Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1123 1105. My Pleasure
After Lan received the Arkenstone in his hand, he did not hold it in his arms. Instead, he bent down and looked carefully at the Hobbit who handed over the gem.

"And you, Bilbo Baggins?"

"Give me this gem, what will you do?"

"I?"

Bilbo was stunned at first, as if he had never thought about this matter about himself.

He therefore seemed a little overwhelmed as if facing an emergency, but in the final analysis, he never changed his mind and did not look at the glittering gem again.

Bilbo's hands subconsciously grasped the corners of his clothes and rubbed them.

"According to the contract, I own one-fourteenth of the treasure in this lonely mountain. Although I don't know if it is appropriate, I think it makes sense to exchange this one-fourteenth for the Arken gemstone."

"I will hand it over to you now, hoping that you can use it to save Thorin. That's it."

Bilbo pursed his lips as he spoke, and it was obvious that he himself was not sure of what he was saying. After all, the value of the King's Gem was too great, and it was not only about value, but also about power.

Lan En frowned, still not relaxing.

"I didn't ask you about the legitimacy of the gem. What I asked was: After a year of hard and dangerous journey, are you going to give up all the gains from your adventure?"

"Aha."

Bilbo chuckled and breathed a sigh of relief when he heard this, as if the issue of interests raised by Lan was countless times easier than the legality and morality issues just now.

"You mean the rewards of adventure? No, I don't care. Really, I don't care at all."

The hobbit seemed to relax when he talked about this. He straightened his chest and raised his head. His hands, which were rubbing the corners of his clothes nervously, were now lightly placed on his belt.

"Of course, traveling far in the wilderness, being hunted by orcs, and being blocked by various monsters are difficult and dangerous experiences. But... enough, Lan En."

A satisfied smile appeared on the hobbit's face.

"I met many friends and saw many things. I will definitely add all these things to the book I write after I return!"

"I also found an acorn at Beorn the Skinchanger's house. I will plant it in my garden when I return to Bag End."

"These are the rewards of my adventure. It would be great to have gold as a reward, but now..."

The hobbit's tone grew serious and uneasy.

"Obviously, something is wrong with Thorin. And his problem could put all the dwarves in danger. They are all my friends, and of course you are my friend too."

"I knew that dwarves were stubborn, difficult, suspicious, secretive, and had bad habits, but I traveled with them for a whole year, and I also knew that they were brave, kind, and loyal to their friends."

"If I can give up wealth to save my friends from danger, I don't think I have anything to worry about."

"Lan, I love my friends, so I am willing to do everything in my power to save them."

The brazier that the dwarves had temporarily moved to the city gate emitted a tiny "puff" sound, and the flames flickered on the bodies of several people.

Lan looked seriously at the equally serious face of the Hobbit opposite him and remained silent for a long time.

Suddenly, the witcher smiled.

This smile came from genuine admiration, so radiant and beautiful that it even made the hobbits temporarily forget the brilliance of the Arkenstone and were a little dazed.

"It is a great honor to me, Master Baggins."

"what?"

Bilbo asked blankly.

"It's my honor to be your friend," Lann repeated, explaining.

The hobbit opened his mouth, not knowing what to say.

But the cat Elu next to him had already pounced on Bilbo, rubbing its furry face against the Hobbit's face.

"So handsome, meow, Bilbo!"

The calico kitten looked at the hobbit with almost starry eyes.

Bilbo was at a loss and tried to push the ball of fluff away: "No, wait! What? Your fur is on my head!"

Lan En stood up straight, then became serious and walked towards the depths of Lonely Mountain.

He walked further inside, passing through the King's Hall which was filled with liquid gold and then solidified. The stunning golden floor was sparkling with a psychedelic glow.

It was as if just one look was enough to give you an illusion of wealth and luxury.

But Lan En noticed more that the gold exuded the stench of deep-buried dragons.

All of this gold has been occupied by an evil dragon for a long time and carries the dragon's evil spirit.

Lan's spirit had already proven its resilience and strength in the Fire World and under the dark erosion of Eldridge, so to him, this gold was just a nice-looking thing at best.

Following the trail, Lan finally arrived at the Kingdom's treasure house in Lonely Mountain. But before he entered, he found several dwarves standing at the door with their heads down.

"Thorin is in there?"

Lan En asked directly and bluntly.

Sitting on the large piece of rubble beside the door, Qili, with his hands on his knees, nodded lowly and slowly.

At this point, all the dwarves changed into their armor and weapons.

The dwarven armor, like their architectural style, uses many geometric lines, making the armor appear angular, hard and thick, just like an iron pillar.

Smaug raided the Lonely Mountain in the past, so there were still a sufficient number of weapons and equipment in the armory that had not been consumed. In addition, with the dwarves' superb craftsmanship and fine ore raw materials, these weapons and equipment can be used even now with just a wipe.

"Are you preparing for war?"

Lan asked as he looked at the group of dwarves who were dejected and obviously in low spirits.

"To defend the Lonely Mountain, each of us is willing to sacrifice our lives." Qili first looked up and said, but then lowered his head again in confusion.

"But it wasn't supposed to be like this. This wasn't the glorious battle we had envisioned."

Opposite Kili, Fili also held his helmet weakly: "We are not afraid of sacrifice for the Lonely Mountain, but at least we have to die with honor to be considered a sacrifice, right?"

"I'm sorry, Lan. We just invited you to be our guest. We also ate the food given to us by the refugees from Long Lake Town in River Valley and used their blankets to keep warm. But now..."

Philip's fingers were tangled in caressing the helmet in his arms, and his knuckles scraped across the edges, making a monotonous sound of steel friction, echoing in the dead and empty lonely mountain.

"Life is so hard now." In a monotonous and empty voice, Ori sighed and said, "Even if we were hungry and had to sleep in the open in the wilderness, it would be better than now. At least our hearts are clean and full of hope."

Ori is a dwarf who has the same hobbies as Bilbo. He often carries a notebook and a pen with him to record his experiences.

But Bilbo wanted to write a wonderful book, while he just wanted to record it as information.

Bangbo, who is always fat and kind-hearted, also nodded frequently.

"The people of Changhu Town took care of us because of the disaster we suffered, so they should be compensated and paid. They didn't ask for much, so what if they deducted it from my share? In the end, it turned out like this, and we feel uncomfortable."

After he finished speaking, Bombo seemed to realize that his wording was not right and quickly tried to make amends.

"Of course, I'm not complaining about Thorin. May his beard always be lush. But I have to say... Why has he suddenly become so stubborn these days? Even I think he is stubborn."

After Bombo finished speaking, Qili nodded in agreement, then raised his head and looked at the witcher.

"Lane, aren't you a wizard? Like Gandalf? Can you use magic to find the Arkenstone? When he led us, Thorin was a humble and sensible man. Now Thorin is focused on this gem. Maybe he can get better if he finds it!"

Before Lan En responded, Groin, who was standing aside holding an axe, started to refute.

"You don't understand, Kili. You and Fili were born and raised in the Blue Mountains. You have never seen the Arkenstone, and you don't really know what it is."

"But I have seen it."

Groin was holding a necklace pendant with a small portrait of his wife and child. Lan En heard that the child was called Jimli.

"I was not old when the Arkenstone was dug out, but I remember that from then on, something was wrong with the Lonely Mountain Kingdom. Thror became more and more anxious and asked the dwarves to dig deeper."

"It's as if we've forgotten that our ancestors dug too deep, too recklessly, and awakened something in the depths of Moria, ultimately causing us to flee our original home."

"The circulation of refined gold has also decreased. If it is not circulated, isn't it just a stone? But Serol just likes to see the gold piled up, just like in a treasure house."

"Thorin has taken over the responsibilities of king in our most difficult time, and he has performed it very well. He has brought a group of displaced dwarves back to a stable life. Who could do better than him?"

"Now that he has recaptured Elbor, he is the king! He doesn't need any gems to prove it!"

Kili still holds out hope for the Arkenstone.

"But I heard in the story that the gem is bright and shining, and can bring power to its owner!"

Groin's response to this was also very direct. The dwarf snapped the necklace pendant shut and sneered.

"Hey, it can do shit!"

After all, Kili and Fili were young, and since they had never actually seen the Arkenstone, they had no confidence to refute Gloin.

Several dwarves expressed their opinions to a greater or lesser extent, and Lan En nodded slightly to show that he understood.

"I'll go in and talk to Thorin. No matter what, we can't delay this situation any longer."

Lan patted the stone wall of the dwarven city.

"The residents of Lake Town can't wait any longer. The elves are also furious. The credibility and reputation of the dwarves will only get worse as time goes by."

"Yes." Fili couldn't help but nodded, "The family's reputation and honor are more important than anything else!"

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(End of this chapter)