A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

But as he got closer, his expression immediately darkened.

Bilbo was surrounded by three trolls, while Fili and Chili were struggling to hold them off with their swords in the middle.

"Damn it, it's obvious he didn't listen to what I said."

Thorin, you must listen to me. Trolls—no, ogres—may be a little slow, but they are incredibly strong and have thick skin.

I suggest we focus our efforts on killing one first, then figure out how to deal with the other two. If we face all three head-on, then we…”

Before he could finish saying "the odds aren't high," Thorin roared and charged forward, followed by a group of dwarves who weren't about to be outdone.

Gan!

Damn it! A bunch of brainless brutes.

Aaron did not join them in the attack, but instead hid in the bushes to watch the battle.

This might be a bit unfair, but it's a great opportunity for him to directly understand the combat capabilities of the native inhabitants of this world.

The dwarves were several times smaller than the ogres, but they cooperated well and managed to gain a slight advantage with their numbers being more than four times greater.

They moved quickly around the troll, with most of their attacks landing on its legs. The troll cried out in pain under the onslaught of swords and hammers.

However, their skin is so thick that swords and knives can wound them but not deeply; they can hurt them but are unlikely to kill them. Even if a sword pierces their abdomen, it will not cause much damage.

While being attacked, the trolls opened their enormous hands and swung their arms like an eagle catching chicks. Some dwarves were knocked away, but they quickly got up and rejoined the battle.

Some were captured by ogres, but the next moment another dwarf would leap up and slash their arm, forcing them to release the captives.

Even more surprisingly, Ollie actually took out a slingshot and hit an ogre in the eye. Although the shot was very accurate, it was no different from tickling the giant creature.

In the chaos of the battlefield, Bilbo dodged the enormous hand and picked up an ogre's weapon from the ground—a short sword that wasn't particularly sharp to him, but was exceptionally large.

He ran to the rear of the battlefield and cut the ropes with his dagger outside the cage where the four ponies were locked.

But as soon as he released the four ponies, a large hand pulled him to the back.

"Ah..." After a panicked scream, Bilbo finally saw who had grabbed him. "Aaron, you..."

"Shh!"

Aaron made a shushing gesture. "Don't be so loud."

Bilbo angrily threw his dagger to the ground. "Why did you pull me back?"

"Heh!" Aaron sneered. "I'm stopping you from courting death. You're too weak; you'll only be a hindrance over there."

Bilbo realized what was happening, nodded awkwardly, and then looked at the dwarves who were suppressing the trolls on the battlefield. "Thorin and the others will win, right?"

"It's hard to say!" Aaron said with a serious expression. "On the surface, the dwarves have the advantage, but they haven't been able to inflict any effective damage on the trolls."

The current situation is a fragile balance. If it drags on, the dwarves can win with difficulty, but if even one dwarf becomes incapacitated, the scales of victory will tip in favor of the ogres.

Upon hearing this, Bilbo swallowed hard and peered through the bushes at the battlefield.

Dwarin smashed a troll's teeth with a single blow, and Dori then delivered a Thousand Years of Kill to another troll from behind.

“The situation is not bad,” Bilbo murmured.

However, the next moment, Pangbo's scream startled him. The third troll pulled out a bag from somewhere and stuffed the fattest dwarf into it.

"It's collapsed." Aaron's expression was grave. "It's really collapsed now."

The first dwarf was put into the bag, followed by the second, and the third.

The dwindling numbers made the dwarves' situation increasingly dire. Unless they abandoned the three captured dwarves, total annihilation was inevitable. But they clearly wouldn't abandon their comrades.

Within minutes, all the dwarves were stuffed into bags.

Bilbo was frantic. "We have to do something to save them."

"How do we save them?" Aaron shrugged. "Rush out and become the ogres' meal?"

“That’s not what I meant, I meant…” Bilbo grabbed his hair, at a loss for what to do.

"Calm down, calm down, it's especially important to stay calm in times like these."

"How can I stay calm?" Bilbo was on the verge of tears. "I thought it was just about saving a few ponies, but now I have to add thirteen dwarves to the mix."

"What?" Aaron's mouth dropped open in astonishment. "Don't tell me you want to do it again?"

"There's no other way." Bilbo took a deep breath. "Now we have to take the risk. I hope I can succeed!"

"Didn't you ever think about what would happen if you failed?"

“I’m a master thief, I don’t even need to think about such things.” Bilbo was about to sneak out when he suddenly remembered something, turned around and looked at Aaron solemnly, “If I fail, you go find Gandalf, and if we’re lucky, he might be able to save us in time.”

"Okay, good luck."

If you fail, try to stall for time. You're smarter than the dwarves; don't let me down.

Under the cover of night, Bilbo tiptoed into the group of dwarves who were tightly bound.

"Don't speak yet, I'm coming to save you."

“Mr. Baggins, are you alone?” Balin asked in a low voice.

“Otherwise what? This kind of thing is only suitable for short people,” Bilbo said with a wry smile. “Although I hate to admit it, Aaron looks much taller than me.”

“I sent him to find Gandalf, just in case…we're not entirely without hope.”

“Then he’d better hurry,” Ou Yin said. “Dawn is coming, and if nothing unexpected happens, the ogres will eat us before dawn.”

Bilbo tried to untie the bag, but after trying for a long time, he was still unsuccessful.

The ogres tied the bags very tightly, leaving only the dwarves' heads exposed for breathing, while their hands and feet were bound with hemp rope.

“I should go find a knife,” Bilbo sighed.

“Our weapons are piled up behind the ogres,” Balin said, “but it’s dangerous.”

"Give it a try!" Bilbo took a deep breath and carefully crept behind the trolls.

He had just picked up a sword and hadn't even turned around when a huge, pale white handkerchief wrapped him up.

The slightly thinner ogre wiped his snot, then opened his palm. A hobbit, bathed in his snot, lay bewildered on the handkerchief, looking utterly dejected.

who I am? where am I? What should I do?

Three big question marks popped into Bilbo's mind.

A scholar can be killed but not humiliated. Even if he is about to become food for cannibals, he shouldn't be washed with snot!

"It's you again," the thin ogre said with delight. "I thought you'd run away!"

"Stop talking nonsense, tie him up first." The troll wearing an apron tapped his younger brother on the head with a spoon. "Dawn is almost here, let's save him for tomorrow!"

boom!

Bilbo was stuffed into a sack and piled up with Thorin and the others.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you."

“To be honest, Mr. Baggins,” Chillie said, turning his face away as he struggled to break free of his ropes. “I really want to swear, but the words just won’t come out.”

“I think so too,” Dvalin said. “That blob of snot…”

"Stop talking about snot, okay?" Bilbo said, on the verge of tears. "Now we can only rely on Aaron and Gandalf."

The ogres tied Nori, Devalin, Fili, Bofor, Dori, and Groin to a wooden stake, set up a grill, and began to barbecue them.

"It's so hot! Help! It's so hot..."

"Don't bother cooking them, just mash them into mincemeat," the skinny ogres said.

"Help..."

"You can sprinkle some sage on it and grill it again," the troll suggested as he turned the grill.

"Is this necessary?"

"Help...untie me, sir...go eat something as big as you..."

"Forget about the seasonings, it's almost dawn, we need to hurry." The ogre wearing an apron said slowly, "I don't want to turn into stone."

dawn?

Aaron, hiding in the bushes, muttered the word, a cold smile appearing on his lips.

So that's how it is. They turn to stone when exposed to sunlight?

Aaron shook his wand, but after thinking for a moment, he put it away. Magic should not be used unless absolutely necessary.

With that in mind, Aaron turned his gaze to the large dagger that Bilbo had thrown down.

The trolls' weapons were extremely crude, but they had no choice but to make do with them for now.

"Wait a minute." Upon hearing the mention of seasoning, Bilbo seemed to realize something and shouted, "You've made a huge mistake!"

“You can’t reason with them, they’re all idiots,” Groin said from the barbecue grill.

"If they're idiots, then what are we?" Nori felt inexplicably insulted, after all, they were being roasted and eaten by three idiots.

“I meant the seasonings.” Bilbo stood up, hunched over, and jumped to the grill.

The ogre stopped turning the grill and asked curiously, "What's wrong with the seasonings?"

"Have you smelled them? You need something more fragrant than sage to eat them."

Upon hearing this, the dwarves glared at him angrily and cursed him as a traitor.

"How would you know how to cook a dwarf?" the skinny ogre asked skeptically.

“Shut up,” said the ogre wearing an apron. “Let the Hobbit thief speak.”

Bilbo grinned obsequiously, "The secret to cooking dwarves is..."

"What is it? Tell us the secret!"

“Yes… the secret is…” Bilbo pondered for a few seconds, “you have to peel it first.”

"What, skinning?"

The dwarves cursed loudly, and even Thorin's expression turned somewhat unnatural.

They weren't afraid of death, but this way of dying had exceeded their expectations.

The ogres, especially the one wearing an apron, believed it and soon came out with a skinning knife.