"What? What do you mean by that?"
Bard was still processing the fact that Levi had single-handedly built such a massive wall when the conversation suddenly turned to him with unexpected urgency.
"Of course I don't want to see it. Even without war, the townspeople have already suffered enough."
"Then it's time for you to make a choice."
Levi looked at him and explained with serious intent:
"Bard, as a descendant of Girion, Lord of Dale, you have legitimate inheritance rights to this place. This is recognized by the entire world."
"Now, you need to renounce it and transfer ownership of Dale's territory to me. This way I can protect your safety. I can guarantee this."
Bard shook his head: "This place is already ruins."
"So what is your answer?"
"Before I give my answer, may I make a request?"
"Speak."
"I hope the townspeople can have a place to settle, no longer having to endure poverty, hunger, and wandering."
"Pfft."
Levi couldn't help but laugh, patting Bard's shoulder with genuine warmth.
"I'm not some great villain. You make it sound like I'm really going to devour this place."
"The townspeople can live wherever they want. I'm not going to drive them away."
Looking at Levi with complex emotions and then at the old man nearby smoking and stealing glances their way, Bard sighed deeply.
"I always feel like you two are conspiring to play with me."
"Alright then. As a descendant of the Lord of Dale, I, Bard, voluntarily renounce inheritance rights to this land and give it to Levi."
"Agreement in effect," Gandalf said from the side.
[Territory "Dale" Created]
[Territory Count: 2]
"Congratulations on making the right choice. Now I need to make a trip to the Lonely Mountain. See you later."
"Wait for me, let's go together. I was just about to see Thorin."
Gandalf put away his pipe and prepared to head down.
"You can catch up later."
"What?"
Whoosh!
With a firework's flash, Levi had already donned his elytra and flown away.
Gandalf's old face twitched with exasperation.
"I feel like I won't be able to keep up with his pace in the future."
Moments later, the Lonely Mountain's mineral storage was considerably depleted, while in Dale, residents suddenly discovered three-meter-tall iron golems beginning to patrol along the roads.
The clang-clang sounds they made while walking were exceptionally obvious and had strong penetrating power. Several children who weren't very sensible yet burst into tears upon seeing these big fellows.
The children's crying quickly attracted the attention of some iron golems. They gathered around, looking down at these little ones from their imposing height.
Remembering the wizard's and Levi's instructions, Bard forcibly restrained himself from drawing his sword and also stopped several guards who wanted to approach.
The tall golems extended their iron arms toward the children. At the end of their arms was a splash of bright color.
"Is that... a flower?"
Bard was somewhat unprepared for this gentle gesture.
So were the children. Their attention was immediately drawn to the bright flowers in the iron golems' hands. They unconsciously reached out to receive them, then smiled with innocent delight.
"Everyone, don't be afraid!"
At this moment, Bard stood on high ground and shouted:
"These are golems created by Levi to protect us. They are friendly!"
"Levi? Is he a wizard?"
A townsperson asked curiously. When it came to magic, most people first thought of "wizards."
"I'm not sure, but what I can tell you is that the Levi I speak of is that legendary figure of the wilderness. Enemy of Orcs, master of miraculous construction magic, the mighty among humans, dragon slayer Levi."
"Oh!"
The townspeople exclaimed in amazement.
"Are they a group?"
Someone who hadn't heard of Levi's reputation scratched their head and asked this question.
"No, these all refer to the same person."
The people around burst into laughter, making the questioner's face turn red.
"Why does he have so many titles? I can barely count them all."
This townsperson marveled privately, not knowing that there were more things in this world that couldn't be counted than just Levi's titles.
There were also the orcs of the Misty Mountains.
"This is a perilous land, Tauriel. In the last age, our people fought here."
On a mountain in Gundabad, Legolas spoke of the history here to Tauriel against the wind.
"My mother died here. My father never spoke of her."
"No grave, no memories. I have nothing of her."
Tauriel was momentarily speechless.
Whoosh!
A massive shadow passed overhead. Legolas quickly pulled Tauriel down, hiding behind the rocks.
"What are those things?"
"Bats of Dol Guldur. They are bred for war and usually serve as the orcs' eyes."
Hum!
As a heavy horn sounded, large numbers of well-equipped orcs poured out of Gundabad's fortress, marching forward with uniform steps that shook the earth.
A tall, burly orc stood on high ground, roaring orders:
"Full speed ahead!"
"That's Bolg, son of Azog."
Legolas immediately recognized this orc. The very target they had come out to track on their own initiative, though he had left halfway through their pursuit.
Now they knew why. He had returned to Gundabad to mobilize the army.
"We must return immediately to give warning."
The two elves began racing toward the Lonely Mountain without stopping.
Only this time, time was not on their side.
In a wilderness not far from the Lonely Mountain.
Rumble!
The mountain trembled. Suddenly, a massive worm burst from underground, its sharp fangs instantly crushing the large chunks of rock remaining in its mouth and swallowing them.
As the giant worm burrowed back underground, a tunnel nearly ten meters wide and long was completed.
There were no fewer than ten such tunnels.
They led directly to the Lonely Mountain.
A warg rider quickly emerged from the tunnel, reporting to the pale orc before him.
"Master, our army will be in position by tomorrow at the latest and can quickly reach the battlefield."
"Excellent."
Azog turned around, casually spearing a piece of raw meat and feeding it to the white Warg King beside him.
"Those foolish dwarves have long forgotten the ancient creatures beneath this earth. The great devourers from the deep pits of Moria."
"Were-worms."
After the Warg King swallowed the raw meat, Azog mounted it and walked to high ground, overlooking his formidable army from his old home in Moria.
In the mountain shadows, countless orcs and wargs were arrayed in dense formations, ready to strike.
On the slopes on both sides stood some seven- to eight-meter-tall giant beasts with catapults mounted on their backs. Each beast had at least two orcs operating it to ensure the beast moved as desired.
Behind the siege beasts were some modified beasts with their eyes gouged out, arms converted to flails, and feet cut off and replaced with spiked iron balls.
Besides these, there were some three- to four-meter-tall "small" trolls wielding clubs nearly as large as grown men, looking quite formidable.
And this wasn't all.
Behind these trolls were some elite Olog-hai covered entirely in steel armor with almost no skin exposed. They were larger than trolls, with skin harder than stone, and they feared no sunlight.
Even without armor, ordinary weapons couldn't cut them.
These were absolute battlefield dominators and Sauron's latest genetic engineering products.
One could imagine that if deployed as vanguards on the front lines, they would be absolutely devastating.
Thinking about facing these things soon, Levi's movements in summoning iron golems in Dale quickened considerably.
Just as he was taking another portion of the Lonely Mountain's mineral storage and summoning who knows how many more iron golems, Bard suddenly walked quickly to his side and reminded him:
"Look over there."
Levi stopped his actions and looked up in the direction Bard was pointing.
On the plain, a neat expanse of golden yellow gleamed brilliantly in the sun, dazzlingly bright.
"Elves."
Levi exhaled, temporarily stopping his work.
"They're elves from the Woodland Realm. They've come."
The battle begins.