When the sun went down, the temperature in the mountains also dropped rapidly.
Time to find a place to spend the night, Lightning thought. The temperature difference on the top of the desperate situation is amazing. After crossing the sea of clouds, the sun during the day is like roasting people. If you don't cover it, the exposed skin will easily get sunburned. And once at night, the howling cold wind will quickly take away all the heat, if you still sleep on the treetops like when you are in the forest, I am afraid that it will freeze to dryness the next day.
Therefore, it is necessary to find a safe haven before night completely covers the earth.
"That's it for today," Lightning took out the listening talisman and said, "I'll go to the nest, you can bring something to eat."
Maisie couldn't answer when she was flying, but she knew that the other party heard her contact.
Then she lowered her height and entered the state of flying close to the ground. Before departure, Agatha had repeatedly told her to either fly very high or walk close to the ground when looking for traces of the devil, and never change the path at will. Otherwise, once it strays into the area affected by the divine stone vein, no one will be able to save it.
Lightning strictly enforced this order. In the vast mountains, no one can help her in any accident. She must take care of herself and Maisie at the same time.
Since she had paid attention to possible hiding places in the previous search, she quickly found a cave half-opened on the mountainside. The terrain here is like a stone forest. There are tens of thousands of hills with almost the same height, densely packed together. , each hill is almost the size of Neverwinter City, and it won't make people look at it outside at all, but it has produced a wonderful change here, as if the top of the mountain was carved like this by a big hand.
The gap between the tops of the hills becomes a natural waterway, and in the event of a heavy rain, the mountain torrents will sweep down with the force of a thousand miles. More importantly, the climate changes on the high mountains are extremely severe. It may be that the sky is clear here, and the lightning and thunder are already there. If an inexperienced explorer chooses to camp in the mountains for convenience, it is very likely that they will be caught in the middle of the night. The unpredictable water rushed people overturned, so regardless of whether there is an ideal shelter, the foothold must be selected at a high place.
She had seen something similar several times since entering the mountainous region known as the Continental Spine.
In addition, the hills here are also different from other places. Most of the time, the peaks and stone walls should be steep and sharp, but these hills are basically round, and the shape is even a little soft, with concave holes on them, as if they are not natural The rock formed, but what the fluid looks like after solidification.
Fortunately, they still retain the hardness of the stone, enough to support a shelter.
This time, the cave is quite large, about ten meters square, and there are some weeds and branches scattered in it, which are probably left by birds and beasts when they made their nests. After confirming that there was no potential danger, Lightning notified Maisie of the location, and then packed up the temporary residence.
When the afterglow of the sunset was completely replaced by the night, Maisie, who turned into a snowy owl, also returned to the cave. She shook her feathers, returned to her human form, and raised the cyst on her chest like a gift, "Look at what I found!"
Lightning took the bag and took out a pheasant and four huge eggs from it. This is a rare harvest on the top of the desperate situation. Even Maisie, who is experienced in hunting, may not be able to return with a full reward every time.
"Nice job!"
Lightning touched her head, and returned to the other party with a smug smile, "Hehe."
The bonfire soon rose. She surrounded the stove with the silt deposited on the bottom of the mountain to prevent the fire from being discovered, and then covered the mud on the hairless pheasant, put the whole into the fire, and finally covered the bird. Egg.
Thirty minutes later, dinner was done.
This cooking technique has been implemented many times in the Hidden Forest by the two of them, and it can be regarded as practice makes perfect.
The moment the mud shell was knocked open, a strong fragrance poured into the nose of the two.
The fat leaching from the skin makes the chicken gleam, and the spices that fill the belly are fully stimulated under the roast, and melt into the body along the steaming heat; after removing the soft skin, all that is left is tender and delicious food . Unlike the finished product that is directly roasted by the flame, there is no scorch marks on the whole chicken, and the meat is as white as new.
With the steamed bird eggs, the two of them soon ate their mouths full of oil, not even the chicken bones.
"Hiccup," Maisie sighed, "It's still the most delicious food I've caught."
This guy, obviously when we first met, even plausibly accused himself "you actually want to eat a bird".
Lightning shook his head amusingly, "Did you find anything today? Except for the food."
"Well, there is no Gu... The landforms here are basically the same. If there are traces of the devil's actions, I will definitely find Gu."
Sure enough, if the ore veins of the gods were buried deep in the ground, it would be too difficult to find clues by aerial reconnaissance alone. I don't know where Taquila's support fleet is now. If they can give a general direction, even if the location is vague, it is much better than blindly searching.
Under the lightning voltage, he pointed to the side of the cave and said, "If that's the case, then go and make me a bed!"
"Oh, I understand." Maisie dragged her long white hair to her designated position and turned into a group of terrifying beasts.
The lightning extinguished the lingering flames and lay in her belly, which was limited by the size of the nest, and the two of them had different ways of heating. Compared to squeezing each other in a small sleeping bag, it was obvious that Maisie used the form of a fearful beast to resist. The cold wind is more comfortable, at least her stomach is like a huge stove, enough to ensure that she will not wake up at night.
However, this is not without its shortcomings. The skin of the fearful beast is quite rough, and it can even be described as a shave. Lightning can't help but miss Lorgar's fur.
"Aren't you going to sleep yet?" Seeing her taking out the glowing magic stone, Maisie turned her head and asked.
"Well, I have to record today's route. It won't take long, you go to sleep first."
"Okay." Maisie said in a stern voice, and after a while, she suddenly mumbled again, "You will always take me on an adventure in the future, right?"
Lightning was stunned for a while, then replied softly, "Of course."
After Ashes are gone, I will take up the responsibility of protecting you.
After hearing the answer, Maisie finally closed her eyes.
Lightning sat for a long time before taking out the notepad from his pocket.
It is now the tenth day that they have entered the northern mountainous area of the Everwinter Kingdom, and the search distance has reached about 120 kilometers. The more she went to the top of the desperate situation, the more she could feel her insignificance. In this place that no one has ever set foot in, she saw many indescribable scenery, a vast mountain and stone forest like a fertile plain, an ice waterfall that plummeted into the sea from the northeast, a sea of clouds rising like a staircase, and The huge rift in the center of the continental spine... Compared to this area, the Desperate Mountain Range that separates the four kingdoms is just a branch that spreads out. And these views are hidden on the top of the mountain, and you can't see it with your own eyes unless you cross the cliff-like cliffs.
Lightning vaguely understood why his father was so addicted to exploration.
The world is so vast that if you don't open your eyes to see it, people will always be insignificant. Only through understanding can you make yourself bigger.
Deciding to become an explorer was the right choice in her life.
Of course, exploring the world can be done later. Lightning has not forgotten that he still has a mission. If he flies too far from Eternal Winter, the search efficiency will be low, and the support team will be worried. According to the time, the "Roland" should also arrive at the Everwinter Harbor soon.
She glanced at the hand-drawn map and set her sights on the Great Rift Valley.
From a distance, it appeared to be a raised mesa in the stone forest, but it was hollow in the middle, and it was difficult to determine how deep it was.
Compared with the stone forest with little change, at least the section below the surface of the rock can be seen.
If she still hasn't found any traces of the Divine Stone vein or the devil, she should consider whether she should return to Everwinter and join the support team before making the next plan.