Chapter 2248 Calculation <TOC> Chapter 2250 The Unnamed Land
Translator: SumTLMan
The Gondola glided through the wispy clouds.
It had been half an hour since they left the Marlaya Mountain. Looking back, the vast mountain range was out of sight, only the deep blue ocean below occasionally breached by water elemental creatures, signaling they hadn’t yet left the vicinity of Marlaya Mountain.
Angel leaned against the ship’s edge, his mind still echoing with the information Frost Iseth had shared with him.
“Nemeti…” Angel murmured the name to himself.
After a moment, Angel sat up, his finger tracing the air, quickly weaving an illusory node at his fingertip, constructing a projection in front of him.
It was a map, its edges frayed, of the Tidal Realm.
The map detailed each extreme environment of the main continent within the Tidal Realm, sketching an image of an elemental creature in each region.
This was the map of the Tidal Realm drawn by Feng.
In fact, Angel hadn’t looked at this map for a long time because he had been guided through various domains by sages, and later, he had subjugated Lobert, who was very familiar with the topography of the Tidal Realm, making them much more reliable than Feng’s amateurish cartography skills.
At this moment, Angel brought out the map again, but it was because he remembered the words that Frost Iseth had said to him in the ice chamber——
“Nemeti is the true embodiment of nature, more respected by nature’s servants than the current monarch of the Green Forest Domain——Lush Groot. Moreover, Nemeti is a Monarch Without a Crown.”
Angel asked, “What does ‘a monarch without a crown’ mean?”
Frost Iseth stood up from the throne, pointing at the mural on the ice wall that Feng had painted for her: “This is what ‘a monarch without a crown’ means.”
Later, Angel learned that when Feng first arrived in the Tidal Realm, he had traveled through various regions and painted a picture for the monarchs of each region at that time.
The monarchs here refer to the sovereigns of the regions at that time, such as Flame Ruler Herodia in the Fire Domain, and Frost Iseth of Marlaya Mountain.
Nearly the entire Tidal Realm followed this rule, with the only exception being the Green Forest Domain.
At that time, the monarch of the Green Forest Domain was Star Wood Lush Groot, but the final painting Feng left in the Green Forest Domain was not of Highness Star Wood, but… Nemeti.
Therefore, although Nemeti does not have a prefix title, the mural left by Feng represents its presence.
It is the true monarch without a crown of the Green Forest Domain.
“Moreover, judging by individual strength, it might also be the uncrowned monarch of all elemental creatures in the Tidal Realm.”
This statement was made by Frost Iseth. Although there is no direct evidence, there is no doubt that obtaining Frost Iseth’s affirmation means that Nemeti’s strength, even if not the ‘uncrowned monarch’ of the Tidal Realm, is at least among the very top of the pyramid.
It’s important to note that when Mr. Magu mentioned Nemeti, he did so with a degree of wariness, which speaks volumes.
Driven by curiosity about Nemeti, Angel used illusion magic to display the map drawn by Feng.
Since Frost Iseth said that the painting Feng left in the Green Forest Domain was for Nemeti, then, correspondingly, this map should also feature Nemeti’s figure.
Angel wanted to see what the praised and feared Nemeti actually looked like.
Comparing the map, Angel began searching for the location of the Green Forest Domain.
Although the scale and shape of Feng’s map were all over the place, thankfully, by the images of the monarchs of various regions, Angel was able to pinpoint the Green Forest Domain.
When Angel saw the elemental creature corresponding to the Green Forest Domain on the map, he was momentarily stunned.
Although the elemental creatures on the map were mostly depicted in simple strokes, compared to the drawings of other regions, the depiction of the Green Forest Domain couldn’t just be called simple; it was rudimentary.
A verdant and curved line.
Had Angel not observed carefully, the presence of two tiny yellow dots at the forefront of this verdant line might have led him to mistake it for an accidental stroke left by the Magic Painter during a moment of inattention.
The addition of two yellow dots, however, served to “bring to life” this line.
Angel discerned that this was a snake, or a snake-like creature.
“To be known as the embodiment of nature itself, Nemeti is actually a snake?” Angel mused. This was quite rare, as most of the monarchs he had encountered on his journey appeared humanoid, or bore human-like physical traits.
Of course, this was merely a transformation, subject to change. Yet, it indicated that humanoid forms were particularly favored among elemental monarchs.
Nemeti was the only exception, a purely beastly creature devoid of any human characteristics.
“This is quite unique… but not necessarily definitive, after all these years, Nemeti might have changed its form.”
Thinking this, Angel considered consulting Lobert, who claimed to have traveled through much of the Tidal Realm, possibly having encountered Nemeti.
Lifting his gaze towards Lobert outside the Gondola, Angel’s curiosity was piqued. Unlike before, Lobert was not fluttering around the Gondola but was using its long tail to latch onto the boat’s edge, leveraging the Gondola’s motion to carry itself along.
Lobert himself fell into silence.
This silence was not because Lobert had nothing to say, but rather his three heads were whispering to each other, seemingly holding a private meeting, their conversation enveloped by the wind, without leaking the slightest bit.
From the arguing expressions of the main head, the deputy heads, and the tail head, it could be seen that their discussion was still quite intense.
It was just unknown what they were talking about.
“Speaking of silence… After leaving the Marlaya Mountain, it seems like my ears have cleared up a lot,” Angel thought to himself as he turned his head to look around.
Speedling, as always, clung to the Gondola, silently providing its tireless assistance, which was normal for it to be silent.
Cupid did not flutter its wings to fly in mid-air but landed on the tabletop, its tiny forelimbs propping up its tender head, eyes filled with confusion. It was unclear what it was thinking about, but Angel always felt like there were many question marks swirling around its head.
And the usual source of noise——Dangros, was also silent at this time, not even staring at Toby like a fanatic as usual but leaning on the table, eyes drooping, with a troubled look on his face.
It could be said that on the Gondola, aside from Angel, the only one who remained the same as always was Toby. Toby was currently nestled in Angel’s pocket, rustling as he pulled clothes out of the Snowy Feather, treating Angel’s pocket as a dressing room and trying on different outfits.
“What’s going on today? Suddenly, all the elemental creatures seem to be preoccupied?” Angel said with a puzzled face.
Angel pondered for a moment, gently tapping the ship’s edge with his knuckles, sending energy ripples instantly to Lobert’s tail hanging on the ship’s edge.
All three of Lobert’s heads froze instantly, stiffly turning to look at Angel.
“My lord,” after a mysterious silence, the tail head spoke up first.
Angel said, “You all seem to be having a heated discussion. What are you talking about?”
The tail head hesitated for a moment, exchanged glances with the main and deputy heads, and then said, “Actually, we were discussing…”
As the tail head explained, Angel realized that the three heads of Lobert were discussing the trilogy they had watched in the ice palace earlier.
The trilogy had a profound impact on them, especially the third part, —The Future Possibilities of the Tidal Realm—, which gave them an unimaginable shock.
“Lord, will humans definitely enter the Tidal Realm?” the main head couldn’t help asking.
Angel glanced at him without answering. The question had already been clearly answered in the trilogy; it was a redundant question.
Seeing that Angel didn’t pay him any attention, the main head lowered his head somewhat sheepishly.
The main head remained silent, but the deputy head raised a question, “My lord, is it good or bad for humans to enter the Tidal Realm for elemental creatures?”
Angel replied, “There are both good and bad aspects. However, whether it’s good or bad, the decision is not yours to make, so you needn’t worry about it.”
As if on cue, the tail head also spoke up, “After reading —The Future Possibilities of the Tidal Realm—, I’ve been wanting to know… does my lord intend to make us elemental companions?”
When the tail head finished speaking, Cupid, on the other side, pricked up his ears. This indicated that Cupid’s previous silence was likely due to him pondering questions related to the trilogy.
Faced with the tail head’s inquiry, Angel counter-asked, “Would you like my answer to be yes or no?”
The tail head fell silent, but from its eyes, Angel saw a clear resistance.
This reaction was within Angel’s expectations, after all, his first encounter with this group of wind elemental creatures was anything but pleasant.
Angel didn’t mind, as he never intended to make these wind elemental creatures, who had signed an oath, his elemental companions.
“I’ve already said that by signing a twenty-year oath, I wouldn’t consider other situations. After twenty years, you will be free,” Angel stated, concluding the topic.
“Have you ever been to the Green Forest Domain? Have you seen Nemeti?” Angel asked.
While initially lost in his previous thoughts, tail head immediately set aside his restless mind upon Angel’s inquiry and began to speak in detail.
Minutes later, tail head paused.
From tail head’s account, Angel learned that Lobert had indeed traveled to the Tidal Realm and visited the Green Forest Domain, but he had never encountered Nemeti.
Lobert actually wished to meet this legendary figure; however, an incident later dissuaded him from this idea.
Nemeti resided within a secluded forest in the Green Forest Domain. Lobert had been prepared to visit that forest, but before he could get close, a terrifying force repelled him.
Lobert later discovered that this force was a warning from Nemeti to those who dared enter the forest.
The intimidation had a profound impact on Lobert, presenting a terror he had never experienced before, which deterred him from attempting to meet Nemeti again.
Moreover, according to Lobert, not only was he unable to see Nemeti, but other elemental creatures of the Green Forest Domain rarely saw it as well.
Even among the newly born sprites of the Green Forest Domain, tales related to Nemeti had become legendary. They had heard of it but never seen it.
This reveals that Nemeti is not only powerful but also immensely mysterious and discreet.
This also explains why elemental monarchs and sages from other regions are not very familiar with Nemeti’s intelligence, as Nemeti has not appeared for a long time.
“It seems that to know whether Nemeti’s true form is a snake, one can only find out by going to the Green Forest Domain,” Angel mused to himself.
After sending Lobert away, Angel also rested his curiosity about Nemeti.
Putting away the illusory map, Angel greeted Toby and silently communicated with Eremy to be on guard, then entered his daily meditation.
Because he entered meditation, Angel did not notice that Dangros, with a troubled expression, lifted its “head” as if it had made some decision, and its gaze slowly shifted towards… Angel.
Three hours later, Angel awoke from his meditation.
As soon as he opened his eyes, a palm appeared in front of him. Angel instinctively swiped, sending the palm flying out of the airship.
After swiping it away, Angel then realized that the palm had features, resembling Dangros?
Angel hurriedly leaned over the rail to look downward.
The force of his swipe seemed to have knocked Dangros down, and as an elemental creature… even if it fell from a kilometer high, it should be alright, right? However, below was the sea…
As Angel thought this, he saw a gust of wind rising from below.
With the arrival of the wind elemental came a wail of agony. Upon closer inspection, it was discovered that a hand made of wind was gently holding Dangros. However, Dangros had not yet realized he was being lifted and continued to howl.
It was not until the hand of the wind placed Dangros on the flying boat that he looked around in a daze.
“Ah? I didn’t fall? I thought I was going to plunge into the sea and become the first fire elemental creature to drown,” Dangros thought, relieved.
At that moment, Angel, addressing the wind’s hand outside the boat, said softly, “Thank you for your trouble.”
The wind’s hand swayed back and forth and then vanished.
“What was that just now?” Dangros stood up and asked.
“Speedling. It saved you, and you should thank it,” Angel replied casually, “Speedling is currently serving me, so it’s as if I saved you. You should thank me as well.”
Dangros instinctively began to express his gratitude but then seemed to remember something: “But it was you who knocked me down!”
Angel, with a calm and composed expression, responded, “I opened my eyes to see you looming over me. Who knows if you were about to ambush me, naturally, I had to strike first.”
Dangros said, “I wasn’t trying to ambush you, I was trying to… I was trying to…”
As Dangros suddenly lowered his head, Angel raised an eyebrow: “What were you trying to do?”
After a long moment, Dangros finally stammered: “I was trying to… say thank you.”
“See, you were going to thank me after all,” Angel said with a soft smile.
Dangros responded, “It’s not the same. It was you who knocked me down just now, so I wouldn’t thank you for that.”
Raising an eyebrow, Angel asked, “So now you’re saying you don’t want to thank me?”
After hesitating for a bit, Dangros said, “I’m thanking you for what happened back at the Marlaya Mountain.”
Chapter 2248 Calculation <TOC> Chapter 2250 The Unnamed Land