Steel steam and flame

"It's clear." Toyinby turned to look at the three captains behind him and began to select people. He looked at Cassia's face, and finally looked away, taking away the two captains and two people who were familiar with the situation in the Flame Alliance. "Hopefully brings good news."

Cassia and the others turned back to the team. There was not much light left at this time. The hour Isa mentioned just now was almost the limit time for the darkness in the forest to turn into darkness.

There was a silent wait, and after a while, people far away around him were no longer visible with just his sight. Cassia sat down against an ancient tree and buried her head between her knees, resting. The sound wave pulse showed that there was no abnormality within the limit detection radius of six kilometers. Of course, things hidden among the leaves of ancient branches and underground could not be ruled out. But the odds are too low, Cassia thought.

What could those claw marks be? Like Isa and the others, Cassia also thought about this again. I sincerely hope it's not a mark, but other than that, there doesn't seem to be any other suitable explanation. Try to continue to analyze in the marked direction. With Cassia's habit, she often prepares for the worst. Thinking of many possibilities, the results of the simulation are not very good. At least half of the people around him will die.

Toynby came back an hour and a half later, and his face looked very bad under the strong flashlight, "It's a continuous trace. We ran for about ten kilometers, and there were such traces throughout the whole journey. And we also saw ten people on the way. Several corpses were corroded by microorganisms until only the pitted bones were left. After tonight, the bones will disappear and become nutrients. According to the speed at which these microorganisms corroded the corpses, the time must have been two days ago."

"Judging from the fragments of clothing, they should be people who came from Larsa. There are traces of battles around them. After careful inspection of the traces, it turns out that a team of seventeen people was involved based on the skull and bones. After all, there were dozens of guns, but only one was found. There were less than two hundred bullet casings. The number was so small that one magazine only lasted ten seconds, and the shooter couldn’t even finish a magazine.”

"And it's very likely that they didn't hit their attackers at all. The craters are all on the old trees. They are very messy. It looks like they can't find the target and are controlled by fear and shoot around randomly." The two captains added one after another, "The time is two days. I don't know if it has something to do with the overlap in the time when the patrol team passed here in the past few days. If this can explain it, it is the best situation. But there is still no answer on the claw marks. It is estimated that this mark will continue to It's so far along the border that it's almost impossible to get around it."

All eyes were now on Isa, waiting for her judgment and order.

"Muriel, where are the other teams currently?" Isa asked at this time. She took out the map and spread her hands. Muriel walked over and pointed out the positions of several teams one by one on the map, "The fastest one has already penetrated nearly two hundred kilometers."

"Let them stay where they are and evacuate the border immediately after dawn. If it is convenient at night, they can also take action immediately." Isha glanced around and raised her voice. "We will rest until midnight today, and the forward speed will be slower." It's very slow, but since we can't avoid it, we can only try to stay away from it. We will avoid some known dangerous areas and travel at night. We will reach the deep part of the border by the evening of the day after tomorrow at the latest. Then we will make decisions based on the situation. , should we continue to move forward, or go directly to several known safe areas from the fastest route."

The team immediately took action, and the beams of more than a dozen strong flashlights pierced the darkness and illuminated the surrounding area. The good thing is that you can still hear insects buzzing around. Cassia wanted to get closer to Toyinby at this time. Knowing what was going on, Toyinby gave the answer directly, "A thing that was born due to the border route for transactions. It is said to be a safe zone, but it is actually within the Flame Alliance." A place jointly created by more than a dozen forces to charge high protection fees. However, you can indeed be safe if you enter it, although it is not absolute."

"Can even those under the patrol team be protected?"

"Yes, but this is already considered a special situation." Toynby said, "I have never been there. I heard that in normal times, when you escape from various dangers, you are charged a fee of close to 7 to 8 million per person. . If it is a patrol team, the price will increase several times. In short, if all of us enter the safe area, we may have to pay close to 100 million."

Cassia seemed to understand. After nearly half a minute, she said doubtfully, "Since there is such a risk, why don't you just choose to evacuate? Let's not talk about this forest. When we get to the seller, will the deal be negotiated? It’s still a problem. Since there are other sources of supply, it would be safer to spend time on them, right?”

Toynby smiled, as if he was mocking Cassia's ignorance, and also as if he was helpless, but more like a feeling similar to sympathy, "If we can find a way from other sources of goods, we should each work together at this time." Lying on the big bed in the residence, doing their own things, instead of being in this forest, Soriato. You have just come here and encountered this kind of mission. I don’t know that many situations are normal. But I still want to mention one thing. , you need to take some time to understand our adjutant-general, Miss Isa. She is very dedicated to her... Most of the tasks were left to her to dispatch personnel to complete.”

"I don't know how to describe it. In Miss Isa's eyes, if this transaction can be completed, the purchased goods will soon be turned into actual equipment and materials, and go to the hands of some organization members, becoming a symbol of strength and combat effectiveness. A member. Just like stacking blocks, Miss Isa believes that she is a piece at the bottom, and her own efforts can influence and help other members of the organization who have never seen her. What she sees in her eyes is that I may never I can’t see it. This is probably the gap, mental.”

Toynbee sighed, "I have said too much. You don't have to worry about danger. No one in the team will leave anyone behind in times of danger. I can guarantee this. Miss Isa asked me to take care of you in private. When you encounter an enemy, just run to me. In terms of strength and experience, I am somewhat stronger than you."

Cassia smacked her lips and sighed in her heart as she walked to the middle of the team.

Later in the night, at 2 a.m., the team stopped in the dark and rested against an old tree. The ones on guard were Isa and several captains. Cassia was excluded because her strength in the late second stage was useless, and according to Adolf's information, Cassia did not have any abilities or specialties related to investigation.

It's just that night greatly limits the speed of travel. On the other hand, known danger areas must be avoided, although Cassia doesn't know where the dangers in these danger areas come from. The depth of travel was only thirty kilometers, but it was still a distance. During the break, Toyinbi and the others used bright flashlights to observe the surrounding ancient trees. It was good news that they no longer found those claw marks.

Early the next morning, the sky was slightly bright, and the team set off again in a thin layer of fog.

,,,,,,

"Is there any news from Larsa?" A man stood in front of the wolf pack, looking at the huge gray wolves standing still, and asked the people next to him. The gray wolf's breathing sound was like the lifting device of an airship, gathering together and making a roaring sound.

"It is said that detailed data will be given at noon. It is probably still being sorted out, sir."