Chapter 734 Worries <TOC> Chapter 736 Whirlpools Block the Way
Translator: SumTLMan
On a small garden island in the center of Summer Dew Ridge, thousands of miles away.
A purple-haired woman with black wings descended from the sky, landing in a garden filled with flickering fireflies.
Her feathers fell silently.
As she landed, the two black wings extending from her shoulders turned back into slender hands, and the feather-covered talons transformed into delicate, bare feet. Her dark eyes flickered slightly as she tied up her purple hair, disheveled by the night wind, and walked towards the castle in the center of the garden.
However, before she could approach the castle, she was stopped at a turn in the garden corridor.
“Silkvine, our master is currently entertaining guests, and no one is allowed inside the castle. If you have any matters, you can discuss them with me first.” The speaker was a woman in an elegant black dress, wearing a lace flower crown adorned with pearls. She was beautiful, but her face was covered with countless tiny scars.
The purple-haired woman, Silkvine, knelt and kissed the other woman’s foot before respectfully saying, “Lady Pei, just now my wizard’s eye detected abnormal energy fluctuations in the Death Ring Zone. I went to investigate and found traces of a battle.”
“Oh? Someone was fighting in the Death Ring Zone?”
“Based on the residual traces at the scene, it seems that an illusionist apprentice was fighting against another group. However, the battle ended quickly, and dead bodies were found in the sea by Death Jellyfish. It’s presumed they were rogue apprentices from the Rat Ant Underground Society.”
Lady Pei raised her eyebrows, “The Rat Ant Underground Society, such a lowly organization, not content to stay in their rat holes, dared to venture into the Devil’s Sea? Could it be that they are also after that item?”
Silkvine shook her head, “I don’t think so. Only we and the Song of the Deep Sea group have information about the Mysterious Space in this world. As long as neither of us divulges the information, the Rat Ant Underground Society’s intelligence won’t be able to learn about the situation here.”
Lady Pei nodded, “That makes sense. So, they were simply ambushing that illusionist apprentice? What is the background of this apprentice?”
“According to the Death Jellyfish’s intel, the illusionist apprentice should be the guardian of the Cloud Conch ship.”
The Cloud Conch ship? Hearing this, Lady Pei nodded slightly, “Then they should have no connection with the Mysterious Space. The list of ships reported by Sky Mechanical City last year indeed includes the Cloud Conch ship arriving here this month. We don’t need to deal with them; let them pass.”
As she said this, Lady Pei prepared to turn and leave.
Silkvine, however, looked hesitant and only spoke after a long pause, “The Cloud Conch ship is currently trapped in the Sea of Ghosts. Do we need to send someone for rescue?”
“The Sea of Ghosts?” Lady Pei stopped, a trace of disgust flashing in her eyes. “It seems that the storm not only brought our master a guest from the Storm Valley but also blew a tiny ship into that nauseating sea.”
Lady Pei shook her head, “No need to bother. We are not like those sanctimonious people in the white wizard faction; their lives have nothing to do with us. Our agreement with Sky Mechanical City is only one of non-aggression; we have no obligation to save a group of lowly…”
Silkvine glanced back at the direction of the Sea of Ghosts, a place filled with ghosts that even her master detested. She wondered if she could survive this time.
…
“Unable to set sail?” Angel showed a surprised expression.
Helen whispered an explanation: “Repairing other parts is relatively easy, but two broken masts can’t be fixed quickly. Especially the main mast, it must be carefully crafted and reshaped; otherwise, it will cause problems in the next storm.”
Angel looked at the Cloud Conch ship, which had been towed back into the sea and was anchored, drifting.
The two broken masts were being propped up by sailors, connected with hammered iron plates. The clanging sounds mingled with the surging tides, giving an air of melancholy.
“Isn’t this kind of repair useful?” Angel pointed to the masts being repaired by the shipwrights.
“If it were in ordinary waters, it would suffice. But in the Devil’s Sea, who knows what kind of treacherous weather awaits. If we encounter violent air currents or clashing ocean currents, this kind of repair would be practically useless,” Helen said, her expression darkening slightly. “For now, Captain Alvin and I can only keep this a secret from the others, or it would shake their confidence.”
“So what do you have in mind now?”
Helen hesitated for a moment before shaking her head: “Nothing.”
“The only option now is to pray that the weather won’t get too bad. If we encounter a storm like the one we just had, the Cloud Conch will be beyond repair,” Alvin, who had just stepped off the Cloud Conch, said solemnly.
“Pray we don’t encounter a storm? That’s impossible in the Devil’s Sea,” Helen sighed, and both she and Alvin fell silent.
Angel examined the broken mast, stroking his chin and pondering.
After a moment of silence, Helen hesitantly spoke: “Actually, there might be a way. We can seek help at Summer Dew Ridge. It’s the domain of Summer Dew Witch. I’ve seen a living town there before, where they might have ship repair facilities.”
Alvin shook his head: “Forget it. If we enter Summer Dew Ridge, even avoiding an attack would be a miracle, let alone asking for help. How could that be possible?”
Helen opened her mouth, an image surfacing in her mind. She had once saved a witch in the Blackberry Sea. According to her, the witch named Silkvine came from Summer Dew Ridge and had told Helen to seek her out if she ever encountered an unsolvable problem.
If they could find her, maybe they could be saved… But that was nearly twenty years ago, and Helen couldn’t be sure if the witch even remembered her, or even if she truly came from Summer Dew Ridge.
Hence, Helen hesitated to mention this.
As Helen wavered, Angel suddenly said, “How about I repair it?”
Helen and Alvin looked up at Angel in astonishment.
Seeing Angel reveal a lazy smile, he spoke with a hint of embarrassment, “Although I’ve never repaired a ship, if all you need is to restore the mast to its previous unbroken state, it’s not really a difficult task.”
Under the astonished gazes of everyone, Angel leaped onto the Cloud Conch.
He directly used a heat fusion method to reshape the broken area, adding some even stronger magical materials. Within a few breaths, the mast regained its metallic luster.
Angel brushed the dust off his hands and landed, “You should have a shipwright check it out, see if it’s good to go now?”
Helen and Alvin exchanged glances, nodding immediately, “We don’t need a shipwright, we can inspect it ourselves.”
After a while, Alvin’s face revealed a joyful expression. According to his test, there were no traces of cracks on the mast; it was whole, and even more robust than before. Alvin thought to himself, not only could it withstand the gusts of a hurricane, but even if waves several dozen meters high were to crash down upon it, the mast would likely not break at all!
Helen naturally came to the same conclusion. But when she found out the answer, her gaze became complex.
All her previous worries were solved in just a few minutes in someone else’s eyes, and it seemed effortless. It was just like their earlier concerns about the vines on the island and the rampaging ghosts – various difficulties seemed to be no challenge at all in the face of Sir Pat.
Helen used to think that the transcendent beings were just a group of arrogant peacocks, but now she saw more shining qualities about them from Sir Pat.
—Powerful, knowledgeable, magnanimous, and benevolent.
For the first time, Helen felt a longing for the world of transcendent beings.
Watching Sir Pat already discussing the next route with Alvin, Helen turned her head toward the direction of Summer Dew Ridge, the scene of encountering the vines over twenty years ago flashing through her mind again.
“It seems that the next time I come to Summer Dew Ridge, I’ll have to look for Witch Silkvine…” After her memories resurfaced, Helen clenched her fist in determination, turning to look at the direction where Angel was, “Perhaps, I too have a chance to enter the world you exist in.”
…
With the mast repaired and the injured rearranged into the cabin, at Alvin’s command, the beached Cloud Conch set sail once again.
It was now nine o’clock in the morning, but the Sea of Ghosts remained pitch black.
Not only were the seawaters pitch black, but the clouds overhead also showed no signs of dispersing. It was as if the sky was covered in layers of dark scales, making Angel feel as if he had returned to the days of Black Castle. At Black Castle, it was always this kind of gloomy, sunless environment.
According to previous discussions between Angel and Captain Alvin, they decided to sail back from the Sea of Ghosts, return to the Death Ring, and re-enter the Frostbound Passage.
Although the Sea of Ghosts seemed calm at the moment, it was still a universally recognized terrifying sea area. No one knew what could happen, so it was better to sail back and choose a new route.
However, on their way back, a huge vortex suddenly appeared in the calm sea ahead.
The sailor on the lookout first noticed the situation and immediately reported it to the captain’s cabin. Alvin decisively ordered a change of course.
A vortex at sea is deadly dangerous for ships, even more frightening than giant waves. Once caught in it, escaping is nearly impossible.
“The vortex is getting bigger, and changing course could be affected by the waves. We must make a 180-degree turn,” Alvin decided. As a result, the Cloud Conch, which hadn’t been out long, returned to the vicinity of the small island they had previously visited.
They chose a new route, planning to bypass the vortex. However, before they traveled far, a small island appeared before them.
The Cloud Conch originally had no intention of docking, but when Angel sensed the abundant dark and chaotic energy on the island, his eyes suddenly lit up.
Chapter 734 Worries <TOC> Chapter 736 Whirlpools Block the Way