The lava flowed down from the top of the mountain; wherever it passed, there was a burst of smoke.
The sky was shrouded in dark volcanic ash as orange fireworks erupted from the crater.
Tang Yu leaned against the window, holding a high magnification telescope in his hand, gazing at the crater in the extreme distance.
He only vaguely recognized the figure, which was somewhat similar to a human, roaming freely around in the erupting pillar of fire.
He couldn't see clearly. But for some reason, Tang Yu had a feeling that the figure at the crater facing the scorching pillars of flame, facing the scalding lava, was wandering around and enjoying the eruption.
It's terrifying just to think about it!
"Is it a demonic beast, an alienated beast, or something else? Some ancient human-like Zhor, or new creature I don't know about?"
He was quite curious. However, it's better to observe it from afar now. He marked the location on the map, if someday he mastered some kind of safe exploration method, he would come over to take a look.
...
The Floating Chariot passed the Yucheng City area after a while. Three days passed in the blink of an eye as they drove during the day and rested at night.
The landscape had changed dramatically during the doomsday. There were areas covered in spiky rocks.
There were trees dotted with a violet-blue luminous glow, looking both dreamy and dangerous, or bizarre.
"According to the plan, we should be able to reach the Luoxia Shelter tomorrow." Tang Yu tapped his finger on the pre-planned route, zooming in on the area ahead, "This area is mostly mountains and hills. It was a sparsely populated place before the doomsday. There aren't any large shelters established here; the danger level is unknown, so we'd better be careful."
He chose to pass by the 6-star dead zone between the two provinces, yet other places weren't necessarily safe either.
Tang Yu even slowed down his floating chariot's speed just so he wouldn't accidentally run into some high-risk areas.
This morning because they were flying too fast, they accidentally crashed into the lair of a powerful alienated beast and crushed several of its eggs that were larger than a human body.
It enraged the beast, making them chase around the convoy. In order to escape, they set the chariot on full power.
They crashed again into another powerful alienated beast territory, breaking two of the chariot's mounted rotating machine guns, making Tang Yu feel depressed.
Over-speeding was a bad idea.
...
The danger in the mountain forest was even greater. Except for the demonic beast emerging from the crack, most of the animals before the doomsday would be demonized by the red mist spreading from the crack.
These animals would undergo a mutation and become stronger, faster, with sharper claws. Or maybe even awaken some special abilities just like humans.
Just like human hunters with abilities, the different beast also had similar traits. They're stronger, possessing spiritual intelligence, and sometimes even harder to deal with rather than demonic beasts.
In these areas, the mountain villages in this area are either moved to various shelters or perished under the dangerous mountain forest.
However, in an area surrounded by mountains and dense forest, there was a curling smoke rising. It was a small mountain village. There were some 2 or 3 story tall houses scattered in the area.
From the air, the village's path was visible. Hundreds of villagers lived there; they've been there for generations since before the doomsday and never left.
Even with technology advancement, the small village located deep in the mountain remained unchanged. Even with the electricity and knowledge of the outside world, most of them still remain there.
The village was their paradise, their safe haven. The villagers relied on the gifts of nature to live a quiet and peaceful secluded life.
Even after the doomsday, they didn't leave. Depending on their own methods to survive in this dangerous area. The entire village hadn't suffered much damage and still retained its original appearance.
At this moment, however, hundreds of villagers living there were nervous, looking up at the sky in unison.
A demonic flying beast with bronze-colored wings, a beak curved like a barb, and a wingspan of over thirty meters was hovering in the sky above their village.
Its wings were blowing a hurricane that was sharper than a blade, leaving mottled traces on the ground—blowing away the brick and tile from the houses. The peaceful village suddenly became chaotic.
"Quick, stop it!"
In the center of the village, an old man with white hair opened his mouth. With a loud whistle, several figures flapped their wings and flew up into the sky.
Behind the old man, an alienated beast looked similar to a white crane but was larger leaped and flew.
The white crane had a pointed beak; its wings were harder than steel. Carrying a fearsome fierceness with it, flying towards the demonic beast like a rocket.
The villagers nervously watched as the figures fought in the sky.
Shriek!!!
A miserable chirp was heard as the alienated flying beast fell from the sky. It was staining the ground with bright red blood. It was just the beginning. One after another, the white crane had fallen, the villager's expression grew darker.
Boom!
The alienated white crane smashed down at a house. The beast struggled to get up, but a huge gash tore apart the joint that connected the wings to its back, unable to return to the sky.
The moment the white crane fell, the village chief spurted out blood from his mouth. His body suddenly became pale and weak.
"Chief!"
People shouted in alarm, and a villager quickly came over with a herb, "Quick! Give this herb to the village chief! It can heal the wounds!"
The bronze flying demonic beast was still wreaking havoc upon the village.
The hunters tried to resist the damage to the village. However, there were more and more alienated beasts roaring and rushing to attack the demonic flying beast.
The strongest alienated beast, the White Crane, was gravely injured. And the other alienated beasts were also disabled from flying.
They could only accept their death. This time, more and more villagers spurted out blood from their mouths.
The village chief coughed up blood again, his face looking pale. "It's all my fault. I was the one who suggested we should stay here. If not, we won't be in such a crisis."