……
As night fell, the shadows gradually enveloped the land from the direction of the Neverwinter Mountains, as if the ridges were constantly growing, eventually merging with the sky and completely swallowing the brown-green land.
This was the first time Luo Jia had seen such a scene. When flying in the sky, even a behemoth like Maisie cast a projection that was only a small, insignificant patch on the mountains, rivers, and fields. As the shadow behind her encroached, it seemed slow, but there was no escape. No matter how fast she flew, it was useless.
She gained a deeper understanding of the vastness of the Barren Lands.
Lightning approached and whistled, "Let's descend. We're here."
"Awoo—!"
The giant beast began to descend, and the wolf girl on her back suddenly felt like she was floating. The feeling of falling made her slightly nervous, and she involuntarily gripped the fur tightly.
Before long, the three of them landed on a small hillside.
"This is..."
"The expedition team's secret base," Lightning waved, "Follow me."
The little girl disappeared after going around a huge tree stump. Luo Jia realized that the tree stump was actually hollow, with a small door facing the steep slope. Inside, there were piles of firewood and simple stone chairs.
"It takes two days even to fly to Taqila, so we'll spend the night here. We'll set off early tomorrow morning," Lightning opened the window panel opposite the door to let the air circulate. The musty smell inside the tree trunk dissipated a lot. "Next is barbecue time. Try my cooking."
"This place...did you build it?" Luo Jia looked around curiously. She had agreed to the other party's invitation and joined the so-called Neverwinter Expedition Team. After all, besides the little girl's promise to take her to the abandoned city, the information about the devils was exactly what she was interested in. The more she knew about the enemy, the more advantages she could gain in future battles. Starting without detailed information was a last resort, and now that she had a reliable source of information, she had no choice but to make some "sacrifices."
She figured she could put up with the two little ones for a while.
"I can't say I built it. I just found a naturally created dwelling." Lightning quickly started a bonfire, lighting up the inside of the tree stump. "Worms hollowed it out, half of it collapsed in the wind and rain, and the branches and leaves happened to fill the tree trunk, forming a natural canopy—as for the window holes and door panels, Maisie carved them out. There are many such resting places in the Barren Lands. As long as you're careful enough, explorers will never lack a shelter from the wind and rain."
The other party's answer unexpectedly made her feel reliable.
By the flickering firelight, Luo Jia noticed that simple latches were nailed behind the door and window panels to effectively prevent intruders; a smoke outlet that could be opened and closed was dug out on the bonfire side, which could also be used for escape in an emergency; the firewood was all placed in a higher position to prevent it from getting wet, and two drainage ditches leading directly outside were dug on the ground, so although there was a musty smell, it didn't feel damp.
There were many similar details, things that an underage child couldn't possibly have mastered.
For a moment, she couldn't figure out the expedition team's background.
Maisie hummed an out-of-tune cooing song while taking out jerky from her backpack and putting it on the fire to bake. Lightning took out various seasoning jars from her waist and sprinkled them evenly on the jerky. The two coordinated very well, obviously not doing this for the first time.
Soon, an enticing aroma spread through the tree trunk.
"Eat," Lightning handed her a skewer of grilled meat.
Luo Jia took the grilled meat, hesitated for a moment, and slowly put it into her mouth.
A rich, layered, and delicious taste instantly burst out—first, the sticky, warm oil, then the salty freshness brought by the spices, and finally the tender meat threads that were crispy on the outside and tender on the inside. It was hard to imagine that this was a delicacy that could be enjoyed in the wild, and even the banquets in Iron Sand City were no better.
She couldn't help but wag her tail and exhale a lingering fragrance from her throat, "So, so delicious..."
"Of course, this isn't ordinary jerky, coo!" Maisie said proudly, "It was originally a giant lake frog from the Great Snow Mountain ice
spring. I spent a lot of effort to catch it ashore! Just one leg is as big as Lightning, so I can only pickle it and eat it slowly."
The wolf girl was stunned for a moment. Lake frog? What was that? Was it really edible?
"Don't worry," the little girl seemed to see through her thoughts, "Explorers exist to explore unknown secrets, and new foods are one of them."
Luo Jia pursed her lips, but in the end, she couldn't bear to put down half of the jerky and swallowed it with her eyes closed.
After savoring the lingering taste between her lips and teeth, she looked at Lightning, "Are there only two of you in the Neverwinter Expedition Team?"
"There are three now," the latter corrected.
"What about the others in the Witch Union? Why did you want to invite me to join?" The Third Princess thought for a while and chose to speak frankly, "I came to the Western Territory to challenge strong enemies and hone my skills. I don't have much interest in exploring the unknown..."
Lightning was silent for a rare moment. "Because they rarely leave Neverwinter City, and even if they do, not many like to run around in the wild. Compared to exploring, they have more important things to do...like staying in the factories to produce those machines. Father said that one person can't complete a real exploration. To become a great explorer, you must build your own team, and you are the only witch I've met in the Barren Lands."
This guy was serious, Luo Jia suddenly realized. The expedition team wasn't a whim, but something she wanted to do from the bottom of her heart—but judging from her slightly lonely tone, probably not many people took her seriously and treated her words as a little girl's joke, just like she had thought before.
For a moment, she saw a trace of herself in the other person. Before defeating all challenges and becoming a true warrior, few people could understand her enthusiasm and persistence for battle—even in Iron Sand City, female warriors were still a small minority.
Thinking of this, the wolf girl couldn't help but sigh lightly and put on a helpless expression, "Since I'm also a member of the expedition team, what do I need to do next?"
Lightning's eyes lit up. She took out a parchment map from her pocket and handed it to Luo Jia. "This marks the nearby unexplored areas. If you happen to pass by there, draw the new things you find on it—bird nests, beehives, wolf dens, anything is fine."
"But you can't sneak around alone. This is the first rule of the expedition team. You have to wait for us to come back and eat together, coo!" Maisie interjected.
Luo Jia unfolded the map and saw that it was filled with all sorts of strange patterns, with many annotations written next to them. For example, where it said "Eagle's Nest," there were two chicken legs and four eggs, which made her laugh and cry.
Why did she have the feeling of being cheated?
"Cough, cough...okay, I got it," she put away the map. "But what does 'wait for you to come back' mean...are you leaving Neverwinter City?"
"His Majesty Roland is about to send troops to the Eastern Territory and Hermes. At that time, we'll probably have to act with the First Army. It may take several months before we can come back—after all, His Majesty can only rely on the two of us to scout the enemy's situation and calibrate the artillery." Lightning patted her chest. "During this time, the exploration of the Barren Lands is up to you."