Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1072 1054. Coming Again
"Oh! Yeah, the flannel ball helped a lot too!"

Radagast was obviously more enthusiastic when speaking to the Elu cat than when speaking to humans, which made Lan curl his lips.

They quickly left the ancient tomb of the Witch-king of Angmar in the Northern Kingdom.

Go down the mountain along the same route.

Next to Radagast's rabbit sled, the big rabbits were eating the grass on this barren land bit by bit.

But the Qilin disappeared.

Lan En was not worried. He just rubbed the magic ring on his hand, and then a burst of blue and white lightning burst out from a small hill not far away.

Then the lightning came towards this side at a rapid speed.

"What about now?" Lan En asked Radagast while Qilin was still not there.

"Now we can confirm that the dagger is the real Blade of Morgul, and the Ringwraiths are free. But what are your plans for dealing with crises next?"

The sloppy old man looked solemn and took off the leather hat that looked like a tattered Lei Feng hat.

Three little birds that used his hair as a nest flew out and landed on his hands.

Lan and the ball of fluff only saw Radagast whispering and blowing at the birds, and then the birds flew away chirping.

"Are you going to inform Gandalf?"

Lan crossed his arms and watched the three birds fly away.

After interacting with Radagast for such a period of time, he realized that this guy didn't really want to be in charge of things, he just wanted to live in nature with the colorful life.

So he would choose to report the situation to others as soon as possible.

"Yes, I informed Gandalf." Radagast said bluntly, put the tattered hat on his head again, and stepped onto the sled.

"I have arranged a meeting place with him. We have to take action. The situation is urgent! It's very urgent!"

"It has been nearly three thousand years since the end of the Second Age when Sauron was defeated, and four hundred years since our last battle with the remaining dark forces. And now... it's hard to say what will happen in this day and age."

The sound of thundering hooves was getting very close, and the Qilin was already running straight down the mountain not far away at a very fast speed.

Lan listened to Radagast's pessimistic voice, frowned and nodded.

His palm unconsciously stroked the hilt of the long sword at his waist.

Feeling the powerful divine power protecting him.

In fact, just now, in the process of fighting against the Ringwraiths, although Arondate showed the power that could actually reach the underworld and killed two Ringwraiths.

But Lan En always felt that there seemed to be something dormant deep inside the knife.

It’s hard to explain this feeling. Perhaps when Elrond handed the knife to me, the words he hesitated to say were referring to this?
Lan felt the sword of the Lady of the Lake that had been adjusted by Galadriel, until Qilin, who had already come to his side, lowered his head and pricked him with his crystal-like horns.

"Hey! Listen to me!"

"Huh? What?"

When Lan came to his senses, he saw Radagast, who was already standing on the sled and had trained the big rabbit sled team. He looked at him as if he was ready to go.

"I say: We are going to meet Gandalf at the old place!"

Radagast sighed.

Lan En turned over and rode on the Qilin, and the fluffy ball also deftly grabbed the silk rune cloth on the Qilin and climbed up and sat down.

"The old place." Lan En immediately understood where it was. "You want to go directly to Dol Guldur?"

Faced with Lan's surprised expression, Radagast did not explain much, but just shook the reins violently.

"I keep saying this is an emergency. We don't have time, Lan."
-
Since Lan had parted with Gandalf in Rivendell, the next time they met was outside the evil and towering old castle in the southwest corner of Mirkwood.

The sky over this area is still covered with thick and gloomy clouds all year round, and the branches of the surrounding trees are twisted and sharp, extending towards the direction of Dol Guldur.

It was like it was eager to extend its branches into a darker and more evil environment.

The sound of horse hooves and the sliding of sleds came from far away and finally stopped in front of Gandalf.

"Your swordplay is excellent, Gandalf."

Lan jumped off his horse and approached the old wizard who was smoking his pipe jokingly.

On the way just now, he and Radagast saw many giant spiders lying on the ground. These spiders had sharp claws and thick and powerful abdomens. Each giant spider was as big as a donkey!

However, all that was left of these spiders was a clean sword wound, and they lay motionless on the thick humus in the forest.

And there is no doubt that the person who chopped and killed the giant spider that wanted to eat him and sat here was the grey wizard Gandalf.

The old man sat on a big rock, looking towards the evil castle that stood on the hillside not far away. It had sharp thorns on every corner, which made people feel chilly just by looking at it, as if their skin had been pierced by the thorns and was being torn apart.

Gandalf had the sword Glamdring, which was once the sword of the King of the Elf of Gondolin, hanging on his waist. But he himself did not show any sign of prestige.

He just sat on a big rock with his wand in his arms, puffing on his pipe, looking solemnly at Dol Guldur not far away. When he saw Radagast and Lann arrived as agreed, he forced a smile, which soon disappeared.

He took the pipe from his mouth and moved aside.

"Want a puff? This time it's Old Toby tobacco."

"Sorry, I don't know how." Lan En shook his head and declined.

Gandalf and Radagast looked at the witcher in surprise, as if it was rare for him not to smoke pipe weed.

But after thinking about it carefully, Lan En found that most of the people here seemed to be smoking pipes.

"Then" Radagast also looked at the old castle in the distance and walked to Gandalf, "I'll take a couple of puffs."

Lan En watched the two old men smoking their pipes one after another, and pushed aside the big head of the unicorn that was stretched out because of curiosity to smell the smell of the pipe weed.

Gandalf raised his not-so-clean finger, which was stained with soot, tar and dirt, and pointed to the old castle in the distance where the clouds were getting even darker.

"Look at the atmosphere of this castle now. It's like a city of witchcraft."

Gandalf tugged at his grey sleeve and raised his hand to wipe the sweat from his cheek.

"The messenger you sent has already told me about your findings. Thank you for your hard work. I didn't expect there were three Ringwraiths hiding on the Rudolf Plateau. It's really dangerous."

"If you are wounded by their weapons, there are only a few places in the world like Rivendell and Lothlórien that can heal you."

Radagast shook his head silently and took off his hat. Then the three birds that were originally flying in the sky landed on his head again.

"It's not a good situation, Gandalf. Even the Ringwraiths have reappeared in the world, but..."

The sloppy old wizard looked at the creepy old castle with a confused look on his face.

"I have seen this place for hundreds of years, and it always looks desolate. How could it be that darkness is gathering strength right before my eyes?"

"As expected, old friend."

But Gandalf was not surprised. Perhaps his surprise had disappeared when he received the message from the bird messenger.

"This is good news even in today's dire situation."

"Sauron, our enemies are good at confusing and concealing the truth with spells, and this castle is full of this kind of magic, which means that the Dark Lord is not ready to show his true self and call on all the evil creatures in Middle-earth to regroup under his command!"

"In other words."

Gandalf looked at Radagast and Lan with a wise and calm gaze.

"He hasn't recovered yet!"

"This is our chance!"

The witcher took in Gandalf's expression, which was firm and steady.

Even when facing a powerful enemy, we will remain hopeful and persistent, and calmly deal with situations and changes with ancient wisdom and reason.

In the magical Middle Ages, warlocks who mastered magic would mostly use magic to reshape themselves.

Women tend to make themselves look dazzling and charming, while men tend to make themselves look older and grow big beards, because this fits people's imagination of "wise men".

But Lan En looked around and found that those so-called "wise men" would never have the magnanimity that Gandalf had at that moment.

Before Gandalf they would be like a bunch of poor actors putting on false beards and performing on stage.

"Well, the pipe is done." Gandalf stood up on his knees, took off his pointed hat, and used it as a rag to pat his body to remove grass clippings and fallen leaves.

"Radagast, I need you to deliver a message to Rivendell and Lothlórien. Lan, I want you to leave immediately and go to Lake-town to help our mutual friends - the dwarves who are fighting for their homeland."

Radagast was a little confused for a moment because of Gandalf's rapid change of tone, but Lan frowned and stretched out his hand to block Gandalf.

"Wait, what do you mean?"

Lan's eyes were filled with a feeling of "No way?"

Gandalf nodded, confirming the accuracy of the witcher's feeling.

"I'm going in alone, and none of you can follow me! No one! Do you understand?"

"Wait, wait! Why? Why is this happening?" Radagast finally realized what was happening and said anxiously. "That damn place is a place where people are eaten without leaving any bones, Gandalf!"

"But you also said it, Radagast, my old friend. You have been here guarding this castle for hundreds of years, and you have discovered nothing."

The grey-robed wizard's eyes never left Dol Guldur, and they were as firm as his decision, as he spoke in a deep voice.

"We knew at the time that after Soran's body and soul were destroyed, only a beam of light flew here. But no matter how hard we searched, we couldn't find any trace of him, so we asked you to stay behind."

"What's been giving us headaches is that Sauron never shows up and we can't find him! And now, his strength has not yet recovered, but the forces under his command are ready to make a move. We must find a way to "fish" him out! Even if we have to use "bait"! That means me!"

(End of this chapter)