Chapter 341 Totoro <TOC> Chapter 343 The Ring of Illusion
Translator: SumTLMan
Upon reaching the mountain peak, it happened to be noon, when the sunlight was the most abundant.
Angel had previously learned from Toby that there was a large city on the other side of the mountain, but he had no concept of its actual size. It was only after reaching the summit and looking out from the terrace that he was astonished to discover the vastness of this unknown city.
What Angel first noticed was not the city itself, but the enormous body of water. Initially, he had thought it was connected to the ocean, but upon gaining a higher vantage point, he realized that it was actually an inland lake. However, just the visible surface area of the lake was almost half the size of Shadow Demon City, a city that housed millions of residents!
The vast, unblemished azure lake, like a gigantic water mirror, reflected the flowing clouds in the sky.
Thousands of white waterbirds circled the lake, frolicking in the clouds.
The city that Angel was heading to, built by the water, was not the enclosed city he had imagined. Instead, it began at the foot of the mountain by the lake and extended in a dotted fashion to the end of the clouds, forming a huge city.
Within Angel’s field of vision, the entire lakeshore was covered with buildings, distributed from sparse to dense. In the densest areas, the houses were clustered together like ants. Angel estimated that there should be hundreds of thousands of people living there.
In the areas with dense buildings, Angel even saw some obvious artificial islands, extending all the way to the center of the lake. Many buildings were constructed directly on the water, giving them a unique charm.
“It’s indeed a big city, and its location is so good,” he mused. Positioned by the water, backed by resource-rich forests, and blessed with a vast basin and extensive waters, just from the full rice paddies and diligent fishing boats that Angel saw, one could tell the degree of prosperity in this area.
Perhaps, after determining the location, he could stay here for some time.
However, the prerequisite was to reach the Sky Mechanical City before the Purification Garden opened next year.
As Angel descended the mountain, his pace quickened considerably. Although the city seemed close from the mountain peak, there was limited time to reach the gathering area that night and find a place to stay.
Approaching the crowded area, Angel deliberately reduced his presence to avoid trouble.
His black and white checkered trench coat and smiling face hat were too conspicuous, and the original near-passive effect of his bracelet to eliminate his presence was offset by the coat’s brightness. Now, to avoid drawing attention, he had to actively activate a stronger “Boundless Silence.”
Under the effect of Boundless Silence, Angel seemed like a shadow walker, his figure appearing and disappearing with the dappled sunlight.
Following behind him was Totoro, who had been momentarily puzzled when Angel activated “Boundless Silence.” However, Totoro had been paying attention to Angel all along, so he didn’t get lost.
As Angel descended the mountain, he passed through a deep, secluded forest.
Upon entering the forest where sunlight could not penetrate, Angel’s first sensation was a chilling cold, followed by a faint sense of filth pervading the area.
This was a wizard’s intuition.
With their mental power, a wizard’s innate intuition would be amplified. The auras of darkness, the undead, and evil spirits could sometimes be sensed without any detection.
“Did many people die here? Or…” Angel furrowed his brow, looking at the ground beneath him, “Are there many people buried beneath our feet?”
Although there was a sense of filth, it wasn’t enough to create undead. Angel briefly pondered this thought but soon dismissed it.
However, after taking only a few steps, he suddenly saw a small, swift shadow flash past him, darting towards a dense tree.
The shadow was small, appearing to be no larger than a palm, and it moved incredibly fast. Angel could not discern its shape with his naked eye.
“A squirrel? Or a flying squirrel?” Angel patted the well-fed and sleeping Toby, signaling him to wake up, “Be on guard, my safety depends on you.”
In truth, Angel did not actually expect to encounter any danger. He woke Toby simply out of envy for the lazy bird’s life, eating and sleeping every day while still growing in strength. He wanted to experience such a life himself!
Toby, however, did not understand Angel’s ulterior motives and dutifully stood on Angel’s hat, starting his watch.
As Angel anticipated, nothing strange happened along the way. The small shadow and faint sense of filth vanished like a fleeting cloud, gently fading from his memory.
Not long after leaving the dark forest, Angel emerged from the wooded area and entered the plains.
Soon after descending from the mountain, Angel saw signs of human habitation, several houses built by a lake, people fishing by the water, and others working in the fields. These people were ordinary, wearing clothes similar in style to those Angel had discovered earlier in the forest ranger’s cabin, mostly made of cotton and linen. Women generally wore long skirts with various waistbands, while men wore long garments and trousers. Though not refined, their attire was clean.
Angel did not approach these farmers, instead using his mental tentacles to remotely sense their conversations.
“It’s the common language, but the accent isn’t strong,” Angel glanced back at the pacing Totoro, who had the heaviest accent of all. However, it had to be said that the soft, lilting accent was quite pleasant to the ear.
It seemed that Totoro was not from this area, or perhaps the accent had changed over a thousand years.
The farmers’ conversations mostly consisted of trivial daily matters. Since it was the harvest season, Angel heard discussions about which family’s fields yielded more and which less. The farmers noticed their party, but most showed little interest. Occasionally, a few young girls would glance at them, admiring Totoro’s handsome appearance before losing interest.
Such leisurely rural scenes made Angel feel as if he had returned to the Pat Estate for a moment. Back then, he was young and carefree, often visiting the tea plantation, working the fields while chatting about trivial matters with maid Ollie and head maid Mana.
Those days, although relaxed and uneventful, were deeply missed by Angel, perhaps because he had been too tense and isolated from ordinary people since entering the Wizarding World. Once he arrived here, the tranquil and leisurely lifestyle immediately enticed the lazy bug in his heart.
Angel shook his head, casting aside the memories of the past, and once again tightened the string in his heart. He dared not let his guard down until he achieved his goal of saving his mentor Jon.
Continuing forward, the main road began to veer away from the fertile lakeside soil to avoid the cultivated fields, almost looping around to the vicinity of the Byzantine Mountains before returning to the main path.
Angel quickly found himself transitioning from densely populated areas to sparsely inhabited regions. Although he could see buildings in the distance, they were still too far away.
The main road, which deviated from the crowd and was bordered by the dense forests of the Byzantine Mountains, was the perfect place for bandits to commit robberies!
Those who traveled on the main road were likely to be in vehicles, while lone travelers would undoubtedly take shortcuts through the small paths. Angel chose the main road because he was unfamiliar with the area and didn’t want to disturb ordinary people’s lives by crossing the farmland.
Most vehicles belonged to the affluent class, and bandits would surely rob them for their full purses. After the robbery, the bandits could simply turn and disappear into the deep forest, making their escape incredibly easy.
As Angel complained about the peculiar construction of the road, he speculated with a dark mindset that it might have been intentionally built this way by the authorities. Even if the intention was to avoid the fertile farmland, there was no need to divert the road to such a remote area.
As Angel thought so, he heard the arrogant sounds of a robbery not far away.
A look of “I knew it” flashed in Angel’s eyes. As he looked up, his gaze suddenly froze.
Several hundred meters away, a delicate black enclosed carriage with a tall horse was surrounded by a group of knife-wielding bandits. The bandits, mostly dressed in revealing vests and black eyepatches, had one particularly portly leader with a large, balloon-like belly. He was the only one without an eyepatch; however, a deep scar across his right eye made him even more terrifying than his subordinates.
The carriage encircled by the bandits was clearly a noble’s carriage. Even the coachman was a silver-haired old man in a black gentleman’s suit. At that moment, a trace of fear flashed in the old man’s round-framed glasses as he addressed the leader, “What do you want? If it’s money, we can give it to you, but please leave immediately afterward.”
“Money, of course I want it! But…” The fat leader revealed a ferocious grin, “But, I also want the person! Hand over Miss Magda, and we’ll definitely take good care of her…”
As the word “care” was spoken, the other bandits simultaneously revealed their tacit understanding with lewd smiles.
“One-Eyed Brotherhood, you dare to make a move in Waterglass? Aren’t you afraid of the Earl’s wrath?” The elderly coachman scolded.
The group of bandits known as the One-Eyed Brotherhood laughed heartily, “Wraith? If it were in the past, we might have let it go, but times have changed… We are not afraid of the old man, Lord Leonrique, anymore.”
Although it was unclear what gave the One-Eyed Brotherhood the confidence to call the count by his name, their fearless demeanor suggested that they were indeed no longer afraid of the count. The coachman’s face turned ashen, fearing that today’s situation was a hopeless one.
Suddenly, the coachman saw a lone figure not far away.
“Do you think the abduction of Miss Magda will never be exposed? Once the count finds out, you’ll disappear from this world forever!” The coachman spoke while subtly gesturing to the man approaching when others were not paying attention.
The gesture had no specific meaning; it simply urged him to run. Today, he might meet his end here, but if someone could inform the count, his death would be worthwhile.
The coachman could only hope that the man across from him had good enough eyesight to see his gestures.
The man the coachman saw was Totoro. Totoro’s vision was naturally not a problem, but expecting a foolish child to understand his subtle gestures was difficult… Angel, who had a low presence, sighed quietly upon seeing the situation.
Totoro noticed the coachman’s gestures but didn’t understand them. His only thought was to follow Angel.
So, when Totoro approached within a hundred meters of the scene, even though the bandits had their backs to them, the vigilant Brotherhood members still noticed the movement behind them.
“Boss, there’s someone coming from behind! Judging by his clothes, he seems to be a local farmer,” the scout said while watching Totoro, speaking to the fat, scar-faced man.
“A farmer?” The scar-faced man glanced at Totoro and sneered, “Just a young fool. Capture him, and we’ll deal with him along with this old man later!”
The coachman sighed softly, his face showing a dim and gloomy expression. This time, not only was he unable to save himself, but Miss Magda was also at risk of being humiliated, and even innocent civilians were implicated.