Chapter 226: On the Road

When he received the letter sent by Allen regarding the need for Mithril, Thorin, as the "King of Durin," was truly astonished for a long while; he even forgot the pipe in his hand, and the burning "Old Toby" drifted with wisps of blue smoke, spreading throughout the stone chamber.

That place was occupied by "Durin's Bane," which had caused the Dwarves such bitter suffering!

Could it be that the courage of his human friend was already sufficient to confront such terrifying darkness?

Dain, who was standing to the side discussing important matters with Thorin, wore a grave expression upon hearing this news, and while pondering, he said: "Perhaps Allen truly has a way to avoid the enemy. In fact, as early as ten years ago, when we first met, he mentioned Khazad-dum and knew there was a terrifying power there, referring to it as a Balrog. I think Allen should be very clear about what he is preparing to do."

Hearing Dain's words, Thorin finally recovered from his shock and took a fierce puff from the pipe in his hand.

To say that Thorin had never thought about being able to lead Durin's Folk back to Khazad-dum in his lifetime would certainly be impossible.

Whether it was him, his father, his grandfather, or even tracing back nearly a thousand years, not a single King of Durin had ever abandoned this thought.

However, the impression "Durin's Bane" left on the Dwarves was simply too deep; even the resilient Dwarves rarely dared to summon the courage to speak of that monster made of fire, even though the monster known as the Balrog now only circulated in stories passed down among Dwarves, and no one had seen it with their own eyes.

Moreover, when Fili returned to the Lonely Mountain from Fislate, he mentioned that the Balrog was still active in Khazad-dum. This news was learned from the Elves of Lothlorien. Regardless of the relationship between those fellows and the Dwarves, at least Thorin knew that although the Elves sometimes spoke in riddles, they almost never lied.

Thus, the news that had been circulating in the Lonely Mountain recently—that Khazad-dum had been vacated—naturally became a rumor, and Thorin had placed most of his energy into the plan to retake the Grey Mountains.

And now, this matter had been brought up by his human ally.

Of course, the letter Allen sent to the Lonely Mountain was not an invitation for Thorin to dispatch a Dwarf army to forcibly occupy Moria, which was still shrouded in darkness; he only needed two guides who were relatively familiar with those caves.

But even so, Thorin appeared very hesitant; he was not only worried that the clansmen he sent would never return, but also afraid that this friend of his would unfortunately perish in those dark and terrifying halls.

"Thorin, let me take some men and go with Allen; this matter is also very important to us."

"Clap."

Having pondered for a long time, Dain slammed the wine cup in his hand heavily onto the stone table in front of him and continued to persuade: "I know you have always been thinking about reclaiming the Grey Mountains, but this does not hinder us from first going to Khazad-dum to explore and prepare for future matters."

If it were to take a large number of clansmen to directly retake Moria, Dain would not agree either, because the Dwarves simply had no way to defeat the Balrog, but following Allen to explore, Dain felt there was no major problem.

He could also take the opportunity to see what kind of confidence his ally had to be able to take out the Mithril he needed right under the Balrog's nose.

Looking at Dain, who wore a determined expression, Thorin finally nodded. Erebor was indeed very wealthy, but it was also a small place; if he could retake the kingdom that once belonged to the Dwarves, Thorin naturally would not miss such an opportunity.

"Good, I will arrange for Ori and Oin to accompany you. I know they have both studied the terrain of Khazad-dum and should be able to help you and Allen."

Having received permission, Dain nodded, bowed to the King, turned, and left Thorin's room to find his two companions.

By the time the three Dwarves reached Winterburg via the Running River, it was already half a month later, and Allen was also nearly prepared for departure.

In Allen's view, although Moria seemed very dangerous at this time, it was no longer that terrifying to him now. Before sending the letter to the Dwarves, he had conducted a very detailed analysis.

First, after the great battle at the Lonely Mountain, the Orcish in Moria had lost at least two-thirds of their strength. Although six or seven years had passed and the Orcish reproduced fast enough, it was impossible for them to immediately return to their most powerful moment.

Moreover, Allen did not intend to go alone this time; he prepared to take all his Elven guards, namely Holimion and twelve Twilight Knights, thirty-six Noldor Rangers, and ten Girl Rangers.

Such power, when facing small-scale Orcish and not particularly large numbers of Troll, was enough to quickly resolve them, not to mention that with Allen's current strength, he could crush hundreds of Orcish in a single encounter and render dozens of Troll immobile.

At the very least, this level of power had no problem running away. Allen had also prepared an Elven Cloak for all his subordinates, which was enough to hide their figures in the darkness.

As for why he did not take the Death-Defying Swordsman, the Griffin Knight, and the Animal Friend, it was naturally because Humans did not have the ability to see in the dark, and the form of the Skin-changer was too bulky.

Allen did not want his team, which was preparing to sneak in quietly, to have to carry torches and swagger through the halls of Moria. If he did that, it would be safer to bring thousands of troops, rush in for a frantic grab, and run away immediately.

Secondly, the biggest threat in Moria was still that Balrog who had fled during the War of Wrath, and Allen had also been preparing to deal with it.

For the raging flames on the Balrog's body, Allen had prepared as many as six Sapphire Rune Bows. In recent years, he had tested the power of this weapon on Easterlings, Fell Beasts, Troll, and Ringwraiths; the frost power contained within should form a suppression on the Balrog's power, and at the very least, it should have the effect of neutralizing the flames.

And the Quiet Rain, just learned from the Magic Continent, was the biggest trump card Allen had prepared for facing the Balrog. Relying on his current strength, this heavy rain that could suppress dark power could last for at least three minutes, and these three minutes were enough for Allen and his guards to do something.

As long as that monster had no flames to burn others within the range of the Quiet Rain, things would be much easier to handle.

Since Gandalf could fight the Balrog to the death relying on a Sting imbued with lightning, Allen did not believe that he and more than fifty Noldor Elves holding rune weapons would suffer a loss under the hands of a Balrog—as if no one else knew how to cast lightning.

Moreover, Allen also had the ability to check the Balrog's location once a day, so he would not get himself into an overly dangerous state; if the situation was wrong, he would just run. He did not have a throne to guard.

Of course, this was just the worst-case scenario. If possible, Allen hoped he could take his guards to enter Moria quietly, and after obtaining a large amount of Mithril, return home safely and happily divide the spoils with the Dwarves.

As for that fellow lying in wait, Allen prepared to come back and kill it after his own strength grew stronger. Allen still liked the human-like Gandalf of the present and did not wish for this old friend of his to experience a death.

As for whether he would upgrade to some White Wizard, that was not important at all, because after defeating Sauron, Gandalf would take a ship back to Valinor and restore his identity as a Maia.

Being a Wizard was just a precious experience for the Maia Olorin, not his end. Then, before a friend left, shouldn't they spend time together more happily? A Gandalf who had become a White Wizard was truly a bit unfamiliar.

When Allen, who had made preparations, saw the arrival of Dain, Ori, and Oin, he was full of joy after his surprise. Having a few Durin Dwarves who were familiar with the terrain as guides could greatly save his time, and the shorter the time, the lower the risk.

It was just that the arrival of the three Dwarves, Dain and the others, caught Allen off guard. He had only requested two guides in the letter, and he had only prepared two extra Elven Cloaks; this clothing was considered rare in Lothlorien and was not something one could get just by wanting it.

In any case, by the time Allen led his troops to set out from Fislate again, it was already the Tree-Sprouting Month of the Third Age 2948, which was April.

Before heading to the Dark-stream Valley, Allen still went to visit the Lady of the Golden Wood; if for nothing else, at least he had to beg for another Elven Cloak for the Dwarves, otherwise, one Dwarf would have to keep Thrain II company in Caras Galadhon.

And upon learning that Allen was preparing to head to Moria, even an existence as wise as the Lady revealed a trace of surprise. When Allen was fully armed, Galadriel could no longer see through his thoughts.

And Allen, who had once revealed a look of shame before the Lady, could completely resist that special power with the help of his helmet—yes, that "Magic" that seemed to be able to see through people's hearts.

Even if she could not see through the heart of this Human before her at this moment, the understanding, benevolent, and kind Galadriel did not have too much suspicion toward Allen. After all, in the past few years, this extremely young leader had performed many meritorious deeds.

So she very generously gifted an Elven Cloak suitable for a Dwarf and summoned Haldir, who often led small teams to monitor the Dark-stream Valley, letting this Galadhrim who could skillfully use the Common Tongue assist Allen's party in completing their plan.

With the help of the local Elves, the subsequent journey of Allen's party was very smooth. Whether it was a sunny day with the sun shining brightly or a cloudy day with dense clouds blocking the sun, Haldir was always able to lead them through the overgrown dense forest, find extremely hidden paths, and arrive at the northernmost defense line of Lothlorien on the evening of the day.

And this was also the front line where the Galadhrim guarded against Orcish invading the forest; further ahead was the valley leading to the gate of Moria, which was the famous Dark-stream Valley.

The continuous Misty Mountains became increasingly clear in everyone's eyes, and the snow-capped Cloudyhead, Redhorn Pass, and Celebdil also emitted white, shimmering light.

The snow there would probably not melt until the hottest midsummer, and after the arrival of cold winter, the Redhorn Gate, which could originally serve as a passage, would be shrouded in raging blizzards, making it difficult for even powerful existences to pass through.

Oh, right, the light-footed Elves were not included in this; they could stabilize their figures in strong storms while not letting their boots sink into the snow. It had to be said that this was truly a race that was uniquely gifted and possessed special power.

And under the illumination of the bright stars, Allen's party rested for a night on the wooden platform of the Cerin Amroth after having dinner.

Whether it was because one could vaguely see the scenery of the Dark-stream Valley from this place, or because this place was only more than half a day's journey from the gate of Moria, the emotions of the two Dwarves, Oin and Ori, were very agitated, and their chattering voices did not stop at all during the first half of the night.

"I really dare not imagine that we are already so close to Khazad-dum; I want to be the first to enter that gate." Oin's slightly low voice had already begun to turn a bit hoarse.

"Yes, and I, no matter what, must go to see the beautiful Kheled-zâram; no one can stop me, and whoever stops me will have to taste the power of my Dwarf axe." Ori's voice echoed Oin's again.

"Who would stop you? Whoever stops a Dwarf who wants to gaze at Kheled-zâram will have to step over our bodies." Oin's voice replied quickly.

"Alright, alright, can't you two think about which route to take first after entering Moria tomorrow? Be quiet, all of you." Finally, Dain's voice, filled with anger, put an end to all of this.

Everyone was finally able to enter their dreams quietly.

The next day, the morning sun was extremely bright, and after having a simple breakfast and bidding farewell to Haldir, the group began to set off toward the Dark-stream Valley.

Regardless, the Orcish always loathe the sun, especially those Snaga, who almost never step out of the Misty Mountains during the day; any traveler who understands this will take this opportunity to advance quickly.

Very soon, under the cover of trees and Cloak, the group stepped across a shallow but extremely cool stream; if Allen remembered correctly, this should be the Yinmaihe, the river flowing out of Mirror Mere, or Kheled-zâram in the tongue of the Dwarf, which proved that the group had already reached the edge of Dimrill Dale.

Allen used his own ability to observe the situation in the valley with all his might, and after finding no traces of the Orcish, he began to lead the team along the flat valley toward the Misty Mountains.

The vast, broken doors of Moria were already very, very close to them.