After Legolas arranged the Elven squad members brought by Tauriel, he firmly followed behind Bernal and Bilbo.
"Are you crazy? I can't imagine how heartbroken Lord Thranduil will be." Tauriel stared at the willful Legolas, dumbfounded.
Upon hearing Tauriel's words, Legolas instead looked even more nonchalant: "Him? Heartbroken? No, he won't be. He doesn't care about his son at all. He only cares about how many cups of wine he drank, how many pieces of meat he ate, and whether the music was off-key at tonight's banquet."
Tauriel wanted to say more, but Bernal interrupted her, saying, "I'm sorry to interrupt your conversation, but I see Arthur and the others are coming over. It's best if you two don't argue in front of him. After all, Arthur is my nominal King, and guests should show basic respect in his presence."
Legolas nodded, his beautiful eyes looking at Tauriel, as if asking, "Do you want the Prince of the Woodland Realm to lose his etiquette in front of a human lord?"
Tauriel could only sigh, turn around, and stop discussing with Legolas.
Arthur, Thorin, and Gandalf saw Bernal and his group outside Mirkwood. He immediately rode Torrent to their side, dismounted, and worriedly checked Bilbo's body.
"Are you injured anywhere? What's with the spider webs on you? Are you poisoned?" Arthur asked somewhat nervously.
Thorin also looked at Bilbo with a similarly tense and concerned expression, though he didn't speak.
Bilbo felt a rush of guilt when he thought about how he had just recently believed that Arthur and Thorin didn't care about his feelings.
"I'm fine, thank you, and Gandalf, Thorin. Uh, I…" Bilbo started to apologize and explain why he had left alone.
He had so much to say that he didn't know where to begin.
Arthur only completely relaxed after Bernal confirmed that Bilbo had drunk the liquid from the red dew holy grail bottle. He then gave Bilbo a caring hug: "It's good that you're alright."
After Arthur released Bilbo and stood up, Gandalf also walked forward with a chuckle, winking at Bilbo: "It seems our hobbit knows that someone truly cares about him in their heart."
Gandalf had actually been with Bilbo these past few days and had noticed his boredom, so he was very regretful when he discovered Bilbo had disappeared.
If he had talked more with Bilbo, perhaps the hobbit wouldn't have wanted to leave over such a small matter.
Thorin also understood Gandalf's implication and said, "When we return, I will have Bofur and Bombur stay with you until you enter the Lonely Mountain with us and see the banner of the Durin royal family fluttering on the walls built against the mountain."
Bilbo also realized his behavior was somewhat childish and awkwardly and stiffly said to Arthur, Gandalf, and Thorin, who had come to find him: "I'm sorry, I made you worry. I promise there won't be a third time."
Thorin's face showed surprise. He looked at the calm Arthur and Gandalf and asked in astonishment, "Wait, this isn't the first time he's snuck out on his own?"
Arthur and Gandalf exchanged a knowing glance; the former shrugged, and the latter smiled.
Arthur said, "Let's just say it's a little secret between Bilbo, me, and Gandalf. We have to give him some privacy."
Thorin sighed, then composed his expression and looked indifferently at Legolas and Tauriel, who had been silent behind Bernal: "So what's the situation with these two Elves? Could it be that Bilbo was kidnapped by them?"
Legolas was about to retort with a sneer, but he saw Arthur, remembered what he and Tauriel had just said, and decided to ignore Thorin's words, smiling at Arthur and saying, "Tauriel and I have come for the friendship between the Woodland Realm and the Erdtree. When the Erdtree Lord's friend is in crisis, Elves will not stand idly by."
"We meet again, Legolas. But it seems you and your compatriot both have things to say. This is not the place to talk. Let's go back to Lake-town and discuss it there," Arthur said.
Not long after, Arthur and his group returned to Lake-town.
Bernal continued to patrol the town, taking over Igon's work.
Gandalf decided to first listen to what Legolas and Tauriel had to say, and then send Bilbo to Dale.
In a stone house with a burning fireplace, Tauriel repeated to Arthur what she had previously told Bernal.
Arthur pondered, "Spiders, hmm, not many. But if they keep lurking at night, they will indeed cause some trouble for the Storm Legion."
Tauriel's fingertips traced the wooden table as she nodded and said, "They might invade through larger chimneys, or even toilets. The houses in Lake-town are built directly over the lake, so people's toilets here lead straight to the lake, making it easy for those evil creatures to quietly invade. Lord Arthur, you need to warn not only the Storm Legion but also the residents of Lake-town."
Arthur cleared his throat: "Regarding that, you probably don't know yet, but Bard, the current Mayor of Lake-town, has already led all the residents of Lake-town to relocate to Dale. Perhaps now you should call him the Lord of Dale."
Legolas suddenly realized: "No wonder when we just entered, there were no ordinary residents in Lake-town except for the soldiers."
Thorin leaned against the stone fireplace, sneering as he asked, "So you Elves don't even know what's been happening near your doorstep these past few days?"
Legolas raised an eyebrow: "What do you mean? Are you referring to how you trapped a large group of orcs inside Lake-town and killed them with fire and crossbow arrows, or are you referring to how you eliminated the Goblins of Ravenhill and Dale yesterday?"
Thorin sat up, his expression cold as he asked, "You didn't send anyone over, so how do you know these things?"
This time it was Legolas's turn to sneer: "Humans are not the only ones who can communicate with Elves; birds and beasts are all our friends. Perhaps it's because you're too short, so your eyes have never seen the ravens of Ravenhill flying towards Mirkwood."
Thorin paused: "Oh, thank you for praising me first. But that's because my eyes are only fixed on my enemies, thinking about how to cleave their skulls with an axe."
Wait, when did I praise him?
Legolas was stunned.
Didn't he sincerely praise my short stature?
Thorin was also stunned.
Arthur watched the argument between the Elven Prince and the Dwarven Prince, and quickly cleared his throat to attract their attention: "So, Legolas, are you helping me this time because King Thranduil extended a helping hand?"
Tauriel looked away, Legolas's expression flashed with a hint of awkwardness, and then he nodded: "Yes, yes, you once presented a gift to King Thranduil, so he sent me here after discovering the traces of those spiders."
Bilbo's mouth was half-open, thinking to himself that he didn't say that when he was bickering with the female Elf next to him in Mirkwood.
But just as he was about to say something, he saw Legolas's eyes glare at him.
So Bilbo closed his mouth.
As for Bernal, who had heard Legolas and Tauriel arguing, he had now taken over Igon's work and was not here at all.
Arthur could tell that Legolas's answer was somewhat insincere, so he didn't dwell on the topic, but instead said to him: "I understand. When you return, please convey my sincere thanks to King Thranduil on my behalf."
Legolas also didn't want to stay in the room any longer. After saying, "I'm going to Lake-town to familiarize myself with the environment," he left the room with Tauriel.
After the two Elves left, Gandalf tapped his pipe on the table, striking a spark.
Then Gandalf exhaled a puff of smoke, and the smoke ring, controlled by him, condensed into the shape of a Mirkwood crown in the air. He smiled with narrowed eyes and said: "Thranduil might send Elves to help you, but it's unlikely he'd send Legolas to help you. Thranduil cherishes his only son very much, wishing he could give him everything. Although, from the current perspective, Legolas doesn't understand this yet."
Arthur sighed slightly: "You don't need to remind me, Gandalf. I can tell Legolas is lying. The last time I saw him and Thranduil, I already noticed that Legolas doesn't particularly like his father. But no matter what, he is the only son of the King of the Woodland Realm. If anything goes wrong here with him, it could easily cause a dispute between our two territories."
Gandalf asked: "What do you plan to do?"
Arthur smiled and unrolled a parchment on the table: "I will write a letter to Thranduil. I need to think about how to write it so that the Elves of the Woodland Realm will help us watch our backs."
Gandalf also showed the same smile: "If you want to get Thranduil's attention, you can add a line: 'Prince Legolas's safety is under the full supervision of Lady Tauriel.' Fathers are always particularly sensitive about their sons' female friends; even Elves are no exception to this."
Arthur looked up and rolled his eyes at Gandalf, but he honestly added the sentence Gandalf suggested to the parchment.
Meanwhile, Azog had just returned to the Lonely Mountain, stepping over every brick the dwarves had once laid, a 獰笑 spreading across his face as he listened to the clamoring voices of the orcs.
The dwarves' empty palace had been transformed into a military fortress by the orcs, and a foul stench had long permeated the place.
However, after passing through a gate dozens of meters high, all the clamor ceased.
Beyond the gate was the dwarves' former treasury, filled with mountains of gold and silver, and jewels scattered everywhere, but now it was Smaug's resting lair.
Occasionally, the crisp sound of sliding gold coins could be heard from within. Azog reined in the smile on his face and stopped at the last step.
"My Lord, that dragon has been sleeping in there these past few days, and his snoring is very loud," a burly orc emerged from a dark corner and reported to Azog.
Azog nodded: "I know."
Then he walked in. The moment his foot stepped on a gold coin, Smaug's eyelids, which had been closed, instantly opened with a vigilant snap.
However, after noticing that the pilferer entering his lair was Azog, his eyes became arrogant and overbearing.
"Look who it is, a self-important wretch, a fool who thinks the dwarves have fallen into his plan but has no idea he has failed," Smaug mocked Azog with his deep, resonant voice, unrestrained.
Azog's figure froze, and he suddenly looked up at the behemoth not far away: "What!?"
"Oh ~ you are truly stupider than I expected, Azog."
Smaug saw Azog's bewildered expression, completely unaware, and even he himself paused for a second before bursting into laughter.
"Your gutter-dwelling brats didn't even disrupt those humans' afternoon tea. Did you think taming Trolls meant taming the mountains? Bolg's shattered bones are laughing at the bottom of Lake-town!" he scoffed, shifting his position on the pile of gold coins.
After hearing Smaug's words, Azog immediately turned and rushed out of Smaug's lair, sending out scouts to Lake-town, Ravenhill, and the ruins of Dale, ignoring the giant dragon's mocking laughter.
However, none of the scouts he sent out returned, which made Azog furiously realize that his son Bolg and the Goblins he had incited had all been killed by humans and dwarves.
Azog cursed bitterly: "Stupid fool!"
It was unclear whether he was cursing himself or his son who had messed up his plan.
"We cannot let Thráin's army merge with the dwarves of Dale! We must annihilate the dwarves and let the Son of Durin cover every inch of the Lonely Mountain!"
Accompanying Azog's roar, the orc war drums began to beat, their dull, irritating sound spreading like a plague across the entire Lonely Mountain.
Several Earthworms, hearing the drumbeats, raised their heads from the fissures deep within the Lonely Mountain, their mouthparts tearing through rock as they opened and closed, creating miniature earthquakes deep within the mountain with every heave of their bodies.
Under Azog's control, they gnawed out a passage for the orc army to attack, along the essential route from the Misty Mountains to the Lonely Mountain.
"Not just Thráin's army! Also Ravenhill! Ravenhill must either be under my control or be destroyed!"
With the change in the drumbeats, two Earthworms began to change direction, wriggling their massive bodies towards Ravenhill.
Ogha knelt on one knee on the temporarily erected lookout post at Ravenhill, his palm pressed against the cold rock. The subtle yet rhythmic tremors coming from his fingertips felt like some giant beast grinding its teeth deep within the mountain.
The commotion within the Lonely Mountain naturally could not be hidden from Ogha, who occupied Ravenhill. This Red Lion Knight, under the command of General Radahn, was stationed here with a hundred-man squad.
The scouts Azog sent out had died by Ogha's arrows, and at this moment, feeling the slight tremor of the ground, he looked with a serious expression at the seemingly calm Lonely Mountain.
Ogha issued orders in an unruffled tone: "Light the beacon, tell the General, the war has begun."