Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 249 The Dark Forest and the Elves

Seeing that the giant bear had transformed back into human form, Wayne whistled at Robin.

Pets tamed from a young age are obedient. Upon receiving its master's command, Deathclaw immediately retracted its claws and stopped pressing the giant to the ground.

The ferocious and terrifying expression instantly vanished, and a hint of harmlessness could be seen on the huge beast's face, causing the hairy giant to secretly breathe a sigh of relief.

Only then did he get up, revealing his hairy face. He first looked at the rest of the expedition team, and then, in somewhat broken Common, addressed Wayne and the others:

"Who are you people, and why are you approaching my house?"

"What is this terrifying-looking beast, and why is it attacking me?"

Upon hearing this, Bilbo, riding on the mare, immediately retorted:

"You were the one who rushed down the hillside first, looking like you were going to pounce on us. You looked so fierce that if we hadn't stopped you, you might have eaten us."

The giant, whom Gandalf called Beorn, paused for a moment, then stood up, bowed apologetically, and said:

"I'm sorry! After transforming into a giant bear, my thoughts might be a little hard to control. I just saw you approaching my house and wanted to come and check it out."

"My name is Beorn, and I am the owner of this house. I have no intention of harming you."

Seeing that his apology was quite sincere, the others stopped arguing about it. After all, it should also be considered the expedition team's fault for approaching someone else's house without the owner's permission.

However, the reason they did this was because Gandalf said that the owner of the house was his old friend, which made everyone lower their guard.

Faced with the questioning gazes of the crowd, the grey-robed wizard was also embarrassed. He stroked his white beard and, with a sincere expression, said to the giant who was a head taller than him:

"Don't worry, Beon, we're here to visit you. Although we haven't officially met, I've known you for a long time."

"I am Gandalf the Grey, and I am passing through here to join this small group on their journey to the Lonely Mountain across Mirkwood."

Gandalf was very eloquent; he used a combination of deception and coaxing, along with some seemingly plausible but ultimately misleading statements, to easily fool Beorn, who was kind-hearted and deeply hated orcs.

Although the giant also disliked the greedy and stubborn dwarves, after hearing that they had killed the infamous Pale Orc Azog in the Misty Mountains, he immediately developed a deep respect for them and became very enthusiastic, inviting them to his home and offering them a sumptuous meal.

As members of the Skin Changers, they are a race of half-giants from a distant land, generally around 2.5 meters tall, with thick hair, gentle nature, and also have a long-standing feud with the Orcs.

Now, only Beon and a few others from the entire Skinflint clan have survived. The others have all died in the orc siege. This is an irreconcilable feud, which Beon has always kept in mind. He often looks for opportunities to sabotage the orcs' operations and hunt these scum from the dark forces.

Therefore, any righteous person who is hostile to the orcs and is willing to fight them can gain the giant's favor.

So, after a three-month journey, the expedition team finally found a relatively comfortable place to stay and rested for a few days in Beon's huge wooden house, relieving the fatigue of the journey.

Wayne, with his superb culinary skills, formidable strength, and the legend of single-handedly defeating the entire orc town, easily won the favor of this rather simple-minded giant.

Even during the few days of rest, he helped Belen complete several expert-level tasks, destroyed several orc outposts nearby, and hunted some large animals, providing a lot of food supplies for everyone's journey through the Dark Forest.

Three days passed quickly. The group had a good rest at Beon's place. Although there was still plenty of time, in order to reach Lonely Mountain as soon as possible, they bid farewell to the friendly giant and, with the many supplies Beon had given them, entered the Dark Forest under the giant bear's escort.

Before parting ways, the survivor of the skin-changing man said that if a war with the orcs broke out in the future and help was needed, he would come immediately with just one signal and fight the orcs together with everyone.

Beon, who can transform into a giant bear, is undoubtedly a powerful force. If he were to be clad in a giant bear armor, he would be equivalent to a small heavy cavalry unit, invincible on the battlefield.

Gandalf seems to have been waiting for this promise. As the strategist against the forces of darkness, his main task for thousands of years has been to unite the poor people who have been persecuted by various dark races, and to unite everyone's strength to fight against the Dark Lord Sauron.

For many years, every time the army of dark forces was able to be defeated, this hardworking wizard was indispensable, traveling between various forces, connecting the alliance of justice, and resolving various conflicts.

Of course, this grey-robed wizard was indeed very kind; he was the kind of good person who would sacrifice himself for others.

Gandalf actively helps others when they are in trouble. He is not the kind of person who waits until someone's family is destroyed before taking advantage of their hatred to justify his so-called "greater good."

Unfortunately, compared to the white wizard Saruman, the grey wizard Gandalf was too principled and too trusting, so he was often deceived and taken advantage of, and did not seem as powerful as he appeared.

Upon entering the Dark Forest, the expedition team's pace slowed down considerably. Compared to ordinary forests, the Dark Forest was extremely dense with massive, ancient trees that blocked out all sunlight.

Moreover, the branches of these trees are twisted and complicated, and the roots at the bottom are also tangled and intertwined, like tripwires, leaving no flat space at all.

The most troublesome thing was that the ground of the dark forest was not ordinary grass or soil, but rather swampy puddles and pools of water, which made it very difficult for the horses to move forward. Because they were unfamiliar with the road conditions, they often had to turn back due to the difficulty of the road ahead, wasting a lot of time.

However, this time, because Gandalf the Grey was with them, the group did not fall unconscious due to the dark magic in the forest as in the original story.

The grey-robed wizard was most skilled at dispelling various curses and traps, possessing extensive knowledge and helping the expedition team solve many problems.

However, the appearance of the giant spider offspring in the forest made the grey wizard feel very uncomfortable. Gandalf clearly sensed the power of the dark forces, which had unknowingly invaded various parts of the world and continued to grow and expand. Perhaps the time for the Dark Lord Sauron to reappear in the world was not far off.

Although Gandalf had anticipated this situation, the reality was far more serious than he had imagined, to the point where it had to be dealt with.

So one day, before everyone went to sleep, the grey-robed wizard told them some news.

"I'm sorry, Thorin, Wayne, once we're out of Mirkwood, I have to leave the party and head back to Rivendell."

"The dark forces of Dorguldu are growing too fast. Radagast tells us that the Witch-King of Angmar seems to be gathering his forces there."

"We wizards must concentrate our efforts and weaken the Angmar Witch-King before he is ready."

"Otherwise, it would be a disaster for the whole of Middle-earth."

After delivering this news, seeing that Thorin's expression was somewhat gloomy but he did not object, he immediately added:

"But Thorin, don't worry, there are still three months until the secret passage your father mentioned on his map opens. I will definitely come back to find you before then."

"To fight Smaug alongside you."

Perhaps because of the painful experience of losing his arm and avenging his father and grandfather, the young dwarf prince seemed to have matured a lot.

Although his expression remained somewhat displeased, he did not reprimand Gandalf. Instead, he patted the grey wizard on the shoulder, forced a smile, and said:

"Don't worry about us, Gandalf. Middle-earth needs you, wizard. Go and fulfill your duties. Come back to us when you're done."

"Don't worry about Smaug. We're here, with Bilbo the Thief and Wayne. We'll definitely succeed."

After his remarks, not only did the dwarves in the expedition team notice Prince Thorin's growth, but even Wayne's opinion of this handsome dwarf prince changed somewhat.

Perhaps Thorin's personality was so extreme before because he carried too much on his shoulders. Now that he has killed his enemy Azog, he has let go of his burdens and shown the spirit of a prince. He is no longer as stubborn and obstinate as before.

If the other party truly grows up and possesses the aura of a king, he wouldn't mind helping Thorin become the new king of the mountain, thus continuing their friendship.

Half a month passed quickly, and the expedition team continued to advance in the vast dense forest, reaching its deepest part.

Here, they discovered more and more giant spiders, and many hard-to-detect places were covered with spider web traps left by these dark monsters.

In this dense forest where there is no sunlight and visibility is poor, there are dangerous traps everywhere and predators waiting for their prey at any time.

However, although the environment was extremely dangerous and unsettling, the expedition team had the exceptionally powerful Deathclaw, so Wayne and his companions' journey was not as perilous as they had imagined.

Whether it's swamps, giant spiders, or dark magic, all these fancy tricks are just child's play in front of Deathclaw, which stands eight meters tall and possesses immense strength.

Since Robin was assigned by Wayne to scout ahead, most of the difficulties in the Mirkwood have become virtually nonexistent.

Neither tree roots nor giant spiders could stop the advance of the Deathclaw.

Sometimes when crossing swamps, Wayne would order Deathclaw to cut down the surrounding trees to create floating bridges over the mud, making it easier for everyone to cross.

While those giant spiders lurking in the shadows may be of low intelligence, they are not mindless beasts. They are descendants of the evil spirit Ugoliant, and like the war wolves of the orcs, they can even be classified as intelligent races. They are creatures with their own thoughts and the ability to communicate.

They wouldn't even bother with an enemy like the Deathclaw, which looks so formidable.

A few days later, as the expedition team struggled through the depths of the dense forest, Wayne suddenly felt as if a group of people were surrounding him.

He reached out to stop the group from moving forward, looked up at a shadow overhead, and sure enough, spotted a swaying figure.

Without any hesitation, Wayne hurled a stone, which with a thud knocked a humanoid creature in armor off a tree, causing it to groan in pain. Judging from its appearance, it was a handsome male elf.

In an instant, not only did all the dwarves pick up their weapons and assume a defensive stance, but dozens of elves dressed in green armor and wielding huge bows and arrows suddenly appeared on the trees, looking at each other with tense expressions.

Seemingly sensing its master's wariness, Deathclaw, which had been obediently walking on the side of the group, immediately opened its blood-red maw and let out a huge roar that resounded throughout the dense forest, making everyone's eardrums ache.

(End of this chapter)