"Gandalf!" Upon entering the city of Rivendell, a male elf approached and called out Gandalf's name.
Behind him stood a large number of elves in exquisite white armor, arrayed in neat formation. They held bows and arrows in their hands, their quivers filled with arrows, and their waists hung with the graceful longswords characteristic of the Elven race.
Seeing the elves arranged in neat formation, the members of the Exploding Sky Gang reacted immediately. Swordsmen and shieldmen stepped forward, followed by archers and crossbowmen, with some already preparing firearms and rockets. However, just as the elves did not draw their bows and arrows, the members of the Exploding Sky Gang did not point their weapons at them, nor did they adopt a tense stance.
“I know him,” Gandalf said to Wang Han, to avoid a conflict.
“Since we know each other, go ahead. I hope you can borrow the money soon,” Wang Han said with a smile.
"Thank you." Hearing this, Gandalf stepped forward to greet the approaching elf. "Lind!"
"I heard you've come to the Valley," the elf Lind greeted Gandalf with a smile, then looked at Wang Han and the other mercenaries, asking in a questioning tone, "Who are they?"
“They are mercenaries, they are dangerous, and I want to hire them, but things can’t be explained in a short time,” Gandalf said seriously. “I want to speak with King Elrond first.”
“King Elrond is not here.” Upon hearing this, the elf Lind shook his head and said.
"Not here? Where did he go?" Gandalf asked upon hearing this.
"Orcs have appeared nearby, and King Elrond has led his cavalry out to quell them." Upon hearing this, Lind said, "I don't know why the orcs are invading our borders. Someone must have led them here."
(Because of Wang Han, Baggins and the others arrived at the valley earlier than in the original story.)
“I’m so sorry, those people are us!” Gandalf said apologetically. “So I would like to see King Elrond and speak with him. Until then, could we stay here and wait for King Elrond? We will not enter the city.”
“Of course, you can stay out of the city!” Linde said with a smile. “I will tell King Elon as soon as he arrives.”
“Thank you, Lind,” Gandalf said with a smile, then turned back to Wang Han and said, “We’ll stay here for now. I’ll go see King Elrond when he returns. Until then, I hope that Your Excellency will keep your men in check to avoid any unnecessary misunderstandings.”
“No problem, you can enter Rivendell, but they'll have to camp with us at the place where we stopped before. Hopefully you can hurry.” Wang Han said with a smile, waving to his team behind him and shouting, “Take these dwarves and this Hobbit Snitch, let’s return to the caravan’s location and wait for good news from Gandalf the Grey.”
"yes."
"Hahaha!"
Upon hearing Wang Han's order, the team members responded loudly and then burst into laughter. They weren't worried that Gandalf would escape or join forces with the elves to fight them.
'I hope King Elrond will return soon.' Seeing this, Gandalf couldn't help but pray. These arrogant mercenaries really would kill Thorin and his men.
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As dusk fell, the golden-red sunlight bathed the valley, giving Rivendell an autumnal beauty. A handsome, middle-aged man with pointed ears and grey hair hid in the shadows, watching Gandalf waiting by the stone table. After a moment's hesitation, he stepped towards Gandalf.
Elrond found Gandalf waiting by the stone table at the edge of Rivendell. Seeing Gandalf's worried look, he laughed and walked towards him. "Gandalf, I heard from Lind that you were here, so I came as soon as I got back."
“King Elrond.” Gandalf rose to greet King Elrond as he approached.
"Gandalf, it's been a long time. Come, let's take a stroll through the valley. You haven't been to Rivendell in a while either." Before Gandalf could continue speaking, King Elrond said with a smile, and warmly took Gandalf's hand, ready to lead him into the city.
"King Elrond, I've run into some trouble this time!" Gandalf said quickly as Elrond pulled him along.
“I heard about the trouble you’re in from Linde. I also took a look at those mercenaries from a distance, and they are indeed a very fierce group. Hiring them is like asking a tiger for its skin; it’s too dangerous,” King Elon said solemnly. “I advise you to give up this dangerous idea.”
“But I have no choice; I need their strength to fight the Orcs,” Gandalf said. “So, King Elrond, please lend me some money, enough to pay the deposit for hiring them, and my friends are being held captive by them.”
"How much money do you want to borrow? While the Elves don't care much about money, they still have necessary expenses. But I must warn you, be careful when cooperating with these mercenaries who are only after money; they have no bottom line," King Elrond said. Knowing he couldn't persuade Gandalf, and given his friendship with Gandalf, King Elrond couldn't refuse him.
“Two hundred thousand gold coins, this is the agreed-upon deposit,” Gandalf said. “They are very strong, worth the price, and I will be careful with them.”
“No problem, I’ll have Lind bring the gold coins over in a bit,” King Elrond nodded. Two hundred thousand gold coins wasn’t much to him, or even to Rivendell, though he knew Gandalf couldn’t repay it. (It was a lot for a mercenary group of two hundred, and this was just a deposit.)
"Thank you," Gandalf said.
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