Chapter 1048 — Ruins of War
Blade of Dawn · Page 4 of 4
"Food gathered from the ruins will last a while. A lot of it was burned, but some factories and storage facilities buried deep underground still have intact stock," a dragon passing by said upon hearing this. "Not much has been gathered, but... our population isn't large now either."
"That stuff will run out sooner or later. We still have to find a way to restore food production," Karador said gravely. "We don't know where else on this continent we can grow food, but the ocean can provide at least some sustenance..."
"And we still need to find some way to repair the factories. Omega is gone, but we can work around the automated lines and restart the machines by hand," another dragon said. "We cannot dig the enhancers and the components needed to repair the implants out of the ground..."
"We also need to build sturdier shelters. Many of the buildings here are on the verge of collapse, and there are not enough of them for everyone to live in..."
Some dragons passing by began to discuss the matter, yet the discussion brought no hope or encouragement; instead it only made each of them more certain of how dire the situation before them was. Metzen could feel the mood in the gathering sink, visibly and steadily. She had never imagined that the glorious, mighty Tarronde could one day find itself in such a predicament. True, compared with the doom that had originally been their fate, matters now seemed considerably better — but to survive under such circumstances... hardly seemed like much of a blessing.
She could not help letting her thoughts run wild, and then all at once she noticed something: "Karador, has Noreta still not returned?!"
"Noreta?" The red dragon Karador seemed only now to remember the white dragon lady who had left the camp at noon. His brows drew together, and by reflex he immediately tried to call Noreta through the Omega system — yet it was not until hollow static came through the resonance core in his mind that he realized he had made the same mistake again.
He lifted his head and looked toward the sky to the south of the camp. "She should have been back at least an hour ago... The place she went to scout is not far from here. Whether or not she found any survivors, the round trip should have been quick..."
"She went alone?" Metzen asked, a note of anxiety in her voice.
"Yes, alone... We are short-handed, and the southern district is quite close, so she went by herself..."
Metzen did not wait for him to finish. She strode away, already shifting swiftly into her dragon form: "I am going to find her!"