Chapter 2253 A Day of the Old Blacksmith <TOC> Chapter 2255 Energy Coalescence
Next page password is bold portion: C!u3_W@6Glde
Translator: SumTLMan
In the interlude of drifting clouds, a pure white bat dragon, with each forceful kick of its legs, gathers air into cannon-like blasts, propelling itself forward with the recoil in swift sprints.
From a distance, each sprint of the bat dragon appeared as if it were teleporting.
After several such bursts, the bat dragon suddenly halted in mid-air.
It had the sensation that during one of its dashes, its wings had grazed against some creature. Yet, turning back to look, it saw only swirling mists and no sign of any creature.
Could it have been an illusion?
The bat dragon pondered briefly but felt something was wrong. Thus, it decided to utilize its snout, reminiscent of a pig’s, to sniff the air from where it had come… but detected no suspicious scents.
It sniffed at its own wings again, still nothing.
Being a wind elemental creature, it was exceedingly sensitive to the scents carried in the air. Since it detected no odors, it seemed to indirectly confirm that it was merely being overcautious.
However, the sensation of brushing against a certain soft and bouncy creature just now was far too realistic. As a cautious bat dragon, it decided to change its approach and investigate further.
It erected its disc-like ears, and from its center, a series of high-frequency sound waves began to spread outward.
It hoped to use the feedback from the sound waves to see if there were any hidden creatures around.
However, before it could locate the hidden creature, it felt a massive wind energy, incomparably vast, rapidly approaching its location through the sound wave feedback.
At first, the distance was quite significant, but in less than two seconds, the wind energy had already arrived nearby.
Lifting its head, the bat dragon saw a dreamlike flying boat of exquisite beauty, cutting through the cloud sea at an astonishing speed.
Near this flying boat, the bat dragon sensed two incredibly powerful wind auras. These were definitely creatures at the pinnacle of wind elemental creatures!
They were not much inferior even to the monarchs of the wind domains!
Carefully sensing the source of these two wind energies, the bat dragon suddenly seemed to realize something. In a flash, it hid itself in the clouds, becoming invisible as the wind.
As fellow wind elemental creatures, the bat dragon would not normally need to fear such an encounter, but this time was different, for it recognized the identity of the newcomers.
One of the… four wind generals of Stormridge!
The ambitions of Stormridge to unify all the domains of the wind element had been made evident early on. This time, the bat dragon concluded its journey abroad and returned from the nameless land to Long Breath Wind Cave, with the intention of conveying this message to Highness Hidden Wind.
Unexpectedly, before it could reach the Long Breath Wind Cave, it encountered Lobert, one of the four wind generals, on its way!
“Damn, they’re flying this way, they must have spotted me. What should I do, what should I do?” Hidden in the mists, the bat dragon felt a wave of despair. At this moment, it had already forgotten that it had stopped to search for a previously hidden creature.
“Should I run away quickly?” Although the bat dragon thought so, it didn’t act on it. It knew that it couldn’t outrun Lobert with its speed. On the contrary, running away might offend Lobert even more.
As long as it showed some cooperation, it probably wouldn’t be in mortal danger.
While the bat dragon was thinking this, a hurricane suddenly started in the distance. It knew… Lobert had arrived.
Instinctively, the bat dragon closed its eyes, adopting a submissive posture to cooperate obediently.
However, contrary to its expectations, the hurricane came and then went. After a half-minute of silence, the bat dragon opened its eyes and found everything around it was quiet.
It gazed dumbly ahead, only to see the once dreamlike airship already at the horizon’s end, not only failing to stop but also untroubled by any wind elemental creatures.
The bat dragon didn’t believe that Lobert could fail to notice it.
The situation now seemed to suggest only one possibility: it might have been overlooked.
…
On the Gondola, Angel leaned against the railing, tilting his head towards where they came from.
“The one hiding in the clouds just now, with a pig nose and round ears, looked like a giant bat. Could it be a wind elemental creature?”
Flying outside, Lobert nodded: “Yes, that’s a Wind Bat Dragon, likely from the Long Breath Wind Cave.”
“You can tell?” Angel looked over in surprise.
Lobert explained, “The Long Breath Wind Cave is nestled among mountains, and due to environmental factors, it has a high probability of giving birth to wind bat dragons. Other territories of the wind barely have records of such creatures.”
Following that, Lobert briefly described the characteristics of the wind bat dragon.
After listening, Angel had an epiphany. So, a wind bat dragon was essentially just a larger bat. What Angel hadn’t expected was the bat’s love for cave environments being consistent even among elemental creatures.
“When we encountered the wind bat dragon just now, it seemed quite frightened,” Angel pondered, concluding that the Gondola itself shouldn’t be causing fear, suggesting that the creature’s alarm was likely due to the beings accompanying it.
Neither Eremy nor Toby had released any aura; and Cupid and Dangros, being elemental sprites, shouldn’t have scared the wind bat dragon either.
The answer became quite clear: it was Speedling and Lobert that the wind bat dragon feared.
“As fellow wind elemental creatures, instead of joy at meeting others outside, it shrank and trembled. It seems the reputation of your Stormridge is really not that great,” Angel remarked thoughtfully.
It’s noteworthy that not long ago, when Dangros sensed a fire elemental creature in the nameless valley, it would go to investigate and assist. Even upon discovering it was not a creature from the Fire Domain but a traveling frog, Dangros still felt concerned for it. This contrasted sharply with the situation with wind elemental creatures.
Lobert stated, “They could never understand the grand ambitions of Highness Hurricane.”
Angel responded lightly, “No matter how grand the ambitions, once the Tidal Realm opens, they’ll be inconsequential.”
Lobert sighed upon hearing this, remaining silent for a long time.
“By the way, when we first encountered that wind bat dragon, it seemed to be hovering mid-air. Is that a characteristic of wind bat dragons?”
Lobert shook his head, “Wind bat dragons don’t have the trait of suspending themselves mid-air. It seemed to be sensing something. Perhaps it sensed our arrival.”
Angel’s encounter with the wind bat dragon was just a minor episode, one he didn’t take to heart.
As time leisurely passed, the clear sky was dyed with the hues of twilight.
Dusk followed suit.
Angel glanced at Toby, who was discreetly observing Cupid, and gently patted its head, saying, “I’m going to rest a bit in the back, wake me if anything happens.”
By rest, Angel meant entering the Wilderness of Dreams, not actual sleep, a nuance Toby understood with a soft chirp of acknowledgment.
Angel also signaled to Eremy to stay alert before his figure flashed, disappearing from the spot to appear in front of the Gondola’s rear cabin door.
After closing the cabin door, Angel’s gaze settled on two glass boxes adorned with red and blue gemstones.
These glass boxes, one housing a fire elemental creature traveling frog and the other a water elemental creature raccoon, were specially crafted and carried by Angel not merely out of goodwill.
He planned to use this opportunity to attempt bringing them into the Wilderness of Dreams. This was partly to fulfill a promise to Dulmatin and partly out of curiosity to see how elemental creatures would change upon entering the Wilderness of Dreams.
“Having saved your lives, it’s now time for me to collect my due,” Angel thought to himself, extending a finger from which a dim glow began to condense.
Nightmare Dream Entry Spell!
The dim glow flashed from the tip of his finger, swiftly penetrating the foreheads of the traveling frog and raccoon.
Angel waited quietly for the change, aware that elemental creatures in their sprite phase could feel exhaustion and rest, but he had never heard of them dreaming. Thus, he was unsure whether the Dream Entry Spell would have any effect on elemental creatures.
It didn’t take long for Angel to see two misty tendrils emerging from the foreheads of the traveling frog and raccoon.
“Dream tendrils.” Angel let out a long sigh of relief. The presence of dream tendrils meant that these two elemental creatures could reach the Dream Bridge. Once the tendrils entered the Dream Bridge, they would naturally proceed to its other side.
As the tendrils emerged from their foreheads, the Nightmare Aura slowly enveloped them, and the misty tendrils seemed to enter into an abyss, gradually vanishing from sight.
Although it was not apparent from their appearance, Angel knew that the consciousness of these two elemental creatures had stepped onto the Dream Bridge.
Angel immediately closed his eyes, his thoughts diving into the power of the Gate of Dreams.
With the power of the Gate of Dreams, Angel could clearly feel that two Dream Bridges had connected to the Wilderness of Dreams, floating in the dark.
Angel agreed to the connection.
Immediately, the Dream Bridge extended, reaching all the way to the Gate of Dreams in the Wilderness of Dreams.
Angel quietly watched the two Dream Bridges. After about a minute, two figures stepped onto the Dream Bridges simultaneously.
They were the traveling frog and raccoon.
What caught Angel’s eye, however, was that the traveling frog and raccoon maintained identical forms. One radiated intense flames, while the other, though appearing ordinary, had droplets of water falling from its body at intervals.
This was entirely different from the human experience of stepping onto the Dream Bridge.
The element’s characteristics were already manifesting on the Dream Bridge.
“Will they also display elemental characteristics after entering the Wilderness of Dreams?” Angel pondered. If they truly could exhibit elemental traits, wouldn’t that make them naturally transcendent beings in the Wilderness of Dreams?
It is known that even wizards entering the Wilderness of Dreams, without the aid of virtual magic power, remain as ordinary as any other person. However, if elemental creatures could wield the power of elements, they would start at a fundamentally different level.
Angel looked at them deeply, filled with anticipation as he entered the Wilderness of Dreams.
Angel’s arrival was on a street in the New City.
On this street, although the outlines of high-rise buildings line both sides, they are essentially just foundations, with only scaffoldings above the floors. Numerous apprentices stand atop these scaffoldings, consulting construction plans while holding rune scrolls, manipulating the power of earth to perfect the buildings’ facades.
There are also artisans skilled in carving, diligently sculpting the decorations on both sides.
Angel’s sudden appearance caught the attention of these apprentices.
As a legendary figure from the Savage Grottoes, rising from humble beginnings to quickly reach the pinnacle of the pyramid, Angel has become an idol to the apprentices. Hence, all of them recognize his identity.
Recognizing Angel, the apprentices became even more excited. After all, Angel rarely makes appearances in the Savage Grottoes, and a rare sighting could become a hot topic among them.
However, their commotion didn’t last long, as a cold gaze swept over them from below.
“It seems you dislike construction tasks? How about I assign a few tasks to you?” Despite the smile and the noble’s elegant tone, everyone felt a chilling cold down their spine.
Almost all the apprentices recognized the man who spoke. Unlike Angel, whom they admire, wish to approach, and follow, this man is someone they would prefer never to encounter.
——“Microcosmic World” Dulmatin.
The tasks issued by Dulmatin, even if they offer substantial rewards, often result in most participants being opened up, with nine out of ten not returning.
In a world where a mere glance from the Cranium Opener could silence all apprentices.
The chaos brought about by Angel’s appearance was instantly quelled as no apprentice dared to look again.
As Angel stepped forward, he remarked, “A single look, a single word, and the clamor ceases. Truly worthy of being Wizard Bayer.”
Dulmatin responded, “I’ve said it before, the formal title of Wizard Bayer feels so unfamiliar; just call me Dulmatin.”
After a pause, Dulmatin continued, “You appear neither early nor late, but precisely when you mean to, in front of me, no doubt seeking something?”
Angel nodded, his presence on this street driven by his detection of Dulmatin’s location.
“Indeed, there is something.” Angel said, “Do you have a moment?”
“If you’ve come all this way to find me, it would be pointless for me to claim I’m busy,” Dulmatin replied. “What is it?”
Angel didn’t immediately answer but looked around and said, “This place is not suitable for their arrival; come with me.”
With those words, Angel, utilizing the power of the Celestial Cycle, summoned a gust of wind that enveloped him and Dulmatin, swiftly transporting them from the urban sprawl of the New City to a vast, open grassland in mere moments.
On the outskirts of the New City, there lay a babbling brook frothing with white foam.
After coming to a halt, Dulmatin did not inquire why Angel had brought him here but instead, he adjusted his disheveled attire and quietly observed Angel, awaiting his explanation.
However, Angel did not offer a clear explanation but instead gestured for him to wait patiently.
Roughly two minutes later, their wait was rewarded.
Yet, the nature of this reward… left Dulmatin somewhat perplexed.
What had been a bright and sunny day underwent a dramatic transformation within a mere few seconds. Dark clouds rolled in swiftly; and though there was no flash of lightning nor rumble of thunder, the mere sight of these low-hanging, ominous clouds a few hundred meters away imposed an inexplicable pressure on Dulmatin.
Drip, drip.
The first drop of rain fell from the sky.
Soon, the rain transitioned from a light drizzle to a torrential downpour.
Fortunately, they were near a high magic zone, allowing Dulmatin to manipulate virtual magic power to construct a thin, waterproof barrier around them. Otherwise, they would have undoubtedly been drenched.
As he watched the relentless downpour, Dulmatin turned to Angel with a puzzled look: “Did you bring me here just to witness this storm?”
Chapter 2253 A Day of the Old Blacksmith <TOC> Chapter 2255 Energy Coalescence