with her foresight, must have also foreseen her own sealing, right? So, does she need someone to unseal her a hundred years later?
Uh... no, if these two NPCs are max-level players, wouldn't it be enough to just go in and rescue her? Why would it take so long to plan?
So, are there other special reasons or conditions? Damn it! There's too little information, and this idea of Ellie's doesn't hold water. There are too many flaws. The reasoning is that Bai Xia is a Transmigrator; she shouldn't have the supernatural abilities of this world. A hundred-year foresight is too ridiculous.
Although Ellie continued to eat silently on the surface, her heart was already in turmoil. After all, this was the first time she had encountered such a bizarre event since transmigrating.
Although Ellie had indeed done many bad things and encountered many out-of-script events since coming here, such a bizarre incident was a first, and it was inevitable to lose her composure.
"Chao Lu, Snow Elf... I have some things to discuss with my friends. Could I trouble you to withdraw for now?" Completely muddled, Ellie wanted to test a theory. If her previous direct assumption was reliable, and these two, knowing she wasn't Bai Xia, intended to use her to achieve some goal, then they should find excuses to stay when she so clearly ordered them, her eyes and ears, to leave.
"Understood... then I shall withdraw." Chao Lu nodded and actually agreed directly. Then she came over, grabbed Snow Elf by the collar, and dragged Snow Elf out. Snow Elf only struggled symbolically a few times, then waved at Ellie, probably intending to say "see you later."
They actually agreed so obediently?? This greatly surprised Ellie. No... this was their territory. Eavesdropping would be too easy. Ellie wanted to activate an anti-surveillance barrier, but on second thought, wouldn't that make them realize she was suspicious of them? She had to treat them as powerful, max-level NPCs; no carelessness was allowed. A slight mistake could genuinely be fatal.
Ellie then turned her gaze to Bell. Bell, having seen Ellie order the two strange people away, had kept her attention on Ellie. So, as soon as she saw Ellie give her a look, she immediately understood Ellie's intention and nodded in response.
Bell was seen pulling out a talisman-like object from the front of her priestess robes and pressing it onto the dining table. Then she nodded at Ellie, indicating it was done. Speaking of which, Bell's profession shouldn't be Apprentice Priestess; she was more like a Talisman Master, similar to the Dragon Maid. If there was a chance in the future, Ellie should send her to the Dragon Maid for some "education."
"I'm exhausted... such inexplicable things happened." Ellie breathed a sigh of relief, looking at Ligurit and speaking. In truth, Ellie was talking to herself.
"I didn't expect to encounter such a strange thing. It seems bringing you here was indeed the right decision," Ligurit responded with a smile.
"Hmm? Ligurit, do you also find this strange?" Ellie quickly pressed, as Ellie was quite worried Ligurit wouldn't believe her, which would mean Ellie would have to silence her.
"Of course... I didn't expect the Guardians of Sky City to mistake someone, and even say they wouldn't mistake her even if she turned into a piranha. It's truly hilarious." Ligurit indeed laughed out loud.
"That's great, I was worried Ligurit wouldn't believe me." Ellie feigned a look of relief.
Of course, Ellie wasn't so easily dismissed by a single sentence from Ligurit. Perhaps Ligurit was trying to trick her. Although she hadn't fought Ellie, as an Old Hag who had lived for over two hundred years, she should know Ellie wasn't someone to be trifled with. Was her will to survive making her lie?
"Haha! Of course, I believe you, little sister Ellie, are not Bai Xia. You don't need to worry too much, little sister Ellie." Ligurit replied, but her frank attitude made Ellie even more suspicious. However, her next sentence made Ellie understand.
"After all... the real Bai Xia is currently a guest with Platinum Dragon Lord."
Platinum Dragon Lord? Yes... this was the name the Platinum Dragon Lord used when controlling his armor to participate in the Demon God Turmoil. So that means... the real Bai Xia is in the Platinum Dragon Lord's hands?
Ellie remembered that the Platinum Dragon Lord's inability to leave his location was speculated to be due to guarding the Eight Greed Kings' Guild Weapon, a crystal sword, which belonged to the Captain of the Thirteen Heroes, who was also a player.
It was borrowed from there. However... from what Ligurit is saying now, it seems the Platinum Dragon Lord isn't just guarding the Eight Greed Kings' Guild Weapon, but also the sealed Bai Xia!
"This, this is great! Ligurit, do you know that Bai Xia?" Ellie quickly inquired about Bai Xia's information from Ligurit.
"I can't say I know her, only that I've seen her," Ligurit replied.
Seen her... so she's still in a sealed state, then. In that case, I can probably make a slightly bolder guess. Ligurit quite subtly said she had seen her but couldn't say she knew her, which implies Bai Xia is still in a sealed state, guarded by the Platinum Dragon Lord.
This is almost consistent with what Ellie learned from the Elf King. So, it can basically be confirmed that when Ligurit saw Bai Xia, she was already in a sealed state. That means... Bai Xia was sealed before the Demon God Turmoil. However, a new question arises: who sealed her? And why a seal?
Typically, according to the tropes of RPG games, troublesome methods like sealing are only used for unkillable Great Demons and such.
So, Bai Xia is already that powerful? Chao Lu seemed to have mentioned earlier that she could conquer the entire world at any time. Is she really that formidable?
It seems this Bai Xia is indeed a threat. Uh... it looks like I need to prepare for two possibilities. The so-called two possibilities are to recruit her as a teammate for Ainz, or to eliminate her!
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