Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1082 1064. Terrible Fate
The mayor is not stupid, but his weak will gives Lan En's [Axis Seal] an opportunity to take advantage of.

He cared so much about his gold that he would even go to the treasury to count it twice in person whenever he had nothing else to do.

Lan En was keenly aware of this concern and then amplified it with the [Yaxi Seal].

The more he cared about his gold, the more he took the news of the orcs coming to rob him seriously and the more afraid he was. This fear overwhelmed his reason.

Anyway, even if the orcs didn't come, it would just be a waste of time for the guards under his command.

He doesn't care about people, not even his own people, he only cares about gold.

Alfred was not stupid, but he knew very well that his power came from the mayor.

So no matter who he disobeys, he will never disobey the mayor. Whatever the mayor asks him to do, he will do it without hesitation even if he thinks it is ridiculous.

Lan En did not use the [Yaxi Seal] to distort the mayor's will. Although his will was very weak, the [Yaxi Seal] itself was not strong either.

Even for someone like the mayor, the brutal use of seals can only control him for a dozen minutes, after which he will wake up.

But it was almost a natural consequence to strengthen his existing paranoia and emotions.

So Bud just stared blankly. The mayor, who used to love to make trouble for him and would definitely send him to jail if he had the chance, now looked at him with completely indifferent eyes.

His face was filled with worry, about the orcs that might come and his own gold.

"By the way, respected Mayor of Changhu Town."

Lan En still spoke in a calm but slightly cold tone, giving people a sense of indifference as if he was just going through the motions.

"If you feel that your guards are not strong enough, I saw a small dwarf caravan passing through the town when I came here. They all looked skilled with swords and seemed to have been warriors."

"It's just that they don't have much equipment. If you can give them some weapons, I think they will be willing to help when facing the orcs. After all, everyone knows that those orcs love killing more than enjoying food."

"Dwarves? There are dwarves in my town?"

The mayor first asked in confusion while pacing anxiously, but then he didn't care anymore.

"No, that's not important. It's really great! Every dwarf warrior can fight ten of them at once! They have a feud with the orcs, so they will definitely work hard when the orcs come! With them, my gold will be safer!"

"Yes! Alfred! Go to the armory and get some weapons. Find those dwarves and tell them that they have been temporarily conscripted! For the sake of this great town, it's time for the passing caravans to fight bravely!"

Looking at the mayor who was pacing back and forth because of the gold, and Alfred who was being commanded around by the mayor.

Lan said nothing more, turned around and led Bud away.

After talking for only a few minutes, Lan and Bud appeared outside the mayor's residence again.

Bud looked at Lan's hurried steps as if he had seen a ghost.

Only after they walked away did he speak with a little fear: "You know magic? You controlled the mayor's mind?"

"Calm down, Bud. That's far from 'mind control.' Why do you think I walked so fast?"

Only after they turned the corner and crossed the waterway by boat did Lan turn around and speak to Bud.

"I just strengthened the guy's existing obsession and fear. The effect can only last for a few hours at most. Even though his will is not strong, it is not that easy to control his mind. I am not good at this at all."

Although if it's the military, it would be easier to control the overall emotions of the other party.
Lan En thought to himself while explaining to Bud.

Bard seemed to accept this idea, and when he looked at Lan, he no longer had the fear he had just had.

Behind them, the sound of bells coming from the mayor's mansion was heard, and the townspeople looked in that direction in surprise.

At the same time, the guards in the town also held their helmets and hurriedly gathered towards the mansion.

It looks like the mayor has started to gather people.

Although life in Changhu Town is difficult because of the evil dragon, it is also far away from war.

There were less than fifty guards in the town, just the right number to deal with normal crime and maintain law and order.

At this time, they all stepped on the wooden floor of the town, gathering towards the bell.

A lot of noise came from there, and many townspeople went over to join in the fun, bringing out rumors and news.

They said the mayor had gone mad and thought someone was eyeing his treasure, so they called for increased security.

The guards had to draw their bows and sling swords, ready to fight and deal with invaders.

When the two returned to Bard's house amid the townspeople's private discussions, the thirteen dwarves and hobbits had been looking forward to it for a long time.

"How about it?"

Thorin asked expectantly.

"I've got your equipment. You can go outside and get it later."

Lan's crisp and clear words made the dwarves jump for joy.

"Great! I knew Lan could do it!"

Fili shouted happily, jumping up and patting Lan's arm.

He usually hid a bunch of knives everywhere on his body, but now after drifting down the river, there was nothing left and he no longer felt safe.

"But don't be happy too soon, my friends." Lan En calmed down the cheerful and happy dwarves.

"It goes without saying that the guards in this town are nothing but bread and ham in front of those brutal orcs. They have no chance of stopping the orcs, not to mention that the orcs will definitely kill innocent people in the town."

The witcher glanced around and finally stopped at Thorin.

"The orcs' main target is you, so I think as long as you leave Changhu Town before those orcs, they will have no reason to linger here. After all, you are the highest priority."

After previous conversations and revelations, Thorin and Balin already knew why the orcs were biting so hard on them.

So I can understand what Lan En said.

Compared with the importance of preventing the re-emergence of a King Under the Mountain in Lonely Mountain, the orcs' nature of loving killing and destruction is simply not worth mentioning.

Even if the orcs broke into Changhu Town and were too excited to kill to leave, the leading orc would still force them to leave as long as their brains were still in a state of confusion.

"I agree."

Bahrain, whose white beard had already dried, was the first to speak out.

"Durin's Day is just around the corner. The sooner we set out, the better. Otherwise, we will be too late! Let the orcs see us. They already know where we are going."

"We can take a boat and go in a straight line from the lake to the Lonely Mountain. Even if they ride on wargs, they have to go in an arc along the lake. They can't catch up with us in terms of distance!"

Thorin nodded in agreement, saying he was willing to do so if it would prevent the residents of Long Lake Town from being harmed too much by his team.

Immediately, Thorin began to greet his expedition members.

"Get moving guys! Follow me outside and get ready to receive the equipment!"

Thorin seemed quite impatient and called people to go to the mayor's residence.

Time is running out now, and he would be willing to do it even a minute earlier.

Seeing that things had been roughly organized by Lan En, the dwarves were happy and a little relaxed.

"That's great. It's much easier to have a wizard around than to use my own brain."

Bofur said with a smile as he patted the fluff ball's shoulder in a familiar manner.

"But the boss isn't a wizard, meow."

The kitten said as he scratched the whiskers on his face, Bofur was not at all bothered by it.

"He hangs out with Gandalf the Grey and Radagast the Brown. What else could he be but a wizard? It doesn't matter! Haha!"

Balin also supported his old waist and sat back on the wooden barrel by the window in a relaxed manner.

Bard, who was cleaning up the dwarves' wet clothes with three children, was stunned after hearing the conversation between Lan and the dwarves, as if he had thought of something.

"You just said Lonely Mountain? They're going to Lonely Mountain?"

Bud came closer to Lan and asked in a low voice with an anxious expression.

"Yes, you heard it just now."

Lan En nodded.

"Why, what did you remember? Can you tell me? A lot of information is valuable now."

"No, no, I need to check!" Bard muttered, patting Lan's arm. "Please help me watch the children, keep them from going out, and keep the dwarves out! I'll be back soon! Right away!"

Before Lan could react, Bud rushed out like a gust of wind.

The sound of the door closing so forcefully even shook off a piece of dust from the beam, which landed on the nose of Balin who was sitting by the window, causing him to sneeze.

"Ah! Oh, what's the matter with him? Why is he so anxious?"

The old dwarf with a white beard carefully patted his beautiful beard that hung down to his chest and muttered.

Lan En walked over to Balin and found a bench to sit down. "I don't know. He said he had to go check something."

"The atmosphere in this town is very tense right now. Bud has prestige among the people and is also being monitored by the mayor. Perhaps this is something very important."

Balin sighed, "Everyone has had a hard time since this area was ravaged by the evil dragon."

"So I want to ask you one more time, Balin." Lan leaned forward and looked at the old dwarf seriously. "You really don't want to stop here? If you really go into the Lonely Mountain, even if the dragon happens to get out..."

"Even if Smaug happens to get out, we will still face an orc attack when we retake the Lonely Mountain."

Balin smiled with relief and said to Lan En.

"No matter what, our national restoration expedition will face a terrible fate. Right?"

Having said that, Balin started a new, seemingly unrelated topic.

"You know what, Lan? Look out the window and you'll see a dwarven wind crossbow besides the Lonely Mountain."

“That’s the thing.”

Balin pointed outside. It was a huge crossbow standing on top of a wooden tower, with four arms extending in four directions.

(End of this chapter)