Chapter 97 Returning Home
When Thorin and Gandalf returned to the banquet hall, the atmosphere was already quite heated.
A large number of dwarves and elves were drunk, some lying on the table unconscious, and some fell asleep on the ground with wine glasses in their hands.
But this is not over yet.
The two groups of people were unwilling to give in to each other from the beginning to the end, but those who could still stand continued to drink.
The humans in the valley town were also infected by this atmosphere, gathered around to make a fuss, and some people who could play musical instruments played unknown little songs on the spot. Perhaps they thought the song was a bit monotonous, some people even knocked on the table regularly, or clapped their hands and stamped their feet to add some excitement to the music.
A scene of great enthusiasm.
However, the first thing that attracted the attention of the two was a large table next to them.
"Burp."
"This glass... toasts our victory!"
"This is the fifth time you have toasted our victory, Gloin."
Levi clinked his glasses with his, and gulped down a large glass of wine in one breath.
Gloin raised his glass and inhaled several times, but he couldn't open his mouth.
However, Levi was merciless:
"Uncle Groin, do you have fish in your cup that you want to raise?"
"If you leave so much, I'm afraid the fish will drown in a while."
"You...you...you are simply insulting me!"
Groin was furious, and he raised his head and drank the cup of wine.
The next moment.
Plop.
The dwarf could no longer sit still, and fell under the table with his eyes rolled up, with wine oozing from the corners of his mouth.
"You're next, Balin."
Levi filled another glass of wine and pointed at the only old Balin who was still standing.
As for the others, they had already been defeated like Groin, and fell asleep. The bold words of "no round-robin battle" that they had made at the beginning were completely forgotten.
"No, no, no, no, I'd better forget it. I have something else to do. I'll leave first!"
Ballin waved his hand hurriedly.
He now knew how the Orcs felt when facing Levi.
It was a kind of despair that was unshakable and could not be seen to the bottom.
"Haha, it looks like you guys are having a great time."
Gandalf sat down, picked up a glass of wine, clinked his glasses with Levi's, and drank it all.
Thorin also sat down, picked up another glass of wine, and clinked his glasses with Levi's:
"It seems that the rumors are not false. Your alcohol tolerance is just like your strength, and people can't see the limit."
After saying that, he also drank the wine in his hand.
Levi naturally also had a glass.
"Fortunately, I don't feel anything, but they look a little sleepy."
Listening to Levi's words, Thorin turned his head and looked at Balin, who smiled with a far-fetched look.
"Yes, yes, it's good."
While dealing with it, Balin secretly decided in his heart that this sentence must not be heard by those lying on the ground, otherwise they might be depressed for a long time.
After drinking these most brave and warlike dwarves, a prompt came:
Durin Dwarf Reputation +100.
Levi didn't pay much attention to this prompt.
With his current reputation level, these 100 points are dispensable.
If he wants, even if he asks Thorin for a lord position, no one will object.
The same is true for the elves.
As for Lake Town, or Dale City...
Levi is now the lord of the territory there, and his reputation is naturally needless to say. The singers over there have already included him in the song.
The hall is bustling, but it seems a bit deserted outside the door.
Due to their size, the eagles are not convenient to move in the hall, so they simply gather outside and eat meat.
Radagast and Beorn also followed outside, eating.
The former is not picky about food, as long as there is food, the latter has similar eating habits to the elves. Although he can transform into a giant bear, Beorn does not like to eat meat. In fact, there are only berries, honey, bread and various vegetables in his house, and there is no meat at all.
Originally, after the war, the Eagle King was going to go back immediately, but Thorin stopped him, hoping that he and the eagles who came to help could wait a few more days.
Anyway, there was nothing to do, and they were also provided with food, so the eagles thought about it and stayed here.
Similarly, Beorn was left here.
"I guess he wants to express his gratitude to you."
Radagast guessed.
"Peace is the greatest gratitude to us."
Beorn said, in fact, many people also thought so.
River Valley City.
At this moment, everyone was having a banquet in the hall, and it was deserted and there was no sound.
Legolas stood alone on the city wall, staring at the battlefield in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.
Just as he was about to go down the steps, a figure stopped him.
Thranduil.
After discovering that Legolas was safe and sound, the king's eyes seemed to be much brighter.
The father and son looked at each other for two seconds.
"I can't go back."
Legolas spoke first, and he had taken the initiative to exile himself.
"Where are you going?"
"I don't know."
"Go over the Misty Mountains and continue west. There is a city there. It is Levi's territory."
Thranduil said in a vague tone: "A lot of changes will happen there. Maybe you should go and see it."
The power of prophecy was quietly activated, and Thranduil continued:
"After that, you can go make contact with the Dúnedain in the north and learn more about them."
"Until their leader returns."
Listening to these words, Legolas nodded silently, turned around and planned to leave.
Just when he had walked several steps away, Thranduil suddenly called out a little awkwardly:
"Legolas."
Legolas stopped.
Thranduil looked at his back and said:
"Your mother always loved you..."
"Better than all."
"Better than life."
--Me too.
The last sentence was not spoken, but the fluctuations of emotion no longer needed to be expressed in words.
Legolas lowered his head, turned sideways and saluted, put his hand on his chest, and extended it to Thranduil.
Thranduil quickly put his hands on his chest in response.
That action means 'hug' in elves.
Legolas gradually walked away and disappeared.
Thranduil closed his eyes and calmed down for a while before turning around and leaving.
Over the years, he was so concerned about his wife's belongings that were taken away by the dwarves that he forgot about the truly precious things his wife left him.
While walking, Thranduil suddenly saw an elf and a dwarf cuddling together on the other side of the city wall, looking up at the stars.
A face suddenly pulled down.
So he quickly changed direction and stayed away from this place.
The night, either quiet or noisy, passed like this.
The next day, the dwarves put on their armor and weapons, and gathered in the huge conference hall.
Thorin, wearing a crown and the solemn robes of a king, stood on a high platform in front of all the dwarves.
The coronation ceremony of the king under the mountain began.
Levi and the members of the expedition team, plus the leaders of each camp, plus two wizards and a skin-changer, stood in the special seats aside to watch the ceremony.
Thorin glanced here quietly and nodded.
Seeing that the time was almost up, Balin raised the sword in his hand and shouted: "Long live the king!"
"Long live the King!"
All the dwarves present also raised their weapons and shouted.
Thorin bowed slowly.
The coronation was completed quickly.
After the ceremony, Thorin personally presented a golden crown to the Eagle King and swore that the dwarves and the Eagle would become allies for generations.
Beorn, who also came to help, also received considerable rewards, including the kindness and friendship of the dwarves, which changed his stereotype of the dwarves a lot.
Wizards don't need anything in return. Except for Saruman, other wizards don't care about these worldly things at all. Again, peace is the best reward for the free people of Middle-earth.
After this, Thorin and Thranduil met in front of the king's throne.
He asked Kili to fetch a box from the treasure house and presented it to Thranduil. The things inside were sparkling and bright like stars.
This time, the dwarves didn't pull it back.
After many years, Thranduil finally got his wife's relic back, the white gem that shone like starlight.
The feud between the dwarves and the elves has come to an end for the time being.
On the other side, in the cellar.
Levi was stretching and wandering around.
Just now, he cooperated with the dwarves to repair the damaged terrain and dug out the blocked roads again to restore the original appearance of the lonely mountain.
While walking, Li Wei suddenly saw a figure sitting on the steps looking at the pile of treasures in a daze.
"There are so many treasures. To be honest, I don't know what to do with them."
Bilbo was looking at the mountains of gold in the treasure house and was worried.
"If someone hears that you have such troubles, he will be so jealous that he can't sleep."
Levi walked over and stood beside Bilbo, and began to think about how to use these treasures.
One-fifteenth.
Even if there were only these, the quantity would be so much that even a backpack would not be able to hold them all if they were melted into gold nuggets.
It can be regarded as achieving golden freedom - for the time being.
"This can literally fill ten of my houses. I don't want my house to be filled with gold."
Bilbo shook his head.
"That's right, Levi!"
He suddenly said: "The gold you want will be useful, right? I saw it. Your golden apples are made of gold. You will definitely need them."
"You are right, the more gold, the better for me, and there is no way around it in many of the things I have to do."
"Then leave it to you."
Bilbo said nonchalantly: "I'll just take some that are enough for me to use later, and leave the rest to you. After all, you need them more than me, and they are more useful in your hands."
The hobbit easily decided to give away the huge wealth that could buy who knows how many Shires.
Levi smiled.
"Then I'll take it, Bilbo."
"If you have time, come to the roadside fort more often. The door there is always open for you."
"I'll give these to you by the way. Take a bite if you feel uncomfortable."
Levi synthesized a set of golden apples on the spot, piled them into a sack and gave them to Bilbo.
Bilbo opened his mouth, but stopped talking.
It turns out that this thing can be mass-produced?
Since it was really inconvenient for Bilbo to carry so many golden apples with him, he finally put these golden apples in Levi's backpack for the time being and let him hold them for Bilbo.
At this point, everything that needs to be done has been done.
After saying goodbye.
Thranduil and the elf army returned to the Mirkwood, the Eagle King flew back with Radagast and Beorn, Gandalf and Bilbo did not leave for the time being, they were waiting for Levi to join them.
But Levi was not in a very relaxed mood at the moment.
The ruins of the Dale City.
Levi stood on the city wall, looking at this place, feeling a little headache.
Under the city wall, a large number of townspeople were looking at him, waiting for him to speak.
Bard also came up from the side and said: "The townspeople are waiting for your instructions."
"After all, you are the actual lord here."
"I may be the actual lord, but they are not my actual people."
"No."
Bard shook his head: "They are all sincere and willing to admit and call you the lord."
Levi looked down, everyone was silent, just with their serious eyes to confirm this statement.
A prompt came:
[The number of residents has reached the standard, and the conditions for establishing a camp are met. 】
The camp system confirmed Bard's words.
Levi opened the camp map.
It shows his two territories: Roadside Castle and River Valley City.
However, these two territories are located in the east and the west, and there is a whole mountain range in between. The distance is long and the road is rugged. Even if the road conditions are safe, it takes ordinary people several months to walk from one territory to another.
As a camp, Levi's territory is too poor in continuity.
But...
Maybe a road can be built - a very long road.
But these are all later.
The most important thing now is the issue of River Valley City.
Whether in name or in reality, this place has become Levi's territory, and the townspeople or Bard are willing to let him lead.
In theory, even if Levi wants to be crowned as the king of the River Valley State directly, no one will have any objections.
But they just have no objections.
At this moment, there are two people who are recognized as qualified to lead people: Levi and Bard.
Compared with the two, Levi is more like a god who came from the sky. He killed dragons, resisted orcs, saved people's lives, and made everyone alive, and was respected by everyone.
Bard, on the other hand, is a real human being like everyone else. He lives a cramped life and makes a living through hard work like the townspeople, and he has a family to support.
Even in this situation where he can barely get enough food and clothing due to hard work, he can still squeeze out the energy to help the townspeople improve their lives, fill their stomachs, and resist the oppression of the corrupt mayor.
Reputation is never blown by the wind.
If the gods want to rule, the people who are rescued certainly have no objection. Even if Levi does nothing, people will feel awe and take the initiative to do what they should do.
Levi is certainly qualified to be king, and even if he is king, it is a bargain for the townspeople in many ways.
But...
"Bard, are you sure you want me to be the lord?"
Bard immediately said: "All of us have no objection, this is what we all agree to."
"Besides, have you forgotten that this has long been your territory? It's not us who asked you to be the lord, but you are the lord now."
"Okay."
Levi nodded.
"Then - I, the lord of River Valley City, will issue the first order here now."
The townspeople listened attentively under the city wall.
"I appoint Bard as the deputy of River Valley City. All subsequent affairs will be handed over to him. He has all the authority to manage River Valley City."
After announcing the first order, Levi said to Bard:
"And, I will now hand over one-fifteenth of the treasure in Lonely Mountain to you for management, to rebuild River Valley City and its subsequent development."
"Follow your orders."
Bard saluted.
[Appointed deputy of the territory: Bard]
The townspeople cheered for their lord and the lord's deputy.
"By the way, Lord, what about Changhu Town..."
Bard immediately got into the role and began to think about what would happen next for Levi.
Levi was a little bit nervous: "Don't, don't call me Lord, I'm not used to it, just keep calling me Levi, there's no need to set up such a class name between us."
"Okay, Lord Levi."
"What did you say?"
"Lord Levi."
"Hmm?"
"Levi."
"That's right."
Levi nodded, and then continued to answer what Bard had just asked: "Changhu Town is not my territory, why are you asking me this?"
"But..."
"No buts, I heard that the mayor of Changhu Town ran away, and his deputy disappeared..."
"I'm here!" Someone suddenly shouted from below.
Bang!
He fainted.
Ignoring the noise below, Levi continued: "Long Lake Town must have a new mayor. You grew up there and know it best, and the townspeople also want you to lead it."
"And-"
"To be honest, secular power and money are of no use to me."
"Let's leave these things to people who are better at it."
"...Okay."
Bud accepted the job with a little uneasiness.
It's so strange.
Levi gives people a very strange feeling.
This legend doesn't care about power or wealth, how much loss or how much gain.
But to say that he doesn't care about anything, that's not necessarily true.
He would also feel happy or depressed because of some things, but that feeling always felt a little ethereal, as if - as if he was playing a game.
It felt like the king pretending to be a vendor to sell things. The important thing was not whether he could make money, but that he experienced selling things.
But if the king was really asked to sell things for a lifetime, he would definitely not do it.
After the initial discussion of the matter.
Bader, the deputy of River Valley City and the mayor of Changhu Town, quickly started his work, organizing people to rebuild the ruins of River Valley City in an orderly manner, and moving some people back to Changhu Town to continue living.
As for Levi, he became a hands-off shopkeeper on the first day of his appointment as lord. At this time, he just wanted to go home quickly to harvest vegetables and build a hell passage between the roadside fort and River Valley City.
Walking one meter in hell is equivalent to walking eight meters in the world. Using this feature, Levi can greatly shorten the time he travels between the two places in the future.
Although this passage is limited to his own use, it still provides great convenience.
The hell gate can only be built in one's own territory, but Levi still has a lot of territory.
"Perhaps we can use this to set up a fixed territory specifically for traveling..." With all kinds of thoughts in mind, Levi, Gandalf and Bilbo set out together, heading west, visiting the Black Forest in the middle, and passing by Beorn's house, all of which were well entertained. When they arrived at the Misty Mountains, the three of them almost swaggered along the most dangerous pass, but there was no sign of an orc or warg showing up. It was quite quiet. "Is anyone there?" Levi shouted at the front hall of the Orc Town, but there was no response. "They are not enthusiastic at all." Levi said so. Gandalf nodded and looked aside. "You are right." Bilbo did not speak for a while, just looking at the stone door with a two-meter-high hole and falling into memories. After a moment, he unconsciously reached into his pocket and touched the things inside. It's still there. The goblins in the Orc Town are not very hospitable. Before leaving, Levi took out a stone and kindly helped them block the gate.
This way, the road was temporarily safe, and they could no longer come out through the front hall to attack passers-by.
After successfully crossing the mountains, the three of them stayed at the treasure place in the Troll Forest for a while. When they left, Bilbo held a large box with a slightly unpleasant smell in each arm, which was full of treasures.
In fact, even if it was only the part of the trolls' treasure, Bilbo's income was enough to be called huge.
So much so that in the days to come, there has always been a mystery in the Shire: Why can Bilbo's family never spend all their money?
But these are all later stories.
Because Bilbo had too many things on him, he postponed the experiment with Levi and planned to go back to the Shire first to pack up his things at home.
So, at the fork in the road leading to Bree and Wayside Castle, the three of them temporarily parted ways.
Levi went to Wayside Castle, and Gandalf continued with Bilbo.
All the way to the border of the Shire.
Gandalf suddenly stopped.
"We have to say goodbye here."
"That's a pity."
Bilbo said: "I like traveling with you. Both you and Levi always bring me good luck."
"Do you really think so?"
Gandalf took a few steps closer and said slowly: "Do you really think that your adventures and escapes along the way are all based on luck?"
"That magic ring should not be used casually, Bilbo."
Bilbo looked up at Gandalf and instinctively wanted to say something to refute, but was quickly blocked by Gandalf:
"Don't treat me as a fool. I know you found one in the tunnel of the Orc Town."
"No... I didn't..."
"I've been paying attention to you."
"Okay." Bilbo chose to admit it.
It's not a good idea to argue with a wizard.
"I know, I'll pay attention."
"You're a very nice person, Mr. Baggins, and I like traveling with you."
Gandalf said meaningfully: "In this vast world, you and I may be just small figures."
"But sometimes small people can change the world because they have no choice."
Bilbo didn't quite understand what this meant, but it didn't stop him from listening carefully.
After another farewell, he shook hands with Gandalf, turned around, and returned to the Shire under the latter's gaze.
While Gandalf was sending Bilbo home.
Levi returned to the roadside castle early.
"Huh?"
After returning after more than half a year, Levi found that there were some more things near his territory.
In the open space not too far from the city wall, a small number of simple tents were built, and people seemed to live in them.
This aroused his curiosity.
"Hey, people over there, what are you doing?"
Levi went over and asked immediately.
The people in the tent were immediately alarmed, and they stopped what they were doing and walked out.
When they saw Levi's appearance clearly, the expressions on their faces gradually changed from numbness to surprise.
"It's the Lord, the Lord who saved us is back!"
Thanks to Yinyue Canglang for the 500-point reward, Wuyan乀 for the 500-point reward, Xiaoxixiaohaixing for the 500-point reward, XXGGXX for the 100-point reward, and friends who voted, thank you for your support!
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