Thick, white fog lingered in the air, like a mysterious veil, obscuring the view around the swamp.
The surface of the swamp is as calm as a mirror, with occasional ripples reflecting the surrounding scenery. Green moss and vibrant aquatic plants cover the thick and diverse roots of the trees, making the entire swamp look full of vitality.
In this quiet swamp, two lizardmen were driving a canoe slowly on the swamp water.
The design details of the canoes are also very unique. These canoes are made from a huge tree trunk, which is carefully carved and polished to give it a streamlined appearance. The canoes are engraved with exquisite patterns and patterns. These patterns are not only decorative, but also contain special magic circuits, allowing the canoes to pass through mud as well as water.
The front end of the canoe is carved into the image of a snake's head. This design not only increases the beauty of the boat, but also serves to ward off evil spirits and avoid danger. In the swamp, there is no army that is not afraid of the Hydra.
The way the Lizardmen boatmen steer their canoes is also very unique.
He used a long wooden paddle to paddle the water and drive the boat forward. His movements were coordinated and powerful. Every stroke mobilized the muscles of his whole body to generate a strong thrust. One stroke could move the canoe forward fifty or sixty meters.
At the same time, he will use a long wooden paddle to adjust the direction and speed of the boat according to needs.
With just a long wooden paddle, he can control the canoe to turn, speed up and slow down, and even make it jump briefly.
The passenger sitting in the canoe is a lizard man named Malie, whose body is covered with scars.
On Ma Lie's back, he carried a ferocious huge bow, which contrasted beautifully with his powerful muscles.
He sniffed, closed his eyes, and said intoxicatedly and with emotion:
“It’s incredible.
When I left the mud swamp, it was still a stinking mud pit.
When I was a kid, the air of the entire mud swamp was filled with a sickening stench, a smell that came from the rotting plants and animal carcasses in the swamp, as well as a mixture of various decaying substances, especially the dung of swamp dragons and wild bulls.
These substances fermented and rotted in this humid environment, releasing a pungent smell that made me feel suffocated when I was a child.
When I was a child, the water in the swamp was turbid and dark green or black, with all kinds of garbage and debris floating on the water, including dead animals, rotten leaves, feces, etc. These substances formed a thick layer of scum on the water surface. For me, even approaching it was a psychological burden, let alone swimming.
We, the lizardmen living in the mud swamp, have to make a living by hunting swamp creatures such as river deer, dragon flies, and frogs with bows and arrows, and eat them despite the stench. "
"Hahaha." The lizardman boatman rowing the boat laughed:
"That's all old history. The mayor of Mud City applied for a beaver goblin construction team from God's Chosen City. In two weeks, the construction team dug a waterway through the ocean.
After the sea water poured in, the mermaids used magic to push all the silt and dirt to the bottom of the swamp, forming a humus sediment layer.
From then on, the mud swamp became clean and fertile.
The mud mushrooms that grew from the bottom of the mud swamp were an essential material for making the [acid bottle]. The lizardmen who contracted the swamp to grow mud mushrooms made a fortune by selling mushrooms.
The lizardman who made the most money even built a large lizard nest more than ten stories high in the village."
Ma Lie opened his mouth in surprise:
"A giant lizard nest with more than ten floors? A nest that can directly recruit 4th-level lizardmen is only 8 stories high. More than ten floors... It can't be a miracle building, right?"
The lizardman boatman replied cheerfully:
“It seems so.
I don’t quite understand this, but the young people in the village say that it is a small miracle building, covering an area of ​​600 square meters.”
Marx: ...
Ma Lie was silent for a moment, shook his head, and smiled bitterly:
"Ha, incredible, really incredible.
Even a small village like Mud Village has a miraculous building.
In my impression, Mud Village has always been small, dilapidated and dirty.
Whether the villagers of Mud Village hunt or gather, it is extremely difficult to survive in the village and there is no prospect for development.
Since I was a child, I have made up my mind to leave this dirty and smelly mud village and settle down in a developed city so that my children will no longer have to eat stinky river deer and poisonous dragon flies.
Ten years ago, my parents passed away, and I bid farewell to my tribe and went to Mud City alone.
I have been a laborer, committed crimes, been in jail, been on the battlefield, been to the grave, been cheated by many people, helped by many people, made some enemies, and also made many friends.
I struggled in the big city that I longed for for eight years, but I never made a name for myself.
Until two years ago, the great [Chosen by Heaven, Apostle of the Gods] Sage Seven Pigeons opened the exciting [Great Era of Development].
With the full support of the gods, all major forces and thousands of races in the Yasha world work together to develop the wilderness and build cities, making the Yasha world develop rapidly and change with each passing day.
I was lucky. In the [Great Pioneering Era], I boarded the ship of the Fortress Force's pioneering group. I followed the Fortress Force's pioneering group to expand the territory, build achievements, and finally made some achievements and accumulated some wealth.
But the little wealth I have accumulated is far from enough to build a miraculous-level giant lizard nest.
It’s really ridiculous when you think about it.
I desperately wanted to escape from the mud village just to give my children a better starting point.
But while I was struggling in the big city, the Mud Village developed quietly. The speed of Mud Village's development was even faster than my own.
If I had not left and continued to stay in my hometown, perhaps a giant lizard nest would have been built by now, and my children would have grown up in a miraculous giant lizard nest. "
"Hahaha." The lizardman boatman laughed with his head tilted back, his tail wagging:
“That’s not necessarily the case. If you stayed in the Mud Village, you might still be rowing like me.
Even the smallest village can produce powerful soldiers and heroes, but there are definitely fewer powerful soldiers and heroes in a village than in a big city.
It’s better to live in a big city.”
The lizardman boatman lied but was secretly happy in his heart.
The lizard man who made a fortune by selling mushrooms he was talking about was his son.
He rowed in this swamp every day, working hard to transport the lizardmen back home, just to enjoy the process of others discovering his true identity.
After a lifetime of hardship, I finally have a son that I’m proud of. How can I not show him off?
These city lizards who came back from other places don’t know that there are many hidden talents in the village and the water is deep.
Those cunning old lizardmen are all good at showing off in a low-key manner and showing off their abilities in front of others.
His son is so outstanding that he can't pretend to be better than others. He can only rely on his rowing skills to seize the initiative and lay the groundwork first.
The lizardman boatman said to Marlene cheerfully:
"Young man, don't underestimate yourself. Things will change over time. There is still a long way to go.
Two years ago, no one would have thought that our village could build a miraculous building, but now it has been built, hasn’t it?
You have a bright future in the army, maybe the next giant lizard nest will be yours."
At this point, the lizardman boatman stretched his neck, stuck out his tongue, and asked Marley:
“Young man, I have been a boatman for a long time. I have even been to the big river in the capital to ferry people across the river. I am considered to be quite knowledgeable.
But I have never seen the big bow behind you and the scales on your body that are shining with a faint rainbow light.
Young man, you are extraordinary. You must be the legendary miracle soldier, right? "
"Miracle troops? About the same."
Ma Lie raised his eyelids, nodded with a bitter face, and said:
"Compared to the young people in my hometown, I am still far behind."
“Each has its own merits, each has its own merits.”
The lizardman boatman smiled and asked:
"Young man, what are your parents' names? Do you know anyone in the village?"
“My parents passed away before I left the village, and only my second uncle is still in the village.
My second uncle is Matt, a boatman, do you know him?"
"Old Matt! Ha! You are actually Old Matt's relative." The lizardman boatman's tone suddenly became familiar.
“Old Matt is the best leatherworker in the village, and the inner leather of my canoe was made by him.
His family has 13 children in total, and all of them are very successful. "
"Yes, yes, yes! My second uncle is a leatherworker." Ma Lie stretched out his hand. On his thumb, there was a circle of severely faded crocodile leather knuckles.
"This is what my second uncle gave me when I left the Swamp Village."
"Haha, that's right! Young man, our two families are actually relatives. My sixth son married old Matt's third daughter."
…
Once the relatives recognized each other, the topic started.
Time passed quietly amid laughter and joy.
There was no time to tell the ups and downs of the story of the two families. The canoe crossed the long mud river and arrived at the [Magic Ferry] in the center of the mud village.
[Magic Ferry] is a special building built beside a river, connecting the water surface and the ground. Usually there are two [Magic Ferry] in a pair.
Its effect is the same as a two-way portal, and it can transport an army across the river in an instant.
Two years ago, due to resource issues, the [Magic Ferry] was still a luxury like a portal.
But today, a large number of wild monster areas have been transformed into orderly territories, resources are overly abundant, and [Magic Ferry] has become a standard feature of wealthy villages.
After saying goodbye to the enthusiastic lizardman boatman, Malie crossed the magic ferry, stood at the dock, and looked around.
In the endless swamp, there are the most exotic plants, decorating the fertile water. The setting sun shines on Marx, raising his body temperature, activating his spirit, and making him refreshed.
At the entrance of the Swamp Village, there is a full-body stone statue of the Seven Doves. Under the luxurious obsidian base, the name of the Seven Doves is clearly written:
"Golden Sea God Selects the City of Infinite Merit, Great Compassion, Great Mercy, and Miracles"
In the world of Yasa, such statues are standard in every village and every city.
No one knows which village built the first statue of the Seven Pigeons. Everyone only knows that if their village or city does not have this statue, the passing goblins and merchants will be unwilling to come in.
Not only that, the bards who played various musical instruments and spoke humorously would also look down on villages and cities without stone statues.
Ma Lie stood in front of the stone statue of seven pigeons and bowed respectfully to it. Then, under the gaze of the statue, he walked nervously into the village.
Ma Lie stood at the entrance of the village. For a moment, he felt so homesick that he didn't know where to start.
After ten years of absence, the swamp village has changed.
The rotten and dirty swamp roads in his memory had all disappeared, replaced by clean and tidy cobblestone roads.
From the cobblestone main road, several flat gravel roads branch out, leading in all directions.
On both sides of the gravel road, there are swamp lacquer trees that can produce lacquer liquid. Under the swamp lacquer trees, sturdy lizardman nests are arranged in an orderly manner.
These Lizardmen nests are irregularly circular or oval in shape, and vary in size depending on the number of Lizardmen living in them.
Lizardmen prefer cramped and crowded environments, so the interior space of these lizardmen's nests is relatively narrow, but it is large enough to accommodate the lizardmen's activities and rest.
Ma Lie discovered that the walls and floors of the lizardmen's nests in the mud village are usually made of natural materials such as soil, leaves and branches. They are dark brown or yellowish brown in color, blending perfectly with the surrounding natural environment.
This shows that these lizardman nests are formal buildings recognized by the village, which are very different from the temporary nests built by the villagers when he was a child.
Ma Lie's eyes couldn't help but flicker, and his thoughts went back to the past.
When Marle was a child, the lizard people would usually choose a high mud hill with soft soil to dig caves. After the caves were dug, the lizard people would use branches, leaves and other materials to reinforce the walls to prevent collapse - after these two steps, it would be a temporary nest.
These makeshift nests are prone to collapse, leaks, and being attacked by poison flies or dragon flies. They are far from comfortable, let alone safe.
In order to maintain the cleanliness and safety of the nest, the Lizardmen had to set some hidden traps at the entrance to prevent the invasion of natural enemies.
In addition, the Lizardmen will patrol around the nest to ensure that the surrounding environment is safe.
Even so, they still had to survive for a while and then move to another place. They dared not stay in one place for too long, so as not to be targeted by some powerful swamp creatures such as Deinosuchus.
"In the past, the Lizardmen were displaced. To put it bluntly, the reason was that the food supply was unstable and the number of the tribe members was too small.
Two hundred level 2 [Lizard Warriors] working together can deal with a swamp crocodile.
A large group of red-eyed vipers can be easily destroyed by three hundred lizardmen warriors.
…
But when I was a child, it was rare to see a village with a population of over a hundred, let alone hundreds of soldiers.
But now, times have changed.”
Ma Lie's eyes gradually softened. He pulled the bow on his back and said to himself:
“Lizardmen today no longer need to worry about food.
Any village has a population of tens of thousands, and can easily field thousands of warriors.
In this vast swamp, there are countless strange beasts. Those who obey me will live, and those who defy me will die.
We are strong enough, so strong that our descendants will never have to wander around again."