Steel steam and flame

There was no pattern in the increase or decrease of the clouds. Four days had passed since we headed towards the Borghese area, and we were completely away from Manoma. But the weather seems to have inherited the characteristics of Manoma, becoming increasingly unpredictable. There is an astrology class in the military school. By observing the changes in the astrology, one can more objectively predict the weather conditions in the near future. It's just that the appearance of the red star has completely disrupted the rules. Even the Astronomy Palace in the Imperial Theological Seminary has become less and less credible in its predictions.

Looking at the vast land below that was dyed in various colors, Cassia felt that she was indeed very small compared to the real nature. Among the hundreds of countries on the Houxiang Continent, if you want to compare the other two giant countries, the empire has the largest territory. In such a vast land, according to a rough population census more than ten years ago, the existing population base is close to 100 billion.

The literal numerical values ​​did not have any impact on Cassia. Even though he had visited a few areas of the empire during some missions, he did not have a true feeling for the actual territory of the empire.

"How big is the entire Houxiang Continent?" Cassia looked back and thought, with the ability of the airship, the geographical distance became very small in the senses.

The airship stopped and stopped, and when it stopped for a long time, Cassia had the opportunity to go out and take a look. The level of prosperity is indeed declining. The closer you get to the Borghese area, the stronger the sense of gap you feel in the buildings and the atmosphere hanging over the city.

Excluding the inland city of Manoma, the only prosperous areas in the empire are those near the edge of the Endless Sea. Of course, if it is a city near a huge river, it may be called prosperous to a certain extent.

More than ten days later, as the high-pitched whistles of the airship completely disappeared from the ears, the loudspeaker in the room finally sounded the standard imperial language of arriving at the terminal.

Cassia looked out the window at the airport, which could only accommodate less than ten airships, and felt a little sigh in her heart. Standing up and moving her body, Cassia took the optically encrypted ticket, packed her suitcase, and headed for the exit.

The passage seemed very quiet, with only a few people walking. Cassia stepped out of the airship, and the atmosphere that he didn't know how to describe hit his face. It's very humid, and the thin layer of fine clouds in the sky seems to indicate that a moderate rain will fall here soon.

It is indeed a different feeling. The Borghese area close to the southern forest has another name - the sub-frontier area. Passing through the southern forest is the territory of the Flame Alliance. It's just that as a frontier, there is no sense of tension in the smell here. The development is indeed not very good. Cassia walked a long distance on the street and didn't see any decent landmark buildings. They all seem too stereotyped, and there are relatively few limousines on the road. Two-wheeled motorcycles account for the majority of transportation tools. But compared to the small town where I lived before, this place is much better. Streetlights were lined up along the roadside, and much of the surface paint had peeled off, replaced by thick layers of dark red rust. Cities that use electricity should be fine.

After checking into a decent hotel before dark, Cassia went out for a walk after dinner, hoping to encounter something. The result is nothing short of disappointing. It seems that there is no dark world involved here, and the plan to seek news and intelligence from the black market cannot be implemented. The only existing forces were all composed of ordinary people. Cassia went to investigate and found that in their world, the word "surgeon" had not yet appeared.

Back at the hotel, Cassia once again picked up the book that he had read several times-Peckinz Chilis's book on the investigation of ancient ruins. The name is "Ancient Ruins Exploration", and the one Cassia has in hand is the third volume.

I have never come across anything like this before, and all the stories in it are very new to Cassia. But this also creates a lot of knowledge that is not very clear. So she wrote these things down, and Cassia was ready to contact Shaco and ask Delya to bring over the three pages of strange text symbols, and let Shaco answer them for him.

Cassia herself didn't know why she was suddenly so interested in these things, or maybe it was because she was interested. When he borrowed "Strange Creatures" from Shako and spent some time thinking about it, he felt that through these books of Peckinz, he might be able to know some secret things. Just like the time that seemed to be a coincidence in the "Strange Creatures Sightings" in Shaco's hand, or the conjectures that keep appearing in the "Ancient Ruins Exploration Record" in his hand now.

",,,The next step I will continue to follow the road, the destination may be a forest, or it may be a swamp that swallows people. But even if I know that I will face more and more dangers, whether it comes from the surrounding nature Whether it is the environment or man-made factors, my steps will not stop. I have a vague feeling that the ancient ruins in different regions are connected. They may have been the products of the same civilization a long time ago..." The conclusion of the three volumes made Cassia think a lot. There are also additional considerations for Perkinz's identity.

It seems that they are not just advance personnel, because a lot of the information revealed in this book can be classified as confidential. If he were from other continents, even if he used the cover of a zoologist or the author of two series of books, he would indeed reveal a lot. A simple adventurer, or something else?

Without continuing to think about it, Cassia knew that there was no answer. After collecting all the books in the two series, we may be able to glean something from them.

Closing the book, Cassia checked the questions she had written down, and then sat down by the window to rest.

"You can try to contact Shaco tomorrow." Cassia considered this and entered a semi-sleep state.

It took a lot of time the next morning for Cassia to buy a satisfactory gift car. After contacting Shaco and Delya, and explaining the necessary things, Cassia drove towards the destination.

Driving out of the city, the surrounding area has become a wasteland. The road has not been repaired or maintained for many years, and the fences on both sides are full of rust and broken a lot. The solid ground also began to crack in large areas as Cassia traveled. Weeds began to grow everywhere as far as the eye could see.

Soon, the road was completely covered by the increasingly lush grass, and only a crushed dirt road led to the towering mountains that blocked the skyline in front of them.