Early morning on September 19th, Eagle Rock City, Hindukel Basin.
Eagle Rock City is located on a mountaintop flatland among the mountains in the northwest of the basin. The city is only a few square kilometers in size and is surrounded by cliffs.
There are no city walls in the city, and there are not many buildings. There is a towering stone tower in the center of the top of the mountain. There is a circle of 4-story small buildings around the stone tower, and there are some scattered stone houses outside.
Although there are few buildings on the flat land, there are indeed a large number of wooden houses and stone houses piled on top of each other on the cliffs leading to the top of the mountain. These houses are not so much complete buildings as they are facades leading to the cave.
At dawn, Lant was brought to Eagle Rock City by the legendary panda Shu Yun. Originally Lant hoped to come back in two days, but Shu Yun smiled and said that he couldn't wait any longer.
The legendary Pandaren took Lant up to the high tower in the center of the city and showed him the mountains and rivers around the city. About 10 kilometers north of the city, there was a mountain lake. The emerald-green lake was embedded in the mountains like emeralds. between.
"The lake you see is the largest source of fresh water in the local area: Yun Lake. The water source of the lake mainly comes from melted snow in the mountains," Shu Yun introduced, "We will install a magic furnace under the ground of that lake soon! "
Lant stood at the top of the stone tower and said with some worry, "Sir, the building we are in should be a dragon station, right? Shouldn't it only be used by dragons? If we stay up there like this, won't we be missed by the dragons passing by? ?”
"Hahaha, you know the buildings here quite well," Shu Yun said with a smile, "This was indeed a dragon tower. This city was once the territory of Ou Zhutai, the God of Feathered Dragons.
Among his dependents are the four-limbed harpies and the six-limbed Aven tribe. However, after he ascended the throne as the true god, he has not returned for thousands of years, and this tower has also become the flying platform for the leader of the harpies. "
As soon as the Pandaren finished speaking, a black shadow fell in front of the two of them. It was a huge harpy, more than 7 meters from head to toe, and its two colorful feather wings were fully extended to more than ten meters.
"Lord Shu Yun, is this Master Lant Galloping Horse right?" The Harpy's face is beautiful and dignified. Except for its slightly pointed mouth, there is no birdlike appearance elsewhere.
The Pandaren nodded, "Yes, Leader Zoya, Lord Lant is very busy now, let's go quickly!"
Before Lant could say anything, the harpy named Zoya grabbed Lant with both claws and flew him down the valley with a flutter of wings, all the way to the bottom of the mountain where the lake was located.
What Lant didn't expect was that in addition to the top of this mountain being a 1 kilometer diameter and 100 meters deep lake, the lower part was completely covered with faint blue ice. There was only a small lake at the bottom of a few hundred meters of ice. Small ice cave.
Lant in the cave kept looking towards his head, looking at the light falling from the top through the ice. He was silent for a long time before sighing: "Is this the power of that god?"
"Yes, the feathered dragon god Ou Zhutai once dominated the glacier. Before leaving Eagle Rock, he used his great power to bring this water source to the local aerial life." Shu Yun confirmed.
"However, this cloud lake is in big trouble now," Harpy Zoya said, "There is a passage inside this iceberg that can connect the cloud lake on the mountain to the underground tributary of the Benma River. Let the two water sources complement each other, and His Majesty's mighty power maintains the water pressure between the channels."
"However, this year, the water level of the Benma River has dropped, and more magic is needed to pump the deeper water sources up. Once the water level of the Cloud Lake is too low, and the two suns directly hit the ice, it will melt the magic circle at the bottom of the lake, causing the bottom of the lake to collapse. The height is permanently lowered." The harpy said worriedly.
"Isn't our lake completely replenished by melting snow from glaciers?" Lant was a little puzzled, "Then why does it need to be connected to the Benma River?"
“The water source of the Benma River is originally melted snow from the mountains. This mountain river is like a magic tower of ice and water systems. In winter and spring, it continuously absorbs water vapor from the air and fills it into the underground of the Benma River. In summer and autumn, it needs to be transported from the Benma River. Draw water from the Ma River to ensure the water level of the lake.”
Legendary Pandaren Shu Yun explained with a smile, "Once the water level is too low in autumn, the magic patterns on the ice at the bottom of the lake will be burned by the two suns, and then the height of the lake bottom will drop irreversibly.
About 2000 years ago, the depth of the entire Yun Lake was only a dozen meters. After a long-term drought in the basin, the depth increased by half a meter. Since then, it has gradually deepened every year. The deeper the lake, the more water needs to be replenished in autumn. This creates a vicious cycle. "
"So, we need the magic furnace to pump water from the river to replenish it?" Lant nodded, roughly understanding what Shu Yun meant when he said it was too late.
"Yes, originally it was cold this year and I was not in such a hurry. However, the water in the Benma River has dropped sharply recently. Eagle Rock City is already located at the water source. The underground river has taken away too much water, causing the groundwater level to drop. Once the water supply to Yun Lake cannot be maintained, , it will immediately cause the water level of Yunhu Lake to drop and feed back the groundwater."
"In other words, there will always be a connection between the Cloud Lake and the Dark River. The two can be regarded as one water body. It is only because of His Majesty's power that they are at different heights." The power of the gods shocked Lant. , far more shocking than when I saw the ice lake just now.
However, when Lant looked at Shu Yun, he found that the panda man's smile towards him had a different meaning.
The reason why the underground river has been continuously declining recently is because the construction of the Moge Castle ruins led by Lant has begun, and a huge amount of water has been extracted from the underground river and poured into part of the ruins. In other words, Lant himself directly caused the current predicament of Yunhu Lake. .
Seeing that Lant probably understood, the Pandaren said: "So you still need to install the magic furnace as soon as possible."
There are no mineral deposits or earth veins at the bottom of Yun Lake. However, the mountains where it is located are not far from Moge Castle. Shu Yun directly made a suggestion to connect the new magic furnace into a magic circle to connect with the magic furnace in Moge Castle. The magic furnace is connected.
"Are you really sure you can do it?" After listening to the Pandaren's suggestion, Lant was a little confused. "The magic circle you mentioned cannot be made without demigods or gods?"
"The magic circle is ready. A few days ago, the Yulong God issued an oracle, telling me that there is a magic circle underground. Tens of thousands of years ago, this place was his home. It was the work of him and a goblin magician. The master negotiated and used several magic furnaces in a nearby town to supply the magic power here."
There is no doubt that the town Shu Yun mentioned is Moge Castle. In his opinion, letting Lant come here to install the magic furnace today can be regarded as continuing the inheritance of thousands of years.
The installation process of the magic furnace is not complicated. Shu Yun and Lant cooperated very well. After the installation was successful, Lant noticed the underground magic passage from the magic furnace. After connecting it, he could even feel the magic power of the Moge Castle magic furnace along the channel. Condition.
The veins in the Mogebao mines flowed under the cloud lake along with the magic channels. However, the magic power did not enter the underground river, but rose up with the glaciers.
In the ice cave, the panda Shu Yun and the harpy leader Zoya noticed the gaze from the gods, while Lant, who was still controlling the magic furnace, felt a pair of wise eyes and a pair of huge red and white wings appear above his head. Surrounded by the magic furnace.
"Your Excellency Shu Yun! His Majesty has arrived!" Zhuo Ya shouted excitedly.
Before they could react, they heard the ice above their heads making a "click...click" sound, and the sound of running water under their feet.
"What's going on?" Shu Yun felt something was wrong, opened the portal, and pulled the harpy to the sky above Yun Lake.
Looking down from the sky, the water level of Yun Lake has not changed at all, but the color of the lake is slowly becoming lighter.
"Could it be that... the water at the bottom of the lake has frozen again?" Zhuo Ya looked at it for about 10 minutes and finally understood.
"Yes, and after freezing, the ice volume increased and the water level did not change, so the lake water continued to replenish the underground river." Shu Yun nodded.
"Oh! That means there is no shortage of river water and lake water...?" The harpy did not understand the physical reason, but understood the final result.
When the water depth of Yun Lake returned to 15 meters, the freezing of the lake bottom completely stopped. Not only did the lake/river water supply relationship return to the state it had been thousands of years ago, but also because the bottom of the lake is connected to the magic furnace, even if the magic circle at the bottom is destroyed in the future , and can also be repaired in time.
After finishing his work, Lant followed Shu Yun's portal into the air, overlooking the entire Cloud Lake, and listened to the legendary Pandaren's story about the ingenious design of the feather dragon god Ou Zhutai.
"No wonder His Majesty Ou Zhutai was once the God of Knowledge. The magical design of this mountain is indeed very exquisite." Lant couldn't help but nodded.
Just as Lant, Shu Yun, and Zhuo Ya were praising the gods loudly, large bubbles of about 1 meter appeared on the surface of the underground lake. Then, with a "dong" sound, a black square object emerged from the water and floated on the surface. above.
