Seeing that the giant bear had changed back into human form, Wayne whistled at Robin.

Pets domesticated by domestication since childhood were obedient, and when they received orders from their owners, Deathclaws immediately put away their claws and no longer pressed the giant to the ground.

The original hideous and terrifying expression was also instantly retracted, and he was able to see a trace of harmlessness from the face of this huge beast, which made the thick-haired giant quietly breathe a sigh of relief.

Only then did he get up, revealing his hairy face, and first looked at the rest of the expedition team, and then said to Wayne and the others in a somewhat jerky lingua franca:

"Who are you and why are you near my house?"

"What kind of creature is this terrifying-looking beast, and why is he attacking me?"

When Bilbo, who was riding on the little mare, heard this, he immediately retorted:

"You rushed down the hillside first, looking like you were going to pounce on us, you look so fierce that if we don't stop it, you might be eaten."

The giant, whom Gandalf called Beorn, was slightly stunned, then stood up, bowed and said apologetically:

"I'm sorry! After becoming a giant bear, my mind may be a little difficult to control, I just saw you approaching my house and wanted to come and have a look. ”

"My name is Beorn, and I am the owner of this house, and I don't want to hurt you."

Seeing that his apology was quite sincere, everyone didn't care about anything anymore, in the end, this should be the fault of the expedition team, and they approached other people's houses at will without the consent of their master.

However, the reason why he did this was because Gandalf said that the owner of the house was an old friend of his, which made everyone let down their guard.

Facing everyone's questioning eyes, the gray-robed wizard was also embarrassed, he touched his white beard, and said with a sincere expression to the giant who was a head taller than him:

"Don't worry, Beorn, we're here to visit you, and although we haven't known each other officially, I've known you for a long time."

"I'm Gandalf, the gray-robed wizard, and I'm passing by here this time to go with this team to the lonely mountain opposite the dark forest."

Gandalf's eloquence was so good that he deceived and coaxed him and said some specious things, and it was easy to fool Beorn, who had a kind personality and hated the orcs.

Although the giant also did not like the greedy and stubborn dwarves, when he heard that they had slain the famous pale orc Azog in the Misty Mountains, they immediately developed a sense of reverence for their team, and their attitude became very warm, inviting them to their home and offering them sumptuous food to entertain them.

As a member of the Skinchangers, they are a race of half-giants from distant places, generally around two and a half meters tall, with thick hair, docile personalities, and also have a feud with half-orcs.

Now in the entire skin-changing clan, only Beorn and a few others survived, and the others died under the siege of the orcs, which is a feud that Beorn has always kept in mind, often looking for opportunities to sabotage the actions of the orcs and hunt down these dregs from the dark forces.

Therefore, as long as they are hostile to the orcs and are willing to fight the orcs, they can get the favor of this giant.

So, after a three-month long journey, the expedition team finally found a comfortable place to live, and rested for a few days in Beorn's huge wooden hut to relieve the fatigue of the journey.

Wayne, on the other hand, relied on his superb cooking skills, strong strength, and the legend that he defeated the entire orc town alone, and easily won the favor of this giant with a relatively simple personality.

Even during the few days of rest, he also helped Bernne complete several expert missions, destroying several nearby orc outposts with him, hunting some large animals, and adding a lot of food supplies for everyone's subsequent journey through the dark forest.

Soon, three days passed in a flash, and everyone had a good rest in Beorn's dwelling, although there was plenty of time, but in order to reach the lonely mountain as soon as possible, they still made their resignation to the friendly giant, and took with them a lot of supplies that Beorn had given them, and entered the dark forest under the escort of the giant bear.

Before parting, the survivor of the skin-changer said that if there was a war with the orcs in the future and he needed help, he would immediately arrive at the signal and fight the orcs with the crowd.

Beorn, who can turn into a giant bear, is undoubtedly a powerful force, and if he can be dressed in a giant bear armor, he alone can be equivalent to a small heavy cavalry, invincible on the battlefield.

Gandalf seems to have been waiting for this promise, as a military advisor against the dark forces, for thousands of years, his main task has been to unite the poor people who have been persecuted by various dark races, and unite all of them to fight against the dark lord Sauron.

Since many years ago, every time the army that has been able to defeat the dark forces has been indispensable, this model worker wizard has traveled back and forth between various forces, connecting the righteous alliance and dealing with various contradictions.

Of course, this gray-robed wizard has a very kind personality, the kind of good person who can sacrifice himself for the sake of others.

Whenever someone else is in trouble, Gandalf will actively help him, and he is not the kind of person who deliberately waits until someone else's family is ruined, and then uses the hatred of others to carry out the so-called big picture.

Unfortunately, compared to the white-robed wizard Saruman, the gray-robed wizard Gandalf is too principled and trusts others too easily, so he is often deceived and exploited, and does not seem to be so powerful.

After entering the Dark Forest, the speed of the expedition team slowed down suddenly, compared to ordinary forests, the trees in the Dark Forest were extremely lush, and they were all huge primeval trees that shaded the sky and the sun, blocking all the sunlight.

Not only that, but the branches of these trees are twisted and complicated, and the roots at the bottom are also tangled, like a tripping horse one by one, and there is no flat space at all.

The most troublesome thing is that the ground of the dark jungle is not ordinary grass or dirt, but a mud pool and puddle similar to a swamp, which makes it very difficult for the horses to move forward, and if they are not familiar with the road conditions, they often turn back because the road ahead is difficult, and they are delayed for a long time.

However, this time, because of the gray-robed wizard Gandalf traveling with him, everyone did not fall into a coma due to the dark magic in the forest, as in the original book.

The Grey-robed wizard is best at disarming all kinds of curses and traps, and has a wealth of knowledge that has helped the people of the expedition team solve many problems.

However, the giant spider descendants that appeared in the forest made the gray-robed wizard feel very uncomfortable, and Gandalf clearly felt that the power of the dark forces had invaded various parts of the world without realizing it, and it was constantly breeding and expanding, and perhaps the time for the dark lord Sauron to reappear was not far away.

Although Gandalf had expected this situation, the reality of the predicament was more serious than he had imagined, and it had reached the point where it had to be dealt with.

So one day, before everyone went to sleep, the gray-robed wizard told everyone a piece of news.

"I'm sorry, Thorin, Wayne, I'll have to leave the team and return to Rivendell when you're out of the Dark Forest."

"The dark forces of Dogurdu are growing too fast, and Radhagast tells us that the Witch King of Angmar seems to be gathering his forces there."

"We wizards must concentrate our efforts and weaken the Witch King of Angmar before he is ready."

"Otherwise, it will be a disaster for the whole of Middle-earth."

After saying such news, seeing that Thorin's face was a little gloomy, but he did not open his mouth to object, he immediately added:

"But don't worry, Thorin, there are still three months before the secret passage on your father's map opens, and I will definitely come back to look for you before then."

"Fight Smaug with you."

Perhaps because of the painful experience of a broken arm, and the revenge of his father and grandfather, the young dwarven prince seems to have matured a lot.

Although his face was still a little unpleasant, he did not reproach Gandalf, but patted the gray-robed wizard on the shoulder, barely squeezed out a smile, and said:

"Don't worry about us, Gandalf, Middle-earth needs you as a wizard, go do your duty, and come back to us when you're done."

"Don't worry about Smaug, with us, Bilbo, the Snitch, and Wayne, we'll make it."

After a few words, not only did the dwarves of the expedition team discover the growth of Prince Thorin, but even Wayne had a slight change in his opinion of this handsome dwarven prince.

Perhaps the reason why Thorin's personality was so extreme before was because he carried too much, and now that he has stabbed the enemy of Azog, he has let go of the burden in his heart, showing the courage of a prince, and is no longer as stubborn and stubborn as before.

If the other party really grows up and has the spirit of a king, he doesn't mind helping Thorin become the new king of the mountain and continue the friendship between the two sides.

Half a month passed quickly, and the expeditionary team continued to advance in this endless dense forest, and had reached the deepest part of the forest.

Here, they found more and more giant spiders, and many imperceptible places were left with a large number of cobweb traps by these monsters in the dark.

In this dense forest, where there is no sunlight and the vision is not clear, it is full of dangerous traps and predators waiting for their prey at any time.

However, although such an environment is very dangerous and uncomfortable, there is an oversized existence of deathclaws in the expedition team, and the journey of Wayne and the others is not as dangerous as imagined.

Whether it's a swamp, a giant spider, or dark magic, these bells and whistles are just carving insects in front of the eight-meter-tall and powerful death claws.

Ever since Robin was assigned by Wayne to explore the path ahead, most of the difficulties in the dark forest have been in vain.

Neither the roots nor the giant spiders could resist the advance of the deathclaws.

Sometimes, when crossing the swamp, Wayne would directly order the death catch, cutting down the surrounding trees and using them as pontoons floating on the mire, allowing everyone to pass better.

And those giant spiders in the shadows, although their intelligence is relatively low, but they are not fools like beasts, they are all descendants of the evil spirit Ugoliant, like the wolf of the half-orcs, and even can belong to the category of intelligent races, they are all creatures with their own minds and can communicate.

In the face of an enemy like Deathclaw, which is impossible to fight against at first glance, they will not take the initiative to provoke at all.

A few days later, as the expedition team struggled through the depths of the forest, Wayne suddenly felt as if a group of people were surrounding him.

He stretched out his hand to stop the group from moving on, looked up at a shadow overhead, and sure enough, he spotted a swaying figure.

Without being polite, Wayne threw out a stone with all his might, and with a bang, he directly smashed a humanoid creature in armor from the tree, letting out a painful moan, looking at his appearance, it was a handsome male elf.

In an instant, not only did the dwarves all take up their weapons and make defensive gestures, but even dozens of elves wearing green armor and holding huge bows and arrows suddenly appeared from the trees, looking at each other nervously.

And as if sensing the vigilance of the master, the death claw, which had been honestly walking on the side of the team, immediately opened its bloody mouth and let out a huge beast roar that resounded throughout the dense forest, shaking everyone's eardrums with faint pain.

(End of chapter)