Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1087 1069. Debate
Bilbo followed Thorin and the others, walked out of Bard's house openly, and went to the square in front of the mayor's residence to receive the equipment as Lan said.

This was the second time Bilbo had walked the streets of Lake-town. The first time was when they had just got off Bard's smuggling ship and were quietly heading back to his home.

But Bilbo still didn't feel good about the town.

Bilbo had never been to a human town in his life before today, and Lake Town was very different from what he had imagined in his mind.

Very. Disgraceful.

The streets were filled with the smell of canvas stained with fish oil, which had been hanging on the fishing boats for many years and had long since decayed and given off an unhealthy rancid smell.

And every human here is not decent, wearing tattered clothes, with sad expressions and hidden anger on their faces.

There is garbage everywhere on the ground, and even the pigs raised by humans are not as cute as the pigs in Hobbiton where Bilbo lives.

But no matter what, their journey will be able to continue.

Because the mayor was so concerned about the safety of his treasure, a trivial matter like "a group of dwarf merchants sneaking into the town" was completely ignored under the mayor's orders.

The guards passing by saw a group of dwarves who were very conspicuous in Changhu Town, but they had no intention of coming up to take care of them.

They all knew that the mayor wanted to ask these dwarves who looked good at fighting to help guard the town.

And that’s not all. The mayor also wants to allocate more equipment from the armory and give limited amounts to the brave townspeople so that they can temporarily join in the defense.

As for the weapons that fell into the hands of the townspeople, it would be very convenient to collect them after they had been used.

That's why the mayor rang the assembly bell.

The dwarves followed the crowd all the way to the square, and everything happened just as Lan had said.

The mayor had no intention of pursuing them for sneaking in, but instead naturally distributed weapons to them.

Although their weapons and armor cannot compare with those of the dwarves, they are at least capable of fighting.

Much better than the homemade stuff at Bud's house.

The dwarves didn't know how Lan had negotiated this, so they looked a little cautious and timid, with some awkward smiles on their faces, but they still took small steps to the square and took over their equipment.

The mayor was standing on the steps in front of his official residence, with a crowd of townspeople below him.

The dwarf was right in front of the townspeople, and they looked at him with curiosity as he began to hurriedly put on his equipment and picked up his weapons.

"Hey, Lann is right!" Dwalin, who originally had no interest in wizards, now regained the sense of security as a warrior after regaining his armor and weapons, and praised them in a low voice.

"I think he is more useful than Gandalf!"

"Don't be happy too soon." Thorin grabbed a two-handed axe of suitable length, shook his shoulders to get familiar with the feel of the weapon, and whispered in the same voice.

"Now that we have the weapons and equipment, we still have to find a way to get supplies. Even if we cross the Long Lake, it will take a day to get to Lonely Mountain. We must reach the gate of Lonely Mountain before the day after tomorrow. This is our last chance!"

Next, the mayor, with his big belly and his assistant Alfred standing beside him, was ready to speak to the townspeople below.

"My dear people, you may wonder why I opened the armory today and handed this cruel thing to you who are kind and pure. And armed these dozen dwarves."

"This is all because an evil force has roamed near our Changhu Town! That's the orcs!"

With a loud "boom", the townspeople who had come to join in the fun were suddenly in an uproar.

Orcs. Even though they haven’t been seen in this area for a long time, as a race that served as servants of darkness before the world had the sun and the moon, no one has not heard of them.

Later, taking advantage of the townspeople's panic, the mayor was preparing to give a speech to boost morale.

But behind the crowd of townspeople, a voice interrupted the mayor who was about to speak.

"and many more!"

That was Bud's voice. He was very prestigious among the townspeople, so they spontaneously made way for him to come in.

His eyes were not on the mayor on the stage, but on Thorin among the dwarves.

"Before we discuss the topic of orcs, I think we need to know the identity of these dwarves first, everyone!"

Bud looked around, meeting everyone's eyes.

"This isn't just a caravan of dwarves passing through Long Lake Town by chance, and everyone in it happens to be skilled in two-handed tactics! How can there be any caravan business in this area now?"

"You said so?" Bard turned his gaze back to Thorin. "Thorin Oakenshield. Son of Thrain."

Suddenly, a discussion arose that was comparable to the one just heard about the orcs' attack.

"It's him?"

"The King under the Mountain? The Lord of the Silver Spring?"

"Is the legend true?"

Bud opened his hands, signaling the townspeople around him to be quiet for a moment and listen to him.

Balin and the others brought by Bard walked towards Thorin with pursed lips and winked at him: There is nothing to hide. If we want to get supplies and ships, we have to convince them.

Thorin nodded solemnly to Balin to show that he understood.

"The orcs are indeed dangerous and imminent, but we cannot ignore the movements of these dwarves! After all, we all know that the King under the Mountain can only come here for one purpose. And that purpose is..."

Bard said this, his tone low and dangerous. "There is a sleeping dragon!"

Now, the evil that was even more despairing than that of the orcs completely silenced the townspeople.

Bard turned and looked at the dwarves.

"We have to guard against the orcs who may come at any time, but we also have to ensure that you do not enter the Lonely Mountain."

"You won't let us enter the Lonely Mountain? What right do you have to say that?"

Thorin stood up. Lonely Mountain was only a day's journey away. He had no desire and no way to hide his identity.

"El Bor is our country, and it is only natural that we take it back!"

Thorin's unflinching retort left Bard speechless for a moment.

But Thorin hadn't finished speaking yet.

Although he had not been the crown prince for many years and had been driven out of Elbor for many years, the education and training he received as the dwarf crown prince did not let him down.

He knew that what he needed to do now was not to convince Bud, but to convince the townspeople and spectators present.

You can't win a debate, and the purpose of a debate is not to win, but to gain broad support beyond your opponents.

So Thorin opened his arms and turned around, as if embracing the entire Long Lake Town.

At the same time, he spoke in a tone full of reminiscence.

"In my memory, Changhu Town is not a shabby little village full of the smell of rotten fish oil!"

"When Elbor was prosperous, this town and the River City on the edge of the Lonely Mountain formed the most prosperous trade area in the north of Middle-earth!"

"Everyone present was wearing silk clothes, with beautifully crafted ornaments on their bodies, and every meal was rich and satisfying! The food thrown away every day could feed the fish in this lake!"

"I still remember the prosperous trade in Long Lake Town. The docks were full of merchant ships loaded with gems and gold, shuttling back and forth. It was not like it is now!"

Thorin aroused the emotions of the townspeople. The current hard life was contrasted with the prosperous scene in the past. Who would not want to return to the glorious and luxurious era?
Thorin continued, "I want this area to return to its former state! Prosperous and wealthy! I want to return to the Lonely Mountain and reignite the dwarven alchemy furnace! Let the gold flow!"

Seeing that the townspeople were becoming more and more fascinated and happy listening, Bard stood up, leaned sideways, stretched out his hand and pointed at Thorin.

He cried out: "Gold! After all this talk it's still gold! And you avoid talking about death! And destruction!"

"There's a dragon in the mountain! You'll wake it up! And then we'll all be dead! All of us!"

"Don't even mention whether there is gold or not. Even if there is gold, what good is it if you don't have the life to spend it!"

"I accept different opinions, but in the end it's up to you all to decide." Thorin opened his arms and faced the townspeople.

"I promise, if I can retake the Lonely Mountain with the help and investment of you in Lake Town, then I! Thorin Oakenshield, the King Under the Mountain! I swear to share the wealth of the mountain with you!"

"By then, the gold that will flow out will be enough to cover the bottom of the lake! Enough to rebuild Changhu Town more than ten times!"

On one side is the legendary gold, on the other side is the legendary dragon.

But humans always tend to believe what they want to believe, and those things often have beautiful appearances.

Therefore, compared to the unpleasant dragon, most of the townspeople are now focused on their life after getting the gold.

But Bard would not forget the dragon.

"Everyone, wake up! Have you forgotten the tragic situation in River Valley City? How many people died in the city? In the end, they could only come to Long Lake Town as refugees! Aren't those who experienced the tragedy right next to us?"

Bud's reminder had some effect. The townspeople began to split into two groups and talk to each other.

But at this time
"Silence! Silence! Everyone, please listen to me!"

The mayor, who was standing on the steps, spoke. As the person with the most actual control over the scene, his words were very effective.

"This is a serious matter for us now. No one can make a haphazard decision. After all, we have to practice democracy, right?"

“But don’t forget.”

Bud saw the mayor's eyes turning to him, and his uneasiness suddenly increased.

Yes, Lan En used the [Axis Seal] to slightly distort the mayor's greed for gold into a sense of crisis, making him nervous and strengthening the town's defenses.

But the mayor is still the same mayor, and his character has not changed.

He saw Bud as a threat, and now was the perfect time to strike a blow to his prestige.

"It was Girion, the Lord of Riverdale, your ancestor, who failed to kill the dragon, that brought us into this difficult situation today!"

Thorin and the other dwarves and hobbits looked in surprise at Bard, the fisherman and archer in a tattered old windbreaker.

They all just found out that Bard was a descendant of the Lord of River Valley City.

And Bud also bit his back teeth in hatred.

He knew that everything was doomed when the mayor ignored the current situation and shifted his focus to the mistakes of his ancestors.

(End of this chapter)