Bear School Astartes

”Wait, wait, wait!”

Bard was in shock and disbelief. But to Lann, he actually already believed the Dwarf’s words; it’s just that the meaning behind them was too terrifying, causing him to reject acknowledging it from the bottom of his heart.

”First Dwarves, then a...human? And a clothed cat, followed by Beastmen? What is going on?”

”The situation is—Long Lake Town is in danger, Bard.”

Lann spoke calmly to him. When facing someone in a panic, a steady tone can help him regain his rationality.

”Those Beastmen started pursuing this group of Dwarves in front of you from the west side of Mist Mountains and have chased them all the way here without giving up.”

”I don’t think they’ll abandon their plan just because there’s a small town built on the lake, a fishing village.”

”Are you saying...” Bard’s pupils enlarged and he instinctively turned to look at his three children. ”They will come to kill?!”

”Highly likely.” Lann shook his head as he spoke.

”As long as it’s on this route, the Beastmen are almost certain not to spare any possible settlements. Are there any other settlements in this area now?”

No more.

This area once thrived because of the endless Gold and Gemstone in Lonely Mountain, but ever since the dragon attack.

Even if they didn’t die on that catastrophic day, the survivors dared not live so close to a dragon.

The human settlements and trade in this area began to decline until only the edge position of Long Lake Town remained.

This is the only possible place for the Dwarves to get supplies and rest on their forward journey; whether the Dwarves come or not, the Beastmen will certainly come.

At this moment, Bard seemed to think of something, he suddenly turned his head to look at Lann.

”Wait, how did you get over here? There must be...”

”There are watchers.” Lann spoke nonchalantly, ”But I let them sleep. By the way, are those the mayor’s men?”

”Yes! And you just knocked out the mayor’s men!”

Bard covered his forehead, speaking in difficulty.

”The mayor has been watching me, thinking I’ve threatened his power. I also know he’s watching me; it’s a sort of...understanding, I suppose. I stay under his nose without causing trouble, he won’t make things hard for me and my family.”

Lann nodded, indicating he understood the situation.

”But now, you two can put your little understanding aside for a moment.”

”Highly likely the Beastmen will come, and I knocked out the mayor’s hands in broad daylight, so you just take me directly to the mayor soon, we need him to prepare weapons.”

Saying that, Lann also made a troubled face.

”The security of this town looks loose enough, hardly better than a pile of sand.”

”Beastmen are born cruel killers and villains, I guess if they get fierce, they can scare away your guards.”

”Alright...alright...” Bard was still struggling to absorb and digest this information, he pinched his forehead as he agreed.

Bard walked over to his three children, looking worried as he held them, softly comforting them.

The children now don’t know what might happen in the future; they were born and grew up here, without even having seen Beastmen in the stories told.

But Bard knew what Beastmen were.

The Dwarves saw this, and the originally exuberant atmosphere became much quieter.

After all, though the Beastmen were inherently evil, with savage instincts, they seized any opportunity to inflict pain on others, spreading darkness, they won’t let go.

But these Beastmen fundamentally did follow their journey.

In the effort to reclaim their homeland, no one can say the Dwarves’ actions were wrong. But the trouble and harm brought to others in this process, they inevitably feel guilty.

Lann patted Philipp on the shoulder beside him, then walked towards the window where Sorlin and Balin were looking out.

Rong Buqiu had already mingled in the Dwarves’ group, taking out some snacks from a small backpack, which the Hobbits appreciated greatly.

Usually, Hobbits eat seven meals a day, each carefully prepared, striving for comfort.

But ever since going on an adventure, the once placid and comfort-loving Bilbo Baggins had been unable to eat seven meals a day for quite some time.

Approaching Sorlin, the leader, and Balin, the oldest Dwarf in the team, Lann naturally lowered his tone.

”Is that the Lonely Mountain, Elbo?”

Looking out from Bard’s house window, you could see the other side of the Long Lake, past a vast wilderness, there’s a prominent, towering snowy mountain.

Sorlin spoke in an almost dreamlike tone, ”Yes.”

”That’s our haunting homeland, inside lies the wealth accumulated by our ancestors...enough wealth to let my people live prosperously again!”

Balin shifted himself, sitting on a wooden barrel by the window, also gazing out.

Sorlin turned his head, looking at the Demon Hunter.

”I once made a contract with every participant in this team; each of the fourteen of us has the right to share one fourteenth of the net profit of this adventure.”

”Even though you’re not part of our team, I’m willing to give you half of what I deserve, Lann.”

Sorlin’s gaze was serious and sincere.

”I will always remember what you said for me in Rivendell, in front of the Elves.”

Lann shrugged, his expression as indifferent as if he had no idea of the wealth, which he indeed didn’t.

”You have fifteen people including Gandalf. What, not giving him a share?”

”He’s a Wizard; wealth isn’t what he cares about. Moreover, this expedition was his plan, and completing it is what he desires most. But you, you’re different; you can make use of the treasure, and when you spoke for us before, it was from the heart.”

Sorlin spoke in a low voice, ”Sincerity, in these dark times, is more precious than any treasure.”

Lann first smiled, then his face turned serious, indicating he was about to discuss something important.

The Demon Hunter squatted down to bring his mouth closer to the two most authoritative Dwarves in the expedition team, lowering his voice.

Sorlin and Balin also became serious at this point.

”Previously, Radagast and I called Gandalf away because we discovered some signs... very bad signs.”

He didn’t elaborate, and Sorlin and Balin didn’t care; they were now less than two days away from the Lonely Mountain, with all their thoughts focused on the snow-covered peaks in the distance.

Lann looked at the two of them.

”Simply put, your expedition to reclaim the kingdom faces troubles far greater than just one evil dragon, Sorlin.”

”The geographic position of the Lonely Mountain, its strategic significance, plus the enormous wealth it contains...”

Lann left his statement unfinished, his gaze full of meaning as he looked at the two Dwarves.

”Considering these factors together, you should realize: the Beastmen hunting you isn’t just due to a historical feud.”

”They have motivations based more on realism, based on profit.”

”Wait! Are you saying...” Sorlin seemed to realize many things at once, muttering to himself.

”Is it like this? This is why Azog the Defiler hunts us so relentlessly?!”

Balin showed the same expression.

They were indeed the higher-ups of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom before, but people often overlook things that have become routine around them.

When the Lonely Mountain still existed, standing strong, its role in stabilizing the strategy in the North was as natural as air.

Only when the dragon attacked and the Lonely Mountain was lost did people realize how precious it was.

But by then, Balin, Sorlin, and other leaders were entirely consumed by the plight of their displaced kin.

Just ensuring these homeless citizens were settled and sustained nearly cost them their lives.

They had no time to consider anything else.

Eventually, after a long time had passed, it was a Grey-robed Wizard who initiated this expedition, composed of traders, barrel-makers, cobblers, and others, to reclaim the Lonely Mountain.

”It seems you understand now, good.”

The Demon Hunter nodded at the enlightened expressions of the two Dwarves.

But Sorlin and Balin only felt a chill, their throats moving, unable to make a sound.

Not far away, the Dwarves were telling stories about their adventures to the three children of the Bard family.

The Hobbits were comfortably sharing snacks with Elu Cat and the big furball Bombo that had wedged in.

Though these heartwarming scenes were nearby, Sorlin and Balin felt them increasingly distant.

”Gandalf suggested you stop right here, Sorlin.”

Lann conveyed the Wizard’s advice to the Dwarves.

”The closer you get to success, the more frenzied the Beastmen and what they represent will become. In the worst-case scenario...”

”We might face, face an army of Beastmen?” Balin said, trying to remain composed.

But Lann coldly added.

”An army of Beastmen allied with the dragon.”

”Allied with the dragon? Dragons wouldn’t ally with lowly Beastmen!”

Sorlin said in anger.

”It’s not the Beastmen that could form an alliance with Smaug.” The Demon Hunter turned to him and said softly, ”Beastmen always have a master, don’t they?”

These ruthless and vile creatures, the Beastmen, were undoubtedly not the creation of Ilúvatar.

Since before the Sun and Moon rose, during the First Era, they were the servants of the previous Dark Demon Monarch, Morgoth.

They were the most basic and numerous army under Morgoth’s command.

In the ancient times of Ardan, the Battle of Sudden Flame, the Battle of Unnumbered Tears, the War of Wrath... the figures of Beastmen were everywhere in the campaigns against Morgoth.