Chapter 695: The Barren Peaks
Chapter 695: Chapter 695: The Barren Peaks
"But I could swear Joy Ford was just giving you a death glare," Ryan Rowe said, only to meet Ronan Kendrick’s chilling stare. The back of his neck prickled, and he quickly spurred his horse away, afraid that a few seconds’ delay would be enough for Ronan to assassinate him.
Upon entering Serena Province, Evelyn Ford took out her thermometer and glanced at it. 13°C. ’A bit cold, but bearable.’ The only problem was the difficult road, which was covered in rubble. As far as the eye could see, the vast landscape was nothing but desolation.
Evelyn Ford put the binoculars back in her bag. Seeing Flynn Hansen catch up, she waved him over. "Captain Hansen, at this rate, it’ll take us at least five more days to reach our destination. What’s that place called?"
"Demon’s Ridge. It’s at the southernmost tip of Serena, on the border with Varden." Flynn Hansen paused for a moment before continuing, "Dr. Ford, before I came back, my team and I went to count the number of wild boars and bison. There are probably no less than a thousand of them. Demon’s Ridge is huge, and with the ecosystem slowly recovering over the past few years, the animals have been reproducing rapidly, so their numbers have swelled. I was wondering, with so many boars and bison, how are we supposed to get them all back?"
"Do you have any good ideas, Captain Hansen?"
"We tried herding them, but the boars and bison are very difficult to tame. The boars will even attack people. They have tusks and are incredibly vicious, so herding them probably won’t work. We had no other choice but to split into two groups. One group stayed behind to watch the boars and bison and prevent them from migrating away. I brought the rest of the team back to the base to report this to the base commander. The main issue is that the terrain on Demon’s Ridge is extremely complex. The recent earthquakes destroyed all the roads, and the mountains are full of cliffs and precipices. Even if the base sent an aircraft, it wouldn’t be able to land."
Evelyn Ford nodded. "Does the Serena plant also grow on Demon’s Ridge?"
"There used to be a river on Demon’s Ridge that ran through both provinces, flowing from Serena into Varden. Now, the river has turned into a swamp, and the entire marsh is covered in the Serena plant. At the time, we weren’t sure if the plant was edible. One of my teammates said it looked like celery and was probably safe to eat. We fed some to the wild boars, and they didn’t die, so that’s how we confirmed it was the Serena plant."
Their current location was in the northeastern part of Serena Province. Unless they took a shortcut, the total journey would definitely be over six hundred kilometers.
"The roads here are tough. A little further ahead are thousands of acres of The Barren Peaks. The terrain in Serena is complex and divided into three sections. The mountains are all in the south, while the central part is an arid region. The elevation is high in the south and low in the north, descending in a terraced formation. The entire province has a temperate continental climate, ranging from arid to semi-arid."
Just then, Ryan Rowe and Ronan Kendrick also caught up. After years of natural disasters, the northern and central parts of the province were almost completely barren. Flynn Hansen was worried the horses would suffer in the coming days, so he suggested they cut some fodder here to take with them. There were plenty of small streams along the way, so drinking water wouldn’t be an issue.
"You don’t have to worry about that. We’ve already prepared plenty of fodder." Besides, the grass by the roadside was sparse and had withered under the recent high temperatures and scorching sun. The horses probably wouldn’t eat it anyway.
"You’ve really come prepared." Flynn Hansen felt a little ashamed. Before setting out, he never would have imagined the journey would be this easy.
「Two hours later.」
The four of them rode into The Barren Peaks. By this time, the fog had completely dispersed. Gazing at the rolling, lifeless mountains and vast stretches of black earth in the distance, they finally understood why Flynn Hansen had been worried about the horses having nothing to eat.
"I thought the soil in Serena was loess. Why has it turned black?" Ryan Rowe squinted, trying to get a better look.
"Has it rained acid here?" Evelyn Ford suddenly asked.
"We suspected the same thing, so we brought some soil samples back to the base. After studying them, the research staff at the base confirmed the soil had been corroded by acid rain—multiple times, in fact."
"You mean it’s rained acid here many times?"
Flynn Hansen nodded. "Yes."
After entering The Barren Peaks, the group slowed down. The ground had been corroded by acid rain until it was scorched black and as hard as solidified cement. Shallow puddles of water dotted the landscape. The soil couldn’t absorb any moisture, so the rainwater had simply collected there.
Evelyn Ford let out a "Whoa," pulling the reins to halt her horse. After dismounting, she took off her gloves and touched the rainwater with her fingertip.
"How can this be?" Everyone was surprised to see the rainwater become sticky and stringy on her finger.
"This rainwater is like aloe vera juice. It’s not just viscous, it also has a fishy, moss-like smell. It’s probably because of the soil. The acid-corroded earth might be releasing microorganisms that change the water’s properties. No wonder when I was looking at the water in these puddles from my horse, I thought I saw an oily sheen on the surface."
Evelyn Ford took a plastic bottle from her backpack and filled it with some of the rainwater. Flynn Hansen and Ryan Rowe watched her, confused.
"Joy Ford, what are you taking that water for?"
"I’m a little curious. Let’s go. We should leave The Barren Peaks first. The air here doesn’t smell good. Breathing too much of it might make you dizzy."
There were also corroded branches and tree stumps on the ground. The branches had fused with the soil. The stumps were so corroded and weathered that a light pinch would crumble them into powder. ’Who would have thought this place was once a forest?’
The northern part of Serena also had some small grasslands and deserts. Because it bordered Khoros, its northern geography was no different from Khoros’. Beyond The Barren Peaks lay a desert. Decades ago, the government had sent people to plant numerous poplar trees in this desert. But Flynn Hansen told them that when he had passed through The Whispwood earlier, there was nothing left but dead trees and vast yellow sand.
"These thousands of acres are completely ruined. I bet this land will still be barren even a hundred years from now. The power of acid rain is just too immense."
Evelyn Ford deeply agreed. "The main reason is that it has rained acid here so many times. Judging by the soil’s corrosion and hardness, each rainfall probably lasted for about a month. Even if the wind blows sand over from afar, it’s no use. The soil has turned into dead earth. The only way to fix it would be to cover the corroded soil with a two-meter layer of new, living earth."
Due to the natural disasters, the amount of usable land was shrinking. With the spread of nuclear radiation in Frelia, everyone could only migrate toward Khoros. In the south, after the oceans had flooded the land, there was likely no dry land left. Moreover, the south had many nuclear power plants and had probably fallen completely. Looking at the vast expanses of black earth, everyone’s mood grew heavy.
"You said there were thousands of acres of The Barren Peaks, so I thought the mountains would be covered in dead trees. I never expected The Barren Peaks wouldn’t have any trees at all," Ryan Rowe said with a sigh.
"Who knows how long it will take for this place to return to its former beauty."
Evelyn Ford held out her hand and made a forward-thrusting gesture. "As long as Azure endures, whether it’s a hundred years, two hundred, or five hundred... someday, the earth will heal itself. Nature will thrive once more, and so will we."
Beneath the dark clouds and upon the black earth, four riders on four horses galloped into the wind, the sound of their hoofbeats echoing as they finally left The Barren Peaks behind.