Chapter 42: Going Home

The tunnels at the bottom of Orc Town are extremely dark; there are many places where even the Orcish living here are unwilling to set foot.

And now, the members of the Expedition, guided by the magical light of Gandalf, are running continuously toward the exit of the tunnels.

They have already stayed here for quite some time, and in between, they have broken out into several battles with the Orcish who caught up to them.

Even now, there are endless Orcish following behind them, wanting to avenge their lord.

This kind of behavior is not Orcish at all.

At this moment, Allen is enduring the pain in his left arm, running behind Gandalf.

The waves of pain coming from his left arm make Allen's senses become extremely sharp.

Just as he is about to follow Gandalf out of the cave, he hears a tiny sound.

If it were not for his special situation right now, he might not even have been able to hear this movement.

That sound came from a narrow tunnel beside him.

Allen is a bit worried, fearing that there might be Orcish lying in ambush here for the teammates behind.

He draws his Longsword, flashes into the turn, and behind a rock, uses his sword to corner a strange creature.

This fellow is not tall, has pale skin, only a few sparse hairs left on his head, and only a tattered loincloth on his lower body.

At this moment, he is pressing his body tightly against the rock behind him, raising his hands, staring with a pair of large eyes, looking at Allen with grievance and terror.

This is Gollum.

At this moment, Allen is also looking down at this former Hobbit; after two or three seconds of silence, Allen takes a few steps back, turns, and leaves.

Just at this moment, a gust of wind drifts past Allen's side.

Allen knows in his heart that this is Bilbo Baggins having obtained the One Ring.

He does not pay too much attention to it, quickens his pace to catch up with the group, and walks out of the cave.

Finally, the group runs out of the gate of Orc Town; in order to avoid the pursuit of the Orcish, they even run in the opposite direction for a long time.

It is not until the sun is setting that they stop in a forest to rest for a while.

Allen takes out his waterskin and drinks a mouthful of Miruvor, after which he feels his whole body warm, as if the pain in his left arm has lessened somewhat.

He seizes the time to observe the injury on his left arm, then looks at the suddenly appearing Bilbo Baggins; the glimmer of gold between the Hobbit's fingers makes Allen blur for a moment.

At this moment, this Hobbit is expressing the thoughts in his heart to the Dwarf.

That sentence, "I will do my best to help you take back your home."

Undoubtedly moves all the Dwarf present.

Allen knows that from this moment on, this Hobbit, relying on his own kindness, has changed Thorin Oakenshield's opinion of him.

Of course, this is nothing; this will not lead to a result for the bet between Allen and Thorin Oakenshield.

Allen also does not pay special attention to this; he believes in Bilbo Baggins.

This Hobbit will sooner or later conquer that prideful heart of Thorin Oakenshield.

Now what he is worried about is another matter: that is Azog, who should be arriving immediately.

Sure enough, after a short while, waves of wolf howls ring out, telling Allen and the others that Azog is coming; he has brought the Warg and Wolf Rider to hunt down Thorin Oakenshield.

The group, who have not yet had time to rest properly, after Thorin's "out of the frying pan" and Gandalf's "into the fire," run frantically in the opposite direction.

Allen's speed is very fast; he follows closely behind Gandalf.

Because he is familiar with this part of the plot, he follows Gandalf directly to the last large tree.

And regardless of the pain in his left arm, he climbs to a position higher than Gandalf, finding a foothold that is still considered sturdy.

As for the members of the Expedition running at the back of the group, they have already been caught up to by several Warg at this time; after a brief battle, they also climb one after another onto the nearby pine trees.

At this moment, Allen sees Bilbo being hunted by a Warg; without even thinking, he draws his Rune Bow and shoots an arrow at the Warg pursuing him.

Allen originally intended to aim for the Warg's head, but under the influence of the pain, he shoots wide.

This arrow hits the Warg's back, the sharp arrowhead piercing directly into its internal organs, and Bilbo Baggins also successfully climbs onto a pine tree; seeing this, Allen heaves a sigh of relief.

He turns his gaze again to the distance, where a large number of Warg have already appeared.

And Azog is also standing on a rock, riding his white she-wolf.

He brandishes the weapon in his hand, saying some edgy words.

"Can you smell it? This is the scent of fear."

Allen, who has long found him unpleasant, regardless of everything, aims at his chest and shoots an arrow.

This arrow does not hit the spot Allen wanted, but very coincidentally pierces through Azog's arm, that left arm which had already been severed once by Thorin Oakenshield.

This is undoubtedly an insult to Azog; he angrily commands the Warg, letting these sharp-toothed and sharp-clawed fellows attack the pine tree sheltering the members of the Expedition.

Soon, under the attack of the Warg, Allen has no chance to shoot; in fact, after that arrow was shot, the pain in Allen's left arm became even more intense.

Even if there were an opportunity, Allen does not have enough strength to shoot another arrow; he can only use his right arm to hold tightly onto the swaying trunk, so as not to fall down by a moment of carelessness.

Just now, Allen had already seen Gandalf quietly say something to a small moth.

He believes that the Great Eagle will soon come to support, he just needs to hold on a little longer.

But today, luck really does not favor Allen; the branch under his feet snaps under the shaking of the Warg.

He can only rely on the strength of his right arm and his legs, just like a koala, clinging tightly to the trunk.

At this moment, the situation on the field is extremely critical; the pine trees sheltering the Dwarf fall one by one, and soon all the Dwarf gather on this one tree with Allen and Gandalf.

Not long after, Allen feels scorching flames ignite beneath the pine tree, and the cheers of the Dwarf also ring out.

Then, this pine tree carrying all the members of the Expedition falls down amidst the cheers of the Dwarf.

Allen clings to the trunk like a sloth, hanging over the cliff; at this moment, his field of vision is extremely limited, and he cannot see what is happening on the cliff at all; he anxiously tries to pull himself up the trunk.

But with only one arm, it is truly too difficult; every time he tries, Allen's left arm sends out unbearable pain.

This makes him nearly lose his grip and fall to the bottom of the cliff; helpless, Allen can only give up and wait for a turning point in events.

Fortunately, this state does not last too long before the cries of the Great Eagle ring out.

Allen seized the opportunity, let go of the tree trunk, and dropped onto the back of the Great Eagle; he knew this journey had come to an end.

The Great Eagles carried the members of the Expedition for a long time, flying from night until dawn, before finally bringing everyone to the vicinity of the Carrock.

At this moment, a scout from Wilderness Town was keeping watch on the Carrock; at first, he only saw the arrival of the Great Eagles, and he found it strange why so many had come today.

But soon, he saw human figures on the backs of the Great Eagles, took out a small monocular telescope, and then saw his own lord.

Three or four years ago, Thranduil had given Allen two transparent crystals as a return gift; after receiving the crystals, Allen thought for a long time, handed them to the Dwarf craftsmen in the town, had them ground into lenses, and subsequently made a simple telescope.

Due to the need for reconnaissance, it was left on the Carrock to help the scout better guard the surrounding area.

After Allen waited for the Great Eagle to land and slid down, he looked at the familiar scout and issued an order directly.

"Tell the people in town that I have returned."

After the scout acknowledged the order, he turned around and went to get busy.

At this time, Gandalf was treating the injuries of the unconscious Thorin Oakenshield.

Allen discovered that this type of Magic Gandalf possessed was different from the healing Magic he was conventionally familiar with.

It was more like a form of divine art, focusing more on healing mental damage rather than physical.

Before long, Thorin Oakenshield woke up amidst Gandalf's repeated calls, and the very first moment he woke, he shouted the name "Bilbo".

Seeing this scene, Allen knew that the plot was unfolding according to its original trajectory.

After a series of condemnations, Thorin Oakenshield finally completely changed his attitude toward Bilbo.

Having stabilized his emotions, he met Allen's gaze and nodded at Allen.

Because Thorin Oakenshield knew that, at this moment, he had already lost the wager with Allen.

At this time, the scout also planted a large flag on the Carrock facing the direction of Wilderness Town.

The flag was pale green, embroidered with a golden crown, and above the crown were three silver-white five-pointed stars.

This large flag represented Allen.

In fact, many flags were prepared on the Carrock, and the conventional ones were usually yellow and red.

Yellow represented the need for vigilance, meaning strangers were coming.

Red represented being prepared for war, meaning enemies were coming.

Furthermore, the direction and quantity would be indicated based on the orientation and number of the flags.

For example, today, Allen's flag was planted on the side of the Carrock facing Wilderness Town, indicating that the people had appeared near the Carrock.

Allen looked at his companions on the Carrock and coughed heavily a few times to attract everyone's attention.

Then, using his still-intact right arm, he gestured for everyone to look toward his territory.

He spoke up: "My friends, welcome to my territory, Wilderness Town."

As everyone on the Carrock looked in the direction Allen pointed, the first thing that caught their eyes was a town standing not far away.

At the very center and highest point of the town was a magnificent house with a courtyard, and as the elevation decreased, thousands of brick-and-wood houses were neatly situated around the residence.

Further out were four grey-blue city walls, enclosing the entire town into an irregular rectangle, while also protecting the people and buildings within.

On the city walls were warriors carrying bows and spears, performing patrol duties, constantly guarding against potential dangers.

And at the gates on the east and west sides of the town, there were also barbicans made of wood.

Two wide roads extended from the city gates toward the distance, and the small paths branching off along the way penetrated the fields surrounding the town like tree branches.

The crops in the fields were growing very lushly; one look was enough to know that the harvest in the fields this year would be very, very good, and a large number of farmers were busy in the fields, tending to the crops.

"Alright, everyone, stop looking; now please allow me to invite you all to visit my territory as guests, and I will certainly treat you all well."

The group of Dwarves on the Carrock, whose emotions had stabilized, were all somewhat surprised at Allen's invitation.

They had not expected that a human lord with such power would join them in this life-or-death adventure.

Especially Thorin Oakenshield; he knew Allen was a human leader, but he had not expected his town to be so prosperous.

But surprise was surprise, and everyone's mood became very good because they would finally have a place to rest properly.

They had suffered no small amount on this journey, and many had sustained some minor injuries—that is, the Dwarves; resilience was carved into their very bones.

If it had been humans, they would have collapsed long ago, such as a certain human lord with an injured arm.

Just as Allen was leading everyone down from the Carrock, Fatis appeared with the Cavalry from the direction of the town.

Soon, he stopped beside Allen, dismounted, and said to Allen: "Allen, you have finally returned."

He then saw Allen's unnatural left arm and, just as he was about to ask, was stopped by Allen's gaze.

Allen smiled and introduced Fatis to everyone, while also introducing the members of the Expedition to Fatis.

He then led the group along the wide road toward Wilderness Town; along the way, people kept bowing to Allen to express their respect, and Allen also smiled and responded to his subjects.

Because Allen's lord's residence could not accommodate so many people, he had to arrange for them to stay at an inn.

He then told everyone they could rest for a while, and that he had arranged a banquet; someone would come to pick them up before noon.

When everyone was resting in their rooms, Allen followed Bilbo Baggins and chatted with him as he entered his room.

Bilbo Baggins found it a bit strange why Allen would single him out, but he didn't think much of it.

This Hobbit had long considered Allen a good friend; back in Hobbiton, he had felt that he and Allen got along very well.

Moreover, during the journey, Allen had not only taken great care of him but had also saved his life multiple times, which gave Bilbo Baggins a very favorable impression of Allen.

Allen sat on a chair in the guest room, looking at the puzzled expression on Bilbo's face, not knowing how to bring it up.

Because at this moment, he wanted to see if his Simulator would react to the golden legend of this world, the One Ring.

On the way back, Allen had been thinking about whether his Simulator would absorb the Ring or if some system upgrade would occur.

He even fantasized about whether the Simulator would have the ability to let him travel between various spaces after upgrading.

Little did he know, this was completely different from his previous thoughts.

At this moment, after thinking for a long time, Allen finally spoke: "Bilbo, I think we can be considered friends, right?"

Bilbo found it strange why Allen would ask this; his simple nature was far less complex than that of humans.

You still haven't grasped the theory that if a person wants something from you, they must necessarily establish a friendship with you first.

He nodded and said affirmatively, "Of course, Allen, we are definitely friends."

After hearing this, Allen also nodded, his expression looking somewhat unpleasant as he said, "I know you obtained a Magic Ring in the Orcish tunnels; do not be alarmed, may I take a look at it? I only need to take a look."

Upon hearing this, Bilbo scratched his head in embarrassment and said, "I thought no one had noticed; I will give it to you right away."

As he spoke, Bilbo hesitated slightly, but in the end, he took the Ring out of his pocket and handed it to Allen.

Allen slowly, very slowly, placed his middle finger onto the Ring, but the Simulator did not provide any prompts, which made Allen sober up instantly.

In his mind, a few lines inexplicably surfaced.

Three Rings for the Elf-kings under the sky.

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone.

Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die.

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them, One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.

For a moment, countless images flashed through Allen's mind in succession, giving him such a jolt that he shuddered.

He hurriedly pulled his finger away from the Ring and took two steps back before he could steady himself.

Allen took a deep breath, then closed his eyes and shook his head vigorously, wanting to cast those images into a corner of his memory.

Bilbo found it strange why his friend would have such a huge reaction just from touching it, so he hurriedly put the Ring back into his pocket and said with concern, "Allen, are you alright?"

Allen shook his head and said, "I'm fine."

Then he looked at Bilbo with some envy and said, "Bilbo, you are truly an enviable person; believe me, you will not only become a master Burglar, but you will also become a great person."

Bilbo had never heard such praise before; he felt a bit embarrassed, blushing as he said, "No, no, how could I be worthy of such praise?"

Allen shook his head, not explaining everything in detail, but instead said with a grave expression, "Bilbo, keep this Ring well; it will help you a lot, but you must be careful—it is very precious, do not let anyone see it."

Afterward, without waiting for Bilbo to ask anything else, Allen said, "Get some good rest, we'll see each other at the banquet."

As he spoke, Allen walked toward the door without looking back.

Bilbo's voice rang out behind him.

"Alright, see you at the banquet, Allen."

Allen did not turn back; he waved his hand and walked quickly out of Bilbo's room.

At this moment, Allen's back was completely soaked; he had realized that he had been influenced by that Ring a long time ago.

It was clear that the Ring considered Allen a more suitable master for itself, so it had spared no effort to display its charm to Allen, and then successfully scared Allen away.

Allen felt some lingering fear and some relief; regardless, in the end, he had resisted the temptation of this Ring.