Abellachili, the Fifth Warrior, the plague god of the orcs.

She was the apprentice of the primordial warlock's best at shaping magic, and her Qianqian Su wielded the power of destroying miè in her hands.

She is an extreme Great Humanist, and for fifteen hundred years, she exterminated the Orcs.

For unknown reasons, she rebelled against the primordial warlock Rajat at the same time as almost all of the Witch Kings, and after that, she ruled the city of Ram as the Witch King until she was killed by Sadiri of Tyr. The latter shattered her lifebox and claimed her city for himself.

- Ibn Ahir, History of Atas before the Great Holy War

The balloon is different from the original hot air balloon, and the lift is much higher when the volume is the same. And the reason why this was achieved was that the old man understood a method of producing special gases in large quantities.

This special gas is named "light gas" by Khorezmi. According to the old man's calculations, it weighs only about one-fourteenth of air in the same volume, making it ideal for use as a filling gas for balloons.

Similar thoughts have been touched by others in history, such as Paracelsus, the ancient ** teacher of Attas. However, he did not have a way to produce this gas in large quantities, so he was gone.

After defeating the Ram Witch King, he used his unique skill of "secret passing" to create a large number of "light air" and this large manned balloon.

After the resurrection, Abellachiri was killed by the Coral Witch, and after that, in order to decide what to do next. Some of Tyr's men on the adventure got together to discuss.

Satili's proposition was to postpone her adventure to the Salt Sea and to complete the treatment of the civilians of Ram and integrate the area into the Tyre government. As soon as her idea was proposed, it was strongly opposed by Amal. "No doubt," said the thief. "Such a big move will attract a lot of people with a heart. Maybe the witch king who wants to join in the fun will come and have a look, and then easily end up winning the weak side. ”

"With all due respect," said Amal ibn Haran to Sadiri. "Although the Coral Witch is powerful, she probably can't fight the two Witch Kings in a row. ”

Muhati didn't say a word at this time, still thinking about his own business. After the Witch King was killed in battle, he returned to the surface the same way he came. Compared with the previous haste, this time he walked much slower and more carefully. Along the way, not all of his guards have escaped or been killed by the Witch King and the Puppeteer's fight. In fact, quite a few of the guards survived until the time Muhadi entered the underground palace.

They didn't get in the way because someone assassinated them. Several corpses in a row, the psychic warlocks all showed that they were stabbed in the back

Face dancer Heidiche's hand, psychic certain, but where is she now?

After some discussion, several people decided to leave Ram for the time being. However, the Coral Witch magically informed Councillor Ricas, asking his troops to take over the area as best they could. For his part, Muhathir wrote two letters, one to Prince Benedict and one to Prince Corwin, asking them to cooperate with the future occupation forces in Tyre. Satili sent her own pet, a little devil, to find the two men and deliver the letters.

(Camilla is visibly taken aback when she sees that Satilly's pet is a little devil, but she doesn't say anything.) ）

At this moment, the old man Kharazimi heard that they were going to the Salt Sea, and immediately poured out the spirit of infinite academic inquiry, and he was stalking to join the adventure party. Considering that he can make a balloon and greatly speed up the adventure, the others agreed. Muscle Daddy is even more eager to try, because he hasn't flown into the sky except when he brags.

Khwarazmi had been designing his manned balloon to perfection for a long time, and everyone understood that this exquisite flying machine was the creation that the old man was most worried about.

The old man, after very careful calculations, came to the conclusion that, together with the necessary items of the adventure and the weight of several men, he had to carry four thousand Attas pounds. Therefore, it is necessary to calculate the lift that will be able to lift this weight, as well as the capacity of the balloon. It takes forty-four thousand eight hundred and forty-seven cubic feet of air to move the weight of four thousand attas.

If a balloon is given a volume of 44,847 cubic meters, and it is not filled with air, but with "light gas" prepared by Khorezmi, then the weight of the gas is only 276 pounds. 3,724 pounds of surplus lift left for other objects.

However, the volume of the balloon cannot be only 44,847 cubic meters. If you fill the balloon, the density of the gas in the atmosphere decreases as the altitude increases. The gas contained in the balloon may gradually expand and may burst through the balloon shell at any time. Therefore, this balloon designed by Khorezmi can only be filled with two-thirds of the gas at most.

So, he designed the balloon to be the most desirable oval shape. The balloon has a horizontal diameter of fifty cubits, and a vertical diameter of seventy-five cubits. In this way, a sphere with a volume of 90,000 cubic calitons was obtained.

From a safety point of view, two balloons are the most suitable. Who knows what to expect during the adventure, if the balloon bursts in the salt sea, won't the whole group crash? However, if the pod is hoisted with two balloons, there are complex issues such as lift balance.

After a long period of thought, Khwarazmi finally came up with an idea to play to their strengths and weaknesses, and the result was to concentrate the strengths of the two balloons and overcome their shortcomings. He made two balloons of different sizes, and put the small one inside the big one. The size of the big balloon on the outer layer is the size of the original design. The balloon of the same shape, slightly smaller in size, has a horizontal diameter of 45 feet, a vertical diameter of 68 feet, and a total volume of 67,000 cubic meters. There is a rigid connection between the small balloon and the large balloon, which is connected by a safety valve.

If you need to release some gas to lower the balloon, then release the "light air" of the large balloon first, and if necessary, you can even empty the air of the large balloon and leave the gas of the small balloon unmoved, at this time, just like you can throw away the excess weight, throw away the outer shell. Because the remaining balloon is small, and it is only one, although it is filled with "light air", there are no two balloons filled with half "light air".

In addition, in the event of an accident, the outer balloon is unfortunately blown up, and the small balloon can be used as a backup.

Both balloons are made of Ram twill taffeta and coated with Bird's blazing gum. This gum substance is extremely impermeable to water and is not at all afraid of acid and gas attack. Two layers of taffeta were used for the upper part of the balloon, because almost the entire pressure was exerted there.

This specially reinforced casing allows the gas to be stored inside the zài for a long time. The weight of the enclosure is approximately one Atas pound per eighteen square feet. The outer balloon has an area of about 11,600 square meters and weighs 650 pounds. The shell of the small balloon inside has an area of 9,200 square wrist feet and weighs only 510 pounds. In this way, the weight of the two balloons adds up to a total of 1,160 pounds.

The high-altitude nets used to withstand the hanging baskets were made of tendons of animals of great strength, and Khwarazmi claimed that she had killed no less than a hundred large lizards. The two valves have also been worked on, and the workmanship is as fine as a work of art in the court.

The shape of the hanging basket is garden, and the diameter is fifteen cubits. Its main body is made of sand willow branches soaked in oil. The reinforcement is a very light iron skeleton, and the key parts are reinforced with insect shells. The lower part of the basket is equipped with some large springs to cushion the impact of the basket on the ground when the balloon falls. The basket and the balloon net combined weigh no more than 280 pounds.

In addition, it is the "light gas" preparation device of Khwaraz. There are two large tin boxes, which are connected by some pipes with switches. The old man attached a serpentine tube about two fingers thick to each box, and the head of the serpentine tube forked out two straight pipes of different lengths. However, the long one is only twenty-five cubits, and the short one is only fifteen cubits.

The tin box is embedded in the hanging basket to take up as little space as possible. The serpentine tube should have been fitted later, so it was boxed separately for the time being. In addition, a special tank is filled with water.

Muhati looked closely, and the set of things constituted a simple Bunsen battery. The structure is not complicated, and he can build one if he gives him some time. But this is an eighteenth-century technology on Earth, and I really didn't expect someone on Atas to be able to make it. However, on second thought, whether it is a Bunsen battery or a Grove battery on the earth, the main technical difficulty lies in the manufacture of battery fluid. In Attas, acid sputtering is nothing more than a zero-level trick.

With this device, Khwarazmi can electrify water and create what he calls "light air". Even if it does not rely on magic at all, it can fly with a manned balloon on its own technology.

This set weighs about 700 pounds.

Other things you'll need for the adventure include six iron anchors. A 50-foot-long soft ladder, a compass for positioning, a sextant, a precision sundial, a telescope for stargazing, and so on.

The weight of the food he carried with him was also accurately calculated. Including lizard jerky, all kinds of dried fruits, coffee beans, horse intestines, etc., all of which are small in size and high in nutrients. In addition to alcohol, I also brought two large boxes of cooking water.

The old man also did not forget to put a tent on the hanging basket, so that the wind and sand would not blow in. Due to the small space, everyone had to sleep standing in a sleeping bag.

Add to that the ballast, the weight of the six men and their belongings—Muhathir brought only his own clothes, weapons, and the magic book he carried with him after the crossing—weighing about four thousand pounds.

Before take-off, Sadiri also confirmed to Khwarazmi about a technical issue, "Isn't it dangerous that the balloon must rise and fall frequently in order to stay in a favorable air flow zone?"

"Why? How can my design be in danger?" the old man was proud of his own light, and even if the Coral Witch was a stunning woman, his answer was not a good one.

"Because, the only way to get up is to throw away the ballast. To descend, let go of some of your 'light air'. If this continues, your 'light air' and ballast will soon run out. ”

"Aha," the old man rubbed his hands excitedly. "I have solved this problem a long time ago. ”

According to Khorezmi, he used the original Bunsen battery to electrolyze water with acid, and then burned the gas through a sealed pipeline to heat the balloon to achieve a slight rise and a slight decrease. The idea made Muhadi frown, he knew about the Hindenburg accident on Earth, and using an open flame on a hydrogen balloon was tantamount to suicide. So, the psychic warlock built yì to heat the line with his first-order psionic energy. Psionic energy does not need to drain life force or be affected by leyline radiation, and can be used in the Salt Sea. The old man was furious, but finally agreed.

The balloon of Khorezmi had been built long before the battle, so less than a day after the battle, the group left Ram on it.

The air is pure and the wind is always strong. The Khorazmi manned balloon rose straight to a height of 1,500 cubic meters. Attas lacks tall mountains, so this height is very safe. The steady air currents blew them southwest faster than any mount.

The scenery unfolds in front of you, and the layers of sand dunes slowly unfold like a wrinkled carpet before the eyes of adventurers. The color of the sand may seem the same yellow to outsiders, but to the experienced traveler, the yellow can be deep and light. The darker parts of the sand are coarser and the lighter parts of the sand are finer. The shallowest part tends to be the deadly stagnant quicksand belt, where the lifeless areas of death traps are located.

The creatures on the ground look so small that they can be crushed to death with a little thumb. As a result of the fighting in Rambang, the desert in this area is now full of caravans and refugees who have escaped from Ram City. Smaller teams tend to consist of only a dozen or so people and seven or eight mounts. There were even five or six people, and there were those who walked alone. Larger teams can number in the hundreds, with giant shell beetles and long caravans. A number of horseback scouts were scattered around the caravan and were on guard.

This part of Athas has no scientific name, and no one has ever been there. A small rocky mountain rises a little to the west, with a roughly conical peak. There are obvious signs of wind erosion on one side of the rocky mountain, leaving many ditches that look like water flowing through them. On the leeward side of the mountain, there are some low desert vegetation that looks like patches of brown when viewed from above.

On one occasion, Muhati also saw a long, luxuriant baobab tree, which looked like a small mushroom from this height. The trunk of the tree is very thick, but it is only seventy or eighty feet high, but it takes forty adult men to hug it, and it is shaped like a baguette. Most of the trunk is bare, with only a few branches sticking out from the top. The tree is so loose that it cannot be used to make utensils or be used as firewood, but the shell beetle is particularly fond of eating.

A small village is on the leeward side of the mountain, and a small colony of lizards like black ants can be seen around the village. A group of people probably saw a manned balloon floating through the sky, and in horror, jumped off their mounts and pointed at it. Someone tried to shoot down the monster with a bow and arrow, but it still swayed majestically over the heads of the villagers.

A flock of grouse-like birds flew past the balloon, and the way they flew was graceful, and not at all panicked, as if they were waiting to be killed by an arrow. However, since it was impossible to land down to pick up the corpse, and the distance of the flock happened to be outside the range of the telekinesis, there was no need to waste arrows.

Muscle Daddy sat on the balloon and was dizzy, vomiting, resting at the bottom of the gondola, and constantly muttering to himself "never listen to the lies of the Ram people again". Amal ibn Haran was playing some kind of coin trick while tossing fifteen glittering gold coins, and although the balloon was unstable, he never missed. Sadiri sat cross-legged in the corner of the basket reading her magic book, while the old man Khrami fiddled with his instruments.

The Psychiocrat stood on the edge of the upper level of the gondola and continued to look out at the landscape, the desert was lonely and cloudless. Attas, the world of fire and sand, blood and dust. The endless desert stretches as far as the eye can see, and the higher you fly, the more you feel small.

The sound of soft footsteps sounded, and Muhadi did not look back, but he knew that the Grand Druid Kamila had arrived. "You're up up to see the scenery too?"

"Your tone is not friendly to your savior. Camila replied as she stood aside, looking at the endless desert below.

"I've heard that it was you who sued the others that I was kidnapped by the Giris Yankees and brought to Ram. Muhati glanced at the female druid, and now she was particularly attractive. Strong, elegant, intelligent, and can also be called a great beauty. Still, he didn't say much. "I'm guessing you're tracking my location with the moss you left on my hands. ”

"Half a little bit good. ”

"But though my life has been recovered, my silver sword has been lost. The Psychic said in a regretful tone. "It's not good enough. ”

"A weapon that relies on ** is more than a weapon that relies on a soul," Camilla said, "can you still be called a qualified psychic warlock?"

Muhadi shrugged and continued to look at the desert. "I don't think anyone chooses to be a psychic for the sake of being a psychic maniver. ”

"Your warrior friend has looted several silver swords, you can borrow them. The Great Druid spoke up, which was not like her, and even seemed a little gentle. What suddenly attracted him to Kamila, Muhati didn't understand, and at this time he thought about a thought - so did Camilla find him attractive as well?

"That's not the same one I used to be. The Psychic Warlock said.

"I've noticed that you're deliberately finding fault. Camila turned her head and leaned one hand against the edge of the basket to prop up her face. Her ponytail flutters in the wind. "What do you think of me?"

"I'm wondering what kind of beautiful world Atas must have been before the Battle of Purification broke out. Muhathir said. "Forests and trees are thriving everywhere, water falls from the sky and merges into streams and rivers, and the sea is blue and nurturing countless lives. ”

"Life was better then than it is now, the rain and dew blessed everyone, and the breeze moistened the earth. And now, in the Battle of Purification, you, the Starch Spencer, sent the druids and the Witch Kings together to destroy the forests and steam the seas...... Sue me, Camilla, as a druid, don't you have the slightest idea of the loss of so many lives? Isn't it a bit against the druid's ideals that the once vibrant verdant world has become the cruel and scorching world it is today?"

Camila smiled contemptuously, her eyes still on Muhadi. "Now that we're adventurous partners, I'll forgive you for your stupidity. Our generation of Starch Spencer sent druids to protect nature, but not backwardness. Survival of the fittest, survival of the fittest is the iron law of nature. Those ancient creatures, unable to adapt to this evolved world, deserve to perish. Without the decline and extinction of old species, there can be no growth and prosperity of new species. ”

"As for this world of fire and sand," Camilla said bluntly. "In the eyes of my druids, they are countless times more beautiful than Atas in the blue or green era. Life here is tough and strong, and the people here are cunning and tenacious. Any man or woman who is still alive in this world today is much stronger and wiser than their ancestors. That's the power of evolution!"

"Besides, do you really think that our Athas is lifeless today?" asked the Grand Druid.

"It's obvious. Muhati replied thoughtfully. "Life was once everywhere in Atas, but now it is confined to the water source. The ocean was once the world's largest habitat, but today the Salt Sea is a lifeless dead place...... Atas is declining in life today, both in terms of numbers and kinds, isn't it?"

"Of course not!" Camila said, shaking her head as a ponytail flicked out of the back of her head.

"First of all, the creatures in the Atas Desert are much more abundant than you might think. It's just that today's creatures tend to be much smaller and better at concealment than ancient creatures. For example, a two-fingered lizard, the existence of which few people in Atas know very little. We, the Starch Spencer Druids, have shown how much potential this little lizard with two tentacles on its lower lip is. Did you know, the tentacles on their lower lip are more flexible than human fingers, and although they are only two fingers the size, they have learned to make simple tools and build nests? In inaccessible places, they even form huge colonies...... Is this comparable to ancient creatures?"

"Secondly, if you use your brain, you will be able to realize. Although the desert is large, it is far from the whole of today's Atas ecosystem. Camilla pointed to the vast sea of sand beneath the balloon, dunes one after the other, like waves on a frozen ocean. "Do you see a lot of greenery?"

"Of course not. "There are only a few brown or dark yellow patches underneath, which represent certain shrubs or desert trees. Green is only sporadically dotted around some green states. So Muhati answered in the affirmative. "Unless in your Starch Spencer druid's dictionary, greenery means otherwise. ”

"Exactly. Camilla unexpectedly admitted. "There really isn't much greenery left on the surface of Atas. ”

"So what do you mean? You also say that the desert is not the whole ecosystem, is there life in the salt sea?"

"Whether there is life in the salt sea, I don't know yet. Maybe after this adventure, I can answer this question. Camila shook her head again. "But I'm not talking about the Salt Sea, it's the real ocean, which is today's Atas!"

The real ocean? Today's Atas Muhadi was interested, so he continued to listen.

"The vast majority of the forests have been drained of their vitality by magic in the battle of purification. The oceans have also been depleted, so the algal life of ancient times has also become extinct. It stands to reason that without these producers in the biological chain, the air in our world would have become too turbid to breathe, but it didn't, and this would have aroused the curiosity of our Starch Spencer Druid. ”

Muhati had also considered this question, but he didn't study it deeply, listening to Camilla's tone, she actually knew the answer, how could this not make the psychic warlock curious.

"Sounds like you know why?"

"The Great Elder of the Starch Spencer sect druids has long been aware of the cause of this problem. Kamila said triumphantly, almost as if she wanted Muhathir to approve of her.

"What's that?"

"Oil. ”

"Oil?" Hearing the other party spit out these two words, Muhadi couldn't help but be stunned and repeated. Seeing that the other party nodded in confirmation, he asked. "What does oil have to do with this problem?"

"The composition of oil is complex, but of course it can also give birth to life. Camila said. "The ancients were foolish enough to think that only sunlight was the basis of the ecosystem, and they were wrong. The Great Elder revealed several microscopic organisms in the oil in the extract of the water plant, which used geothermal heat instead of sunlight as an energy source to decompose oil to produce water and organic matter, and in the process renewed the breathed air, forming a completely different ecosystem from the action of light. Because of these tiny creatures, the air in our world has not become completely breathable. ”

On Earth, photosynthesis produces energy and oxygen, which are the cornerstones of most ecosystems. Attas has almost no greenery, so the cornerstone of its ecology is geothermal heat?

"Just a few microbes, it doesn't mean much. ”

"Then you'd be wrong. Camila continued, mocking on her face. "When the Great Elder discovered this microorganism that decomposes oil, he made up his mind to find out. He cast a spell to protect himself, then jumped into the oil well at the water plant. ”

"He jumped into an oil well?!" Muhathir was not convinced.

He descended all the way down the oil well, groping his way through the narrow cavern until the space suddenly became wider. Camilla's words seemed to have turned into bizarre myths. "It's like a stream flowing into the sea. ”

"Can you imagine what he has appeared? a real ocean that is boundless, pitch black. For thousands of years, dead creatures have formed a global-scale, incomparably rich oil belt beneath Attas. And thanks to the accumulation of those tiny organisms, the bottom of the oil belt has accumulated an incomparably rich source of water, a real marine ......"

Accompanied by Kamila's description, Muhati imagined a dark ocean underground, never seen by sunlight, pitch black, geothermal heating the sea to uncomfortable heights, and hundreds of millions of tons of oil floating on top of the ocean. What kind of world should this be, and what kind of weird creatures will inhabit it?

Will it be like the deep seas of the earth, where there are huge eyeless mollusks and inexplicable alien species lurking in that eternal darkness? Or will the truth be a hundred times crazier than man's wildest imagination? Their horror and grotesque are utterly unacceptable to reason?

"Your Great Elder is a creature?"

"Of course, he has a lot of new creatures. For example, a giant hydra...... Wait, you've never seen the sea in your life, and you don't know what a hydra looks like. In short, he had a variety of gelatinous tentacled mollusks, all of which were strangely and inexplicably shapely. Some of the creatures in the subterranean sea are so large that they are even larger than cities like Ram. In that eternally dark underground sea, the undercurrents created by the giant creatures as they swam were extremely turbulent, and hundreds of blind eyes larger than windmills stared blankly into nothingness. ”

He also appeared a strange fish, with four tentacles, no epidermis, separated by a mucus that separates the internal organs from the outer seawater. It has air holes on each side of its body, and its mouth is a barely visible fold. The Great Elder now seemed to have some kind of magical potential, but unfortunately after it was brought to the ground, it died before he could dissect it deeply...... In short, the Great Elder named this strange creature the benthic devilfish. ”

"So you see, in fact, today's Athas is not inferior to the Athas of the Blue Age in terms of species diversity. Camila said with a smile. "Why do you think it's lifeless?"

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