Left behind by the astrologers were the twelve camel cavalry, the ambassadors of Asai and Tocharo, and the two (actually one) strange ensigns of Zarinkuber and Zarinkut.

The Oriental touched his chin, "I think let's just wait a minute, Brother Jonah looks a little ...... Anyway, it's going to be fine. - Do any of you have the cards?"

The Tocharian ambassador sweated and said, "No amount of reinforcements is useless, if these damned dwarves hiding in turtle shells don't open the gate, even if the entire Fireblade Cavalry Regiment is transferred......, they won't be able to attack it!

"Phew, crow's mouth. Assay glanced at him, "Who, Brother Zarinkuber and Brother Zarinkut, let's come and sit and rest for a while, wait two or three hours, and if Brother Jonah doesn't come out, we'll figure it out." ”

"Yes. The two lieutenants walked up to the Oriental with blank faces and sat down on the carpet-like grass, and Asai looked at the two similar-looking servants, and felt that the one on the left looked like a normal person, and the one on the right looked dull and slow, as if he had lost half his life. "Hey, are you alright? Frightened by the flight just now?" said the second lieutenant to the right of the Asai pestle, "Are you Cooper or Cooter?"

"I'm Zharin Kupertan. The man on the right replied.

"What?" said the Oriental, puzzled, "what about you?"

"I'm Zarinkut. The man on the left nodded in reply.

Ah Sai scratched his head a little confused: "I remember that you two have the same name, why do you have an extra word? strange ......"

At this moment, Lieutenant Morrell's roar came from behind him: "Danon, Yilai, Abani! Immediately take off and return to the southeast command post camp at full speed, and report to the major what happened here!"

"Yes, Captain!" the three flying horsemen stood in salute, turned over and mounted on the neck of the camel eagle, and the sturdy riding beast flapped its wings and rose in the air.

"Gavi, Gyan, Heilman, take off at once and head for the sixty-mile border marker due north, Lieutenant Colonel Sardis should be patrolling the area, and ask him to come quickly!" the captain of the thirteenth flying cavalry team waved his arm and called out the horseman's name.

"Yes, Captain!" a hurricane broke off on the ground, and three camel eagles flew high in the sky, turning into small meteors in the blue sky.

"All the others have taken off, been monitored from the air outside the Ecbatana cordon, and report to me as soon as they find any signs of Lieutenant Colonel Jonah, understand?" Lieutenant Morrell glanced at his soldiers.

"Understood, Captain!"

"Disband!"

One by one, the camel eagles left the east gate, and in a short minute, only "Miss Nancy" was left tied to a stake in a mess of grass, and she turned her head sideways to look curiously at her master. Lieutenant Morrell sighed, "I hope something doesn't go wrong......"

"You're a good commander. Asai gave a thumbs up, "Again, with the cards?"

The ambassador stepped forward and invited the remaining people into his mansion to wait. It was perhaps the most shabby embassy in the Tocharian Empire, with nothing but a small living room and a bedroom. With Assai, Morrell, and the two lieutenants barely squeezing into their seats in the drawing-room, and the ambassador graciously offering cards, dominoes, Dedel (an ancient game in which the pieces on the checkered board are stacked to determine victory or defeat), and the curled chivalric novels, it seemed that the poor man had found a lot of relief from his solitude day after day.

"Okay, then let's wait two and a half hours, and if Brother Jonah doesn't come out, we'll rush in. The Oriental took out the creaking broken pocket watch and looked at it, grabbed the cards and skillfully brushed them, "Now I am not afraid of fighting." ”

"No, no, no, that would start a war!" the ambassador who had just delivered a pot of black tea widened his eyes in horror, "Damn the pink-hat dwarves are as sensitive and belligerent as cats in heat, don't give them any excuse to have a seizure!"

Asai pouted, "Come on, I'm not a Tocharian. But sneaking in is also a solution. - The two-and-a-half-hour timer has begun, and now who's going to play two with me? I've got a lot of silver to lose. ”

Lieutenant Morrell shook his head and pulled out a handful of tinkling coins, "Then let's play two." I'll be the first to rush in with you, Swordsman. What about the two of you?"

The two odd ensigns nodded in unison, each grabbing a card.

Needless to say, the Advent attached to the body of a seventeen-year-old astrologer followed the two Floresian guards into the depths of Ecbatana. I don't know if the mountains block out the sunlight, or if the smoke from the furnaces and anvils covers the sky, and along the winding path, the surroundings seem darker and darker as the buildings appear, as if from day to night.

The two pink-hat dwarf guards walked very slowly, and Gu Tie easily followed them, while curiously looking at the surrounding scene. Dense white houses appeared on both sides of the road, and the Florean houses were square pillars with narrow tops, and each obelisk shaped house had four floors, and through the gate you could see the spiraling staircase inside. It is said that it is a four-story building, but it is only the height of an ordinary human bungalow, and behind countless small windows, countless pairs of vigilant eyes are revealed to secretly observe strangers.

The Floreus people are basically dressed similarly, with black robes and pink hats, belts, and their appearance is too delicate for the profession of steam puppeteer, Gu Tie thought that people in this line of work should be like mechanics in reality, but he didn't expect these pocket mechanics to look beautiful one by one, like champions in children's beauty contests.

Ahead brightened up, and flaming torches began to appear beside the cobblestone road, and sightly torches using petroleum or other liquid fuels as an energy source were erected every fifty yards to illuminate the dark city like streetlights. The temperature was still rising, beads of sweat were beginning to ooze from the astrologer's back, the air was filled with the smell of metal, oil, steam, and paint, and there was a muffled tapping sound in the distance.

The two guards who led the way were not good tour guides, and Gu Tie hoped that someone could introduce him to the customs of this unknown place. According to the "Geographical Estimation of the Southern Continent", the humans who came from afar to learn the steam golem technology entered through the west gate, and the activity area was limited to the mixed area in the west, and the east was the forbidden area of the Floresians, and he may be the first human to walk on this road in hundreds of years.

As he walked, Gu Tie suddenly felt alarmed. He turned his head slightly, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a small figure following behind, in a pink hat and black robe, walking and jumping up and down, it was a Floresian. All the dwarves he met along the way were dodging him, so why did anyone follow him?, the astrologer's new memories flowed through his mind, and a possibility immediately came to Chinese's eyes," ...... Za?" he whispered, the real name of the ghost's left-handed warrior.

"Zharin Kubertu. The dwarf replied in a high-pitched voice.

"God, are you the fifth-generation doppelganger of that weird guy?" Gu Tie sighed, wondering when he would be able to see the true face of this amoebabe-like dude. Judging from the situation of the two ensigns, each time they split, the strength of the anthropomorphic body is weaker, and the lower the IQ, I wonder what this fifth-generation splinter will use to protect itself? I have to say that at least the appearance of Zalin Kuber deceived all the Floresians, and the two guards only glanced back and continued to lead the way in front, without suspecting the identity of the schizoar.

After walking for about ten minutes, the buildings on both sides of the road became denser and denser, and it should be close to the city center. A slight slope began to appear under his feet, Gu Tie raised his head and saw a mountain peak covered by an obelisk-like house, the gentle hillside stood countless buildings of different colors, white, pink, green, and blue facades decorated the hillside like a lively festival, but the thick metal steam pipes shuttled through the house, and countless unknown machines that sneered at steam, kept turning, knocking, and shaking made this cheerful atmosphere indecent, making Gu Tie a little dizzy.

At the top of the slope is a huge crater filled like a bowl with boiling magma, and a scorching red glow illuminates the entire city of Ecbatana. A massive furnace is built next to the crater, and intricate steam pipes coil around the rough-looking cylindrical tower, like a steel giant holding Mount Ekra in its arms. The red Ecbatana River flows from the foot of the volcano, carrying the heat of refined iron ore powder and lava to the south, thick steam enveloping the blood-like water.

"Wow. Gu Tie admired this rare spectacle and followed the footsteps of the guards up the hill. It took another ten minutes to climb up the winding path to the heights, and finally, at the end of the road, the two pink-hat dwarves who led the way stopped outside a white line and bowed down to make a "please" motion: "Please continue and ascend the stairs, the elders will be waiting for you at the top of the Crucible Heart." ”

"Okay, thanks. The astrologer nodded and glanced at Zalin Kupertu behind him, "Uh, this little brother......"

Unexpectedly, the two guards didn't pay attention to the human clones that followed them, and kept bending down and didn't make a sound. Gu Tie shook his head and stepped across the white line. As if through a layer of flexible soap bubbles, he walked into a cool and pleasant space, the heat of the volcano was isolated and disappeared outside, Gu Tie sighed comfortably, squinting his eyes and looking ahead.

Not far from the caldera, with a tall furnace in front of it, is the heart of Ecbatana, a sacred place for the hearts of Flores. As he approached the huge furnace, Gu Tie finally understood the meaning of the "Heart of the Furnace", the outermost layer of the furnace was the intricate steam pipes, the middle layer was the mechanical part that transmitted the heat of the volcano and the channel for the flow of molten steel, and in the center was a vertical hole, the hole was shrouded in a magic array that regulated the temperature, and the four walls were equipped with spiraling stairs, this was the heart of the furnace, the location of the "Council of Elders", the political center of the entire Ecbatana.