The Khandman lay down, and as the dragonman stretched out his claws and began to close, he pressed himself against the trunk of the tree.

Hubble swung his axe hard, and if he could have slashed it, he might have cut the dragonman in half, but the dwarf miscalculated, and his axe slashed through the air in front of the dragonman, who was chanting a spell and making strange gestures.

Hubble couldn't hold his breath and slipped on the wet trunk, and the dwarf screamed and fell into the water.

Wade had followed Rodrith for years, and at once he recognized the spell cast by the dragonman, lying face down on the trunk of the tree, clutching the Houpak staff tightly in his hand, he knew he only had a few seconds to think about what to do.

The dwarf was drawing water not far below him, and in the other direction, the dragonman was clearly about to cast a spell. Deciding that anything is better than being attacked by magic, Wade takes a deep breath and jumps off the tree trunk.

"Robert!

"Damn!" Calamon cursed when he heard the warning from the Kanders in the fog ahead.

Everyone began to run towards the source of the sound, cursing at the vines and branches that stood in their way. After rushing out of the woods, they saw dead trees lying across the water, and four dragonmen scurrying out of the shadows, blocking their path.

Suddenly, everyone fell into a darkness where they couldn't see their fingers, and they couldn't even see their partners.

"Magic!" Robert said when he heard Rodrith's hoarse voice. "They're magicians, stand aside, you can't fight them. ”

Then Robert heard the mage screaming in pain.

"Little Ray!" shouted Calamon. "You're—ah—" followed by a cry and the sound of a heavy object falling to the ground.

Robert heard the sound of the dragonmen chanting incantations again. Just as he hurriedly pulled out his sword, he was suddenly covered from head to toe by something sticky, and even his mouth and nose were gagged. Struggling to escape, he only allowed himself to sink deeper and deeper.

He heard Stone cursing beside him, Scarlet Moon's cries for help, the sound of the river breeze seemed to be covered by something, and then a sense of powerlessness enveloped him. Robert knelt down, still trying to break through the cobweb. Then he fell into an involuntary sleep face down.

The spells cast by the dragonman mages are "Sleep" and "Cobweb", the former already mentioned.

The spider web is a second-level spell for the mage, which can create a large number of tough, sticky artificial spider webs, which can be used to target space and make it very difficult to walk, or it can be cast on opponents to trap them in layers of cobwebs.

Possessed by a person of great strength can slowly break free from these entangled cobwebs, which are also characterized by being flammable and easily destroyed by high heat. The material required for this spell is some spider webs.

Lying on the ground, stifling the sound of his breathing, Wade watched as the dragonman prepared to carry his unconscious friends away. The Khander hid well in a clump of low trees in the swamp, and the dwarf lay flat next to him, frozen to death. Wade looked at him with remorse. He had no choice, and Hubble kept pulling the Kanders into the water in a panic. If he hadn't struck a rod on the dwarf's head, both of them would have died by now. He scooped the unconscious dwarf out of the water and hid him safely in the bushes.

Wade then watched helplessly as the dragonmen used their magic to trap their companions in a sturdy cobweb. Wade saw that they were all unconscious—or dead—because they didn't even make a move to resist.

The Kand watched with bitter amusement as the dragonman tried to pick up Crimson Moon's crystal staff. It was clear that they recognized the crystal staff, as they were watching closely, and gesturing excitedly.

One of them—probably the chief—reached for it. Suddenly, there was a flash of blue light, and the dragonman screamed and jumped around, muttering something that Wade thought was not of any level. The leader finally came up with a not-so-clever solution.

A blanket was taken out of Scarlet Moon's backpack, and the dragons placed it on the ground. They carefully wrapped the crystal staff in a blanket and lifted it triumphantly. The dragonmen carried their Kander's friends surrounded by cobwebs, and the other dragonmen followed, their backpacks and weapons in their hands.

As the dragons approached the bushes where the Kand were hiding, Hubble suddenly wailed, and Wade quickly covered his mouth. Fortunately, the dragonman didn't pay attention and continued walking. Wade could clearly see his friends in the afternoon sun, they all seemed to be asleep, and Calamon was even snoring loudly.

The Kanders remembered Rodrith's spell and speculated that the dragons were casting the same magic.

Hubble groaned again, and the dragonmen at the end of the line stopped to spy on the woods. Wade grabbed the Houpak staff again and held it up not far from Hubble's head—just in case.

Thankfully, there was no need, and the dragonman muttered a few words, shrugged, and continued to follow the group. After a reassuring sigh, Wade took his hand away from the dwarf's mouth, and Hubble opened his eyes.

"What's going on?" Hubble groaned, his hand on his head.

"You fell off the bridge and hit your head on the trunk of a tree. Wade said humbly.

"Really?" Hubble looked incredulous. "I don't remember. I just remember a dragonman coming up to me and I accidentally fell into the water—"

"Anyway, you did hit your head, no need to quibble. Wade said quickly, standing up. "Can you go?"

"Of course I can walk," said the dwarf, as he stood up, a little unsteadily, but with a straight waist. "Where have the others gone?"

"The dragonmen caught them and took them away. ”

"Everyone?" Hubble asked, his mouth open. "Just got caught?"

"These dragonmen are magicians," Wade said impatiently, anxious to leave, "I guess they've cast some spells." They didn't hurt anyone except Rodlis.

I guess they did something horrible to him, I saw him as they passed by, and he looked terrible, but he was the only one. "The Khandians pull the dwarves' wet sleeves. "It's time for us to go—we'll have to keep up with them. ”

"Yes, yes. Hubble muttered and looked around. Then he put his hand on his head again. "Where's my helmet?"

"Under the swamp, right?" Wade said exaggeratedly. "Are you going down and pick it up?"

The dwarf looked at the muddy water in fear, shivered, and quickly turned away. He put his hand on his head, and this time he felt a large lump. "I don't really remember hitting my head. He muttered to himself. Then he suddenly remembered something, and his hand was groping behind his back. "My axe!" he shouted.

"Shhhh "At least you're alive. We have to rescue the others now. ”

"How are we going to get them out with just your giant slingshot?" Hubble muttered, following the briskly advancing Kander.

"We'll figure it out. Wade said confidently, though he felt his heart as heavy as lead.

The Khandians easily found the dragonmen's tracks. The road is clearly often inhabited, and it looks as if hundreds of dragonmen have walked this road. Wade observed the footprints and suddenly thought that they might be walking into a barracks full of monsters, and he shrugged - there was no need to worry about such details.

Unfortunately, Hubble and he see things differently. "There must be a swarm of monsters at the end of the road!" the dwarf exclaimed, grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Yes, but—" Wade paused to think about the situation. He suddenly relaxed, "That's better, the more people there are, the less chance they have of seeing us." He kept walking. Hubble frowned, there must be something wrong with the logic in that sentence, but he couldn't think of it for a moment.

And he didn't have the strength to argue. In addition, he and the Kanders had thought about the same thing - the only alternative was to abandon their companions and escape the swamp on their own. However, this is not considered at all.

They walked for another half hour, and the sun sank into the fog and glowed blood-red. Night fell silently on this mysterious swamp.

Soon they saw a faint light in front of them. They left the trail and hid in the woods. The Kanders moved with the agility of rats, and the dwarves kept stepping on branches, crashing into tree trunks, and breaking into the trees.

Luckily, most of the dragonmen's tents were celebrating, and they probably couldn't even hear a whole group of dwarves approaching. Hubble and Wade watched as close as they could to the firelight. Suddenly, Hubble gruffly grabbed the Kand, almost pulling him down.

"Great Leox!" Hubble cursed, pointing ahead, "a dragon!"

Wade was speechless in shock, and he and the dwarves watched dumbfounded as the dragons danced and worshipped in front of them. This dragon entrenched a large part of the entire ruins. Its head is taller than the top of a tree, and its wings spread surprisingly wide.

One of the dragonmen, dressed in strange robes, hunched over the dragon, pointed to the crystal staff and other captives on the ground.

"That dragon looks a little strange," Wade concluded after observing for a few minutes.

"Does that mean they shouldn't exist at all?"

"That's right!" Wade said. "Take a closer look. It didn't move at all, and it didn't react at all. It's just sitting there. My ideal dragon should be a little more alive, don't you think?"

"Are you going to tickle it?" Hubble scoffed. "Then you know what it means to be alive. ”

"I think I will," said the Kande. Before the dwarf could reply, Wade left the bushes where he was hiding and slowly approached the camp along the shadows. Hubble almost ripped his beard off in a hurry, but it was too late to stop him. The dwarf had no choice but to follow him.

"Robert!"

The half-elf heard someone calling out to him from across an abyss, and he tried to answer, but his mouth was stuffed with something sticky that kept him open, and he shook his head. Then he felt a hand help him sit up. He opened his eyes.

It's night, and judging by the shaking light, there's a fierce fire shining somewhere.

Stone leaned against him, his face full of concern. Robert sighed and reached out to touch the knight's shoulder, he wanted to speak, but was forced to grab something sticky like a spider's web from his mouth and face.

"I'm fine," Robert said as soon as he could speak. "Where are we?" he said, looking around, "is everyone there, is anyone hurt?"

"We're in the dragonman's camp," Stone helped the half-elf to his feet. "Wade and Hubble are gone, and Rodrith is injured. ”

"Is it serious?" Robert was alerted to the worried look on Stone's face.

"Not so good. The knight replied.

"Poison-soaked darts," River Breeze said. Robert turned his head to look at the Plainsman, and for the first time took a good look at the prison. They were held in a cell made of bamboo. The dragonman stood guard outside, with slender, curved swords in his hands. Outside the cell, hundreds of dragonmen gathered around the campfire, and above the campfire was ......

"That's right. Stone said, seeing Robert's surprised expression. "A dragon. More myths, Rodlis will be pleased. ”

"Rodrith—" Robert walked over to the mage lying in the corner of his cell in a cloak. The young mage had a high fever, but his body was shivering with cold. Scarlet Moon knelt beside him, her hand on his forehead, and kept pulling her gray hair back.

He was unconscious, his body contorted, and he said strange things in his mouth, sometimes shouting muffled slang. Calamon sat beside his brother, his face almost pale. Scarlet Moon shook her head sadly when she saw Robert's questioning eyes. River Wind stood beside Robert.

"She found this on his neck. He said, carefully holding a feather dart between his index finger and thumb. He looked at the mage's face without any concern, only sympathy. "Who knows how many poisons are in his blood right now?"

"If we have a crystal staff in our hands—" Scarlet Moon said.

"That's right," said Robert, "where has it gone?"

"There," Stone said, his mouth twisted unnaturally. He pointed ahead, and after Robert's eyes passed through hundreds of dragonmen, he found the crystal staff wrapped in the blanket of Crimson Moon, placed in front of him.

Robert reached out and grabbed the cage, "We can get out," he told Stone, "Calamon can break these bamboos like bark." ”

"If Wade had been there, he could have broken these like bark," Stone said, "and then we would have to get rid of hundreds of dragonmen—not to mention the dragon." ”

"Well, don't be sarcastic. Robert sighed. "Does anyone know the whereabouts of Wade and Hubble?"

River Breeze said he heard Wade's warning, followed by the sound of falling water. With any luck, they jumped and hid in the swamp. If you're unlucky—" Stone didn't finish his sentence.

Robert closed his eyes. He was very tired—tired of fighting, tired of killing, tired of wading through the mud. He longed to lie down and get a good night's sleep. But instead, he opened his eyes again, walked to the edge of the cage, and shook the bamboo sticks. The dragonman guard turned, weapon in hand.

"Do you speak Mandarin?" said Robert very slowly, in the simplest Mandarin on Candela.

"I speak Mandarin and obviously speak better than you. The dragon man said disdainfully. "What are you going to do?"

"Someone in our team was injured. We hope you will be able to treat him and give him the antidote to that poison. ”

"Poison?" the dragonman looked inside. "Oh! yes, the mage. The monster purred in its throat, clearly laughing. "He looks badly injured, doesn't he? That poison works so fast.

We can't keep the magician alive, even in a cage it's dangerous. Don't worry. He will not be alone, and the rest of you will soon be on the Yellow Springs Road with him. In fact, you should be jealous of him, because you won't die so easily!"

The dragonman turned to speak to his companion, thumbs pointing in the direction of the cage, and both let out that kind of grunt. Robert felt the anger rise in his heart and looked back at Rodrith.

The mage's physical condition is getting worse and worse. Scarlet Moon placed her hand on his neck, felt her pulse beat, and shook her head. Calamon howled sadly, and his eyes fell on the two laughing dragonman guards.

"Stop—Calamon!" Robert cried, but it was too late.