Volume 3 Blood and Fire Chapter 158 The Burning Plain
Ekaterina was awakened by Iloth. She found herself lying on the ground, wrapped in a warm cloak, and she was under a clump of gray trees on the west bank of the great river Anduin.
She had slept all night, the gray morning light had begun to shine in the woods, and the maid Jenny was busy building a small fire.
Before it became clear, they set off again.
They let the river carry them forward at its own pace, and did not rush into the dangers that would arise in either direction.
Iroth let them float on the river as they wished, while accumulating energy for the future.
But he insisted that he should start early at least every day and stop very late, because he felt in his heart that this journey would be far more dangerous than he imagined after leaving the protection of the high elves.
If it was just him, he wouldn't be afraid, but he was also accompanied by Ekaterina and a group of druids from the War Eagle clan.
Although their strength is pretty good, it is not enough in the dangerous Central Mountain Range.
Needless to say, they saw no trace of the enemy that day, and the same happened the next day. They just lived like this day by day, without any ups and downs during the journey.
They could see many vague-looking slopes stretching out on the eastern shore; they looked brown and withered, as if they had just been burned by wildfire, leaving no trace of emerald green.
In this strange wasteland, there wasn't even a single standing tree or rock.
They have arrived at the vast wasteland between Mirkwood and the Burning Plains, an area called the Jedi. Even the knowledgeable Ekaterina does not know what kind of disease, war or terrifying force it is.
That's why this place became so terrifying.
They saw the west, and the land on the right was also bare, but the only difference was that at least it was flat, occasionally interspersed with large areas of green grass.
There are many weeds and forests on this side of the river, almost blocking the entire western view, so nothing can be seen when the boat approaches.
Occasionally, there are openings in this pile of weeds, and Iloth will suddenly see many endless pastures, and there is a black outline on the far horizon, which is the southernmost area of the Mirkwood.
Except for birds, there are no living creatures in the wild, but there are relatively many types of birds.
Wild birds will make calls in the weeds and look for food everywhere, but their friends rarely see them looking for food.
Occasionally, everyone would even hear a shrill neighing sound coming from the horizon, and when they looked up, they would see a huge swan flying across the sky.
"Swan!" said Ekaterina: "What a big one!"
"Yes," Eloth replied, "and they are black swans."
"Why does this land look so desolate!" Ekaterina said weakly, because she had never been used to drifting on a boat and was a little seasick at the moment: "I always thought that the Central Mountains only had mountains and jungles, but I didn't know there was such a thing.
It’s a dangerous place. It seems that humans know too little about the Central Mountains.”
"This is because the Central Mountains are too dangerous, and the human territory is too comfortable compared to here. There is no desire to explore and develop the Central Mountains. Otherwise, how could the defeated elves escape here to survive. And the Central Mountains
There are too many dark forces and dangerous factors, otherwise why would the proud elves be so anxious to seek reform." Eloth replied.
Ekaterina looked at the river banks on both sides uneasily. In her eyes, the original trees looked menacing, as if they were hiding countless enemies.
Now, she hoped that the trees were still there, at least to cover the enemy's sight; not to expose everyone in the middle of the river.
In fact, with Elos' keen senses, he had long been aware of the potential danger, but he did not tell everyone in order to stabilize people's hearts. In fact, he had already made plans to take action at any time.
Over the next day or two, they continued walking southwest, and all the members now began to have that uneasy feeling that they would subconsciously pick up their oars to paddle forward throughout the day.
Soon, the river becomes wider and shallower. The east bank is a rocky beach, and there are hidden whirlpools under the water, so boaters must be extra careful.
The Jedi became a highland and undulating wasteland, with bursts of sulfur-scented wind blowing from the west. It seemed that it was not far from the Burning Plains.
The scenery on the other side of the wasteland has also changed, slowly transforming into a swamp where grass gathers.
When Catherine thought about living among the meadows and fountains of the Silver Moon Clan a few days ago, she couldn't help but miss the sun and gentle showers there.
There was very little conversation or laughter on board each ship, and each member's time was spent in contemplation.
On the evening of the fourth day, Eloise sat on the bow of the boat, looking back at the other boats. He just wanted to get ashore quickly and stretch his muscles.
Suddenly, he sensed something, and then, when he looked closely, the scene had disappeared.
This aroused Elos's vigilance. If even his extraordinary perception did not continue to capture the traces of the snoop, then it means that the potential danger is even more terrifying. At least no monster or other creature can escape his perception.
Suddenly, Elos unexpectedly discovered that his range of perception had been suppressed by an invisible realm, which contained a smell of unpleasant sulfur.
Iroth knew that they had entered the chassis of Surtur, the Fire Lord of the Burning Plains.
Although it is only a marginal area, Surtur's unique demigod realm has already affected everyone.
Under the domain coverage of the Fire Lord, all creatures below legendary level will be affected by domain suppression, and their talents and skills will be weakened.
Here, except for fire magic, there are almost no other magic elements. Therefore, except for fire magic, the success rate of magic released from other types is extremely low and the power is also very limited.
After discussing with Yekaterina, Ilosu decided not to rest and to speed up and cross the Burning Plains as quickly as possible by using the speed of the river. It was really too dangerous here.
Not only is the Fire Lord Surtur, the fire element demigod, there are also a large number of legions of fire element creatures. These elemental creatures extremely hate living creatures. Any creature that sets foot on the Burning Plains will be hunted down by the fire element legion. die.
The sky changed from blue to gray-red, and the only wind blew from the west, carrying a strong smell of sulfur.
As the sky gradually darkened, the sight of the Burning Plains in the distance also made the sky turn dark red, extremely depressing.
Looking at the towering volcano in the distance with huge black smoke pillars, Elos understood that that was the lair of the Fire Lord.
Under its lair, there are countless tireless fire elements wandering around, turning the Burning Plains into a paradise for all living things.
The river passing by the edge of the Burning Plains has turned into a hot spring-like hot river due to the high temperature. The constant steaming heat and the bubbles rising from the water seem to tell everyone that they must not fall in, otherwise they will be cooked to death.
Here, there is no breath of living things, only the endless heat wave and the smell of sulfur.
Navigating in the Jehol River is a very difficult task. You have to row the boat carefully and endure the high temperature. Fortunately, the average strength of everyone is not low, so it can be endured so far. Everyone just wants to pass quickly.
this area.
But things always go against expectations, and changes always come suddenly, catching people off guard.
"You sleepy lava stone, your golden dragon uncle is here to find you!"
A high-pitched and terrifying dragon language spread throughout the Burning Plains, awakening the Fire Lord Surtur.
At this moment, the wind is howling and the earth is shaking.
The Burning Plains was trembling under the wrath of Fire Lord Don Surtur, and even Iloth and others far away felt the terrifying aura.
Far away on the horizon, there is an extremely tall fiery red figure leaping out of the volcano and gradually moving away.
It is even taller than the ancient elven tree of the Silver Moon Clan. Every time he takes a step, the earth will tremble accordingly, and the rocks beside him will suddenly burst into flames, and then turn into rolling lava.
The fire elementals who blocked his path were much unlucky, being knocked down by his unstoppable body and then trampled mercilessly into ashes on the ground.
This giant, which is tens of meters tall, is the Fire Lord, Surtur, who sleeps in the Doomsday Volcano all year round.