Steel steam and flame

The flames caused by the dragon's breath did not spread very far. After all, it was one of the extreme areas, and the stability of its ecosystem would not be affected by forest fires or the like at all. The black smoke gradually became smaller and disappeared completely after nearly three hours. The silence turned into silence, and the air seemed to be stagnant here, without flowing.

As the afternoon passed, this charred place still maintained an unchanging silence. Nearing the evening of early autumn, the wind finally picked up, and a rustling sound came from the canopy of the trees. Perhaps someone couldn't help it, and the ground covered by ashes moved, and then a hand came out and grabbed it aside. Then a man with a black face got up.

His face was covered with dirt and ashes, and it was difficult to cover up the painful expression on it. The man patted the upper and lower parts of his body gently to remove the excess soil, then turned his head at an unreasonable angle and looked at the severely burned back. His hair was gone, and his back was covered in hideous black-red scabs, as well as the backs of his arms and legs. He looked behind him, fear still lingering deep in his heart. It was close to three thousand meters away from the center. In that short period of time, he thought he had made all the preparations possible, but the result was still the same.

"This distance is probably the dividing line. In the closer range, there should be no one who can survive." The man said to himself, looking blankly at the sky, and then glanced around. After taking several breaths, the man stood up straight, then bent down with difficulty to pick up the gun and backpack from where he stood up.

"There's no need to wait any longer. If it's been taking so long, someone would have come down to clean us up long ago. There's no need to wait until now. It's almost night, so I don't think there's a need to wait any longer. There's still a lot of supplies on the airship. I will go there to replenish the medical supplies. The next step is to leave this forest, but I will wait in the airship until about nine o'clock in the evening. If you want to come, follow them." The man shouted at the top of his voice, " There must not be many people who can survive, maybe twenty or thirty, I think. Since you can survive, in addition to being less lucky, you are also some capable people. How to judge is up to you."

The sound spread widely, which is because the dragon knight burned away large areas of the ancient trees in this area. In the central area, there are only glass-like pits and cooled lava between dark red and black. Moving outward, only the stumps of ancient trees remain. The sound is not absorbed or blocked, and you can hear the man's words if you concentrate a little.

After saying that, the man walked to the opposite side, then went to the other side and said the same words, and then followed the way he came and went to the airship that made an emergency landing.

A few minutes later, the ground moved again. The situation was roughly the same as that of the first man. He was at the left and right of the three-thousand-meter dividing line. He relied on the cover of the trunk of the ancient tree to quickly dig a rough hole and bury himself with soil to prevent the extremely destructive force. The flame burns itself directly. After that, people started to get up from everywhere, and the injuries were mostly concentrated on the back.

Each one was filled with confusion and fear. They are all people who have entered the third stage. No matter how they have some information sources in their hands, they may not know what the blazing white light is at first. But now, those who survived knew that it was the breath of dragons. Not to mention that some of them have been to the Flame Alliance and are very familiar with the name of Dragon Knight.

The first man's judgment was very accurate. He said they were coming one after another. It seemed like a lot of people, but the number really didn't exceed thirty people.

Gardner and Fenia were the fifteenth and sixteenth people to get up. The first man's words also gave them the courage to stand up, which seemed to be a start. Otherwise, they don't know how long the few people who survived would have waited. But they were really scared. Whether it was their breath or the aura emitted by the dragons that fell to the ground later, they felt the despair soaking their whole bodies.

"Gammel is dead." Feniya wiped her face. The pain in her back did not affect the calm expression on her face.

"Five years in prison is a long enough time. Whether it's judgment or reaction, a lot of decline can be expected." Gardner sighed, "If I hadn't slowed down that much, I would have run faster and faster earlier. He should have a chance to survive.”

"Survived?" Fenia, who had already walked away a few steps, turned her head and looked at Gardner, "Captain, don't talk so early. From the beginning, we analyzed that a team of at least a hundred people, fully armed and supplied, can survive. There is a chance to go to the edge of the forest. There are no more than thirty people now... Just take it one step at a time. Captain, don't expect much help from my ability."

“Quality is greater than numbers now.”

"This is the most ideal state." Fenia spoke feebly. Gardner came to her side at this time and headed towards the airship, gradually accelerating. "Those who survive are not necessarily in the same mood and cannot be established. Trust, fewer people are better.”

"Let's talk about it in the past. If the injury is not treated, we won't be able to go very far in our current state." Gardner seemed very calm. As the captain of a large mercenary army, Fennia didn't need to tell him about many situations. Already thought about it. Knowing that there was no use in saying it, she didn't say it like Fenia did, just to vent her emotions.

Gardner knew that Feniya's current state was caused by fear. After all, he himself was scared, and it was impossible for Feniya to maintain a better mentality than him.

Around nine o'clock in the evening, a total of twenty-seven people were scattered around the airship, standing sparsely in seven or eight groups. The injuries have been treated to the highest level possible, but it will take a week or two to return to normal status without the help of medical machines unless one has excellent self-healing ability. It looked like scabs had formed, but part of the muscles had also been ablated, and the activities of the arms and upper body were severely affected. It’s almost just to the extent that they can lift the gun and press the trigger, and the recoil that didn’t exist in the past will also make them feel uncomfortable.

The twenty-seven people are roughly divided into two attitudes. One side believes that after replenishing supplies, even if the physical condition is affected, they must leave here immediately. Just slow down and recover as you go. The other side believed that the airship could be used as a temporary steel fortress, where injuries could be recuperated and they would be fully recovered before setting off.

Whether the Holy Emperor's Hall will let other teams come here, both sides have the same attitude - yes, because the more than a thousand of them are just accessories, and what the airship actually transports is the materials piled in various warehouses. What was not discussed together was the time of arrival from the Holy Emperor Hall.

But tonight, none of the twenty-seven people left, and rested here until early the next morning.

"Should we go or stay?" At nine o'clock in the morning, there was already some light in the forest.

Gardner opened his eyes and looked at Fenia: "How is the surrounding situation?"

"There are still no bugs within two thousand meters, and there are no second-class creatures. You also felt the silence last night. We are still within the radiation range of that lord. The reason why they didn't come to us is because of the Dragon Knight yesterday. It's affected. But it won't last long. Its sense of danger is much stronger than ours." Feniya tore open a bag of compressed food, threw it into her mouth and chewed it.

"How many days do you think?"

"Tomorrow at noon, no more."

"Then let's go tomorrow. No matter where you are, there is danger. You have to try your luck." Gardner seemed to have compromised and closed his eyes after finishing speaking.

By noon, there were only twelve people left. Gardner and the others returned to the airship and rested inside. But in the evening, it may have been too quiet, causing great pressure on these people. Eight more people left, and the remaining four people continued to stay here.