Chapter 1205 Danger Signal
Early the next morning, Lightning told Maisie his plan. After a brief discussion, the two decided not to search the stone forest area layer by layer, but to speed up their pace and fly straight to the rift valley platform.
Regardless of whether there are any new discoveries, after drawing the topographic map of the area, return to the Snowy Ridge of Eternal Winter and meet up with the Taquila Witch.
At this moment, the sun has just emerged from the skyline, mist has spread over the mountains, and streaks of white frost can be seen in the crisscrossing waterways, which are traces left by the flood discharge last night. As the terrain slowly climbs, there is more and more white in the field of vision, until the mountains and plains are covered - and the Great Rift Valley in the distance is completely covered with snow, and it looks like an upside-down white porcelain from a distance. Giant bowl.
According to estimates, it is about three hundred kilometers away from the Kingdom of Eternal Winter, and its area is enough to be equivalent to the southernmost territory. This rift valley was also recorded in the Federation's Dawn Realm map, and it was believed that it was formed by a volcanic eruption, but it has now completely subsided.
Lightning has also seen the craters on the Searing Islands that spit out thick smoke and sulfur all day long, but compared to this mountain range, the scale is really much smaller.
Two hours later, the expedition team approached the Great Rift Valley area.
This spectacular and strange topography finally appeared in front of their eyes.
"So... so big," Maisie flapped her wings and exclaimed, "It feels like a whole kingdom could fit into this pit."
Lightning couldn't help but nodded. The rift she thought was actually not a fault in the earth. The shape of a mesa was definitely not a mountain peak here. Instead, the ground seemed to be opened up and lifted by something from the inside out. The rock formations form irregular "mountain walls" that look like scars on the earth when viewed from a high altitude.
If this was really a "breach" caused by an eruption, how amazing would its momentum be at that time?
The two of them lowered their altitude and landed two or three kilometers away from the Great Rift Valley. To be on the safe side, Maisie was usually the first to take the lead. After all, she could blend in perfectly with the local environment. Even if she was bumped into by the enemy, she would not be affected. You'll definitely recognize it.
"Listen carefully," Lightning warned, "Don't go deep into the cave. Just circle around the crack and come back. If you find anything strange, you must not go alone -"
"You must report to the leader first, and then we can determine the next step together." Maisie interrupted, "I know, I know, Gu, you have said it many times... Just like His Majesty Roland, Gu!"
"Uh, really?" Lightning touched the back of her head in embarrassment. She remembered that when Roland told her this, she had complained privately to the group members. A genius explorer would naturally know how to make the most reasonable judgment. If you need to tell me, I will tell you. Looking back now, she was indeed too childish at that time. "Ahem, anyway, there is no harm in saying important things a few times! I will stay here and search the nearby area, which will not exceed one kilometer at most. Remember this location and return within thirty minutes. Got it? ?"
"No problem Gu!"
"Very well, go ahead." Lightning patted her shoulder.
"Maisie, let's go!" The latter immediately flapped her wings and flew towards the center of the Great Rift Valley.
It wasn't until her figure completely disappeared from sight that Lightning withdrew his gaze and looked around carefully.
The snowy owl is a common bird here and is considered a type of owl. It can move during the day and night and has excellent eyesight. As long as you don't act rashly, the possibility of an accident is extremely low. It's much easier for her to be exposed - there are glaciers everywhere here, and there are almost no traces of animals. If a devil suddenly appears, she will become the most conspicuous target.
So rather than looking for signs of enemy activity, Lightning first looks for places to hide or take cover. She can no longer leave her troubles to others to deal with like she did before.
However, within five minutes, the sound of rapid flight was heard overhead.
Lightning couldn't help but was stunned. As soon as he followed the sound, he saw Maisie swooping down in a panic and crashing into her arms.
"There is a devil, devil!" the little girl shouted.
Her heart skipped a beat. Is there really a vein of divine stone here? "what have you found?"
"A huge warning beholder is lying on the stone wall below the entrance of the cave!" Maisie gestured with joy, "I just flew over the entrance of the cave and stared at it!"
That meant the beholder saw her, too.
Lightning couldn't help but feel lucky. Fortunately, he wasn't always the first to rush in as usual. Seeing a witch and seeing a bird were completely different things. A snowy owl shouldn't arouse the other person's vigilance.
"Then, you didn't scream out on the spot, right?" Just in case, she asked one more question.
"Of course, I am an experienced bird - no, explorer!" Maisie puffed up her chest and said, "Not to mention screaming, I didn't even blink at the time, and I pretended to look around at the scenery. He calmly averted his gaze! I bet it has forgotten about me now!"
Another picture flashed through Lightning's mind.
A snowy owl opened its eyes wide, stared at the warning beholder on the rock wall, and then turned its head away, deliberately turning away...
"Oops! Oops!" She suddenly grabbed Maisie and rushed towards a hidden spot she had discovered before!
"Gu?" The latter has not responded yet.
It was an ice cave hundreds of meters away. Probably because there were rocks around it, the snow did not fill the cracks below, which was just enough for one person to hide. After lightning rushed into the cave, he lowered his body and only exposed half of his head to look at the top of the rift valley.
After a moment, a "door" with a strange luster appeared out of thin air.
Then a devil walked out of the door and was suspended straight above the Great Rift Valley. Lightning felt that even her breathing was a little slower - she felt as much pressure from the other party as facing Ersluk.
The devil looked around for a while, then suddenly rushed down the mountain! For a moment, Lightning felt that the blood in her body was about to freeze, and her body almost subconsciously wanted to turn around and run away. If it weren't for the fact that the opponent's direction did not match the hiding place, she would have followed her instinctive reaction.
The devil plunged into the ice and snow, splashing up a large cloud of white mist. When it stood up again, it had a snowy owl in its hand.
Lightning swallowed and touched his chest involuntarily——
Fortunately, Maisie is still there.
The devil brought the frightened snowy owl close to him and stared at it for a long time. Finally, he seemed to be slightly disappointed, shook his head, and let go of it. The latter immediately screamed and flew towards the sky, quickly turning into a white dot.
The devil did not stay for too long. It held hands in vain again and tore open the door of light in front of nothing. Then it stepped into it and disappeared in front of the two people.
Lightning finally let out a sigh of relief.
In this way, the whereabouts of the expedition group were finally not exposed.
"Gu...what should we do next?" Maisie finally realized her "wrong reaction" at this moment and asked with her head hanging down.
If it were in the past, Lightning would probably try to sneak in from other places - the Great Rift Valley is so wide that even the Alert Beholder cannot monitor every corner. For explorers, although there is only one person between the first discoverer and the second discoverer, they have completely different meanings. If possible, she would always want to be the first.
But at this moment, she is no longer a simple explorer, but the leader of the Neverwinter expedition team and the sentinel who broadens the horizons of the First Army.
No matter what is hidden under the Great Rift Valley, the appearance of alert beholders and high-level devils is an extremely dangerous signal!
She must convey this news back to Neverwinter City as soon as possible and inform His Majesty Roland Wimbledon.
"Let's go to Manxue Ridge and meet up with the Taquila Witch," Lightning bit his lips lightly. "These mountains are no longer a safe area where no one has set foot."