Chapter 1177 — The Adventurers' Camp
Blade of Dawn · Page 1 of 4
The howling cold wind swept across the land. In the ancient kingdom ravaged by war, nothing remained now but endless ruins and monsters wandering everywhere; apart from a few safe zones and reconstruction cordons, a sweeping glance across this land revealed nothing but broken walls and shattered remnants, along with all manner of bizarre landscapes twisted by the "miraculous power of the gods."
Farther still from the plains, the rolling hills and mountains were gradually being sealed beneath hard, cold ice—having lost the shelter of the Great Shield, the former Dragongine ecological system had ground to a complete halt, and polar climate swiftly took over this land that was returning to its primordial state. Permafrost, glaciers, frost—these forces belonging to nature itself were spreading inland from the coastline, with an unwavering determination to restore this land to the state nature intended.
This was a realm unimaginable in the warm, stable human world—whether in its posture of destruction or in its incredible polar environment.
Yet for the adventurers who had crossed the Endless Sea with grand ambitions, swearing to strike gold in this mysterious land, the harsh natural environment was hardly a matter worth much thought. The elemental creatures wandering among the safe strongholds and the rare things to be found almost everywhere had already claimed nearly all of their attention.
In the provisional capital of Thalrond, south of New Agondor, a newly built district was bathed in the long sunlight of the polar day. Like the other wasteland strongholds, this district was ringed by high walls—walls built chiefly of massive stone, infused between them with alloy melted by dragonfire. Crude in appearance, they nonetheless provided the most precious guarantee of safety in this dangerous land. Within the stronghold ran broad, straight roads, and hundreds of houses built of stone, metal, and other easily gathered materials stood in neat rows inside the walls. Every one of these houses was built for utility; though lacking ornament, they were at least sturdy and enduring.
This was the newly established adventurers' camp—dragons, adventurers, Alliance relief troops, and volunteers sent independently by the Holy Dragon Principality had worked in concert to complete the construction of this district in a very short time. Perhaps compared with the extravagantly luxurious halls of old Thalrond, this place was not so beautiful; yet when these houses and high walls of straight, rigid lines stood in the cold wind, they still presented a kind of ruggedness and strength that commanded admiration.
After the first bell of the morning rang out, the young huntress Lora left the barracks assigned to her along with several adventurer companions, heading for the Adventurer Management Hall at the center of town. Along the way, crowds of adventurers in groups of three or five all moved in the same direction. A gust of wind blew in from across the street, and the chill in it instantly cleared Lora's still drowsy mind. She shivered slightly and could not help muttering: "This place really is damn cold..."
One of her companions looked up at the sky above the town. A translucent energy shield rose from the tops of the distant walls, covering all the streets and houses within. She shook her head: "It's already not bad—at least the construction team finally finished the town shield two days ago. With this shield, the temperature in the residential area will slowly rise. Outside the walls, now that's the real freezing cold. Without frost resistance potions and adequate protective gear, even superhumans like us probably wouldn't last long."