Translator: SumTLMan
Upon hearing the name Salamado, a flicker of realization passed through Angel’s eyes. Not long ago, upon their initial entry into the Wild Stone Wasteland, they encountered the Sandstorm Travel Troupe, among which a member adept in wind spells was named Salamado.
Could it be that Arnoldo’s sister was a member of the Sandstorm Travel Troupe?
Arnoldo soon provided confirmation.
“Not long ago, my sister met a friend from the Toothpull Desert, and afterward, she told me she was going to travel far and embark on an adventure… I also love adventures, and my sister could have taken me with her, but instead, she left alone with that detestable Sandhawk!” Arnoldo gritted his teeth in anger when mentioning “Sandhawk.”
Hearing this, Angel was almost certain that Arnoldo’s sister was Salamado of the Sandstorm Travel Troupe. The Sandhawk she traveled with was none other than Aguado, the one who became bright-eyed at the mention of “distant places.”
The departure of his sister deeply saddened Arnoldo.
Without his sister, White Cloud Hamlet felt lonely and indifferent to him, a life he disliked. Hence, he decided then and there to find his sister, to follow in her footsteps.
Less than twelve hours after Salamado’s departure, Arnoldo set off from the heart of White Cloud Hamlet toward the direction of the Toothpull Desert, in hopes of catching up with his sister.
However, being just an elemental sprite, his speed was significantly slower than that of a mature elemental creature. It was only today that he reached the Toothpull Desert.
Upon entering the Toothpull Desert, he saw the desert hawk flying alongside the Gondola, and then he remembered Aguado, who had “abducted” his sister.
Driven by anger, he initiated a fight with the desert hawk, leading to the events that followed.
After Arnoldo shared his story, Dangros also told him about their encounter with Salamado.
For this reason, Angel used an illusion to vividly recreate their meeting with the Sandstorm Travel Troupe for Arnoldo. Seeing his sister’s figure, Arnoldo immediately understood they were not deceiving him.
Listening to Arnoldo silently chant, “I want to see my sister,” Dangros sighed and in a seemingly wise tone said, “That happened several days ago, by now they have definitely… not just maybe, but certainly left the Fire Domain. Considering your speed, Arnoldo, being even a moment slow today means the distance between you and your sister will only grow, likely ensuring you’ll never catch up with her.”
Hearing Dangros’s words, Arnoldo’s eyes immediately welled up with tears of sorrow.
Angel had no choice but to recreate the encounter with the Sandstorm Travel Troupe through illusion once more.
Hearing his sister Salamado’s voice again, Arnoldo finally stopped crying, watching the scene of Angel’s initial meeting with the Sandstorm Travel Troupe——
“Our dream since childhood, Salamado’s and mine, was to venture far and see different landscapes. Now, we’ve finally decided to travel, so we formed a Sandstorm Travel Troupe to tour the entire continent!”
“Would you like to join our Sandstorm Travel Troupe? Believe me, in this long journey, we will surely encounter the most beautiful sceneries!”
“I’m off now, the distance still awaits our conquest!”
Salamado didn’t speak much, but Aguado’s voice filled the entire illusion. Initially, Arnoldo glared at Aguado in the illusion with anger, but as Aguado started to enthusiastically share his dreams, Arnoldo became noticeably captivated, his own deep-seated longing for “distant places” awakening.
In the end, as Aguado and Salamado laughed together, welcoming the unknown journey and disappearing into the distance, the scene deeply imprinted itself in Arnoldo’s mind…
Seeing Arnoldo cease his tears, Dangros quickly comforted him, hoping to prevent further crying.
Listening to Dangros’s incessant talk, Arnoldo calmed down significantly. He understood Dangros was right; as long as the Sandstorm Travel Troupe kept moving, with his current speed, he would never catch up with his sister.
“If you truly wish to catch up to your sister, you cannot recklessly leave home in a rush. Are you aware of the rules of each domain? Do you know the elemental distributions of each domain? Without this knowledge, how do you plan to pursue her? Just like before, in the Toothpull Desert, you touched upon a taboo, and if it weren’t for us, you might have already been captured and thrown into the dungeons of Highness Sandstorm.”
“The Toothpull Desert is just the beginning of your journey, and you have already encountered misfortune. Do you think you can go far on such a journey?”
This time, although Dangros was still nagging, Arnoldo listened.
“So, what should I do?” Arnoldo asked, bewildered.
“First, you must learn from your sister, under the guidance of the sage, to understand the common knowledge of each place in the Tidal Realm. If possible, it’s best to seek learning from the sage of different domains, so you won’t make the mistake you did in the Toothpull Desert again.”
“Moreover, before you travel, it’s best to find a group of like-minded companions, just like your sister did, so you won’t be too lonely on the road. Also, your individual strength and knowledge are limited; with more companions, you can pool wisdom and monitor each other.”
“Lastly, you need to have strength…”
Dangros seemed experienced in giving these suggestions, but in fact, it was all made up. It didn’t know if it was right or wrong, but its goal was to temporarily persuade Arnoldo to give up on following his sister’s steps and to follow them back to White Cloud Hamlet for further study. This way, they could use Arnoldo’s connection to smoothly get in touch with Highness Gentle Wind.
Dangros’s words indeed bewildered Arnoldo.
When Arnoldo agreed with Dangros’s initial admonishments, he subconsciously believed everything else was correct.
Indeed, he should not hit the road unprepared; if he encountered situations like the Toothpull Desert again, not to mention chasing after his sister’s steps, he might not even survive himself.
The more he listened, the more Arnoldo found it to make sense.
Thus, when faced with Dangros’s suggestion to return to White Cloud Hamlet to “accumulate a foundation,” Arnoldo was no longer resistant.
Seeing Arnoldo convinced, Dangros immediately started a new round of inquiries about the current situation in White Cloud Hamlet.
Arnoldo shared everything he knew without any concealment.
In summary, it was peaceful.
Although Arnoldo didn’t particularly like the other wind elemental creatures in White Cloud Hamlet, he had to admit that White Cloud Hamlet was very peaceful, with basically no harsh rules, and situations like in the Toothpull Desert, where conflicts could arise from a single disagreement, were non-existent.
That is to say, other sages’ evaluations of White Cloud Hamlet and Highness Gentle Wind were correct; Angel going to White Cloud Hamlet should not face too many difficulties.
However, since Dangros had previously set expectations, Angel had a bad premonition about the journey ahead.
Hoping everything would be as peaceful as Arnoldo said.
Thinking that Arnoldo hadn’t been away from the heartland of White Cloud Hamlet for long, and such a short time shouldn’t have caused any chaos, Angel temporarily put aside the vague unease in his heart.
“Let’s continue on our way.” Angel activated the Gondola, speeding towards the Green Wilderness.
“And… what about my Peter Pan story?” At this moment, Arnoldo’s small voice came from the sand cage.
Angel could hear the tremble in Arnoldo’s voice; if he really refused, Arnoldo might start sobbing again. Angel had no intention of deceiving the child and directly used a wave of Nightmare Magic to reactivate the floating illusion nodes around Arnoldo, letting him once again fall into the Dream Island of Peter Pan.
Seeing Arnoldo fall into the illusion, Dangros immediately rushed to Angel’s side, clutching his finger with hopeful eyes.
Dangros’s act of fooling Arnoldo also counted as a contribution.
Angel pondered for a moment and decided to comply with its wish, also arranging a series of Peter Pan dramas for it.
When both Dangros and Arnoldo were stunned, the Gondola, flying at full speed, shot into the Green Wilderness like an arrow off its string.
Stepping into the Green Wilderness, Angel felt a sense of relief wash over him.
Since his arrival in the Tidal Realm, he had witnessed scorched earth, wastelands, and deserts, environments that are relatively extreme and only suited for certain elemental creatures, not conducive for human habitation.
In contrast, the Green Wilderness was different. It was filled with lush vines and abundant moisture, with streams and lakes visible now and then.
Most importantly, the Green Wilderness nurtured many wood elemental creatures. Wood, in the elemental spectrum, holds a very special status. Wizards who cultivate in the wood element are collectively referred to as nature wizards, and nature represents endless vitality.
Therefore, upon entering the environment of the Green Wilderness, Angel could sense a vast and vigorous life force.
This life force bore no aggression, resembling a pair of gentle, soothing hands, brushing away all weariness.
For this reason, Angel felt very comfortable in the Green Wilderness.
Having witnessed the vibrant life of the Green Wilderness, Angel began to look forward to the “Green Forest” he would visit in the future. It’s worth noting that the majority of creatures living in the Green Wilderness are of the grass variety, a branch of the wood elemental creatures; the Green Forest is the true stronghold of wood elemental creatures, similar to the Fire Domain, encompassing the mainstream of the wood element.
With such vitality in the Green Wilderness, it’s conceivable that the Green Forest would not be inferior.
As Angel pondered, he continued flying the Gondola forward.
He had already spotted many wood elemental creatures below, but he did not plan to interact with them at this time. As Dangros suggested earlier, since White Cloud Hamlet and the Green Wilderness support each other, it would be just as well to have Highness Gentle Wind transfer the Drama Shadow Box to Highness Abundance later on.
At the moment, what he looked forward to the most was meeting Highness Gentle Wind.
According to Mr. Magu, Gentle Wind Uranos is one of the three elemental creatures who spent the most time with Feng. Perhaps from it, he could learn about Feng’s deeds and the secrets he hid in the Tidal Realm.
With this in mind, Angel was even more reluctant to delay, heading straight for White Cloud Hamlet.
Finding the heartland of White Cloud Hamlet was not difficult. According to Sage Kuplatinum, as long as one sees “clouds,” one has found the direction.
Wherever the clouds are denser, fly in that direction. The place where clouds are most concentrated is the heartland of White Cloud Hamlet——Wind Island.
The environment of the Green Wilderness made the sky clear and azure, so Pursuing Cloud Trails against such a transparent sky was not challenging.
Following the “cloud trail,” Angel continuously flew towards the area where the clouds were denser.
After flying the Gondola for an hour, Angel stopped above a layer of misty clouds.
He had not yet arrived at Wind Island; he stopped because he vaguely felt something was amiss.
Along the way, he encountered no obstacles. This was clearly unusual, but it could be rationalized by saying that the wind elemental creatures under the command of Highness Gentle Wind in White Cloud Hamlet were relatively gentle and would not have layers of defense like the Toothpull Desert.
The lack of obstacles could be explained away. However, another matter was harder to justify.
He did not encounter any wind elemental creatures along the way, which was very strange.
Or is it that all wind elemental creatures live near Wind Island? This contradicts what Kuplatinum said… While Kuplatinum did not explicitly state it, from his words, it could be inferred that wind elemental creatures live among the clouds, meaning, upon entering the cloud area, one might encounter wind elemental creatures.
Yet, Angel, following the cloud trail, did not encounter a single wind elemental creature.
It can hardly be the case that he was just unlucky and avoided everything?
Angel pondered for a moment, his gaze shifting towards the two little ones on the table.
With a gentle touch, he dispelled all the illusion nodes surrounding Dangros and Arnoldo, making them vanish.
Amid Dangros’s shouts and Arnoldo’s confusion, Angel spoke, “The tale of Peter Pan, let’s pause it for a moment, we’ll continue later… I sense something’s off about White Cloud Hamlet.”
Angel’s words made Dangros sit up straight immediately, and Arnoldo’s about-to-cry expression froze.
Something’s off with White Cloud Hamlet?
Angel briefly recounted his experiences, looking directly at Arnoldo, hoping to gather more specific information from him.
After hearing Angel’s words, Arnoldo also showed a hint of bewilderment.
Arnoldo said, “No, within the bounds of the Green Wilderness, all clouds should have wind elemental creatures.”
Angel inquired, “Then why didn’t I encounter any?”
Arnoldo, equally puzzled, glanced around, “I seem to smell the scent of my kind, but it’s faint. Can you let me out first?”
Arnoldo was still confined within a sand cage and couldn’t see their exact location.
“I can’t undo this sand cage. How about this, I’ll carry the cage outside, and then you can take a closer look.”
For Angel, unlocking the sand cage was simple, but he couldn’t be sure Arnoldo had truly mended his ways. Moreover, with the sand cage in place, upon meeting Gentle Wind Uranos, it could prove that Arnoldo did indeed err in the Toothpull Desert.
Arnoldo, unaware of Angel’s strength, believed his explanation.
Angel, manipulating a Magic Hand, cast a spell to prevent energy from escaping and lifted the sand cage.
With a light step, Angel, carrying the sand cage, descended onto the clouds.
“Now, have another look, will you?”