Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1122 1104. Mental Disease
Lan's voice turned cold.

He went up and grabbed the collar of Thorin, who was uneasy and even frantic because of his words.

The loyal dwarves wanted to come forward to mediate the fight, but halfway there, they looked at their former leader.

Thorin, who led the dwarves to open up a new home and overcome numerous difficulties, now looked confused, dazed, and obviously abnormal, and he could not move his legs.

Lan looked directly into Thorin's eyes with his animal eyes.

Thorin instinctively retracted his neck and darted his eyes around in an attempt to escape from the animal's eyes.

The amber iris has a vertical pupil. This feeling.
Thorin felt as if he was back to the night when he stared into the eyes of the dragon.

But even though that night had only been a few days, it felt like a very long time had passed to him.

So long that Thorin, who once dared to curse the dragon at his flaming mouth, now felt himself shrinking.

"You spent one night building a temporary wall, but what does that matter?"

"Even the original walls, built during the heyday of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom, would fall to Smaug's claws and fire. This gate was smashed open by him!"

"and I?"

Lan En's tone gradually changed from angry to calm, but everyone present did not feel relieved by this. Instead, they felt an indescribable chill in their hearts almost at the same time.

"I tore Smaug's wings and claws, letting his blood spill from the night sky into the sea of ​​fire! I smashed his mouth, making it unable to speak! I stabbed his chest with my sword and extinguished the blazing dragon fire!"

"These walls cannot stop Smaug"

Lan En continued softly.

"Then it can stop me?!"

"Can fourteen of you stop me? If I want to get the gold, you shouldn't be standing here now, but lying on the ground!"

The witcher pushed Thorin away with resentment and anger.

The King of the Mountain stumbled backwards, but Dwalin held him up from behind.

But this most loyal and experienced warrior among the dwarves, while supporting Thorin, pursed his lips, unwilling to look at Thorin's pale face and heavy dark circles under his eyes.

"What on earth has made you become like this? Weak, suspicious, fearful, yet greedy to the point of forgetting your own life, Thorin? You were clearly not like this until a few days ago when you left Long Lake Town!"

Lan looked at the King down the mountain with disappointment.

A faint white light, like the refraction of light, came out from his left hand.

【Yaxi Seal】.

"King under the mountain, your promise, your honor, the honor of your family tree, are these worth less than gold?"

With the help of the seal, Lan En's voice was as distant as a whisper from the bottom of his heart.

But Thorin's eyes remained wavering and lifeless.

He pushed Dwalin aside and stood firm, staggering and holding his forehead with his hands, as if he had a splitting headache.

Thorin then hurriedly pushed away all the dwarves who surrounded him and showed concern for him, and stumbled away into the darkness deep in the Lonely Mountain as if he was escaping.

"No, I will never share, even if..." Halfway through, he stumbled over the scattered stones and fell backwards, but staggered to his feet and continued running, "Even if it's just a piece of gold, gold!"

"Thorin!"

"Hurry up! Don't get into trouble!"

The dwarves swarmed off into the darkness, and only Balin and Bilbo stayed behind, sighing.

"We all feel that Thorin is not normal now. But..." The hobbit scratched his head painfully and said, "But he is Thorin after all. He has led us through a year of hard work and has always been brave and fearless."

"So now everyone knows that he is abnormal, but they still habitually don't want to refute him?"

Lan frowned and looked into the depths of the Lonely Mountain, saying what Bilbo had not said.

In Bahrain next to it, people seem very calm when they get old.

But he was only calm on the surface. Seeing Thorin like this, the old dwarf who had assisted Thorin's father and grandfather in the Lonely Mountain Kingdom era now had a little sob in his voice.

He came out at an old age to join Thorin in an adventure to restore his country. Along the way, he fought with orcs and dealt with ogres without ever frowning.

At this moment, the sadness that was suppressed but could not be revealed made the bystanders feel uncomfortable.

"This is the dragon disease."

Balin took a deep breath to suppress the sobs in his throat.

"I thought Thorin would not follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father. He is a better man and a nobler soul than them all."

"He was tenacious. After we lost the Lonely Mountain, he led us to seek a livelihood and work outside. In the Battle of Moria, he bravely faced Azog with only a piece of oak as a shield."

"Look at Thorin's expression just now. That excessive desire, the morbid pursuit of treasure and possessiveness, this mentality once drove Thror crazy!"

"This is the dragon disease, a mental illness, and there is no cure."

Everyone present fell silent for a moment.

Lan En looked down at his left hand which had just performed the seal and shook his head.

How can this be called a 'disease'? It's simply a curse.

At this moment, Bilbo moved his feet and pulled Balin, Lan and the fluff ball together to stand closer.

The hobbit hesitated and said in a tentative tone, "Balin, I mean, you see Thorin is looking for the Arkenstone like crazy now. If, I mean if!"

"Would it be better if he suddenly 'found' the gem?"

When he said "found", Bilbo emphasized the word meaningfully. Suddenly, Lan and Balin looked at Bilbo thoughtfully but uncertainly.

Only the fluff ball was relatively calm.

"Is this possible?"

Lan leaned down and looked at the old dwarf Balin seriously.

Although the words were not spoken clearly, the people present actually understood it tacitly.

"Will obtaining the Arkenstone calm Thorin? Judge from your experience, Balin."

Balin's white beard trembled, and finally he sighed dejectedly.

"The Arken Gem is extraordinary. It is not only a rare and precious gem. Among the dwarves, it also symbolizes the power of the king!"

There was a quiet desperation in the old dwarf's eyes.

"So what do you think? For a person who is morbidly thirsty for wealth, will things be better after he gains power? Whether it's for the situation or for himself?"

Everyone was speechless, only Balin sighed.

"Perhaps it would be better if the Arken Gem, that thing, never appeared again."

"But there must be a way." Lan En said with his eyes slightly narrowed.

"After Smaug conquered the Lonely Mountain, didn't Thror and Thrain escape with you? And after escaping, Thror, who you said was 'driven mad by dragon disease', even organized a campaign to attack Moria."

"That doesn't sound like something a madman would do."

Balin was stunned by Lan's questioning that focused on the details, but then the old dwarf's eyes lit up, as if he had thought of something.

"Wait. It is!"

"Since Thror was forced to leave Lonely Mountain and gold, he suddenly became normal! But we all thought it was because of excessive grief and anger that he drew strength from hatred to support his soul! But think about it now..."

"Perhaps leaving the treasure and losing his wealth will restore him to normal?"

Lan began to try to summarize the characteristics of Serrol's case and find the key.

In the magical Middle Ages, if a demon hunter was tasked with removing a curse, he would most likely use this trick.

"Or perhaps, strong enough emotions, such as the grief of losing one's home, can support a soul that has been corrupted by treasure?"

Balin hurriedly and earnestly grabbed Lan's arm, his lips trembling under his white beard.

"Then let him lose his wealth, Lan! Even if it is only a part of it, it will alleviate his illness. Save him! Save the kingdom we have taken back!"

"In this situation, perhaps only you can accomplish this!"

The witcher patted the old dwarf on the shoulder and said, "I will do my best, but you have to understand that Balin didn't punch Thorin just now. It really made me suffer."

The old dwarf, who was about to cry, smiled bitterly: "I'm sorry to make you laugh. The character and honor of the King under the Mountain are also disgraced. But if you need to beat him, then do it! Thorin's head can even withstand the hammer!"

"I just said it in anger, don't take it seriously. Thorin may be mentally ill now, but he is still my friend after all."

As Lan spoke, he pretended to take Bilbo and the ball of fluff aside and raised his chin at Balin.

"You should go ahead and talk about what we are going to talk about next, Balin. You shouldn't be present for this matter, otherwise it will be difficult to explain later."

Bilbo and Flannel-Ball had almost said that they had hidden the Arkenstone, but they had not said it all.

If Balin was still there at this time, even if Thorin returned to normal in the future, it would be difficult to explain his behavior. There was a rift between him and Thorin for no reason.

There are benefits to not knowing some things, or even pretending not to know them.

Balin pursed his lips and nodded, then walked into the shadows deep in the lonely mountain.

He is also an old hand who has been assisting the king since the Lonely Mountain period, and he knows everything he should know.

When only Felyne and two other people were left at the temporary city gate, Bilbo looked around carefully and put his hand into his arms.

The Arken gem wrapped in a piece of rag was finally seen by Lan for the first time.

When this legendary gem appeared, the radiant light inside the stone almost made Lan En think he was seeing a miniature galaxy!
It is so beautiful, no wonder it is the king's jewel.

"You are a real Snitch, Master Baggins."

Lann chuckled, teasing the short hobbit.

Bilbo blushed. "No, I don't steal, and I consider myself an honest man, but this time..."

"I stole the things, right under the dragon's nose!" The fluffy ball was very proud of his skills and said with his hands on his waist. "But Bilbo saw that Thorin was not right at that time, so he asked me to stay."

"And now it seems that my feeling at that time was right." Bilbo shook his head in a low voice, "If I had given the Arkenstone to Thorin at that time, he would have been finished."

"Balin said that Thorin's current condition is just the beginning of dragon disease. God knows how crazy Thror was at that time. So I can only leave it to you, Lan."

Without any hesitation, the Hobbit handed the rare gem to the witcher.

"Please save Thorin, Lan! Please!"

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(End of this chapter)