Chapter 2209 Pursuing Cloud Trails <TOC> Chapter 2211 Magic Vine
Translator: SumTLMan
Arnoldo looked around and then down at the layout of the Green Wilderness below before hesitatingly saying, “I think I’ve been here before.”
“Have you been here? Were there any other wind elemental creatures here at that time?” Angel asked.
“I, I…” Arnoldo bowed his head, his voice growing weaker: “I don’t remember.”
“You don’t remember?” Angel pressed.
“I was so focused on finding my sister before that I didn’t pay any attention to my surroundings,” Arnoldo seemed to find a reason, his tone becoming more assertive: “Besides, they liked to mock me, I didn’t want to bother with them.”
In essence, Arnoldo’s thoughts were entirely on chasing after Salamado, paying no mind to his surroundings.
Angel refrained from being too critical, lest he start crying again, which he did not want to deal with.
“Then, do you feel anything unusual around us now?” Angel asked.
Upon hearing this, Arnoldo opened his mouth and took a deep breath, sucking in the floating wind elements nearby like a puff of smoke.
After swallowing the surrounding wind elements, Arnoldo smacked his lips as if savoring them.
“There’s a similar kind of aura nearby. Judging from the residual information in the aura, it must be from mature members of my kind. However, their presence is very faint now; they must have left a long time ago,” Arnoldo explained while sensing the wind elements he had inhaled.
“So, there isn’t a single wind elemental creature around here?”
This time, Arnoldo did not answer with certainty. After hesitating for a moment, he conjured two translucent hands and pointed in a certain direction below the clouds: “There, I feel a wave of my kind, but it seems a bit weak.”
Without hesitation, Angel flew towards the place Arnoldo pointed to.
As they descended into the clouds, their surroundings were filled with cool, moist mist, reducing visibility sharply, with the sound of the wind whooshing in their ears.
In such a rich wind element area, with visibility obstructed, finding elemental creatures that could hide in the wind was not easy.
However, with Arnoldo’s guidance, it was no longer a difficult task.
Two minutes later, Angel arrived at a cloud domain surrounded by mist, where Arnoldo sensed the presence nearby.
Stepping into the void as if walking on flat ground, Angel slowly moved through the mist.
After about twenty steps, Arnoldo pointed to a spot: “It’s there, I see it!”
Angel immediately turned to look.
Where Arnoldo pointed, the clouds and mist were unevenly thick. If one did not look carefully, it would be impossible to spot the wind elemental creature hidden within.
It was a dove, its form almost merging into the mist, unobscured by its actions but camouflaged perfectly by the surrounding cloud, making it appear like a statue on a natural cloud mist platform.
Judging by its size and energy fluctuations, this dove was not mature, likely an elemental sprite.
“Does it look like it’s sleeping?” Angel asked.
“It’s not just looking; it is sleeping,” Arnoldo paused: “May I approach a bit closer?”
Angel nodded, and they approached the sleeping dove with caution, coming within about three meters before the dove suddenly opened its eyes.
Pure white pupils, initially a bit bewildered, but upon seeing Angel approach, turned into great confusion.
Angel was about to say something when Arnoldo said, “Let me try communicating with it.”
After this, Arnoldo began to converse with the awakened dove, asking who it was and why there were no elemental creatures around, among other things.
However, the dove did not respond at all, remaining completely puzzled and ignorant.
Initially, the dove was attracted by Arnoldo’s voice, but later its gaze was completely captivated by Toby, who was perched on Angel’s shoulder, tilting its head and making eye contact with Toby.
Toby also tilted his head, signaling with his eyes: What are you looking at?
The dove did not feel intimidated by Toby’s presence and, after making eye contact for a while, its eyes suddenly narrowed as if smiling. Then, it suddenly spread its wings and flew towards Toby, enveloped in a gentle breeze.
The dove had set its sights on Toby, who, not understanding what was happening, could only flap his wings to dodge the dove’s approach.
The dove seemed to be playing a game with Toby, fluttering and flying towards him again.
They chased and dodged each other, as if playing.
Angel looked at Arnoldo, asking what was happening.
Arnoldo, with eyes full of disappointment, said, “Its spiritual intelligence is very low; it’s not capable of communicating with me. However, it means no harm; it probably thinks the bird on your shoulder looks a lot like itself and is just curious.”
Angel could also sense that the dove meant no harm; otherwise, he would have driven it away earlier.
Having finally found an elemental creature, only to discover it was an unenlightened sprite, Angel could only sigh in resignation.
Since no information could be obtained, the current consideration was how to handle the situation.
Should the dove be driven away? Or, as was done previously in the Toothpull Desert, should these little sprites be taken to see a sage, considering elemental sprites are important to the elemental creatures of various domains… Huh?!
While Angel was considering how to deal with the dove, he suddenly realized something.
“Elemental sprites are important to Wind Island, right?” Angel looked at Arnoldo.
Arnoldo, tilting his head, muttered, “Who knows. Anyway, I’m not important.”
Seeing Angel continue to look at him, Arnoldo, after a while, added, “But I remember Highness Gentle Wind saying that if a newly born elemental sprite is found outside without the care of other elemental creatures, it’s best to bring it back to Wind Island.”
Angel’s eyes flashed with understanding: indeed, elemental sprites are highly valued, equivalent to newborn infants in the human world, requiring care and attention.
Angel believed that this dove must have stayed nearby for a long time. It must have been taken care of by the elemental creatures here before, just as Salamado took care of Arnoldo. Otherwise, Gentle Wind Uranos would have ordered the dove to return to Wind Island long ago.
But now, the dove is still here, and the elemental creatures nearby are nowhere to be seen.
This seems to indicate a problem.
There might have been some sudden change here, one that even prevented the elemental creatures from having time to take this wind sprite away.
Angel speculated this not only because of the dove’s presence here but also because of… Arnoldo.
Angel: “Did you not encounter any other wind elemental creatures as you left Wind Island and traveled here?”
Arnoldo thought for a moment: “I don’t remember. I wasn’t paying attention to my surroundings.”
“Did you encounter any obstacles on your way?”
Arnoldo firmly shook his head this time, stating, “No.”
As expected.
Arnoldo, being an elemental sprite, left Wind Island with a very clear trail. Given Wind Island’s care for elemental sprites, it was impossible for them to let it leave alone.
Initially, it might have been due to negligence that Arnoldo was not stopped. However, when Arnoldo reached the edge of the White Cloud Hamlet, the elemental creatures there would definitely notice its departure and would inevitably attempt to intercept it. Even if they failed to stop it, they would offer guidance.
Yet, Arnoldo was never intercepted, which once again proved a point.
Something might have really happened in the White Cloud Hamlet.
This incident likely prevented them from managing the elemental sprites.
Reflecting on this, Angel rubbed his temples. When Dangros made his declaration, he had a vague sense of foreboding. Although it couldn’t be confirmed yet, the likelihood of this ominous premonition being proven true was high.
Indeed, declarations should not be taken lightly.
With a sigh in his heart, Angel said to the still confused Arnoldo, “I think something might have really happened in the White Cloud Hamlet… Regardless, let me take this dove for now. Once we reach Wind Island, I’ll hand it over to Highness Gentle Wind for handling.”
With a flick of his fingers, the dove fell into an illusion, flying unknowingly into Angel’s palm.
“Something happened in the White Cloud Hamlet?” Arnoldo wasn’t concerned about the dove’s condition, his eyes full of confusion: “What exactly happened?”
“Let’s head back first and then discuss.”
Half a moment later, aboard the airship above the clouds.
Angel first placed the dove, still trapped in the illusion, to one side, then shared his speculations with Arnoldo.
Although Arnoldo hadn’t thought of this aspect, it wasn’t completely foolish. After Angel laid out his reasoning and analyzed all situations one by one, Arnoldo couldn’t find any reason to refute.
Given the current situation, Angel’s speculation was very likely true.
Although Arnoldo always seemed to dislike Wind Island, when it heard that something might have happened to the White Cloud Hamlet, its expression immediately became panicked, and moisture involuntarily gathered in its eyes.
Seeing Arnoldo about to turn into a crybaby again, Angel quickly said, “Everything is still just speculation. Now, we need to confirm what exactly happened in the White Cloud Hamlet.”
Lifting its moist eyes, Arnoldo looked bewilderedly at Angel: “How, how do we confirm?”
Arnoldo’s question not only made Angel feel helpless but also made Dangros sigh on the other side: “Are you dumb? Just send a message to ask!”
“Ah?”
“We fire elemental creatures use sparks to send messages, earth elemental creatures can use flying sand and stones to send messages, so how should you wind elemental creatures send them?” Seeing Arnoldo still bewildered, Dangros couldn’t help but curse inwardly, then said, “Magu once said that the most secretive and swift way to send messages is through wind elemental creatures, your medium for sending messages is the invisible and intangible wind.”
Hearing this, Arnoldo finally understood Dangros’s point.
It immediately said, “I’ll send a message to inquire right now.”
After sending the message, Arnoldo looked down, somewhat embarrassed.
Angel observed Arnoldo but didn’t overly blame it. It wasn’t entirely Arnoldo’s fault. Firstly, it had little experience, and according to Arnoldo’s own account, it was very solitary on Wind Island, only interacting with Salamado, rarely using message sending, so it was understandable that it didn’t react immediately.
Time passed slowly, five minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes…
Half an hour passed, and Dangros wondered, “Why is it so slow? Haven’t you received a reply yet?”
Arnoldo nodded: “Yes, I haven’t.”
“That’s strange, given the rich elemental power of wind here, the message transmission should be fast.” Dangros said, “This speed is even slower than when I transmit messages in the Fire Domain. Who did you send the message to?”
“To Sage Camus.”
“I remember the sage of White Cloud Hamlet also resides in Wind Island. If there’s no reply for so long, could it be that something happened to Wind Island?” Dangros speculated.
As soon as he finished speaking, Dangros felt a surge of moisture.
Turning his head, he saw tears streaming down from Arnoldo’s large eyes again.
“I was just saying, don’t take it seriously,” Dangros hurried to soothe, but it was clearly too late. Arnoldo felt that Dangros was right; the message not coming back for so long really could mean that something had happened to Wind Island.
Thinking of his homeland in trouble, Arnoldo immediately became sad.
Seeing Arnoldo’s crying turn from sniffles to sobs, Angel spoke up: “Actually, there’s another possibility. Maybe the sage didn’t receive your message because it was intercepted midway.”
Arnoldo, attracted by Angel’s words, lit up: Could that really be a possibility?
Angel, seeing Arnoldo take in his words, sighed internally. He didn’t tell Arnoldo that if the message was indeed intercepted midway, the situation might be even more serious.
To avoid Arnoldo continuing to cry, Angel did not voice these thoughts, instead continuing to comfort: “You don’t need to worry too much.”
“Although the situation is unclear, as an elemental sprite, and with this dove unaffected, it indicates that things are not that bad.”
Once even elemental sprites are targeted, that’s when the situation truly becomes severe.
Hearing this, Arnoldo also felt it made sense. Although he didn’t burst into laughter, at least his crying stopped.
“If the sage didn’t reply, let’s set that aside for now. I remember, White Cloud Hamlet and Green Wilderness support each other. Maybe the wood elemental creatures in Green Wilderness know what happened.” Angel said, “Let’s go down to the ground and ask them? However, as outsiders, we might need you to ask.”
Arnoldo naturally wouldn’t refuse: “Okay, I’ll ask.”
Without hesitation, Angel maneuvered the Gondola to descend to the lower skies.
He had seen from above that the situation in Green Wilderness was normal, with many wood elemental creatures wandering around.
Just as they landed, he saw movement in the bushes not far away, moving towards the Gondola’s position.
Soon, Angel saw, directly below the Gondola, a dozen small green grasses with legs, capable of walking, looking up at the Gondola, hopping around in curiosity and excitement.
However, these walking grasses were just elemental sprites, without sentience, unable to inquire about the specifics from them.
As Angel was about to move forward to look for other wood elemental creatures, suddenly, beneath the walking grass, a vine as thick as a tree trunk burst from the ground, resembling the magical beanstalk from fairytales that could grow to the clouds, rapidly rising, and in no time, it reached the height of the Gondola.
Chapter 2209 Pursuing Cloud Trails <TOC> Chapter 2211 Magic Vine