The Grand Duke had indeed made arrangements, and after receiving Elsa's letter, he quickly understood that Cheese needed help, at least, within his means, and the dwarves were not stingy with his kindness. Therefore, when Lothar drove the carriage to the end of the Forge Path, a bored figure had been waiting for a long time.

It was a young man with a much darker complexion than the Grey Lion, or it was not impossible to call him a boy, he was no more than three years old as Atta at most. The boy was dressed in a cyan cotton suit with patterned ribbons on the collar and cuffs, and a yellow-green rope tied around his waist. His hair was hidden in a hat decorated with feathers, and his cheekbones protruded slightly, giving his face two distinctly flushes. The boy carried a quiver around his waist, from which a feather was exposed, and the bow used to shoot arrows was hung on his chest.

This is a typical nomadic male. As a military commander with a lot of experience with nomads, Lothar almost subconsciously stopped the carriage and put his hand on the handle of the tomahawk. Nomads grew up on horseback, and their children learned to shoot arrows before they walked, and they learned to plunder before they could talk. Of course, this perception is biased, but it is the consensus of the gray lion people on the grassland dwellers. In the wars between the two sides, there is no shortage of fighters who are about the same age or even younger than the boy.

"Chirp!" the eagle's cry echoed through the air, and a black shadow streaked over the earl's head, and the sharp talons rubbed against his head made him nearly fall off the carriage. The blue-gray wings closed above the grass and landed lightly on the boy's outstretched arm. It can be seen that a thick-skinned protective gear is deliberately tied there, and it is clear that there is some kind of domestication relationship between this eagle and the steppe people. The boy took a small strip of jerky from his waist pocket, and the eagle who stuffed it into his arm said happily, "Well done, Naren." ”

Lothar tapped the plank behind her, alerting the people in the carriage to something. Then he jumped out of the carriage, with his right hand behind his back, and asked the boy from a distance, "Is that your eagle?"

The steppe man did not answer the Count's question, and he glanced at Lothar, a sarcastic smile on his lips. A person who only dares to talk to each other from such a distance on the grassland is undoubtedly a coward. But the boy's indifference did not last long, and when Cheese and Atta stepped out of the carriage, especially when the figure of the female swordsman appeared in his gaze, he took the initiative to come over.

"My name is Batu, and I am the son of Bayar, the grandson of Batel, from the tribe of the water antelope. The boy who called himself Batu raised his chin and introduced himself to the three of them, but his height was really a little worse, so that his action not only did not show the arrogance it should have, but made people feel a little ridiculous.

Lothar stood in front of the other two and tried to respond to each other, "My name is..."

Unexpectedly, Batu waved his hand directly and interrupted the earl, "It doesn't matter what your name is. He said and pointed his finger at Lothar, "Coachman." Then he turned to Cheese, "Wizard. But when it was time for him to point his fingers at the female swordsman, his fingers turned into open palms, and then his palms pressed against the breasts of the cotton clothes, "Your eyes are as beautiful as the stars in the sky, ma'am." I don't know if I'll be lucky enough to get your name. ”

Lothar wanted to go up and punch the kid, but his movement was stopped by the mage holding back a smile. The three men turned their gaze to the swordsman, all waiting for Atta's response. Apparently, Atta wasn't happy about Batu's arrogance, so she cleared her throat a little, pointed to herself, and said, "Guard." ”

"Poof, hahaha. Both Cheese and Lothar couldn't help but laugh when they saw the look on the boy's face, and their laughter was so pleasant that even the eagle on the boy's arm chirped. "Naren!" he angrily shut up his partner, then glared at the other two viciously, then pulled out the knife in his waist.

"You have insulted me, and I demand that this matter be solved with you in a man's way!

Lothar and Cheese looked at each other, and the mage consciously took a half step back and made a polite gesture, "In the spirit of fairness, Mr. Lothar, you can accept the challenge first." ”

The battle was won and lost in less than five moves, Batuu's attack was really not a threat to the Count, and the boy might be a strong warrior in a few years, but he still lacked the control of weapons and the experience of combat. After a brief trial, Lothar only made a slight feint of tripping, and Batu slammed into it with all his might. As a result, he was easily avoided by the Earl, and fell to the ground with a kick behind his knee. The eagle on the steppe man's arm startled, trying to protect his master, but with a flick of the mage's finger in the cuff of his robe, a stone flew out of the grass and grazed the eyes of the bird of prey, causing it to fly into the air under the control of its frightened instincts.

Lothar grabbed the wrist holding the knife from behind the kneeling boy's back, and Batu didn't have long to let go of the knife and let it fall to the ground.

"First lesson, boy, don't challenge an opponent you don't know the details of. With that, the Count let go of Batuu's wrist and let the boy fall to the ground. The latter immediately picked up the knife he had dropped, but just as Lothar thought he was going to stab himself with the knife, Batu slashed the blade towards the fingers of his left hand. Fortunately, the Count was much quicker than he was, and before the boy could cut off his fingers, he took the blade of the dagger and snatched it out of Batuu's hand. "What are you doing?"

"If you lose the duel, you will have to pay the price, I still have a mission, I can't die, so I will pay you my finger first!" Batu said this with a trembling voice, but his gaze told Lothar that if he didn't stop it, the boy would definitely not hesitate to cut off his finger.

"Keep your fingers, and keep the rest of you. I don't want our guide to bleed all the way to the wolves of the steppe. This is the command of the victor, and you have no right to refuse. With that, Lothar threw the dagger back in front of Batuu. There was no smile on the count's face, for the child reminded him of the madness of the nomads who were enemies.

"Guide, you mean he's our guide?" asked Cheese, keeping an eye on Batu in case he continued to harm himself without heeding his advice.

"This kid said it himself, the water antelope tribe, a small nomadic group that has a trade relationship with the Fierce Hammer. If the Grand Duke were to find us a guide, there was no more suitable option. ”