Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1092 1074. Your own decision

"I understand."

Lann sighed and nodded as Bilbo stood up.

It is only natural for the dwarves to take back their homeland, and there is no reason to stop them. These words were just a reminder from Lan to Thorin for his own peace of mind.

After nodding, Lan En was ready to take the fluffy ball and leave.

But wait until the kitten lightly jumped from the opposite roof to Lan's side.

"Meow~"

Elu stood up, with its two white front paws drooping, and its furry head looked hesitantly at the two small boats of the dwarves, especially its friend Bilbo on the boat, and then at Lan.

"Um. Boss meow! How about letting me go with them?"

"Ok?"

Lan looked down at the ball of fluff in surprise, and so did Bilbo.

"They mainly need to act secretly this time and steal a gem, right meow?"

The fluff ball looked up and said softly.

Kitty had also heard a general idea of ​​Thorin and his men's plan to restore their country.

"Bilbo has pads on his feet, and I have pads too. The dragon is not familiar with his scent, and Smaug has certainly never smelled my scent, meow!"

The fluff ball was a little unconfident at first, but the more he talked, the more he felt it.

Finally, he straightened his chest and stood with his front paws on his hips.

"Stealing! I'm very skilled at it, meow!"

"As long as we are not discovered when stealing, the dragon will not wake up, and everyone will be safe! After all, stealing the gems is the most important part!"

"I can help, meow!"

The kitten's declaration caused a small discussion among the dwarves.

The dwarves were also excited by the ball of fluff.

"Yes!" Gloin said, scratching his lush beard. "The important thing is to steal the things. It would be best if we can avoid meeting Smaug!"

"We have Bilbo! He's a master thief, and everyone can see it!" Bombo sat in the boat like a big limp meatball, "But wouldn't it be better to have a little cat master thief? Double the master thieves! Double the success rate!"

Even Dwalin, the toughest of the dwarf expedition team to the Lonely Mountain, crossed his arms and kept tapping his bald head.

"For our hometown, we are not afraid of death or facing the dragon. But if we can proceed safely according to the plan, why not?"

But now, it was Bilbo, who had just stood up and spoken bravely, who kept waving his hands.

"No! Stop!"

He spoke loudly, and stood up shakily from the boat, looking at the ball of fluff on the shore.

"It's dangerous, Flannel Ball. I can't. I can't let you take risks with me just because we're friends. I don't have the right to do that. That's a dragon! It's my job to steal things from under its nose."

"But if the theft is successful, many people will be safe!"

The fluffy little face of the ball of fluff looked seriously at the hobbit.

"I'm not helping you just because we're friends, meow! This is my own decision, meow!"

After saying that, Felynx turned around and looked up at his boss, his big watery eyes filled with anticipation.

"Can meow, boss?"

The sudden decision of the fluff ball made Lan En squat down and look directly into the eyes of the cat.

The two pairs of cat eyes looked at each other in silence. Suddenly, there was a smile in the witcher's cat eyes.

"You're making great progress, fluff ball."

"Meow?"

The flames around him continued to crackle, and Lan stood upright again.

He looked at the kitten in front of him with a smile.

"You gathered information, and then made your own decision based on it, a decision that was brave and persistent. Didn't you say when you first ventured with me that your goal was to become a great hunting cat?"

"Now it seems that you are very energetic! You are also very down-to-earth in your actions towards your goals, which is completely different from other things."

The Qilin outside the wall tilted its head, then narrowed its ruby-like eyes dangerously, and lowered its head to move towards Lan En.

He was then held down by the witcher and not allowed to come forward.

"I'm so happy for you, Flannel Ball. It really makes one feel good to see the progress of a friend."

Lan nodded to the kitten who tilted his head back.

"Once you've decided, just do it. Don't worry, I'll support you."

"Thank you, Boss Meow!"

The fluffy ball jumped up happily, high-fived Lan in mid-air, then held on to his kitten helmet and jumped onto the dwarves' boat.
-
It was a long night for Changhu Town.

The previous night was too cruel and sudden for the townspeople.

Although Lake-town was poor and life was hard, the land had become impoverished and desolate because of Smaug, and they lived on the rocks in the lake. Although the elves in the dense forests nearby were difficult to approach, they were still a kind and order-oriented race.

So since Smaug fell asleep, there has been no disturbance in the town of Long Lake for more than 60 years. Gradually, people only knew that there was a dragon in the lonely mountain, but they didn't even know what Smaug looked like.

The evil dragon slept for more than sixty years in this sleep, but how many sixty years can short-lived humans have?
Most of the old people who had seen it fly out of Lonely Mountain to plunder and devour are no longer around.

The vague description that was left behind became a story, which was then twisted into something that was completely different from the truth.

It's just like how modern warlocks understand ancient warlocks in the magical medieval world.

And now, the residents of Changhu Town finally understood again what true cruelty is and the massacre brought about by battle.

Even a small-scale orc army caused huge damage to this small town that was unguarded due to its comfort.

At night, the ashes that were blown into the sky by the heat of the flames gradually burned out and floated down again.

The gray ashes mixed with white snowflakes made people feel not only cold physically but also cold in their hearts.

The snow suppressed the remaining flames, at least preventing the fire from spreading throughout the town. But walking on the wooden walkway, I still had to lift my legs from time to time to step over the bodies lying or reclining.

Lan En stepped on the trail with his boots made of gliding lizard skin. He squatted gently and put down a slumped corpse that was nailed to the wall by the orc's crude knife.

This person may have been living a normal life the day before, discussing the future with family or friends, but now, nothing is left.

Lan killed all the orcs he saw last night and sent all the humans he saw to the square defense line.

However, the orcs had already arranged a dispersed formation when they attacked, and launched actions from various locations in Changhu Town, so he was unable to keep up.

A heavy but slow collision sound came from the wooden piles that supported the trail and isolated it from the water.

Lan En looked back and saw that it was the boat that the mayor of Changhu Town had driven out of the official residence after the orc invasion.

At that time, the golden light on the ship was dazzling against the backdrop of the flames.

But now, only half of the ship was floating on the waterway, with only a few gold coins scattered in the gaps between the wooden boards of the ship, and the rest of the gold, silver and treasures had sunk to the bottom.

The pot-bellied mayor also lay on his back on this half of the boat, with his legs soaked in the water. Only his upper body did not slide down because of friction.

The lace scarf around his neck had already drank enough blood to flow from his neck.

The whole person was pale from blood loss and bluish-white from being frozen.

Until now, his stiff hands were still tightly grasping the handle of a golden cup.

"Dragon disease."

Lan En muttered to himself as he watched the half-ship carrying the corpse drifting away in the waterway along with the ice floes.

There were still wisps of smoke rising from the fire in Changhu Town.

From the ruins came cries, some suppressed and some heart-wrenching.

Lan En walked towards the square. As expected, the closer he got to the square, the louder the noise of the crowd became.

The square in front of the mayor's residence was originally a gathering place. Now, the people who were frightened last night are still staying here nervously, and they don't want to leave even though it is snowing.

The safety of this place last night is what these townspeople who have suffered an unfortunate incident care about most.

The shield guards were replaced in the square to rest, and a group of male townspeople took over the shields, weapons and armor. They stood nervously at the defense line from last night, staring at the dark corners and ruins outside the defense line, guarding against the orcs who had already left.

The mayor's residence was already crowded with people coming in and out, and many female townspeople were bringing out large basins of hot water and food.

Bud was busying around in the middle of the square.

"Thank God! You're here!"

As soon as he saw the tall figure outside the square, Bud immediately walked over while shouting.

"It seems you have done a good job, Master Bud."

Amid the curious and amazed gazes of the townspeople, Lan was welcomed in by Bud.

"Stop talking." Bud frowned, looking like he had a headache. "People were scared last night and are now staying in the square and refusing to leave. But now it's snowing again. We can't live outdoors."

After saying this, Bard looked at the witcher seriously.

"Thank you, Lan. We all heard from the townspeople you brought here yesterday that you saved a lot of people. And your reminder to the mayor made the guards wear shields at the time, so that they could hold up a line of defense later."

"And my children, if anything happened to them, I don't know if I would have the courage to live on now."

Bud said sincerely, looking behind him.

Lan En also turned his head. His three children were helping others to the best of their ability.
“Maybe I can’t repay you for your help now, but please believe that my family will always remember this kindness.”

"Don't say more." Lan En waved his hand and smiled, "Just something to eat. I've been busy all night and haven't had anything hot to eat yet."

Bud nodded and called out to his little daughter in the back.

"Sigrid, bring some food, hot!"

Then he turned back to look at Lan.

"Let's eat together and talk while we eat. My mind is in a mess right now. There are problems everywhere and there are solutions to everything."

"But I heard that you are the descendant of the Lord of River Valley City."

"I am a descendant of the city lord, but I grew up in Changhu Town. I can fish and shoot arrows, but I have never done these things."

Bud's little daughter brought over two steaming plates of food, but before Lan and Bud could sit down and start eating, there was another commotion outside the square.

Two elves appeared in front of people.

(End of this chapter)