The airship moved forward slowly, skimming over forests, plateaus, and lakes. When it flew over the plateau lake and someone announced, "The capital is just ahead," nearly all the idle mages rushed out to the windows to look:
"Wow..."
Soft exclamations and gasps of admiration rose and fell. The older mages maintained their composure, such as the well-traveled Archmage Byerbo, who merely widened his eyes slightly.
The younger mages, like Garrett, however...
"Garrett, don't wipe the window with your nose! No! Don't press your face flat against the window!"
Garrett ignored them. He focused intently, leaning against the window and gazing down at the lake, whispering in awe:
"So beautiful... The natives here can build such structures, such a city..."
The scene below could no longer be simply described as "buildings" or "a city." On the plateau, steep mountains formed a large circle, embracing the clear lake in the center. The shadows of the peaks were reflected in the lake, with snow-capped summits in the distance.
Countless clear streams from the surrounding mountains converged into rivers, which then flowed into the lake. Along the edges of these rivers, clusters of villages were scattered.
At the center of the lake stood the capital of the Eagle Kingdom—or rather, the royal city. This city had no walls, or rather, it didn't need any. The surrounding lake naturally formed its barrier.
In the center of this barrier rose an island, half-natural and half-man-made. A broad, flat road ran through the middle of the island, ending at a grand temple. Even from the airship, the scale of this temple was awe-inspiring.
Three wide causeways connected the island to the mainland. Between the island and the mainland, as well as in the many canals, thousands of canoes gathered and dispersed like clouds, moving gracefully like butterflies.
Long aqueducts transported clear mountain water directly to the city center. Garrett, eyes wide, pressed against the window:
"They even have aqueducts here..."
I thought only ancient Rome, no, only the Old World had those!
"Indeed." Archmage Vicks from the Alchemy Guild stood beside him, looking down with a sigh:
"I thought only the Holy City of Radiance and a few places in the Brolin Kingdom had preserved aqueducts. I didn't expect the natives here could build such massive structures..."
"But this suggests that local spellcasters don't have water-creation powers." Archmage Mansfield from the Conjuration School joined the conversation:
"Otherwise, living by such a large lake, there shouldn't be a need for aqueducts."
"Maybe it's due to the local climate?" Garrett continued wiping the window with the grease from his nose, then pointed down at the lakeshore:
Swaying reeds extended from the shore inward, becoming shorter and sparser;
Further in, large patches of bare land were interspersed with sparse greenery, weakly edging the landscape;
Around the island stood a circle of houses, all built on stilts, appearing to be five to ten meters above the ground.
"This is a plateau region with strong evaporation, causing significant seasonal changes in the lake's depth. If there's a difference between the rainy and dry seasons, the changes would be even greater... During the rainy season, when the water level is highest, these houses might be close to the water?"
Just like his colleague once enthusiastically described the Tonle Sap Lake after returning from a trip. 2,700 square kilometers in the dry season, 10,000 square kilometers in the rainy season, with residents living on boats year-round...
Not because they wanted to, but because living on boats was the most optimal and cost-effective solution for them.
"That makes sense." Archmage Mansfield nodded. He looked at the distant mountains, then at the aqueduct leading to the temple and palace, nodding in appreciation:
"The poor bend down to draw water from the mud; the noble drink cool mountain snow water. No wonder, no wonder they built such structures..."
After gazing for a while, he suddenly walked quickly to the front cabin. Soon, the continuous commands of the archmage came from the control area:
"Measure! Quickly measure! The range of the lake shore during the rainy season, the range during the dry season—look at the plants and soil moisture, do I need to tell you?"
"Measure the height of the surrounding peaks! Measure the depth of the lake! Measure the energy nodes around! The energy reactions of the temple and palace!"
"Hurry up! We're about to reach the palace!"
The airship operators were flustered by his shouts. They adjusted one magic array after another, recorded streams of data, and were so busy that they wished they each had eight arms. Garrett smiled knowingly and looked down:
Such a civilization, even if it is backward, even if it is barbaric, even if it still has the custom of human sacrifice—it is still magnificent and unique.
It can disappear in the evolution of nature, be destroyed by conflicts among natives, just like in nature where wolves hunt deer and snow leopards hunt mountain sheep.
But it should never be brutally plundered, burned, wiped out, and erased due to the momentary greed of a more advanced civilization.
Its people enslaved, its temples demolished, all its records either burned or trampled into the mud. Even the lake drained, the land filled in to create farmland, completely destroying the ecosystem...
As he was thinking this, a vast golden light suddenly rose from the distant temple. Reflexively squinting, Garrett heard a sharp eagle cry piercing the sky, making him cover his ears.
The golden light rose higher and higher, gradually solidifying into a giant golden eagle, hovering above the temple. Its wings spread, casting a shadow over the entire royal city. Beneath the wings, thousands of people knelt and bowed, their cheers thunderous:
"Eagle God!"
"Eagle God!"
"Great Eagle God!"
It gently flapped its wings, golden light shimmering on the lake, stretching for miles. Under the golden eagle, a mass of black gas shot up, coiling above the great pyramid, revealing its form.
Black with white rings, it circled continuously. Although its body was only twice the height of the great pyramid, its tail seemed endless. Half-real, half-illusory, it merged into the ground, flicking its tongue, black clouds rising with each flick.
"Eagle God, Serpent God." Archmage Byerbo stood shoulder to shoulder with Archmage Haines from the Black Crow Swamp, exchanging a solemn look.
If negotiations went well, fine. If not, these two totem gods would undoubtedly be their responsibility—
"The Eagle God is likely between level 18 and 19." Silently, Archmage Byerbo initiated a mind link with Haines:
"If using some secret method to force an increase, it can probably output level 19 power. But it shouldn't cause a qualitative change to reach legendary level."
"The Serpent God is slightly weaker, at level 18, at most up to weak level 19." Haines replied with a stern face:
"The key is, this is their territory. Being far away, without backup, we must be cautious."
"So, what's your suggestion?"
"First, gauge their strength. And we must ensure the Eagle God and Serpent God, or at least the Eagle God, join us and fight with full force."
"Exactly my thought!"
After the two archmages finished discussing, one went to talk with his subordinates, assigning tasks, while the other rushed into the front cabin, urging the operators. They recorded target power levels, nature of the power, waveform changes...
In short, they used all the equipment on the airship to gather enough information to predict the enemy's moves!
Halfway through the scanning and detection, the black shadow of the Serpent God on the great pyramid shrank and disappeared into the pyramid. The golden eagle spread its wings, circling the island three times, then slowly transformed into golden light, descending into another pyramid.
Soon, a cluster of light spots flew up from the pyramid. It was the Golden Eagle Warriors leading a group of White Eagle Warriors to welcome them. The leader wore an eagle helmet, a long feathered cloak, and held an obsidian spear. He bowed forward.
Before he could speak, he was caught by the air currents outside the airship and stumbled back. Flapping his wings, he had to retreat three meters, then another three meters, finally stabilizing himself, and loudly announced:
"Honorable guests, the great Eagle God, the great Serpent God, and the esteemed Tlatoani and Chivacoatl are waiting for you."
He turned and flew towards the island. The airship followed slowly, descending to hover about ten meters above the water at the island's edge.
The cabin door opened, and Archmage Byerbo and Archmage Haines stepped out, releasing a flying carpet. The other archmages stood quietly watching, only Garrett was called over by his senior brother:
"Hey, Son of Thunder! Don't daze out! Come along!"
"Yes, you are the Plague Lord!" Archmage Haines also waved him over—earning a roll of the eyes, with a faint flame rising from Byerbo's body...
Garrett shrank his neck, looking straight ahead, standing obediently behind his senior brother, not even glancing at the necromancer. The flying carpet sank slightly as Cirilla jumped on:
"Let's go, together!"
The two archmages, their accompanying knights, Garrett, and Cirilla all rode the flying carpet. They landed on the holy altar in front of the temple, where a large crowd was waiting.
The leader, wearing a golden eagle crown and holding a gem-studded golden scepter, stepped forward from the crowd and opened
his arms:
"Honorable guests, on behalf of the great Eagle God and the great Serpent God, I welcome you! The White Ghosts are trampling our land, the traitors are killing our people, the Eagle Kingdom urgently needs your help!"
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