Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 254 The Secret Passage of Lonely Mountain

After the meeting set the tone, Gandalf left in a hurry.

This grey-robed wizard, along with the white-robed wizard Saruman and the brown-robed wizard Radagast, are all members of the White Way, an organization also known as the Holy White Council, which is specifically tasked with dealing with Sauron's Shadow.

The dark forces of Dorguldu are growing stronger, and there are rumors of necromancers and the Witch-King of Angmar. Members of the White Order are ready to conduct a thorough investigation of the place, which is why Gandalf left in a hurry.

After the wizard left and the group obtained plenty of supplies from the Woodland Kingdom, the expedition team prepared to head to Lonely Mountain to find the secret passage leading into its interior.

Although they were prepared to wait until the Day of Durin to open the secret passage, Thorin and the others had nothing better to do, and they didn't want to waste time or stay in the Woodland Kingdom for too long. They preferred to go to Lonely Mountain to live a life of hardship rather than stay with the elves.

As a member of the team, Wayne was also prepared to go with them. After all, he had a magic flying carpet that allowed him to fly, making it quite convenient to travel between the two places.

However, before leaving, he instructed the refugees of Changhu Town to sail along the Benliu River to other forces to buy supplies for rebuilding their homes, and he gave them a lot of money.

This is a long-term investment, and there may not be any returns in the short term, but as a demon hunter of the immortal race, his vision is much longer than that of ordinary people.

Although the road to Lonely Mountain was rugged, they did not encounter any enemies along the way. In addition, with Wayne's flying ability, neither steep slopes nor jagged rocks were too troublesome.

The Woodland Kingdom is not far from Lonely Mountain; it would only take about two or three days to walk there. They soon arrived near River Valley City and at the gates of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom.

Looking at the magnificent gate that was tightly closed, the dwarves of the expedition team couldn't help but burst into tears. They sang dwarven songs one after another, the lyrics filled with the sorrow of being forced to leave their homeland.

However, this was not the expedition team's final destination. Following the map left by Thorin's father, they spent several more days navigating a rugged path, circling half of the isolated mountain, before finally finding the location of the secret passage exit indicated by the cipher on a cliff face.

Unfortunately, it was a huge stone wall covered with countless holes. After searching for a long time, the group couldn't find the keyhole and became dejected, some even saying they were going to pack up and go home.

"Since we still have a few months, why not try every keyhole, or just take a mining pick and chisel through the door? With your strength, it shouldn't take long, right?"

Seeing this scene, Wayne felt a bit annoyed. After all, in the original story, the dwarves gave up after trying for most of the day without finding it, and even prepared to return the way they came, which he found very childish.

Regardless of whether there are any clues or not, as long as we can confirm that the keyhole is on this stone, even if there are ten thousand holes on this stone that need to be tested, it doesn't matter how many days it takes.

However, that's just how dwarves are in the original story; their thoughts are always strange, so it's not surprising.

With Wayne's reminder, Thorin and the others were enlightened and immediately rekindled their enthusiasm. They simply set up camp on the open ground next to them and began to search the wall where the secret passage was located for any possible keyholes, testing them one by one.

The result was quite good. After testing for about three days, they finally found the correct keyhole and opened the secret passage leading to the interior of Lonely Mountain.

This was undoubtedly very exciting news, but Wayne stopped Thorin and the others from immediately embarking on the heist, telling them that they had to be prepared first.

Although the Arkenbod is within reach, the dragon Smaug is also within reach. Entering it could very well awaken the dragon and cost you your life, so you must be prepared.

Originally, Thorin was unwilling to wait any longer. They had waited for hundreds of years, and now all hope was in sight, so he was getting impatient.

However, unable to withstand Wayne's firm stance, after some discussion, the group decided to wait another week before taking action.

Lacking the concealment ability of the One Ring, Wayne gave two of the five invisibility potions he had previously acquired to Bilbo.

Along the way, the hobbit's resilience and courage have impressed many in the team. They have come to regard this diminutive thief as their companion and hope that he can survive the final mission.

Having obtained Wayne's hidden potion, Bilbo's confidence soared. He quickly thanked Wayne for his generosity. Both of them were from the Shire and had known each other for ten years. Along the way, he had taken good care of the hobbit, and the two were already good friends.

In truth, there wasn't much to prepare. For Thorin and the other dwarves, ordinary weapons and armor were useless against the dragon Smaug. Whether it was the dragon's bites or its fiery breath, even full-body heavy armor was of no use.

The dwarves' sword attacks were virtually impossible to penetrate Smaug's dragon scale defenses, so even if Thorin and his companions entered the palace on the Lonely Mountain, they would only be sitting ducks to attract the dragon's attention.

However, that was before he met Wayne.

Now that everyone is on the same team, Lord Wayne was not stingy. He gave each of Thorin and the other dwarves two North Wind Bombs as a means of attack.

Smaug's defenses may be strong enough that ordinary honeycomb bombs would only tickle this dragon, but the North Wind Bomb, which can create intense frost, would definitely have an impact on this fire-type dragon.

Furthermore, Wayne placed Deathclaw Robin at the gate of Lonely Mountain Palace, on the path that Smaug would inevitably take to break through the gate and fly away from Lonely Mountain in the original story.

After all, Deathclaw cannot enter the interior of Lonely Mountain through the narrow secret door, and even if it did, given its size, it would not have much of an advantage in fighting Smaug, and would instead become the primary target of his fire breath.

As for Wayne himself, he took off his blood-red heavy dragon scale armor and put on lighter green dragon leather armor, which was more suitable for agile combat.

In the week leading up to the battle, he flew his carpet to inform King Thranduil of the Woodland Kingdom that they had found the secret passage and that the formal battle was about to begin, so that the Silvan elves could make the necessary preparations.

On the day of the agreed-upon battle, Wayne, as if carrying out a powerful witch-hunting commission, checked all the combat items that might be needed, drank six bottles of witch-hunting potions to enhance his physical abilities, and then, carrying Excalibur, together with Bilbo, entered the palace inside Lonely Mountain through the secret passage at the back gate.

Before leaving, he patted Thorin on the shoulder and said earnestly:

"Thorin, if things go well, then you won't need to participate in the battle later."

"However, I hope you can be mentally prepared. You are about to see the treasure of Lonely Mountain, and your long-cherished wish will soon be fulfilled."

"Your decision affects the fate of many people; don't let them down."

(One more chapter.)

(End of this chapter)