Chapter 521 8.40 The Third Expedition (1)
Unlike the Byzantine scholars, Loki is very familiar with the scale of this huge building.
Whether it is Storm's End, Conqueror's Fortress, or the Sunken City.
All things built by giants and giant-like gods are of this size. He grew up in Scandinavia and is not surprised.
"Scholars, I need to give you a kind reminder. Since I found this place 29 years ago, I have entered this abandoned temple no less than a hundred times, but every time, I just wanted to avoid the desert at night."
As soon as the caravan entered the underground, Hash immediately came over and explained it carefully to the Byzantine scholars.
"I have never really gone deep into those dark tunnels, and I have no idea where this building will extend to."
"There is an old saying in our business - curiosity is the most terrible killer. If you want to survive, sell the goods well. Don't look at each other, and don't think too much."
"But of course, I also know your mission. If you really want to wander around, my people will not stop you.
But I have to say what I should say in advance! After sunrise tomorrow, we will set off on time. If the maesters don't return to the team on time, don't blame old Hash for not waiting for you."
The maesters slowly put down the notebooks and charcoal pencils they had just taken out of their leather bags before they raised them. They all turned their heads to look at Mergwen.
The Royal Academy of Sciences did not attach too much importance to their expedition. Therefore, all the young people who followed her into the black desert this time were those who had just entered the academy not long ago and were eager to collect some credits and obtain the "explorer qualification" as soon as possible.
Mergwen looked at them. She knew what the young maesters who had just enrolled were like. But then again, she herself was only 22 years old.
If they really encountered poisonous scorpions and beasts in the dark passage, or if someone got lost, she couldn't bear the responsibility of losing her team members.
In the silent silence, a big hand reached out.
Old Hash looked back and found that it was Loki who got off the carriage.
"You rode on horseback for a day, but I slept comfortably for a long time. This sheltered cave has its own gate. If you don't need to be on duty at night, I can escort the scholars to explore the cave."
"My lord, you..." Hash's voice was not finished, and waves of fatigue suddenly surged up like a tide.
They marched under the sun all day, trying to identify the direction while organizing a camel caravan of more than a hundred carriages. It was close to midnight, and he had to take care of the maids in the team, cook, distribute water, and feed the horses.
He was no longer young, and he really couldn't spare the energy to do everything.
In the end, he could only wave his hand and let them take care of themselves.
Loki took the torch, looked at Concubine Xue at the door, and made a gesture to stay calm. The "soul sacrifice" in the carriage had been taken off the carriage by the Tang soldiers. Seeing that everything in the caravan was proceeding in an orderly manner, he turned around and led the scholars into the dark cave.
For some reason, he quite liked the experience of getting along with this group of explorers who pursued academics.
They did not have too much greed and murderous intentions belonging to politicians in their hearts, only the eternal pursuit of academics.
This not only reminded him of the days when he was in college in his previous life.
**
"Senior sister, when we just walked into the village, did you notice the outline of this village?"
Just after walking a dozen steps, when Loki was still lighting the torches on the outer wall of the passage, a tall and thin young man with freckles on his face in the team came to Mergwen first.
If I remember correctly, this young man seems to be the youngest among this group of scholars, and he just turned 16 this year.
"Hans, you don't need me to tell you, I've already discovered it along the way," Mergwen replied softly, "The Black Desert is indeed a strange place. It's hard to imagine that the research on this land in the academy is still blank!"
The tall and thin young man Hans Wales is a small nobleman who came from the "Kingdom of Wales" in the seven countries of the English Isles. His father didn't have much success, and his biggest hobby every day was to draw prints and build gardens in the castle.
Hans has a high talent for craftsmanship since he was a child.
When he was 14 years old, he visited Constantinople and accidentally participated in the "Tree Root Carving Competition" held by Elder Crassus. When other contestants were using axes to chop hard, Hans silently observed the shape of the tree roots, and finally carved a huge sea monster struggling out of the tree roots with only a few knives.
Elder Crassus was amazed at his talent and wrote a letter to introduce him to the "Royal Academy of Sciences" to study architecture, hoping that he could contribute to Constantinople in the future.
The discovery Hans mentioned was the completely different "urban texture" of this village.
After a city appears, the buildings that make up the city will be like a huge wild animal settlement, and all the buildings will be unified and follow a unified standard.
For example, baboons in the same tribe. They are tall or short, fat or thin, and each one is different from others in subtle ways.
But if you jump out of the individual and put them together, you can still see that they belong to the same tribe.
Even if all the baboons in this group die and only the corpses are left, you can still see the harmony and unity left in the remains.
After entering the Black Desert, the villages that the caravan passed through were also like this. In the villages belonging to the ancient Egyptians, most of the buildings were distributed in groups of three or five throughout the village, allowing the remaining parts of the buildings to form small squares or gathering places.
The temples in the villages are often built on the top of low hills, overlooking the entire village.
However, the village where Hash lived at this time was completely different from the villages they passed by.
From the ruins, the whole city was square, and the buildings placed in it were as neat as the spots on a snow leopard. This does not conform to the architectural style of the ancient Egyptian region. If you force yourself to find something similar, it looks a bit similar to the majestic Chang'an City on the other side of the East Continent.
"Walking on this road, we must go to a more dangerous place!"
On the other side of the team, a slightly older curly-haired female scholar said in a deep voice.
"My mentor, the chief potion master 'Drey Fuquan', once drew an important conclusion through alchemical experiments. If the pigments extracted from colored stone powder by the ancients are frequently exposed to flowing air, the colors attached to them will fade quickly and the handwriting will become blurred."
"Although Boss Hash will block the vents every time he leaves, you can see that the murals outside the underground palace still have a large area of color fading because of their arrival."
"I know what you want to find!"
"If we want to find out where the 'Sumerians' and the 'Ancient Egyptians' once exchanged what they had and even had immigration, we must go to the deep passages where the air cannot circulate."
"Looking for clearer and more complete texts!"