Chapter 57: The Three-Way Alliance is Forged!

As a city-state that once maintained a close relationship with the Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor, the armory of Dale was fully stocked with gear crafted by dwarves.

These weapons, infused with trace amounts of rare metals, remained as sharp as ever even after a century had passed.

These equipments were distributed, and fifty bows along with their corresponding arrows were ‘purchased’ from the Elven King, with the payment deducted from the rightful share of the ‘Erebor treasure.’

As mentioned previously, apart from the women and children, the survivors were all able-bodied young adults. Their physical agility was barely passable, and their archery proficiency generally ranged between Level 2 and Level 3.

A few could even reach the adept level of Level 4.

Just like that, the previously slack residents of Lake-town suddenly looked exceptionally elite and fierce once they put on armor and took up weapons.

The apostles were even more infatuated with the equipment on their bodies. The grade of these items was not particularly high—merely ordinary green quality—but they couldn’t help marveling at the fact that these came in complete sets.

Regrettably, none of them could be carried out of this world.

Generally speaking, the gains for these rookie apostles after undergoing a solo trial roughly consisted of 3 attribute points, 1,500 points, one to two green pieces of equipment, one to two white pieces of equipment, and a number of consumables.

Moreover, they would typically acquire a single skill, albeit at a very low proficiency level, mostly hovering around Level 1. It belonged to the stage of being usable, but nothing more.

Li Xia only learned about this when he listened to other apostles chatting through the Scott Combat Assistance System.

Those who encountered special opportunities would reap much higher rewards; for instance, the green-tier bloodline Li Xia obtained could potentially yield a massive windfall if sold.

The alternative was to join a team. Although one could not acquire equipment exceeding one's own tier, it was possible to trawl for some green gear and consumables in the team equipment pool at highly favorable prices.

Therefore, an entire set of green-tier defensive armor plus a weapon instantly elevated these apostles, who were otherwise relatively lagging behind, to a whole new tier.

After issuing a few faction quests to reinforce the defense of Dale, Li Xia strongly urged Thranduil not to lead his soldiers toward the Lonely Mountain.

In the end, both sides brought ten people each, flying the banners of the Woodland Realm and Lake-town, and marched toward Dale.

Upon approaching the gates, they discovered that Thorin had already barricaded the gates of the Lonely Mountain solidly with stones.

A deep yet clear voice came from within the gates: "Who goes there? Why come fully armed before the gates of Thorin, son of Thráin, King Under the Mountain? Do you intend to wage war?"

"Thorin Oakenshield, if you regard the proper entourage of a king as an army, then every meeting between kings is an act of war."

Thranduil’s voice rose and fell with rhythmic cadence, sounding like an aria, and carried a peculiar, sarcastic undertone of mocking disdain.

"You.........!"

Thorin choked for a moment, then said in a harsh and menacing tone:

"Thranduil, I have not yet settled the score for your imprisoning me. Take your elves and get back! I know what you want! You won't get a single coin from me!"

Thranduil let out a cold laugh; it was clear that he knew the nature of dwarves consumed by greed all too well.

Thus, he directly brought up Li Xia: "This is Bard the Dragon-slayer—no, wait—this is Xia the Dragon-slayer. Smaug was killed by his own hands, and the treasure was essentially obtained through him as well.

Does this have nothing to do with you?

Furthermore, he is also the leader of Lake-town. As a scion of the refugees of Dale, he rightfully deserves the inheritance of Dale. Much of your treasure was looted by Smaug from Dale. Does he not have the qualification to negotiate with you?"

Surprised murmurs and whispered conversations came from within. After a long while, Thorin spoke: "He may be qualified, but only on the condition that the elves return to their homeland. Only then will I negotiate with the leader of Lake-town."

Li Xia shook his head: "No, Thorin! I'm afraid you still don't understand the gravity of the situation. The Elven King must be here, because this negotiation concerns the fate of three parties: Lake-town, the Woodland Realm, and the Dwarves of Erebor.

We must discuss this matter—"

He paused and decided to add a touch of sarcasm:

"If you are unwilling to come out and meet us, we will leave immediately. I have never seen a true king cower in the back, only daring to speak from behind high walls."

The sound of arguing inside instantly grew louder. After a short while, Thorin’s chilly voice came through:

"Very well!"

Shortly after, several ropes were thrown down the high wall, and a few dwarves along with a small person even shorter than a dwarf slid down.

Thorin looked very majestic, especially clad in a magnificent suit of armor, but Li Xia’s attention was entirely focused on the small person.

He was Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, and also the bearer of the One Ring.

It was just that Li Xia had zero interest in the One Ring. To be fair, the One Ring simply had a rather nice-sounding name........

The entourage brought by the Elven King began busily setting things up again, though this time it was impossible to whip up another table of fine dishes.

They could only spread a cloth on the ground, and the leaders of the three factions sat upon cushions (both Thorin and Thranduil wore very grim expressions).

"Thorin, I have come here to meet primarily to tell you some news: the Orcs of the Misty Mountains have all mobilized and are tunneling through the earth via subterranean worms.

The Lonely Mountain is in danger."

Thorin’s expression immediately turned gloomy, though he quickly regained his composure:

"Thank you for the early warning, but dwarves do not fear Orcs————"

"Your backup, your cousin from the Iron Hills, will take a full three days to arrive, and how many can they bring? Five hundred? A thousand?"

Li Xia sneered:

"The Orc army numbers in the tens of thousands, and their marching pace is faster than your cousin's. If you think the 13 of you dwarves can hold the Lonely Mountain alone, we will leave right now.

After you manage to hold the Lonely Mountain, we will return to discuss the compensation issue for Lake-town.

You surely don't think you can disturb Smaug and destroy Lake-town without paying compensation, do you?"

Thorin closed his mouth and said nothing further. He did not doubt what Li Xia said, because promised rewards were always settled afterward, much like the reward he had offered to Bilbo Baggins.

"If you think that by doing this...... you can force me to hand over the treasure, then————"

"No one wants to grab your treasure!"

Li Xia interrupted him mercilessly and stated bluntly:

"I prefer to call this behavior employment! We deploy troops to jointly resist the Orcs, and you ought to shoulder the expenses of deploying those troops. That is only reasonable."

Thorin closed his eyes and remained silent. In truth, as long as the nerve center of "stealing the treasure" was not touched, this Dwarf King possessed quite extraordinary capability.

The dwarves beside him looked at him expectantly. These dwarves did not possess the "dragon-sickness" flowing through Thorin's bloodline, nor did they harbor an infinite greed for gold.

After a long time, Thorin finally spoke slowly:

"If everything is truly as you say, I am willing to sign an alliance with the elves and men, and offer a certain amount of wealth as compensation.

I swear in the name of the King of Durin!"

[Global Announcement: The Human Faction, Elven Faction, and Dwarf Faction have formed an alliance. The Quartermaster will now be jointly open to the apostles of all three factions. Original contributions and bonuses remain unchanged.]

[Global Announcement: The final main quest has been unlocked!]

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