Half an hour later, a hidden cave in the northwestern part of the Black Forest Mountains.

Bilbo and the thirteen dwarves set up a bonfire in the cave and baked their clothes.

Beside them lay a fat goat, the prey that the tall and handsome elves had caught for them.

Faced with the fat goat meat, all the dwarves could not resist the temptation of the food, and after baking their clothes, they quickly approached their prey, and cut the sheepskin and mutton with their own weapons.

Their movements seem to be chaotic, but in fact, they have a clear division of labor and orderly cooperation.

The three dwarves cut off the sheepskin with sharp daggers and cut the fat lamb into medium-sized pieces, while the three men with axes next to them sharpened the branches and the other three dwarves skewered the pieces into skewers, which were then roasted over the campfire by the three fattest dwarves in the group.

"Crackle, crackle—"

Large drops of grease dripped from the pieces of meat, crackling in the campfire.

The aroma of food permeated the small cavern, attracting the eyes of Bilbo and the twelve dwarves.

All the dwarves gulped, waiting for the cooked skewers to fall into their mouths.

Only Thorin Oakshield, a black-haired and black-bearded descendant of the dwarven king, sat on a stone, and looked at the moths that did not dare to fly in at the mouth of the cave, and at the handsome elves who leaned against the stone wall and polished the dagger in their hands.

After a long silence, Thorin asked softly, "Why did you save us?" ”

Legolas said without looking up, "I need you to take me out of the Black Forest." ”

"Shall we take you away?" Thorin raised his eyebrows and said in surprise, "You are the elf of the woodland kingdom, this is your territory, and you still need an outsider from me to take you away on your own territory, are you sure that you have not been burned by the spider's venom?" ”

“……”

Legolas stopped polishing, looked at Thorin and said lightly: "Believe me, dwarf, I hate you as much as you hate me, and I will never act with you unless it is necessary!" ”

Thorin couldn't help but sneer, "Then why are you sitting in front of me now?" ”

Legolas glanced at him and continued to polish the dagger, while saying lightly: "I am an elf who has been expelled by the Woodland Kingdom, I have been wandering in this dark jungle for a long time, and I have lost my sense of direction due to the erosion of dark forces, and I need someone to guide me, and ...... The goal of my trip is the same as yours. ”

“……”

Horin frowned when he heard this: "You also want to go to Lonely Mountain, why?" ”

Legolas didn't answer, but Thorin vaguely guessed something.

"There's something you want in the treasure of the Lonely Mountain?"

“……”

Legolas glanced at him, but still didn't speak.

"Looks like I guessed right!" Thorin chuckled and said, "Well, for the sake of you saving our lives, I can allow you to join us and share the treasures of Erebo with us......"

"You don't have to share!" Legolas suddenly spoke, looked at Thorin and said lightly, "I just want what I want." ”

"Sure enough, I guessed it!" Thorin laughed, and said in a proud tone, "Don't worry, I, son of Threin II, rightful heir to the throne of the Dwarves of Durin and King of the Mountain, Thorin Oakshield, is a generous and promise-keeping king, unlike your discredited and glorious Elven King......

Before he could finish speaking, Legolas jerked out his hand, grabbed Thorin by the collar, and looked at him with a blank stare.

"Watch your words, dwarves!"

"Wow-"

The dwarves around the campfire stood up, clenched the weapons around them, and looked at the two of them with frowns.

Thorin stretched out his arm to stop his fellow dwarves who had risen in anger, then turned to look at Legolas, looked into his eyes and said lightly, "It seems that the great elven king is still good to his people, but I have seen how he treats his friends, after Smaug appeared, we have sought him, hungry and homeless to seek the help of this so-called ally, but how did he do it?" ”

"He turned his back on us, watched the people of the lonely mountain suffer, and turned away to let us go to hell!"

Thorin's tone grew agitated, and finally yelled at Legolas angrily.

"What do you know!" Legolas roared in return, and then sneered, "You don't know it, the root of all this is your greedy grandfather, back then, my father...... The Elven King Thranduil has given you the Starlight White Diamond left by his deceased wife and commissioned you to make a necklace, but when the necklace was delivered, your grandfather broke the contract and made a very high price that we could not afford. ”

"That's why the Lone Mountain Dwarves and the Woodland Elves break ......"

"Impossible!" Thorin was shocked when he heard this, and couldn't help but retort, "It's obvious that you refused to pay the fee. ”

Legolas let go of his hand and sneered, "Do you think it's possible?" ”

"......," Thorin was silent for a long time before whispering, "But even so, the Elven King will not let so many people of my kingdom under the mountain die innocently because of a necklace, and the only one who is guilty is ...... It's just the kings of the mountain, they are innocent......"

"If your people are innocent, aren't the people of the woodland kingdom innocent?"

Legolas sneered and said, "The Elven King warned your grandfather a long time ago, telling him what greed would cause, but he was indifferent, and what attracted the evil dragon Smaug was the ravine full of greed in your grandfather's chest. ”

"You!"

Thorin's eyes widened, and he raised his fist in anger.

But eventually, he lowered his arms and sat down on the stone.

With what he knew about his grandfather, he had to admit that his grandfather, Threin I, who was devoured by greed in the later period, could indeed do such a thing.

As Thorin and Legolas fell silent, the atmosphere in the cavern suddenly became eerie.

Bilbo's gaze wandered between the silent Thorin and Legolas, and he hesitated for a long time, but he still couldn't speak.

At this moment, the fat dwarf, who was on the kebab, smashed his companion with his arm and swallowed.

"Be careful, your skewers are burning hard!"

"Oooh!"

The fat dwarf came to his senses, quickly put away the skewers, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and then distributed the meaty skewers to Bilbo and the dwarves who had been waiting around him for a long time.

Amid the aroma of food, the atmosphere in the cave becomes warm again.

Only Legolas and Thorin were affected by the quarrel and could not be interested.

……

In the afternoon of the same day, everyone ate and drank to their heart's content, and once again embarked on the journey to the Lonely Mountain.

Legolas, though he had lost his sense of direction, remembered the map of the Black Forest and the Woodland Kingdom, so he suggested that they head north, bypassing the Woodland Kingdom and heading directly to the town of Long Lake at the mouth of the Jungle River.

Walking on the magically protected elven path, the atmosphere became eerie and silent again.

Thorin was at the front, but he always turned his head from time to time to look at Legolas at the end of the line.

Bilbo also stayed at the end of the line, curiously asking Legolas questions about the elves.

As the undisputed protagonist of The Hobbit, Legolas has a natural affection for Bilbo, so he patiently answers his doubts and satisfies the curiosity of the hobbit's natural adventurer.

Suddenly, Thorin appeared beside the two of them: "Bilbo, can you let me talk to him?" ”

"Uh...... Of course you can, you talk. ”

Bilbo grinned and walked briskly forward, leaving room for them to talk alone.

Legolas glanced down at Thorin and said lightly, "Say, what do you want to do?" ”

Thorin suddenly said calmly, "You are the elven prince of the woodland kingdom, right?" ”

Legolas was slightly stunned, then couldn't help but frown.

Thorin looked up at his expression and said calmly: "No surprise, I am a dwarf, and I am the most sensitive to rare weapons and armor, whether it is the armor on your body that can repel animals, and this strange-looking magic bow, it is not something that ordinary elves can have, plus your complicated demeanor when you mentioned the elf king Thranduil, I can naturally guess your identity." ”

"I'm curious what you did to be kicked out of the woodland kingdom by your own father."

Legolas said lightly: "This has nothing to do with you. ”

The corners of Thorin's mouth twitched, and he said lightly: "I don't know what it's like to be driven away by my father, but I know very well what it's like to be kicked out of my home, it's a bad feeling that I don't want to experience again in my life, so I'll keep my promise and help you get what you want......"

Legolas glanced at him in surprise, as if he didn't expect Thorin to say such a thing.

Is it because of the butterfly effect he crossed that caused this guy's personality to change slightly?

Just as Legolas was thinking this, he suddenly sensed a malicious peeping in the forest.

Without any hesitation, Legolas immediately picked up the compound bow, pulled the bowstring, and shot the ice arrows condensed in the blue light into the forest.

"Whoa—"

The ice arrow, which emitted a cold white aura, sank into the forest, causing the peepers to let out a scream.

The familiar voice made Bilbo, Thorin and the others change their faces, and they all drew their weapons and looked around vigilantly.

"It's an orc!" Thorin said with a solemn expression, "They're finally chasing after them!" ”

(End of chapter)