The light rising in the wilderness was faint, few in number compared to the vastness of the land, and yet even so, for a few moments, Melita felt as if they filled her entire vision—she couldn't even look away.

After a while, some of the light was temporarily extinguished, but the rest was still maintained, shining like stars in this cold and dim "polar midnight".

"The one over there—the farthest point, at the foot of that hill, there might be another camp," Noretta looked into the distance with the same wide eyes, and she pointed to a cluster of fire at the end of her vision, her face a hint of excitement, "Can you see that?" There are a few smaller light sources moving around there, and they might just be patrolling teams! ”

"I see it, I see it," Melita said in a loud voice, "and to the east of the camp, in the direction of the former Ruth Valley, where several fireballs had just risen...... Maybe a few survivors have come together......"

Noretta fell silent and stared at the places for a long time, before breaking the silence for a long time: "Now they should be able to hold out longer......"

Melita scratched her hair, not knowing what to answer for a while, and it took a long time to hold back a few syllables: "Yes, that's true......"

……

On the high watchtower, the flames were blazing with the help of the booster, and although the cold wind from the coast was still howling, it could not blow out the dazzling flames, Baloger stood next to the pressurizer, and only after confirming that these things could be operated stably, he handed over the matter to the other dragons, and turned to leave the watchtower.

He came to a nearby high platform, where Andal and Hragere were standing in the night wind, looking out in the direction of the plains in the distance, and other red dragons stood at the edge of the platform, intently recording something.

"Did you see those signals?" Andal heard footsteps behind him, and was the first to turn to Baloger and say, "More than we thought!" ”

"I see it, but it's certainly not as clear as you see," Baloger couldn't help but smile—he didn't even think he had laughed like this in a thousand years, "the pillar of fire on the other side of the watchtower was so bright that it somewhat interfered with my vision—like I said, it was a very large 'bonfire.' ”

"We've taken note of where the signal is," Hragore said, "and frankly, quite a few of them are far away or in dangerous places, and the current situation in the camp doesn't allow us to send a team to search it, but it at least gives us a direction that if the situation here improves a little, we can send a team to help our compatriots trapped in the rubble." ”

"There's something more important than that—we've identified the presence of other survivor camps," Andal continued, "and at least one beacon fire exhibits obvious camp characteristics: larger, longer-lasting, and surrounded by other activity signals, which is not something a few dragons can do." Looking at the direction it should be Akatosh, where there are strong factories and underground bunkers, and a very, very deep mine that was originally home to a node of the Omega system, and the survivors have a high chance of surviving on those facilities. ”

Baloger with a hint of hope: "We can ...... now"

"No, it's too far away, and there's a blockade of elementals raging and gravity out of control," Hragere shook his head, "but we can slowly carve out lines of communication in the wilderness." In any case, it is the identification of the presence of other camps that is the most important. ”

Baloger nodded slightly, and then he showed a contemplative look, and said slowly in thought: "Now that we have more survivors, we should think about the longer future...... With the current situation in the camp, how many people can we feed? ”

"To be honest, it's not optimistic," Andal sighed, "I've discussed this with Dukemore. Now our food sources are mainly a few warehouses and a food processing plant found nearby, some of which have not been burned and contaminated, and they can last for one to two months, and the camp has sent a team in the direction of the coastline, we can find some supplies from the sea and the nearby islands, but not too much: a gravitational storm has torn the continental edge, and the entire offshore area has been greatly affected.

"On the contrary, the problem of fresh water is relatively easy to solve, in addition to being able to filter and purify the seawater, it can also capture the low-level water elements wandering around the neighborhood - just be careful not to go too far, it will be troublesome to cause an elemental riot."

"So, we won't be able to be self-sufficient in the short term, and even if we can get a steady supply of food on the farther islands, it will be a long time later," Baloger muttered, "and until then, everyone will be starving, and the only way to survive is to dig in the warehouses and factories that are buried in the rubble...... It is simply not possible to achieve a stable supply. ”

"And it's important to note that almost no dragons know how to grow and harvest crops without relying on automated systems, not to mention that much of the Arctic itself is not capable of agricultural production without the Eco Dome and the weather controller," Andal said. The surviving dragons will have to turn their gaze to ...... A warmer human world. ”

The expression on Baloger's face changed slightly: "What do you mean ......"

"Rather than waiting for the situation to continue to deteriorate, waiting for some of our compatriots to take risks and choose a strategy when there is no hope, we should take the initiative to do something," Hlagor said as he looked into Baloger's eyes, "The era of Tallund's closure is over, and since we have survived, we should find a way to face these changes."

"For more than a million years, our compatriots have never faced 'change', they do not know how to live other than the cradle, so now is a very critical moment - we must be at the forefront, we must be the first 'representatives' of Tallund's contact with the outside world, in order to lay down a new order of communication with the outside world, this new order should be civilized and orderly.

"I have already discussed with Andal that the dragons will return to the world stage, and they will come into contact with humans, and with other intelligent races on the continent of Loren. We do need help, but we don't go to beg, we have to give something in exchange for scarce supplies, even scarce living space - all according to the principle of equivalent exchange. ”

Andal on the side listened quietly, and only after Hragere's voice fell, did he sigh with a complicated expression: "Equivalent exchange...... Now we have a lot of debt. ”

Baloger quickly reacted: "You mean...... Mithril Treasure Trove? ”

"The Mithril Treasury is dead in name to the world—there may be some things left in the Vault other than the outlets set up in Talrond, and the Treasury headquarters and all the main warehouses are gone, at least in Argondol. We now owe a great deal of debt, and this debt is not even limited to the main physical world......"

"Then pay it back slowly," said Hragere, "and the dragon keeps its promise that we will pay back as much as we owe, and give whatever we can." ”

He said this in a low, serious tone, and Balogel heard the determination and thoughtfulness in this tone, and he looked at the old friend in front of him—he had been the leader of the dragon since 1.87 million years ago, and 1.87 million years later, he was still maintaining everything about the dragons in his own way, including the survival of the dragons, and the only remaining self-esteem of the dragons.

"What do we have left to get out of now?" After a moment of silence, Baloger asked, "There's not enough in this wasteland to feed ourselves. ”

"There's always something to come up with, and even if Talrond is destroyed, we have plenty of things that are enough to arouse the interest of other races. In addition to the technology that has a dangerous generational gap, we also have some knowledge that can be revealed, and there may be some treasures in some warehouses, and there is always something to be dug up from under the ruins...... We also have our own flesh and bones. ”

Hagere's voice was steady, but his eyes were unwavering, and his expression revealed his attitude—that was the bottom line he had drawn for the dragon civilization.

Tarlund may have fallen, but the dragon still stands, the dragon was once the most powerful civilization on the planet, the only civilization in a million years to break free from the shackles of the gods, and even now that the situation is so bad, he will not allow his race to fall - the dragon will not become a thief, will not become a robber, and will not survive like a beast.

The Dragon Clan Hall is back on the world stage.

"Now that you've decided, I'll support it," Baloger nodded, "then, if we want to make contact with humans and other intelligent races, we have to have a plan. The first is to find people who know the various races in the Loren continent, secondly, to find the target of early contact, and finally, ...... We also need to gather some intelligence to find out what the situation is on the Loren continent right now. ”

"What is going on in Loren," Andal mused, "we really should investigate it first. The outside world is changing much faster than we are used to, and now is the time for them to change the fastest. ”

As he spoke, he nodded slightly: "As for understanding the candidates of the various races in the Loren Continent and the contact targets in the early stage, I already have a general idea. ”

"That's good," Baloger exhaled, "I'll do the same—I'll return to the Duchy of the Holy Dragon when the camp is more stable." Now that the Principality of the Holy Dragon has established contact with the human kingdom of the Loren Continent, it can also be a window for Talrond to understand the Loren Continent.

"Besides, although there is not much surplus in crop production on the Duchy's side, I should be able to raise some food and medicine. I might need some extra time to prepare over there, though, as the Dragonborns ...... Not ready to face Tallund. ”

Speaking of this, the dragon-blooded Grand Duke couldn't help but feel a little regretful: "It's a pity that it's winter in the Loren Continent, and the grain reserves in the northern region should be limited, and it will probably be difficult to buy enough food from neighboring human countries with the strength of the principality alone in a short period of time...... I can only do my best. ”

"Dragonborns......" Hragore's expression was a little complicated, and it took a long time for him to let out a sigh, "That mountain is not a place with abundant supplies, and it will be a great burden for the Dragonborn to feed the primordial dragons that consume a lot of money, so you just do what you can." After all, we never wanted to rely on the power of the Holy Dragon Principality......"

"The Dragonborn have taken on too much for the sake of our audacious plans," Andal lamented, "and we should have been their shelter and guide, but instead we have become their burden. ”

Baloger shook his head: "For many years, I have watched the Holy Dragon Principality, and I have watched the Dragonborns come to this day little by little. Genetic modification has robbed them of their wings and even left them to survive in human form for most of their lives, but the Dragonborn have never forgotten Tarrond - we are connected by blood.

"Maybe not all of the Dragonborns understand what we're doing, but I'm sure most of them will choose to help their mothers when they know the truth, after all, we're all dragons."

After that, there was a moment of silence on the platform, and the three leaders each thought about something that would affect the long term, so that no one spoke, and the air was filled with nothing but the occasional flapping of wings from the search team's take-off and landing, and the intermittent music coming from the depths of the camp.

The sky seemed to be a little darker than before, and the stars emerged from the side of the sky closer to night, and Hagere raised his head, his gaze swept over the quiet and cold night sky, he took a deep breath, and exhaled slowly.

And at this moment, his expression suddenly changed.

"Hragor?" Andal, who was closest to him, was the first to notice the change in his old friend, "What's wrong with you?" ”

"Do you hear me?" Hagere's face was extremely serious, and his eyes were even solemn to the point of almost terrifying, "Did you hear ...... 'Him'?" ”

Andal and Baloger were only startled by Hragere's face at first, but then they were really startled by the other party's words, and even exclaimed, "'He'?!" ”

"Didn't you hear?" Hragor's gaze swept over the faces of the two old friends, as if to confirm whether their minds were in their right minds, "Just now, there was a momentary echo. ”

"No," Andal tensed, and he shook his head vigorously after checking his mental condition, "I'm sure. ”

"I didn't hear that either." Baloger also confirmed.

Hagere frowned, and confirmed his mental condition, and it took a full half a minute for him to breathe a sigh of relief, but his tightly knit brow did not loosen at all.

"Could it be that you are too nervous and have a delusion?" Baloger hesitated and asked, "The shackles are gone, we have confirmed this time and again, and as long as the ritual is completed, the process is irreversible. ”

“…… I hope it's a delusion, but I don't dare to use the word 'delusion' to explain anything abnormal that happens in my mind," said Hragore, in a deep voice, "and we ...... It's better to double-check. ”