Meanwhile, the banquet in the mountain-top hall had concluded. Although the female Elves performing the dances had developed an admiration for the handsome Mike, being proponents of platonic love, they did not pursue a more intimate relationship with Mike based on a single encounter.
After escorting Mike to the elf guest room, the female Elves departed, mutually "supervising" each other.
"As expected, good looks alone aren't enough. Matters of the heart still need time…" Mike, who had enjoyed plenty of 'female elf tofu' tonight, was not disappointed by the female Elves' departure.
Having regained his composure, he sat on a stone stool and began planning his next journey.
According to his previous plan, Mike had intended to tour the territories of the three elf races first, but now it seemed such a plan would be too time-consuming.
Intending to visit all corners of Middle-earth in one go, after leaving Rivendell, he could continue east through the Mines of Moria, then visit the human Gondor defense line in the far east.
Next, he would travel downstream along the Anduin River, passing by Lothlórien and Mirkwood, finally arriving at the Lonely Mountain.
This route planning was actually the most time-saving and labor-efficient way to traverse Middle-earth.
Just as Mike was readjusting his travel route, Thorin, who had emerged from the Crystal Palace, arrived at the elf resting area and found his Dwarf companions.
As expected, Thorin informed the others about the runes on the map and the troubles the adventure party had encountered.
Upon learning that the adventure party needed to reach the Lonely Mountain before Durins Day, the Dwarves unanimously suggested departing first thing tomorrow morning.
Before that, however, the Dwarves wanted to fill their stomachs to prepare for tomorrow morning's journey.
So, with everyone's unanimous agreement, the Dwarves stealthily left the resting area and crept towards the Elves' food storage room.
They had done this before at Bilbo's house, so they were quite skilled at it.
It was at this moment that Bilbo, who arrived a little later, saw the Dwarves' secretive movements.
"Hey, Bilbo, it's time to prove your skills as a Thief!"
Before Bilbo could even ask, Kili and Fili quietly approached the Hobbit, ushering him into the group.
"You're going to steal the Elves' food? Isn't that a bad idea?!" Upon learning the Dwarves' plan, Bilbo showed a surprised expression.
After all, stealing is never a good thing.
However, despite saying so, Bilbo, who had also been feeling cooped up the whole journey, really wanted to prove himself useful to the adventure party, even if it meant taking on the role of a Thief.
So, upon reaching the outside of the elf warehouse, Bilbo, under the watchful eyes of the Dwarves, entered the warehouse alone and subsequently brought back a large quantity of sausages, smoked fish, various fresh meats, and several barrels of fine wine for the Dwarves.
It must be said that the Hobbit's large feet were quite talented in the art of being a Thief.
"Well done…"
After praising Bilbo, the Dwarves each grabbed food and drink, found a secluded grove, and prepared to throw an outdoor party.
"This is what real people should eat! Bilbo, you're our lucky star, you saved the Dwarves' stomachs…"
Before long, as the scent of roasted meat and the smell of smoke wafted through the grove, the Dwarves gradually became carried away.
Kili and Fili even put their arms around Bilbo's shoulders, praising him endlessly, as close as blood brothers.
"Perhaps I can call Mr. Mike over; he didn't eat much at the banquet tonight either…" Bilbo, having received praise, suddenly remembered his human friend.
This is why he's a good person to be around.
But as soon as the Hobbit's words left his mouth, the scene instantly fell silent. All the Dwarves stopped what they were doing, their gazes shifting between Bilbo and Thorin.
The Dwarves were not foolish; it was not difficult to sense that Thorin and the human did not get along.
Bilbo's words were undoubtedly touching a raw nerve for Thorin.
"You brought all this food, so you certainly have the right to decide. Besides, Mr. Mike helped us on the plains before, so he's also a friend of the Dwarves…" Just as the atmosphere solidified, Kili spoke up to ease the Hobbit's embarrassment.
"Kili is right, there's still plenty of food here, enough to entertain one more person," Fili immediately added, speaking up for Bilbo.
Kili and Fili were Thorin's nephews, also descendants of the Dwarves royal family, and held some influence among the Dwarves.
"Why are you all looking at me? Keep eating!" Thorin raised the roasted meat in his hand, not wanting to lose face in front of his nephews.
At the same time, his disregard for the Hobbit's peacemaking approach was also a tacit agreement to the latter's suggestion.
"Great! I'll go call Mr. Mike over right away…" As the lively atmosphere returned, a smile appeared on Bilbo's face.
Then, after greeting the Dwarves, he ran towards the resting area.
A simple character has its simple advantages; the Hobbit's happiness is just that simple.
"The Dwarves are having a roasted meat feast? Let's go together." Mike, who had already finalized his next travel route, decided to go and support Bilbo after hearing his description, and also to improve his own meal.
Although the vegetarian feast invited by the Elf King tasted quite good, it lacked some richness.
It should be noted here that while the elf race prefers vegetarian food, they do, in fact, eat meat.
Therefore, the vegetarian banquet the Elf King prepared for everyone today might have been intended to annoy the Dwarves.
And as Mike went to join the Dwarves for food and drink, King Elrond and Gandalf in the Crystal Palace also decided to hold a temporary White Council in Rivendell tomorrow.
It was a high-level meeting, only convened when major decisions were needed concerning Middle-earth.
Such a meeting also required the gathering of powerful individuals from various races, including Elves, humans, Dwarves, and Wizards.
After sending invitations overnight to Galadriel in the Golden Wood and the most powerful Wizard, Saruman the White, King Elrond and Gandalf both emerged from the Crystal Palace.
"By the way, that banquet tonight, were you intentionally targeting the Dwarves?" Looking at the firelight in the distant grove and hearing the laughter of the Dwarves, Gandalf asked the Elf King beside him, implying something.
It was evident that Gandalf was much more relaxed now that someone else was sharing the burden of Middle-earth's safety.
"Who knows?" King Elrond also saw the Dwarves hiding in the grove, having a party. He smiled but showed no intention of holding them accountable.
In fact, the Elf King later even led away the surrounding elf patrol teams.
Watching the Elf King's retreating figure, Gandalf also smiled silently, then strode towards the direction of the Dwarf gathering.
"I refuse to believe that a human's drinking capacity could be better than a Dwarf's… For the honor of the Dwarves, I shall drink another cup with you…"
"Go, Glóin! Don't lose to the human!!!"
"…"
When the Wizard arrived at the grove, he saw Glóin, looking like a battle-hardened warrior, slurring his words and challenging Mike to a drinking contest.
Beside them, a group of Dwarves were egging them on.
Of course, several Dwarves had already fallen to the ground from the drinking contest.
"Whether it's a one-on-one or a team challenge, bring it on! I welcome all challengers…"
Mike's boisterous voice also came from the crowd, and then he was seen tilting his head back, heartily downing a large goblet of fine wine.
This uninhibited display instantly made the surrounding Dwarves cheer.
Then it was Glóin's turn; this Dwarf warrior, equally unwilling to admit defeat, picked up a wine cup larger than a human head and took a long time to finish the wine inside.
Then, after shouting "Good wine!" he collapsed onto the ground.
That unreliable appearance instantly drew sighs of regret from the Dwarves.
"Alright, stop messing around. Gandalf is here." Seeing his companions' "disgraceful" behavior and their growing familiarity with Mike, Thorin seized the wizard's arrival as an opportunity to call everyone to order.
He didn't let the Dwarves continue their antics.
"Mike, are you alright? You drank so much just now." At this moment, Bilbo also took the opportunity to go to Mike's side.
Though the Hobbits were slow-witted, they sensed that Mike had been drinking to stand up for him earlier.
"Do I look like I'm not alright?" Mike countered with a smile.
"No..." Bilbo answered honestly.
Looking at Mike, who wasn't red-faced or out of breath, he somewhat doubted where the several barrels of wine he had just consumed had gone.
Next, with Thorin intentionally controlling the Dwarves's drinking, the night gathering quickly came to an abrupt end.
After tasting a few pieces of roasted meat, Gandalf also bid farewell to everyone and went to his resting place.
The next day, as sunlight streamed into the house, a female elf knocked on Mike's door.
"Elrond and Gandalf are waiting for you at the mountain palace. They said they have something to discuss and would like you to come over." The female elf before him had come with a task.
"Oh, besides Elrond and Gandalf, who else is there?" Mike put on his clothes and walked to the female elf's side.
Instantly, his nose caught a faint, pleasant fragrance of mountain flowers and plants.
The female elf noticed Mike's impolite behavior, but she didn't dislike it much. With a slight blush on her face, she turned and led the way, saying, "Besides Elrond and Gandalf, Queen Galadriel and the White Wizard Saruman are also here today..."
There was no need to guess; everyone qualified to attend the White Council was a significant figure.
"So, I'm a person of status in Middle-earth now?" Mike chatted and laughed with the female elf leading the way as he followed her steps towards the Crystal Palace on the mountain top.
Other female Elves they encountered along the way also greeted Mike.
At first glance, Mike really seemed to be attracting attention.
"Hmph—"
Just as Mike was greeting the female Elves along the way, a faint cold hmph suddenly came from his ear.
Looking up, in the morning light, a beautiful female elf in a blue gauze dress was frowning and looking in their direction.
Behind her were two other female Elves who looked like guards.
"That's Arwen, Elrond's daughter, our Elf Princess. Most of the time she lives in the Golden Wood, cared for by her grandmother, Queen Galadriel..." The female elf beside Mike thoughtfully introduced the Elf Princess's identity, also revealing, "She only came to Rivendell this morning with Queen Galadriel."
Arwen had sapphire-like eyes, and her figure was surprisingly no less impressive than the half-elf Sophia's. She truly lived up to her title as an Elf Princess.
Her beauty was enough for Mike to overlook her previous rudeness and nod in greeting.
"Hmph—"
However, this Elf Princess seemed to have a bad temper. Upon seeing Mike's smile, she deliberately turned her head away.
"What's wrong with your princess? Did she perhaps raise pigs?" Mike naturally wouldn't put on a warm face to a cold shoulder, no matter how beautiful she was.
His sudden playful remark made the female elf beside him "pfft" and laugh out loud.
Then, the female elf realized her behavior was rude, so she quickly led Mike up the mountain, not forgetting to quietly defend the Elf Princess: "Princess Arwen is a bit aloof; perhaps she's not used to the lively scene in the square just now."
"I don't think she's aloof; I think she has an issue with me." Mike shook his head, then stopped bothering with the Elf Princess.
However, Mike's sixth sense was not wrong; Princess Arwen indeed had an issue with him.
This Elf Princess had originally heard that a human hero had arrived in Rivendell, which was why she had rushed here overnight with her grandmother.
As it turned out, meeting him was not as good as hearing about him.
Although this hero had a handsome appearance, his conduct was very flamboyant, and his personality was frivolous, which was far from the "hero" image Arwen had imagined.
Of course, no matter what the Elf Princess thought, Mike had no time to pay attention, as he had already arrived at the Crystal Palace on the mountain top.
[Elf Body (Trait)] x2... [Mana Spring (Trait)] x3... [Elven Magic (Experience)] x2... [White Magic (Experience)]...
[Ring of Water * Energy +5 million]... [Nature * Energy +15 million]... [White Magic * Energy +9 million]...
Upon entering the palace, Mike continuously collected a large number of attribute traits.
This time's harvest could be said to be the most he had gained since coming to Middle-earth.
It was more than what he had gained from Gandalf and Elrond individually before.
"Hmph—"
Just as Mike was counting his gains, a faint cold hmph was heard again.
However, this time it wasn't a beautiful woman who made the sound, but a white-bearded old man in a white wizard's robe.
It seemed Mike's late arrival had given him an opinion.
"A sore throat is a sickness that needs early treatment—" Facing the grim-faced old man, Mike upheld his tradition of respecting the old and cherishing the young.
"Nonsense—!" The White Wizard clearly did not accept Mike's concern.
Putting on airs, he gathered a powerful aura and pressed it towards Mike, as if to make the young human in front of him make a fool of himself.
Unlike the gentle aura of other wizards, Saruman's white magic carried a hint of sharpness.
Unfortunately, this powerful White Wizard had picked the wrong person this time.
Across from him, two clusters of holy white flames instantly appeared in Mike's eyes. With a glare, he nearly made the White Wizard fall off his stool.
"You..." Saruman, caught off guard and made a fool of, showed clear anger on his face, seemingly wanting to continue arguing with Mike.
"Enough, Saruman. There are no enemies here..." Just then, Queen Galadriel, who was standing by the window with Gandalf, turned her head, stopped the White Wizard's behavior, and then smiled at Mike, saying, "Welcome, human hero. Your abilities seem even stronger than we imagined."
"Thank you, you're also more charming than I imagined, Queen Galadriel." Mike smiled and greeted the elven queen.
Although she wasn't the most beautiful among the female Elves, she was certainly the most elegant.
After Mike had demonstrated his abilities and the elven queen had spoken, the tense atmosphere in the palace immediately dissipated.
Clearly, everyone recognized Mike's strength and also showed great respect for the elven queen.
"The Dwarves descendant has already left with his companions. Now it's time for us to discuss serious matters." With everything settled, Queen Galadriel signaled her son-in-law, Elrond, that the meeting could begin.
The departure of the Dwarves was considered a voluntary renunciation of participation in this council, so the number of attendees was now complete.
"Hmm—" As the host, Elrond cleared his throat and said, "I believe everyone is aware of the resurgence of dark forces in Middle-earth, so I won't elaborate further."
"The reason for convening this council today is that Gandalf has made a new discovery."
At this point, Elrond stepped aside, gesturing for Gandalf to come forward and speak about the Cursed Sword and the Dark Lord Sauron.
"This Cursed Sword was obtained from the Rhudaur Hills by the Brown Wizard Radagast and Mr. Mike. As one of the parties involved, Mr. Mike might be able to share the situation at the time with us." Gandalf took out the leather-wrapped black sword and placed it on the stone table, then motioned for Mike to come to him.
"This, this ominous sword… it's the Angmar Witch-king's sword, I couldn't be mistaken. How could it be here?…"
Upon seeing the black sword, everyone present looked solemn, and Saruman even stood up excitedly.
"Calm down, Saruman." Galadriel was the first to recover. After calming the agitated White Wizard, she turned to Mike again and said, "Human Brave One, can you explain the origin of this Cursed Sword to me? That is very important to us."
"Of course," Mike walked to the stone table and recounted, "About a month ago, Radagast, who lives in Rhosgobel, and I tracked a dark force to the Rhudaur Wasteland."
"There, we encountered the Ringwraith Angmar Witch-king, and this Cursed Sword was obtained from him."
"Then, we also saw the phantom of the Dark Lord Sauron."
The matter was not complicated and could be easily explained; what was important was the information revealed in this series of events.
The successive appearance of the Ringwraith and the Dark Lord was not a good omen.
"How is this possible? The Dark Lord died over a thousand years ago. And if you really encountered the Dark Lord, how did you and that good-for-nothing Brown Wizard survive?" Saruman demanded sharply.
It was clear that the White Wizard had lost his mind due to the news of the Dark Lord Sauron's resurrection. At the same time, it was also clear that he held a very deep prejudice against Radagast, who spent his days with small animals.
"Radagast would not lie about such a thing. According to him, the Dark Lord Sauron who appeared at that time was not strong and was directly repelled by Mr. Mike." Gandalf clarified for his friend, the Brown Wizard.
"The Dark Lord Sauron resurrected, and was even defeated by a human? What an absurd joke!" As he spoke, Saruman glanced at Mike, the contempt in his eyes self-evident.
As the most powerful White Wizard in Middle-earth, Saruman only trusted himself.
"Again and again, may I take that as you provoking me?" Even a mud figure has a three-point temper when repeatedly targeted, let alone Mike.
He immediately flashed in front of Saruman, the Flame Holy Sword appearing in his hand pointing directly at the other's nose.
The powerful flame energy caused a few strands of white hair on the White Wizard's forehead to curl from the heat.
"Calm down, Mike. Saruman's personality is like that, he didn't mean to offend." Galadriel was startled by Mike's sudden burst of power, and then spoke up to explain for the White Wizard.
"Queen Galadriel is right, Saruman didn't mean to offend. And now the dark forces are eyeing us covetously; we shouldn't be fighting among ourselves at a time like this." Gandalf also spoke, persuading Mike.
At the same time, everyone present had reached a consensus that they had previously underestimated the strength of the human before them.
It should be known that the power Mike had just unleashed was no less than that of anyone present.
"Alright, I'll give Gandalf and the Elf Queen some face; I'll let you off this time." Mike put away the Flame Holy Sword, stared at Saruman, and warned, "Next time you speak, remember to think first."
Although the White Wizard Saruman was the most powerful wizard in Middle-earth, due to his personality, his relationship with the other powerful individuals present was not very close.
This also led to Mike suddenly attacking him; the others present merely intervened to mediate, but no one actually stepped in to help Saruman.
"I still reserve my opinion…" Saruman said with dim eyes, "Of course, I will personally investigate the resurrection of the Ringwraith and the Dark Lord Sauron later."
Although the White Wizard did not believe that the human before him was stronger than himself, he did not deliberately cause trouble again.
After all, his mission was also to protect the peace of Middle-earth.
Next, with the shadow of the Cursed Sword hanging over them, everyone shared some more news about Middle-earth, and then the White Council was declared over.
"Mithrandir, you've worked hard during this time." After everyone had left, Queen Galadriel accompanied Gandalf back to the window and whispered, "It's not easy to help the stubborn Dwarves reclaim the Lonely Mountain, but I want to tell you: no matter where you're, if you need me, I will be by your side, fighting alongside you!"
Gandalf was a very responsible Mair, constantly working for the peace of Middle-earth, and sometimes he would feel lost.
For example, he had helped the Dwarves so much on this journey, yet when the Dwarves left today, not a single one came to inform him.
A little earlier, Gandalf was standing in his current position, watching the Dwarves secretly leave.
It was at that moment that he realized the Dwarves had other plans for today.
"Thank you," Gandalf wearily thanked the Elf Queen.
He thanked her for providing him a haven where his spirit could rest.
As for the Dwarves' cleverness, Gandalf decided to let them stew for a few days. As for the wizard himself, he could take this time to recuperate in Rivendell.
Meanwhile, Mike, walking out of the crystal palace, saw a familiar figure as he passed the Elf Great Hall.
After all, there was only one person in the hall, making it hard not to notice.
"What's so good about a few broken sword fragments?" Mike walked over to the Elf Princess and looked together at the fragments of the King's Sword enshrined in the hall.
"What do you know?!" Arwen looked at the human beside her, with a hint of displeasure in her eyes, and explained, "This was once the sword of the Human King Isildur; it once followed the King of Men in defeating the Dark Lord Sauron."
Indeed, worshiping "heroes" was the nature of female Elves.
Speaking of the achievements of the Human King Isildur over a thousand years ago, Arwen's expression also became solemn.
"The King's Sword? It has a big name, but it's still just a pile of scrap metal now." Mike shook his head speechlessly.
This broken King's Sword was at most comparable in quality to those three ancient Elven swords. The reason it was so famous was largely due to the meaning the sword represented.
To be precise, this King's Sword did not live up to its name, or rather, it was more show than substance.
"Why are you so annoying?" Seeing Mike's disdainful expression, Princess Arwen also said impatiently, "Don't bother me here, go find the female Elves who are willing to accompany you."
"Sigh, that's exactly what I intended, goodbye then." Mike waved his hand indifferently, then walked towards the Rivendell plaza where the female Elves gathered.
He had decided to stay in Rivendell for two more days to see if he could hook up with a few Elf girls.
After all, female Elves were truly captivating.
Behind him, the Elf Princess gritted her teeth in anger as she watched Mike's swaggering departure.
She didn't know what was wrong with her; she knew Mike would pass through the Great Hall after his meeting with her father (Elrond) and grandmother (Galadriel), yet she inexplicably ended up there.
As a result, the imagined "chance encounter" didn't happen, and instead, she ended up feeling completely annoyed.