Chapter 1216 The Deserted City <TOC> Chapter 1218 Black Feather
Translator: SumTLMan
In the very moment Angel descended from the Gondola, he abruptly stilled, casting a puzzled glance towards the bleak wasteland shrouded in an ashen mist.
The downpour persisted, a grey fog hovering on the far horizon, obscuring clarity.
“Angel?” Popoca, now atop a dilapidated stone house, turned back to look at Angel.
Angel furrowed his brows, promptly following Popoca.
Simultaneously, deep within the misty rain, an infinite barren wasteland stood a solitary, withered, long-dead tree.
A black crow perched on the tree, its deathly still gaze fixed on a distant city from within its own pupils.
“Kurland, what do you perceive?” An ancient, rustic voice echoed.
The crow fluttered its wings, its corporeal form gradually fading into an ethereal specter, finally revealing a figure cloaked in black and wearing a crow mask.
“It seems he noticed me.” A chilling voice, reminiscent of the spectral whispers of the Abyss, emanated from beneath the crow mask.
“He is a remarkable human… capable of miracles, so to speak.”
Kurland appeared to recall a recent image: a Great Demon God’s True Spirit falling at a single blow. Such horrifying power, he mused, perhaps could only be justified by a ‘miracle’.
“I originally thought I’d quickly escort you towards the embrace of death, but it seems you’re in luck, Vaudeurs Lord.”
“Heh, it’s been a while since I’ve heard that name. Perhaps you are the only one left who remembers my real name,” the aged voice sighed softly. “Even though the Tan Continent was redeemed from its fall, whether it can return to the right path is not up to me.”
“So, you summoned him from afar.” Kurland replied calmly.
“The one blessed by miracles may be able to unlock this box of wonders.”
Kurland was silent for a moment, chose not to continue on this topic, but deftly changed the subject, “This place has attracted others’ attention, including Lords and Demon Gods… I hope the next time we meet, it won’t be too soon.”
“Guide of Death, Kurland. Should I interpret that as you worrying about me?”
Kurland didn’t answer, merely said calmly, “This time, I truly depart. Look after yourself.”
With that, Kurland transformed back into a black crow, flying into the distant downpour.
Long after Kurland’s departure, an ethereal figure wearing a primitive totem mask appeared next to the withered tree. The figure stood beside the tree, allowing the ceaseless rain to drench it.
The lonely tree and the lonely figure painted a monochrome tableau amidst the curtain of rain.
After an indeterminable amount of time, the figure glanced in the direction of the barren city, finally disappearing without a trace.
…
Angel arrived at the summoning location of Greaves quickly.
Greaves stood atop a round, flat-roofed building. Before him lay two corpses, different from the skeletons he had encountered before. These corpses had not begun to decay. They still retained their human visage, appearing as if they had just recently passed away.
“I found this body in a ditch, so I brought it here,” Greaves pointed at the man in golden armor on his left.
“As for the other one, he was already on this rooftop.”
There was no question that the two lifeless bodies were human. Traces of latent magic energy still clung to them, suggesting they had met their untimely end not long ago.
“The cause of death appears to be internal organ damage,” Popoca, while examining a golden-armored individual, began, “Preserved by lingering energy, there’s no widespread decay. Yet, their demise seems to have been over a month ago, and there are no signs of spiritual fluctuation.” Not long after, he retrieved a knight’s sword and a disposable space capsule from the body.
“The capsule is filled with food and water, plus some ointments for wound recovery,” Popoca brandished the knight’s sword, creating a resounding echo in the air, “The weapon is quite sharp, it should fetch a decent number of magic crystals.”
“Most likely crafted by an alchemy apprentice,” Angel asserted, inspecting the sword, “Impurities are minimal, and the strength is reasonable, though it is not yet of any significant rank.” As an alchemist, Angel did not even need the Eye of Narada to discern the nature of the sword.
“His armor seems to have been crafted by a mortal blacksmith, only resistant to minor physical blows,” Angel shared, taking the opportunity to reveal the true nature of the armor. If he wanted to delve deeper, Angel could even deduce from specific details that this set of armor was likely standard issue, with some hidden patterns suggesting the wearer may have been a knight sponsored by nobility or even royalty. However, these details did not shine any new light on the situation, so he decided to save his breath.
“Any proof of identity?” Angel asked.
Popoca nodded in affirmation, crumbling the disposable space capsule, and from a large pile of food and water, retrieved a green leaf with clear venation.
“He’s from Gravity Forest,” Popoca clarified upon seeing Angel’s confusion, “This green leaf is an identification token from Gravity Forest, similar to our bone cards from the Savage Grottoes. It should hold information about this person, but a special energy has locked it, preventing us from forcibly opening it.”
“A man from Gravity Forest…” Angel’s gaze slowly wandered over the food and water on the ground, “An apprentice who hasn’t yet mastered culinary spells carrying food is understandable. However, the fact that he’s also carrying water suggests that he probably hasn’t even learned a basic water manipulation spell.”
The first spell Angel had mastered was the cleansing spell. With a slight alteration in the elemental structure, it could be converted into a water gathering spell. Therefore, Angel had never needed to carry water on any of his journeys.
“It seems we’re dealing with a beginner or intermediate apprentice,” Angel acknowledged. He was well aware that many wizard apprentices ventured to the Abyss for training. His former comrade Nausica had even teamed up with Shalem for an expedition into the Abyss, and even David had once hired Hagrid to hunt Iron Armor Hedgehogs in the Abyss, all in the name of bloodline fusion.
“Your speculation should be correct; moreover, this should be a plane aspect of the Abyss layer. Otherwise, these apprentices could not possibly be here,” affirmed Popoca.
After roughly confirming the state of death and the identities of the fallen, the question of why they died came to the forefront. Their insides were severely damaged, yet their armor seemed intact; could it be due to some form of attack targeting their inner energy? If so, could there exist an entity here that can wield such energy attacks?
Once they gleaned as much information as possible from the golden armored knight, their attention shifted to another corpse.
This one was cloaked in a purple wizard robe.
As Popoca lifted the hood, a young face was revealed.
“He appears to be under thirty,” muttered Popoca, while starting to lift the wizard’s robe for further inspection.
However, Angel suddenly interjected, “I think I’ve seen him before.”
Popoca abruptly turned back.
Angel frowned as images sprang into his mind——
In a pitch-black underground cave, a seemingly frail young apprentice was seen, garbed in a purple, worn-out wizard robe. His face was twisted in agony as he clasped his ears, ceaselessly shaking his head and crying out hysterically.
Upon closer observation, the hoarse cries echoed from a young man who was the spitting image of the one lying lifelessly on the ground. Even the wizard robe he wore was identical.
After a moment of reflection, Angel shared, “His name is Gusia, from Night Whisper Forest.”
Just after Angel had entered the Abyss, Emberstone Titan — the human fortress city — was decimated. Under Sineva’s guidance, they had to continuously relocated, with their final destination being the Translayer Gate in the Grey Layer Zone.
During this journey, an eerie incident occurred.
As they detoured through the Cold Ancient Ruins, a wizard apprentice was suddenly afflicted by hysteria. He claimed an incessant whispering in his ear was causing him great distress, even driving him to scream in desperation.
Even Sineva had been monitoring his condition, ordering her people to keep a close watch on him.
At the time, Angel was somewhat intrigued, silently observing this wizard apprentice. However, in the blink of an eye, Angel discovered that the apprentice had mysteriously disappeared.
Later, Sineva proclaimed that there was no need to search for this apprentice. He would not be found.
After Angel finished recounting this tale, he stared at the lifeless young apprentice lying on the ground, “That vanished apprentice… was him, Gusia.”
Upon Angel’s words landing, Popoca glanced at Gusia, then looked around at the encompassing, pitch-black world.
“So, you’re suggesting Gusia vanished at the Cold Ancient Ruins site? How did he end up here?” Popoca paused before mumbling, “Could it be, within the Cold Ancient Ruins site, there exists a passage to a plane aspect, which Gusia inadvertently stumbled upon and landed here?”
At this moment, Greaves, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up.
“Shop owner’s words remind me of a story that steward Tantin once shared with me regarding the Cold Ancient Era,” said Greaves. “Tantin told me that the Cold Ancient Era was a hundred thousand years ago, a time of native flourishing. It is said that many powerful natives emerged from the Abyss, with some even claiming dominion over certain planes within it.”
“However, the native peoples’ strength began to wane over time, and the Cold Ancient Era faded into history. Moreover, a great number of demons had been suppressed by the native inhabitants, and once the natives weakened, they exacted their revenge, resulting in a large number of native casualties. Following this, for some time, scarcely any natives could be seen on the Wasteland Plane.”
“Nonetheless, the native people were not extinguished. Allegedly, the survivors from the Cold Ancient Era migrated to a sealed continent.”
“However, it seems that later, due to some issue, the natives had to leave the sealed continent and have been living on the surface ever since.”
“And this sealed continent became known as the… Cold Ancient Ruins site in the natives’ narrative.”
Upon reaching this point, Greaves looked towards Angel, “Therefore, I believe that this place might just be that sealed continent. In other words, this might be the real Cold Ancient Ruins site.”
Chapter 1216 The Deserted City <TOC> Chapter 1218 Black Feather