Alone and Infinite

Thorin was still wearing his gleaming armor and the dwarf crown, his face grim.

Several dwarves stood around him, including Bilbo, who looked very uneasy, his two hairy feet rubbing together incessantly.

Even though he had made preparations, Bilbo still couldn't help but feel nervous when the moment actually arrived.

"If you feel that matters concerning your throne are not important, you may leave."

Li Xia spoke slowly and deliberately.

"The throne?" Thorin's heart skipped a beat. In addition to his bloodline, the Dwarf King's power also included the Heart of Arken, which was similar to the Imperial Seal of the Kingdom.

Only when the two are combined can one become the true King of Dwarves, but Thorin has yet to find the Heart of Arken.

Thranduil opened the lid of the wooden box, and a gleaming light leaped out, shining brightly in the morning light.

Thorin suddenly stood up, both surprised and furious, and strode forward to take the jewel.

"Snap!" The brilliance of the gemstone vanished completely.

Thranduil was faster than him, pulling the wooden box back in.

Seeing the fury on Thorin's face, Thranduil felt a little better. The dwarves had humiliated him in the same way back then, and now they had finally gotten their revenge.

As Thorin's desperate search came into view, his face contorted and twisted in a grimace, and even the dwarves behind him became excited.

"How did you obtain the dwarven heirloom—has someone betrayed me? Is there a despicable thief among us?"

Bilbo suddenly realized he was about to step forward and admit it.

But Li Xia spoke first:

"Thorin, perhaps you've forgotten who occupied the Kingdom of Lonely Mountain for a hundred years. As a beautiful gem, what do you think would happen if a dragon saw it?"

Bilbo was stunned. He stared wide-eyed at Li Xia, who was taking the blame for the gem's origin. The little hobbit was almost moved to tears.

Bilbo Baggins's favorability towards you has increased significantly.

"You mean this was found on Smaug?"

Thorin's momentum suddenly waned, and even his voice became much softer. In any case, he was essentially a beneficiary of others' success.

"Of course, this was found when the Elvenking Thranduil sent men to retrieve Smaug's body."

Li Xia secretly attributed another credit to the Elf King:

"Out of alliance and friendship, we are willing to return the jewel to you—"

Thorin was stunned again. He could hardly believe his ears. He hadn't expected to get the gem back so easily.

"However, this must wait until we have fully completed our alliance, and as payment for the Elf King salvaging the gem, you must return his wife's belongings."

Thranduil's favorability towards you has increased moderately.

The complete fulfillment of the alliance naturally meant defeating the Orks, paying the money, and restoring the Dwarves and Vale Kingdom to their former glory.

Thorin remained silent for a long time, even feeling somewhat uneasy, wondering if his intention to renege on the debt had been exposed.

After a long while, the dwarf king finally nodded: "Alright, I agree!"

[Battlefield Side Quest: The Thief's Guilt (Completed)]

[Given your behavior, Bilbo Baggins's favorability towards you has increased significantly.]

[Task Rating: Extremely High]

[Mission Reward: To be distributed after the Battle of the Five Armies concludes]

[In light of your actions, King Thranduil's favor towards you has greatly increased.]

You have obtained the Elf faction discount privilege; the price will be reduced by 10% when redeeming Elf faction rewards.

A 10% price drop is equivalent to a 10% discount.

Is the Elf King really that stingy?

Considering the original story, his ability to hold a grudge for over a hundred years and his recent small act of revenge seems quite normal.

Four hours passed by in a flash.

The apostles who knew the exact time grew increasingly nervous; some sat silently to the side in a daze, while others muttered to themselves nervously.

More often than not, they were constantly wiping the weapons in their hands—even though these swords were so shiny they could be used as mirrors.

[Announcement to All: The Final Trial - Battle of the Five Armies Begins]

[The Ork Legion is attacking!]

All the apostles couldn't help but stand up and gaze at the horizon.

Darkness swept in with terrifying speed, black clouds instantly filled the sky, thunder rumbled and rolled through the mountains with the wind, and lightning illuminated the peaks.

Amid the rumbling thunder, another dark shadow came whirling and rushing, but it was not blown by the wind, but came from the north, like a huge cloud made up of birds, so dense that no light could penetrate their wings.

The ground trembled, and several earth vein worms, like tunnel boring machines, roared as they burst out of the ground, and the Orcs surged out like a tide.

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

Chapter 61 Charge!

Three huge tunnels on the hillside, like water pipes, continuously flowed out pitch-black 'water'.

A dark, overwhelming wave of Orcs surged forward. The Dire Wolf Orcs that Li Xia had seen before appeared in packs, forming the forefront of the tide.

The ghouls, each about three meters tall, marched heavily in several crooked lines, some carrying catapults on their backs and others wielding huge chain hammers.

Most of them were Oc, dressed in simple armor. These ugly monsters, only 1.5 meters tall, had small eyes filled with madness and excitement, and saliva dripped from their interlocking sharp teeth.

The weapon in his hand wasn't particularly sophisticated, but it was deadly enough.

"Something's not right! How can there be so many!"

Thorin gazed gravely at the horde of beasts on the hillside, while the Elvenking Thranduil wore an equally grim expression.

Thranduil and Thorin had both participated in large-scale wars, and with just a cursory glance, they estimated that there were at least 2 to 3 orcs in front of them, and that orcs were still continuously emerging from the three caves.

This was far more than they had anticipated; without the heavily armored dwarves to hold them off, the elves couldn't stop them!

Elven archers had already gathered in front of them, while less than two hundred human 'elite' soldiers, mixed with hundreds of elven warriors, guarded the rear of the Valley State.

They prepared to use the terrain to their advantage to prevent the enemy from cutting off their retreat.

"Where are the dwarves? When will they arrive?"

Thranduil asked anxiously. If the dwarves didn't come, the elves would be at the forefront, and the elves, lacking heavy armor, would be no match for such a large number of orks.

“It’s not just the Orks of the Misty Mountains, they’ve come from other places too.” Gandalf’s azure eyes were fixed on the distance, his long white beard trembling.

Li Xia closed the task panel and looked into the distance, his monocle automatically zooming in.

"The dwarves are coming!"

All the arguing stopped, and they rushed over to gaze into the distance.

On the hillside, flocks of crows soared into the sky, emitting hoarse cries; they were messengers and proclamations.

On the ridgeline, a giant goat leaped out from the other side of the hillside, carrying a dwarf on its back. The goat brandished its heavy mace and let out the deep, distinctive roar of a dwarf.

Thorin! I'm here!

More figures crossed the ridge, these dwarves clad in knee-length pure steel chainmail, their legs covered in delicate and flexible metal mesh armor, a type of armor only the Dain dwarves could craft.

These dwarves wielded iron spears far exceeding their height, each with a short sword at their waist and a heavy shield in their hands. Their beards were braided into several strands and then tucked into their belts.

Thorin and the dwarves behind him suddenly burst into enthusiastic cheers.

"Waaaaah——————————"

A heavy horn sounded from the distant mountain peaks, and Oak's speed suddenly slowed down.

This scale of melee combat is completely different from group fights. In addition to momentum, formation is especially important. Oak had previously planned to launch a charge while the Allied forces were not heavily armored.

But the appearance of the dwarves extinguished this idea, because the scattered Orks also needed time to form a proper formation.

And so, the clearing in the valley became eerily calm, but everyone knew that this was just the calm before the storm.

Li Xia circled back to the valley state from the mountain ridge, and the fortified city had completely changed.

The narrow paths were filled with jumbled stones, and the weathered, dilapidated houses on either side provided a wealth of materials.

Only a narrow main road remained, and the city gate was completely blocked by debris.

The apostles crouched beneath the high city walls, craning their necks to peer down, their eyes wide and nostrils flaring.

Because they gripped the bow and arrow so tightly, their fingers looked white, and most of them had an undisguised tension or excitement on their faces.

Ultimately, they were just newcomers who had just gone through a solo trial.

Li Xia recalled Claude's words: if the Trial of the United War was the Hall of Fame's selection process, then this battle was undoubtedly the final test.

"Ugh——"

The heavy horn sounded once again, and the Ok, who had been roughly arranged, suddenly burst into a roar that echoed through the valley.

Moving slowly forward like a tide, the tall ogres struggled to run forward, then crouched down on the ground, the ogre on their backs using a hammer to break the latches.

"boom!"

The catapults hurled a hail of stones, the size of heads, which, after being accelerated, struck the opposing dwarf and elven army formation with tremendous force.

In an instant, screams and the loud thuds of blows hitting shields echoed through the valley.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The bugle calls grew increasingly urgent, and the Ork Legion gradually accelerated its charge.

The dire wolves opened their mouths, exhaling waves of hot, foul-smelling air. These wolves charged forward with incredible speed, emitting mournful howls.

The neatly arranged dwarven heavy infantry remained motionless, as if they were paralyzed with fear.

"coming!"

The apostles couldn't help but crane their necks, watching the scene in the distance with anticipation.

At the forefront, Ork brandished his crude hammer, his small eyes glowing red. He couldn't wait to rush in and smash the heads of the elves and dwarves open with his hammer.

Savoring the sweetness of fresh blood, the dire wolves beneath him were equally eager, their thirst for fresh flesh driving these perpetually hungry wolves to a frenzy.

Suddenly, the dire wolf's front paws didn't touch the solid ground when they landed; the soft grass sank in.

Due to the immense inertia, the dire wolf lost its balance and flew out, dragging Oak down with it, which rolled a long way away.

From a high vantage point, the once empty valley suddenly seemed to have an invisible seawall.

The dire wolves that charged forward were thrown to the ground without warning. They tried to struggle to get up, but the army behind them could not stop.

Countless feet trampled on it, and screams were instantly drowned out by the crowd.

The apostles jumped up excitedly and laughed heartily; these simple horse traps were their masterpiece.

They originally intended to dig a trap, but this hillside was an extension of an isolated mountain, with thick layers of rock beneath the soil, making it impossible to dig down.

Thorin retrieved the pickaxes the dwarves used for mining from Lonely Mountain, and that's how they laid out a horse trap.

"Holy crap, it's gone up! My contribution points have increased!"

Some apostles were watching their battlefield contribution points closely. Although they only increased them slightly, the effect was powerful.

"Woo!"

Another heavy bugle call sounded, but this time it was the bugle call from Lonely Mountain.

The Elf King raised his right hand high and swung it sharply.

"Buzzing—"

The vibrations of the bowstrings combined to produce a dull hum, and a hail of arrows rose instantly from the elven archers' ranks like a dark cloud.

It traced a graceful arc in the air and plunged into the Ork Legion on the opposite side.

The terrifying cluster attack instantly created a small gap in the army's formation, but more Orks quickly filled the void.

Under normal circumstances, during a charge, no more than three arrows are fired before close combat ensues; the skill of the elven archers is indeed superb.

They fired five volleys of arrows!