Chapter 398: Airship Wreckage

During the airship journey, Helag remained vigilant, observing the crew’s actions and monitoring the flight path and distance.

So far, everything seemed normal, with no suspicious behavior from the crew.

The flight path was also correct, following the planned route.

Helag was ready to act if the route deviated, as being on an airship was like being in a separate space.

He couldn’t fully trust the others, so caution was necessary to avoid being led into a trap.

On the sixth day, the Eastern Source Trading Company’s airship approached the crash site near Crystal City.

“Is that it?” Helag asked, gazing at the airship wreckage on the ground.

Toby nodded, “Yes, Mr. Helag.”

Ahead lay a massive airship, broken in half, its interior exposed on the ground.

Scorch marks indicated a fire had broken out, and some immense force had snapped the airship in two.

These airships were colossal, and Helag couldn’t fathom the power needed to cause such destruction.

Reports indicated that Abyssal cultists had summoned a giant creature on the airship.

The creature not only broke the airship but also claimed many lives.

For wizards, falling from an airship wasn’t usually fatal.

Feather Fall was a basic spell, akin to swimming, that most wizards knew.

However, over 600 deaths were reported, with countless injuries.

These casualties were primarily due to the summoned creature.

Fortunately, Seranthiel members from Crystal City responded quickly, eliminating the creature.

Besides the creature, two young men, both Abyssal cultists, were killed.

The mastermind, an old man, escaped into the polluted zone, evading capture.

During the attack, many wizards fled into the zone to escape the creature.

In the following days, a few returned to Crystal City, but most remained missing.

Without experience, returning from the zone was challenging.

Even navigation was difficult, as the zone made direction-finding nearly impossible.

“Let’s land here; I’ll disembark,” Helag said.

Toby nodded, instructing the crew to slow the airship and descend.

Once on the ground, Helag stepped out without looking back.

“Take care, Mr. Helag!” Toby called after him.

Helag waved, acknowledging the warning.

The airship lifted off, heading to Crystal City.

They couldn’t linger in such a place and left quickly.

Helag first examined the airship wreckage, finding no one nearby.

Debris from the airship was scattered, with a large crater in the ground.

Salvageable parts had been removed by Seranthiel, leaving only useless remnants.

The wreckage would likely remain a landmark for years.

Bodies had been removed, as leaving them in the zone was unwise.

The creature’s body was taken for study, leaving only claw marks.

Though Helag hadn’t seen the creature, he sensed a faint Abyssal aura at the site.

Despite the days passed, the aura lingered.

Helag recalled the wooden carving on the airship, with its expanding insect.

He had suppressed the insect with a hint of his aura to avoid trouble.

Ultimately, he crushed the insect, unsure of its potential consequences, possibly preventing a disaster like this.

After searching the wreckage, Helag found no valuable clues.

His goal was to find the missing David, alive or dead, to bring him home.

David’s fate was uncertain, and the surrounding blackened land made choosing a search direction crucial.

A wrong start would waste time, reducing David’s survival chances.

As Helag pondered, he noticed a withered potted plant, sparking an idea.

He approached the pot, containing a wilted pothos.

The pothos was nearly dead, its leaves yellowed.

This was due to the barren pollution draining its life.

The blackened land absorbed life force, a trait of barren pollution.

Wizards could traverse the zone safely due to energy particle radiation strengthening their bodies against the pollution.

Ordinary people entering the zone, even without danger, would slowly die as their life force drained.

Plants like pothos suffered similarly, dying quickly without protection.

The airship had crashed about seven days ago, and the pothos seemed completely dead.

Helag touched it, sensing with his elf bloodline’s natural affinity that it wasn’t entirely dead.

He retrieved some potion nutrients from his spatial ring, used for plant growth.

Pouring a bit into the pot, the nutrients seeped into the soil, reaching the pothos roots.

Helag felt a slight increase in the plant’s life force, but knew it was temporary.

The pothos was thoroughly polluted, and the nutrients only prolonged its life.

Helag’s efforts aimed to use the spell “All Things Have Spirits” to glean clues from the pothos.

He cast the spell, viewing recent events through the plant’s perspective.