Chapter 2260: Chapter 2261: Verdantleaf

The sky was as blue as a wash. In the distance, light clouds floated thinly, while nearby emptiness lingered.

Everything seemed just as usual.

However, Angel clearly perceived someone was watching him! And even now, the gaze had yet to move away.

On the surface, Angel remained calm, but secretly he had already contacted Earl Mi.

Two seconds later, before any elemental creatures realized it, the world within a dozen miles changed colors suddenly; everything turned bleak as if entering a clouded world of ruins from a bright reality.

Only the Gondola kept its vibrant colors, standing as the sole vivid presence in this deathly stillness.

At the moment the world transformed, Angel leaped out of the Flying Boat, standing in the air: "Who is it? Show yourself!"

Yet, no one responded.

Near the Gondola, caught off guard by the sudden change, Lobal looked around: "What’s happening? Is it an ambush?"

Dangross also wore a serious expression, but waving off Lobal’s surprise, it said: "The change in the sky is caused by the one in the shadow, not an ambush. However, Mr. Pat seems to have discovered something. Is there someone nearby?"

As Dangross murmured, Angel slowly descended from the sky, his brow furrowed.

Lobal: "Sir, did something happen?"

Angel pondered for a moment, looking at Lobal: "Did you feel anything unusual just now?"

Lobal recalled for a moment and shook his head: "I’ve been controlling the wind, monitoring the situation around, and aside from occasionally seeing some elemental creatures on the ground, there was nothing unusual."

After hearing this, Angel’s expression didn’t relax; instead, his brow furrowed even tighter.

Lobal’s response matched exactly with the message from Earl Mi.

Angel had Earl Mi alter the world, directly using a special force field to replace the sky within a dozen miles to trap the presence that was "watching" him earlier.

However, after the bleak world was deployed, that gaze vanished.

Angel also contacted Earl Mi, and Earl Mi’s answer was: Everything is normal.

There were no traces of the observer found, nor any lingering signs left by them. The surrounding sky was as clear as it appeared to the naked eye.

But Angel did not believe that everything was normal around him.

Since he left Malaya Ice Mountain, this was the second time he sensed being watched. The first time, Angel could deceive himself, saying "don’t overthink, maybe it was a misconception"; but this time, no matter what, Angel couldn’t convince himself it was just imagination.

One must know, that kind of spiritual sense-triggering gaze just now lasted for at least three seconds.

With such a long duration, he absolutely wouldn’t misjudge; surely some entity was observing him from the shadows.

Yet the other party’s concealment ability was extremely formidable; even with Earl Mi deploying the bleak world force field, no trace was detected.

Angel couldn’t even determine whether the creature hiding in the shadows was still concealed or had already escaped the bleak world.

He pondered for a moment and looked at Lobal: "...Summon a storm."

Lobal still didn’t quite understand, but since Angel wanted it that way, surely he had his reasons. Lobal didn’t ask further and directly teamed up with Speedy to unleash a terrifying storm on the bleak world.

The power of the hurricane was so great that even the intangible wind showed a tangible trajectory.

In such a wild hurricane, as long as the energy level doesn’t exceed Lobal’s, anything would be sliced into pieces.

The storm raged for a full three minutes, but no creature revealed itself.

Angel believed that even if there was a hidden entity, under such an almost violent cleansing rhythm, it absolutely couldn’t remain hidden.

So now there was only one possibility: the creature hiding in the shadows had already fled.

With the opponent’s concealment ability and escape speed, it was likely not enveloped by the bleak world from the start, so after so many minutes, it must have escaped to who knows where.

Angel’s gaze turned obscure. Since coming to the Tidal World, it was the first time he encountered such a situation.

Judging from the current situation, the other party is a creature that comes and goes without a trace, leaving no marks, causing no ripples.

Guessing from the standpoint of elemental creatures, only those of the wind element could match up.

But Lobal, as a wind element creature, couldn’t detect the other party, which was certainly strange.

Angel’s expression changed for a long time until finally, he sighed helplessly and had Earl Mi retract the bleak world.

"Continue on our way." After giving instructions to Speedy, Angel returned to his seat.

He first communicated with Toby, asking what Toby’s previous signal meant. Toby’s reply was: It also felt someone was watching from the shadows.

Toby’s answer raised Angel’s suspicions. Why were only he and Toby watched? None of the other elemental creatures on the boat felt anything.

Among them, Lobal’s strength was nearly on par with Toby’s, yet Lobal felt nothing while Toby did.

Is it because the observer intentionally let Toby and himself discover being watched?

Or is it that the observer is actually only interested in Toby and himself and pays no attention to the other elemental creatures on the boat?

Angel couldn’t determine which it was, but he leaned more towards the second. If the other party deliberately let Angel and Toby discover them, they should have left some clues, but it was already confirmed there were no traces around. The other party indeed was intentionally avoiding detection, which doesn’t quite align with the mindset of the first scenario.

If it is the second case, why is the other party only interested in him and Toby? Is it because they are not native creatures of the Tidal World?

There was too little information to speculate.

The only thing Angel could do now was to heighten his alertness, reacting seriously at any sign of trouble.

In this situation, Angel also didn’t plan to enter the Wilderness of Dreams again, sitting quietly in his seat, seemingly silent but actually coordinating with Earl Mi, observing the surroundings with spiritual power.

Because of this incident, the Gondola remained silent for several hours, with no one speaking.

It wasn’t until later that Dangross, seeing Angel’s brow gradually relaxing, tentatively asked: "Mr. Pat, what happened earlier? Was someone hiding nearby?"

Dangross’s question also made the other elemental creatures perk up their ears.

Although they didn’t fully understand what had just occurred, the grey, desolate world of Earl Mi and the storm sweeping the land from Lobal were all pointing towards a suspicion: Angel seemed to be trying to seal off or even force out a hidden observer.

Angel didn’t withhold anything and recounted the events that had transpired earlier.

"Do you know of anyone in the Tidal Realm who can come and go so undetected?" Although Angel wasn’t directing his question at anyone specifically, his gaze was fixed on Cubic and Lobal.

Cubic grew up alongside Sage Kamil, and certainly knew a lot of inside information. Lobal himself had the wisdom of a sage and might also know something.

"If you talk about vanishing without a trace, it must be a wind element creature. But along the way, I didn’t sense any wind element creatures approaching." It was Lobal speaking. After thinking for a moment, he added, "Besides, even if they were fast, wind element creatures would find it difficult to escape before the changing world we just witnessed."

"Only the electric monarchs of the Black Thunder Pool and the Flashing Mountains might be capable of reaching such speeds."

"But even though these two electric monarchs are incredibly fast, they move with such a grand spectacle that it’s impossible for them to leave no trace."

This meant Lobal also didn’t know who it was.

Cubic spoke, "I’ve heard Lord Kamil say that there are many hidden strong figures in the Tidal Realm, whose strengths may not be inferior to those of the element lords. Sir is now going to meet Nami Midori, who is of such calibre."

The implication of Cubic’s words was that they might have encountered a hidden power.

Lobal added, "If such a hidden figure truly exists, they wouldn’t be without a trace. Once we reach the Green Forest Domain, you can inquire with Lord Leaf or Nami Midori; you should gain some insights."

Lobal’s suggestion was not without ground. According to what Angel knew, during each elemental tide, when the strongest in the Tidal Realm absorb elemental energy, they can sense beings of the same level, no matter how distant they might be.

Therefore, if such a hidden entity truly exists, perhaps answers can be found from the elemental lords across various regions.

"How far are we from the Green Forest Domain?" Angel asked.

Lobal looked around: "At most half a day, and we’ll reach the Green Forest Domain."

Angel nodded, not saying anything further. If within this half day, the hidden one could continue to stay concealed, he’d follow Lobal’s advice.

However, if the hidden one harbored malicious intent towards them, Angel believed they would certainly attempt to act quickly.

So, while Angel didn’t show it outwardly, his guard was secretly raised to the highest level.

Half a day passed in the blink of an eye.

The journey was very peaceful, without any disturbances. During this time, Angel also didn’t sense anyone observing them.

He didn’t know if the hidden one had left or not.

But that wasn’t so important now, because—

The Green Forest Domain had been reached.

The Green Forest Domain, nestled among steep mountains, is a dense forest stretching to an unknown end. Unlike forests elsewhere, although all called forests, just one glance is enough to perceive the distinct difference.

Firstly, this forest is filled with a thin mist, not caused by weather but by an intense, almost tangible natural aura.

Under this natural aura, it’s not just the wood creatures; even ordinary wild magical creatures grow fat and strong. If a Nature Witch were here, they’d thrive just by breathing in this environment.

Additionally, the plants in this forest are extraordinarily tall and filled with an ancient charm. It is an untouched, truly primal forest.

Moreover, the biggest difference from outside forests is the innumerable wood creatures.

Even if Angel hadn’t yet set foot inside, he had already seen many elemental creatures: the running treants, vine creatures twisting like snakes, floating reed creatures, and the dancing butterfly flowers...

These wood creatures made the mist-shrouded forest not only lifeless but also exude an ever-increasing vitality.

The only thing that puzzled Angel was why they were getting closer to the Gondola?

Soon after, a fluffy creature resembling a dandelion stood on the Gondola’s bow, swaying as it spoke.

"... That’s about it; Lord Leaf is already waiting for you by Sunlight Lake."

After listening to the explanation of this wood creature, which called itself Dadei Nai, Angel understood why this group of wood creatures was coming towards them.

It turned out that a few days ago, when Angel was still at the Malaya Ice Mountain, a guest arrived at the Green Forest Domain.

This guest was from the Stone Forest Canyon, a sage of the Stone Forest Canyon.

This sage brought news: The lord and the sage of the Stone Forest Canyon had received an invitation from Mr. Magu to go to the Region of Fire.

Since the Stone Forest Canyon wasn’t far from the Green Forest Domain, this sage went to the Green Forest Domain precisely to discuss with Lord Leaf.

In short, one of the messengers sent by the magical fire Midir had already delivered the message to the Stone Forest Canyon. And the sage from the Stone Forest Canyon had brought the message to the Green Forest Domain.

Thus, Leaf Groot of the Green Forest Domain was already aware that Angel and others would soon bring the invitation to the Region of Fire. Therefore, they sent Dadei Nai to wait on the outskirts of the Green Forest Domain to guide them to the core of the Green Forest Domain: by Sunlight Lake.

Angel pondered for a moment. The fact that Leaf Groot had Dadei Nai wait outside suggested they inclined towards goodwill.

Moreover, with the Stone Forest Canyon sage’s assistance, it saved him the trouble of explanations, which was nice.

Thinking about this, Angel said to Dadei Nai, "Then please show us the way."

Dadei Nai swayed its fluff: "It’s my honor, please follow me."

With Dadei Nai accompanying them, they didn’t need to disembark and directly piloted the Gondola deep into the Green Forest Domain.

While progressing, Angel gave Dangross a look, and through recent interactions, Dangross understood Angel’s intention at once.

Dangross coughed to attract Dadei Nai’s attention, and then, putting on a curious expression, began subtly investigating how Leaf Groot behaved after meeting the Stone Forest Canyon sage. This was to determine what Leaf Groot was truly thinking.

Dadei Nai clearly had heard of Dangross’s name, displaying evident goodwill towards this fire element creature born from Kalomchis’s ashes.

Regarding Dangross’s inquiry, Dadei Nai didn’t hide anything and said everything he could.

Listening on the side, Angel summarized the information, which was basically in line with his judgment. Since Leaf Groot was willing to send someone to welcome them, it can be assumed they were not opposed.

But whether Leaf Groot’s intentions were as consistent as his demeanor could only be known after meeting it.

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