Chapter 593: The Black Stone Forest
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After confirming that there were no signs of demonic activity in the camp, a new reconnaissance team was quickly assembled. (Product #...Net)
Maisie, carrying Agatha, set off first to search the camp. Fifty soldiers from the First Army escorted Soraya, Asha, and others who lacked the ability to escape, in order to find the cause of the red mist's disappearance.
"We're almost there," Lightning gestured to Maisie, "Descend."
"Awoo!"
Agatha leaned out, and the rocky beach appeared little by little before her eyes. As the little girl said, the dense red mist had disappeared without a trace, revealing the black-brown earth. Unlike the surrounding dark green forest, there wasn't a single tree within the camp's boundaries, as if a layer had been torn off the ground.
This was the first time she had approached a demon's dwelling.
As a former member of the Seekers, Agatha couldn't help but feel a little excited.
"Lightning is about to land, repeat, Lightning is about to land."
"Be careful, if you encounter any possible danger, remember to escape immediately." Roland's voice came from the other end of the magic stone.
"Lightning understands."
Maisie retracted her wings and swooped down towards the ground.
The scenery under her feet changed rapidly, from the azure sea to the gray-white rugged stone walls, and finally to the moist brown earth. Agatha felt a jolt all over, and the giant Terrorbeast landed steadily on the ground.
"Demons live in a place like this?" Lightning marveled, "I didn't think so much when I looked down from the sky before, but now it's really eerie."
Agatha wholeheartedly agreed.
Everywhere on the open land stood dark stone towers, like a well-arranged black forest. The black spots seen from the air mainly came from these alien buildings—the tall ones were about three or four stories high, and the short ones barely reached above the head. In terms of density, they far exceeded those front-line camps.
It seemed that in addition to storing red mist, these stone towers had other functions.
"Although I don't know what kind of changes they went through, it shouldn't be too long ago," she judged.
"Why do you say that?" Lightning asked curiously.
"Because the stone towers haven't completely withered," Agatha pointed to the nearest black stone tower, "They've only darkened on the surface, and they're far from being rough and fragile. This is completely different from the desolation left behind after the Union took over the front-line camps. It can only mean that the demons didn't plan to retreat, or... the decision was very hasty." She paused, "Let's go to the center of the camp first, the tall tower where the Eyemon was, maybe we can find something."
"Hopefully Asha can find the reason—Ah!" Lightning, who was walking in front, suddenly screamed and sank into the ground, scaring Maisie to immediately transform into a pigeon and take off, and Agatha also summoned ice to stand in front of her.
"I'm fine," before the two could react further, the little girl flew out of the hole again, complaining as she patted the dirt off her body, "Who dug a pit here to trap people!"
What a jumpy little ghost, Agatha breathed a sigh of relief. Just as she was about to dispel the ice wall, what the other party said next made her heart rise again.
"Eh, there's a demon in here!"
"Really," Maisie landed on her head, "But it seems to be dead."
"Probably," the little girl patted her chest, still with lingering fear, "Otherwise I'd be in trouble."
Agatha, holding an ice spear, leaned over and took a look. As Maisie said, a Feral Demon stood listlessly in the pit, and the exposed skin had dried up and shriveled, like salted fish that had been exposed to the sun.
"I remember Sylvie said that these demons usually hide underground, right?" She further confirmed her judgment. Whether they decided to retreat at that time, or encountered other changes, things must have happened very suddenly. Otherwise, these demons would not have waited for new orders until they died, and gradually exhausted the red mist underground.
"Then let's just fly and look," Lightning muttered, "I don't want to fall into a pit again."
She carried Agatha on her back and moved slowly along the ground. After the three of them bypassed several rows of stone towers, the view in front of them suddenly opened up.
A clearing appeared in the camp.
"This is..." Agatha gasped. Judging from the scene, this clearing was obviously not intentionally left by the demons—a huge hole appeared in the center of the open space, about the size of Border Town Square, with many fragments of stone towers scattered around. The three stood at the entrance of the hole and looked down. The cave was bottomless and it was difficult to see where it led.
"It's just like the place where you were found," Lightning clicked her tongue, "Do you want me to go down and investigate first?"
"Don't go!"
"No goo!"
Agatha and Maisie stopped her at the same time.
"Okay," the little girl sighed, revealing a look of regret. Since being punished by His Majesty to do test questions, her adventurous spirit had been restrained a lot, "Then let's just wander around first."
The rest of the camp was much the same. Of course, the three didn't gain nothing. Maisie found many magic stones and a withered Chaos Beast in a flat-topped stone tower—she just wanted to stop on it to rest, but she didn't expect to find a narrow patio entrance, probably an air duct for the demons to pour red mist into.
Two days later, the First Army also arrived at Rocky Beach.
Lian found a narrow crack in the mountains and carved out a path on the cliff that was only wide enough for one person to walk through. Heavy firearms and other equipment were transported by Maisie. It took a lot of effort to get fifty soldiers and witches into the inland.
This was also the first contact between human natives and aliens.
Even the most determined soldiers felt fear and panic when they saw this incredible scene. Roland had anticipated this and ordered everyone to camp near the entrance of the cliff to avoid being too tense. As for Asha's playback work, the First Army was simply not allowed to participate in the observation.
According to Agatha's inference, the towers in the camp disappeared about a week and a half to a month ago. If the rewind time exceeded a week, Asha's magic consumption would increase rapidly. As for things that happened a month ago, it could only be replayed once a day. There was no clever way, they could only try slowly.
Among the large pile of magic stones Maisie brought back, there were many practical varieties. Although the quality was far inferior to the spoils obtained from the Heart Eater, it was better than nothing. It could be said that the almost completed Mage Tower was only missing a living demon.
Finding the exact time of the incident was a long process. While waiting for the results and developing new gadgets, Roland received a second secret letter from the Fjords.
The letter said that Tilly Wimbledon was about to arrive at Shallow Beach in the Western Region.