Angel thought that after Fespnry left, it wouldn’t return. But to his surprise, it came back in less than half an hour.
Moreover, it didn’t come back alone; it was followed by a group of Smokie Fish.
Fespnry fluttered down gracefully, walking with elegant steps into the cave.
Angel put away his puzzled expression, his gaze first falling on the fish floating in the thick smoke behind Fespnry.
Because the temperature in the cave was extremely low, the group of Smokie Fish appeared very inactive, listlessly floating in the smoke produced by Fespnry’s burning fiery feathers.
"I saw these Elemental Sprites on my way, they are also Dangross’s underlings, so I brought them along." After Fespnry explained, it immediately started talking about what it saw outside.
"I just went out to understand, it’s not that Dangross’s followers aren’t coming. It’s because it ran into a problem and can’t spare the time to look for them one by one." As Fespnry spoke, it signaled the Smokie Fish to show their talent.
Unfortunately, the Smokie Fish were not what Angel was looking for, so after a glance, he gestured for them to leave.
Angel: "Can’t spare the time? Did it get into some trouble?"
"Not exactly trouble, but there’s a bit of a historical leftover issue." Fespnry paused for a moment, then continued, "Though Dangross asked me not to tell you, sir, I think it’s better to let you know the general situation."
"Have you ever heard of Duroche, sir?"
Angel nodded, "Is it that Flame Giant? Mr. Magu told me it gained quite a lot from the Elemental Tide."
"Elemental Tide? Oh, you mean World’s Harmony." Fespnry nodded, "Yes, Duroche had a slight unpleasantness with you yesterday, leading to cracks in its Elemental Core. But it was a blessing in disguise; with the enhancement of World’s Harmony, the flaws and defects in its past Elemental Core were restored, becoming even more perfect, and its Spirit Intelligence has improved significantly, no longer as muddled as before."
Fespnry paused, "You’ve seen how Dangross collects followers, right? It injects its flames into other elemental creatures. Generally, newborn Elemental Sprites are easiest for it to subdue because they lack resistance; whereas, mature elemental creatures are difficult unless... that creature’s Spirit Intelligence is low. Duroche, because of its muddled intelligence, was tricked by Dangross to have its flame injected and made a follower."
"Now, with Duroche’s intelligence clear, it remembered Dangross’s past actions after waking up last night and is now planning to settle accounts with Dangross. So, Dangross is busy fleeing and avoiding Duroche’s search, unable to contact its followers."
After listening to Fespnry’s explanation, Angel nodded in understanding. Fespnry’s explanation was plausible, as he had already heard about this from Magu yesterday. From Dangross’s reaction, it indeed feared Duroche’s reckoning.
It seems Magic Midir should be unrelated to this matter. Thinking about it makes sense; after all, he hasn’t started enticing Magic Midir’s people yet.
However, if Magic Midir knew about the situation, it shouldn’t just sit idly by, right? What would it do, or has it already begun to take precautions?
As Angel pondered about Magic Midir, Fespnry continued, "But don’t worry, sir, I just went to Mr. Magu and found Dangross. It dared not go out to find followers, but it sent Kelonkcro to gather followers to meet you, and they should arrive soon."
"Has Kelonkcro recovered?" Angel asked curiously.
Kelonkcro is the hairball creature with the talent of elemental self-explosion. According to Dangross, Kelonkcro was initially its follower and later turned into a good friend.
Fespnry: "Kelonkcro’s ability is elemental self-explosion; under normal circumstances, it would take a month to regain its form and years to completely recover. But with World’s Harmony, Kelonkcro has already reformed its body. Although not fully recovered, it shouldn’t take long now."
Angel’s eyes flickered upon hearing this. Kelonkcro’s flames are very high in temperature and also have a strong elemental self-explosion ability. If he could lure it away, that would be great. However, from Fespnry’s words, it seems Kelonkcro is also special among the Elemental Sprites, having already developed Spirit Intelligence, making it quite challenging to entice away... but not entirely impossible.
Angel was about to inquire further about Kelonkcro’s situation when Fespnry turned its head to look outside the cave.
Earl Mi also timely transmitted a thought; an elemental creature was approaching from outside.
"Here they come, seems like Kelonkcro is quite quick," Fespnry said.
As soon as Fespnry finished speaking, a Blazing Dog rushed into the cave, circling around Fespnry, and under its wings’ caress, it sat beside Angel, panting with its tongue out.
Angel noticed this Blazing Dog was very large, possibly even taller than Angel if it stood on its hind legs.
It seemed this Blazing Dog was about to transition from little elf to mature form.
"It’s Loria," Fespnry called out with festive joy, causing an enthusiastic response.
From the Blazing Dog’s interaction with Fespnry, it was clear they knew each other well.
"It has a name?" Angel remembered that yesterday, Fespnry never named other Elemental Sprites, only referred to them by form.
Fespnry nodded, a hint of nostalgia in its lively eyes, "Yes, I named it myself..."
According to Fespnry, Loria was collected by Dangross as a follower during the same period as it was, with a good relationship since the little elf days. Later, Fespnry matured first, developed Spirit Intelligence, and left Dangross’s command. Before leaving, it named Loria.
"Speaking of which, since Loria is here, Best should be coming soon."
As Angel was about to ask who Best was, Earl Mi sent another message, another elemental creature was arriving.
"Fespnry, didn’t expect to encounter you here; I thought you were still being that errand bird at the volcano." A voice with a tone of dark sarcasm came from outside. At the end of the words, a cat burning with pure dark fire gracefully walked in.
After the Black Cat entered, it ignored Fespnry and stayed beside Loria.
The cat and dog affectionately nuzzled each other, Loria more intimately with the Black Cat than with Fespnry.
Only after a while did the Black Cat stop its actions and lifted its head to look at Angel, "You’re the human, huh? You seem like a decent servant."
Fespnry’s eyes flashed with anger, "Best, Mr. Pat is the most honored guest of His Highness, please don’t be reckless."
Best yawned, scratched its ear with its paw, looking like it couldn’t be bothered to listen.
"Kelonkcro said we’re here to show our talent, but I’m not interested." Best finished speaking, and Loria stuck its tongue out, holding its head high with a proud "I can do it" look.
Best reached out its paw and smacked Loria on the head, "You can’t either!"
Loria bowed its head in grievance, whimpered twice, and nuzzled Best.
Best raised its head haughtily and said to Angel, "Human, though His Highness acknowledged you, to me, your nature is still uncertain. Our talent is our utmost secret, and I’m not interested in showing it unless it’s a duel to the death. Then you’ll see my talent."
"As for now, I’ve come over as Kelonkcro said, as a favor to Dangross, but now we’re leaving."
Best patted Loria, and the latter immediately followed.
Best once again walked away with its graceful cat strides, while Loria stuck out its tongue and guarded beside it like a loyal dog, slowly moving away.
Angel did not stop them. This black cat, Best, seemed highly intelligent and was overtly hostile, making it very difficult to tame; even if it could be tamed, it would presumably require force. For now, it hadn’t come to that point.