Chapter 97 Returning Home
When Thorin and Gandalf returned to the banquet, the atmosphere was already quite heated.
A large number of dwarves and elves were drunk, some were lying on the table unconscious, and some were sleeping on the ground with wine glasses in their hands.
But that’s not all.
The two groups were unwilling to give in to each other from the beginning to the end, and anyone who was still standing continued to drink.
The people in River Valley Town were also infected by the atmosphere and gathered around to make a noise. Some who could play musical instruments played unknown tunes on the spot. Perhaps because the tunes were a bit monotonous, some people even knocked on the tables regularly or clapped their hands and stomped their feet to add some liveliness to the music.
It's a scene of bustling activity.
However, what first attracted their attention was a large table next to them.
"belch."
"This is a toast... to our victory!"
"This is the fifth time you've toasted us to victory, Gloin."
Levi clinked glasses with him and drank a large glass of wine in one gulp.
Groin raised his glass several times and inhaled, but he was unable to open his mouth.
However, Levi was merciless:
"Master Groin, do you have fish to feed in your cup?"
"Leaving so many, I'm afraid the fish will all drown in a little while."
"You...you...are simply insulting me!"
Groin was so angry that he raised his head and drank the glass of wine.
The next moment.
Plop.
The dwarf could no longer sit still. He rolled his eyes and fell under the table, with wine oozing from the corners of his mouth.
"You're next, Balin."
Levi filled his glass of wine again and pointed at Old Balin, the only one still standing.
As for the others, they had already been defeated like Groin and were fast asleep. The bold words they had said at the beginning about "not fighting a round-robin battle" were completely forgotten.
"No, no, no, no, forget it. I have something else to do. I'm leaving first!"
Balin waved his hands quickly.
Now he knew how the Orcs felt when facing Levi.
It was a kind of despair that was unshakable and had no bottom.
"Haha, it looks like you guys are having a great time drinking."
Gandalf sat down, picked up a glass of wine, clinked glasses with Levi, and drank it all in one gulp.
Thorin also sat down, picked up another glass of wine, and clinked glasses with Levi: "It seems that the rumors are not false. Your alcohol tolerance is just like your strength. There is no limit to it."
After saying this, he also drank the wine in his hand.
Levi naturally also had a drink with them.
"It's okay. I don't feel anything, but they look a little sleepy."
Listening to Levi's words, Thorin turned his head and looked at Balin, who was smiling with a forced look on his face.
"Yes, yes, it's good."
While dealing with it, Balin secretly decided in his heart that this sentence must not be heard by those lying on the ground, otherwise they would probably be depressed for a long time.
After getting these most brave and warlike dwarves drunk, a prompt came: Durin Dwarf reputation +100.
Levi didn't pay much attention to this reminder.
With his current reputation level, these 100 points are dispensable.
If he wanted to, no one would object even if he asked Thorin directly for the position of lord.
The same goes for the elves.
As for Changhu Town, or River Valley City...
Levi is now the lord of the territory there, so his reputation is naturally high. The singers over there have already included him in the song.
The hall was bustling with activity, but outside the door seemed a little deserted.
Due to their size, the big eagles could not move around in the hall, so they simply gathered outside and ate the meat.
Radagast and Beorn followed outside, eating.
The former is not picky about food, as long as there is something to eat, the latter has eating habits similar to the elves. Although he can transform into a giant bear, Beorn does not like to eat meat. In fact, there are only berries, honey, bread and various vegetables in his house, and no meat at all.
Originally, the Eagle King planned to go back immediately after the war, but Thorin stopped him, hoping that he and the big eagle that came to help could wait for a few more days.
There was nothing to do anyway, and they were provided with food, so the eagles thought about it and decided to stay there.
Likewise, Beorn was left alone.
"I guess he wanted to express his gratitude to you."
Radagast guessed.
“Peace is the greatest thank you to us.”
Beorn said this, in fact many people also thought so.
River Valley City.
At this moment, everyone was having a banquet in the hall. It was deserted and there was no sound at all.
Legolas stood alone on the city wall, staring at the battlefield in a daze, not knowing what he was thinking.
Just as he was about to go down the stairs, a figure stopped him.
Thranduil.
After discovering that Legolas was safe and sound, the king's eyes seemed to brighten.
The father and son looked at each other for two seconds.
"I can't go back."
Legolas was the first to speak, having already exiled himself on his own initiative.
"Where are you going?"
"I have no idea."
"Go over the Misty Mountains and continue west. There is a city there. It is Levi's territory."
Thranduil said in a vague tone: "A lot of changes will happen there. Maybe you should go and take a look."
The power of prophecy quietly activated, and Thranduil continued:
"After that, you can go and meet the Dúnedain in the north and learn more about them."
"Until their patriarch returns."
Legolas listened to these words, nodded silently, turned around and prepared to leave.
Just when he had walked several steps away, Thranduil suddenly called out in a somewhat awkward tone: "Legolas."
Legolas paused.
Thranduil looked at his back and said:
"Your mother always loved you..."
"Better than anyone."
“More than life.”
--Me too.
The last sentence was not spoken, but the fluctuation of emotions no longer needed to be expressed in words.
Legolas lowered his head, turned sideways and saluted, placed his hand on his chest and extended it to Thranduil.
Thranduil also quickly put his hand on his chest in response.
That action represents 'hug' in elf.
Legolas gradually walked away and disappeared.
Thranduil closed his eyes and relaxed for a long while before turning around and leaving.
Over the years, he had been so concerned about the belongings of his wife that were taken away by the dwarves that he had forgotten the truly precious things his wife had left him.
As he walked, Thranduil suddenly saw an elf and a dwarf huddled together on the other side of the city wall, looking up at the stars.
A face suddenly fell.
So he quickly changed direction and moved away from this place.
A night that may be quiet or noisy just passes by.
The next day, the dwarves put on their armor, took their weapons, and gathered in the huge meeting hall.
Thorin, wearing the crown and the solemn king's robes, stood on the high platform in front of all the dwarves.
The coronation ceremony of the King under the Mountain began.
Levi and the members of the expedition team, together with the leaders of each camp, two wizards and a skin-changer, stood in the special seats nearby to watch the ceremony.
Thorin glanced over here quietly and nodded.
Seeing that the time was almost right, Balin raised the sword in his hand and shouted, "Long live the king!"
"Long live the King!"
All the dwarves present raised their weapons and shouted.
Thorin bowed slowly.
The coronation was completed quickly.
After the ceremony, Thorin personally presented the Eagle King with a golden crown and swore that the dwarves and the eagle would be allies for generations.
Beorn, who also came to help, received considerable rewards, including the kindness and friendship of the dwarves, which greatly changed his stereotype of the dwarves.
Wizards don't need any reward. Except for Saruman, other wizards don't care about these worldly things at all. As I said before, the best reward for the free people of Middle-earth is peace.
After this, Thorin and Thranduil hold a meeting before the King's throne.
He asked Kili to fetch a chest from the treasury and presented it to Thranduil. The contents of the chest shone brightly like stars.
This time, the dwarves did not withdraw it.
After many years, Thranduil finally got back his wife's relic, the white gem that sparkled like a star.
The feud between the dwarves and the elves also came to a temporary end.
On the other side, in the cellar.
Levi was stretching and wandering around.
Just now he had worked with the dwarves to repair the damaged terrain, and dug up the blocked roads again to restore the Lonely Mountain to its original appearance.
As he walked, Levi suddenly saw a figure sitting on the steps, staring at the pile of treasures in a daze.
"To be honest, I have no idea what to do with all this treasure."
Bilbo was looking at the mountain of gold in the treasure house and feeling worried.
"If someone heard that you were troubled by this, he would be so jealous that he couldn't sleep."
Levi walked over and stood beside Bilbo, and began to think about how to use these treasures.
One fifteenth.
Even if these were all there were, there were so many of them that they wouldn't fit in a backpack if they were all melted into gold bars.
It can be considered as achieving golden freedom - temporarily.
"This could fill up ten of my houses. I don't want my house to be filled with gold."
Bilbo shook his head.
"That's right, Levi!"
He suddenly said, "Is this gold useful to you? I saw that the golden apples you have are made of gold. I'm sure you can use them."
"You're right. The more gold I have, the better. There's no way around it for me to do many things."
"Then I'll leave it to you."
Bilbo said nonchalantly, "I will take only enough for my future use, and the rest are yours. After all, you need them more than I do, and they will be more useful in your hands."
The Hobbit casually decided to give away this huge fortune that could buy countless shires.
Levi smiled.
"Then I'll take it, Bilbo."
"If you have time, come to the roadside fort more often. The door there is always open to you."
"I'm giving these to you, so if you feel unwell, just take a bite."
Levi combined a group of golden apples on the spot, piled them in a sack and gave them to Bilbo.
Bilbo opened his mouth, but stopped himself.
It turns out this thing can be mass-produced?
Since it was really inconvenient for Bilbo to carry so many golden apples with him, the golden apples were finally temporarily placed in Levi's backpack, and he held them for Bilbo for the time being.
At this point, everything that needs to be done has been done.
After saying goodbye.
Thranduil and the elf army returned to Mirkwood. The Eagle King flew back with Radagast and Beorn. Gandalf and Bilbo did not leave for the time being. They were waiting for Levi to join them.
But Levi was not in a very relaxed mood at the moment.
The ruins of River Valley City.
Levi stood on the city wall, looking at this place, feeling a little headache.
Under the city wall, a large number of townspeople were looking at him, waiting for him to speak.
Bud also came up and said, "The townspeople are waiting for your instructions."
"After all, you are the actual lord here."
"I may be the de facto lord, but they are not my de facto subjects."
"No."
Bard shook his head: "They are all sincerely willing to acknowledge and call you Lord."
Levi looked down and saw that everyone was silent, but their serious eyes confirmed this statement.
A prompt came: [The number of residents has reached the standard, and the conditions for establishing a camp are met. ]
The faction system confirmed what Bard said.
Levi opened the camp map.
It shows his two territories: Roadside Fort and River Valley City.
However, these two territories are located in the east and west respectively, and there is an entire mountain range in between. The journey is so long and the road is so rugged that even if the road conditions are safe, it will take ordinary people several months to walk from one territory to another.
As a camp, Levi's territory has very poor coherence.
but…
Maybe a road could be built - a long road.
But that’s all for later.
The most important issue now is the problem of River Valley City.
Whether in name or in reality, this place has become Levi's territory, and the townspeople or Bud are willing to let him lead it.
Logically speaking, even if Levi were to be crowned the king of the Valley State directly, probably no one would object.
But I just don't mind.
At this moment, there are two people who are recognized as qualified to lead people: Levi and Bud.
Relatively speaking, Levi is more like a god-like character who descended from the sky. He killed dragons, resisted orcs, saved people's lives, kept everyone alive, and was respected by everyone.
Bud, on the other hand, is a real human being just like everyone else. He lives a cramped life and makes a living through hard work like the other townspeople, and he also has a family to support.
Even in this situation where life was tiring and he could barely make ends meet, he still found the energy to help the townspeople improve their lives, fill their stomachs, and resist the oppression of the corrupt mayor.
Reputation never comes easily.
If the gods want to rule, the people who were rescued will certainly have no objection. Even if Levi does nothing, people will feel awe and take the initiative to do what they should do.
Levi is certainly qualified to be king, and in many ways, his title of king is a bargain for the townspeople.
But...
"Bud, are you sure you want me to be the lord?"
Bud immediately said, "All of us have no objection. This is what we all agree to."
"Besides, have you forgotten that this has long been your territory? We didn't ask you to be the lord, but you are the lord now."
"All right."
Levi nodded.
"Then - I, the Lord of Riverdale City, will give my first order here and now."
The townspeople listened attentively under the city wall.
"I appoint Bud as the deputy governor of Riverdale City. All subsequent affairs will be handed over to him. He has all the authority to manage Riverdale City."
After announcing the first order, Levi said to Bard, "Also, I will now give you one-fifteenth of the treasure in Lonely Mountain to manage, and use it to rebuild River Valley City and its subsequent development."
"Follow your instructions."
Bud saluted.
[Appointed deputy to the territory: Bard]
The townspeople cheered for their lord and his deputy.
"By the way, Lord, the Long Lake Town..."
Bud immediately got into the role and began to think about Levi's future.
Levi was a little nervous: "No, don't call me Lord, I'm not used to it, just keep calling me Levi, there's no need to set up such class names between us."
"All right, Lord Levi."
"What did you say?"
"Lord Levi."
"Um?"
"Levi."
"That's right."
Levi nodded, and then continued to answer what Bard had just asked: "Changhu Town is not my territory, why are you asking me this?"
"But…"
"Nothing to worry about. I heard that the mayor of Changhu Town ran away, and his deputy also disappeared..."
"I'm here!" someone suddenly shouted from below.
Bang! He fainted.
Ignoring the noise below, Levi continued, "Changhu Town must have a new mayor. You grew up there and know it best. The townspeople also want you to lead it."
"as well as--"
"To be honest, worldly power and money are of no use to me."
"It's better to leave these things to people who are more skilled at it."
"…All right."
Bud accepted the job with some trepidation.
It's so weird.
Levi gives people a very strange feeling.
This legend cares neither about power nor wealth, nor about how much he can lose nor how much he can gain.
But it's not necessarily true to say that he doesn't care about anything.
He would also feel happy or depressed about some things, but those feelings always felt a little vague, as if - as if he was playing a game.
It feels like a king pretending to be a merchant to sell things. What’s important is not whether he can make money, but that he has the experience of selling things.
But if the king were really asked to sell things for the rest of his life, he would definitely not do it.
After the matter has been initially discussed.
Bud, the deputy of Riverdale City and the mayor of Long Lake Town, quickly started his work, organizing people in an orderly manner to rebuild the ruins of Riverdale City and move some people back to Long Lake Town to continue living.
As for Levi, he became a hands-off boss on the first day he took office as lord. At this time, he just wanted to go home to harvest the vegetables and build a hell passage between the roadside fort and the valley city.
Walking one meter in hell is equivalent to walking eight meters in the real world. By using this feature, Levi can greatly shorten the time he spends traveling between the two places.
Although this channel is only for his own use, it still provides great convenience.
The Hell Gate can only be built within one's own territory, but Levi still has a lot of territory.
"Perhaps we can use this to establish a fixed territory specifically for traveling..."
With all these thoughts in mind, Levi set out with Gandalf and Bilbo, heading west. In the middle they visited the Mirkwood and passed by Beorn's house, where they were all treated well.
When they reached the Misty Mountains, the three of them climbed up the most dangerous pass almost in a swagger, but there was no sign of any Orcs or Wargs showing up.
Quite quiet.
"Anyone there?"
In the front hall of the Orc Town, Levi shouted, but there was no response.
“They were not welcoming at all.”
Levi said so.
Gandalf nodded and looked away.
"you're right."
Bilbo didn't say anything for a while. He just looked at the stone door with a two-meter-high hole and lost himself in memories. After a moment, he unconsciously reached into his pocket and touched the things inside.
It's still there.
The goblins in Orc Town are not very hospitable.
Before leaving, Levi took out stones and kindly helped them block the gate.
This way the road was safe for the time being, and they could no longer come out through the front hall and attack passers-by.
After successfully crossing the mountains, the three of them stayed for a while at the treasure hiding place in the Troll Forest. When they left, Bilbo held a large box with a slightly unpleasant smell in each arm, which was full of treasures.
In fact, even if it was only this part of the troll's treasure, Bilbo's profit would be huge.
So much so that in the days that followed, there was always a mystery in the Shire: Why did Bilbo's family never run out of money? But that's a story for another time.
Because Bilbo had too many things with him, he postponed the experiment with Levi and planned to go back to the Shire first to pack up his things at home before coming back.
So, at the fork in the road leading to Bree and Roadside Castle, the three of them parted temporarily.
Levi went to the wayside castle, while Gandalf continued with Bilbo.
All the way to the border of the Shire.
Gandalf suddenly stopped.
"We have to say goodbye here."
"That's a shame."
Bilbo said, "I quite like traveling with you. Both you and Levi always bring me good luck."
"Do you really think so?"
Gandalf took a few steps closer and said slowly, "Do you really think that your adventures and escapes along the way were all due to luck?"
"That enchanted ring should not be used carelessly, Bilbo."
Bilbo looked up at Gandalf and instinctively wanted to say something in rebuttal, but Gandalf quickly blocked his words: "Don't take me for a fool. I know you found one in the tunnel of the goblin town."
"No…I didn't…"
"I've been keeping an eye on you."
"Okay." Bilbo chose to admit it.
It's not a good idea to argue with a wizard.
"I understand. I will pay attention to it."
"You're a very nice guy, Mr. Baggins, and I enjoy traveling with you."
Gandalf said meaningfully: "In this vast world, you and I may just be small figures."
“But sometimes the little people can change the world because they have no other choice.”
Bilbo didn't quite understand what these words meant, but that didn't stop him from listening carefully.
After another farewell, he shook hands with Gandalf, turned around, and returned to the Shire under the latter's gaze.
While Gandalf was sending Bilbo home.
Levi returned to the roadside fort early.
"Huh?"
After returning after more than half a year, Levi discovered that there were some new things near his territory.
In an open space not too far from the city wall, a small number of crude tents were set up, and it seemed that people were living inside.
This aroused his curiosity.
"Hey, people over there, what do you do?"
Levi went over and asked immediately.
The people in the tent were immediately alarmed and stopped what they were doing and walked out.
When they saw Levi's appearance clearly, the expressions on their faces gradually changed from numbness to surprise.
"It's the Lord, the Lord who saved us is back!"
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