"The Thirteenth Flying Cavalry is requesting takeoff."
"Easterly northerly wind level 2. The weather is clear. Visibility is good. There will be no rain until evening. You can take off at any time. I wish you good luck, brothers."
A soldier waved two green flags. The major of the southeast command post stood at attention and saluted. He squinted his eyes to see twelve huge camel eagles flapping their wings and raising dust in the sky. "Please pay attention to safety. Lieutenant Colonel Jonah. If you go out What's wrong? Lieutenant Colonel Sardis won't go around me when he comes back." The major nodded to the boy on the back of the first hump hawk.
"Of course. Major." Even though he didn't understand, Jonah could guess what the other party said. He waved as calmly as possible. The powerful wings of the camel eagle raised a hurricane. The astrologer felt his body sink. He couldn't help but hold on tightly. The saddle on the back of the eagle and the sharp claws of the riding beast slowly left the ground and were hidden under the body. The camp of the Flaming Blade Cavalry Regiment quickly shrunk beneath the body. Twelve majestic flying riding beasts rose in the clear water-washed sky. " Please sit tight, Lieutenant Colonel Jonah. We are about to speed up." The captain of the Thirteenth Flying Cavalry, a cavalry lieutenant named Morel, who was sitting on the neck of the humpback, turned around and asked loudly to the commander behind him. .This lieutenant can speak the common language of the Western Continent. Jonah guessed that this was one of the reasons why Emperor Isaibaink assigned this cavalry team to him.
"Target: Ecbatana. Move forward." Yona gritted his teeth and pointed forward.
"Woo...ha." Twelve flying cavalry shouted excitedly. "Click." Morel buckled on the crystal goggles with a brass frame. He clamped his legs on the eagle's neck: "Charge forward. Nan Miss Xi."
The flying beast let out a long and sharp cry. It flapped its wings and flew forward. The hunting wind blew by his ears. Jonah also imitated Morel and put on his goggles. He looked back. Eleven humpback eagles lined up in a wedge-shaped matrix at the same time. It began to accelerate. Asai was waving his arms excitedly on the back of the second beast, shouting something unknown.
In just five wingspans, this wonderful beast increased its speed to a frightening level. Its entire body shrank into the shape of a date stone, splitting the air with its sharp beak, and shooting through white clouds like a bullet. The distant land was retreating rapidly. Morel led the team to climb up. The Thirteenth Flying Cavalry began to cruise at high speed above the clouds. The bright red Iekotel shone in the eastern sky, spreading the golden sunshine all over the camels. The eagle's feathers glowed with steel.
The strong wind blew so hard that Jonah could hardly breathe. He clung to the armrests of the saddle tightly. He felt that if he relaxed even a little, he would be lifted off the back of the humpback and fall into the unfathomable void. He had once been obsessed with this kind of beauty. I like the beast very much. Who would have thought that it would become so terrifying after flying into the sky.
Half an hour ago, the astrologer saw the legendary humpback for the first time in the landing field in the backyard of the military camp. As a symbol of the royal family of the Tocharian Empire, this noble beast has been domesticated for hundreds of years. The Fire Blade Cavalry The regiment has a total of ten flying cavalry teams and has raised hundreds of fighting eagles. Due to the usual laws of nature, female animals are generally larger and stronger than males. Therefore, the fighting eagles in service are all female. This kind of creature It is seven feet tall and weighs a thousand pounds. It has a wingspan of more than thirty feet. It has an eagle-like head, wings and claws. But its body is very similar to that of a camel. It has two humps that can store water and energy. And it has a fine and soft body. of short hair.
The feathers on the wings of the twelve hump eagles show different colors of iron gray, dark brown, brown and cyan. Only Captain Morel's "Miss Nancy" has a pair of black wings. Compared with ordinary hump eagles, this The black hump eagle has better speed and strength, but at the same time has less endurance. It is more conducive to short-distance surprise operations.
"You, how far are you talking about Ecbatana?" Jonah asked loudly. He couldn't hear his own voice clearly.
Lieutenant Morel did not look back. He stretched out his right hand and made a sign of "4" and "2". The astrologer remembered. The captain of the Flying Cavalry said that it was 40 miles away from the destination and could be reached in 20 minutes. In fact, the energy consumed by such high-speed cruising is staggering. Camel eagles cannot maintain this speed for a long time. The fat and water stored in their humps can support approximately half an hour of high-speed cruising, or twelve hours of low-speed flight.
The cavalry flew through a range of white clouds. The blood-red river appeared below them. The river snaked up between the hills and pointed to a red sky. Jonah wiped the crystal windshield and was surprised to see the northwest. The sky is burning fiercely. A ring of hills surrounds the dark basin like a big bowl. In the center of the basin rises a sky-reaching fire. That is not the eruption of the Ekla volcano. It is the huge furnace of the Flores people that burns day and night. Working underground. Using the heat of volcanic lava to forge components for steam machinery.
"Where are we landing? Can we fly directly in?" the third-level astrologer asked loudly.
"No. Lieutenant Colonel." Lieutenant Colonel Morel turned around and shouted. "That's too dangerous. The pink hat dwarf's steam golem will destroy all uninvited guests. We enter through the east gate. The Tocharian ambassador will open the gate for us. ."
"Got it." Jonah replied.
As Ecbatana got closer and closer, the hot metallic smell of steam began to appear in the air. The temperature increased significantly. Looking down at this basin from a high altitude, you can see the houses, squares and unknown buildings built by the Flores. The famous huge machinery. Steam pipelines crisscross the city. Countless chimneys spout white smoke into the sky. The towering hills are the natural barrier of Ekbatana. Except for the canyon on the south side where the red river rushes, there is only one east There are two passages at the mountain col on the side and west side. Several steam carriages that look as small as ants are loaded with various exquisite steam machinery and drive out of this hot land of steam puppet warlocks from the west gate.
"Turn right at forty degrees." Lieutenant Morel stretched out his right hand and made two gestures. Twelve hump eagles neatly deviated from the course, drawing a beautiful arc in the air, sticking to Ekbatana's invisible body. The border line advanced to the northeast. "Did you see it? Lieutenant Colonel." The captain of the cavalry team pointed to a small black spot in the sky on the left. "That is the steam golem of the pink-hatted dwarf. This floating model is specially designed to deal with attacks from Of the enemies of the sky.”
Jonah narrowed his eyes and could barely see a cylindrical machine suspended in the air. "Can a steam golem fly? Can the Flores also build a steam airship like 'Lame Henry'?" The astrologer couldn't help but ask.
The speed of the hump eagle slowed down. The annoying wind noise no longer hindered the conversation. Lieutenant Morel shook his head: "Flying is the most difficult thing. These golems are hoisted into the sky using balloons. Look at the top of its head. There are A steam-powered hot air balloon.”
"Then you can use balloons to build a large ship that can carry people. It can cross the big river between the two continents." Jonah said with bright eyes. "Beyond" the holy river, the natural chasm between the Western Continent and the Southern Continent. His memory was particularly vivid. If a safe transportation method could be found, there would not be so many tragedies near the water.
"I don't quite understand, Lieutenant Colonel." Morel hesitated. "But the flight altitude of a hot air balloon is very low, and the airflow over the Holy River is very complicated. It's probably not very practical."
As he spoke, the camel eagle spread its wings and flapped gently. The height of the cavalry began to decrease. The green hills enlarged in front of them. A road circling at the foot of the mountains appeared in front of them, and a majestic steel gate at the end of the road. "Woo... Ha!" the twelve cavalrymen shouted in unison. The humpback flapped its wings and descended vertically, blowing away a whirlwind of flying stones and broken grass.
"Bang." The heavy body finally touched the ground. The riding beast dug its claws into the ground, folded its wings and lowered its head. The cavalry landed on a green grassland. At the end of the grassland was a Tocharian-style white house. A middle-aged man in a white robe stood at the door. Before the dust and smoke dissipated, the man rushed over and shouted excitedly.
Lieutenant Morel jumped off the humpback. He stretched out his hand to help the astrologer get off the beast. Then he greeted the middle-aged man with a smile. The cavalrymen drove wooden stakes into the ground and tied the reins of the humpback on them. They took off their windshield and started. Lining up, Asai walked over with a smile: "It's so wonderful. Look. I think it's wise to fly here. We almost missed such a fun flying experience."
Yona felt that his legs were weak. He used Sila Fina to support the ground and managed to stand up straight: "I don't think it's funny...Is that person the Tocharian ambassador? What are they talking about?"
The Easterner listened attentively. "Lieutenant Morel is introducing you to the ambassador and asking the ambassador to inform Ecbatana to open the east gate. This poor man has been alone in this place where birds do not lay eggs for several years." I finally saw a living Tocharian soldier. He seemed a little too excited."
"Alone. Aren't there many steam puppet warlocks who come here to study? There should be a lot of humans." Jonah said puzzled.
"Businessmen and apprentices all enter and exit through the west gate. The east gate is specially set up for the Tocharians. It is said to be a requirement of national dignity or something." Asai spread his hands.
After listening to Morel's words, the middle-aged man in robes ran over to greet Baron Ecbatana with fear. Jonah helped the poor man up and repeated his request. The ambassador said that he would inform the pink hat dwarf immediately. However, It's hard to say whether the other party is selling off his or her own face.
The thirty-foot-high steel door was coldly closed. The ambassador led the cavalry team to the door. He squatted down and opened a small window. He explained something inside. Through the one-and-a-half-foot thick Through the door, you can see a small guard opposite the window, holding a small spear. There is a little surprise on his small face.
"Tell them that the person who came here is a descendant of Gilberto Gilberto Naion." The Easterner said the name of the first mentor without hesitation. "...This trick will definitely work."
Da translated in Flores. Jonah originally wanted to stop this too straightforward behavior, but his body froze. It was not that he saw something extraordinary, but that there was a voice in his mind. Appear. A long-awaited voice. The voice of the coming one.