"The One Ring is indeed on me."

Tang Sen nodded and said, "But, Lord Thranduil, I don't think it's a wise choice to take it out. ”

"I've faced the dark forces of Sauron myself, and I don't think a ring alone can influence me." The Elven King's tone was elegant and calm: "Of course, I don't intend to force you. ”

He sat back on the throne: "I'm more interested in the Lonely Mountain than the One Ring. ”

"Lonely Mountain has nothing to do with you except hatred." Thorin, who had been standing behind Tang Sen, couldn't help it, stepped forward, and said in a deep voice.

"Oh, Thorin Oak Shield." Thranduil looked down at him and said, "I didn't notice you were here, obviously, I didn't invite you." ”

His tone was not polite, of course, his attitude was much better than that of Legolas, the elven prince.

And Thorin didn't have such a good attitude to respond, if it weren't for Townsend standing next to him, he would almost have picked up his weapon.

"Hypocritical elf, you are not qualified to invite me, and you are not worthy of mentioning Lonely Mountain, if it weren't for you standing by, Lonely Mountain would not have fallen at all."

Thranduil's face was slightly cold, and he said, "When your grandfather was still the king of the mountain, I advised him about what kind of existence his greed would attract, but unfortunately he ignored my advice. ”

"Now it seems that you are no different from your grandfather, and I must remind you that Thorin Oak Shield, in the middle of the lonely mountain, there is one more thing that should be mine."

"The only thing you have there is the dwarven hatred." Thorin took a few steps forward, his head held high, and he looked at Thranduil, his eyes full of anger: "Besides, even a single gold coin in the lonely mountain belongs only to the dwarves, and you don't want to touch it." ”

Then, turning his head, he said:

"Traveler, I told you that the elves could not bring any help, and his purpose was only to rob the Lonely Mountain of its wealth."

"I'll tell for myself, Thorin Oakshield." Tang Sen frowned: "If your attention can recover a little bit from those riches, you will remember that we still have a war to face in the Lonely Mountain." ”

"If you lose that war, you will have nothing left, not only the riches, but also the land where the Dwarves of Durin have lived for generations, just like Moria, a paradise for the minions of darkness."

"We still have the Iron Hills, and my people will not let the Orcs go wild under the lonely mountains." Solin Road.

"Of course they won't, but, I think Iron Hills can't protect itself now." Tang Sen said, "You think Sauron would be foolish enough to sit idly by and watch the existence of Iron Hills and not be any subordinates? Next to the Iron Hills are the Withered Wastelands and the Grey Mountains, and the dark creatures that live there are probably already marching towards the Iron Hills. ”

"The dwarves are more familiar with what's there than I am, and even though Smaug is already the last dragon, those lower-level dragon creatures are not uncommon in the Grey Mountains."

He ignored Thorin no longer and argued with the stubborn and greedy dwarf about the pointlessness of this, and looked back at Thrandir.

"This is a war destined to engulf Middle-earth, Lord Thrandil, if the Lonely Mountain falls, then the Woodland Kingdom will be completely encircled by the enemy."

Thranduil held his face sideways, ignoring Thorin's taunt, and did not take Town's words, but said softly: "I heard the Grey Robe Wizard say that the Traveler is a magical person, and you not only possess magical powers, but also know many secret things. ”

"Most importantly, he told me that you are always able to make the right decisions."

"Then I'm curious, why did you insist on going to the Lonely Mountain when you knew that Sauron's purpose was the One Ring? What you should do more is to find a place to hide and let Sauron pounce on him. ”

"There is no point in running away, Lord Thrandil." Tang Sen shook his head: "The most correct decision should be to defeat those enemies and drive Sauron's tentacles away from the north. ”

"Defeated?" Thranduil asked rhetorically, "Do you know the size of our enemy?" ”

"All the dark creatures of Dogurdu and the Misty Mountains have poured out, and they are large enough to fill the Lonely Mountain, and doubling the army of the Woodland Kingdom is only a drop in the bucket."

"Their only weakness is that they were assembled too hastily and did not carry siege equipment with the army, we can rely on the strong enough walls of the Woodland Kingdom to hold on, this is the most correct choice, and the only choice."

"You've overlooked, Lord Thrandil."

Tang Sen said lightly: "Sauron's purpose is not only the Supreme Ring, but also the evil dragon. ”

"If Sauron's minions come into contact with Smaug to the point that the dragon is on Sauron's side—"

Speaking of this, Tang Sen paused and said, "Your Excellency Thrandil's feelings for Long Yan should be more profound than that of everyone present. ”

Thrandier's face darkened.

"You do know a lot of things." He stood up and came to Townsend's face, and his stunning face suddenly began to change, showing a large area of hideous burns.

"Every moment, I feel the pain caused by the dragon flames, and I know deep down that the dragon that occupies the lonely mountain, Smaug, is even more powerful than the one I have ever faced."

"So, you should also know that the Woodland Kingdom can't withstand Smaug's attack, and it is the strongest siege weapon in itself." Townsend said: "Holding on will only delay the time of destruction, and there is no point in other than that. ”

The burn on Thrandil's face quickly disappeared and was hidden by magic, and he was silent for a moment before saying:

"Let me hear the traveler's opinion."

"If you can't win a head-on confrontation, then the easiest way is to weaken the enemy's power and strengthen our own strength." Tang Sen smiled slightly: "If Smaug is our strength, the war will be much simpler. ”

This was the first time Townsend revealed his intentions towards Smaug.

Before that, he didn't reveal the slightest.

Because he knows that no one wants to see a dangerous creature like a dragon being controlled, the dragon's greed is weak, and they will not pose much of a threat to Middle-earth if they are independent, but if they are manipulated by the human heart, the situation is completely different.

No one wants to think back to the devastation wrought by the dragons wielded by Morgoth in the First Age.

Only dead dragons are good dragons.

However, now that the situation is different, the enemy is pouring out, the Lonely Mountain and the entire north are about to fall, and in this extremely urgent situation, if anyone can really plot against Smaug, even someone like the white-robed wizard Saruman, I am afraid that there is no reason to stop it.

"Impossible, absolutely impossible." Thranduil shook his head without hesitation: "Although dragons do not surrender to darkness from the depths of their souls like Orc, they do have relatively independent minds, but they were created to fight against the light, and they will not be on our side in terms of nature or position. ”

"In front of the traveler, anything is possible." Tang Sen said, "Your Excellency Thrandil, you can imagine that if Smaug's Dragon Flame were aimed at our enemy, then the situation in the north would be completely reversed. ”

"I'm not going to put my hopes in something like this impossible." Thranduil frowned and said bluntly: "Traveler, the reason I met you is that I heard that you can have a way to kill the evil dragon, if you can really do it, I am willing to help, but what I want to listen to is not such a boring joke as taming the evil dragon. ”

Townsend was not surprised by Thranduil's reaction, and he did not think that he could convince the other party with his mouth cannon.

So he just smiled and said, "I do need the help of the elves, I need a team of elven warriors who are elite enough, and I need them to help me break through the enemy's defenses and escort me to the bottom of the lonely mountain." ”

"As for you, Lord Thrandier, you can still hold on to the Woodland Kingdom, and I just want to remind you to be ready at any time."

"If my attempt fails, a team of elven warriors doesn't affect the big picture, if my attempt succeeds-"

He said slowly, "When you see me riding on the dragon and rising into the sky, you must blow the horn of attack and strike from behind. ”

"Dragons only bring fear to them, they can't kill so many enemies, and if they want to disperse or even destroy those enemies, the army is indispensable."

Thranduil didn't know what kind of expression to make to Town's words, the other party spoke as if Smaug had been tamed, and his reason told him that the other party was purely making a big fuss, not to mention borrowing troops, and not driving them out on the spot was already an elf's cultivation.

However, the news that Gandalf had brought with him echoed in his mind, and the gray-robed wizard who had walked in Middle-earth for thousands of years had asked the eagle to come and pass on the message, and it was impossible for him to play tricks on himself.

"Legolas."

After hesitating for a long time, Thranduil finally spoke: "You are in charge of escorting the travelers to the Lonely Mountain, and I will allow you to select a hundred people. ”

To be honest, a hundred elite elven warriors can already be regarded as a very face-saving thing, after all, the number of elves in the entire woodland kingdom may not exceed five thousand.

These warriors naturally could not be cavalry, the cavalry of the entire woodland kingdom was only hundreds, after all, the wood elves lived in the dense forest, and they rarely needed cavalry.

In fact, the kingdom of the entire Middle-earth continent that can take thousands of cavalry is only the nomadic Rohan.

"Traveler, don't trust him." Thorin shouted dissatisfiedly: "The elf will never be so kind, he must be robbing the Lonely Mountain of its wealth!" ”

"Dwarven guards are enough!"

However, no one paid any attention to Thorin, and Legolas just glared at him, and left to gather his people, but Thranduil did not even look at him.

"Lord Thranduil, your help will be rewarded." Tang Sen smiled: "If nothing else, the next time we meet will be under the lonely mountain, and when the time comes, I will give you a gift." ”

"Time is pressing, I think we're going to have to go right away."

(End of chapter)