Gandalf took the spear, stroking and examining it carefully, exclaiming, "Luke, your luck is truly enviable!"
"If I'm not mistaken, this spear has an extraordinary origin; it is the divine spear of the High King of the Noldor, Gil-galad—Aeglos. It accompanied Gil-galad through countless battles and achieved the feat of wounding the Dark Lord Sauron in the Battle of the Last Alliance, but as Gil-galad fell in battle, this divine spear disappeared without a trace."
"I never expected to see it today among the Goblin King's treasures."
Hearing Gandalf's account, everyone was astonished, their eyes all fixed on the silver-white spear.
Even the Dwarves, who were at odds with Elves, had heard of Gil-galad's name.
As the last High King of the Noldor and the founder of the Kingdom of Lindon, Gil-galad, along with Elendil, the founder of the Kingdom of Arnor, formed the Last Alliance of Elves and Men.
They gathered their armies in Rivendell, crossed the Misty Mountains, advanced south along the Anduin River, defeated Sauron's army in the Battle of Dagorlad, and then besieged Sauron's stronghold—Barad-dûr.
During the Siege of Barad-dûr, Sauron was forced to emerge from the Dark Tower and confront Gil-galad and Elendil.
Ultimately, both Gil-galad and Elendil fell in battle; Gil-galad's divine spear Aeglos disappeared, and Elendil's sword Narsil was shattered by Sauron.
As Sauron was reveling in his triumph, Isildur, Elendil's son, picked up the fragments of the broken sword and cut off Sauron's finger, which bore the one ring, leading to Sauron's physical demise and ultimate defeat.
Luke took the divine spear, also greatly surprised; he had not expected this spear to have such a history.
As the weapon of the High King of the Noldor, Gil-galad, the divine spear Aeglos embodied the painstaking efforts of countless Elven craftsmen, representing the pinnacle of Elven artistry and truly a divine weapon.
The divine spear Aeglos is nearly two meters long, forged from an unknown material, incredibly hard and sharp, yet incredibly light.
Luke could wield it with one hand.
"Use it well; this is the only weapon that has touched Sauron's blood and remains intact, capable of deterring many dark creatures," Gandalf said enviously.
"The divine spear is indestructible; it can even pierce Sauron's dark armor. Perhaps it can penetrate the scales of a Dragon, becoming a key weapon for the victory at the Lonely Mountain."
"I will," Luke nodded solemnly.
Although he already had Blazefury as a weapon, who would complain about having too many weapons?
Not to mention it was an indestructible divine spear.
Moreover, he had also realized that while magic spells were clearly effective against creatures like Orc, they likely wouldn't inflict much damage on powerful Maia-level creatures such as Dragons or Balrogs.
He even wondered if the Killing Curse could truly kill the Dragon Smaug.
After all, the Killing Curse targets the soul, but for creatures like Dragons, whose souls are incredibly powerful, the Killing Curse cast by Luke with his current strength would probably not cause fatal damage to a Dragon.
Just as Barty Crouch Jr. disguised as Moody with Polyjuice Potion in Harry Potter, he once said that even if a fourth-year student mastered the Killing Curse and cast it on him, at most it would only give him a nosebleed and would not kill him at all.
In such circumstances, a native artifact like the divine spear Aeglos could exert greater power and inflict damage on a Dragon.
Luke put the divine spear Aeglos into his leather pouch space, then looked at the gold and silver treasures filling the cave.
Although he was no longer short of treasure, he wouldn't abandon it when he encountered it.
He picked up some old and new money bags from the ground and expanded their interiors to about two meters using the Undetectable Extension Charm.
Then he waved his wand, distributing all the treasures in the cave into the money bags, filling more than a dozen bag spaces, and then placing these bags into another bag space.
The Dwarves, witnessing this scene, were dumbfounded. All that treasure, just like that, fit into a small bag?
What then was the point of their earlier efforts, stuffing their bags until they were bulging?
Under the Dwarves' resentful and pleading gazes, Luke touched his nose and agreed to expand the space of everyone's money bags.
Even Thorin, who hadn't taken any treasure, received a spatial one from him.
So the Dwarves happily stuffed all their treasures and belongings into their money bags.
And the two young Dwarves, Kili and Fili, were even more amazed, sticking their entire hands into the bags, then excitedly pointing at their seemingly severed arms and exclaiming.
"Alright, we should leave here," Luke called out to the excited Dwarves who were playing with their money bags, "Don't forget we still haven't found Bilbo!"
Upon hearing this, the Dwarves instantly sobered up, exchanging glances.
"Oh right, Bilbo hasn't been found yet, we almost forgot about him."
Remembering the poor Bilbo, everyone quickly exited the treasure cave.
However, looking at the steep and bottomless abyss, they couldn't find a way down for a while.
"It's too steep, how do we get down?"
Everyone looked at each other.
"Jump," Luke said, "I'll catch you with magic."
Without another word, he leaped down.
Everyone was terrified by this sudden scene, watching Luke fall into the abyss.
"Oh, dear, he won't fall to his death, will he?" the Dwarf Bofur said in fright.
"Listen to Luke, everyone, I'll go first."
Gandalf said with a chuckle, then, before anyone could react, he also jumped down.
The Dwarves left behind exchanged glances.
"How about you jump first, Fili?" Kili urged.
"Why not you jump first?" Fili retorted ungraciously.
Bofur carefully peered down into the abyss, then quickly retreated, patted his chest, and shook his head vigorously: "It's so high, falling down would definitely turn us into a pulp. I'm not jumping, my heart can't take it!"
Just as the Dwarves hesitated, Thorin, after a moment of deliberation, resolutely jumped down.
"Thorin!" The Dwarves were startled.
Thorin was the heir of their Durin Dwarf clan; if anything happened to him, this journey to the Lonely Mountain would be meaningless.
The Dwarves no longer hesitated and all jumped down.
Feeling the rapid descent and the rushing wind, the Dwarves screamed in terror, just as they thought they were about to hit the ground.
"Molliare!" Luke's voice echoed from below.
The Dwarves instantly felt their descent slow, stopping abruptly about twenty centimeters from the ground. Before they could sigh in relief, they lost support the next second and fell face-first onto the ground.
The Dwarves groaned and awkwardly scrambled to their feet.
"That was too exhilarating, my heart almost stopped beating!" The oldest Dwarf, Balin, gasped for breath, clutching his chest with lingering fear.
Gandalf was already standing beside Luke, chuckling as he watched the Dwarves. "This is a rare opportunity for an experience; it would be a pity to miss it, after all, not many people jump from such a height and don't die."
"Forget it, we Dwarves only like living on the ground; we don't enjoy this kind of thrill at all," Bofur said with a look of rejection.
"By the way, where's Bilbo? Wasn't he at the bottom of the abyss? Why don't I see him?"
"I'll check again with the Palantír." Luke took out the Palantír again, thinking that after so long, Bilbo should have taken off the one ring and become visible.
"Didn't your Palantír break? Can you still see?" Balin asked suspiciously.
"Exactly, it'd be more reliable if we all split up and searched."
Luke ignored the Dwarves, holding the Palantír and concentrating on locating Bilbo.
This time, Bilbo's figure finally appeared on the Palantír.
"Bilbo, it's Bilbo! He's looking for an exit!"
The Dwarves excitedly gathered around, craning their heads to the Palantír, their eyes fixed on Bilbo in the image.
"It seems your Palantír is working again."
Luke glanced at the image and walked directly to the left. "Follow me, we'll meet up with Bilbo first, then leave this place."
Gandalf followed Luke closely, and the other Dwarves also followed suit.
Guided by the Palantír, the group wound their way through the tunnels and finally saw Bilbo in the distance, attempting to find an exit.
"Bilbo!" the Dwarf Bofur shouted loudly.
Bilbo in the distance heard the voice, quickly turned his head, revealing a look of surprise, and happily waved his hand: "I'm here!"
The two parties met, and the Dwarves all happily embraced Bilbo.
"You're a lucky fellow, falling from such a height and being unharmed! If Luke hadn't said you were alright, we would have been worried sick!" Balin said.
"How did you know I was here?" Bilbo asked, happy but curious.
"Have you forgotten? Luke has the Palantír in his hand. That thing can find people, so it naturally saw you here."
"But that thing is temperamental; for a period in the middle, it couldn't find your figure at all. I wonder what went wrong?"
Hearing this, Bilbo's expression became somewhat unnatural, and one hand unconsciously reached into his pocket to feel around, then he tentatively looked at Luke, meeting a pair of slightly profound eyes.
He instantly withdrew his gaze nervously, his eyes having nowhere to settle.
Gandalf also noticed Bilbo's abnormality and exchanged a look with Luke.
Unlike the Dwarves who suspected the Palantír was broken, Gandalf and Luke both knew that the Palantír was the hardest substance and could not possibly be damaged.
Therefore, the reason the Palantír couldn't see Bilbo before was not due to the Palantír itself, but because Bilbo had encountered something unusual that concealed him from the Palantír's sight.
Although Gandalf was somewhat curious, he had no intention of probing into Bilbo's adventure.
As for Luke, he had known about Bilbo's situation for a long time.
So, both of them tacitly refrained from asking.
This made Bilbo breathe a sigh of relief, while also feeling some shame and unease.
"Luke, I just encountered…" Bilbo hesitated.
However, before he could continue, Gandalf sharply looked towards the dark area opposite: "Who's there!"
"Shatter!" A magic spell shot out from Luke's hand, directly striking the shadow.
Under the dazzling light of the magic spell, a hunched, pale-skinned monster with protruding eyes was exposed to everyone's sight.
The magic spell directly hit the stone in front of it, and the stone instantly shattered, sending the monster flying out.
Is that Gollum? The one ring's previous owner? Luke reacted.
However, before he could make another move, Gollum looked at Luke with terror and fear, then glanced at Bilbo with unwilling eyes, immediately turned around, and fled into the chaotic rock cave.
"What in the world was that? It doesn't look like a Goblin." The Dwarves asked in surprise and confusion.
"Bilbo, have you seen that thing before?"
"Uh, yes, I have." Bilbo nodded hesitantly, "He said his name was Gollum, and he feeds on fallen Goblin corpses. He's a bit off in the head, often talks to himself. I used riddles with him to buy time, and finally found a chance to escape."
"Hmph, it's actually a talking monster. What a pity that magic didn't finish it off and let it escape." The Dwarves said regretfully.
"Alright, never mind that, we need to find an exit and leave this place." Gandalf interrupted, then looked at Luke.
"Luke, please lead the way for us."
Luke looked at the Palantír in his hand, nodded, "Let's go, let's leave here first."
Guided by the Palantír, the group successfully found an exit and arrived on the other side of the Misty Mountains.
"We're finally out!" The Dwarves cheered.
Luke put the Palantír back into his leather pouch, then took out a money bag and handed it to Bilbo.
"This is a magic money bag I enchanted. It has two cubic meters of space and is already filled with some of the treasure obtained from the Goblin cave. There's still some space left, you can put any extra luggage you have inside to make it easier."
Bilbo took the money bag, opened its mouth, and looked at the considerable space inside and the glittering gold, silver, and jewels, feeling very surprised and touched.
"Thank you, Luke!"
Then, after struggling and hesitating for a while, he glanced at the distance of the others and whispered to Luke: "Luke, actually, I picked up something at the bottom of the cave…"
Luke stopped him from speaking further, shaking his head slightly, the smile in his eyes deepening.
"I'm glad you're willing to tell me, but this is your opportunity, Bilbo, you don't need to tell me."
Bilbo didn't expect Luke to say that, and his last trace of hesitation vanished.
"I understand, Luke, and I'll only tell you."
"I picked up a ring at the bottom of the cave. That ring seems to have magic. When I put it on, it was like entering another world; no one could see me, as if I was invisible."
Luke nodded; he already knew all of this, but looking at his excited friend, he still warned him: "Bilbo, unless absolutely necessary, don't wear this thing often, otherwise it will bring you unpredictable consequences."
Although hobbits are naturally highly resistant to the one ring, they are not immune to its influence.
After the War of the one ring ended, Bilbo was invited to Valinor to spend his twilight years, not only because he was a former master of the one ring, but also because prolonged contact with the one ring had left indelible harm.
This harm was not physical but affected the mind and soul.
Therefore, only by going to Valinor could Bilbo possibly be healed and find peace in his later years.
To give Bilbo a clearer understanding, he also revealed: "Bilbo, you must be careful with that ring. You've already seen that Gollum, but you don't know he was originally a hobbit, but after possessing that ring, he gradually changed and became what he is now."
Bilbo was stunned by this news; he couldn't believe it: "Luke, you said Gollum was a hobbit? How is that possible?"
"But that's the truth."
Bilbo was restless; he wanted to disbelieve, but considering Gollum's similar stature to himself, and his language style and way of thinking being similar to hobbits, he had to believe it.
Not to mention that the ring also held a strong allure for him, making him feel a selfish desire to possess it exclusively, and sometimes even giving rise to dark thoughts, evil ideas of wanting to eliminate everyone who knew about the ring.
He himself was startled by such thoughts.
Thinking of this, he only felt the ring in his pocket become extremely hot, wishing he could throw it away immediately, yet he was deeply attracted to it and couldn't bear to part with it.
His consciousness was like two people, one rational, one obsessed, constantly arguing and tugging.
"Luke, what should I do?" Bilbo asked Luke, full of helplessness.
"Don't be nervous or worried, I'm only telling you this to keep you alert and prevent yourself from being tempted and consumed by it." Luke reassured him, "You just need to stay rational and not overuse it; it won't have much impact on you in the short term."
After their conversation, the group continued their journey.
But soon, a few wolf howls in the distance changed everyone's expressions.
"It's Wargs!"
In the distance, below the hillside, thousands of well-equipped Orcs on giant wolves were rapidly moving towards them.
"To arms!" Gandalf shouted loudly.
Seeing the dense army of Orcs in the mountains, everyone immediately felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.
The Dwarf Bofur eagerly looked at Luke, "Luke, quickly take out that crying plant of yours and kill them directly!"
The others also looked at him with anticipation.
After all, the scene in the Goblin cave was still vivid in their minds.
Luke looked at the surrounding environment, then at the distance of the Wargs, and shook his head, "Don't have too much hope for the Mandrake. The environment inside the cave was special, which allowed for that effect. But here it's an open field, and if the distance is too far, the Mandrake's cry won't cause much damage."
Although he said that, he still took out the Mandrake.
After casting a Silencing Charm on everyone, he pulled out the Mandrake and threw it in front of the charging Orcs and Wargs.
As Luke expected, the nearest Wargs and Orcs, caught off guard by the Mandrake's cry, instantly collapsed weakly to the ground, unconscious or dead.
Only the distant Wargs and Orcs escaped, terrified by this scene and immediately stopping their attack.
The Orc leader, listening to the faint crying sound, felt a sharp pain in his head and looked at Luke and the humanoid plant emitting the crying sound with trepidation.
"Retreat to where the sound cannot be heard!" The Orc leader said, "He is that Black-robed Wizard, and the thing in his hand is strange; don't listen to it!"
"But the chief ordered us to get the Dwarves' heads!" The Orc subordinate reminded.
"Then attack from a distance, shoot them dead!"
"Anyway, all the chief wants are their heads."
On Luke's side, when the Dwarves saw that the Orcs and Wargs dared not approach, they cheered and made various crude gestures to provoke the distant Orcs.
But the next second, thousands of dense arrows shot towards Luke and the others.
Luke raised his wand, forming a barrier that blocked countless arrows.
But just as everyone cheered for Luke once again, Luke felt a sudden warning in his heart, as if there was a fatal threat.
The next second, he saw the tall Orc leader on the distant hilltop grinning as he shot an arrow at him.
Before Luke could react, that arrow ignored the magical barrier's obstruction, directly pierced through it, and struck Luke in the chest.
"Luke!" Everyone gasped in alarm.
They couldn't believe Luke had been shot by an arrow and crowded around him.
"Luke, are you alright?" Bilbo asked anxiously and worriedly.
Gandalf reacted the fastest, quickly supporting Luke, his expression concerned, but when he saw the black arrow embedded in his chest, his face immediately changed, "Morgul-arrow!"
"Morgul-arrow? What is that?" Bilbo asked.
"It is an arrow forged in Mordor, engraved with dark spells, and its arrowhead carries potent venom. Those struck by it will suffer a painful death."
"Then will Luke be alright?" The Dwarves looked worriedly at the pale-faced Luke.
"Cough, cough…" Luke's coughing drew everyone's attention.
"Luke, how do you feel?" Bilbo asked anxiously.
Luke shook his head, pulled out the arrow from his chest, and tore open his clothes. Beneath his robe, Luke was wearing a silver chainmail.
"Mithril Chainmail!" Thorin showed a surprised expression, "I didn't expect you to have such a treasure. No wonder it could block the Morgul-arrow."
"That's great! Luke, you're alright!" Bilbo said very happily.
Gandalf and the Dwarves also breathed a sigh of relief.
Luke looked at the arrow in his hand with lingering fear. If he hadn't been wearing this chainmail ever since he obtained it in Great Hole Town, he would have likely met a grim fate today.
Thinking of this, Luke looked at the Orc leader on the distant hilltop, his eyes cold.
Since his transmigration, he had almost always had smooth sailing, but he didn't expect this fellow to almost make him stumble today.
"Uh, Luke, the Mandrake outside seems to have stopped crying?" The Dwarf Kili suddenly reminded.
Everyone heard him and looked at the Mandrake outside the Silencing Charm.
They found the Mandrake looking withered and listless, as if it had cried itself out, just whimpering and slumped there, no longer making a sound.
The Orcs observing from a distance also noticed this and began to stir restlessly.
"Mandrake, come to me!" Luke summoned the Mandrake, reburied it in the pot's soil, and let it rest properly.
"Gandalf, later, please take Thorin and the others to break through." Luke entrusted Gandalf.
"What about you?"
"Me?" Luke looked at the Orc leader on the distant hilltop, his eyes filled with killing intent, "Naturally, I'll go deal with that leader."
Although the Mithril Chainmail had blocked the Morgul-arrow, there was still a faint pain in his chest.
If he didn't avenge this arrow, his Dao heart would be unstable.
"Misty Veil~" Luke released a mist, enveloping an area of several miles in fog, giving Gandalf and the others a chance to quietly leave, and also giving himself an opportunity to attack.
The appearance of the mist made the Orcs and Wargs restless. The Wargs could only rely on their howls to determine each other's positions.
Luke moved through the mist, guided by the Palantír, as if in an uninhabited land, approaching the Orc leader's direction.
When he encountered Wargs and Orcs along the way, Luke directly struck with a ruthless hand, "Explode!"
Accompanied by a Warg's scream, the Warg and Orc were instantly torn into countless pieces by a powerful force.
The other Orcs and Wargs in the mist became agitated, and the Orc leader's face changed:
"Have everyone gather together and guard against the Wizard's sneak attack!"
The Warg beneath him heard the command and immediately let out a mighty roar.
The other Wargs, hearing this, quickly converged towards the leader.
Luke saw this scene on the crystal ball and sneered, "You think numbers are an advantage? You've just given me a chance to deal with you all at once."
Listening to the continuous screams from within the mist, the fear in the Orc leader's eyes deepened.
He knew that the Wizard's target was himself.
But seeing nearly a thousand subordinates and Wargs already gathered around him, he felt a little more at ease.
Even if that Wizard's magic was powerful, he couldn't possibly kill so many people at once, let alone himself.
Just then, the Warg beneath him seemed to sniff something and immediately bared its teeth at the mist not far away.
"Gûl-ghash! Gûl-ghash ar-ghâsh!"
The Orcs reacted quickly, immediately firing countless arrows in the direction the Warg was wary of.
The Orc leader even pulled out another Morgul-arrow and shot it into the mist.
The dense arrows shot into the mist and disappeared. As the Orcs anxiously awaited the result,
"Volley of Arrows!" A voice came from the mist.
The next second, all the arrows that had just been fired were reflected back.
Accompanied by countless screams and wails, countless Orcs and Wargs were killed or wounded.
The Orc leader quickly grabbed an Orc subordinate to shield himself, thus avoiding being struck.
Before he could even breathe a sigh of relief,
A dazzling red light flashed intensely in his iris, and the Orc leader showed a look of terror.
"Thunderbolt Explosion!"
The magic was dazzling and brilliant, but it carried a signal of death.
Accompanied by an earth-shattering explosion, countless Orcs and Wargs were caught in the blast. Those closer were directly blasted into countless fragments, while those further away were also heavily thrown back, instantly resulting in countless deaths and injuries.
Even the dense mist was blown away by the massive explosion and quickly dissipated.
The explosion left a scene of devastation, with rubble scattered everywhere.
Black blood oozed, and fragments of Werewolf and Orc bodies were strewn about.
Luke strolled over, his magic staff ceaselessly reaping the lingering Orcs and Werewolves.
When he reached the Orc Leader, he raised an eyebrow in surprise, seeing that he had only lost an arm and a leg.
"You have a strong life; you're not dead yet?"
"Wizard, you have no idea who you're up against!" The Orc Leader's eyes were filled with fear as he threatened hoarsely, "Our master possesses boundless power; he is the lord of darkness, and the entire world will prostrate itself at his feet, and you are powerless to stop him."
"Your master? Are you referring to Sauron, who is hiding in Dol Guldur?" Luke asked with a mocking sneer.
But before he could say anything more, the Morgul Arrow that had almost struck Luke instantly pierced his head, killing him with a single shot.
Having dealt with the Orc Leader, Luke finally breathed a sigh of relief and paid no mind to the remaining surviving Orcs and Werewolves escaping.
"Let me see where Gandalf and the others are," Luke muttered, pulling out his Palantír.
"Hmm? What's going on?" Luke's eyes widened as he peered at the crystal ball. "Why is there another Orc party? They've chased them up onto the cliff?"
Watching Gandalf and the others being cornered by Orcs onto the cliff, Luke's gaze fell upon the Orc leading them, riding a white Warg.
Seeing his broken hand with an iron claw and his hateful gaze towards Thorin, his identity was clearly obvious.
"Could this be Azog the Defiler? The leader of the Orcs?"
Gandalf in the mirror seemed to sense something and shouted in his direction, "Luke, we need your help!"
Luke couldn't hear Gandalf's voice, but he knew he was asking for help.
He shook his head, feeling a bit helpless.
Gandalf truly had it tough; despite being a Maia with sub-divine strength, his power was restricted, preventing him from using overly powerful magic.
Luke had quietly asked Gandalf about this before, and in Gandalf's veiled words, they (the Wizards) were not allowed to use too much magic, but instead needed to guide rather than replace the Free Peoples, to avoid destroying "free will."
Luke could only complain about the Valar who set these rules; they were no different from the leaders of his previous life, wanting their subordinates to complete tasks well yet imposing a multitude of restrictions.
No wonder Gandalf preferred to hit people with his staff rather than cast spells with it, to avoid having to worry too much when using magic.
Shaking off his jumbled thoughts, Luke hurried towards Gandalf and the others.
By now, they were forced to hide in the trees.
If he didn't go soon, they would probably fly away on Giant Eagles.
----
Atop the Misty Mountains, Thorin and Azog, two sworn enemies, met with intense animosity.
Thorin was shocked that Azog was still alive.
And Azog resented the loss of his arm, viewing Thorin as a major threat and vowing to kill him.
After all, the name Thorin Oakenshield was derived from Thorin having used an oak branch as a shield and successfully severed one of Azog's arms.
For this, Azog had previously placed a bounty on Thorin's head.
Now, he even personally led Warg cavalry in pursuit, vowing to kill Thorin in the Misty Mountains.
"Look what I smell? The scent of fear." Azog mocked, looking at Thorin hiding in the tree, "Your father had that same smell, Thorin, son of Thráin."
"Leave him to me; kill everyone else!"
At Azog's command, all the Werewolves scrambled up the trees, biting and tearing.
The Orcs seemed to enjoy the struggle of their victims before death, so they didn't use arrows to kill them, but instead let the Werewolves press closer step by step, until the Dwarves fell into despair and fear.
The Dwarves looked at the giant wolves below, baring their fangs, pushing them back with their weapons while shouting loudly.
"Quick, think of something! I don't want to end up in the bellies of these giant wolves and then be pulled out!"
"Where is Luke? When will he come?"
"If only Luke were here, he could just throw that crying grass of his over, and we wouldn't have so much trouble!"
"Don't even think about it; Luke has thousands of Orcs and Werewolves to deal with; how could he get rid of them so easily?"
Bilbo hugged the tree trunk tightly to avoid being shaken off by the giant wolves, and asked Gandalf hopefully, "Gandalf, do you know when Luke will arrive?"
Gandalf shook his head. "I can't guarantee that. After all, he's facing thousands of Orcs and Werewolves; dealing with them isn't an easy task."
"And we cannot rely on Luke for everything; that's not good for you or for Luke."
As he spoke, he saw a moth on the tree, and his eyes lit up.
"However, if there's enough time, we might be able to call for help from some friends."
With that, he caught the moth, whispered to it in his palm, and then released it to fly away.
After enjoying a game of cat and mouse, the Orcs finally lost patience and ordered the Werewolves to push down the pine trees.
Under the immense pushing and biting force of the Werewolves , the pine trees fell one by one.
The people in the trees were forced to jump to another tree, thereby delaying time.
By the time everyone was on the last pine tree, it was swaying precariously, in danger of collapsing at any moment.
Facing the Werewolves closing in below, everyone was suddenly in despair.
Gandalf picked a pine cone, ignited it with his staff, and threw it to the ground. The flames quickly spread to the fallen pine trees, igniting a raging inferno.
Such rapid flames were clearly due to Gandalf's use of magic.
The fire temporarily forced the Werewolves to retreat, saving the last pine tree they were on.
But before anyone could breathe a sigh of relief, the overburdened pine tree, to everyone's horror, was uprooted and fell over the cliff.
Everyone was left dangling over the cliff, in danger of falling at any moment.
To buy more time for his companions, Thorin climbed down from the tree and chose to duel Azog once more.
But this time, Thorin was unable to repeat his previous victory; he was easily defeated by Azog and severely wounded.
Just as Thorin was about to be killed by Azog, Bilbo wildly swung his sting, stopping Azog's final blow.
Having his chance to kill his sworn enemy interrupted, Azog was filled with rage and murderous intent, and with one hammer blow, he sent Bilbo's sword flying.
"Kill him!" Azog commanded his mount, the giant Warg, then continued to try and kill Thorin.
"Diffindo!" A dazzling spell struck the Warg that was biting at Bilbo.
The Warg was instantly torn into countless fragments.
Bilbo was startled, then his face lit up with surprise: "Luke!"
Seeing his mount torn apart, Azog was startled by the sudden turn of events.
The next second, his keen premonition of danger instantly made him react, grabbing a subordinate and holding him in front of himself.
Luke's magic followed immediately, striking the Orc in front of him.
The body instantly fell into Diffindo, and black blood splattered all over Azog.
"Gûl-Agh!"
Azog looked warily at Luke, who had suddenly appeared.
Seeing him appear safely here, but not seeing the other Orc team, his heart sank immediately.
"Are you looking for this?"
Luke threw the Orc Leader's head in front of Azog.
"I've already sent that Orc team to hell; you probably won't be able to wait for them to arrive."
"Or I can send you to meet them too… Diffindo!"
Villains die from talking too much. Although Luke didn't consider himself a villain, he still attacked without hesitation, adhering to the principle of quick resolution.
If Azog, the Orc Leader, were eliminated here, the Orcs would temporarily be leaderless. Perhaps the subsequent pursuit and the Battle of the Five Armies at the Lonely Mountain would no longer occur.
Luke's magic was fast, and Azog's reaction speed was not slow.
Among Orcs, strength is revered, and Azog's leadership position was earned by killing countless competitors to reach the pinnacle.
Relying on his superior physical strength and reaction speed, Azog dodged Luke's spell, and for those he couldn't dodge, he directly pulled nearby subordinates to use as meat shields.
Seeing himself at a disadvantage, Azog raised his intact arm and fired a sleeve arrow from his wrist.
It was a Morgul Arrow inscribed with dark spells.
Luke was vigilant and immediately used a Levitation Charm to control a section of pine wood to block in front of him.
But this also gave Azog an opportunity. He directly pulled an Orc subordinate from a Warg, flipped onto it, turned, and fled.
The other Orcs and Werewolves also fled in disarray.
"Luke, don't let Azog escape!" the Dwarves shouted anxiously.
"Don't worry, he can't escape," Luke said unhurriedly, looking calmly at the fleeing Azog, as if he had been prepared all along.
The next second, Azog and the Warg, who hadn't run far, plunged into the mud, into a swamp that had appeared in front of the trap at some unknown time.
The Orcs and Werewolves behind them also followed, struggling in the muddy swamp.
Azog did not give up struggling. He directly stepped on the Warg to climb out of the swamp, then mercilessly used his subordinate Orcs' Werewolves as stepping stones, leaped high, and jumped to the other side of the swamp.
"Wizard, I remember you. You will be my lifelong enemy, Azog!" Azog stared intently at Luke, his arch-nemesis now shifted from Thorin to this Wizard.
His response was a dazzling spell.
"Bombarda!"
The immense explosive power blew open the mountaintop, which then triggered a landslide.
"Ah, the mountain is collapsing!" The Dwarves screamed in terror, as cracks had already appeared on the cliff where they were, threatening to disintegrate at any moment.
"Don't panic, our Giant Eagle friends are here!" Gandalf gave everyone good news.
No sooner had he spoken than a clear eagle cry echoed in the sky. Over a dozen massive Giant Eagles flew towards them, grabbing them and flying away amidst their exclamations.
Luke was also targeted by a Giant Eagle. Before he could react, it swooped down, grabbed him, and then threw him onto the back of another Giant Eagle.
Such an exhilarating scene made Luke gasp in surprise.
As everyone was carried into the sky by the Giant Eagles, the mountaintop and cliff below could no longer support themselves, quickly disintegrating and collapsing, carrying all the Orcs and Werewolves with them to their deaths, crushed and buried by the massive rocks.
"Hmm? He's not dead yet? Is he really that tough?" Luke had originally just taken out his Palantír to check if Azog was dead, only to see that he was still alive.
It turned out that during the landslide and fall, Azog had hooked onto the cliff face with the iron hook attached to his severed arm, avoiding being killed by the fall or crushed.
Could this be the destiny of a villain Boss? He just won't die until the grand finale?
Luke didn't believe it.
He patted the Giant Eagle beneath him: "Brother Eagle, can we discuss something?"
"Would you mind taking me down first? How about I go kill that Azog and then we leave?"
The Giant Eagle let out a clear cry and, without giving Luke time to react, instantly plummeted downwards.
The immense feeling of weightlessness made Luke's heart pound in his throat.
Meanwhile, Azog.
Having survived, he looked at his subordinates buried by the landslide's massive rocks and let out a roar of anger and unwillingness.
"Gûl-ghash, krum-ghâsh!" ("Wizard, I will have you pay for this in blood!")
"Are you calling me, Azog?" A teasing voice echoed from above.
Azog was startled and looked up, instantly seeing Luke flying down on a Giant Eagle.
Understanding the difference in strength, he turned to flee without a word.
But Luke didn't give him another chance to escape. "Diffindo!"
The spell instantly struck Azog.
Accompanied by a scream, Azog's body was covered in cracks, like shattered porcelain, with black blood continuously gushing out.
But even so, Azog still had one breath left.
"You're really hard to kill, Azog," Luke sighed, his eyes filled with coldness. "But no matter what, today is your dying day!"
"Diffindo!"
Azog's expression stiffened, his blood-red eyes gradually dimmed, and he completely perished.
Looking at the deceased Azog, Luke took a deep breath.
"Azog is dead. The trajectory of fate has changed. I wonder if the Battle of the Five Armies will still occur later?"
"Luke."
Gandalf flew over on a Giant Eagle, and the others followed.
Upon seeing Azog's corpse, the Dwarves cheered, celebrating the death of their mortal enemy.
Gandalf was also very pleased and approving.
"Luke, you have killed Azog, the King of Orcs. This news will quickly spread from the Orcs throughout all of Middle-earth. The title 'Foe of Orcs' truly suits you!"
"However, in return, you will also become the enemy of all Orcs. They will want to eliminate you quickly, so you must be prepared for that."
"I understand, thank you for the warning, Gandalf."
Luke nodded, but he felt no psychological pressure about it.
With Azog killed, the group did not linger and flew away on the Giant Eagles.
The Giant Eagles were messengers of Manwë, King of the Valar. They were large, intelligent, and could speak human languages. Their responsibility was to report news from across Middle-earth to Manwë and to assist the Free Peoples of Middle-earth against evil.
Gandalf was also one of the Maias subordinate to Manwë, so he had a good relationship with the Giant Eagle race and could summon them for help.
The Giant Eagles were very fast. The group rode them, flying over the Misty Mountains, and only stopped when they reached Carrock on the Anduin River.
As for why they didn't fly directly to the Lonely Mountain, on one hand, the Giant Eagles lived in the Misty Mountains, primarily responsible for monitoring the Orcs in the mountains, and were unwilling to leave the Misty Mountains' vicinity too far.
On the other hand, it was for the same reason as Gandalf: the Giant Eagles were also not allowed to interfere too much with the powers of Middle-earth, mainly assisting in the fight against evil.
Luke could only sigh in exasperation at this.
Isn't this just like Journey to the West, where everyone has to undergo countless trials and tribulations over vast distances, instead of Sun Wukong just flying to the West to retrieve the scriptures in a single somersault?
After dismounting from the Giant Eagle's back, as Gandalf and the Eagle King were saying goodbye, Luke looked at the Eagle King's feather crest and suddenly had an idea, quickly saying:
"Gandalf, the core of your staff has never been found. Perhaps a Giant Eagle's feather could serve as your staff core!"