They crossed the ridge and climbed over the snow-capped mountains. The www.biquge.info traveled south along the Black River, diverted to the Silverfish River, and then entered the southern border of the Hammer Country, where a tributary of the Silverfish River spread out over the flat land, nourishing countless mosses and weeds, forming a lifeless swamp.

This low-lying marshland is full of mud and the air is filled with a pungent stench of sulphur. Rex led the horse cautiously through the swamp, and Barbas jumped around them with ease. The mammoth crawled in the mud and died, its body moldy and rotten, the mireurur crab was eating happily around the pile of carrion, and the vultures not far away were crouching on the dead branches staring at the scraps.

"Do you see it? These animals are evil killers," Rex said, "let's get out of here quickly." ”

"Don't worry, rotten meat is what they think is a delicacy. You and I are not their cup of tea. Babas's tone was both calm and calm.

"Really?" said Rex in a questioning tone, "if you get poisoned in the swamp, I guess it won't be long before that mammoth ends up being your example, and will eventually be a delicacy to fill their stomachs." ”

"What do you say, gas!" Barbas screamed again with disdain, "what does that mean?"

Rex laughed, "Looks like you haven't heard that proverb, the swamp, the home of the Argonians, the Demon Hell is it." ”

Babas shook his head, "I haven't heard of it. ”

Rex explained to him, "Traveling in the swamp is dangerous. Not only do you have to avoid poison gas and evil creatures, but you also have to watch out for the crocodile people lurking in the grass, who are very good at camouflage and attack travelers by surprise. That's the real danger of the swamp, and you need to be vigilant at all times. ”

"Argonians, you say?" said Barbas, glancing around, meaningfully, "We're in the Black Swamp." ”

"Yes, this is their territory, be careful. ”

Barbas frowned, looking extremely distressed, scratched his head with his paws, and complained, "You're going to kill me eventually." ”

Rex smiled wryly, "It's not so dangerous to lose your life, at least you're still alive now." ”

"But the result is the same. ”

The two of them were chatting word by word, and suddenly there was a panicked cry from a distance. The shout seemed very immature, with a timidity and helplessness that had not yet touched the world. Faintly, the whimpering cry was drowned out by a rough shout. It seems that someone is besieging prey or looting. Rex and Babas followed the sound and found a small camp. The camp had been vandalized and had lost its original appearance, the tents erected were a little crooked, and the canvas was torn by sharp claws.

There was a bonfire in front of the tent, surrounded by a defensive wall made of sharp wood, which had been torn open. They walked through the rift into the tent and saw two Argonians lying on the ground dead, a man and a woman who seemed to be a couple. The wooden cabinets and tables in the tent were shattered and scattered to the ground.

When the childish cry for help sounded again, they hurried out of the tent and turned and walked briskly towards the place where the sound had come from. In a mud swamp not far from the tent, they found a wurm girl about ten years old, half of her body submerged in the mire, the soft mud like thick pine gum, dragging her body as if to devour her. She floated on top of the mire with her webbed palms, crying and struggling carefully, looking anxious and panicked.

On the shore around the mire stood five wurm men, dressed in iron nail armor, holding orc scimitars, dragging their snake-like tails, and roaring savagely. Although they are the same kind as the girl, it can be seen from the gloating and ferocious expressions of the five that they are not good.

The sudden appearance of Rex and Barbas seems to give the girl hope. Her spirit is no longer decadent and panicked, and her eyes shine with an extreme desire to survive. Although she was still whimpering and crying, she began to shout as hard as she could, "Good people, please help me, they killed my parents and want my life, please save me." ”

"Who are they?" asked Rex.

"Robbers, wandering bandits of the swamps!" replied the wurm girl.

"It looks like you're one kind, so why would they kill you?" asked Barbas.

The girl was just about to answer. The robbers interrupted the conversation, and a relatively strong middle-aged man said to the other four, "Kill them, and count their gold coins." ”

The four people who received the order surrounded them with evil expressions and malicious intentions. Babas was furious, erecting the hair on his neck and lowering his body, cracking open his mouth to reveal his sharp teeth, and letting out a low growl at the throat of the four robbers.

Rex held the Nightingale Blade in his hand and said happily, "This is the way I like to communicate." Come on, let's have a good time. ”

Babas deftly jumped left and right on the ground, staring at the four in front of him, looking for an opportunity to attack. Four wurmians outflanked him with large iron swords, and Rex roared angrily, rushed over, and slashed at the man in front, he fended twice with the iron sword, and the third time failed, and a leg was cut off by Rex's Nightingale Blade. Blood splattered, and the mangled body fell to the ground, trembling and struggling with a terrible scream.

Rex turned to attack the others, and Barbas was already tangled with one of the bandits, tearing at the other's neck with its fangs, and it wasn't long before the wurm bandit was dead. Under the nimble successive attacks of the two, the five robbers finally paid the price with their lives.

The mud in the swamp pool was almost devouring the wurm girl, and she opened her nostrils wide, raising her head to breathe in the air of life.

When the two of them rescued her, she was exhausted and collapsed. The limp body was lying on the ground like a corpse, its eyes closed and motionless. Only the faint heaving of her chest proved that she was still alive. They took her back to camp and fed her some mushroom soup before she slowly recovered, but she was still very weak.

The trio stopped at the dilapidated camp, and Rex decided to take care of the wurm girl before leaving, and Barbas was quite critical of his decision. Therefore, in the process of treatment, he was not so active, and the arrogant personality of the robber was still lurking in his body. He didn't want to work for someone who had nothing to do with him, even if the girl seemed to be lovable. While Rex was busy treating her wounds, he crawled quietly to the side, looking at them with an indifferent gaze, and took on the job of a guard, day and night.

Two days later, the wurm girl was fully healthy and she was in very good condition. The girl tells Rex that her name is Cataria Ram, and that the dead man and woman are her father and mother. Due to the invasion of the Tiger Army, the living environment of the Argonian people has deteriorated extremely. The young Argonian left the swamp early and fled to avoid being slaughtered. Rebels have emerged within the Argonian race, and they have colluded with the Tigermen to kill their own people. And skinned them in exchange for a little power to survive from Tiger General Orim.

When Rex heard this, he was furious in his heart. He was heartbroken by what had happened to Cataria. So, as he prepares to leave the camp and continue on his way, he invites her to join his party, where she will also avenge her own people and parents if she has the opportunity in the future.

After Cataria buried the bodies of her parents, she followed Rex out of her birthplace, their home. The appearance of the little girl has added a lot of vitality to this team. Rex gave up his mount to Cataria to ride, and Nightmare gladly accepted his master's orders, even a little smugly, and walked behind them with the little girl on his belt.

While they were camping in the safety of a meadow, Rex called Cataria to him, intending to teach her some defensive grappling techniques. Barbas found some dry branches and lit a bonfire. He glanced at them with a languid gaze, then put his mouth on his outstretched front leg and snoozed with his eyes closed.

Cataria was a very smart child, and the grief of losing her parents didn't last long. Because she understands from the bottom of her heart that in this world in the future, there will be no more love from her relatives, and she can't be coquettish and willful like a princess. The most important thing is to make yourself strong as soon as possible. Weakness does not protect oneself from surviving in this cruel world, it only accelerates one's own death.

Rex was amazed that after he taught her a few basic striking techniques, she had mastered the essentials of the offense in half a day, and she did a perfect job of timing and angle her takedowns. Due to her age, she still has a flaw in the speed of her punches, and Rex has helped her practice the speed of her punches.

For the next week, they kept going and stopping. Cataria's martial arts skills have improved rapidly, and she is ready to practice with Rex. And Babas's attitude towards her began to soften, and even during their practice, he would quietly boil two glasses of ale and put them next to the place where they practiced.

Barbas often questioned his behavior, and he felt that he was starting to feel that he was not like himself anymore. The harsh, cold, murderous bandit who used to be is disappearing little by little in his body. These remarkable changes struck him as incredible, but they were all happening to him, and they happened naturally from within, not deliberately.

Eventually, Barbas also became Cataria's teacher. He taught her how to discern the change in the enemy's eyes and the direction of attack, so that she could defend or dodge damage in advance. The lives of the three of them were both happy and fulfilling. In the past week, they are a little closer to their goal.

In this barren swampy land, a man rode wildly, followed by elves and wolves, and continued to advance towards the city of thorns.