Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1049 1031. Dwarf Team
It was an arrow.

Lan En's eyes accurately captured what was shooting towards the Qilin mask.

But unlike ordinary arrows, the arrowheads of this arrow are sharp and angular, and the craftsmanship is exquisite. And the force of the shot was obviously not a crossbow, but it was stronger than an ordinary crossbow?
The archer and the archery bow look unusual.

But it's not a hassle.

"Meow!"

The velvet ball sitting in Lan En's arms suddenly jumped from Qilin's back, along its long neck, to its head!

One of the kitten's paws is holding the unicorn's pale horn, and the other paw is holding the Thunder Cat Sword.

With a crisp sound of 'ding', the arrow shot towards Qilin was chopped away.

Then Qilin shook his head upward again, grabbing the velvet ball that held Cangjiao's body in place, and was thrown onto his back by it again.

The two of them usually play well together, so they work well together.

This series of movements is like flowing clouds and flowing water.

But this smooth and unusually light movement made the group in front of him even more surprised.

"Elves! They have pointed ears!"

"Shit! Have you ever seen such a small elf?"

They are all male and have rough and bold voices. Although it was just a flash of light just now, someone still got the general idea.

When the velvet ball fell back on the saddle, Qilin also carried Lan En and appeared completely in front of the group of people.

Everyone stopped talking.

They raised their heads in surprise, or took a few steps back unconsciously with some awe, and then raised their heads again.

Lan En, who was sitting on Qilin's back, was a little too tall for these people.

This was a group of dwarves, among whom there was also an old man in gray robe who was about 1.9 meters tall including the pointed hat.

Fourteen short figures.

Although he is short, he is stocky and powerful.

They look different, even strange. But as usual, the dwarves all have colorful and lush beards.

Moreover, these people seemed to have just experienced a hard battle. They were in a messy and tired shape, and they also had a foul smell.

No, not all dwarves. There's also a halfling.

It was a man wearing a red suit jacket, and his height was not out of place among a group of dwarves.

But he is neither strong nor stocky. He has no boots, his big feet are covered with thick calluses, and his insteps are covered with thick hair.

Lan En felt a sense of misplaced surprise.

In the Magical Middle Ages, his assets were first invested incorrectly because of his dwarf friends, and then he went to find a trustworthy shapeshifter to manage the funds. The most common shape of the shapeshifter was that of a halfling.

And now, at the other end of the celestial sphere, he was dealing with dwarves and halflings.

But compared with those philistine and shrewd halflings in the Magical Middle Ages, why does the person in front of me seem a little cute in temperament?

Qilin did not feel hostile or irritated because of the arrow shot at its face just now.

To be honest, even if the arrow just hit it, considering the physical quality of the ancient dragon in the New World, it might only be enough to break the skin.

Moreover, as long as it turned its head slightly, the visor attached to the magic harness could directly deflect the arrow.

So that arrow didn't make Qilin feel threatened at all.

At this time, its hooves the size of a sea bowl were pacing and trampling on the leaf litter of the grove.

Lan En sat on its back, looking down at this strange combination.

And in the eyes of the group of dwarves opposite.
"He's so big!"

A round, fat, red-haired dwarf that was almost spherical in shape clenched the ax in his hand while muttering inwardly to his companions.

"That weird horse is so big! And that cat! Did I read that correctly? The cat has two swords on its back? What are these?!"

A dwarf wearing a leather hat beside him also muttered.

"We've killed three ogres, and we're still afraid of him? Don't be a coward, Bombo!"

"But we didn't do those three ogres. Gandalf did it."

"Shut up! We almost won the battle without Gandalf!"

Thirteen dwarves, a halfling, and an old human in gray robe were divided into several groups, standing in different directions.

It seems that they are not ordinary miners and blacksmiths. It can be seen from their scattered positions that these people are veterans with group combat experience.

Among a group of dwarves standing a little further away, a young and handsome dwarf looked at the bow in his hand with suspicion.

It was a fine dwarf bow. It was no lighter than an elven longbow, but it had a strong bow body and a powerful shot.

But after the arrow went out just now, the arrow was chopped off by a cat?

Is there something wrong with this?

Qilin was pacing, looking at the group of people curiously, and Lan En was also jumping up and down on its back.

"Grey robe."

Suddenly, when the dwarves became more and more nervous and their eyes gradually entered a fighting state, Lan En spoke to the human old man.

"Gandalf the Gray?"

He seemed to be quite tall among ordinary people. He had gray hair under a pointed hat and a long gray beard that hung down to his belly. In terms of appearance alone, this was the first time Lan En had seen someone who fit the stereotype of a 'wizard'.

Wise old man, long beard, pointed hat
Like Radagast, he held a strong staff in his hand, but he still had a half-hand sword hanging on his waist.

The halfling was standing next to his legs pretending to be calm, looking at Lan En nervously and swallowing his saliva.

Gandalf also didn't understand who the person in front of him was, whether he was an enemy or a friend.

But adhering to the wisdom of "not taking the lead in provoking conflicts," he slightly pulled up his lips under his long beard, showing a polite smile, and then opened his mouth to say something.

But before he could speak, a dwarf in front of him raised his head and stared at Lan En and spoke first.

"If you want to get to know someone, it's best to introduce yourself first, sir. I think it's a truism."

The dwarf who spoke was quite tall, almost 1.5 meters tall, like a shorter human being.

He is powerful and has a temperament that matches his appearance. He is powerful but also serious and aloof.

If a person possesses these qualities at the same time, no matter who he is, he will generally not be considered a simple person.

Lan En nodded silently on the horse, jumped down, and approached among the suspicious and alert dwarves.

"Lan En, at your beck and call."

According to etiquette, it is time for the other party to respond.

Behind the witcher, Velvet Ball followed suit and bowed.

"Thorin Oakenshield." The leading dwarf stared at Lan En cautiously and bowed his head in return. "And my companions are at your disposal."

The atmosphere finally calmed down.

Gandalf was the first to put down the hand holding the hilt of the long sword at his waist.

The halfling standing next to his legs let out a long hidden sigh of relief. He didn't seem very courageous.

The wizard in gray robes took a step forward and stood between Thorin and Lan, who were still wary-eyed. It seemed that he acted as the external negotiator for the entire team.

"I am Gandalf, Gandalf the Grey. Have you asked me yet?"

There was a familiar smile on his old face. He must have seen a lot of things and had a lot of life experience before he could naturally put on this smile that seemed like 'everything can be solved'.

But Lann waved his hand.

"Please wait, the person looking for you has arrived."

"what?"

Gandalf was puzzled. At the same time, where Lan En had just rushed out, the bushes and branches made a disturbing sound again.

The dwarves thought it was Lan En's reinforcements, so they quickly set up their formation again.

It wasn't until the leading seven or eight big rabbits jumped out of the woods that Gandalf suddenly understood and pressed his hand down to signal the dwarves to relax.

"Brown Radagast!"

Gandalf opened his arms, and his gray robes spread like a sheet.

He walked up to the sloppy wizard who had just parked the rabbit sleigh and asked in confusion: "Why are you here?"

"Big, big thing!" Radagast said breathlessly. It was not easy to drive the rabbit sled so far. "Something really happened!"

Gandalf's expression slowly changed, from a look of slight joy at meeting an old friend, to an expression that said, "Although I had expected the bad situation, I didn't expect it to be so bad and so fast."
-
Radagast was pulled by Gandalf to a distant place in the grove for a private conversation.

Wizards always have many secrets, and the dwarves are not surprised and don't want to get involved.

But Lan En was curious about this small group.

"What are you going to do with Gandalf the Grey? I see that you are so tired, you have already traveled a long way, right?"

Lan En crossed his arms and said to Thorin with interest.

As dwarves like them, you can tell at a glance that they have lost a lot of weight in a short period of time.

Walking long distances is very tiring. Not only horses will lose weight in the process, but people will also.

"It's none of your business."

Thorin Oakenshield looked indifferent.

The dwarf next to him, who looked like a miniature Santa Claus, with gray hair and a gray beard, was trying to reconcile it with a smile on his face.

He gave Thorin a small pat on the arm, telling him to step aside and stop saying nasty things.

"Oh, my name is Balin. Hello, Master Lan En."

Balin said with a kind face.

Calling 'Master' seems to be a more polite way of saying it in this world, while the meaning of superiority and inferiority is weaker.

At least Lan heard the other dwarves calling the halfling in their group 'Lord Baggins'.

"We are dwarves who plan to visit relatives in the Iron Hills near the Lonely Mountain. But after all, the wilderness is full of dangers, so several families have joined forces to form a team that can fight and go there together."

"Just visiting relatives?"

"Of course it's to visit relatives!"

Lan En had a subtle expression of seeing things through but not telling them.

"So, the old man is also 'able to fight'?"

"Me?" Balin shrugged his big red nose and smiled generously. "I'm not a good fighter, but it wouldn't be a pity if I died at my age, right? So I just followed along!"

(End of this chapter)