Chapter 2193: Chapter 2194: Joining the Team

However, Angel’s well-laid plans fell through.

When Magu brought Dangross over and explained the situation, Dangross initially showed a defiant attitude, refusing to participate, leading Angel to consider having Magu appoint another guide. But Dangross didn’t maintain its standoffish stance for long. Soon enough, it completely changed its mind, appearing as if to say, "Since you’ve pleaded so desperately and need me, I’ll condescend to agree."

Once Dangross agreed, its previous aloof and standoffish demeanor transformed into that of a sycophant. Its new target of flattery was naturally Toby, who was perched on Angel’s shoulder.

It showered Toby with compliments, as if they cost nothing.

Seeing Dangross like this, Angel understood that its earlier pretentious stance was purely a bluff. Because with Toby here, the likelihood of it agreeing was already over seventy percent.

Moreover, Dangross had been avoiding Duroche for days, feeling quite repressed. With Magu’s orders allowing it to leave openly, why would it refuse?

Angel sighed and thought, since things have come to this, let’s just go with it for now. At least, as a tool, Dangross was qualified.

"When are you planning to leave, sir?" Magu asked at that moment.

Angel showed a hint of hesitation in his eyes before replying, "Tomorrow, I guess."

Magu smiled and nodded, not pressing further.

Seeing that Magu and magic fire Midir had no more to say, Angel prepared to bid farewell.

When Angel expressed his intention to leave, magical fire Midir and Magu exchanged a glance, and finally, Magu said slowly, "Please wait a moment."

Angel looked over, puzzled.

Magu didn’t immediately explain but closed his eyes. After a few seconds, a beam of fire slowly descended from the elemental core alight in the ceiling, resembling a small sun.

The beam eventually landed in Magu’s hand, transforming into a fiery red crystal about the size of a baby’s fist.

At this moment, magical fire Midir stood up and pointed his index finger toward the fiery red crystal. A black magical fire covered it, as if it was now armored in black.

Magu handed over the crystal, now black and red, saying, "We’ve seen in ’The World of Wizards’ that wizards strictly adhere to the principle of equivalent exchange. Since you’ve left these Shadow Boxes for us, we can’t leave it unacknowledged. After discussing with His Highness, we decided to present you with a crystallized form of our core flames, as a form of exchange."

Although Angel was hearing of core fire crystals for the first time, just by observing its structure, he could guess its general uses. This is the ultimate compression of two special types of fire, capable of being activated as a means of attack, used to fuel special fires for support, or simply kept for research purposes on fire.

This crystal contained both the fire of Magu and magical fire Midir, making it immensely valuable.

Angel, tempted by its allure, ultimately waved it away, declining: "It’s unnecessary. Spreading the Shadow Boxes to other Element Lords already aligns with my goals. In strict terms, this doesn’t count as an equivalent exchange."

Just as Magu was about to say something, Angel continued:

"If Mr. Magu and His Highness genuinely want to regard this as an equivalent exchange, then consider this: when more human wizards enter the Tidal World in the future, cast aside stubborn biases and seriously consider the deals proposed by the organization I represent."

With that, Angel nodded, without another glance at the crystal, turned, and left the classroom.

Inside the classroom, Magu and magical fire Midir exchanged a long, deep sigh but did not follow him.

Elsewhere, Angel walked some distance after leaving the classroom and then halted.

"Wait for me—" Dangross, panting heavily, used its four fingers to hurriedly catch up to Angel, clutching at his pant leg.

Angel paused for a moment, then picked up Dangross.

Angel glanced at Toby on his left shoulder: "Should I put it up here?"

Dangross couldn’t keep running on the ground forever, nor could holding it up with Magic Power-Hand be anything but ostentatious, so Angel decided to just place it on the shoulder. After all, there was already one burden there, adding another wouldn’t matter much.

Though the shoulder was Angel’s, Toby considered it its domain, so Angel sought its permission first.

Seeing the hopeful look on Dangross’s face, Toby ultimately shook its head, indicating no.

Angel thought for a moment, then placed Dangross on a teardrop-shaped bead outside the Blood Night Shelter cloak, gesturing at it to hold on tight.

Even though Toby still felt slightly annoyed, it accepted this compromise since Dangross wasn’t on the shoulder.

With Dangross settled, Angel continued walking, occasionally asking, "Do you know where Kelonkcro is?"

Dangross pointed towards an alleyway, saying without suspicion, "Go that way."

Angel immediately changed course, intending to use this last day to build some rapport with Kelonkcro.

Time flew by as Angel stayed in Kelonkcro’s room for over four hours. Only when night fell did he leave.

Angel initially thought, with his departure tomorrow, he should directly express his intentions to Kelonkcro and let it choose. But after contemplating further, he decided against it, realizing from Kelonkcro’s current attitude, leaving with him was not likely.

Not wanting to give up on Kelonkcro, Angel decided to wait more.

After all, Kelonkcro, being an Elemental Sprite, wouldn’t leave the Region of Fire anytime soon. He could search for the "treasure" left by Feng and slowly wear down its defenses upon returning.

During their departure, Dangross, perched on Blood Night Shelter, curiously asked, "Why are you so interested in Kelonkcro’s talent?"

Angel didn’t answer aloud, because his interest extended beyond just Kelonkcro’s talent.

Dangross, indifferent to Angel’s silence, continued self-absorbedly: "Honestly, I think Kelonkcro’s talent is amazing too. I wish I had such powerful offensive talents, but mine is just a useless barrier."

For quite some time, Dangross talked about Kelonkcro’s talents, before shifting to self-pity regarding its own talent.

Angel didn’t interrupt its monologue.

Throughout the entire session, Angel couldn’t help but think that Dangross wasn’t just lacking in one or two aspects.

While Kelonkcro’s self-detonation was strong, its ceiling was clearly visible. However, Dangross’s defensive barrier could be used by other fiery beings. The more powerful the creature, the higher the Energy Level of the barrier. Though its lower limit might be low, its upper limit was extremely high.

Additionally, attack and defense shouldn’t be mixed together.

Yet this guy had never considered these aspects, only straightforwardly envying others for having offensive means.

Angel had nothing to say to that.

As Dangross spoke with increasing sadness, Angel interrupted, "Don’t you have more than just defensive talents?"

Dangross hesitated, "Where did you hear that from?"

"Fei Spanrui told me," Angel said. "But, isn’t that what you yourself spread around?"

Dangross was silent for a moment, "Actually... I, I..."

"Why, have you been influenced by Kelonkcro?"

Dangross pouted, "What influence, I was just making things up, I actually don’t have a second talent. I just didn’t want the little ones to know that my talent is just an ordinary protective cover."

Angel turned his head to look at Dangross, thinking this behavior quite fitting of Dangross’ character.

"Is that so?" Angel didn’t mock Dangross but said, "I think you might actually have other talents..."

Dangross: "Huh?"

"Aren’t you quite good at gathering followers? Who knows, maybe that’s your talent."

Dangross rolled his eyes, "That’s not a talent, that’s my leadership. I’m going to be crowned with the name of Divine Fire someday."

Dangross’ voice was very faint, carrying a bit of insecurity.

Having been in the Region of Fire for so long, Angel understood that only a monarch of a region has the right to be crowned with the name of an element.

Dangross wanted to become "Divine Fire Dangross," showing its ambition, coveting the highest throne in the Region of Fire. Moreover, the name of the flame had to counter Magic Fire Midir, showing its dislike for the current monarch.

Angel didn’t discourage Dangross, smiled and said, "I also hope to see that day."

Dangross was stunned for a moment, the previous insecurity suddenly vanished, and it raised its head proudly, "Of course, that day will come!"

Angel smiled and didn’t say anything else.

...

The next morning, above a scorched earth mountain range.

"This is already far from the core of the Region of Fire, I will send you this far. From here on, let Dangross lead the way."

Angel looked at the two figures behind him, Magic Fire Midir and Fei Spanrui.

Magic Fire Midir looked into the distance and said to Angel, "Alright, if you encounter any trouble, you can return at any time."

Having said that, Magic Fire Midir nodded to Angel, then flapped its fleshy wings and turned to leave.

Fei Spanrui, however, stayed behind to continue following Angel and Dangross.

Holding onto the Blood Night Shelter, Dangross looked at Fei Spanrui on the other side with curiosity, "Are you coming with us too?"

Fei Spanrui lifted his fiery wings slightly, revealing a transparent fireproof sphere under his armpit, which contained two sets of Shadow Boxes.

"I was ordered by His Highness to go to the Marsh Mudbank and Gallenbe Prairie to deliver these two sets of Shadow Boxes," said Fei Spanrui.

Dangross showed a look of realization, having already learned from Angel that they were going to White Cloud Village, and the nearest route would pass through the Wild Stone Wilderness. And Fei Spanrui’s destination, the Marsh Mudbank, was precisely near Wild Stone Wilderness, so they could indeed travel together for a while.

They flew for half an hour more; the ground was still scorched, but the air temperature gradually began to drop.

Angel then took out the Gondola as a means of transport.

As soon as Dangross boarded the Gondola, it started exclaiming in admiration, touching everything with a look of intoxication.

Angel looked at Fei Spanrui flying on the other side, "Since we’re on the same route, why not come aboard and rest to regain your strength?"𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

Fei Spanrui hesitated for a moment but eventually nodded, flew to the side of the Gondola, and naturally let his graceful fiery feathers hang down, appearing elegant and noble.

The journey continued, and while the speed of the Gondola was affected by the environment and temperature, it was still much faster than flying alone.

Along the way, Angel learned from Fei Spanrui that Magic Fire Midir dispatched over fifty subordinates to deliver the theater Shadow Boxes to various monarchs.

Fei Spanrui’s destinations, the Marsh Mudbank and Gallenbe Prairie, had relatively good relations with the Region of Fire, so Fei Spanrui alone was sufficient.

However, some areas had rather cold or even hostile relations with the Region of Fire, requiring more subordinates. For instance, in a place called the "Rain Forest," it was Phoenix leading the team, with as many as ten powerful fiery sparrows, a quite luxurious lineup.

In some other territories, although there was no hostility or conflict with the Region of Fire, they were extremely dangerous, such as the Flashing Mountains. There, almost every minute, lightning struck, forming multiple Thunder Ponds on the ground, making merely entering very dangerous, thus the team dispatched was also luxurious.

Fei Spanrui said, "However, whether it’s the Rain Forest or the Flashing Mountains, there are actually solutions. The most challenging location for this mission is neither of these, but the Malaya Ice Mountain, which is the home of ice creatures and the territory of Frost Isel. Since Frost Isel is antagonistic towards our Region of Fire, if our flame creatures go there, they might not even get to see Monarch Frost, let alone hand over the Shadow Boxes."

Angel: "Frost Isel is my responsibility."

At that time, among the elemental creatures that spent the longest time with the Magic Painter Wizard was Frost Isel. So Angel must meet it no matter what, and conveniently hand over the theater Shadow Boxes to it.

"I heard from His Highness. When we learned this news, we all sighed in relief. However, I still want to remind you, Sir, although you are human and have no current conflicts with Frost Isel, Frost Isel’s temperament is always extreme, it might still act against you."

Angel nodded, "I will be careful."

Four hours later, after passing through a volcanic crater shrouded in smoke once more, they saw an endless scorched earth in the distance.

And the color at the end of the scorched earth gradually changed from black to yellow.

"Up ahead is the Wild Stone Wilderness," Fei Spanrui said while slowly spreading his fiery wings and flying off the Gondola, "We should part ways here, may you achieve your goals, Sir."

After speaking, Fei Spanrui let out a call, transforming into a fiery arrow and speeding off in another direction.

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