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CH397 - CH398
🕑 Added 2025-02-21 11:30:01 +0000 UTCCH397
During the airship journey, Helag remained vigilant, observing the crew’s actions and monitoring the flight path and distance.
So far, everything seemed normal, with no suspicious behavior from the crew.
The flight path was also correct, following the planned route.
Helag was ready to act if the route deviated, as being on an airship was like being in a separate space.
He couldn’t fully trust the others, so caution was necessary to avoid being led into a trap.
On the sixth day, the Eastern Source Trading Company’s airship approached the crash site near Crystal City.
“Is that it?” Helag asked, gazing at the airship wreckage on the ground.
Toby nodded, “Yes, Mr. Helag.”
Ahead lay a massive airship, broken in half, its interior exposed on the ground.
Scorch marks indicated a fire had broken out, and some immense force had snapped the airship in two.
These airships were colossal, and Helag couldn’t fathom the power needed to cause such destruction.
Reports indicated that Abyssal cultists had summoned a giant creature on the airship.
The creature not only broke the airship but also claimed many lives.
For wizards, falling from an airship wasn’t usually fatal.
Feather Fall was a basic spell, akin to swimming, that most wizards knew.
However, over 600 deaths were reported, with countless injuries.
These casualties were primarily due to the summoned creature.
Fortunately, Seranthiel members from Crystal City responded quickly, eliminating the creature.
Besides the creature, two young men, both Abyssal cultists, were killed.
The mastermind, an old man, escaped into the polluted zone, evading capture.
During the attack, many wizards fled into the zone to escape the creature.
In the following days, a few returned to Crystal City, but most remained missing.
Without experience, returning from the zone was challenging.
Even navigation was difficult, as the zone made direction-finding nearly impossible.
“Let’s land here; I’ll disembark,” Helag said.
Toby nodded, instructing the crew to slow the airship and descend.
Once on the ground, Helag stepped out without looking back.
“Take care, Mr. Helag!” Toby called after him.
Helag waved, acknowledging the warning.
The airship lifted off, heading to Crystal City.
They couldn’t linger in such a place and left quickly.
Helag first examined the airship wreckage, finding no one nearby.
Debris from the airship was scattered, with a large crater in the ground.
Salvageable parts had been removed by Seranthiel, leaving only useless remnants.
The wreckage would likely remain a landmark for years.
Bodies had been removed, as leaving them in the zone was unwise.
The creature’s body was taken for study, leaving only claw marks.
Though Helag hadn’t seen the creature, he sensed a faint Abyssal aura at the site.
Despite the days passed, the aura lingered.
Helag recalled the wooden carving on the airship, with its expanding insect.
He had suppressed the insect with a hint of his aura to avoid trouble.
Ultimately, he crushed the insect, unsure of its potential consequences, possibly preventing a disaster like this.
After searching the wreckage, Helag found no valuable clues.
His goal was to find the missing David, alive or dead, to bring him home.
David’s fate was uncertain, and the surrounding blackened land made choosing a search direction crucial.
A wrong start would waste time, reducing David’s survival chances.
As Helag pondered, he noticed a withered potted plant, sparking an idea.
He approached the pot, containing a wilted pothos.
The pothos was nearly dead, its leaves yellowed.
This was due to the barren pollution draining its life.
The blackened land absorbed life force, a trait of barren pollution.
Wizards could traverse the zone safely due to energy particle radiation strengthening their bodies against the pollution.
Ordinary people entering the zone, even without danger, would slowly die as their life force drained.
Plants like pothos suffered similarly, dying quickly without protection.
The airship had crashed about seven days ago, and the pothos seemed completely dead.
Helag touched it, sensing with his elf bloodline’s natural affinity that it wasn’t entirely dead.
He retrieved some potion nutrients from his spatial ring, used for plant growth.
Pouring a bit into the pot, the nutrients seeped into the soil, reaching the pothos roots.
Helag felt a slight increase in the plant’s life force, but knew it was temporary.
The pothos was thoroughly polluted, and the nutrients only prolonged its life.
Helag’s efforts aimed to use the spell “All Things Have Spirits” to glean clues from the pothos.
He cast the spell, viewing recent events through the plant’s perspective.
CH398
Hallways, a lady in black stockings, a massive red claw, flames…
Through the perspective of the pothos, Helag saw fragmented scenes from a few days ago.
This was a unique elven spell, allowing communication with nature.
The scenes were disjointed, unable to form a continuous narrative.
Helag scrutinized each fleeting image, gathering information and piecing together the situation.
Although he didn’t spot David in the scenes, he discerned the general direction of the fleeing crowd.
The scenes indicated that most people fled southward.
The red creature occupied the northern area, forcing people to flee south, with some scattering to the sides.
However, far fewer people fled sideways; most headed south.
The south lacked cities, bordering the vast polluted zone.
After analyzing the scenes, Helag decided to head south.
Since David’s body wasn’t found at the site, he likely fled south with the crowd.
“Power of The Titan.”
With his direction set, Helag activated Titan’s Strength, ensuring he had enough power for any surprises.
Since becoming a crystallized wizard, his enhanced mental power and crystal improved his spells’ potency.
Power of The Titan naturally increased, as it was fundamentally a spell.
Standing over four meters tall, Helag glanced ahead, then launched forward like an arrow.
He took the Feather of Flight from his spatial ring, ready to activate it if needed.
With Deep Blue’s environmental detection, Helag sped south through the polluted zone.
After about two kilometers, he encountered a corpse.
It was a female wizard, with a curvaceous figure, indicating she was a beauty in life.
Now, she was a corpse, with a large gash on her neck.
The wound wasn’t from a weapon but a spell like a wind blade, distinct from weapon-inflicted wounds.
She was killed by another wizard.
Helag guessed it was a vendetta; otherwise, one wouldn’t kill while fleeing.
It was likely an old grudge, and the attacker seized the opportunity.
Her skin had turned black in many places, resembling crawler skin.
Helag knew that if left unchecked, she’d soon become a new crawler.
He gathered magic, casting a fireball to incinerate the body completely.
The woman likely wouldn’t want to become an ugly crawler, and this was all Helag could do.
Purifying the environment is everyone’s responsibility.
After dealing with the body, Helag quickened his pace.
He sensed David’s situation was dire.
The polluted zone was dangerous, and he had to be wary of other threats.
Many fled south, and they were all wizards, not to be underestimated.
When resources like food and water ran low, conflicts would arise.
Helag knew the zone offered little food or water, relying on reserves.
Being cautious, Helag kept ample supplies in his spatial ring, allowing him to endure in the zone.
But those from the airship might not be as prepared; few carried such supplies.
Spatial rings were expensive, with larger ones costing more, so most used them sparingly.
***
On the ninth day after the crash, David hid in rubble, chewing jerky and sipping water.
He had months’ worth of food but only a month’s water.
He drank sparingly, only when parched.
Unsure when or if he’d escape, he conserved water to last longer.
David learned this from Helag.
He hadn’t understood why Helag carried so many supplies, but now he saw the wisdom in being prepared.
Though initially clueless, David admired Helag’s talent and intelligence, believing it wise to follow his lead.
So, when trading, David stocked his spatial ring with supplies.
Unexpectedly, it became a lifesaver.
As darkness fell, David faced another pitch-black night.
He doubted he’d return.
Fleeing in panic, he lost his sense of direction.
In the zone, direction was elusive, making navigation difficult.
David checked his communication stone, finding the magic network still inaccessible.
His only regret was not transferring his earnings to Helag and Reese.
If he died, the money would be wasted.
Giving it to Helag could buy resources to strengthen him, benefiting the Terchy family.
Giving it to Reese would let her buy what she wanted, though with Helag, she likely wasn’t short on money.
Either way, it was better than wasting it.
David wondered if Seranthiel’s bank could declare him dead and transfer the money.
He sighed, fearing death but not as much as before.
When David chose to trade, he knew this day might come.
But after years, he felt he hadn’t achieved much or created value.
David felt sleepy and fatigued but knew he couldn’t sleep.
The polluted zone was dangerous, especially at night.
He’d narrowly escaped death several times, once using a fire lizard bomb to fend off a creature.
Though injured and with broken bones, he survived, and the creature didn’t.
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