When the sun set, the temperature in the mountains dropped rapidly.
"It's time to find a place to spend the night," Lightning thought. The temperature difference at the top of the Impassable Mountain was astonishing. After crossing the sea of clouds, the sunlight during the day seemed to be roasting people. If they did not cover their exposed skin, it was easy to be sunburned. Once night fell, the howling cold wind would quickly take away all the heat. If they slept on the treetops like they did in the Misty Forest, they would probably be frozen to death the next day.
Therefore, it was necessary to find a shelter before the night completely enveloped the land.
"Let's call it a day." Lightning took out the Sigil of Listening and said, "I'm going to find a shelter. Bring some food back."
Maggie could not reply while flying, but she knew that Maggie had heard her call.
Then she descended and flew close to the ground. Before setting off, Agatha had repeatedly told her to either fly very high or fly close to the ground when looking for traces of demons, and never change the route at will. Otherwise, once they strayed into the area affected by the God's Stone mine, no one would be able to save them.
Lightning strictly followed this instruction. In this vast mountain range, no one could help her if anything happened. She had to take care of herself and Maggie at the same time.
Because she had paid attention to possible hiding places during the previous search, she soon found a cave halfway up the mountain. The terrain here was like a stone forest, with tens of thousands of hills of almost the same height, densely packed together. Each hill was about the size of Neverwinter and would not attract a second glance from the outside. But here, there was a wonderful change, as if the top of the hill had been carved by a big hand.
The gaps between the hills had become natural waterways. When there was a rainstorm, the mountain torrents would sweep down with great force. More importantly, the climate on the high mountains changed drastically. It could be clear on one side, but lightning and thunder on the other. If inexperienced explorers chose to camp in the mountains for the sake of convenience, it was very likely that they would be washed away by a sudden flood in the middle of the night. Therefore, regardless of whether there was an ideal shelter from the wind or not, they had to choose a high place to stay.
Ever since she entered this mountainous region known as the ridge of the continent, she had witnessed similar situations several times.
In addition, the mountains here were also different from other places. Most of the time, the stone walls of the mountain peaks should be steep and sharp, but these small mountains were basically round, and even shaped like a soft couch. They were full of holes, as if they were not naturally formed rocks, but the appearance of some solidified liquid.
Fortunately, they still retained the hardness of the stone, enough to support a shelter.
This time, the cave was quite large, about ten square meters. There were some weeds and branches scattered inside, probably left behind by birds and beasts when they built their nests. After confirming that there was no potential danger, Lightning informed Maggie of the location and began to tidy up the temporary residence.
When the afterglow of the setting sun was replaced by darkness, Maggie, who had transformed into a snowy owl, returned to the cave. She shook her feathers and returned to her human form. She raised the bag in front of her chest as if she was presenting a gift. "Look what I found, coo!"
Lightning took the bag and took out a pheasant and four large eggs from it. This was a rare harvest on the top of the Impassable Mountain. Even Maggie, who was experienced in hunting, might not be able to return with a full harvest every time.
"Well done!"
Lightning patted her head, and in return, Maggie smiled proudly. "Hehe."
The bonfire was soon lit. She used the silt deposited at the bottom of the mountain to form a stove to prevent the fire from being discovered. Then, she covered the pheasant with the mud and put it into the fire. Finally, she covered it with the eggs.
Thirty minutes later, the dinner was completed.
The two of them had used this cooking method many times in the Concealing Forest, so it could be considered as practice makes perfect.
The moment the mud was cracked open, a rich aroma instantly rushed into their nostrils.
The fat under the skin made the chicken glisten, and the spices that filled the stomach were completely stimulated by the roasting. Along with the steaming hot air, the meat melted into the whole body. After the soft skin was removed, what was left was a tender and delicious delicacy. Unlike the finished product that was directly roasted by the flame, the whole chicken was not burnt at all. The meat was as white as new, and when they tore it apart, they could see that it was still attached to the chicken.
Together with the steamed eggs, the two of them ate very quickly. Even the chicken bones were not spared.
"Burp." Maggie let out a breath. "Sure enough, food that you catch yourself is the most delicious, coo."
This guy, when they first met, clearly accused him of "actually wanting to eat a bird".
Lightning shook her head in amusement. "Did you find anything today? Other than food. "
"Well, nothing, coo … The landscape here is basically the same. If there are traces of demons, I will definitely find them, coo."
Sure enough, if the God's Stone mine was buried deep underground, it would be too difficult to find clues from the air. She wondered where the Taquila's reinforcement fleet was now. If they could give her a general direction, it would be much better than searching blindly.
Lightning suppressed her distracting thoughts and pointed to the inside of the cave. "In that case, go and be my bed!"
"Oh — got it, coo." Maggie dragged her long white hair and walked to the designated position. She shook her body and turned into a ball of Devilbeast.
Lightning put out the remaining fire and lay in her belly. Due to the size of the nest, the two of them had different ways of keeping warm. Compared to squeezing into each other's narrow sleeping bag, it was obviously more comfortable for Maggie to use her Devilbeast form to resist the cold wind. At least her belly was like a huge heater, which was enough to ensure that she would not wake up at night.
However, this was not without its drawbacks. The skin of the Devilbeast was quite rough, and it could even be described as shaving. Lightning could not help but miss Lorgar's fur.
"Aren't you going to sleep?" Seeing that she took out the Stone of Lighting, Maggie turned her head and asked.
"Well, I have to record today's route. It won't take long. You go to sleep first."
"Okay." Maggie said in a low voice. After a while, she suddenly muttered, "You will always take me to explore in the future, right?"
Lightning was startled, and then replied softly, "Of course."
After Ashes is gone, I will take the responsibility of protecting you.
After hearing the answer, Maggie finally closed her eyes.
Lightning sat there for a long time before she took out her notebook from her waist bag.
It was now the tenth day since they entered the northern mountains of the Kingdom of Everwinter, and they had searched a distance of about 120 kilometers. The deeper they went to the peak of the Impassable Mountain, the more she felt how small she was. In this place that no one had ever set foot on, she saw many indescribable sceneries — a vast mountainous forest that was like a fertile plain, an ice waterfall that dropped straight into the sea from the northeast, a sea of clouds that rose like stairs, and a huge rift in the middle of the continent … Compared to this area, the Impassable Mountain Range that separated the Four Kingdoms was just a branch that extended outwards. And these sceneries were hidden on top of the mountain, and if one did not cross the precipitous cliff, they would not be able to see it with their own eyes.
Lightning faintly understood why her father was so obsessed with exploration.
The world was too vast, and if one did not open their eyes to see it, people would forever be insignificant. Only through understanding could one become bigger.
Deciding to become an explorer was the best choice she had ever made in her life.
Of course, exploring the world could be done later, but Lightning did not forget that she still had a mission to complete — if she flew too far away from the Kingdom of Everwinter, not only would the search efficiency be low, but the support team would also be worried. According to the time, the "Roland" should be arriving at the port of the Kingdom of Everwinter soon.
She glanced at the hand-drawn map a few times, and then set her eyes on the great rift.
From a distance, it seemed to be a raised platform in the stone forest, but it was hollow in the middle, and it was difficult to determine how deep it was.
Compared to the stone forest, where there were few changes, at least the surface of the mountain could be seen.
You've already exceeded your reading limit for today. If you want to read more, please log in.
Login
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
