Chapter 2189 Path of Light <TOC> Chapter 2191 Kolokcro
Translator: SumTLMan
Angel thought that after Fespanray left, it would not come back. However, to his surprise, it returned in less than half an hour.
Moreover, it did not come back alone; a group of smoke fish followed behind it.
Fespanray landed gracefully and walked into the cave with an elegant stride.
Angel put away his puzzled expression and first looked at the group of fish floating in the dense smoke behind it.
Due to the very low temperature inside the cave, the group of smoke fish seemed very inactive, listlessly floating in the smoke produced by the burning of Fespanray’s fire feathers.
“These elemental sprites are what I saw on the way, they are also Dangros’s little brothers, so I brought them along,” Fespanray explained, and then immediately began to talk about what it had seen outside.
“I went out to find out, not that Dangros’s little brothers wouldn’t come, but it ran into some problems, too preoccupied to look for its little brothers——one by one,” Fespanray said, while gesturing for the smoke fish to show their talents.
Unfortunately, the smoke fish were not what Angel was looking for, and after a glance, he indicated they could leave.
Angel: “Preoccupied? What trouble did it get into?”
“It’s not exactly trouble, but a bit of a historical issue,” Fespanray paused before continuing, “Although Dangros told me not to tell you, sir, I think it’s better to give you a rough idea.”
“Have you heard of Duroche?”
Angel nodded: “The flame giant? I heard from Magu that it benefited greatly from the elemental tide.”
“The elemental tide? Oh, you mean the Voice of the World,” Fespanray nodded, “Yes, Duroche had a bit of an unpleasant encounter with you yesterday, causing its elemental core to crack. However, it was a blessing in disguise. Under the empowerment of the Voice of the World, the defects and flaws in its elemental core were repaired, making it even more perfect and greatly enhancing its intelligence, no longer as chaotic as before.”
Fespanray paused: “You’ve seen how Dangros recruits its little brothers, right? It infuses its own fire into other elemental creatures. Normally, nascent elemental sprites are the easiest to subjugate, as they have no resistance; mature elemental creatures are much harder to subdue unless… the elemental creature has low intelligence. Duroche, because of its previously chaotic intelligence, was easily manipulated by Dangros, who infused its fire into it, turning it into a little brother.”
“Now that Duroche has clear intelligence, after awakening last night, it remembered Dangros’s actions and is now planning to settle scores. Therefore, Dangros is currently busy fleeing and avoiding Duroche’s search, with no time to contact its little brothers.”
After hearing Fespanray’s explanation, Angel understood and nodded. Fespanray’s explanation made sense, as he had already heard about this from Magu yesterday. From Dangros’s reaction, it was indeed very afraid of Duroche coming after it.
It seems that Magic Fire Midir is probably not involved in this matter. Thinking about it, after all, he had not yet begun to abduct the citizens of Magic Fire Midir.
However, if Magic Fire Midir is aware of the situation, it should not be completely inactive, right? What would it do, or has it already started to take precautions?
While Angel was pondering over Magic Fire Midir, Fespanray continued, “However, sir, you don’t have to worry. I just went to Mentor Magu and found Dangros. It dares not go out to find its little brothers, but it has sent Kolokcro in its place to find the little brothers to meet with you, sir. They should be here soon.”
“Kolokcro has recovered already?” Angel asked curiously.
Kolokcro was the furry monster whose talent was elemental self-destruction. According to Dangros, Kolokcro was once its little brother and later became a good friend.
Fespanray: “Kolokcro’s ability is elemental self-destruction. Under normal circumstances, it would take a month to regather its form, and several years to fully recover. But coincidentally, due to the Voice of the World, Kolokcro has already regained its form. Although it hasn’t fully recovered yet, it shouldn’t take much longer.”
Angel’s eyes sparkled upon hearing this; the flame of Kolokcro possesses a high temperature and a formidable elemental explosion ability. If it could be persuaded to join them, it would be advantageous. However, according to Fespanray, Kolokcro belongs to a special category among elemental sprites, having already developed spiritual light. Persuading such an elemental sprite to join would be quite challenging… yet not entirely impossible.
As Angel was about to inquire further about the state of Kolokcro, Fespanray turned his head towards the cave entrance.
Eremy also timely transmitted a thought, indicating the approach of an elemental creature.
“Here it comes, it seems Kolokcro is quite swift,” Fespanray said.
As his voice faded, a blazing dog rushed into the cave, circled around Fespanray, and after being petted on its wings, it sat down next to Angel, sticking out its tongue.
Angel noticed that this blazing dog was quite large; if it stood up on its hind legs, it would likely be taller than Angel.
It seemed that this blazing dog was on the verge of maturing from a small sprite into an adult form.
“It’s Loria,” Fespanray called out the name of the blazing dog with a hint of joy, eliciting an even more enthusiastic response.
From the interaction between the blazing dog and Fespanray, it was apparent that they were quite familiar with each other.
“It has a name?” Angel remembered that Fespanray had never called other elemental sprites by name before, always referring to them by their form.
Fespanray nodded, his expressive eyes revealing a touch of nostalgia: “Yes, I was the one who named it…”
According to Fespanray, Loria and he were taken under Dangros’s wing at the same time, and their relationship had been good since they were small sprites. After Fespanray matured and developed spiritual light first, he left Dangros’s service. Before leaving, he named Loria.
“Speaking of which, if Loria is here, then Beste should be arriving soon.”
Just as Angel was about to ask who Beste was, Eremy transmitted another message, indicating the arrival of another elemental creature.
“Fespanray, I didn’t expect to meet you here. I thought you were still playing messenger bird at the volcano,” a voice tinged with sarcasm came from outside. As the voice fell, a cat burning with pure dark flames, walking with elegant steps, entered.
Upon entering, the black cat ignored Fespanray and stopped beside Loria.
The Cat and Dog affectionately nuzzled each other, showing more intimacy towards the black cat than towards Fespanray.
After a while, the black cat stopped its affectionate gestures and looked up at Angel: “So, you’re the human. You seem like you’d make a decent servant.”
Fespanray’s eyes flashed with anger: “Beste, Mr. Pat is His Highness’s most honored guest, please do not be presumptuous.”
Beste yawned, pawing at its ear, displaying an attitude of disinterest in Fespanray’s words.
“Kolokcro told us to come and showcase our talents, but I’m not interested,” Beste said, and Loria, with its tongue out, held its head high with a proud demeanor as if saying, “I can do it.”
Beste slapped Loria on the head with its paw: “You can’t either!”
Loria, looking aggrieved, lowered its head and whimpered, nuzzling Beste.
With an arrogant lift of its head, Beste said to Angel: “Human, although His Highness has approved of you, to me, whether you are good or bad remains to be seen. And our talent abilities are our biggest secrets; I do not wish to reveal my secrets. Unless, you want to engage in a fight to the death with me, then I will show you my talents.”
“As for now, I’ve already made a trip here according to Kolokcro’s words, giving face to Dangros. Now, we are leaving.”
Beste patted Loria, who immediately followed.
Beste, once again elegantly striding away with cat-like grace, with Loria loyally guarding by its side like a faithful dog, tongue out, slowly distancing themselves.
Angel did not attempt to stop them. This black cat, Beste, appeared highly intelligent, harboring such overt hostility, proving very difficult to domesticate; even if possible, it would likely require force. Now was not the time for such measures.
Moreover, the flames of this black cat, Beste, were not suitable for alchemy.
As for the flame dog, Loria… from the essence of the flames, it seemed to meet his standards, but his innate abilities remained unknown, tightly monitored by the black cat, Beste, making it difficult to lure away.
“Mr. Pat, Beste has always been proud, indifferent, and distant towards other elemental creatures besides Loria. Please be understanding,” Fespanray looked towards Angel.
Angel simply shook his head, indifferent towards Beste. He harbored no interest, nor did he possess a masochistic trait to specifically seek to domesticate a haughty cat with incompatible flames.
However, he was curious about Beste’s situation.
“Beste isn’t an elemental sprite, right?” Angel inquired. Although Beste’s form was more delicate than Loria’s, Angel could sense the fire energy within it was incredibly condensed, far surpassing the standard of elemental sprites, almost matching Fespanray.
Fespanray confirmed, “Yes, Beste has transcended the sprite phase.”
It wasn’t surprising to hear of transcendence from the sprite phase, but what puzzled him was Beste’s tone of acknowledgment towards Dangros’s message through Kolokcro.
Could it be that Beste was also a subordinate of Dangros?
Curious, Angel sought confirmation from Fespanray, who nodded, “Yes, Beste is currently a subordinate of Dangros.”
Despite his suspicions, this revelation still surprised Angel.
To Angel, Dangros’s subordinates seemed to have been coerced into their roles, with awakened intelligences either turning hostile like Duroche or departing from Dangros’s command like Fespanray.
Why would Beste, a mature elemental creature with significant intelligence, willingly serve as Dangros’s subordinate?
Perhaps noticing Angel’s confusion, Fespanray explained, “You might misunderstand that being Dangros’s subordinate is unilaterally unfair. It’s not the case. Dangros also bestows substantial benefits on its subordinates.”
“Dangros’s flames are unique, maintaining their effect even away from its body. By imbuing its flames into its subordinates, Dangros actually grants them a degree of self-defense.”
Fespanray provided several examples.
When danger approaches, elemental creatures with Dangros’s flames within them can activate these flames to form a black barrier, protecting them from external attacks.
Moreover, this black barrier can exhibit even stronger effects based on the subordinate’s own level.
For instance, when used by mature elemental creatures like Beste, the defense capability is based on Beste’s own strength, offering much stronger protection than that of an elemental sprite. Essentially, it provides an additional means of survival.
Thus, being a subordinate of Dangros is not without its advantages.
Moreover, Dangros does not typically demand anything of its subordinates, effectively allowing them free rein. The subordinates simply enjoy the protection of Dangros’s black barrier without providing labor, naturally leading some elemental sprites, even after advancing, to remain under Dangros’s command.
“Beste is one such example,” Fespanray shared. “But Beste is a bit different. It possesses the ability to defend itself. The reason it remains in Dangros’s camp is largely due to its relationship with Loria. They share a very close bond, and Beste feels Loria is safer with the protection of the black barrier. As long as Loria remains a subordinate of Dangros, Beste will not leave.”
“So it is,” Angel nodded in realization, understanding now that the black barriers Dangros left for his subordinates as lifesaving spells were what appeared during Eremy’s battles with Kolokcro and Duroche.
“Is the black barrier Dangros’s talent?” Angel was quite interested in this barrier, especially since Duroche’s black barrier was incredibly tough, making it difficult for Eremy to break through without serious effort.
Fespanray: “You could say that, though Dangros himself mentioned he had other talents. But we’ve never seen them, so we can’t be sure.”
Angel nodded, pondering internally: Despite being quite bearish, Dangros’s abilities are actually quite impressive…
After a while, several elemental sprites arrived, and Angel momentarily set aside other thoughts to observe these elemental sprites seriously.
Without the interference of intelligent elemental creatures like Beste, under Fespanray’s guidance, the elemental sprites displayed their talents one after another.
A day passed, and Angel was dazzled by the array of talents he witnessed.
Most of these talents appeared to have potential, but they were not suitable for him.
Another day went by, marking Angel’s third day in the ice fire cave and the day when the most elemental sprites arrived.
Before nightfall, Angel had evaluated over a hundred elemental creatures, including two mature ones, with the rest being spirits.
Among them, Angel found an elemental sprite that was very promising and suited his taste, a Phantom Flame Butterfly. Although its flame was somewhat mixed, it could release a high-temperature pure fire, create a Phantom Flame storm, and release the darkest fire to create magic thought illusions, much in the style of mental illusion.
Aside from the slightly mixed flames, the Phantom Flame Butterfly, named Yuyunnu, perfectly matched Angel’s preferences.
Its potential was over eighty percent, second only to Kolokcro.
However, Angel still refrained from choosing Yuyunnu because he learned from Fespanray that Yuyunnu was the object of Big Inba’s secret affection.
Big Inba had provided many conveniences for it, even having Little Inba leave it a Mark of Earth. Taking away someone’s object of affection seemed inappropriate to Angel.
Thus, Angel decided to temporarily give up on Yuyunnu.
Despite losing out on Yuyunnu, he had other options, such as Kolokcro.
On the fourth day, Angel met with some more subordinates, their quality varying. Among them, some stood out. Angel might have been interested in them before, but after encountering Yuyunnu, his expectations had risen repeatedly. Compared to Yuyunnu, these others simply did not measure up.
By noon of the fourth day, almost all the elemental sprites had arrived, including the recently acquired Flame Traveling Frog.
It seemed Angel had nearly seen all of Dangros’s subordinates.
Still not finding one to his liking, Angel finally turned his attention to Kolokcro.