Chapter 12449. Lending a hand
Daxus did not perform any fancy flying stunts, such as the Immelmann flip, the Kulbit and the Cobra maneuver, which would make him black out. Besides, he didn't know how to do it. Instead, he kept circling at a low altitude.
The pterosaurs circling in the sky now sensed Daxus's presence and began to swoop down to follow him. He was now like the leader of a swarm of insects, with a large group of pterosaurs following behind him.
These pterosaurs weren't just light green; some had red heads and wingspans, speckled with black. A rare few were purplish-pink or vibrant azure blue, strikingly beautiful, possessing a unique beauty. However, these differences in color only enhanced the diversity of the species, not any other significant enhancements, and even Daquus couldn't detect them.
The sun was already hanging high in the sky at this time, and the fog made the mountains in the distance unclear. In the near distance, winding water surrounded the meadow, and reeds and shrubs grew on the shore, full of green. Flowers and plants swayed on the wetlands, and the towering treetops looked like huge green umbrellas connected together.
Threads of golden sunlight shone down, reflecting colorful light on the pterosaur's gorgeous wings. Groups of pterosaurs drew elegant and complex paths in the air, and their shadows were reflected on the lake, interweaving a colorful splendor.
"It's so beautiful." Alyssa was attracted by the scenery in front of her. She stopped sending out the wind of magic at this moment. Genevieve also exclaimed.
And then that happened. Except for Ryan who could draw a little, none of the other vampires who followed Darkus had any talent in this area.
"Oh!" Ryan stood on the ground and looked at the dreamlike scene, sighing. He already had an idea in his mind.
"Didn't the young master say that he would find a chance to make you a new notebook in the future?" Elmir comforted him.
For the first hundred years or so of his life, Ryan had no habit of keeping records. He had essentially lived in Clarkalond since birth. By the time he reached adulthood, the Takya family was too poor to allow him to participate in the Haxie Trial. His first major trip was to follow Daxius's Adult Trial, completing the Takya family's Trial along the way. It wasn't until Daxius asked him to draw that this talent was activated. He discovered his love for recording, and even a strange talent for languages.
The sky was filled with pterosaurs, not the legendary Quetzalcoatlus with wingspans exceeding fifteen meters. While the pterosaur's claws and teeth were sharp, they weren't that sharp, making them somewhat useless in close combat. Besides, there were species like the Rhynchophorus for close combat, but Daxus suspected they wouldn't be compatible with him. A swooping hindquarters grab wasn't always successful; the people on the ground weren't fools, and the bows, crossbows, spears, and halberds in the army weren't just for show.
Dacus believed what Ryan had said yesterday was correct. He believed they should still install a combat platform on their backs to fire harpoon crossbows or carry traditional projectiles like javelins and fire leeches, supplemented by stone bombardments to bombard ground troops. He believed they should utilize the pterosaur's speed advantage to conduct flexible operations, quickly retreat to the rear, restock their stone bombs and projectiles, and repeatedly re-enter the battlefield to bombard.
"What dive bomber formation?" Daxus thought for a while and shook his head, then began to blow the Spica Zuma horn.
The horn began to sound, conveying Daquus's instructions. The loud sound of the horn temporarily suppressed the roar of the pterosaur.
The instructions are very simple. There is a group of spirit lizards on the ground who need some partners. You don’t need to bring a resume. Food and accommodation will be provided, and vacation time will be random. There are no five insurances and one fund. If you are interested, come.
The wild pterosaurs were all a little stunned. After some of them reacted, they did not give Dacus any face at all. They hissed a few times and left the formation.
The feedback Daxus received was very clear: it was perfectly fine for him to hang out with him, but his wife was pregnant and needed care, so he wasn't interested in following that group of skink lizards.
But more than half of the pterosaurs hesitated and chose to stay, or some of them chose to go and see what the situation was, and then run away if it didn't work.
Darkus kept some wild behemoths in the domestication enclosures of Spicazuma. The treatment there was good, with free food and lodging, and 24-hour Skink keepers. Besides, the behemoths couldn't escape even if they wanted to, so they were gradually tamed. But wild pterosaurs were different. They could fly, and before they were tamed, they could just run away if the situation wasn't right.
After two more circles in the sky, Dacus, having had enough, began to land his vast herd of pterosaurs on the edge of the wetland. The wetland's edge had begun to resemble a lizard talent exchange, short of some headhunters and HR personnel. As for the behemoths, they were temporarily operating in another area, giving the dump trucks no chance to charge.
The Skinks waiting on the ground were already impatient, cheering and praising the Old Ones and Umaq. After the pterosaurs landed, the Skinks scattered, running to the pterosaurs they favored and beginning to hiss and cackle, unconcerned about whether the pterosaurs could understand them. Some of the more cunning ones took out the food and gold trinkets they carried and presented them to the pterosaurs, trying to please them.
Some Skinks, with their brains twisted, climbed directly onto the Pterosaur's back. The Pterosaur, enraged, flew back up into the air. After a brief standoff, the Skinks were thrown off and landed in the lake. The height seemed to have knocked the Skinks unconscious, and they didn't surface for a long time. Only Hexotar, who didn't need to watch the excitement, managed to pull them out.
Some pterosaurs began to get impatient, but then realized that it was just that. However, after that, they hissed a few times, greeted Dacus, and flew away.
The exchange lasted all morning, and over two hundred pterosaurs remained, either out of respect for Daquus or because they liked the Skink before them and expected future treatment. If these pterosaurs survived, they would soon breed the next generation, be domesticated, and trained, further strengthening the overall strength of Lizardman society.
The next day, the team set off.
Only a few frustrated Skinks remained in the wetlands; the others had already realized their true value. They had already ridden their pterosaurs away yesterday afternoon. Whether the pterosaurs would change their minds and throw the Skinks off was beyond Darkius's consideration.
Darkus pondered as he rode on the giant's back. He remarked the location of the stone tablet. This place was very important, very important! If he really needed it in the future, he would come here to shake the pterosaurs. Or, when he returned, he could have Master Ma teleport the Skinks over. When the Blessing Incubator was repaired, he could take the dragons and eggs along with them. However, he would have to stay for a while, waiting for the taming of this wave of wild pterosaurs before he could leave.
The rest of the journey was a bit noisy, we kept going in circles.
The water network here is too dense, and the behemoth's tonnage is simply impossible to pass. There are no engineers in the team who can build bridges across the water. It seems that we need to carry forward the spirit of Huang Baitao and gather a logistics support force capable of building a bridge.
Daxus felt like he was going around in circles, but luckily with Calien's reconnaissance and guidance in the air, he didn't end up in a maze where he had to walk for a few days and end up back in the wetlands.
There were no signs of behemoths nearby either. Behemoths weren't stupid; they wouldn't venture into densely populated areas, and the pterosaurs nearby would likely eat them all to extinction. Even the Spinosaurus and Salamanders weren't encountered during the team's journey; they roamed further north or south in the Amazon River basin. They kept their distance from pterosaurs, after all, they needed to incubate their eggs.
"Is this it?" Daquus asked doubtfully while looking at Kallion who was kneeling on one knee, holding a stone map in his hand.
"Master, it's here. I just vaguely saw the golden light emanating from the lake and the traces of the pyramid's top."
"Welcome to the city of fish scales, Juitex!" Daxus teased.
The team then set up camp by the lake. Juitex is located in a lake that is a tributary of the Amazon River. The lake is unusually large, and Dacus can see the end of the horizon at a glance when standing on the edge of the lake.
"Let's go and fly around and take a look."
Sure enough, Dacus soared high above and spotted the traces of a city in the lake. He began to swoop, keeping his pterosaur close to the surface, trying to sense the location of the stone slabs. After a quick circle, he felt there were two, so he made the pterosaur circle again to confirm there were three.
Dacus was a bit apprehensive about heights and water, having heard reports of prominent figures frequently falling from buildings or drowning. But he couldn't suppress his curiosity and wanted to go down and take a look; after all, these were the remains of an underwater temple city.
As for underwater breathing, it can't be categorized within a specific wind of magic. Elemental mages in the Old World Empire now know it. Chupakoko knows it, as he worships the water god Zongqi, and so do the high-ranking dark sorceresses of Duruki. Followers of Mannann also have a spell that allows underwater breathing, but it can't be performed underwater because it requires verbal recitation... (The Eight Winds didn't appear until 2300 years later, but I'll discuss that later.)
The next day, after finishing his morning exercise, Daxus sat by the lake and drank afternoon tea for the whole morning. He did not choose to go into the water, nor did he choose to go into the water now.
Akadan and Chupakoko led the Skinks into the water, and the Black Ark Pirates of the Cold Eye Clan, led by Elmir, volunteered to follow. As for the Giant Lizards, they couldn't dive deep, spending most of their time floating in the water with their nostrils exposed. The Saurians were even more degraded, having degenerated to the point where they could only navigate ankle-deep shallows.
Aided by magic and potions, Elmir began to test the depths. Using only the light from the water, she could see the towering pyramids beneath the surface and the floating gardens in the distance, half tilted and half floating in the water. Schools of piranhas swam near her, and she felt nervous and terrified. Each one was half a meter tall, their dead eyes fixed on her, and their sharp teeth could dismember her without resistance.
But with the help of the potion, the piranhas finally turned a blind eye to these Duruchi and spirit lizards and did not attack them.
Chupakoko, swimming in front of Elmir, turned around and gave her a wicked smile, as if asking if her magic was powerful enough. She had been with Daquus for a long time, and she had learned some moves. Her right hand stopped swimming and gave Chupakoko a thumbs-up.
The team continued to descend, but Elmire found herself gradually losing her depth. She had been estimating the depth, and now she had reached the limit of 62 swords. She felt her body could no longer bear it. The Chupakoko in front of her and the Skink beside her stopped. Chupakoko pointed downwards and waved her hand. It was clear that she had reached the limit and the Skink could not dive any further. (1 sword is 2.4 meters, depth is 150 meters)
Elmir felt a surge of anxiety. Diving was something the Lengyan family excelled at, but returning empty-handed was understandable. But she hadn't done what Darkus had asked her to do last time, and now, she hadn't. She glanced back at her fellow pirates, who were at the same depth as her. Seeing her piercing gaze, they were a bit too terrified to face it. The pirate captain didn't meet her gaze, but stared blankly down below.
The pirate captain could now vaguely discern the lizard-man-like buildings at the bottom of the lake. He also saw several bottomless cracks tearing apart the underwater temple city. A faint purple-blue light suddenly caught his attention. His heart began to beat rapidly as a voice echoed in his mind, telling him this was an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity! This was a chance, a change! A change that could change his fate!
The pirate next to the pirate captain patted him on the shoulder, and he came back to his senses. Elmir looked at him with some displeasure, and pointed at the purple-blue light.
The Skinks around them had already begun to swim upwards, and they could no longer hold on. Skinks could stay in the water for a long time, but that didn't mean they could swim at any depth.
Elmir and the pirates in his family began to look in the direction of the pirate captain. They looked for a while but saw nothing. It was dark and they could only see the outline of the building. Then they looked at the pirate captain blankly, expressing their confusion.
"Didn't they see it?" The pirate captain was stunned for a moment, but the voice in his mind seemed to still echo, urging him to go down.
Elmir could no longer hold on, she pointed upwards and signaled the pirates of her family to start swimming upstream. The pirates breathed a sigh of relief and began to follow her upstream.
The pirate captain gritted his teeth and took a deep breath. He decided to live in the face of death! Instead of surfacing, he adjusted his body and began to dive.
"It's getting closer! Closer! Getting closer!" The pirate captain looked at the purple-blue light.
Gradually, the pirate captain's vision began to blur, his ears began to ring, his muscles began to contract, and blood began to fill his nasal cavity. He felt faint, and he could no longer swim. But he was getting closer and closer to the purple-blue light! It seemed that if he swam just a little bit further, he could reach out and touch it.
The pirate captain fainted just before he finally touched it. The purple-blue light suddenly changed, becoming a light blue light. Then the light blue light touched his palm. He unconsciously grabbed the blue light.
At this time, the piranhas smelled the blood and had begun to pounce, but the moment the pirate captain touched the blue light, the piranhas began to hesitate, and then began to ignore him and swam away from him.
The pirate captain regained consciousness after a brief fainting spell. He began to unconsciously grab the things in his hands and swim slowly upwards.