Chapter 2226 Submission <TOC> Chapter 2228 Cupid
Translator: SumTLMan
Unlike Phantom Island, an aerial island assembled from cloud soil, Wind Island fundamentally originates from a land mass that was split off and hoisted into the skies by a wind of incredibly high power level yet extraordinary stability, allowing it to rest upon the clouds.
The stability of this peculiar wind surpasses imagination; walking atop the lush, grass-covered Wind Island, one would not feel as if the island is airborne, supported by wind, the sensation nearly indistinguishable from being on a continent.
Moreover, Wind Island is uniquely positioned; though surrounded by thick, cotton-like circling clouds, directly above it, the cloud layer is so thin that a mere breeze could disperse it. This implies that, should the wind elemental creatures residing here desire, every day could be clear and sunny without issue.
The more Angel learns about Wind Island, the more appealing it appears, especially as the local wind elemental creatures display curiosity and friendliness towards them. Such an excellent environment is highly suitable for establishing a branch outpost.
Of course, it would be even better if the mischievous wind sprites were somewhat fewer.
While contemplating this, Angel pulled a green-skinned little puppy from his waistband.
This little puppy was a wind sprite that rushed up first after the Gondola landed. It seemed particularly fascinated by the star and moon patterns on the wizard robe, clinging stubbornly to one of the suns and refusing to let go until Angel managed to pull it off. The childlike sprite then dissipated into a gust of wind slipping through his fingers, then reformed on the other side, continuing its playful assault.
However, before the green-skinned little puppy could latch onto the robe again, it was pressed onto the grassland by invisible gravity lines, directly from mid-air.
The puppy attempted to dissipate into the wind to escape, but under the immense pressure of the endless gravity, it was immobilized, whimpering pitifully, and looking towards Camus standing on the other side.
Camus coughed and approached, “Mr. Pat, it didn’t mean any harm, it was…”
Pausing, Camus added in an embarrassed tone, “It might have been instigated.”
Upon finishing, Camus turned towards a certain direction, shouting, “Cupid, come here!”
However, Camus’ call met with no response. Following his gaze, Angel saw a small dark figure amidst the crowd of wind elemental creatures observing the Gondola from afar, darting away as if startled upon being noticed, without looking back.
Watching the fleeing shadow, Camus felt a surge of anger. Had Angel not been present, he would have already gone after to reprimand that mischievous sprite.
Taking a deep breath to calm the rising anger, Camus tried to speak in a calm voice, “That’s a little sprite I’ve adopted, named Cupid. Perhaps due to my lax discipline, its character is somewhat mischievous, always inciting others to create trouble. I apologize on its behalf.”
With Camus bowing deeply, what could Angel say… He could only sigh inwardly, pretending it was of no concern, “No harm done, children are naturally playful.”
“However, excessive mischief is not good. If it were another wizard, they might not be satisfied without having it sign a full Merck Soul Source Oath.” Angel added, thinking to himself that not every wizard is as lenient as he is.
Angel spoke with a smile, but Camus shivered, feeling a chill.
“It’s my fault for not teaching well. I will have Cupid apologize to you later,” Camus said earnestly.
Angel waved his hand dismissively, “No need, it’s not a big deal.”
Camus nodded in gratitude, then looked solemnly at the green-skinned little puppy still firmly pressed on the ground.
Understanding the hint, Toby made a noise and withdrew the gravity lines from the little puppy.
The now-free puppy, realizing Angel was not to be trifled with, whimpered pitifully and scurried away with its tail between its legs.
This episode, Angel quickly put it out of his mind, for at this moment, the clouds surrounding Wind Island began to churn suddenly, revealing silhouettes as large as mountains behind the cloud cover.
All the wind elemental creatures on Wind Island were now focusing their gaze on the churning clouds outside. The ignorant were curious, while those with inside information looked forward with excited and eager eyes.
As the clouds churned more violently, Camus, standing by Angel’s side, said, “My avatar has arrived, so I shall take my leave now.”
With those words, the faint green shadow disappeared.
Angel looked at the spot where Camus vanished but said nothing. It seemed normal for Magu to have an avatar, so it was probably normal for Camus as well, except Magu’s avatar was based on its enormous body and countless tentacles, essentially not departing from Magu’s entity. However, Camus was different. On the surface, it seemed to truly split into two separate entities, one arriving at Wind Island with Angel earlier, and the other staying outside the misty battlefield to guide Gentle Wind Uranos, only to return to Wind Island with a grand escort now.
This unique avatar ability might be due to Camus’ talent. Or perhaps he was mistaken, and Camus, like Magu, actually had countless tentacles, just that the invisibility and intangibility of wind made it seem like two separate avatars?
If the latter was true, Angel began to take an interest in Camus’ true form.
After the clouds outside rolled for several minutes, led by Gentle Wind Uranos and Camus, the two wind elemental creatures, along with the captured forces from Stormridge, crossed the clouds and appeared above Wind Island.
Their appearance immediately set Wind Island abuzz.
Many wind elemental creatures did not know what exactly happened on the battlefield outside, but they were clear that their recall was for the purpose of dealing with the invaders from Stormridge. Now, with the invaders subdued, it meant that this baseless war had come to an end!
They collectively cheered for Highness Gentle Wind!
The wind carried their voices across the entire Wind Island, as if this force of collective voices originated from the land beneath their feet.
Some, perhaps the ignorant, thought that Highness Gentle Wind single-handedly subdued the rebels, thus cheering for him. But many wind elemental creatures were expressing their emotions for victory in battle.
Gentle Wind Uranos, standing on the clouds, did not expect such a scene upon returning.
Located in the clouds, it suddenly did not know how to respond. Seeing its excited subjects, explaining now that this was not its doing, that these were captives brought by an outsider human, would likely dampen their spirits.
But to not correct them and let them believe it had single-handedly dealt with the invaders was not only disrespectful to Angel but also self-harmful. Even if Gentle Wind Uranos was strong, it didn’t believe it could defeat so many invaders alone; otherwise, why call all wind elemental creatures back to Wind Island, if not to cheerlead? If the Wind Island kin misunderstood, thinking it could handle similar threats alone in the future, wouldn’t that be embarrassing?
Thus, it was better to correct them sooner.
Gentle Wind Uranos was about to clarify when suddenly a voice reached its ears: “I do not care for baseless credit.”
Gentle Wind Uranos’s gaze turned towards a corner of Wind Island, where Angel was giving it a polite and gentle smile.
“You might not care, but I do,” Gentle Wind Uranos communicated to Angel through the wind. “The higher you’re held, the harder you fall.”
Hearing the voice tinged with helplessness, Angel somewhat understood, not expecting Gentle Wind Uranos to look so far ahead.
“It’s alright, if you must explain, it can wait. Explaining now will only cause them to panic. I don’t mind.”
Gentle Wind Uranos was silent for a moment, feeling this was a good approach, and thus gave Angel a look of gratitude.
Following the jubilation on Wind Island, Angel did not stay to partake but, guided by the whisper of Gentle Wind Uranos, took the Gondola to the palace atop the island’s highest peak.
The island boasted many human constructions, reportedly all built under the leadership of Gentle Wind Uranos. The largest of these was the palace complex that spiraled from the mountain’s waist to its summit.
Enshrouded in clouds and mist year-round, the palace complex was usually hidden from distant view.
Only upon Angel’s closer approach did the visual astonishment of the grand palace complex become apparent.
This complex, even more immense than the royal palace of the external world’s Shannon royalty, was unimaginable to have been constructed by creatures of the wind element.
Upon reaching the summit, Angel was greeted by the already present Sage Camus at the palace’s grand entrance.
“Is this another of Mr. Camus’ avatars?” Angel disembarked from the Gondola.
Camus nodded, “Yes, Highness instructed me to wait here for you; it will arrive shortly.”
Gentle Wind Uranos was still arranging for the “captives” and reallocating the recalled kin of Wind Island, so Angel understood the delay.
Even without Gentle Wind Uranos’s return, some matters could be preliminarily handled, such as the arrangement of the elemental sprites aboard the Gondola, except for… Magic Bean Jack.
Whether Jack could ascend Wind Island was not Angel’s call.
Upon learning of Jack, Camus immediately deduced that Jack was likely a scout sent by the sage of Green Wilderness. Given the current relations between Green Wilderness and White Cloud Hamlet, it wasn’t malicious espionage, but the intent to probe was clear.
However, the “internal trouble” of White Cloud Hamlet had been resolved with Angel’s arrival.
Given Wind Island’s current situation, it mattered little if the sage of Green Wilderness was made aware.
Considering this, Camus smiled, “Green Wilderness and White Cloud Hamlet are the closest of allies; we naturally welcome Jack to visit the island.”
With Camus’ approval, Angel then released Jack.
But no sooner had Jack disembarked than Camus, under the pretext of “showing you around Wind Island,” had a wind elemental take it away.
Angel did not intervene, agreeing with Camus that, given the close relations between Green Wilderness and White Cloud Hamlet, Jack would not be mistreated.
After Jack’s departure, Angel turned his attention to the other sprites.
Arnoldo was still in the sandy prison, sobbing continuously. According to Dangros, it was now crying out of happiness rather than sorrow.
Angel did not immediately release Arnoldo due to its special circumstances involving diplomatic relations. Although there were reasons and excuses for its release, it was best to wait for Gentle Wind Uranos’s return.
The other wind elemental sprites, after having their illusions dispelled by Angel, were taken away by Camus’ subordinates.
These wind elementals had stayed put during the call to arms, spared from enemy hardship, so now that Angel had brought them back, arrangements were naturally made for them.
However, one wind elemental sprite remained.
It was the silver-white flying fish they had encountered before, likely from Stormridge, named Feyvat.
How to handle the sprite not born of White Cloud Hamlet, Camus also had no clear guidelines temporarily; this was his first time dealing with such a situation, unable to make decisions on his own, he could only wait for the return of Gentle Wind Uranos to discuss further.
After the arrangement of the wind sprites was completed, Camus led them into the palace at the mountain’s peak.
Upon closer inspection of the palace, Angel also noticed some details. Although, from an overall perspective, it indeed resembled human architectural style, many details inside were contrary to human architectural traditions.
For instance, the “Sky Pavilion,” a form that clearly defies architectural norms, was present here.
Could this be a change adapted by wind elemental creatures due to local conditions?
Such changes definitely would not work outside, but here they seemed very reasonable and even uniquely charming.
Later, listening to Camus’ introduction, Angel learned that it was not a change due to local adaptation but rather… a matter of course in construction.
Camus said these buildings were imitated by Gentle Wind Uranos based on Mr. Feng’s casual remarks and paintings he had seen of Mr. Feng’s work.
Although they were imitations, Gentle Wind Uranos, after all, had not systematically studied architecture, possessing only the form without the essence; hence, they could only be considered as constructions of course.
Buildings that do not require foundations and can float with wind power can only appear on Wind Island.
While the truth was somewhat amusing, it must be said, these “of course” buildings were very distinctive, and the communal ecology of wind elemental creatures had already developed its own style.
If this continues, it might well become a school of its own, forming a new urban civilization.
Under Camus’ guidance, they walked along the palace corridor for about a hundred meters, finally arriving in front of a majestic hall.
The hall, from its form, bore quite the style of the Silver Heron Royal Family. Angel guessed that when Gentle Wind Uranos was building it, he must have referred to Feng’s paintings related to the Silver Heron Royal Family.
The platform outside the hall had no guards, allowing direct access to the hall’s entrance.
At the entrance of the hall, they indeed encountered a wind elemental creature.
To be precise, it was a wind sprite.