Chapter 270: The Bone Temple

Now that the threat of the High Elves has been lifted, there is no need for Sinuoli to maintain a large standing army. He has kept his own guard and necessary patrol units as per custom; due to the lack of population in Dwarf society, the great war was primarily fought with temporary conscripts.

Since the Earth Vein Network in the Nan Shijie Bianyuan Shanmai was destroyed in the great earthquake, Sinuoli no longer needs to maintain Ironbreakers to ensure underground safety. He has instead chosen to use relatively economical Ranger units to coordinate with Knights and Helicopters for three-dimensional surveillance.

The manpower and resources of Gaoyuanbao have been liberated, but the first batch of migrating Humans is still on the road—the fleets of Bordeleaux are still conventional wooden sailing ships, and even with the protection of Mannan'en, they cannot ignore ocean currents and wind directions like the steam-powered Ironclads of Haimenguan.

Upon reaching the territory of Nehekhara, the sailing ships even require steamships for towing because they are traveling upstream. However, according to what Sinuoli understands, Kangsitanting has profited significantly from the various revenues of sea transport, exploration, and immigration, and he is already preparing to install Steam Engines on some of the ships, which also means the Haiyang Engineer Hanghui has received a large order.

Sinuoli intends to take some men to have a look in the rainforest; the most difficult part of an expedition is the transport of logistical supplies. Large amounts of transport loss have caused costs to soar. Sinuoli's troops were previously only a thousand-strong, which allowed them to reduce the demand for food by hunting on the spot.

The Dwarfs' stone bread, which provides a strong sense of satiety, and their nutritious and storable alcohol have also alleviated the pressure to a certain extent. But it is clear that with the arrival of immigrants, he needs to find other food sources to sustain tens of thousands of people before the first round of harvest.

Sinuoli cast his gaze toward the rainforest on the east side; it is a good time to fulfill the construction agreement he signed with the Fifth Generation Slann Outelakesi. Surrounded by a Skink Priest and its warband, Sinuoli and his guard are trudging arduously through the jungle.

Undoubtedly, the Lizardmen are a race adapted to jungle terrain; these cold-blooded animals can move flexibly in the shadows of ancient trees relying on their large and sharp claws. They do not even need to build roads, while the Dwarfs' iron boots keep slipping on the sticky, wet ground.

Sinuoli wiped away some sweat; the humidity in the rainforest is too high, and the lining of his armor is sticking to his body, which is very uncomfortable. Dwarfs do not like this environment. Listening to the complaints of his subordinates, he felt increasingly grateful for the Stali Boots gifted by his master. These legendary boots have accompanied him through many battles, saving him a great deal of stamina.

The sharp and strange cries of the Skinks also make Sinuoli very irritable; he did not expect that there would be a race in the world as restless as the Dwarfs. Sinuoli still cannot understand what they are calling about; the language of the Skinks conveys thoughts through changes in sound and pitch, as well as changes in the colors of their crests and scales.

Fortunately, such bitter days did not last long. A few days later, the Dwarfs saw the long-lost sunlight. A wide river appeared before them, and on an alluvial island in the center of the river stood a Shenmiaochengshi.

Sinuoli gazed into the distance, and from its scale, he judged that this Bone Temple counts as a sacred temple-city—a third-tier capital. This level of city is located on a smaller node of the Geomantic Web.

The pyramid standing in the center of the city is surrounded by streets and other peripheral settlements like the spokes of a wheel, while the river in front serves as the outermost natural moat.

"Wua-wua-rua!" The voice of the Skink Priest rang in his ears again.

"It asks you not to be impatient; it needs to go in and report," the Amazon translated.

"Can the Venerable Outelakesi not sense our arrival?" Sinuoli asked. Even for a Fifth Generation Slann, this range should still be within the scope of telepathy.

"The Slann have gone into Meditation again; they are accustomed to interpreting the Great Plan," the Amazon leader reminded him. Sinuoli, of course, knows they have such a hobby. If he remembers correctly, during the End Times, there was a Slann who hadn't woken up even after a Skaven had stabbed a knife into it.

Before long, the Skink Priest ran back and led the Dwarfs toward the city. "Why is this Bone Temple named as such?" Sinuoli asked, looking at those stone buildings; they were neither white nor made of bone.

"Before the Venerable Outelakesi reclaimed her, this sacred temple-city was once usurped by the Vampires from the north. Flesh rots faster in the rainforest, so their profane servants were primarily skeletons. By Yiqi, the Terradons looking down from the sky once suspected it was an ocean of white bones."

The Amazon translated. Sinuoli knows Yiqi; that should be the Old One who created a series of dragons such as the Carnosaur and the Stegadon. He is very important in the faith of the Lizardmen.

After passing through the outer living areas of the Lizardmen and the small temples, the causeway extended into the city and became a spacious ceremonial road. Along the way stood exquisitely carved stone pillars, and the scenes and symbols carved on the stone road surface described various events, myths, and important rituals of the Lizardmen.

Towering obelisks stood by the roadside; they were used to calibrate the correspondence between the city's axis and the celestial bodies. When the sites for the temple-cities were chosen, they corresponded to the stars in the sky, and the more important the corresponding star, the higher its status in the Geomantic Web.

The pyramids of the Lizardmen are different from those of Nehekhara; they are stepped structures with an Inca style, featuring steep stairs upward on each side of the exterior. Sinuoli strode up and saw the bloated body of the Slann on the stargazing platform at the very top.

It was only here that the Saurus finally appeared. These strong warriors possess thick scales capable of rivaling ordinary armor. These scales made the Dwarfs sigh inwardly; the market for high-quality armor is not going to open up.

However, their weapons are equally inadequate. The Lizardmen have no forging capabilities; even the elite in the garrison core hold spears with obsidian tips and clubs made of stone.

"Respected Slann, the Sons of the Mountains have come as agreed!" Sinuoli bowed slightly and said.

"Very good, very good," the Demon Toad was very satisfied with Sinuoli's high efficiency.

"Come this way!" Its palanquin, which was floating in mid-air, turned, and Sinuoli followed it to the center of the stargazing platform. Here was a set of obsidian discs engraved with hieroglyphs.

"Rise!"

The Slann raised its hand slightly, and accompanied by a "creak" sound, the set of discs adjusted their positions. When they rotated by an angle, Sinuoli saw a path of the Earth Vein Network condense in the air.

"By the Ancestor Gods!"

Feeling the surging Strength Rune within it, Sinuoli praised it sincerely.

"You think it is strong? But this is merely a ruin of what it once was; the energy it can mobilize is but a drop in the ocean. At the beginning of the world, when the Geomantic Web was complete, the First Generation could even correct the orbits of the stars with its help."