Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1073 1055. Breaking into the Territory
"Listen to me, Radagast, Lan!"

Gandalf looked at the two men beside him seriously.

"I felt something was wrong after I escorted Thorin and the others through Mirkwood, and then I came here. Then I received a messenger from Radagast."

"Now, everything is clear! I have figured it out!"

Gandalf held his pointed hat tightly in his hand, just like how tense he was at the moment.

"The group of orcs that have been chasing Thorin and his men is led by Azog the Blasphemer. I thought he was just a powerful orc lord among the northern orcs."

"But now, the nine Ringwraiths will only obey one master. Even they have appeared, which means Azog also has a master!"

"And they are the same person—Sauron!"

"Azog is not chasing the Dwarfs' Restoration Expedition just because of his family feud with Thorin Oakenshield. His goal, or the order of his master, must be the Lonely Mountain! It's Elbor!"

The wealth in Gushan and its geographical location are very important to the overall situation in the north.

In such a serious situation, Gandalf looked guilty and worried.

"I admit that I did want to optimize the defense of the entire north, so I helped Thorin form this expedition team."

"But now, they still have no idea what's going on under the surface, and they rush towards Lonely Mountain! Because even I just figured it out!"

"This is looking for death!"

"So, you want someone to warn Thorin and tell him what is happening underneath the surface. But if I understand correctly."

Lan was standing beside him, tilting his head and looking at Gandalf: "This should be your responsibility."

Today, the dwarves only believe that the goal of this national restoration expedition is to recover the dwarven country and return to their homeland.

But beneath the surface, there are evil forces and good forces throughout the north, each wanting to consolidate their defenses and improve their strategic layout.

The resistance faced in these two situations is not at the same level at all.

And Thorin and his group didn't even know what they would face.

Gandalf pursed his lips bitterly but helplessly.

"Now, if Sauron has really recovered to a certain extent, then the entire Middle-earth is in danger. I must find out his true strength and force him to reveal his true self. In other words, force him to take action!"

"But Gandalf!" Radagast said anxiously, "What if, what if Sauron does something to you..."

The sloppy old man was quite shy and didn't finish his words. He just stretched his fingers across his neck, using this dangerous gesture to indicate.

"No." Gandalf said casually, "I still have information that he really wants to know. As long as I don't let it go, he won't be in a hurry to kill me."

There was a brief silence.

"So. That's it?"

Lan En spread his hands and looked at the old man in front of him who knew what he was going to face but still looked relaxed.

"Although I don't know how powerful Soran is, but you know that the castle in front of you is a trap that you can't escape from, but you still want to go in?"

"We all have things we have to accomplish, Lan."

Gandalf smiled calmly and stroked his long beard.

"The so-called sense of responsibility, the so-called persistence, all these things mixed together constitute the so-called destiny."

"I will fulfill my destiny."

The demon hunter nodded silently without saying anything. He turned over and rode on the Qilin, turning the horse around.

"Where are the dwarves now, Gandalf?"

"They will pass through Lake-town, where they will make their last replenishment on their journey. It is located on the great lake in the northeast corner of Mirkwood."

"Got it. By the way."

The witcher sitting on horseback looked down at the old wizard in the gray robe and smiled softly.

"I don't think your fate will end here, Master Gandalf."

"Haha!" The old wizard put his hands on his waist, rested his wand on his shoulder, and laughed with his pipe in his mouth, "Thank you for your blessing, Master Lan."

The unicorn turned its long neck to look at Gandalf, and with a 'huff', the fluffy ball stood on the unicorn's back, meowed, jumped up and waved at the old wizard.

The sound of heavy horse hooves faded away from the forest.

And Gandalf turned around and faced his colleagues.

"Okay, Radagast. I won't say more, but you must remember--"

"You must not follow me! I must go in alone! We all have our own responsibilities, so don't act on your own, understand?"

Radagast had a wooden face and said nothing, but just walked slowly away with his back to Gandalf.

"When we came to Middle-earth, you said you would listen to me! Give me a promise!"

Gandalf shouted without looking back.

Radagast, who was walking in the direction of departure, also muttered in response without turning back.

"Okay, I promise. I remember it all. I haven't forgotten it."

Gandalf pursed his lips, closed his eyes, and nodded after getting the response, looking relieved. "Yes." The old wizard in gray robe muttered in a low voice, "It's best if we all remember it."
-
The heavy sound of horse hooves was like the beating of drums. The combined weight of Qilin and Lan En, stepping on the thick humus of the dark forest, made such a sound.

Previously, under the leadership of Radagast, they came all the way to Dol Guldur, so Lan and his companions were not distracted by the chaotic magical forces in the Mirkwood.

After the adaptive training with Radagast in the Mirkwood, even the fluff ball with the shortest endurance among them could stay awake for several hours in this forest.

Without having to slow down or worry about Radagast's rabbit sled, a few hours would be enough for Qilin to pass through the Mirkwood.

"Thorin, Balin, and Baggins, they all owe me a big favor this time."

Lan En muttered on Qilin's back.

"We have to hurry up just to save the lives of these dwarves."

"Saving people is a good deed, meow!"

The fluffy ball patted its boss with its little paws to comfort him.

"And I heard that there are mountains of treasures in the Lonely Mountain. Maybe they will thank us with the treasures?"

"That would be best. Then I can immediately pay back the funds I took out from the Knights."

The witcher curled his lips indifferently.

The funds that Lan En used to revitalize his own capital chain were drawn from the Order of Embers.

Although it was a knight order under his name, Lan En was very clear about what was public and what was private. He was not happy to owe money, so he would make up for it as soon as possible.

Qilin obviously doesn't care much about money or treasure.

"Xilulu!"

Its feline face arched forward and it neighed.

"But the dwarves said there was a dragon in the Lonely Mountain! What kind of dragon could it be? An ancient dragon?"

Qilin's thoughts were transmitted through the mutated [Axis Seal], and it was more interested in the evil dragon named Smaug.

Unfortunately, when Lan En was on his way to the top of the ancient dragon in the Fire World, he saw from afar the corpse of a huge flying dragon lying on the mountain, which seemed to cover half of the mountain, but Qilin did not go there at that time.

When Lan En learned about the evil dragon Ancalagon in this world, he compared it to the size of the dragon's corpse.

"The dragons of this world are different from yours, Qilin."

Lan En said as he patted the neck of the beautiful [Mythical Beast].

The IQ of the ancient dragons in the New World is at least on par with that of humans. After traveling with Lan En for so long, Qilin has accepted many human concepts, such as that it is actually an ancient dragon.

"The dragons of this world are inherently evil, for they are a race of war created by an ancient dark god named Morgoth."

The Mirkwood is a long strip of forest running from north to south. Lan En rode the Kirin, first from Dol Guldur's location to the east, then crossed horizontally out of the forest, and then headed north along the edge of the forest.

He didn't dare to go too far from the edge of the forest because he didn't know the way. Without the Mirkwood as a directional landmark, who knows where he would go.

For a large forest like this, its boundaries are actually very vague and wide.

So even though Lan En had walked out of the forest, the density of tree vegetation was just a little sparse, and the thick layer of fallen leaves and humus on the ground sometimes revealed dirt and rocks.

The white Qilin with blue arcs in it was like a gust of wind, whistling through the woods.

The wide magic rune cloth swayed up and down in the air, full of majesty and nobility.

However, during the process of running, the witcher, who was originally talking to Qilin or the ball of fluff, suddenly turned his eyes to the front.

At the same time, above the lush green tree canopy, there was a noise so slight that it seemed like an illusion to the witcher's senses.

Boots stepped on the thick tree trunks, and the branches and leaves seemed to have consciousness, separating in front of the passers-by without getting entangled.
"Stop, stranger, you have trespassed into the territory of the Woodland Kingdom!"

It was a clear sound, accompanied by the sound of an arrow shooting down from the treetops.

The arrow should have landed before the Qilin's next hoof landed, and the intention was obviously to deter and stop.

But it is also obvious that the archer did not fully estimate the speed of the Qilin.

He probably saw the shadow of the Qilin running, and then shot the arrow based on his experience and instinct.

Under normal circumstances, the archer's skills are more than enough.

But the ancient dragons in the New World are indeed not an ordinary situation.

So this arrow was basically aimed at the Qilin's neck!
"and many more!"

The man shooting the arrow in the tree apparently reacted immediately, and he exclaimed in surprise.

At the same time as he made the sound, another arrow was shot out, aiming to cut off the previous arrow.

This kind of archery technique that seems to be written in legendary books is not only used by people now, but it is even more exaggerated than in the legendary books!

Because he really did it!

"Crack!"

At a distance of more than thirty meters, an archer, in an unstable mood of surprise, broke the arrow shot forward with the arrow shot later!

(End of this chapter)