Chapter 56: The Elite of the Iron Hills

At noon, the warm winter sun shone upon the people of Dale, bringing a hint of warmth to the cold weather.

Humans, the Wizard, and Elves gathered once again inside that tent.

Thranduil looked at the half of the necklace sparkling with brilliant light inside the box, and the contract spread out on the table, falling into deep thought.

Allen stared intently at the Elven King, guessing his inner thoughts.

From the slight curl of Thranduil's lips, Allen knew that Thranduil's mood must be excellent at this moment.

Of course it was good; the token of love between him and his wife had finally returned to his side after two hundred years.

Even if it was only half, it was enough to make him feel joyful, and the contract on the table gave this Sindar hope of getting the other half back.

Indeed, Thranduil's mood was very good, one could even describe it as happy; he had not been this happy for many years.

Moreover, after seeing these gems and the contract, he also felt a sense of relief.

If it were truly possible to retrieve the Starlight Gem through other means, how could Thranduil possibly be truly willing to launch a massacre against the Dwarves?

After all, he was a king of a kind race; if he had not been pushed to a certain point, he could not have raised a butcher's knife against former allies.

And the consequences of slaughtering the Dwarves of Durin's Folk would be terrifying; the Orcish living in the Misty Mountains had deep experience with this.

Thranduil was not unwilling to sign this contract; he was just considering whether he could get all the gems back before that.

Even Elves will show traits of greed for certain specific things.

But before Thranduil could think for too long, other guests arrived at the Lonely Mountain.

No, they should not be called guests, they should be called masters; they were the Dwarves of Durin's Folk from the Iron Hills, and they had come to support Thorin Oakenshield under the leadership of Dain Ironfoot.

Under the winter sun, they appeared directly on the hillside east of the gate of the Lonely Mountain; it was a line after line of heavy Dwarf infantry reflecting silver light.

They all wore standard-issue Plate Armor that could cover most of their bodies; these Plate Armors had a thick Dwarven style, composed of large pieces of metal plates, and at a glance, one could tell they were extremely sturdy.

And at the moving joints of the large armor, there was Chain Mail woven from small metal rings; this contained the unique craftsmanship of the Dwarves, which did not affect their movement while providing them with high defensive power.

And the weapon they were skilled with was a Spear over three meters long, the spearhead flashing with cold light in the sun.

Not only that, as heavy infantry, their left hands were also equipped with Tower Shields extremely suitable for the Dwarven physique; the shield wall they were proud of relied on these shields to be completed.

Their secondary weapon was the Dwarf Longsword equipped at their waists; when enemies approached them, this fine weapon could drink the enemy's blood.

Looking at their weapons and equipment armed to the teeth, anyone could see that they were the absolute elite among the warriors of the Iron Hills; many of them were old Dwarf warriors who had participated in the Battle of Moria.

These soldiers who had come to support their own kin almost filled the hillside east of the gate of the Lonely Mountain, silently staring at the Elves stationed in Dale under the sunlight.

Immediately following, five Dwarf War Chariots pulled by over a dozen Great Horned Goats slowly drove out from the Dwarf ranks.

Each chariot had four Dwarves coordinating the driving, as well as a powerful Repeating Crossbow; the firing rate of these repeating crossbows was extremely fast, and their penetration power could even kill thick-skinned Trolls head-on.

The chariot bodies were made entirely of steel, and even the wheels were metal, with sharp blades extending from the center of the wheels; any enemy blocking their path would be crushed to pieces.

Then came hundreds of Dwarf Cavalry riding Great Horned Goats, slowly emerging from the ranks of the Dwarf infantry.

They were rare shock cavalry among the Dwarves; the powerful stamina of the Great Horned Goats was enough to carry Dwarves wearing Plate Armor, and those two hard, large horns could also knock away any enemy trying to block them in battle.

And at the very front of the Goat Cavalry was the King of the Iron Hills, Dain Ironfoot, riding a Wild Boar.

This King of the Iron Hills was currently looking at the Elves radiating golden light in Dale, falling into confusion.

His cousin Thorin Oakenshield had clearly stated in his message that Thranduil would lead the monsters of Mirkwood to besiege the Lonely Mountain and seize the treasures within, urging him to hurry and send troops to support.

Having received the news, Dain Ironfoot, in his haste, assembled the 700 most elite soldiers under his command and traveled day and night from the Iron Hills to arrive here.

And in a short while, nearly 500 more Dwarf soldiers would arrive at the Lonely Mountain.

But Dain, having just arrived here, looked at this peaceful scene and felt that something was not quite right.

Wasn't it said that the Woodland Elves would besiege the Lonely Mountain? This didn't look like it.

Also of Durin's Folk, Dain Ironfoot was equally stubborn and reckless; in Gandalf's words, he was even easier to talk to than Thorin Oakenshield before he had regained his senses, but one thing was certain: he was not stupid.

Dain felt that the situation before him did not look at all like those woodland monsters were going to besiege the Lonely Mountain; it looked more like they were stationed in Dale assisting in the defense of the Lonely Mountain.

The Humans further away seemed to be repairing the city defenses of Dale, as if they were preparing to guard against enemies from the south of the gate of the Lonely Mountain.

In short, this harmonious scene did not make Dain feel even a hint of tension.

This left the King of the Iron Hills somewhat puzzled, but he did not hesitate too much; entering the Lonely Mountain was the top priority now.

So he immediately commanded the soldiers under his command to advance toward the gate of the Lonely Mountain.

And the members of the Expedition inside the Lonely Mountain discovered them the moment the Dwarf army appeared.

This filled their hearts with excitement; after the cheers, they began to clear the barriers that had been painstakingly built at the gate to facilitate the entry of the Iron Hills army into the Kingdom of Erebor.

At this time, Allen, Gandalf, and Thranduil stood on the watchtower of Dale, watching those elite troops from the Iron Hills enter the gate of the Kingdom of Erebor.

Thranduil did not send troops to stop them; in fact, it was already too late. Just as he was considering whether to raise his price, the Dwarves' cavalry had already approached the gate of the Lonely Mountain and assumed a defensive posture, guarding the infantry, chariots, and crossbows behind them as they entered the Lonely Mountain.

And after all this was over, Thranduil, who had returned to the tent, immediately signed his name on the contract; he had his own considerations.

Regardless of whether the Orcish would attack the Lonely Mountain, if he still hoped to get back the other half of the Starlight Gem, then this contract might be the best path.

Now that nearly a thousand Dwarf troops were stationed in the Lonely Mountain, it would be impossible to storm the Lonely Mountain relying on the light-infantry Elven troops he had on hand.

This Elven King now had a hint of an unexpected expectation in his heart regarding whether Thorin Oakenshield could keep his promise.

After all, Allen had relied on a single promise to help him get back half of the gems, hadn't he?

Allen, of course, could not guess Thranduil's thoughts; he was currently commanding everyone in the city to repair the defensive facilities of Dale.

He first ordered a group of people to take a Battering Ram and smash a section of the bridge leading from Dale to the outside world, and then arranged for others to repair the city walls.

It was not just repairing the city walls; many of these facilities originally used to guard the town were severely damaged and could no longer station soldiers.

Allen also had to organize the warriors to set up a second line of defense and a third line of defense in the streets, connecting them with the existing city walls to form a complete defensive zone, so as to avoid being charged directly by the Orcish through a gap.

This work really exhausted Allen; he rode an Elf Horse and was busy everywhere in Dale, directing the soldiers to place appropriate obstacles in appropriate locations.

Not only that, while wandering around Dale, Allen also discovered several Catapults that looked very shaky; he did not know if these things could still be used after nearly two hundred years.

Just as he was directing people to place a Catapult in a suitable location, an Elf ran over, saying that a team of Dwarf cavalry had run over from the Lonely Mountain and specifically asked to see him.

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Allen was somewhat puzzled; could it be that Thorin Oakenshield had seen his cousin and immediately had an epiphany, returning to normal?

After he rode the Elf Horse, passed through the countless busy crowds, and finally arrived at the entrance, he immediately discovered Dain Ironfoot leading a troop of goat Knights.

The two of them were old friends after all, and they were very familiar with each other.

At this moment, Dain was fully armed and waiting for him just on the other side of the bridge; even though he was wearing a helmet, Allen could still see his furious face.

Allen led his own personal guard and arrived in front of Dain Ironfoot unhurriedly, looking down at this Dwarf king from his horse.

Allen didn't deliberately want to embarrass Dain, but since this guy had come over in a rage, it certainly wasn't for anything good, so Allen prepared to first observe Dain's reaction to see if he would draw his weapon directly, which would be easier for Allen to handle while on horseback.

Meanwhile, Dain was looking up at Allen with his neck craned; as a king in his own right, he felt this kind of eye contact was exceptionally awkward, especially since he had come to demand an explanation from Allen.

Therefore, Dain wanted to change this situation, and subsequently, he began searching left and right, wanting to find a place where he could look Allen in the eye.

It was just that there really wasn't a suitable spot nearby, and for a moment, this Dwarf king fell into a slight state of embarrassment.

Allen, riding on his horse and looking at Dain, smiled; he knew there was room for negotiation.

He quickly dismounted and arrived in front of Dain, saying with a smile: "Dain, how do you have time to come see me? Is there no need to catch up with your cousin? His journey to reclaim the Lonely Mountain wasn't exactly easy."

Dain looked at Allen, who was now at eye level with him, and finally felt a bit more comfortable, but this remark from Allen made his anger rise again.

He spoke, and at first, his voice was unhurried, even appearing somewhat soft, but the content of his words was full of aggression.

"Allen, my cousin told me that you used despicable means to trick a Contract out of his hands, along with half of the Starlight Gem. So, please, for the sake of our friendship, hurry up and give me an explanation, otherwise..."

Dain didn't finish his sentence, but by the time he reached the end, it seemed as if Dain could no longer control his own fury; his eyebrows and beard were twitching, and his eyes were fixed firmly on Allen.

Allen knew that for Dain to have come here, Thorin Oakenshield must have had another one of his episodes.

He didn't waste words, but instead took the Contract directly from his person and handed it to Dain, saying: "This Contract was handwritten by Balin and signed by your cousin himself. I acted as a witness, and His Majesty Thranduil acted as the contractor. The procedures on it are complete; it is impossible for it to be fake."

After Dain took it, he began to examine it carefully.

Allen did not stop speaking; he felt it was necessary to remind Dain that Thorin Oakenshield was not normal right now, and if Dain were to be infected as well, the ensuing war would likely be doomed.

"Dain, we are friends who have known each other for five or six years, and I walked from the Shire to the Lonely Mountain together with Thorin. Now that you see your cousin, don't you feel it's very strange? If there were truly a problem with the Contract, wouldn't Thorin have come with you?"

By this time, Dain had already quickly finished reading the Contract; the procedures on this document were complete, and the handwriting was correct; he did not find any problems.

Moreover, when he left the Lonely Mountain, his distant cousin Balin had also subtly warned him a couple of times.

Dain just didn't understand why things had developed like this; Allen should be a very good friend, after all, he and Allen had a friendship of four or five years.

In these past few years, Allen would often bring gifts to see him, and he would also have return gifts sent to Allen; this friendship between the two was not fake.

And Dain had indeed discovered that Thorin Oakenshield was not normal.

In his impression, Thorin should be an outstanding Dwarf who dared to face any difficulty. In the past, when the home of Durin's Folk was occupied by Smaug, this branch of Durin's Dwarves from the Lonely Mountain was displaced. For these hundred-plus years, wasn't it Thorin who had stubbornly led his people to find a life that was not too bad?

For a matter like seeking justice, he shouldn't have to come forward himself at all; Thorin would have come alone.

Yet now, he was actually unwilling to step one foot out of the Lonely Mountain, but instead ordered him to demand the Contract and the gem from Allen; this in itself revealed something eerie.

Therefore, Dain asked the true purpose of his trip: "Then what is this all about?"

Upon hearing this, Allen knew that Dain had also sensed Thorin's situation, and that made things much easier to explain.

He found a suitable rock nearby, sat down on it, took out his water flask, moistened his throat, and began a long-winded explanation.