Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1117 1099. Shadow

In Lake Town, although Lan and Bard were heroes who fought against Smaug, after welcoming them and confirming the death of the dragon, people still had to get busy with the difficult living conditions at the moment.

It did snow last night, but the fire in Lake Town was too strong, and the heat melted the snow above the town, leaving only the gray-white wood ashes falling, so Lan and Bard didn't notice it.

But the snow at night has covered part of the Valley City with white again, and the snow line on the upper part of the Lonely Mountain seems to have extended a lot downward.

Now it is after the snow, the temperature is cold and humid. This group of townspeople have just been frightened repeatedly, and most of them were malnourished before.

If nothing is done, someone will be unable to hold on.

"I think, why don't we go inside the Lonely Mountain?"

A male townsman struggled to push away a large piece of rubble blocking the front of the house, while complaining to the people around him who were also working.

"There are a lot of rooms carved out by the dwarves. The mountain is warm and dry. It's safe. After all, the dragons are dead, right? And when the dragons are still alive, nothing dares to sneak in."

"Although there will be dragon odor, women can clean it up."

"And there are quilts and clothes that are old and dusty, but thick enough. They can keep us warmer. Of course, there is also some gold."

The townsman who spoke stopped to take a breath.

He was tattered and full of rancid smell of rotten fish oil. A soft leather hat covered his tangled, shiny hair like a headscarf.

He panted heavily, and the hot air from his mouth turned into a white mist by the cold temperature, which was wet and cold on his face.

This is a street in the ruins of River Valley City.

A dozen townspeople who can work are cleaning up the rubble in front of a tall building destroyed by dragon fire on the street, hoping to open the road for people to enter.

Dragon flames are not only high-temperature flames, but also have physical impact. The gate of this building is made entirely of stone.

Every stone on the door frame cannot be moved by ordinary people, and can only be moved by rolling on the ground.

But even so, Smaug sprayed a mouthful of dragon flames during his flight, and the entire gate made of stones stuck together and pieced together instantly collapsed into a messy pile of rubble.

The people who worked with the townspeople who were talking also stopped to use shovels and sticks to catch their breath.

Looking at their exhausted appearance, it is difficult to say whether they agree with this statement or not.

At this time, the sound of wooden wheels turning on the stone road came from the other end of the street, and Bard's voice.

"That is the country of dwarves, and there are still dwarves in it now. We should not go in without consent for both reason and emotion."

Bard came over with a tattered wooden cart. He was responsible for transporting the cleared rubble away.

At this time, he spoke seriously and firmly, as if he wanted to solemnly dispel the ideas of these townspeople.

"And the gold is cursed. We only take the portion that Thorin Oakenshield promised us, which is enough for us to rebuild our home. We can't take any more gold coins!"

"How many people have been killed by greed for gold? The dwarves kept digging deep into the Lonely Mountain, and finally the news of the treasure and greed attracted the dragon. We are now standing in the destroyed Dale City!"

No one was more qualified than Bard to say these words.

Because he was the descendant of the lord of this destroyed city, but now he has fallen to making a living with a group of fishermen.

Bard's three children are all well-behaved and sensible, but this is not because he provides rich materials, but because he educates them well.

In fact, Tirtha and Sigrid don't have a new piece of clothing, and Barn, who has always taken Bard as an example, doesn't even have his own bow.

Bard came forward to express his attitude towards the gold in the Lonely Mountain. No one is more suitable than this.

And thanks to the help of Lan, Bard gained prestige among the townspeople at this time. Even the people who started to complain nodded their heads to show their understanding.

Although Smaug was dead, the horrible impression still remained in the hearts of the people here.

It was only one night since Long Lake Town was raided and massacred by orcs at night, and then burned by the dragon. Gold really didn't seem to matter.

When the townspeople saw the bodies of familiar people floating on the lake in the daytime, with their wounds soaked and white, it was the most sober moment in their lives.

But in the valley city, the surviving townspeople of Long Lake Town had Bard to keep them sober and look at the Lonely Mountain and the gold in the Lonely Mountain rationally.

But what about the Lonely Mountain now?

The four dwarves who were heading towards the Lonely Mountain Kingdom saw the hobbit and the cat standing outside before they entered the door that was knocked open by Smaug from the inside.

After seeing the four dwarves, the two of them seemed very happy.

"You're still alive! Great!"

But strangely, this joy only lasted for a moment.

The Hobbit's smile turned into a pursed mouth, and the erect triangular ears of the Fey Cat drooped again.

"No, I really don't know if you came at the right time."

"What nonsense are you talking about?"

Kili, who had just recovered from the arrow wound, didn't think too much, and went straight up to forcefully pull Bilbo and the fluff ball into his arms, laughing and giving them a hearty hug.

"We are alive, and you are alive too! Is there anything better than this? Haha!"

The young and lively dwarf even jumped up like a little girl.

But Bilbo and the fluff ball's expressions did not improve.

"This is true, Kili, Fili, Bofur, Oin. You'd better not go in. In fact, no one should go in!"

Bilbo's words caused Fili to be confused.

"What's wrong? You look like you are scared. You are a hobbit who can talk nonsense with three ogres face to face!"

"Listen to me."

Bilbo pressed his hand down, sorting out his thoughts and motioning for himself to speak slowly.

"Thorin is not right. Since we drove Smaug out last night, when everyone was almost exhausted, he didn't eat or drink, and didn't let others eat or drink. They all stayed downstairs."

"If you ask me, this place must be wrong! There is an evil spirit in it!"

"Evil spirit?"

Fili said at first without belief.

He and Kili were both young dwarves born outside the Lonely Mountain. They only yearned for their former homeland and hometown in the stories of their elders. The beautification of the filter certainly made them unwilling to believe that there was any "evil spirit" in their hometown.

However, Fili, who tilted his head and looked past Bilbo, seemed to have suddenly seen something, and his eyes were straight and dazed.

He left the hobbit who was still talking to him and walked into the broken door.

The people behind him hurriedly followed, and Bilbo and the flannel ball looked at each other and sighed while following.

"."

Fili, who was the first to break into the Lonely Mountain and move forward in the psychedelic golden light, stopped with a vacuous step.

The three dwarves who followed him were almost the same.

Because after the gate of the Lonely Mountain, a distance further in is the King's Hall where Thorin and his men melted the golden Thror Colossus and almost crushed Smaug to death.

Although the dwarves were short of manpower, they still lit a brazier where it should be illuminated, and the flames flickered and shone on the huge golden plane that covered the hall.

Then it was reflected into a golden light with a psychedelic glow.

When the four dwarves saw this scene, they even breathed softly.

But Bilbo breathed a sigh of relief after watching them for a while. Fortunately, the dwarves were only dazed and confused for a short while after seeing this shocking scene.

Later, they woke up. Although they still glanced at the huge golden plane unconsciously, their eyes were at least normal.

"You said Thorin and the others are still down there?"

Bofur turned his head and asked Bilbo, and the hobbit nodded with pursed lips.

A group of people walked into the depths of the lonely mountain again under the leadership of Bofur and Oin, who were familiar with the road.

They passed through layers of excavation, stairs, and load-bearing columns as thick as a house.

Finally, the shocking gold and silver sea in the treasure room also appeared in front of the four dwarves.

Fortunately, the golden plane of the entire hall after entering the door gave them an adaptation period, and the four dwarves did not stare at the glittering gold and silver for too long.

In the gold and silver sea that originally only reflected light, many braziers were now lit, reflecting the charming luster of gold and silver.

The other dwarves were bending over and searching in the gold and silver sea weakly.

Just below the stairs where they were, a sound of gold coins being trampled came.

Fili and Kili looked down and saw Thorin walking out of a small room in the treasure room.

But he looked completely different from the day before.

The dwarf warrior who used to sleep in the open without complaining about the hardship and tiredness now wore a luxurious and grand fur cloak.

Fili and Kili recognized this image, which was the cloak worn by their grandfather, Thorin's grandfather, when he was still the King under the Mountain.

The expensive and exquisite fur was now covered with dust, but due to its superb quality, it was not damaged or looked bad.

Thorin couldn't wait to put it on just one day and one night after entering the Lonely Mountain.

As he walked, Thorin was still humming.

"Gold. Countless gold."

His voice was like he had lost his soul, and he whispered to himself, while turning his head around to admire the magnificent scene as if he wanted to put all the gold in the treasure room into his vision.

"Enough to make up for all the sorrows and pains."

While turning his head and greedily admiring the treasure room, Thorin saw the four dwarves who had just entered the Lonely Mountain.

He naturally opened his arms to them, and the fur cloak was propped up by him to form a broad black shadow.

The flames flickered, reflecting the luxury and splendor of the mountains of gold and silver, but at the same time it also left a deeper shadow, just like the dark circles under Thorin's eyes that had thickened at some point.