Warlock Apprentice

Chapter 1348: Section 1349 Target: Yirong Country

“I previously introduced two Sting Spiders and one Belly Worm. These three foreign insects, in conjunction with the Dreamweaver Ants, encircled and attacked the Pliant Worms.”

“Upon sensing this, the queen, by all logic, would rapidly lay eggs and hatch Pliant Worms to resist the invaders. Even if the newly born weren’t mutated insects, normal Pliant Worms could still delay the enemy’s advance,” Popota paused, “but it didn’t do that; instead, it remained motionless.”

“At first, I thought the queen had sensed the enemy’s strength, acknowledged its own weakness, and fallen into despair. I even planned to withdraw the foreign insects, but then I considered that even in despair, the queen would try to delay things as much as possible, to live longer. Its stillness was a bit against the normal behavior.”

“So, I steeled my resolve and did not remove the foreign insects. Instead, I let them gradually approach the queen’s location. As the nearby Pliant Worms were wiped out one by one, the queen still made no move; however, I noticed the queen extended a tube into the adjacent Axo blood pool, sucking dry nearly half a month’s worth of blood essence. It was then I confirmed that the queen must have entered a special egg-laying state. According to Insercott’s manuscript, I could almost confirm it was charged breeding.”

Popota spoke rapidly.

He looked incredibly excited. Ever since Angel had entrusted the nest to him, he had spent nearly all his time immersing himself in the observation of the insects. To him, the Pliant Worms, which others found disgusting, were full of wondrous implications; particularly the birth of each new insect, which gave him the illusion of being able to glimpse into the secrets of evolution.

Angel took over the nest and sent his spiritual power inside, indeed discovering changes in the queen as Popota had described.

The blood pool in the chamber had also been refilled by Popota. Although the queen’s energy was close to overflowing, it was still absorbing the essence of the Axo blood from the pool at an extremely fast pace.

Angel recalled Insercott’s manuscript about charged breeding, which indeed closely mirrored the queen’s current situation. Through a massive energy charge, transforming into a stronger reproductive ability, higher quality offspring could be spawned.

It was uncertain whether the queen was stimulated by these three invaders to make the desperate decision to use charged breeding. Regardless, this was definitely good news for Angel.

Even if the queen’s next batch of eggs remained unchanged Pliant Worms, it was foreseeable that, after this event, the quality of the eggs the queen would give birth to in the future would certainly surpass those of the past!

“Continue observing. The foreign insects can maintain a certain deterrent effect on the queen, but they must not be allowed to enter the queen’s location,” Angel instructed.

Popota nodded; he understood this without needing Angel to tell him.

“Also, record in detail the possible reasons for this special form of breeding, and try to conduct an in-depth analysis of these few foreign insects.” Angel paused, then took several books out of his bracelet and handed them to Popota—all of which were on the knowledge of magical insects, including detailed information about Sting Spiders and Belly Worms.

After receiving the books, Popota immediately took out his notebook, ready to record today’s observations.

Angel hurriedly stopped him. The sudden rain outside was about to stop. Recording could wait, but the purpose of his visit needed to be addressed first.

After hearing the reason for Angel’s visit, Popota was momentarily stunned.

“You’re leaving now?” Popota was dazed for a moment then became slightly stuttering, “Does that mean I can see Hua Que soon? I—I don’t think I’m ready yet…”

Precisely because Popota was the one who had said he wanted to see Hua Que, when the crucial moment came, he began to hesitate.

Even though Popota had once been strong and confident, when faced with confronting his past, when facing his sister whom he always felt guilty about deep inside, he still felt a sense of timidity, entangled in his heart and impossible to dispel.

Angel shook his head, “Indeed, we are leaving soon, but it doesn’t mean we’re going straight to Black Castle.”

Because Black Castle was in the Fairy Tale World, a subsidiary plane, traveling there through the Plane Corridor would consume more spellcasting materials. Hence, they were not going directly to Black Castle.

Instead, they were planning to go to Sky Mechanical City first, and from there, teleport to Fairy Tale World.

Furthermore, since Black Castle was a Witcher Organization, it would not be appropriate for Sanders to teleport directly there without giving notice. In Sky Mechanical City, there was a Black Castle outpost, where they could inform them of their arrival.

Hearing that they would be staying in Sky Mechanical City for a while, Popota finally breathed a sigh of relief, which at least gave him a little more time to adjust his emotions.

Angel said, “Pack up everything you need. After the rain stops, we’re leaving.”

After speaking, Angel prepared to go outside to check on Lyon’s situation. At that moment, Popota suddenly called out, “Angel.”

Angel turned to look at Popota.

Popota’s face bore an awkward expression and he said hesitantly after a moment, “I don’t have much to pack, just the nest and these books, and I’m ready to leave… But, there’s a favor I’d like to ask of you, if I may?”

“What is it?”

“Could you help me buy some Transcendent items that are beneficial for the soul in Sky Mechanical City?” Popota then continued, “I still have some Magic Crystals with me, so I can pay for it myself, but since I can’t show my face, I can only ask for your help…”

Popota was well aware that he was likely under constant surveillance by the Prophet Wizards of the Frostmoon Alliance, so when traveling with Angel to Sky Mechanical City, he definitely wouldn’t have time to move freely, and would probably be kept in Sanders’ Gravity Garden the whole time. Therefore, he had to ask Angel for help in advance before leaving.

The only thing left for Popota to do as her brother was to help strengthen his sister’s soul, now that Hua Que had nothing left but her spirit.

Popota’s eyes carried a plea, and through his gaze, Angel felt as if he saw the soul of the kind and innocent girl outside the graves at Black Castle.

Dressed in a pale yellow dress, she was like a joyous butterfly fluttering gracefully in the recesses of memory.

Angel fell silent for a moment and then nodded. “Alright, I’ll keep an eye out for you. As for the Magic Crystals, there’s no need, consider it compensation for taking care of the Pliant Worms.”

The rain came quickly and ended just as swiftly.

For the townsfolk of Gru Town, this rain signaled the arrival of spring planting. But for Lyon, it meant farewell.

Even though this departure might not last too long, Lyon still felt some trepidation in his heart.

The unease stemmed from the emptiness of unloading his responsibilities, as well as the anxiety of facing an unknown world.

Affected by these emotions, Lyon’s expression remained heavy.

Angel understood Lyon, for when he had left Gru Town years ago to pursue the path of the Wizard across the vast oceans to Flourish Continent, he had harbored the same uneasy feelings.

Lyon had lived in Gru Town for over twenty years, his farthest journey was only to the Empire’s capital, never having stepped foot in a neighboring country. This time, he was about to leave the Old Earth Continent for the distant Flourish Continent, and while he may have been curious and expectant, there lay an indescribable timidity in his heart.

Angel patted Lyon on the shoulder, offering no words of comfort; he knew well that it was only through real experience that such emotional states would gradually change.

When Angel, Popota, and Lyon arrived at the Cloudland, Sanders happened to step out of the Wilderness of Dreams.

“Lord Illusion Demon,” Lyon said respectfully.

Sanders nodded, then glanced around at everyone and said, “Since we’re all here, let’s prepare to leave.”

Sanders paused for a moment. Without asking for Popota’s opinion, he simply tucked him into the Gravity Garden.

He then looked at Lyon and initially planned to place him in the Gravity Garden too, but thought better of it and abandoned the idea.

Sanders turned and his aura suddenly changed dramatically!

Intense energy fluctuations diffused from his body, and with a slash into the air, a dark crevice appeared before him.

This was the Plane Corridor.

However, the Plane Corridor was not yet completely formed at this time, its internal Spatial Energy remained in chaos.

Sanders took casting materials out of his buttoned space, and with an energy quake, materials worth nearly ten thousand Magic Crystals instantly turned to dust. As the dust entered the space, the dark Spatial Rift gradually stabilized.

At the same time, Sanders finally set a Spatial Beacon in this newly opened Plane Corridor.

Destination marked—Flourish Continent, Yirong Country!

…

Over the skies of Yirong Country, a Flying Boat wrapped in a glow akin to the stars and moon slowly sailed across the heavens.

This Flying Boat was none other than the Gondola.

Since Sky Mechanical City moved at all times, Sanders couldn’t pinpoint its exact location, so he could only set the exit of the Plane Corridor at the heart of Yirong Country and locate it after their arrival.

After reaching Yirong Country, and following some verifications to determine the direction, Angel took out the Gondola to transport everyone towards Sky Mechanical City.

Lyon had just stepped out of the Plane Corridor and was still feeling dizzy when he was immediately struck by Yirong Country’s cultural shock.

Yirong Country was a unique nation within the entirety of Flourish Continent because, unlike the ancient architectures elsewhere, it was filled with steel and concrete, steam trains, and there were even Steam Airships occasionally visible.”

Influenced by Yirong Country, almost all nations on Flourish Continent had introduced railways, resulting in interconnected transportation and all kinds of miraculous mechanical creations—most of which originated from Yirong Country. This had established Yirong Country’s status in Flourish Continent.

Having left the closed, ancient Goldfinch Empire, Lyon found himself in the strikingly progressive and advanced Yirong Country in but a moment, leaving him somewhat bewildered.

Lyon leaned over the edge of the boat, looking down at the ground. Even though there were no cities nearby, he could clearly see several steam trains blowing their whistles, shuttling between the rails.

There were also unknown steel bridges, spanning the vast gulf between rivers that seemed to carve the earth itself.

Could such structures really be the product of human work, and not the creations of Wizards?

When Lyon received affirmative answers from Angel, his eyes were full of astonishment.

This was no mere cultural clash; it was as if he had come to an entirely different world!