Late at night, the armies of humans and the Woodland Kingdom had all rushed to the ruins of Riverdale City. They set up tents in the ruins left by Smaug, lit campfires, and arranged for soldiers to start guarding.

The Kingdom under the Mountain on the other side of River Valley City is of course no exception. Thorin's men are relatively tight, but fortunately, they only need to guard a gate dozens of meters high.

A dozen dwarves guarded a gate, which was more than enough. He also ordered the dwarves to light a huge torch on the gate, which seemed like they were resisting the opposite chamber.

Early the next morning, Bard rode the war horse lent to him by the elves and arrived at the gate of the kingdom under the mountain.

When he came here, he didn't really want to start a war with the new king under the mountain, so he didn't bring his own army, but chose to come alone.

He hoped that without starting a war, he could use words to persuade Thorin to give a share of the treasures in the Lonely Mountain to the residents of Changhu Town; to compensate them for the losses caused by Smaug; and to help mankind overcome the current difficulties.

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When he actually came to the gate of the kingdom under the mountain, he was extremely surprised when he saw the almost seamless high wall in front of him, made of huge and solid boulders.

It is said that this high wall was built in a few days by Gao Yuan and a group of elven guards. It was originally built to prevent Smaug from escaping from the underground city.

But now this high wall is like a chasm in front of the allied forces of humans and elves. If they want to break through this high wall, they may have to pay a high price, even if there are only a dozen dwarves in the underground city at this time.

Bard's arrival naturally attracted the attention of Thorin and others. He and the other dwarves had been waiting on the high wall for a long time, fully armed.

When Bard was riding on the war horse and still looking at the high wall, Thorin said: "Who are you?"

"The new king under the mountain, Thorin Oakenshield, I have heard your name from the dragon slayer Mr. Gao Yuan. You may not know me, but you should know my grandfather, who was the lord of Riverdale City.

Jillian, my name is Bud, and I am now the interim mayor of Changhu Town." Bud replied.

He shouted with a powerful voice: "Bud, since you know the dragon slayer Gao Yuan and you also know that I am the new king under the mountain, why do you come to the palace of my kingdom fully armed and look like

It looks like starting a war, what do you want to do?"

Bard's face was a little gloomy. Faced with Thorin's question, he retorted, "Then why does the King Under the Mountain hide behind a high wall, like a desperate bandit?"

Thorin sneered when he heard this: "Maybe it's because I'm worried that someone will come to rob the treasures that belong to me and the Turin dwarves."

"Your Majesty the King, we are not robbers who came to rob your treasure, and not all the treasures in the Lonely Mountain belong to you. Some of your treasures were things that Smaug snatched from my ancestors. As the city of Riverdale, I

As a descendant of Lord Girion, aren't you qualified to discuss this matter with you?" Bard asked rhetorically.

"Not only that, when you retaken the Lonely Mountain, you drove away Smaug, which led to the destruction of Lake Town. The sufferings suffered by the people of Lake Town were all caused by your expedition. You

And do we have the obligation to compensate and help the people of Changhu Town who are suffering from hunger and cold?"

"Although, I know you didn't do it intentionally."

"No matter how fanciful your reasons are, in the final analysis you are just thinking about the treasure in the Lonely Mountain." Thorin replied.

"No one is qualified to share the treasure of our people, because Smaug also took away the lives and homes of our people. This treasure does not belong to Smaug in the first place, and the damage it caused should not be compensated with treasures that do not belong to him.

"Speaking of compensation, I can't help but wonder what kind of compensation you would give to our compatriots if you find that we have been killed when you come."

Thorin used quite sufficient reasons to refute Bard's request to share the treasure.

He even used Bard's rhetoric to ask him, since you want to use these treasures to compensate those who suffered because of Smaug. Then if they were killed by the dragon and Bard and others inherited Smaug's treasure, what would he do?

Is it used to make up for those Lonely Mountain dwarves who suffered hardships due to evil dragons in the past?

Bard was speechless after saying this. Compared to the dwarf king who had been mixed in human society all year round, Bard was still too young, and Thorin was obviously more eloquent than him.

"No one can force us to take out a single cent of the treasure. As long as you still deploy heavy troops in front of my house, I will treat you as enemies and thieves."

"This is a good question," Bard said: "But you are not dead. Even if you are dead, I will use these treasures to help the dwarves who return to the Lonely Mountain."

Thorin felt even more ridiculous when he heard this: "Mr. Bard, humans always talk beautifully."

Bard tried to persuade Thorin.

"The Elf King of the Woodland Kingdom also has his own demands. He hopes that the dwarves can return the white gem necklace to them. If we cannot reach an agreement at this time, then the armies of elves and humans will attack you."

"I have said before that when my door is crowded with soldiers, I will not enter into any negotiations with the enemy." Thorin emphasized again.

Speaking of Thranduil in the Woodland Kingdom, Thorin was even more angry. He had never forgotten how he betrayed them again in the Woodland Kingdom.

"Especially those elves and elf kings of the Woodland Kingdom. I still remember how they betrayed their allies. They are just a group of treacherous villains."

"In this dispute between you and me, they have no qualifications to participate at all."

Thorin yelled angrily: "If you want to negotiate with me again, first drive the elven troops back to their forests, then put down their weapons, and then come to me. If you don't leave, I'm afraid you will have to taste our bows and arrows."

!”

"The Elf King is my ally. When my compatriots were displaced, even though we had only friendship before and no favors we owed each other, he still wanted us to lend a helping hand." Bard will definitely not agree to Thorin's request.

For the sake of those treasures, will he help his allies drive away?

Sorry, Bud doesn't think he can do it.

"We are willing to give you enough time to consider our request. The next time we come to your palace, think about it, Thorin Oakenshield!" Seeing Thorin's stubbornness, Bard

Without wasting any more words, he left the gate of the kingdom under the mountain and returned to the camp in River Valley City.

A few hours later, the elf messenger came to the gate of the Lonely Mountain again and asked Thorin how they were thinking.

Thorin immediately picked up the short bow in the corner, aimed an arrow at the elf messenger, and the arrow hit his shield with a whizzing sound, making it tremble slightly.

"Since this is your answer." The messenger shouted back.

"We respect and follow the request of the great dragon slayer Mr. Gao Yuan. We will always surround this mountain range. Unless you are willing to put down your arms and negotiate and agree to our request, you cannot leave here."

"We will not enter the lonely mountain to rob your treasure by force. Let you stay here and take good care of the gold. If you are willing, I hope it can be used as your food!"

The messenger left quickly, and as soon as he left, Bilbo began to vent his dissatisfaction.

Bilbo completely disagreed. Thorin's way of dealing with the situation when faced with the pressure of the armies of humans and elves was a very irrational behavior.

And he had had enough of staying in the lonely mountain. Being surrounded by a large army was not a situation he liked.

"The stink of dragons is everywhere here!" he muttered.

Although he was afraid of Thorin's majesty, Bilbo was still ready to speak out his inner thoughts.

"You can't start a war."

Thorin looked calmly at the messenger who was leaving.

"That has nothing to do with you, Mr. Baggins."

Bilbo believed that Thorin still did not understand the situation clearly. He emphasized: "Sorry, in case you didn't notice, I have to remind you that there is an army of thousands of elves outside the Lonely Mountain. Not to mention

There are more than a thousand angry residents of Changhu Town."

"Mr. Gao Yuan and the Rivendell army who came to help him will not get involved in this war you provoked. In fact, we are now outnumbered."

Thorin turned around and smiled proudly. He had already made plans and made arrangements.

"The current situation will not last long. I have to thank Mr. Gao Yuan for buying time for me."

His words made Bilbo confused: "What do you mean?"

Thorin walked up to Bilbo, leaned down and said softly: "What I mean is, never underestimate the dwarves. We can regain the Lonely Mountain, and now we can naturally defend it."
Chapter completed!