After dealing with five Trolls, they obtained the locations of other nearby Troll caves.
Luke and Gandalf immediately wanted to go and see if there were any survivors in the other Troll caves.
However, looking at the terrified villagers who had just narrowly escaped death, the two of them couldn't possibly leave them unattended.
"Luke, how about you take the villagers out of the forest first, and I'll go find those Trolls alone?" Gandalf suggested.
Luke shook his head. "No need for such trouble." With that, he hissed towards the cave exit.
The cold, slimy sound echoed in the empty cave hall, making the villagers uneasy.
What terrified them even more was a Python as thick as a bucket quickly crawling from the entrance; its enormous body was large enough to swallow them whole.
"Don't worry, it's following my orders now and won't harm you," Luke explained to the villagers, seeing their fear.
Gandalf also came forward to reassure them, which made the villagers feel a little safer, though they still kept their distance from the Python.
"Later, the Python will lead you out of the forest and onto the main road outside. From there, you can follow the road back to your village or go anywhere else you wish," Luke added.
"But our village has been destroyed, where can we go?" Edward, a young boy among the villagers, asked sadly and confusedly, looking hopefully at Luke and Gandalf. "Can I follow you, Mr. Wizard? I can do anything for you, serve tea and water, be your slave or servant!"
The other villagers also looked at the two with hope.
"I'm sorry, we have things to do next and will face more dangers. I'm afraid we can't look after you," Gandalf shook his head, refusing young Edward's request.
The villagers were disappointed at the news, filled with confusion and unease about the future.
"However, after you leave the forest, you can follow the main road across the Last Great Bridge and head west. On the hills west of the wilderness, there is a giant tower a thousand feet high. That is Wizard Luke's territory, and you can settle there."
"Gandalf?" Luke looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to make such a suggestion.
Gandalf sighed and explained to Luke:
"Their village has been destroyed, and it's no longer safe here. Besides the threat of Trolls, Orcs might descend from the mountains at any time to raid. These dark creatures won't be merciful to villagers. If they want to survive, they can only migrate west and find a lord or power to depend on."
"Now, dark forces are stirring. I foresee that the entire Middle-earth will be turbulent and ravaged by war in the future. With you, the black-robed Wizard, stationed at Weathertop, it can become a new haven, protecting them from the devastation and impact of war."
"Gandalf, you praise me too much!" Luke said with a wry smile, shaking his head. However, for Gandalf's sake, he no longer resisted the idea.
Besides, they might not even be willing to risk traveling thousands of miles across the wilderness to settle in a place that has nothing but a tower.
Luke looked at the anxious villagers below, thought for a moment, and then led everyone to the cave where the Trolls hid their treasure, distributing a portion of the gold and silver coins to the villagers.
The villagers, holding the gold and silver coins they received, felt dizzy as if in a dream. They had never seen so much money; the gold coins alone were enough to ensure their livelihood for a lifetime.
"You heard what Gandalf and I said earlier. With this money, you can go anywhere and live comfortably for the rest of your lives, so there are two suggestions you can consider," Luke told the villagers.
"Firstly, you can build boats and travel down the Cangquan River from the Last Great Bridge to the human kingdoms in the south."
"Secondly, you can cross the Last Great Bridge and head west, following the East-West Road straight, crossing the wilderness to the vicinity of Weathertop, or continuing west to Bree."
Then he distributed some of the armor and weapons collected by the Trolls to the villagers, so they would have some means of self-preservation on their journey.
After all this was done, Luke instructed the Python to lead these villagers out of the Troll Forest and return after reaching the main road.
He strictly forbade it from eating the villagers.
To appease the greedy Python, Luke had to personally dismember the Trolls, lest they be too large and choke the greedy snake to death.
Trolls have strong defenses; even though they were thoroughly dead, the thick layer of scales on their bodies could not be pierced by ordinary swords, and the muscles and bones beneath the scales were as hard as stone.
Luke used the sharpest Flame Sword and still had to exert a great deal of effort to dismember one Troll.
The giant Python, having swallowed a Troll's arm, contentedly stretched its swollen belly and slowly led the trembling villagers away, planning to return to enjoy the remaining food after delivering these humans to the main road.
Meanwhile, Luke, who was dismembering the Troll, did not stop. He extracted the Troll's nerves and removed its large black heart, sealing them in a glass jar conjured by Transfiguration.
Trolls are dark creatures that turn to stone when exposed to the sun. Luke wanted to see if Troll nerves could be used to make wand cores and if the heart could become a Potion ingredient.
Luke placed the Troll's heart and nerves with the Troll's treasure and hid them with magic.
These items were inconvenient to carry, so he planned to retrieve them later.
Luke and Gandalf did not delay further and headed to the next nearest Troll cave based on the information provided by the Trolls.
When Luke and Gandalf found the second Troll cave, this time it did not bring them good news.
When they stealthily entered the cave using the Disillusionment Charm, they only saw two Trolls and a pile of bones.
The captured villagers had all been eaten by these two greedy Trolls in one go.
Upon seeing this result, Gandalf was furious, and his immense power broke through the Disillusionment Charm, causing him to appear directly.
"Luke, lend me your Flame Sword!"
Luke did not hesitate and immediately drew the Flame Sword and handed it to him.
As the Flame Sword fell into Gandalf's hand, it immediately ignited with golden flames, emitting a dazzling, sun-like glow.
"No, it's sunlight!" The Trolls showed expressions of terror when they saw the dazzling light. Their grayish-green skin began to show signs of petrification upon contact with the light, becoming grayish and stiff.
However, the light emitted by the Flame Sword was not true sunlight. Although it had some restraining effect on the Trolls, it could not truly turn them into stone.
Gandalf moved with great agility and dexterity, swinging the Flame Sword and striking at one Troll's ankle.
Instantly, he cut a gash in the Troll's leg, leaving burn marks.
"Ow, that hurts! My foot!" The Troll let out a painful shriek.
The Troll tried to stomp on Gandalf, who was attacking it, but Gandalf quickly dodged and inflicted another wound on its foot with his sword.
The other Troll, seeing its companion injured, grabbed a giant log a dozen meters long and swung it like a club at Gandalf.
"Expelliarmus!"
Before the club could strike, it broke free from the Troll's hand and flew away.