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CH387 - CH388
🕑 Added 2025-02-11 11:01:41 +0000 UTCCH387
“Thank you, Mr. Brad,” Helag expressed his gratitude.
Brad confidently uncuffed Helag, knowing he could handle any situation.
As a second-level wizard, Brad was confident Helag posed no threat.
Helag picked up the communication stone from the table, channeling a bit of magic into it.
The stone lit up, displaying his personal information.
“Please have a look, Mr. Brad,” Helag said, showing the information to Brad.
After glancing at it, Brad said, “It really is you. I didn’t expect you’d survive and return.”
“Mr. Brad, you know about my situation?” Helag asked.
Brad nodded, “Yes, the Silvermoon City incident was significant. I learned about it. After you disappeared, Silvermoon quickly tracked your location to the western polluted zone.”
“Unfortunately, Seranthiel had no explorers in that area, so we couldn’t search for you. Silvermoon requested to search the zone, but it was denied.”
“From a higher perspective, sending people into the polluted zone for one liquefied wizard seemed unwise, risking more lives.”
“Entering the zone isn’t simple; Silvermoon couldn’t send people without approval.”
“The matter was under discussion, but then your location signal vanished. A wizard’s stone signal disappearing in the zone usually means they’ve fallen.”
“After that, the search was dropped, as there was no way to find you without a signal.”
“The polluted zone is extremely dangerous; a lone liquefied wizard’s survival chances are slim…”
Helag understood; Seranthiel believed he had perished in the zone.
It was logical; the zone was perilous, even for second-level wizards, let alone Helag alone.
Reflecting on his experiences, Helag acknowledged the numerous life-threatening situations he faced.
Only by narrowly escaping each did he survive.
Any misstep would have meant his end.
Helag checked his message list, seeing many from Reese, Prues, Barren, and even Lilian from Augustus Academy, indicating she’d heard about him.
“Mr. Helag, you’re free now. Go handle your affairs,” Brad smiled.
Seeing Helag’s communication stone filled with messages, Brad knew he’d be busy.
Helag asked, “Mr. Brad, is there an airship to Silvermoon City?”
Seeing the messages, Helag wanted to return to Silvermoon quickly to address matters.
Brad replied, “There’s no direct route, but one passes through Silvermoon, taking four to five months. I can arrange it for you.”
“Four to five months… Please arrange it, Mr. Brad. Thank you,” Helag said gratefully.
Brad replied, “No need to thank me; we’re on the same side. Besides, I see you as a hero who saved many in Silvermoon, though not everyone agrees.”
“Not everyone agrees?” Helag pondered, gleaning some insight from Brad’s words.
“Thank you for the warning,” Helag said.
Brad waved it off, smiling, “It’s nothing significant.”
“By the way, what about Royce?” Helag asked.
“Royce? The smuggler? He’ll likely be sentenced to seventy or eighty years for smuggling,” Brad said.
Helag was spared due to his Seranthiel affiliation.
But Royce, an Eye of the Storm resident, was guilty of smuggling and faced punishment.
Helag asked, “He helped me. Can he be spared?”
“Sure, it’s just a matter of wording. Instead of smuggling, we can say he helped a Seranthiel member escape danger, turning it into merit,” Brad said.
“Thank you,” Helag smiled.
Royce was Sam’s subordinate, and Sam was Helag’s servant; saving him might be useful later.
Royce and Sam’s strength wasn’t remarkable, but their value lay elsewhere.
Helag didn’t plan to dissolve Sam’s contract.
Sam, an underground figure in Eye of the Storm, could be useful, so the contract remained.
When Helag had Sam sign the contract, he didn’t intend to dissolve it; such people had their uses.
Sam understood this, hoping Helag never died, or at least not before him.
After leaving, Helag found a hotel to stay in, waiting for the airship.
He sat on the hotel bed, checking messages.
Reese’s messages were numerous, revealing her sadness.
“Applied to be an explorer?” Helag read Reese’s message, surprised she’d applied to be an explorer.
Reese believed Helag was alive, but with no search party, she decided to become an explorer to find him.
Helag felt touched yet fearful, knowing the zone’s dangers.
Reese’s strength meant certain death in the zone.
Fortunately, Pruis contacted Seranthiel to deny Reese’s application.
Pruis mentioned this in his message, relieving Helag.
Thankfully, Reese didn’t enter the zone; otherwise, Helag would have to return.
After reading Reese’s messages, Helag replied, “I’m back, expected in Silvermoon in four to five months.”
In Silvermoon, Reese saw her communication stone light up, puzzled about who messaged her.
Opening it, she saw Helag’s name, momentarily thinking she was hallucinating.
CH388
Reese firmly believed Helag was alive, but she hadn’t expected his return so soon.
Helag’s last known location was deep in the polluted zone, a place where returning usually took years.
After Helag reassured Reese of his safety, she felt relieved, no longer considering a journey to the polluted zone, but simply waiting for his return.
Helag then caught up with Reese about events following his departure, gaining a general understanding.
After his teleportation to the polluted zone, Seranthiel began investigating the slum incident.
The incident had significant impact, with vines spreading across 70-80% of Silvermoon City, causing sinkholes and building collapses.
After thorough investigation, Seranthiel finally understood the purpose of the array beneath the slums.
Learning the array’s teleportation function, everyone was shocked.
If activated, the array would have sent all of Silvermoon City to the Abyssal Plane.
Not only that, but it would open a stable planar passage, allowing Abyssal entities to reach the wizard plane.
Such an event would have dire consequences.
No one expected Franz, seemingly low-key in the slums, to be plotting such a monumental scheme.
Seranthiel then launched a thorough investigation, capturing all of Franz’s associates without exception.
However, a troublesome issue remained: many slum residents were either passively or actively becoming Abyssal cultists.
Many were unwittingly led to worship the evil god, unaware of their allegiance.
After much deliberation, Seranthiel decided to treat those thoroughly indoctrinated as cultists.
For those not fully converted, they used potions to cleanse Abyssal influences, gradually restoring them to normalcy.
Though labor-intensive, this spared many lives.
Conventional cultist treatment would have resulted in mass executions in the slums.
Such actions were unacceptable in the Land of Dawn, even drawing criticism from other wizard organizations.
Additionally, many didn’t intentionally become cultists, prompting Seranthiel to change its approach.
With so many in the slums, including the elderly and children, mass execution was unfeasible.
Subsequent investigations suggested the slum residents were Franz’s intended “sacrifices.”
Helag’s intervention disrupted Franz’s plans, preventing his scheme’s success.
Regarding Helag, Seranthiel issued alerts across the Land of Dawn, but received no responses.
When Helag’s location was traced to the polluted zone, Pruis and others doubted his return.
When Helag’s signal vanished, most assumed he was dead.
However, he wasn’t declared dead, only missing, so his rights weren’t revoked.
Typically, such cases waited decades before revoking rights.
Helag’s return within months meant his rights remained intact.
After updating Reese, Helag replied to other messages.
Those still messaging him were close contacts.
No messages came from the Barren Lands, as they were unaware of events.
Reese hadn’t informed them of Helag’s disappearance, only contacting Asna, Shatia, and others.
Reese’s belief in Helag’s survival stemmed from Asna and Shatia’s continued existence.
She knew they were Helag’s contracted servants; their survival indicated his.
Reese deduced Helag was alive in the polluted zone, driving her determination to find him.
If Helag lived, there was hope of rescuing him.
Each passing minute reduced Helag’s chances of survival.
However, Seranthiel refused to send many into the zone for one liquefied wizard, leaving Reese powerless.
The slum cultist investigation continued, but Helag’s case was closed.
Three days later, Helag boarded an airship to Silvermoon City.
During the wait, he dined with Brad, forming a connection and exchanging communication stone contacts.
Using Brad’s influence, Helag borrowed books on the polluted zone from Silver Beach’s library.
Normally, Helag lacked the clearance, but Brad’s help bypassed restrictions.
Helag recorded the information for later study.
“Mr. Brad, let me know if you visit Silvermoon City,” Helag smiled.
Brad waved from the airship deck, “Don’t worry, I’ll expect a meal from you in Silvermoon.”
Though their acquaintance was brief, they got along well.
Despite being a second-level wizard, Brad was down-to-earth, treating Helag as an equal.
He found Helag’s vast knowledge impressive, even humbling for a seasoned wizard like himself.
“I wonder how this young man acquired such immense knowledge…” Brad mused as the airship departed.
Helag stood by a large window, watching Silver Beach shrink below, contemplating many things.
He was in a luxurious, spacious room, the airship’s most opulent suite.
Such a suite was expensive, especially for a long journey, costing a fortune.
Helag initially avoided extravagance, preferring to save magic stones for cultivation.
To him, external comforts were irrelevant; a small room sufficed.
However, Brad’s connections secured the suite for a mere 2,000 magic stones.
