Listening to Coretta's story, Maggie raised her slender neck and looked at the beacon devices in the distant wilderness that were flashing regularly under the starry night sky. The scorched wasteland stretched out in the night, and the cold starlight shone on the wrinkled rock formations and uneven craters. The polar wind whistled through the land, carrying the unique smell of pollution. The beacons were shining in the wasteland. Relying on small power supply modules and simple protection, they stood in the cold wind and formed a thin but never broken 'border' in the wilderness.
The beacon light extended all the way to the end of the line of sight. Compared to the endless lights that once shone on the land of Tarlund, this faint light was like a firefly. But these fireflies were the safe territories that the dragons had 'gnawed' out of this cruel land after countless battles. Outside the light was a hopeless place where life could not find a foothold. Inside the light was the only remaining home of the dragons.
Just like every Giant Dragon descendant who had the opportunity to set foot on Tarlonde, after seeing the wasteland and the efforts of the Giant Dragons to survive, Maggie's imagination of the 'home of the Giant Dragons' collapsed bit by bit into reality. The reality was not so beautiful, but at least she could see and touch it.
Coretta stood beside Maggie, raised a wing and pointed to the distance. "This is the border of the Orange Zone. According to the current division, the Orange Zone is also a 'safe zone'. At least for Extraordinaries and Dragons who have the ability to protect themselves, these zones are still habitable. On the other side of the light is the Red Zone. Do you see those brighter places? Those are the rest stations in the Red Zone. The soldiers use those rest stations as nodes to gradually clean up the pollution and cracks in the Red Zone. "
"What about outside the Red Zone?" Maggie suddenly asked. "Are there any other zones outside the Red Zone?"
"Yes, the Black Zone is the general name for all the unknown areas, including those that have been explored but are extremely dangerous and cannot be dealt with by current means. In fact, the Black Zone is the majority of the current situation in Tarlonde. The explored areas, including the Red Zone, are less than one-tenth of the entire continent," Coretta said slowly. "The exploration of the Black Zone is very risky. Only the most elite professional battle Dragons can undertake this task. But we have to explore those places, where we urgently need resources, factories that are still in operation or can be repaired, and even dragon eggs, or our compatriots who have fallen into the darkness and are waiting for rescue …"
Maggie listened attentively to Koreta's narration with a thoughtful expression. After Koreta finished, Maggie was silent for a moment before she suddenly asked, "Can the information about the development and construction in the wasteland be made public?"
"Made public?" Coretta was stunned for a moment, but she quickly thought about it and nodded gently. "There is no need to keep it a secret. The Council is even considering to compile the information into a booklet and distribute it to the rescue team and adventurers from Loren as a reference. Why, are you interested in these things?"
"Not me, but His Majesty, I mean His Majesty Cecil," Maggie said immediately. "We are planning to counterattack the wasteland of Gondor. You should know that place. It is a land destroyed by the Demonic Tide. Mutants and other dangerous mutant creatures wander there. Although the situation is different from Tarlonde, the challenges we face are similar. Your experience in this land can help us a lot."
Coretta blinked. She obviously had not thought of this before, but soon she understood Maggie's idea. She smiled and said, "Ah, of course, this is a good thing. I will go back and report this to the leader. He should be very happy to provide this information to the Alliance. Since the end of the war, Tarlonde has been receiving help from Loren and other countries. The Giant Dragon is not a race that is used to owing favors."
Maggie slightly bent her neck and gently tilted her head from side to side. This was a gesture she had just learned from other Giant Dragons. In the tradition of the pure-blood Giant Dragon, this gesture represented friendliness and gratitude.
Coretta returned the gesture. Then her attention was diverted elsewhere. Her eyes fell on the complex and rugged mechanical armor on Maggie's body. The Dueling Dragon Lady, who once dominated the Ultimate Arena, was actually interested in Maggie's mechanical armor from the beginning. But now that they were a little familiar with each other, she finally could not help but ask, "This set of 'armor' on you … is it the 'Steel Wings' that the dragon descendants in Binhai County mentioned?"
"Yes." Maggie raised her head and shook her wings and tail a little proudly. The steel structure at the joint creaked in the night, but her words were still modest. "Compared to Tarlonde's technology, this should be nothing."
"It's the former Tarlonde. Now Tarlonde can't make any full-body implants or power armor." Coretta looked at Maggie's armor with a little envy. "And putting this aside … I also like the style of your armor. This rugged steel structure, the combination of machinery and runes … Really, this thing is beautiful! Especially the device on your chin … What is this? A ram? "
"Actually, this is just a part of the head armor." Maggie could not help but laugh, shaking her head from side to side. For a long time, this was the first time she had heard about her 'Steel Chin' from someone other than Rebecca. This made her feel that her aesthetic sense was still normal. "Of course, you can use it as a ram if necessary. This thing is mixed with purple steel and adamantine, it's very hard …"
"I like this!" Coretta's eyes glowed, and her huge wings fluttered restlessly. This "duelist" seemed to have recalled her exciting days in the Ultimate Arena. "A combination of primitive and advanced. Why didn't I think of this idea when I designed the combat equipment for myself in the arena? If I had this in the last battle … If I had this … Well, even if I had this, I might not have been able to block a sneak attack from the back … "
The latter half of Coretta's sentence was full of resentment. Maggie had heard about the concept of the Ultimate Arena from her before. The dragon descendant could not help but imagine how a real pureblood Giant Dragon would look when equipped with steel armor. She shook her head and said happily, "This armor may not be practical on a pureblood Giant Dragon, but wearing this style of armor to fight in the arena you mentioned will definitely shock the contestants …"
As she spoke, she stuck out her tongue and licked her lips. "After all, this is …"
The latter half of Maggie's sentence came to an abrupt halt. She stuck her tongue to her Steel Chin, and the rest of the syllables turned into a series of vague murmurs. "Woo … woo … woo …"
Coretta, who was still immersed in the past, turned her head and was startled. She quickly reminded Maggie, "Hey! You're stuck! Burn it, burn it, hurry up and make a fire! "
Maggie finally reacted. A string of bright sparks ignited in her throat, and then turned into a flame spewing out of her mouth. She hurriedly controlled the power of the dragon's breath so that it did not burn Coretta. Under the high temperature of the flame, her tongue was finally freed from her Steel Chin.
The hill fell into silence. Coretta carefully glanced at her new friend, who seemed to be a little shocked. After a while, she could not help but ask, "Are you okay?"
"I was careless …" Maggie said in a muffled and hoarse voice, not knowing whether it was because of the injury on her tongue or because of the trauma on her heart. "I forgot that I was wearing something … But it shouldn't have stuck so tightly …"
Coretta sighed. "You licked iron at the North Pole in winter. I don't think there's any doubt about that."
The corner of Maggie's mouth seemed to tremble, but it was not easy to see under the cover of her Steel Chin. "Well, you're right … It's really bad. I remember that I rarely did such a stupid thing since I became an adult …"
Coretta glanced at her new friend. After a moment of silence, she shook her head. "Take it easy. You're not the only one who did that. After the disappearance of Tarlonde's Great Shield, many dragons who had lived in a 'greenhouse' all their lives came into contact with the real polar climate for the first time. We have to learn everything from scratch. The toxic factory ruins and wandering elemental creatures are not all the challenges that the Giant Dragon has to face. We also have to face the overly curious compatriots who licked iron railings at the North Pole … "
Maggie listened in astonishment. Obviously, this was something that no serious scholar would mention in a serious "Giant Dragon Monograph". But slowly, she could not help but laugh. Even Coretta, who was next to her, laughed.
The laughter of the two Giant Dragon echoed in the starry wasteland of Tarlonde.
…
Two hours later, Coretta returned to the adventurer's cabin where Modir lived. Victoria Velde had temporarily left the place.
"She said she would be back soon," Modir said to the black dragon girl in front of him. There seemed to be a hint of helplessness in his voice. "She wants to make some arrangements and ask for help from the adventurer camp manager. It sounds like she plans to live near me. To be honest, I can understand her feelings, but I don't think it's necessary … "
"… Ms. Victoria has her own plans." Coretta did not know that Modir's situation had worsened, but she knew Victoria Velde's identity. So after a brief hesitation, she could only say so.
"I know, I'm just saying," Modir said with a smile. Then he suddenly put on a mysterious look and whispered in Coretta's ear. "By the way, did you know that my descendant … may be a big shot."
Coretta was stunned. She did not know how to answer the great adventurer. She could only say perfunctorily, "Ah, big shot? What kind of big shot? "
"She said that she is an administrative officer in the government office, an ordinary administrative officer," Modir said slowly as he sat in his rocking chair, but soon he shook his head gently. "But I know she is not telling the truth."
Coretta, "… Huh?"
"My memory is not very good, and my mind is a little unstable, but I'm not stupid. And I have a pair of good eyes," the old man said with a smile. He raised his finger and pointed to his head and eyes. "She is a big shot, not a small official. Small officials do not have her kind of bearing, and small officials would not alarm the upper echelons of Tarlonde, let alone talk about the ruler of the empire in such a calm tone … She is not good at lying. Of course, it may be that she is not good at it in front of me."
Coretta listened to the old man and suddenly became a little nervous. "So you …"
"I came up with a few guesses, but I didn't dare to think too deeply about any of them. I didn't even dare to think about the key words in my mind." Modir's rocking chair swayed gently, and the wood creaked. "I also imposed a few mental cues on myself to stop my uncontrollable thoughts. Don't worry, girl, this old man knows what he's doing. I've experienced a lot of strange and bizarre situations in my life, so I naturally have some coping skills."
"… You have worked hard."
"It's not hard at all." Modir smiled and waved his hand. He looked up at the starry sky under the polar night sky. "I'm just afraid that I will accidentally forget again … Sir Helagol has done a test for me. Some key information will cause my memory to be confused for a period of time, and even reset my entire consciousness. Sometimes it will only reset a little, but maybe next time it will make me forget the whole day. I have finally met my descendant. What if she comes to see me again tomorrow and I don't know her? Don't you think that will be a little awkward?"
Coretta suddenly found that she did not know how to respond. She could only stand quietly beside the old mage and listen to the old man's nagging.
"I never thought that I would have a relative, although this relative and I have been separated for almost six hundred years …" Modir said slowly. "In my only memory, I have been wandering around, going to many places, meeting many people, and recording many things. But none of them could form a stable connection with me. After a long time, I even forgot 'time' itself. I was in a daze all day. Until today, I seem to have realized that some of the people and some of the things I remember are even from the first dynasty of Ansu …"
"You have relatives, and your relatives have not forgotten you," Coretta could not help but say. "Even if you don't remember them, they have always been …"
Before she could finish, there was an even and light snoring sound from the old mage's direction.
Modir had fallen asleep. In the city of the Giant Dragon in the polar night, he was basking in the sun in his heart as he fell asleep. But this time, there was a slight smile at the corner of his mouth. The monotonous world of black and white did not come to him. He slept peacefully.
…
After returning to the temporary residence of New Agundor, Victoria met Maggie who had returned from the suburbs.
"Modir Werde is in a bad condition. I suspect that he is being pursued by the power of the ancient gods. And this power has begun to affect the real world," she said to Maggie quickly. "I need you to go back to Loren as soon as possible and report this to His Majesty. At the same time, bring back a 'sample'."
"Understood. I can leave at any time." Maggie nodded immediately, but her voice was a little hoarse and strange.
Victoria suddenly showed a curious look. "What happened to your throat?"
Maggie's face showed a trace of embarrassment. In the face of her friend's inquiry, she had to turn her head away unnaturally. "Nothing, just a hiccup that hurt my throat."
"Hiccup?"
"Yes, hiccup."
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