Translator: Leo Editor: Frappe
The man in a black robe returned to the deck as well after having some rest. Reyline and the two female wizards were beside the railings checking the situation.
Angele gathered the four survivors around the main mast.
"Did you find any other survivors?" Reyline questioned.
"No. We only have five people left." Angele shook his head, looking depressed. "The airships are about to reach the Cloud Bee's nest soon. We need to figure out a plan right now lest they kill us all. I wish we had more time. I want to study their bodies and find out how they detect their targets." Angele rubbed his temples.
"Yeah, we need more information on those Cloud Bees." Reyline nodded. "I know it will be hard, but their strength exceeded my expectation."
The rest of the crew remained silent. So many wizards had just died. They were trying to figure out a viable plan as they were now approaching the bee nest.
"Why don't we...return to Nola?" Hikari lowered her head and suggested.
"Return to Nola? That's impossible. There are so many Cloud Bees in this area. They have just raided our ship and are thinking we were all killed. If the direction of the airships changed too much, they will realize that there are still people alive and will come back for us." Reyline shook his head.
"What should we do then?" Hikari was getting nervous.
"We have to keep moving forward. There are only five of us. We can try to hide in the airships," the man in a black robe suddenly said.
"I'm sorry but you are?" Reyline turned to the man.
"My name is Stigmaricovertta, just call me Stigma." The man's face was still pale. It was clear that he still needed some time to recover from his injury.
Stigma looked at the wizards. He knew that the strongest wizard was the leader named Green and he was certain that the leader was hiding something from the others.
Stigma could sense something dangerous from Green. He survived the fight against the Cloud Bees and even helped the survivors in a calm manner after the battle finished.
'Why didn't he use his strongest spells to kill more Cloud Bees? He could have saved many wizards...' Stigma narrowed his eyes.
"Master Green, what do you think?" He turned to Angele, then asked.
Angele pursed his lips.
"You're right. We can only proceed forward and hope for the best. If we change our route, we will be attacked by the Cloud Bees. We should leave the dead bodies of the Cloud Bees on the deck too so that they would think that there is nothing valuable left on the airship."
He stopped for a second and continued, "The only problem is I'm not sure if the Cloud Bees are the only flying monsters in the area."
"It's a bit out of topic but for some reason, my mentality increased slightly after the fight," Hikari interrupted.
"Well, it's common. The intense battles will strengthen your mind." Angele nodded. "Alright, everyone, do you have any more questions or suggestions? If not, I'll go increase the airships' speed, so we can pass the nest faster."
"We can only hope for the best." Hikari sighed. "I'll go have some rest." She turned around and walked to the stairs.
"Wait. Stigma, there's something I need to discuss with you." Angele looked at Stigma.
Reyline and Morrisa nodded and walked away. They decided to stay in the cabins of the first airship.
Only Angele and Stigma were left on the deck.
The chilling wind blew over their faces and the noise made by the envelopes echoed in the sky.
Angele walked to the railings, looking down at the endless sea of white trees. There was no other creature flying around the airship. The place felt empty.
Stigma followed after Angele and stood by the railings.
Angele looked at Stigma. "I know how you survived the attack. You pulled the Cloud Bee's corpse onto yourself, right? I think you knew how to protect yourself from the beginning." He sent the words using energy particles.
"Master Green..." Stigma had a surprised look on his face.
"Don't try to fool me. I know that the Cloud Bee did not fall on you, but its body fluid left a trail on the deck. Your chest, hands, and feet were all covered by that liquid. I don't think there's anything more to say." Angele stared at Stigma. "Now tell me who you are and what you know about the bees."
Stigma's expression turned serious. He stared at Angele for a while and finally opened his mouth.
"Well, I should've done it in a better way, but I didn't expect you to investigate the details. It seems like you're not so concerned about the bees."
"I know I can survive the fight that's for sure." Angele nodded. "But I want to know about you and why you did not share the information with the crew. You were also trying to hide from the beginning. Just tell me, who are you?"
"I can tell you that but," Stigma walked to Angele and continued, "Master Green, you must keep this secret for me."
"I can't promise you anything but I'm good at keeping secrets." Angele smiled. "Just don't lie to me. I hate it when people lie." He started emanating his undisguised mentality wave.
Stigma's brow furrowed. He noticed the changes happened to Angele's mentality wave. It was much stronger than before. He found it hard to believe.
'This guy is hiding his true power too...' he thought.
Reducing the number of the crew would increase the chance of the airships arriving at Omandis.
Stigma knew that Angele was forcing him to speak out the truth. If he told a lie, Angele would kill him without hesitation.
Angele had killed several Cloud Bees just by himself during the fight, while the rest of the crew had only killed two bees.
Stigma bit his lips.
"So you want the data on the monsters we'll encounter, right?"
"You know how to deal with the Cloud Bees, so you should know how to deal with the other monsters." Angele shrugged.
The cursed scimitar consumed the souls of two Cloud Bees. His attributes were now stronger than before. He was certain that he would be able to survive the next area.
However, he still wanted to avoid an encounter with the Cloud Bees.
Stigma remained silent.
Angele patiently waited on the side.
About ten minutes later, Stigma finally opened his mouth but he was sending the words using energy particles.
Angele put his hands on the railings and looked around. His expression changed several times upon learning what Stigma knew. He also asked several questions during the conversation.
Several hours later, they finished their conversation. Stigma sighed, looking tired.
"That's all I know. Everything is true. If you have more questions, just come ask me in the cabins." He turned around and walked to the stairs.
Stigma turned his head around as he vanished into the darkness. He saw that Angele was still standing beside the railings, thinking about something.
For some reason, Stigma sensed something familiar from the leader named Green. It was a horrifying feeling to him. Something which made him feel uncomfortable, but he could not remember if they had met before.
Stigma spent days observing the wizards on the airships, but he never found out what Green was capable of.
He knew that Angele was a strong wizard and that was the reason why he had asked Angele to ambush Baron with him. However, he realized that Angele was much stronger than him after the man successfully won the fight against Hikari and Reyline.
Angele had not revealed his true power in the battle against the Cloud Bees.
The man reminded Stigma of his master, a mysterious wizard respected by many elders.
Stigma shook his head and walked down the stairs, then he entered one of the empty rooms.
Angele stood by the railings alone, thinking about the information Stigma just told him.
Stigma's words were surprising. He thought the man was just a wizard who once survived the trip to Omandis but the actual situation was different.
Stigma was a member of a family from the Omandis.
However, his position in the family was on the edge. He was caught in the middle of a fight between the family inheritor with an enemy from a different family. Stigma had to jump onto the airship to the west coast to escape. He fainted in the cabin and when he woke up, he realized that the airship was heading to the west coast.
Although Stigma's father was the family leader, he was not strong enough to be picked as the inheritor. There were still people missing him in Omandis like his sister, his friends, and his mother, a lady who truly loved him from the heart. Stigma also wanted to meet his lover again...
He spent years working in the organization and finally got the chance to be sent to Omandis.
The information about Stigma's family was not that important to Angele. He wanted to know how to avoid contact with the dangerous monsters.
Stigma successfully arrived at the west coast from Omandis and Angele asked him why there was an airship sent to the west coast. He also wanted to know what happened to the other wizards on that airship.
Stigma said that he did not know about the details. He said that although no one questioned him why he boarded the ship, he wanted to stay out of trouble.
Angele also asked Stigma about Reyline, the Perfect Wizard of Six Ring High Tower. He wondered why such a talented wizard joined the dangerous trip to Omandis. It seemed like he was hiding something from the crew.
Stigma told Angele about the basic information of Omandis and some stories of his family.
Angele had a basic idea on how to avoid fighting with the other monsters they might encounter during the trip. He now felt more confident on making it to the other side.