Ninth Train continued to go north, walking under the dark cumulus clouds, the sky and the earth were dark, and there was only a faint light at the junction of the sky and the earth in the distance.
"It's obviously only one o'clock in the afternoon, but it looks like it's dark." Sitting by the car window, Sylutia listened to the complaints from the people on the car.
It is now the third day after departure, and three-fifths of the distance has been traveled. Now both sides of the track where the train passes are deserted, and the vast gray wilderness is before everyone's eyes.
This is Northern Grasslands of the Mage Alliance. There are few cities. You often have to travel nearly a hundred kilometers to see a small town.
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the wind pouring in outside the car window became colder and colder, mixed with weak water vapor. According to the Mage estimates from the Vaulted Sky"Aspect Power in the car, a new round of storm and rain was about to arrive.
"Inform each group of people in the car to close the windows." After Master Ge Zhen gave the order, each group of people began to carry out the instructions.
Half an hour later, a heavy rain came as expected.
Bullet-sized raindrops poured down from the sky, getting bigger and bigger. The raindrops hitting the car windows were no longer drops, but formed a steady stream of water, like a waterfall.
In the face of heavy rain, for safety reasons, the train gradually slowed down, and then an orange lamppost lit up at the front of the train, penetrating the rain and illuminating the front.
"I wonder if such heavy rain will wash away the track foundations along the road." Someone said worriedly.
"Don't worry, this was taken into consideration during construction, and the foundation is very solid." Someone comforted.
"That's true, but these are not normal times. Anything can happen." Not only him, but many people in the car also felt similar uneasiness.
Outside the car window, the rainstorm was getting heavier and heavier. The dense rainwater made it almost impossible for people inside the car to see what was happening outside the window, and could only hear the violent sound of rain.
Bang"
Suddenly, a sound hit the car window, leaving a blood-red trace, but this trace was quickly washed away by the rain. Just when someone realized something was wrong, more banging sounds sounded on the car window one after another, and broken blood flowers bloomed on the car window, leaving traces of blood.
"What's going on?"
"Blood?"
Many members of the car were uneasy, and Sylutia also received reports from the team members beside her. She stood up and came to an unoccupied storage car. She opened the top cover, and a torrential rain poured in. Fortunately, the shield barrier was quickly raised to isolate the rainwater.
At this time, Sylutia finally saw clearly what was happening outside.
The cumulus clouds in the sky were like river water pouring back. In the rain, frogs of different sizes fell from the sky. Some jumped into the water on the ground and jumped, and some fell on the train, smashing into pieces and causing blood to splash everywhere.
At Gale Season, frogs often fall with the rain. Scholars have found that this is because the storm rolled up the tadpole seedlings in the water. These tadpoles were soaked in the storm breath of Vaulted Sky in the cloud water and grew rapidly. After becoming frogs, they could no longer float in the cloud water due to their weight, so they fell with the rain.
A large number of frogs fell with the rain, and there was not only the smell of Vaulted Sky" in the wind, but also the smell of a lot of Spiral Fish"Aspect Power.
[Frog Rain](Vaulted Sky·Spiral Fish); Gale Season's climate scene, a large number of frogs fall with the rain. It is said that if you catch these frogs, you can sell them to the pharmacist for a good price.
"It turned out to be Frog Rain." The team member behind the girl said in surprise.
"I've only seen it in books before, but I didn't expect it to actually happen."
"These frogs seem to be very special." A team member stretched out his hand and grabbed a frog falling from the air.
Sylutia was also curious now and reached out his hand to grab one.
The frog in his hand was extremely cold and full of vitality. It struggled hard in Sylutia's fingers. The slippery feeling almost made it want to escape from the girl's fingers.
Water vapor and a faint fishy smell accompanied by the rain reached the tip of his nose. Sylutia blinked, and information about this frog appeared in his sight.
[frog](Vaulted Sky·Spiral Fish); stimulated by Vaulted Sky"Aspect Power, in the body Spiral Fish"Aspect Power also becomes active, causing it to grow rapidly. Although such a frog does not condense Aspect Power, it is an important raw material for making Underwater Breathing" potion.
Vaulted Sky" and Spiral Fish" meet in the Cloud Sea, just like Vaulted Sea" and True Fish" blended together in ancient times, becoming intimate.
After learning that these frogs were good medicinal ingredients, the team members also became interested. Some began to catch them with their pockets, while others held them in their hands curiously and watched them over and over again.
Many crew members heard the news, and many of them came to the roof of the car to catch frogs in the rain. Occasionally, someone slipped and fell, causing bursts of laughter from their companions.
Although the two-day journey was a bit dull, the process of catching frogs in the heavy rain made the atmosphere of the entire crew relaxed and cheerful, and the stress accumulated before was relieved a lot.
On the other side, Second Train is riding on Eastern Grasslands.
Although the departure time is earlier than other trains, due to the long detour, Second Train is still two days away from its destination.
The front of the car made of steel is like a ship hitting a corner, breaking the airflow and moving forward. When driving over the track, the fine gravel and sand grains along the way also vibrate.
Some insects and small animals were frightened and fled.
In the evening, the train entered Babu District on the northeast side of the Mage Alliance, and stopped in the main city to rest and replenish fuel.
"What! You actually distributed the critical Charcoal Brick fuel to civilians for heating?" The crew members who got off the train angrily grabbed the local officials and reprimanded them loudly.
"Have you ever thought about the consequences of doing this!? If something happens to North Wind Defense Line, how many areas will be affected!"
"Sir, we have thought about it, but if Charcoal Brick is not given to those residents, many people will freeze to death at night."
Babu District is warm all year round, so few people prepare means to keep warm. When the storm broke out, the cold current suddenly moved south. The residents here lacked warm clothing, and a large number of people froze to death in the cold night. Seeing this, local officials couldn't bear it, so they distributed the reserved Charcoal Brick" for residents to keep warm.
"Charcoal Brick" is a brick made by refining and compressing charcoal, which can be used as fuel for trains. Since the raw material is trees instead of the coal in Xilu Tia's memory, its cost is quite high, and it takes time to refine and process. Generally, a certain reserve is kept at each station to supply trains.
The train crew members were furious when they learned that the train could not be resupplied locally. This was because the track route that detoured to the east was long and the fuel loaded on the train could not support the entire distance and had to be resupplied midway.
Everything was originally arranged, but I didn't expect such a change.
"If we continue to move forward, can the train be supported to the next supply station?" Commander-in-Chief Heeden Master asked the conductor beside him.
"Sir, I'm afraid this can't be done." The conductor shook his head in embarrassment.
"The next large supply point is at Moze District, which is still 800 kilometers away. The remaining fuel cannot hold on there at all, and the fuel Charcoal Brick stored there is also limited."
After hearing this answer, Master Heeden frowned.
"What if we make Charcoal Brick right now?"
"There is a gap of about 500 tons. If we go all out to make it, it will take more than ten days. Moreover, this is not a forest area with abundant trees. It will take more time to collect raw materials. I am afraid it will take more than twenty days to complete."
More than twenty days is too long and will bring too many variables. No one knows how long North Wind Defense Line can persist.
"We can't wait for this time." Master Heeden said slowly, and the team captains beside him also had the same idea.
"Tell those officials to recycle all the Charcoal Brick previously distributed within today and tomorrow. I don't believe they will burn them all in these two days."
"But this may arouse people's resistance——" someone whispered.
Hearing such words, Heeden raised his eyebrows and glared at the member who spoke.
"It will arouse public outrage, but so what?"
"Our mission must be completed. This is far more important than the current public anger. So what if all the residents of Babu District die? If their sacrifices can bring stability to North Wind Defense Line, it will be worth it."
"Follow my order, all members of the vehicle crew will be on alert, and the regimental guards accompanying the vehicle will enter the main city area and supervise the local guards to recover Charcoal Brick. Anyone who dares to resist will be executed on the spot!"
"Yes, sir." Although he felt the pressure, the captain of the regiment accompanying the car still bowed his head and accepted the order and began to gather the soldiers.
At night, heavily armed musketeers entered the main city of Babu District one after another, and then the streets began to be blocked. With torches held high, a famous city guard and legionnaire knocked and smashed open the doors along the street, and forcibly recovered the previously distributed Charcoal Brick.
The sounds of crying and fighting resounded in the night, causing countless people to lose sleep that night.