Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1128 1110. Bad Temper

With the first batch of gold delivered at dusk, humans and the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain at least once again established a certain degree of mutual trust.

The next morning, the dwarves had happily returned to the Lonely Mountain.

The elves and humans in River Valley City also calmed down.

It seemed that no one thought that there was any need for knives to be pointed at each other or for swords to be stained with blood in this scenario.

But when the sun rose a little higher, a rumbling sound of marching was suddenly heard on the hills east of Lonely Mountain.

The townspeople in River Valley City were in a panic at this moment.

Most of them had only received their weapons two days ago. Although they had practiced a bit during this period, it was difficult to call them militia.

"It's a dwarf!"

The armed townspeople on the city wall turned around and shouted in panic.

"An army of dwarves!"

"The dwarves are treacherous!?"

"Are they coming to attack us?"

For the survival of themselves and their families, the townspeople of Long Lake Town can take a gamble and muster up the courage to go to Thorin to ask for the promised gold.

But they did not think they would stand a chance against a fully armed army of dwarves.

The iron-like dwarves stood in a row on the top of the hill east of Lonely Mountain, shining with a dull steel glow.

Goats with external armor plates are the dwarf cavalry mounts. This type of goat has extraordinary endurance and can move flexibly among mountains and hills. It is the traditional war beast of the dwarves.

The dwarves in heavy armor and the restless goat-beasts, these rustling sounds combined together naturally brought a solemn military atmosphere.

"Don't panic! Don't panic! Don't talk nonsense!"

Bud shouted loudly in the crowd, suppressing people's panic.

"The gold the dwarves sent yesterday was not fake! The dwarves were with us yesterday, weren't they? They were sincere! Don't panic!"

If the townspeople were allowed to talk nonsense in panic, the news would probably spread a few more times and the townspeople would start to think that the dwarves were here to "commit a massacre".

There was a row of dwarves on the hill, and at this moment three figures stood out from the crowd and rode down the slope.

One of them was a tall and strong old man with gray hair and gray robe.

The other was wearing the dwarven armor with its characteristic geometric lines and riding a sturdy armored boar.

The other one is a pretty standard dwarf goat.

Bard, who had hurriedly climbed up the city wall, felt more relieved when he saw this situation.

His frown relaxed and he spoke to his son behind him.

"It seems that the wizard in gray robe has reached an agreement with the dwarves. I will go to meet them. Baine, take good care of your sisters."

Bud's three children, who had been sensible during these difficult times, now helped him with many things.

"Everything is fine!" After instructing his son, Bard raised his hand and waved it downwards for the townspeople gathered under the city wall to see.

The panicked crowd looked at him eagerly.

"It's all right! Go back and get back to work!"

After hearing Bud's reaffirmation, the townspeople finally seemed to calm down a little and dispersed into the city.

The elves were calmer.

Thranduil spoke calmly to Lan beside him.

"It must be the dwarves of the Iron Hills. Gandalf travelled all night long. It seems likely that if he had not gone before, this army would have appeared on our flank this morning."

Riverdale is located on the west side of the gentle slope at the foot of the Lonely Mountain, while the dwarves of the Iron Hills appear in the east, separated by a large plain facing the gate of the Lonely Mountain.

If Thranduil really formed his battle array for the attack on the Lonely Mountain as he had said before, then the flank would be right under the attack of the Ironfoot Army.

"Well, we have to show our strength, otherwise it will be difficult for Thorin Oakenshield in the Lonely Mountain to think that he has the capital."

As he spoke, Thranduil put down the wine glass in his hand, stood up and put on his armor.

Lan En stood outside the marching tent, looking at the dwarf army formation on the opposite hill, and spoke without turning his head.

"No, don't deploy the elven army. Stay in the city first."

"I believe Gandalf has finished his talk, so let's not stir any sensitive nerves at this time. We will go alone."

Thranduil thought about it and said nothing.

If the Ironfoot really want to support Thorin Oakenshield, they have to attack.

Although the River Valley City was dilapidated and old, it still had some outlines. It would be no harm to stay here and not go out.

Combined with the elves' thousands of years of tacit understanding and their bodies as light as fallen leaves, the dwarves have no chance of having an advantage in street fighting.

So a few minutes later, Lan, Bard and Thranduil met outside the city of Riverdale and approached the three people on the opposite side who had already gone down the hill.

On the vast plain at the main entrance of Gushan Mountain, the clouds in the sky would occasionally leave large moving shadows.

The earthy yellow earth carries an air of desolation and solemnity.

This piece of wasteland doesn't look big, but when the six people looked at it from a distance, the opposite side still looked like ants standing on the horizon.

When Lan and his companions came close enough, the dwarf riding the wild boar on the opposite side reluctantly moved forward at Gandalf's urging.

But even so, there is still a long way to go before he can catch up with Gandalf.

"You look really exhausted, Gandalf." The old wizard finished the encounter ahead of time, but Lan saw that his face was tired and helpless, as if he was even more exhausted than when he had just escaped from Dol Guldur and arrived in Dale.

Gandalf pinched his nose in great sorrow, his gray hair drooped under his pointed hat, and he looked exhausted.

"Honestly, Lan, if Thorin with dragon disease is really more difficult to deal with than Dane, then I really can't imagine how you convinced him at that time."

"You need to be strategic in your words and well-planned, but most importantly, you need to take the initiative in the conversation." Lan En sat on the Qilin's back. With his height advantage, he could easily see the dwarf riding a pig who was following him reluctantly.

"Tell me, Gandalf, what have you accomplished?"

The old wizard shook his head and did not answer.

Last night, I traveled all night with Gandalf, and the dwarf who served as the middleman was Balin.

He was faster than the dwarf on the pig, but still slower than Gandalf, and arrived here after he had finished speaking.

Under the sound of goat's hooves stepping on the ground, the old dwarf with white beard didn't look very good, and he held his waist.

"Alas, I am too old to ride a goat."

Bard rode closer on his horse, bent down and patted the old dwarf encouragingly: "Thank you for your hard work, Balin. And you look energetic now."

The old dwarf waved his hand feebly: "Don't flatter me. My waist is worth it if I can avoid fighting."

"I thought I would die outside and become a lonely ghost, but now I can return to Lonely Mountain. I have nothing to be dissatisfied with. I don't care about the gold. As long as our people can return home, it is better than anything else."

Bud nodded. The people in Changhu Town were now devastated and felt deeply moved.

After the greetings, Bard looked at the dwarf riding a pig who was approaching and asked in a low voice: "We don't want to fight, and they don't want to fight with us, right?"

The dwarf army was so awe-inspiring that Bard had to be careful.

"Dane kept his promise." Balin reassured him, "Last night, I testified and explained the whole story and losses of Long Lake Town. Dane had no objection to the gold reward from Long Lake Town. He also felt that Thorin had gone a little too far."

Thranduil, who was sitting next to the stag, narrowed his eyes sharply at this moment.

There is no problem with the gold in Changhu Town, but they still look aggressive. Does that mean they have objections to the elves?

Sure enough, a dwarf wearing a thick helmet and armor and with a wild boar under his crotch came towards them leisurely.

In his hand he held a square-headed hammer the size of a human head.

"You are the ones surrounding Lonely Mountain?"

When people got closer, they found that this was a very typical dwarf.

He had a thick beard and a sturdy build. The beard around his mouth was braided into the shape of fangs and curved upwards.

Like a ferocious and brutal wild boar.

His words and actions are indeed similar.

"Well, my cousin Thorin recaptured the Lonely Mountain, and then you surrounded him while he was isolated and helpless!"

Dane, who was obviously shorter than everyone else, seemed to be surrounding them as the wild boar under his crotch paced.

The huge square-headed hammer in his hand kept turning, just like a skilled carpenter who was familiar with the feel of the hammer before starting work and was ready to smash it at any time.

"And you want to extort the treasure we dwarves have accumulated in the Lonely Mountain!"

Lan looked calmly at the hot-tempered 'dwarf' in front of him: "I have to clarify that I am not blackmailing. My ownership of part of this treasure was acknowledged by Thorin Oakenshield himself."

"Yes, I heard about it from Balin last night." Dane was unmoved. "But let's be honest! We will get the money, but we can't interfere with the land issue! You have surrounded Lonely Mountain, so all other arguments can be put aside!"

"Don't even think about mentioning anything until this is resolved!"

Although he was responding to Lan, the savage dwarf was still looking at Thranduil on the stag.

The meaning is self-evident.

The Elf King was so angry that his eyes rounded and his delicate face almost laughed.

"But the orc army comes before all other issues, right?"

Just when the atmosphere was tense and almost on the verge of a fight, Lan En suddenly spoke.

This time, not only Thranduil, but even Dain felt relieved.

This almost goes without saying, as the hatred between the elves, dwarves and orcs has lasted for tens of thousands of years.

This is not only racial hatred, but also the opposition between good and evil in this special world.

The stag's hooves clapped a few times, and it automatically turned its head with Thranduil, not facing Dain.

And [Iron Foot] Dane also snorted coldly, and made the wild boar that was originally pacing in circles return to the front.

"Yeah, those orc bastards!"

Dane's tone was like a hungry wolf chewing a bone.

"Gandalf has been talking nonsense to me all night, but I still don't know where that filthy army is!"

"We Dwarves have axes and hammers that can break anything, but we cannot split or break the air. You must tell me where those orcs are! Where is the bastard Azog! Before my patience runs out!"

"Yes, we are thinking about this too." Lan should be the only person who can have a calm conversation with Dane, the hot-tempered dwarf.

For some reason, even if Dane wanted to get angry at him, he just couldn't.

This big guy seems to always make sense.
"As expected, they gathered their forces very efficiently. They should have moved very quickly as well."

Lan looked at Gandalf, and the old wizard nodded to indicate that it was true.

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(End of this chapter)