From a distance, the two individuals hidden by the Disillusionment Charm witnessed this scene.
Luke quietly asked Gandalf, who was beside him, "Gandalf, should we intervene?"
Gandalf slightly shook his head, "Wait a moment."
At the same time, the Goblin King also uttered this phrase.
The Goblin King recognized Thorin's identity. After mocking and ridiculing Thorin's destitution, he ordered his subordinates to send a message to Azog, the King of Orcs, preparing to exchange Thorin for Azog's reward.
"Now!" Gandalf leaped directly in front of the Goblins, unleashing a powerful magic shockwave that instantly overturned the Goblin cave.
Countless Goblins, including the Goblin King, were all sent flying by the shockwave.
Gandalf descended like a savior before the Dwarves, "Grab your weapons and run!"
There were tens of thousands of Goblins in the cave. Although Gandalf dealt with a batch, they continuously swarmed from all directions.
The group ran while dealing with the Goblins blocking their path, and also had to shake off the enemies relentlessly pursuing them from behind.
Just then, the fallen Goblin King suddenly appeared in front of the group, his enormous body blocking their way forward.
"Do you think you can escape? Never!" The Goblin King angrily brandished a large club, his face distorted with a savage cruelty.
Dense throngs of Goblins also surrounded them from all directions, blocking all paths.
The group immediately found themselves in a desperate situation.
"Gandalf, what should we do?" The Dwarf Balin placed his only hope in Gandalf.
Gandalf's expression was calm, even bearing a hint of a smile.
"Don't worry, we still have help!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The next second, a dazzling magic spell struck the Goblin King from behind him.
The Goblin King's face was contorted, his movements and expression instantly frozen, with only his eyes revealing a look of terror and unease.
Luke appeared behind the Goblin King, drew his Flame Sword, and plunged it into the Goblin King's lower back, releasing scorching flames that instantly incinerated all of the Goblin King's internal organs to ash.
With the Goblin King's death, the surrounding Goblins instantly fell silent, but then came fury.
"He killed the King! That Wizard killed the King! Avenge the King!"
All the Goblins became frantic and uneasy, filled with murderous intent and madness, swarming towards Luke and the others like a tidal wave.
"Protego Totalum!" A circular barrier protected the group and blocked the Goblins outside.
The Goblins frantically attacked the magic barrier, clinging to it in dense masses, forming a solid wall of flesh, impenetrable.
Seeing the Goblins unable to break through, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
However, seeing the increasing number of Goblins around them, the Dwarves grew worried again.
"Luke, what should we do now? They can't get in, but we can't get out either?"
"Don't worry, I have a plan."
Luke soothed them.
He then pulled out a pot of Mandrakes from his leather pouch.
Ever since it matured, the Mandrake had been regularly bound by Luke with the Petrificus Totalus spell to prevent it from emitting fatal sounds.
Now that he had learned the Silencing Charm from the Book of Spells, it could finally be put to use.
Luke first applied several layers of Silencing Charm to himself and his companions, then removed the Mandrake's Petrificus Totalus spell, grasped the Mandrake's root, and pulled hard.
The Mandrake, which had accumulated so much resentment, instantly vented its emotions wildly once the spell was lifted, writhing its ugly body and emitting a shrill, piercing cry.
Even those protected by the Silencing Charm heard a piercing sound and instinctively covered their ears.
The Goblins outside, however, directly suffered the full impact of the Mandrake's cry.
Under the attack of the death-calling magic sound, the Goblins at close range instantly perished, while those further away directly fainted, falling into the abyss below like dumplings, smashing into a pulp.
The Goblin cave instantly fell silent; not a single Goblin remained standing.
Luke waved his wand, sweeping the piled-up Goblin corpses into the abyss, then cast a Petrificus Totalus spell on the still wailing Mandrake, making it quiet again.
Only then did he lift the Silencing Charm from the group.
"Alright, it's safe now."
The Dwarves stared in shock at the Goblin corpses everywhere, then looked at the humanoid plant in Luke's hand, their faces filled with awe.
The power of this plant was simply terrifying!
"Oh my goodness, what in the world is that thing? Its sound actually wiped out so many Goblins!" The Dwarf Balin was dumbfounded.
"Its sound is terrifying! Even through the magic, I could hear its sound, like a female ghost's voice. My whole body felt light, as if my soul was about to be pulled out!" Fili said with lingering fear, "I can't imagine what it would be like to actually hear its voice!"
"If you really heard it, you'd end up like those Goblins," Balin retorted, rolling his eyes at him.
"Since this thing's sound is so powerful, when we get to the Lonely Mountain, why don't we just throw it at Smaug and kill the Dragon directly?" The youngest Dwarf, Kili, enthusiastically suggested.
Hearing Kili's idea, all the Dwarves' eyes instantly lit up, their gazes fixed on the Mandrake in Luke's hand.
Thorin was even more hopeful; if the Dragon could truly be dealt with this way, he wouldn't need to search for the arkenstone to rally the Dwarven race; he could simply reclaim the Lonely Mountain directly.
However, the next moment, Gandalf gave a negative answer.
Gandalf was also very surprised by the power of the Mandrake's sound, but he still shook his head.
"The Mandrake cultivated by Luke, its sound contains magic and can heavily strike the soul, making it fatal to most creatures."
"But for powerful creatures like the Dragon Smaug, his soul is extremely strong and solid. Even the Mandrake's sound cannot kill him; at most, it can heavily injure him, and only if he is caught off guard."
Gandalf's words were very convincing.
The Dwarves were all disappointed upon hearing this, and Thorin even withdrew his gaze from the Mandrake.
"Let's go, let's get out of here first."
"No rush." Luke shook his head, reminding them, "Bilbo hasn't been found yet."
"Oh right, where's Bilbo?"
"Bilbo? Wasn't he with us the whole time?"
"We haven't seen him since we were captured by the Goblins."
The Dwarves only then realized, speaking over each other.
Gandalf also frowned, "Has anyone seen Bilbo?"
The Dwarves shook their heads.
"Oh, goodness, when that plant was crying earlier, Bilbo didn't hear it too, did he?" The Dwarf Balin gasped, as if something had occurred to him, and said in horror.
The other Dwarves' eyes widened in fear, looking at Luke.
Gandalf also looked at Luke with some concern upon hearing this.
Luke shook his head, "Don't worry, I made sure Bilbo wasn't here before I dared to release the Mandrake's sound."
"Not here? Then where did he go?"
Luke pointed to the abyss crack below.
"I saw him fall down on the Palantír."
Seeing everyone's expressions change, he continued to add:
"Don't worry, he's very lucky. After falling, he's perfectly fine, apart from a few scrapes."
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this.
"Wizard Luke, next time, please finish what you're saying in one breath. It's really quite frightening!"
"I'll try," Luke replied without much sincerity.
"By the way, Luke, quickly use your Palantír to find Bilbo's location, and we'll go find him."
Luke pulled out the crystal ball and concentrated on looking, while the others also gathered around.
"Strange, why can't I see Bilbo?" Luke frowned, his face showing confusion.
The crystal ball displayed the scene at the bottom of the abyss, but Bilbo's figure was nowhere to be seen.