On the Eve of War

Chapter 55 On the Eve of War

Resting her chin on her hand, Farin smiled and looked at Tallinn in front of her, saying, "I'm very curious to know what kind of place Ionia is, as I see it."

In fact, I wanted to ask this question yesterday morning when you were still in the council chamber, but everyone else was so enthusiastic that I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Besides—there are some things that those old scholars really don't like.”

Farin exclaimed, "I was so disappointed that I didn't get a chance to talk to you, but I never expected to run into you at the library today!"

"Ionia."

Upon hearing Farin's words, Tarin nodded in understanding, and at the same time, he understood Farin's inclination.

He longed to see the outside world and experience civilizations and developments completely different from Ixtal's. However, limited by Ixtal's traditional cultural environment, his dream remained unfulfilled.

And now—perhaps this possibility is being sensed through Qiyana? Offering help?

Thinking this through, Tallinn briefly shared some tidbits about Ionia and its unique features. For example, the buildings there are all alive; the trees and houses are shaped by the communication of the Woodweavers, who guide them to grow into the forms needed by the people, and so on.

Upon hearing a similar story for the first time, Farin's eyes were filled with curiosity.

Unfortunately, the happy time was short-lived. After satisfying her curiosity, Farin restrained her thirst for knowledge and said, "Ionia is more interesting than I imagined—although I would like to talk to you more, I think I shouldn't disturb a scholar's studies."

As she spoke, Farin stood up, then looked at Tarin with a slightly meaningful look in her eyes and said, "As for Qiyana's ideals, simply persuading the Yuntars won't make them come true."

"I understand." Tarin nodded, then added, "It would be even better if more people could come to watch Qiyana's sparring match with Inessa tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Farin nodded thoughtfully, then smiled and said, "There will be—just like someone like me."

After saying that, Farin left. Watching Farin's departing figure, Tarin nodded thoughtfully.

Just as Tallinn thought, Ixoken, as the capital of Ixtar, was the center of power and wisdom, where the most scholars, apprentices, and Yuntars gathered.

While this makes Ischläcken more conservative than other places, it also constantly attracts a vibrant intellectual community.

There must be many people like Farin, but there is a lack of someone with enough weight, ability, and prestige to stand up and let them make their voices heard.

"We're lucky," Tarin said, turning to Qiyana beside him. "Many people need you."

"Really?" Upon hearing Tarin's words, Qiyana was slightly taken aback, then said with a strange expression, "How come I didn't know? Aunt Farin is one thing, but why didn't I see the others?"

That's because you didn't notice.

Tarin shrugged, then lowered his head and said, "In fact, things might be better than we think—many Yuntars have not come to terms with the reality of Ixtal and have given up the ambitions they had when they first saw the outside world."

"They just lack someone influential enough to speak up for them."

"All it takes is a whistle; when they hear it, they will naturally step forward."

"Sounds good?" Qiyana asked somewhat uncertainly.

"Everything has its advantages and disadvantages." Tallinn shrugged. "When you become the one who blows the whistle, you will naturally become the center of the storm."

"Being the center of everyone's attention? And the hostility of the conservatives?" Upon hearing this, Qiyana raised an eyebrow, then couldn't help but reveal an excited smile.

"Isn't that even better?!"

Seeing Qiyana's eagerness to stir up trouble and her desire to be the center of attention, Tarin simply gave her a thumbs up.

"I propose that the name of Ixokeng be changed to Macurag."

Qiyana: "What do you mean?"

Tallinn: "Coconut Core Buns"

Qiyana: "?"

Qiyana didn't take Tarin's inexplicable words to heart. After all, she had already learned about Tarin's occasional "prophetic illness," which refers to his rambling and incoherent behavior.

After two minor incidents, perhaps with the help of Farin, no one bothered Tarin and Qiyana for the rest of the time.

After a day of studying, Tallinn also activated his brain by reading quickly in order to effectively store the information.

This made Tarin's reading speed extremely fast, but it also drained his energy immensely. At the end of the day, on the way back to his palace with Qiyana, even Qiyana could clearly see the exhaustion on Tarin's face.

This also surprised Qiyana.

"Is it really that exhausting? And besides, do you really gain any useful knowledge from reading all that?" Kiana was deeply skeptical.

Qiyana remembered it all. Although Tarin would slowly flip through the books at first, after discovering the mountain of historical records about Ixtal, he immediately started using quantum speed reading. He would basically look at each page for two or three seconds and then turn the page.

If it were anyone else, Qiyana would definitely think this was a sham, a library malpractice attempt to attract attention.

But the problem is that it's Tallinn who's doing this now—so let's get back to the point.

In response, Tallinn rubbed his temples and explained, "Detailed reading is too inefficient, so I activated the nerves in my brain to speed up the recording process, directly memorizing the information and then comparing it later in my spare time."

"However—I recorded too much in one go, and my brain is a bit overloaded now. It may take a while to recover."

As he said this, Tallinn pulled out a bottle of energy drink and chugged it down in one gulp.

From the Monster Hunter universe, its effect is to restore 25 stamina points and dispel the sleep status condition after consumption.

However, since it can only be used when you are drowsy and cannot be used after you fall asleep, its versatility is not very high.

However, as I said before, games are games. In reality, energy drinks are similar to Red Bull or Monster Energy, except that they use life energy to help people absorb nutrients more gently and quickly.

Whenever I feel mentally scattered and tired due to external forces, taking a sip can greatly relieve mental stress, just like having an iced Americano in the early morning to refresh my mind.

Although Tallinn's current condition is due to overworking his brain, after drinking some energy drinks, and with the invigorating ingredients being slowly absorbed under the influence of life energy, Tallinn can clearly feel that his condition has improved a lot.

However, Tallinn did not intend to force himself to continue organizing the data, but instead prepared to rest fully.

Especially after mastering life energy, Tallinn was able to clearly perceive the detailed condition of his body at every moment.

While falling asleep quickly when exhausted is essentially a forced shutdown of the brain, putting it into a rapid maintenance state, breathing becomes shallow, and the brain is unable to efficiently repair neurons and remove metabolic waste.

While falling asleep in a fully alert state may take longer, the process of detoxifying the cerebrospinal fluid allows for a more thorough recovery, and memories are consolidated, becoming more profound and clear.

The next day, in the afternoon, looking at the huge crowd filling the circular square, Talin nodded and said, "It seems your aunt is really concerned. In just a day and a half, she has attracted so much attention."

"Qiana deserves all the attention."

Upon hearing Tarin's words, Qiyana's face also showed a look of eager anticipation, with a hint of excitement.

Clearly, Qiyana has realized that this is a rare opportunity for her to prove herself in front of everyone.

Thinking this, Qiyana couldn't help but glance at Tarin beside her.

Kiana remembered Tarin telling her that in the future he saw, he had decisively won and broken Inessa's legs, making her unable to stand up forever.

But this incident also led to even greater rejection and hostility.

This led Qiyana to believe that Tarin would tell her not to be enemies with Inessa—but now it seems that things are developing in a way that is not quite what she expected.

Subconsciously, Qiyana wanted to ask Tarin for his opinion, but after hesitating for a moment, she couldn't help but think about how she would have reacted if she hadn't met Tarin and had gotten this opportunity.

If that were the case, there probably wouldn't be as many people as there are now, right? Kiana looked at the sea of ​​people in the square and thought that, after all, besides the conflict between herself and Inessa, there was also the reason because of Tarin.

As a native of Ixokon, Qiyana could tell at a glance that most of the people in the circular square in front of her, apart from a small number of Yuntars in the VIP seats, were Primordial Axiom Scholars and Elemental Apprentices.

After a moment's thought, Qiyana understood—these people were most likely here for Tarin, the "life energy master from Ionia".

Even if the number of people present were reduced by half, or even by two-thirds, Qiyana was certain that she would be incredibly excited.

Because—that's who I used to be.

Why do I say that I used to be this kind of person, but I am not now?

After a brief moment of thought, Qiyana had an answer in her heart.

Because—it seems that I no longer need—or rather, I no longer need their approval as much as I used to.

In that brief moment, Qiyana remembered many things.

There's Neeko, that silly, energetic Misttail lizard girl. And there's Nidalee, the shapeshifter leopard who hasn't been around humans long, quiet but whose words and actions are never hypocritical.

There are Kashdaz herds, massive groups of felines that obey all of Kashdaz's hunting commands, seeking out prey and creating opportunities for themselves, patrolling vigilantly during Kashdaz's rest, and returning to their roosts with their cubs to sniff Kashdaz's scent.

Thinking of those furry, adorable little creatures following behind her, hopping around corners to try and scare her, only to be outmaneuvered by her, a smile involuntarily crept onto Qiyana's lips.

Then there's Tallinn—the man who brought him many unprecedented, first-time experiences.

Suddenly, Qiyana was surprised to find that she had gained friends, companions, and a sense of belonging and acceptance here.

It was even more extensive and profound than the royal palace where he had lived for more than a decade.

Thinking this, when Qiyana looked at those people, she realized that she didn't seem as excited as before.

Meanwhile, after glancing around at the surroundings, Tarin patted Qiyana on the shoulder.

This made Qiyana subconsciously look at Tarin, who then tucked the hair that had fallen across Qiyana's forehead behind her ear and then gave her detailed instructions: "I know you can win, and I know that in terms of ability and talent, you far surpass your sister and everyone in Ixtal. But no matter what, you must control your emotions."

The people here need a representative who can speak for them, but growing up in this environment, they don't admire extremism.

Looking at the rambling Tarin in front of her, Qiyana surprisingly didn't interrupt. Instead, she waited until Tarin finished speaking before revealing a confident and domineering expression, saying, "Of course I know these things—I must say, you're sometimes far too verbose, more like a father than my own father!"

As she said this, Qiyana paused, took a deep breath, and then slightly toned down her arrogant expression. She still stared at Tarin for a while before nodding her chin at him and saying, "Anyway, we'll win."

Tarin hadn't been worried at first, but after hearing Qiyana's words, he immediately started having some inappropriate hallucinations. He rubbed his temples and couldn't help but say, "That doesn't sound very auspicious—how about we rephrase it?"

Qiyana was completely baffled and said with a look of disgust, "Unlucky? I think your prophetic disorder is getting worse."

Although she said that, Qiyana shook her head and changed her words, saying, "In short, I will win, and I will win beautifully, letting everyone know that I, Qiyana, am Ixtal's choice, the answer to the Primordial Axioms!"

What could Tallinn say? They could only offer silent applause in encouragement.