Chapter 271: Untitled III

"Gandalf, believe me, having just reclaimed our homeland from the dragon, how could we be completely unprepared for this? This is not the Blue Mountains. Rest assured, the things you worry about will definitely have countermeasures. This is not worth us retreating here at this time and giving up everything we obtained before."

Facing the wizard's reminder, Thorin did not pay too much attention. In order to reclaim the lost kingdom, he and his clansmen had prepared for many years, so naturally, they would not forget the dragon that had once brought them heavy pain.

To be precise, it was a cold dragon without wings and unable to breathe fire.

For this, they prepared some powerful weapons. It was just that the difficulty of transportation was somewhat high. Even if the various parts were dismantled, it still required a large amount of livestock and manpower. After all, the roads in the Grey Mountains had long been abandoned and dilapidated.

Facing Thorin's confidence, Allen was already somewhat unable to be surprised. Today, his dwarf friend gave him too many shocks.

As for how to deal with those evil dragons that were like war machines, Allen also had some of his own ideas. It was just that his method took too long, even with a rough location, it still required years of searching.

This time, Allen was somewhat curious about what Thorin had prepared.

"Then, my respected Lord Thorin, what countermeasures have you prepared? Can you satisfy an old man's curiosity at this moment?"

Without needing Allen to ask, Gandalf could no longer endure it. For the stubbornness of dwarves, most of the time he was always helpless.

"It wouldn't still be wind lances and black arrows, would it? Past years have proven that the effect of these two kinds of weapons is not ideal. Even if they hit, it is very difficult to cause damage to the enemy's hard scales."

The wizard, who always liked to play riddles, liked to have a clear understanding of his questions.

"No, it's a crossbow with greater power and a bolt with more tremendous power. It is derived from the Dwarf Axe."

Saying this, Thorin looked at Allen and nodded slightly.

"This also has to thank those True Silver from Khazad-dum. All the metal parts of the heavy crossbow are made of improved alloys. The tension of the crossbow arms is extremely strong, and the power of the bolt after firing is infinite. We also mixed meteorite iron from the black arrow in the arrowhead, and even used Smaug's residual bones to test it. One shot shattered the leg bone of that dragon."

Speaking to the end, Thorin's tone was high-pitched, and his clenched fists waved twice fiercely.

In his view, the dwarves finally had weapons that could deal with dragons, and they no longer needed to be chased and flee everywhere like before.

Dwarves create wealth, dragons plunder wealth. The nature of both sides determined that it was inevitably a life-and-death situation, especially when the inhabited territories were adjacent.

Although the Grey Mountains at this time no longer had the traces of dragons, that was entirely because the wealth created by dwarves in the past had been plundered clean.

Why did Smaug head to the Lonely Mountain? Wasn't it because the fighting in the Grey Mountains was too fierce, and he himself was unwilling to fight to the death with lower-level cold dragons because of less and less wealth?

Not to mention that in the fighting, there were filthy creatures like Orcs fishing in troubled waters, and they also stole quite a lot of gold and silver jewelry.

"If that's the case, then I need to leave. I will go deep into the north to monitor the movements of those enemies. And you, my friends, must be fast. Although dragons don't have a good impression of Orcs, greed is carved into their bones. If there is enough wealth as a reward, you will inevitably face that terrifying creature again."

After pouring out the residue in the tobacco pouch, Gandalf's tall body stood up again. In fact, the wizard had been rushing for a long time, and at this time, he hadn't rested for even half an hour, but he had to set off again.

"Gandalf, you should rest for a while. It's still dark outside. It's not too late to set off after dawn."

Looking at the dusty Grey Wizard, Allen offered to keep him, even knowing Gandalf's true identity, he still felt that the other party was really too hard-working.

"It's too late. The enemy is flying in the sky. Although the cold northern cold and fierce gale will greatly slow down his speed, I have already fallen too far behind."

"Since that's the case, then accept this gift, Gandalf."

Seeing that his offer to keep him was useless, Allen took out two kinds of food from his pack: one was Lembas wrapped in oil paper, and the other was a whole bag of Miruvor.

This kind of food, which was like strategic material, could not be produced in large quantities in Allen's territory. After all, Beorn had only obtained the recipe for a short time, but small rations could still be provided.

And Allen had brought some when he went north, just in case, but at this time, it was used just right.

"I believe they will bring you some help on the journey."

Gandalf, who was on good terms with the Elves, understood how precious Allen's gift was just by smelling it slightly, and it could indeed bring him great help.

"You always bring me great surprises, Allen. I accept your gift. Goodbye, my friend, I must set off immediately."

Gandalf, who took the gift, left without looking back. And after the wizard left, Allen and Thorin, who had their own thoughts, no longer had the mood to continue talking. After a very short greeting, the two had no more words, leaving only the sound of the gunpowder crackling.

"Dragon"

Allen, who had no sleepiness, muttered this word in his mouth. Allen, who had once faced Smaug directly, had a far better understanding of the power of this creature than the average person.

Even an elite warrior like Holimion would be slapped into a near-death state, and that was under the protection of the Emerald Rune Armor. If it were ordinary armor, Allen would probably have lost his captain of the guard.

Although Thorin was full of confidence in the weapons he prepared and had tested them with Smaug's corpse, Allen still felt that it was not very reliable, because the dragons in the Middle-earth world were not like other fantasy worlds.

In Allen's understanding, whether it was the guardian dragons of Azeroth or the chromatic dragons in DND, their bodies were naturally top-tier materials, and after death, they would be crafted into various top-tier equipment by skilled craftsmen and profound alchemists.

However, the dragons in the Middle-earth world were different. Their power came entirely from the dark power hidden within their bodies. This power came from Morgoth and was a war weapon created by the former Dark Lord to resist the army of Valinor.

Conversely, there was almost no famous weapon in Middle-earth that contained materials from dragons. One must know that during the War of Wrath, the dead dragons could simply pave a mountain peak, not to mention the most powerful fire dragon "Ancalagon" who was so large that he blotted out the sky.

However, no craftsman would use materials from dragons.

Because this evil creature, after death, the dark power within its body would constantly dissipate. Anyone who approached them would be harmed, and they would pollute the surrounding land until it could not be farmed, and their bones and scales would also lose their past sturdiness as the power dissipated.

For creatures who loved peace, dragons were a threat while alive, and had no utilization value after death, and would even rot a piece of land. Smaug was just dropped into the lake, and the power in the water constantly washed away the darkness he dissipated.

With the help of this power, this dragon did not continue to affect the basic life of the people of Esgaroth. Otherwise, even dealing with this disgusting thing would make Allen rack his brains.

It was precisely because of this that Allen felt Thorin's test did not have much reference value. Whether the heavy crossbow, which the dwarves pinned their hopes on, could cause fatal damage to the cold dragon in the next battle was also an unknown.

It was just that Allen would not mention such disappointing words to Thorin at this time. He knew his friend's personality too well—loyal, righteous, and could go through fire and water for friends.

But his personality was too stubborn. If he said too many dissuading words, it would probably be counterproductive. They had known each other for ten years, and the number of times he successfully persuaded Thorin could not even be counted on one hand.

Therefore, Allen also prepared to implement his own plan to find a weapon that could truly harm a dragon.

In his memory, there were two weapons that were more suitable for him. One was the weapon of the human hero Tuor, "Dramborleg," which was an axe-hammer. In the Fall of Gondolin, it killed many enemies, including three Balrogs and an Orc chieftain converted from a Maia.

Moreover, using this weapon for Allen basically had no great burden, because this weapon was the heirloom of the Numenorean royal family. Using it was just using it, and there was no problem with succession rights.

It was just that after thinking for a long time, Allen gave up on Dramborleg. Numenor was too far from Eriador, and this weapon was dropped into the abyss when the island sank. The time it would take to find it was really too long.

And the other one was the sword of the second High King of the Noldor Elves, Fingolfin, "Ringil." This Elven longsword, which shone like a star, once crippled the most powerful Demon Lord Morgoth in the dark camp in the hands of the Noldor High King. Its power could be imagined.

At the very least, slaughtering a Balrog or a cold dragon should be as simple as playing. Allen prepared to set off to find this sword, and he had already used his ability to locate the approximate location of this treasure sword.

After the War of Wrath, the Noldor Elves had searched carefully in Angband, the base camp of Morgoth. It was just that their attainments in this aspect were not enough.

Those Maiar who came to support were also unwilling to help them because of the past actions of the Noldor Elves, which led to this sword of the High King being left in Angband.

Two ages of time passed in a flash, and Angband also sank into the deep seabed due to crustal movement. The difficulty for Allen to find this weapon was not low, and he probably still needed to obtain the permission of certain existences.

Thinking and thinking, a wave of sleepiness struck, but Allen did not enter a dream, but opened the simulator.

When Allen opened his eyes, he had already arrived at the camp outside Sargoth. At this time, Calradia had been dragged into the flames of war again.

It was just that unlike the past, this time the flames of war were provoked by the Dark Cult. Half a year ago, they finally sailed their warships and launched the invasion war they had been brewing for a long time.

With the help of insiders, the overwhelming army descended unexpectedly on Calradia, showing their bloodthirsty and sharp fangs to all the natives, just short of writing the words "those who block me die" on their black flags. And the first to bear the brunt was the Nord Kingdom.

At the moment of life and death, King Ragnar quickly summoned his vassals and gathered thousands of elites within half a month, preparing to engage in a desperate resistance against the enemy at Tihr.

However, the Dark Cult's long-term preparation was not useless. Although they could not infiltrate the king's direct vassals, many low-level nobles who were weak in strength but numerous in number were still bewitched by them.

The power of faith was sometimes so terrifying, not to mention that the Dark Cult had many abilities to bewitch people, and they did not lack wealth.

Rebellion broke out the moment the war began. The lords from all over who led troops to support the king were panicked after receiving letters from their families.

Everyone was afraid that when they returned, the rebel flag would already be inserted at the city gate.

Losing territory for a noble was a very serious mistake, so serious that even if the kingdom reclaimed this land, it might not necessarily return it to you.

Power, influence, human feelings, wealth—nobles would only decide the ownership of a piece of land after many contests. It could be said that any noble who lost his territory was equivalent to losing the foundation on which his family relied for survival.

Under such circumstances, Ragnar displayed the basic quality of a qualified king, promising all vassals in a meeting that he would raise an army again to ensure the safety of the rear, and at the same time, he took out large amounts of gold and silver to appease the restless army.

And the mercenary army hired by Ragnar was the mercenary legion Allen left in Zendar. Since absorbing the troops of Dantis (the original protagonist), Allen's subordinates had exceeded two hundred, and all were elites, suddenly becoming the most powerful mercenary army in Zendar.

Being powerful meant more mercenaries joining, and because Allen had a good reputation on the continent, this situation happened more frequently, and the number of troops was constantly expanding.

Recently, many of the most famous free knights in Zendar had been recruited by Allen, and he did not lack money.

As early as when he found the Sky Stone, there were a large amount of gold and silver jewelry in the secret room there, which was enough to support an elite army for a long time, not to mention that there were continuous tasks at this time, allowing this mercenary army to obtain more wealth.

If it were in the relatively peaceful years of the past, the kings who ruled this continent would never allow such a powerful army to be out of their control.

However, at this time, the once arrogant King Ragnar not only spent high wealth but also begged Allen to help him in a good tone, and the remuneration even included a noble title.

Chaos was always a ladder for some people to climb. ===== CHAPTER 272 =====