"Lord, do you want to explore the volcano with us?"
The captain of the exploration team standing aside saw Joshua suddenly silent and just staring at the red rock in his hand. He couldn't help but ask: "So, should we set off now? Or should we rest for a while?"
This tall, sturdy Northland soldier who was at least two meters away was originally carrying a huge tool bag, but due to the long wait, he had already placed the package on the ground. You could see it through the opening of the package. It is filled with various magic equipment used to detect mineral veins and detect the purity of the ore, as well as some equipment for exploration.
"Of course, but not now."
Joshua nodded. He moved his eyes away from the ancient dragon blood stone in his hand and glanced around. He found that there were not many tall vegetation on the hills around the volcano, only some low shrubs and small trees. The ground is also hard variegated rock, covered with countless tiny cracks.
The exploration team living in this simple camp has a total of four people, all of whom have mid-to-high-level silver strength. Counting Paladin Loranda, there are five. The captain is the tall warrior, and the explorers are the archer and A hidden person - that is, a thief, but they do not steal for the government, but specialize in detection and lurking.
The last person is a rare halfling mage. He has a pair of bright big eyes, hairy hands and feet and is only half the height of an ordinary person. It has to be said that if his staff is not so conspicuous, the warrior would almost be dead. Ignored him.
This halfling didn't look as active as other members of his race. After noticing Joshua's gaze, he bowed silently.
These people all discovered the silver-haired girl and black-haired boy standing behind Joshua, but they did not question it. As the members of the exploration team who need the most discerning eyes, everyone knew that they could accompany the lord all the way. The existence that walked over the mountains and ridges of the Black Forest Fortress without panting was definitely not a simple ordinary boy or girl, at least they didn't need to worry.
After confirming the lineup of the exploration team, Joshua seemed to sense something. He looked back in the direction of the Black Forest Fortress, then nodded and said: "Wait a little longer, and my war horse will come over."
War horse
No one quite understood why Joshua said he wanted to wait for his war horse. You must know that this is the hilly area around the volcano, with many potholes. There are even rapid high-temperature fountains in some places, even for people passing by. You need to be careful, how can you bring a war horse with you
But it wasn't long before they realized their mistake.
Due to the slight vibration on the ground, the hidden man and the archer who were looking around noticed something approaching rapidly in the distance. They hurriedly looked in the direction of the noise, only to find a dragon's blood swollen gate rushing from the distance. The dust it kicked up could be clearly seen thousands of meters away. When the archer reminded it, the rest of the exploration team quickly turned their heads, and then took a breath of surprise when they saw the huge body.
And Loranda, who had never seen Hei before, was also surprised.
Is this gold-level half-dragon the war horse that Joshua talks about
Do not make jokes! Whose war horse is so big? Why don't you just tell me about the mount? Such a size is comparable to a small house, and it is already larger than most Warcraft!
As Hei got closer, his huge size became more and more obvious. With sufficient food supply, this guy was already nine meters tall, as tall as a three-story building. Counting the tail, it was almost twenty meters long. , it was wrapped with fire elements that were visible to the naked eye. With a swing of its slender body, it actually brought out a ring of fire surrounding it in the volcanic area with dense elements.
Although he inherited the bloodline of the sea dragon, Hei still likes to run on the earth. With a thunderous stampede, this huge beast arrived in front of the camp, and then neighed loudly in front of its master. , a faint coercion spread, and many black shadows suddenly flew out of the surrounding forest. It was unclear whether they were birds or bats.
"It came pretty quickly."
Completely ignoring the slight dragon power in the neighing sound, Joshua stepped forward and patted the forelimbs of his mount. He nodded with satisfaction and said, "As expected, I asked the people from the academy to teleport you from the Nissii Snow Mountain. Coming here was the right choice.”
Since it was determined to go to the volcanic area from the beginning, how could the warrior not think of Hei who inherited the blood of the black dragon? The half-dragon with the power to control the fire element can not only avoid all dangers, but can at least improve everyone's safety factor. However, this guy is usually kept in the Palm Print Lake under the snow-capped mountains. If he wants to come over, he must go through the teleportation array. .
"Fortunately, when this guy gets older, he can bathe himself."
Standing behind Joshua, Ying, who was originally taking care of Hei, murmured in a low voice. The little guy seemed to imagine himself holding a small brush to clean this huge beast. Thinking of this, she couldn't help but He shuddered: "It's terrible."
Rin also muttered with resentment: "The bigger it gets, the more it eats. Its food alone is a huge expense every day... Why does it have to grow so big! As long as a horse can be ridden, it's fine! What’s the use of being so big!”
At this time, Joshua also turned his head and said calmly to the members of the exploration team who were still in shock: "Take your luggage and put it on Hei's body. We should set off."
"Yes, sir!"
"As you command!"
In fact, based on what the exploration team has seen, monsters of this size are not seen before, and they are not so surprised. However, the black dragon power is different from ordinary dragon beasts, with a wild aura from ancient times. Coupled with the dense fire elements surrounding it, like armor, everyone couldn't help but marvel at the power of this giant beast.
None of the people present were procrastinating. Even if they had been marveling at the hard carapace on the black exterior and the core of lava light flowing on the chest, this expanded expedition team also headed towards the second minute after the order was given. Set off towards the cave leading to the mysterious area.
The terrain around the Great Ajax volcano is complex and changeable, with hills, basins, woods and rock piles. The ecology of Warcraft also varies with the environment. A few decades ago, except for the occasional gold-level powerhouse in the four territories of the North, Except for hunting in the surrounding areas, this place has always been a restricted area for humans. Sudden high-heat toxic steam, boiling fountains, and even lava pouring out of holes in the ground have greatly hindered the progress of exploration, not to mention living in There are all kinds of dangerous monsters around here.
Before Loranda, a high-ranking gold man, and one of the strongest gold high-ranking men in the world, joined this ordinary exploration team, the entire team could only explore the hills around the volcano. They dared to get close to the woods at the foot of the volcano, let alone go up the mountain. It was precisely because of this that they were the first to discover the obvious cave at the foot of the mountain.
But now, under the power of the black dragon, even the sound of footsteps echoed in the mountain peaks, and no magical beast dared to appear in front of this team. In addition, the half-dragon's huge body was completely unafraid of any terrain. , it crossed many obstacles with just ordinary steps, even the magma pool was easily waded through.
Not long after, the group arrived at the cave at the foot of the Great Ajax volcano.
Among the rolling hills and rocks, there is a rock surface covered with obvious red marks, and a small dense forest of yellow-brown leaves grows on it. Behind this forest is the one that leads to the depths of the volcano. The entrance to the cave is huge, at least over thirty meters high, and the walls are extremely smooth and even have signs of pottery, as if they were fired at high temperatures.
When they arrived at the destination, the exploration team took out the luggage placed on Hei's body and took out various equipment and equipment - such as magic gas masks, primary elemental immunity amulets, long telescopic ropes, and various other equipment used to deal with the dangers. All kinds of unexpected equipment.
"do you need?"
The paladin stretched out a mask in front of Joshua, but the warrior just stared at him calmly, forcing the guy to retract his hand regretfully: "Of course I know you don't need it... But this has nothing to do with strength, in order to save energy , but also to experience life, you should try it!”
It’s just because I’ve experienced it that I don’t want to do it again.
Joshua shook his head. How could he not be familiar with these equipment? In his previous life, when he went to open up wasteland in some dangerous areas, the whole group had to prepare a set of similar equipment. He was lucky enough to use this imperial standard gas mask for a while, and the effect was indeed good. However, it is easy to have difficulty breathing during exercise. With the gold-level Dou Qi possessed, he will not look for trouble.
And Ying and Lin are both magic machines. To be honest, whether it is breathing or heartbeat, for them, it is just a function of simulating human beings. As long as they want, they can stop breathing at any time, so naturally there is no need to wear this kind of machine. mask.
After being fully prepared, everyone, including Hei, entered the cave together.
Compared with the underground tunnels dug by the dwarves, this volcanic cave is wider and has more branches. After walking only a few hundred meters, there are many cracks or openings leading to other places on the cave wall, but because of the last time The reason for coming here once was that the exploration team did not hesitate in these places, but walked straight towards the largest passage. It didn't take long before they descended to a depth of more than 100 meters.
There were no accidents along the way. Apart from the fact that the temperature was getting hotter and hotter, not even half a monster was encountered. This was all due to Hei's increasingly powerful dragon power. Joshua even sensed that he was originally here. There was a group of silver-level steel-drilled moles in front of the cave, but after sensing the power of the dragon, they immediately trembled, then ran back to a secret cave as if fleeing, and disappeared collectively.
With Joshua's powerful perception, he could even clearly see with his inner eye that a group of thirty-seven medium-sized moles were tensing up in a corner of the cave with their families. The adult male mole is digging frantically in front, while the adult female is following closely with her pups in her mouth, squeaking and urging.
Facing the pressure at the top of the natural food chain, even the Silver-level monsters still fled in panic like ordinary animals that were frightened.
Time flew by, and everyone continued to follow the cave deep into the volcano in silence.
"Not far."
Through the mask, a dull voice came. The leading warrior wiped the sweat from his forehead. At this time, the surrounding temperature had reached over seventy-five degrees. The rich fire element even formed little sparks in the surrounding area, lighting up the way forward. Because of his fighting spirit and primary element immunity, With the blessing of skin care, he still looked very energetic: "Lord, the last time I was here, I even saw the fire element naturally gathering into a magic crystal. Although it was only the size of a grain of rice, it was enough to prove the thickness of the elements here. . ”
"indeed so."
Joshua, who had nothing abnormal on his body and didn't even sweat, also noticed this. He looked at the countless particles reflecting faint light on the surrounding cave walls, as well as the fire elements that were slowly condensing, and felt a little emotional. Said: "If this continues, in a few hundred years, this place will become a small flame crystal vein."
This is not a common situation, I am really lucky.
While talking, the group of people walked to the end of the cave, their final destination.
A vast underground cavity of at least two to three square kilometers.
(End of chapter)