CHAPTER 599: CHAPTER 596: GOING IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS

The longer the time passed, the more uneasy Ronald felt.

From the water level around the islands, there was nothing extraordinary about the sea level rising or falling.

So where had the islands that should have been visible gone?

It was hardly possible that the man-made gods and their ilk had the leisure to blow up these islands one by one as they passed by, right?

As he passed by, Ronald hadn’t noticed any lingering signs of powerful spells.

Even if Ronald and his companion had arrived a few days after the man-made gods’ group, this phenomenon shouldn’t have occurred.

Ronald’s brows were tightly knit.

Seeing his companion’s expression, Bapulor couldn’t possibly ask any more questions about the color of the sea water.

"Ronald, does that look on your face mean you’ve discovered something?"

"The islands, the islands have all disappeared," Ronald immediately answered. "I’ve been out to sea after the last typhoon and have a rough impression of the surrounding terrain. On the way back to Springs, we should have passed by several islands."

...

Bapulor blinked in silence, his expression filled with bewilderment.

In terms of exploring the environment, Bapulor’s abilities were actually not as good as Ronald’s. At this moment, given the limited information he had, he was completely clueless as to what was going on.

...

"Do you still want that envelope from last time?"

"I’d like one if you have it."

In the midst of the tense atmosphere, Bapulor briefly asked a question, then remade the envelope that woke Ronald in the "Negative Infinity Domain" and handed it over.

It was a small act born of helplessness.

If there was even the slightest news.

They would discuss the possibility of this affair during their flight and even speculate on strategies that might be useful.

—However, the reality was that they knew nothing.

The wizards stationed on the islands knew nothing of the actual situation, and Ronald and Bapulor had just returned to this world, likewise without any source of information.

Under such circumstances, to come up with any idea...

It would only be blind guessing in the style of charlatans.

Constrained by this informational impasse, Ronald even had a thought.

—Should he get his hands on the original text for a Prophetic Spell?

Although such spells wouldn’t yield absolutely accurate results, they would still be valuable as a reference in these dire straits.

...

In the silence, the two continued their flight through the sky.

Having left the "Negative Infinity Domain," Ronald’s Flying Spell, naturally, could no longer continue flying at the preposterous supersonic speeds. However, even so, Ronald still vaguely felt that his speed was faster than before he entered the "Negative Infinity Domain."

It was just unfortunate that there were no reference points in the vast, boundless sea.

Bradshaw’s Railway Guide only provided familiar place names and times like the setting sun’s ocean.

As for how much of an actual improvement there was.

That would still need to be tested in the right environment.

With the rising and setting of the sun, the two used the direction of the sunrise to determine their way, then continued toward the position of Springs.

Fortunately, both Ronald and Bapulor were casters with extremely strong physiques.

Continuous flying over the sea for several days had not yet pushed their bodies to the limit.

However—

When land finally appeared before their eyes.

The situation was completely different again.

Ronald, guided by the position of the sun, moved forward and ended up spotting the coastline. What appeared before the two of them was not Springs—instead, it was a stretch of unfamiliar land.

Just by the look of the flat expanse of land and the few strange estuaries,

Ronald knew for certain this was not Springs!

"Ronald, how did we end up here?"

At this point, Bapulor played an extremely important role. Pointing with one hand towards the distant shoreline, he spoke with absolute certainty, "Isn’t this the territory of the Principality of Purwickta?"

"The Principality of Purwickta?"

Ronald recalled with his limited knowledge.

During his studies in Springs, he had heard this name.

It was a tropical country known for producing fruits and pigments, almost touching the planet’s equator and facing Gried across the sea, with a somewhat faint presence in the world.

Thus, something eerie occurred.

Gried was a country situated in a temperate high-latitude region, while the Principality of Purwickta was in the tropics, with the Sunset Ocean lining the coasts of both.

Ronald had followed the trajectory of the rising and setting sun.

How could he possibly end up here, astray by such a latitude?

Not to mention with Ronald’s current flying speed, it made no sense that he could cover such a great distance in merely a few days!

"You... couldn’t be mistaken, could you?"

As soon as Ronald spoke, Bapulor almost pounded his chest and said,

"Ronald, I’ve been hiding and seeking all year round from official agencies all around the world. My familiarity with geography is on par with the most outstanding scholars."

"I simply cannot be wrong about this type of thing!"

The confidence in Bapulor’s reply seemed to soar through the skies.

Even knowing that this heretic magician was unreliable in many ways, Ronald was still persuaded by Bapulor’s attitude at the moment.

Seeing the change in Ronald’s gaze, Bapulor excitedly started introducing this place:

"Speaking of which, I once spent half a year spreading teachings here in this country with my followers. The level of education here is far from matching that of Gried, making them incredibly easy to deceive, and the fruit they brought was especially delicious."

"Had it not been for my overly flamboyant honeymoon with my wife that caught the attention of the local investigators here, I would have wanted to live here for a few more years!"

Ronald interrupted Bapulor:

"You mentioned investigators... This is not Gried, but there are still investigators handling issues here?"

Bapulor explained quite familiarly:

"As this place has a decent output of resources, Gried has the intention to colonize here. As a sweetener before the formal work commenced, Dantrian offered the Investigation Bureau’s security services here at a discounted rate."

After finishing his explanation, Bapulor took a few seconds before adding:

"Of course, Purwickta only hired investigators around the capital. After all, considering their attitude, having just the area around the capital being safe was enough. Gried’s security mechanisms are not something these regions could learn."

Through several exchanges, Ronald’s understanding of the Principality of Purwickta had transitioned from paper to reality.

Taking another look at the approaching coastline.

Ronald also had some thoughts forming in his mind.

—Returning to the original world seemed certain.

The Wizard of Barrier Mountain’s reply, and the thought processes of ordinary people ahead, could robustly confirm this point.

"..."

"Let’s go over there and take a look first."

Analyzing the information provided by Bapulor in his mind,

Ronald murmured a reminder and then started to accelerate his Flying Spell.

What exactly was going on?

Only by personally conducting an investigation on the ground could he find out.