Chapter 331 Magic Bread <TOC> Chapter 333 Dead Water and Living Water
Translator: SumTLMan
The moment Angel stepped out of the planar passage, he felt that something was amiss.
He had initially thought that the Colorful Dragonflies would transport him to the Nightmare Plane, but that was not the case. Although the place was shrouded in dense fog and permeated with the aura of the Nightmare Plane, it lacked the sensation of time being frozen as was the previous case.
Angel turned around and saw a colossal nest, approximately ten meters high.
The nest’s appearance was familiar to him; it was identical to the one at the women’s bathouse, even the guard Colorful Dragonflies and the Colorful Dragonflies around it were not much different.
Angel continued to survey his surroundings. Within his field of vision, everything was obscured by layers of fog. He could barely make out the outlines of buildings, most of which were small wooden houses, seemingly without any advanced construction techniques.
He carefully sensed the atmosphere. Apart from the Nightmare Plane’s aura, the other components of the air were not much different from what he usually breathed, “Could this be the Wizarding World, or perhaps another plane?”
Of course, Angel hoped that this was the Wizarding World, but even if someone told him that it was not, he would not be too disheartened.
For those who have experienced despair, even the slightest glimmer of hope is a form of redemption.
Escaping from the planar passage was already his greatest fortune; what more could he ask for? Moreover, this place was likely not the perilous Nightmare Plane, which meant it was a great fortune for him. There was no reason to be disheartened.
Angel, accompanied by Toby, walked forward for a distance.
As he moved, the group of Five-colored Dragonflies and Colorful Dragonflies behind him followed suit, resembling a colorful cloak fluttering in the wind.
With such a vibrant cloak, even if the bracelet’s “Boundless Silence” was fully active, it probably wouldn’t have any effect.
It was just too eye-catching!
Angel sighed helplessly and waved to the group of little tails, gesturing for them to return to their nest and play.
After all, these little creatures had saved his life, so he could not bring himself to forcibly drive them away like Sanders had.
Perhaps they had only saved the name “Shava,” but to Angel, it was an immense favor. No matter what, he could not forget the lifesaving grace, even if it came from a group of dragonflies.
Angel pondered and conveyed his wish for them to return to guard the nest using his emotions.
At first, they were reluctant to go back, but Angel’s reasoning that “the Queen instructed you to guard the nest, not to run around” gradually convinced a large number of Colorful Dragonflies to fly back to the nest.
However, there were still several hundred Colorful Dragonflies following Angel, including the large dragonfly that had delivered the “Void Floating Algae.”
This large dragonfly was about two or three times larger than the others, and the radiance of its multicolored light was much brighter. Angel surmised that this large dragonfly was the leader of the group of Colorful Dragonflies.
He did not disperse his emotions but instead communicated individually with this large dragonfly, hoping that it would lead the dragonflies away.
The large dragonfly’s intelligence was considerably higher than that of the others. After several requests from Angel, even bordering on “commands,” it slowly led all the Colorful Dragonflies back to the vicinity of the nest.
Nevertheless, not all dragonflies left. There was still one Colorful Dragonfly dancing in figure eights beside Angel, seemingly so excited that it had lost itself in the dance. Wherever Angel went, it followed, dancing.
Angel thought about it and did not shoo it away. Instead, he opened up the Opulent Nightmare Domain for it to go in and play with the Teacup Band. The Teacup Band played music while it danced. They seemed like a perfect match, didn’t they?
Having left the nest, Angel walked through the fog for about ten minutes and gained a general understanding of the layout and structure of the place.
It seemed to be a village, but he had not found any traces of people. The entire village was shrouded in fog from the nest’s passage, and the sun was not visible when he looked up. It was gray and visibility was low.
Angel wondered if this was a place similar to Shadow Demon City, where the entire village had been parasitized… but it didn’t seem right either. If they were parasitized, they would sing, dance, and act crazily, but Angel found the place to be tranquil, with no one singing.
Moreover, he did not find any parasitic creatures near the nest.
So, was this just a village enveloped by the aura of the Nightmare Plane? Angel, filled with doubt, pushed open the door of a nearby small wooden house.
The wooden house was tiny, somewhat like a temporary dwelling hastily built by a hunter in the mountains. The exterior was old and dilapidated, with patches on the walls.
Angel gently pushed the door, and it crumbled like paper into many pieces. Before he could enter and examine the interior, the entire wooden house collapsed, burying Angel in the debris.
In that instant, he activated the “Magic Barrier” on his cloak and managed to avoid any injuries. When he struggled out of the wreckage, he looked at the disastrous scene and frowned.
How long had this village been abandoned for the wooden houses to have decayed and dried up like this?
Finding useful information in this abandoned village to confirm his location seemed like a difficult task.
Angel did not bother with the decayed wooden house anymore and instead entered a more sturdy-looking wooden and stone structured villa courtyard.
“No distinctive architectural features can be seen, from the design of the doors to the overall size of the villas and cottages, which all conform to the average human height.” It is estimated that before the village was abandoned, it was inhabited by humans or humanoid races.
There were weeds in the courtyard, but they were untrimmed and messy.
Angel carefully pushed open the villa’s door and found no signs of collapse or weathering, which seemed to have been taken into consideration by the architect.
However, just because the house had not collapsed did not mean the furniture inside was intact. Wooden tables, chairs, and dusty countertops would crack with just a little force applied by Angel.
“The abandonment must have been for at least a century, perhaps even longer.” A wave of his hand stirred up a thick layer of dust.
With the top hat’s “Purification Field” fully activated, Angel didn’t need to worry about the dust. However, he was more concerned that due to the passage of time, the information he sought might be obscured by dust or might have already crumbled to debris.
Angel found nothing in the entire small villa. The staircase to the second floor was broken, and he used his psychic tentacles to examine the rooms upstairs, which were still empty.
Leaving the villa courtyard, Angel visited several other houses, only to come up empty-handed.
It was not until he entered a large bunker-like building at the center of the village that he found some useful information.
This bunker might have served as some sort of command center, as Angel discovered dried pens and fragmented parchment inside. There were traces on some of the parchment, but it was too old and covered in dust, so he could not recognize what was written. He attempted to remove the dust, but the parchment disintegrated with the slightest breeze, forcing him to give up.
The only piece of information he obtained was a map of the area near the village.
It was a map etched on the walls of the bunker.
A large circle encompassed the entire map, with tree patterns inside it, possibly representing a forest; a wooden house pattern in the center likely represented the village; there were also lakes, tents, torches, and so on.
This map marked all the nearby terrain, but Angel was puzzled about one aspect.
Why were all the patterns drawn inside the circle, and what lay beyond the circle? Did the circle symbolize a “safe zone,” while the area outside was dangerous?
He could not know for sure. He would have to explore the area to find out.
After taking a photo of the map with his holographic tablet, Angel turned and left the village.
Since no information could be obtained within the village, he would venture outward.
Having already escaped from the planar passage, everything seemed to be moving in a positive direction. Even if he couldn’t find any information here, he could just go out and explore!
Half a day later, Angel returned to the village with his tail between his legs, looking rather dejected.
When Angel left the village, he was full of confidence, believing that as long as he had feet, he could always measure the future. However, he was wrong. If he couldn’t even leave the village, what future would there be?
He walked a large circle outside the village and finally understood why there was a large circle drawn on the map. This circle was not a safe zone nor did it represent a boundary; it simply signified one thing: “restriction.”
The entire map allowed movement only within the circle.
The meaning of the circle was an insurmountable stone wall.
Angel followed the “circle” on the map and spent most of the day walking its entire circumference. From start to finish, it was all stone walls, with no place to climb, and the thick fog made it impossible to see what was above.
Either this place was at the bottom of a cliff, similar to a valley, or it was an underground world like Shadow Demon Castle. Regardless of which one it was, leaving this place would not be a simple task.
At least, he needed to find a way out.
Angel believed there must be a way because the nearby forest was dense, without fertile farmland or grazing land. The villagers who once lived here couldn’t have possibly survived only on fruits, could they?
There were no places for making paper, writing brushes, forging iron, or building stoves in the village. These items must have come from the outside world.
Therefore, there must be a way out. However, where the exit was is a problem he urgently needed to solve.
Angel walked along the main road of the village, pondering this question while using his mental power to observe the surrounding rooms. If there were any traces, he would immediately investigate.
During this process, Angel discovered that this village was actually much more beautiful than he had imagined.
Although the houses were decayed and weathered, it was not difficult to see that many of them had been designed. Almost every household had planted trees, but due to the lack of sunlight, the majority of them had withered and died. However, thinking back to the past when the village was bustling with people, the trees towering, fruits hanging, and flowers blooming, the scenery must have been beautiful.
Moreover, with no external enemies, this place might have been a peaceful haven to escape from war.
However, that haven no longer existed; all that remained was a desolate, abandoned village.
Chapter 331 Magic Bread <TOC> Chapter 333 Dead Water and Living Water