Bear School Astartes

Just in time, when Gandalf was feeling awkward and had nothing to say, there came another heavy yet nimble sound of hooves from outside.

And the exclamations of the residents of Long Lake Town.

The old wizard’s eyes shifted cunningly, feeling a lot more at ease.

Sure enough, as the footsteps approached, a tall figure walked toward the open military tent.

”Lann?”

Bard’s tightly knit eyebrows slightly relaxed upon seeing the tall figure ducking inside, but he still didn’t feel truly at ease.

”So, how did the negotiation with Sorlin go?”

Bard actually had no hope, he was just asking casually.

He was still holding a wine glass from Thranduil’s table, offering it to the demon hunter.

But upon entering, Lann first raised an eyebrow at Gandalf standing to the side, then said, ”Well, it’s settled. The first batch of treasure will be sent out by sunset today. Long Lake Town needs to send someone to the Lonely Mountain Gate to receive it.”

”Huh... Huh?!”

Bard and Thranduil were stunned.

”You said he agreed?” Bard said blankly, ”I thought I heard wrong. How did you manage it?”

He had talked to Sorlin before; his eccentric, unreasonable behavior made one wonder if the King Under the Mountain still had any sanity.

”It wasn’t too hard.” Lann took a sip from the wine glass handed to him by Bard, ”He cares most about the Aken Gemstone, I used that to show him the importance of trustworthiness.”

The dragon sickness is almost like a curse, or a hereditary family disease.

From Sorlin’s appearance, it was clear this was not an easy issue.

However, by using the [Yakxi Rune] to slightly influence his already unstable mental state, and with words to control the rhythm and emotions of the negotiation,

In the end, I managed to make Sorlin, who was originally clamoring ’not to give away a single piece of gold,’ start to shell out money.

Sorlin exhibited great pain in the process, unable to describe his attachment to the gold.

Yet, as he actually began to part with the gold, his spirit was somewhat relieved.

Extremely contradictory.

It was as if the magic power of the gold truly entwined his soul.

”But...” Lann turned to Thranduil, ”The starlight white gemstone is not easy to find, I’m afraid they will have to wait until they locate it to return it to you.”

”You know, they had been maneuvering around Smaug in there for some time before finally driving that evil dragon out. During this period, the entire treasure chamber was thrown into disarray.”

”I went in to see it; it’s really a golden silver sea piled together. If your starlight white gemstone is not large, it will take them quite some time to find.”

Thranduil’s eyes narrowed slightly.

”What if I let people in to help them find it? Fourteen people working is indeed slow; wouldn’t more people speed things up?”

Lann looked wordlessly at the Elf King, spreading his hands as well.

”The dwarves just saw you lead a large army over and even built a temporary city gate overnight... now you want the elves to enter the Lonely Mountain?”

”Thranduil, I think by the time your proposal is communicated to the dwarves, the agreement I fought for can be considered invalid. The dwarves could not possibly agree to let outsiders enter the Lonely Mountain at such a sensitive time.”

Thranduil grunted discontentedly, ”So I can only wait here idly?”

”Or.” Lann also shook his head, speaking with a hint of anger in his tone. ”You could just break in, kill the fourteen people inside, just because they agreed to your demands but are slow to act?”

This was, of course, a retort against Thranduil.

Though the Elf King of the Woodland Kingdom appeared proud and elegant, almost everyone standing before him felt looked down upon and belittled.

However, previous interactions have shown that elves truly are kind creatures.

Even with a cold face and words, Thranduil did not truly turn a blind eye to the freezing and starving refugees of Long Lake Town.

In fact, some elves were even actively taking care of the elderly, weak, and women among the refugees from Long Lake Town.

Within their capabilities, the elves couldn’t bear to see tragedies.

Being the first children created by Ilúvatar, not only are they sacred and powerful in strength, but they also possess admirable qualities.

This generally high level of morality reassures Lann that Thranduil would not truly launch an assault on the Lonely Mountain at such a time.

The dwarves have already compromised, but their abilities and the tense situation require time to implement.

Merely for this reason, would they kill these dozen people?

Thranduil wouldn’t do such a brutal thing, nor would the elves of the Woodland Kingdom.

Sure enough, under Lann’s tilted head gaze, this Elf King, though grunting displeasedly, said nothing more.

He merely slammed the wine glass onto the table and turned his head aside.

This was a gesture of sending them off.

The few people were perceptive enough to look at each other, then quietly exited Thranduil’s military tent.

”Great!”

After leaving the tent, Bard finally felt excited enough to call out in a lowered voice, pumping his clenched fist firmly.

His previously frowning face now flushed with excitement.

”I’ll go gather people now, prepare to receive the gold!”

With a hard slap on Lann’s arm, he ran off towards the residents of Long Lake Town in the distance.

With Bard gone, the distant townspeople burst into joyful cheers.

Who wouldn’t be happy to get the promised gold without going to war?

Not far from the tent, the Qilin and the Rong Buqiu on its back were surrounded and observed by a few elves with expressions of affection and curiosity.

The two were already accustomed to this kind of situation; having traveled with Lann for so long, if they were still not used to it, they’d seem too fragile.

The Three-Floral Elu Cat saw the boss come out, and with a light jump off the Qilin’s back, it approached.

”Gandalf? Were you beaten up, meow?”

The cat curiously looked up from below, noticing Gandalf’s face seemed as if he had been harshly beaten.

”Thank you for your concern, Rong Buqiu.” The old wizard politely bent down and patted the cat’s head, ”But I’m fine now.”

Lann said nothing from the side.

In fact, the Demon Hunter could feel that though Gandalf appeared very disheveled, with blue-red eyes still oozing bruises,

his breathing, physical strength, and power were all about the same as before.

Either his injuries are fake, or... this old fellow has already internally recovered significantly before the external wounds faded.

Lann leaned toward the second explanation.

After greeting Rong Buqiu, Gandalf subtly walked alongside Lann, chatting as they moved toward a secluded area of River Valley City.

”Your statement just now was quite clever.”

Gandalf praised in a low voice.

”What?”

Lann glanced at him askance.

”No need to play dumb with me, Lann.” Gandalf chuckled softly. ”Thranduil wants to get things done quickly and then leave this chaotic and dangerous land, but you wisely held him back.”

”That’s good; in the face of powerful enemies, we can’t lack the strength of the elves.”

”Though war is brutal, refusing to face it will only lead to a more brutal outcome.”

Now that Gandalf had spoken so openly, Lann had no reason to hide.

The Demon Hunter also sighed.

”I can understand his aversion to war, but weakness cannot defeat the enemy. If the Beastmen conquer the Lonely Mountain, I can’t imagine the Woodland Kingdom’s survival.”

”As Thranduil himself said: elves are few in number and grow slowly.”

”I just hope this time they don’t suffer too many casualties.”

Gandalf cradled the Magic Staff in his arm, pulled a pipe from his belt, and lit it with his fingers.

”Don’t worry about Thranduil; his reaction just now shows he’s accepted it. I’ve known him for quite some time—he’s passively avoiding war but not afraid of it.”

Gandalf clearly felt in high spirits; puffing his pipe, the smoke turned into two cheerful butterflies that flew far before dissipating.

”Oh, I saw Smaug’s corpse when I rode past Long Lake Town—tsk, tsk... you hit hard.”

”Not hard enough; otherwise, I’d be the one lying there.”

Lann tugged at his collar, speaking indifferently.

”Is its corpse okay? No signs of being washed away or rotting?”

”Are you planning to use Smaug’s dragon scales and skin to make a new set of armor?”

Gandalf saw Lann looking uneasy without armor and guessed what he intended to do.

”No, it takes a long time for the dragon’s body to rot; it’s nestled comfortably in Long Lake Town. After this ordeal, the dwarves of Lonely Mountain and the elves of Woodland Kingdom surely won’t be stingy about making you armor.”

”You’re a hero who helped significantly.” Gandalf puffed out two spirals of smoke from his nostrils, ”Heh, much more useful than an old man like me.”

”Speaking of you...” Lann turned back, scanning the bedraggled Gandalf, ultimately focusing on his staff. ”This is Radagast’s staff, right? What exactly happened at Dorguldu?”

”What else.” Mentioning Dorguldu, Gandalf’s smile disappeared.

”Sorun has indeed returned; he suppressed my power. The whole of Dorguldu has been a base for the Beastmen’s military preparations all along, hidden from Radagast’s detection by Sorun’s concealment spell.”

”When I was exhausted and captured, locked in a hanging cage, countless Beastmen and Wargs poured out from there.”

”Sorun’s power there was strong and stable; without rest or replenishment, I could only weaken step by step.”

”Fortunately, rescue arrived last night, brought by Radagast.”

At this point, Lann instinctively tapped the hilt of the Lady of the Lake’s Sword at his waist.

”Lady Galadriel?”

”Not just her.” Gandalf waved a hand, ”Also Elrond, Saruman.”

”All nine Ringwraiths showed themselves, and that burning Eye of Sauron suddenly appeared. No one can say ’Sorun has been vanquished’ to escape reality anymore.”

”Seeing me still weakening, Lady Galadriel had Radagast send me away from Dorguldu first.”

”In the end, I only saw the old fortress first erupt in a burst of holy light, countering the burning Eye. Then from the north, a slender band of starlight connected.”

”Light of Earendil.”

Lann murmured softly; Gandalf nodded while biting his pipe.

”Yes, the benevolent Light of Earendil. Once it was linked with the starlight, Lady Galadriel seized the chance and drove away Sorun’s Eye.”