Chapter 1214: Section 1215: Turn Danger into Safety
This dramatic change halted Angel’s original intention to detour for the time being.
Greerwu, clutching the ship’s edge, looked down at the Mandigu worm corpse slowly being covered by the gushing magma with a speechless expression.
He could still hear Popota’s mockery in his ears as Greerwu silently said, “Although Mandigu worms live near volcanoes, they are actually not fire attribute magical creatures. They’re only active around volcanoes because they need certain substances emitted by them. Moreover, they fear high temperatures and fire…”
Even though Mandigu worms fear fire, no one expected that they would be pierced and killed in a single strike.
What was even more surprising was that the volcano erupted only for an instant.
It had now actually stopped?!
It was as if the eruption had been deliberate, solely to kill this particular Mandigu worm.
This event was ultimately chalked up to coincidence, with many triggers for volcanic eruptions ranging from minor dust anomalies to significant tectonic movements. Perhaps the Mandigu worm’s thunderous roar had set off an avalanche-like chain reaction, leading to the volcano’s eruption and ending its own life.
One could attribute a single event to coincidence, but encountering a similar coincidence again would certainly indicate something peculiar.
As they continued to fly forward, they encountered an incident very similar to the Mandigu worm situation.
In the pitch-black world, the brightest light was probably from the glow of magma, and up ahead was the light emanating from a lake of magma… Calling it a mere magma pool might be an understatement, for the endless expanse of orange-red seemed more like a vast lava lake, or better said, a sea of magma!
After passing through the volcanic area, this was the scene they beheld.
A calm magma pool posed no danger, but this region was filled with violent hurricanes. The black winds could even be distinguished with the naked eye.
Within these hurricanes, strands of lava serpents reached for the sky.
And like fire tornadoes, they swayed left and right, completely blocking the path ahead.
The Fire Serpents blocked the way.
Just listening to the terrifying sounds was enough to imagine the sheer force of impact, so powerful that even Official Wizards would struggle to survive upon contact.
“It seems we must detour this time,” thought Angel, when suddenly Greerwu, clinging to the rail, shouted, “Boss, dodge quick!”
Beneath them in a magma pool, a new “Fire Serpent” had risen, blown by the hurricane, flinging its fierce head and lunging straight for the heavens!
The gondola was exactly in the path of this Fire Serpent.
Angel reacted swiftly, assessing the wind direction, spatial coordinates, and the best course to take. Riding the wind pushing from behind, the gondola shot forward, flying dozens of meters ahead.
Having deftly dodged the Fire Serpent’s assault, Angel intended to detour immediately, but to do so meant going against the wind. With numerous Fire Serpents around and their frequent swaying, it was a daunting task to evade them in these conditions.
While Angel was making his decision internally, a Fire Serpent swayed closer and closer to the gondola.
They couldn’t go against the flow.
Seeing this, Angel did not hesitate to fly forward.
However, just as they were about to flee the area, a hurricane suddenly appeared out of nowhere, blowing the approaching Fire Serpent to one side.
Then, a strange thing occurred.
Wherever the gondola went, no matter how near the Fire Serpents got, close enough for their thunderous roaring to blast in one’s ears, hurricanes would form, blowing the serpents away and averting danger.
It seemed risky, but they actually emerged from the magma sea smoothly and uneventfully.
By then, everyone had sensed something was amiss.
“Angel, you couldn’t have used a scroll that increases luck, could you?” Popota turned around to look at the countless Fire Tornadoes-like lava serpents in the distant magma sea, disbelief in his eyes.
They’d flown quietly through such terrifying Fire Serpents, and even their flying vehicle hadn’t suffered a scratch?
“If there really were a scroll that increased luck, I’d probably be grinning from ear to ear,” Angel replied in silence. He had been searching for such scrolls in preparation for a new power in the Wilderness of Dreams.
Popota: “Then why did this happen? It feels as though some external force is aiding us.”
“The Mandigu worm before was the same. When we faced danger, the volcano erupted. And when the Fire Serpent was about to get close, a hurricane arrived… Could it be because of the Boss’s affinity with the mainland’s pan-consciousness?” Greerwu speculated.
Angel shook his head; he too had no idea what the specific cause was. But one thing was certain: this was no coincidence. There must be some sort of power intervening.
Was it the pan-consciousness of the mainland as Greerwu speculated or that distant call?
Or are both actually the same thing?
Angel had no answers, but he was more inclined to believe that the mysterious call from afar was responsible. Some existence seemed to beckon him, clearing away every obstacle on his path.
So, who exactly was calling him?
…
About half a day had passed since the start of our journey.
Angel pulled Toby out of his chest pocket.
When Greerwu and Popota saw Toby, obvious fear appeared in their eyes, and Greerwu even pressed himself against the boat’s wall, a stark contrast to the previous display of ignorance regarding the Calamity Curse within Toby.
“Shop… shopkeeper, why have you taken Toby out?” Greerwu’s voice trembled.
Angel didn’t answer but instead pondered whether the Calamity Curse had taken effect during their journey?
The calamities associated with the Calamity Curse were mostly sudden accidents. The mandigoo worm could be considered an accident, but the Fire Serpent in the Lava Lake probably didn’t count because Angel had the opportunity to leave at the time.
Having traveled for most of the day and only encountering the mandigoo worm as an accident, could it mean the Calamity Curse was actually not effective? Or alternatively, were most of the calamities being suppressed within the “Domain Field” green pattern?
Angel decided to consult a specialist present.
Angel’s gaze turned to Greerwu, who immediately wore a panicked expression, “Shopkeeper, first put Toby down, we can talk this over peacefully.”
“Ask Aoluxiya if she can still feel the Calamity Curse on Toby,” Angel said.
Greerwu was stunned for a second, then began to converse softly with Aoluxiya.
After a while, a very gentle but noticeably tired voice emerged from the Eyes of Light, “The Calamity Curse on Toby seems suppressed, but the effect doesn’t appear as strong as the Icebound Hex, for I can occasionally sense a murkiness of calamitous aura.”
The effect wasn’t as good as the Icebound Hex; that was natural. Because Angel had not yet mastered the newly acquired “Domain Field” green pattern. Once he fully assimilated the new pattern, the effect should significantly improve.
“So, the effects of the Calamity Curse won’t trigger anymore?”
“Calamitous aura continues to seep out, albeit not much. There might be occasional misfortune, but it will not be as frequent,” said Aoluxiya, her voice fading even more, “I apologize, I’ve exhausted too much Soul Force and may need to sleep for a while.”
Soon, the Eyes of Light fell completely silent.
“Lord Aoluxiya needs to break through the Primeval Flame seal to sense the curse on Toby, which consumes a great deal of Soul Force,” Greerwu stole a glance at Angel, “Shopkeeper, why don’t we remove the Primeval Flame seal…”
Angel cut off Greerwu’s thoughts, saying, “When Aoluxiya wakes up, thank her for me.”
The meaning was clear, and with a deflated expression, Greerwu had no choice but to accept it.
Nevertheless, it was good news that Aoluxiya had confirmed the Calamity Curse had largely dissipated from Toby. While occasional misfortunes might still occur, it was far better than facing repeated calamities.
Angel felt somewhat better. He tucked Toby back into his chest pocket and continued to fly the Gondola southeast.
With the Calamity Curse no longer influencing them, they hardly met any disasters along the way.
Even when accidents did happen, mysteriously they always ended up being fortuitously resolved, easing the minds of everyone on board the Gondola.
Popota took this opportunity to ask Angel some questions about Dororo.
Regarding Dororo’s origins, Angel concealed a great deal, simply stating that Dororo was found in the Fairy Tale World and had lost his memory. Beyond that, Angel disclosed everything that happened after Dororo arrived at the Barbarian Cave.
While Popota was inquiring about Dororo, Angel was also discreetly asking about other matters.
For instance, the skeletal structure of the Baiyuanians.
Although it was highly likely that Dororo was a Baiyuanian, and Dororo’s speech pattern was indeed similar to Popota’s, there was one difference: Dororo had three extra caudal vertebrae near his tailbone, unlike Popota or even Hua Que.
However, Popota’s answer was, “Much as I’m reluctant to admit it, Baiyuanians do indeed fall under the classification of humans. In other words, they are humans. Therefore, there are no abnormal bones.”
No extra tailbones in Baiyuanians? What was the situation with Dororo then?
After pondering for a moment, Angel stretched out his hand and conjured a small illusion, which displayed a Silver Bowl with “Eternal Serpent” insignia of the previous dynasty of Fuxu Royal Court – the Serpent Kingdom.
“Have you seen this bowl before?”
Popota glanced at it, “Is there something unusual about this bowl? I can’t tell, but the emblem inside seems to be the Eternal Serpent of the former dynasty of Fuxu Royal Court – the Serpent Kingdom.”
The Silver Bowl was, in fact, Dororo’s possession. Moreover, according to Dororo, it was of extreme importance to him; he did not trust it with anyone else and had placed it in Angel’s care.
At this moment, the bowl lay quietly within his bracelet.
In Angel’s view, it was a plain and ordinary bowl. But he couldn’t fathom why Dororo placed such great importance on it.
Since Popota had not seen it, Angel snapped his fingers and the illusion on the table vanished.
However, just as the illusion disappeared, a flash of insight crossed Popota’s mind, evaporating as quickly as it had come.
But by the time Popota came to his senses, he was unable to discern that fleeting thought.
Meanwhile, Greerwu suddenly pointed into the distance, “Eh, within that range of mountains, there seems to be something strange. It looks like a man-made structure?”