Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1124 1106. Explosive Gem
When Lan En entered the treasure hall, he was initially shocked by the mountains of gold and silver here, but he remained calm after that.

If we simply talk about the amount of gold, Lan En once saw small meteors made of pure gold in outer space during "Memory Dive".

The volume of that meteor was about three thousand cubic kilometers.

Therefore, unless it can be converted into purchasing power, Lan En is not really shocked by the huge amount of gold.

The dragon stench was even stronger here, and much of the complaints and exhaustion of the other dwarves during this time stemmed from this.

If anyone were asked to search for something in a pile of cold and smelly metal day and night, even if it was gold, he would only be able to find it in the first few days.

But only Thorin is the one who is most willing to stay here.

No one came in now, only Thorin himself, wearing his bloated, gorgeous robe that he had found among his grandfather's relics, rummaging through the mountain of gold coins for gems.

"Is this the majesty of the so-called 'King under the Mountain'?"

Lan En also walked towards him, stepping on the gold coins, talking as he walked.

There was an obvious sarcasm in his tone.

"It seems that what you have gained after a year of hard travel is not at all dignified."

"Don't talk to me about 'respectability'!" Thorin knelt on the pile of gold, digging it down with obsession. "I want to find the Arkenstone and command all the dwarves. Then, all of you who covet my gold will be thieves!"

The gold coins dug out by Thorin flowed down like quicksand on a sand dune.

"Gold, gold, you're still talking about gold! Is this thing really that important? More important than your life?"

Lan En raised his legs from the falling gold coins, making a rustling sound.

"Of course, we will defend the gold in the Lonely Mountain with our lives! Elves, humans, no one can take it away!"

"If it's just humans and elves, then that's easy." Lan's expression was calm, but his words made Thorin freeze in his digging motion.

"I can imagine what you did, Thorin. You are not in your right mind right now, but you are not stupid. You also understand that fourteen people cannot stop the elven army and human refugees."

"You must have made some arrangements so that you can still dig for gold and find gems here now, right?"

"So what arrangements would you make?"

The demon hunter said with a hint of amusement.

Thorin paused in digging for gold, and then, as if to cover up his guilty conscience, he moved even more vigorously.

Lan En looked at Thorin, who was hiding his guilty conscience, as if he was looking at a scheming little kid.

"Too easy to understand, Thorin." The witcher shook his head. "You are too easy to understand."

"Although I don't know much about the terrain and situation here, I have been able to outline the general shape from your words."

"To the east of the Lonely Mountain is the Iron Hills, which is the territory of your cousins. When the dragon came, they dared not lend a helping hand in order to protect themselves. But things are different now. Not only is the dragon dead, but their strength has also increased during this period of time."

"You have been stalling for time. I think your letter for help and the notification of the successful restoration of the country have been sent to Iron Hill?"

Situations, information, and the relationships between characters and regions. Every time Lan arrives in a new world, he asks Mentos to immediately start building a database.

This is not groundless.

The biochemical intelligent brain records all the information and relationships he has come into contact with, and finally connects and verifies each other as data support.

After coming to this world, the news he came into contact with the most was about Lonely Mountain.

Thorin was not stupid. It was impossible for him to defend the Lonely Mountain with just a few men in front of the elves and the townspeople. The rest of the reasoning was a natural conclusion for Lan.

After all, at this juncture and in this area, Thorin actually has very few choices.

Now Lan mentioned this in front of Thorin just to confirm it with his reaction.

But there was no doubt that Lan's words left Thorin completely at a loss.

And this was just the beginning of Lan's conversation with him.

For those who are really good at negotiation, the conversation strategy, the order of information disclosure, and the control of emotions have actually been planned before they start talking.

"Your plan is correct and even feasible. This is something worth praising."

At this moment, Thorin's hands were inserted into the pile of gold, but his digging action stopped because of Lan's words. He froze there, staring blankly at the golden coins.

"But the problem is." Lan En's tone suddenly changed, with cold cruelty.

"When facing elves and humans who don't want to start a war, or simply want to solve the problem peacefully, of course you can drag it out. It's just a waste of time."

"But what if the ones who really want to kill people, fight, and steal gold are not elves and humans?"

Thorin on the gold mountain seemed to be irritated by the cold tone. His whole body twitched and the pile of gold coins made a rustling sound.

Lan En continued as if he hadn't seen it.

"You should still remember the news I brought you on the day you set out from Long Lake Town to Lonely Mountain, right? Or has all this gold already filled your head?"

"I told you at the time: Gold is important, but not the most important thing. The most important thing is this strategic location. With the Lonely Mountain, the orcs can connect to the old land of the Kingdom of Angmar in the northwest, and the dark forces in the entire north will have the opportunity to connect."

"Now that the dragon is dead, who do you think is most eager to get to this mountain, besides the humans and elves who came nearby?"

"Beast, orc?"

Thorin murmured in horror, and his voice in the empty hall sounded like the last gentle breath of a dying man.

"Then would the orcs, those natural-born murderers, executioners, and sadists, waste time with you and let you wait for reinforcements?"

"You can evade people who are prepared to talk to you. But I'm curious, how do you deal with people who just want to kill you?"

Thorin was at a loss at this moment. If he was the same person before, he would never be in this state. But now he was no longer the brave, resourceful and decisive dwarf warrior and leader.

But it was Thorin Oakenshield with eyes full of gold.

The more he cared about gold and Lonely Mountain, the more afraid he felt, and the more he couldn't muster up the courage he once had.

"The situation is dire, Thorin. But it is not too late to do anything."

Just as the King under the Mountain was lying on his mountain of gold in a state of panic, the Witcher sent out a much calmer voice at the right moment.

"Give the gold to the humans in Riverdale. They have nowhere else to go. After they get the gold, they are no longer your enemies, but they are still the enemies of the orcs."

"It's the same with the elves. They only want their national treasure, the relics of King Thranduil's late wife. Their country is not far from the Lonely Mountain, and they have no right to watch the orcs occupy this place."

"Thorin," Lan said sincerely, "As long as you pay the gold you promised, you will find that you are surrounded by comrades instead of enemies!"

The King under the Mountain gasped for breath and looked around his wealth with painful and confused eyes.

Lan En's series of information bombardment made his already chaotic mood even more chaotic.

Under the gold mountain, the sound of gold coins being trampled could be heard, and the demon hunter was walking out of the hall.

Suddenly, the footsteps stopped.

Lan En, who was originally walking out, stopped as if unintentionally, turned his head slightly and asked a question.

"You have always thought of me as a wizard, right Thorin? Then you should also know that wizards can use magic."

"what?"

Thorin, who was suffering from a headache and dizziness, turned his head towards the witcher in a daze, but the dwarf's pupils dilated instantly!
"Arken Gem!"

A gem emitting a hazy and dazzling halo was being tossed up and down in the witcher's palm.

There is no intention of cherishing or caring at all.

Thorin almost crawled towards Lan En at the foot of the golden mountain.

This movement made quite a noise, for, like Bilbo's original movement, a large number of gold coins slid down, making a continuous sound of gold coins colliding.

The dwarves who had been waiting outside looked at each other and prepared to go in to see what was going on.

It was Bahrain who arrived early and stopped them.

"Let them talk. No matter what, it should be better than it is now. Wizards have their own ways. Let's not go in and cause trouble."

Although they were worried, the severity of the situation and the old dwarf's prestige successfully stopped the others.

"How did you get it! Give it back to me!"

Thorin slid down the last way, speaking loudly.

"It's a wizard's little trick. It's very convenient for finding things." Lan En said perfunctorily. "As for returning it to you? I remember that this thing belongs to the people of Lonely Mountain, right?"

"It's the King's Stone. It belongs to the King! Am I not the King?"

"Hard to say."

Faced with Thorin's insane persistence, Lan muttered indifferently.

"And I remember that you have given me half of the proceeds from your adventure. I think this gem is good. What? The King Under the Mountain is going to break his promise again?"

"You can ask for anything! Anything else is fine! Only this!"

Thorin spoke loudly as he stared at the gem that was flying up and down in Lan's hand.

The demon hunter looked indifferent to this statement.

"Another promise. It seems that the King Under the Mountain is best at making worthless promises. In the end, nothing can be exchanged, right?"

"All right."

Looking at Thorin's current infatuated and confused state, Lan En truly felt angry and disgusted.

Because a few days ago, this man was still his friend. At that time, he was resolute and courageous, and could fight to the end even against the dragon.

But now he has become like this.
The demon hunter's eyes narrowed.

It is precisely because he has seen the former Thorin that he wants to change this guy back!
Damn [Dragon Disease], it turned a dwarf hero and leader into a waste!

"No discussion, Thorin. You know that no one in this mountain can stop me."

"The Arkenstone is in my hands, unobstructed. I have no desire for this dwarven treasure."

"As long as you fulfill your promise, this gem will not stay in my hands for a minute longer."

"The deadline is today's sunset. You must transport the gold and distribute it to the people of River Valley City. I will only give you this much time. If you exceed that time."

Lan stretched out both of his hands in front of Thorin.

In one hand he held the Arken Gem, and in the other he held an ordinary white gem.

"Oh!"

The flames exploded, startling Thorin, who was staring at the Arkenstone.

The ordinary gem on Lan En's left hand quickly lost its luster in the flames, and cracked and changed color visibly to the naked eye.

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(End of this chapter)