Half an hour later, in a hidden cave in the northwest of the Black Forest Mountains.

Bilbo and the thirteen dwarves built a bonfire in the cave and dried their clothes.

Next to them lay a fat goat, which was the prey caught for them by the tall and handsome elf.

Faced with the delicious goat meat, all the dwarves could not resist the temptation of the delicious food. After baking the clothes, they quickly went to the prey and cut the sheepskin and mutton with the weapons in their hands.

Their movements may seem chaotic, but in fact they have clear division of labor and orderly coordination.

Three dwarves held sharp daggers and cut off the sheepskin, and cut the fat mutton into pieces of appropriate size. The three people holding axes next to them were responsible for sharpening the branches they picked up, and the other three dwarves strung the pieces of meat into skewers, which were finally handed over to the three fattest dwarves in the team to roast on the campfire.

“Crackle, crackle—”

Large drops of fat dripped from the meat and crackled in the campfire.

The aroma of food filled the small cave, attracting the attention of Bilbo and the twelve dwarves.

All the dwarves were swallowing their saliva, waiting for the roasted skewers of meat to fall into their mouths.

Only Thorin Oakenshield, the descendant of the dwarf king with black hair and beard and a heroic face, sat on the stone. He looked at the moths that dared not fly into the cave, and then looked at the handsome elf who was leaning against the stone wall sharpening the dagger in his hand.

After a long silence, Thorin asked softly, "Why did you save us?"

Without even looking up, Legolas said, "I need you to take me out of Mirkwood."

"We take you away?" Thorin raised his eyebrows and asked in surprise, "You are an elf from the Forest Kingdom, right? This is your territory. You still need an outsider like me to take you away from your own territory? Are you sure your brain hasn't been burned by the spider's venom?"

“…”

Legolas stopped polishing, looked at Thorin and said calmly: "Believe me, dwarf, I hate you as much as you hate me. If it is not necessary, I will never act with you!"

Thorin couldn't help but show sarcasm on his face: "Then why are you sitting in front of me now?"

Legolas glanced at him and continued to sharpen the dagger. He said calmly, "I am an elf expelled from the Woodland Kingdom. I have been wandering in this dark forest for a long time. Corroded by the power of darkness, I have lost my sense of direction. I need someone to guide me. And... my goal for this trip is the same as yours."

“…”

Thorin frowned when he heard this: "You want to go to Lonely Mountain too, why?"

Legolas did not answer, but Thorin vaguely guessed something.

"Is there something you want in the treasure of Lonely Mountain?"

“…”

Legolas glanced at him, but still said nothing.

"It seems that I guessed right!" Thorin chuckled and said, "Well, since you saved our lives, I can allow you to join us and share the treasure of Erebor with us..."

"No need to share!" Legolas suddenly spoke, looking at Thorin and said calmly, "I just want what I want."

"I guessed it right!" Thorin laughed and said proudly, "Don't worry, I, Thorin Oakenshield, son of Thrain II, the legitimate heir to the throne of Durin, King of the Dwarves and King under the Mountain, am a generous king who keeps his promises, unlike your Elf King who has no credibility and no glory..."

Before he finished speaking, Legolas suddenly reached out, grabbed Thorin's collar, and looked at him grimly.

"Watch your words, dwarf!"

“Wow——”

The dwarves beside the campfire stood up suddenly, gripped their weapons tightly, and looked at the two men with frowns.

Thorin stretched out his arm to stop his dwarf companion who had stood up in anger. Then he turned to look at Legolas, looked into his eyes and said calmly: "It seems that this great Elf King is good to his people, but I have seen how he treats his friends. After Smaug appeared, we went to him, hungry and homeless, to seek help from this so-called ally, but what did he do?"

"He abandoned us, watched the people of Lonely Mountain suffer, and turned away, leaving us to fall into hell!"

Thorin's tone became more and more excited, and finally he shouted at Legolas angrily.

"What do you know?" Legolas roared back, then sneered, "You don't know yet, the root of all this is your greedy grandfather. Back then, my father... the Elf King Thranduil gave you the Starlight White Diamond left by his late wife and asked you to make it into a necklace. But when the necklace was delivered, your grandfather broke the contract and went back on his word, offering an extremely high price that we could not afford."

"That's why the dwarves of Lonely Mountain and the elves of the woodland broke apart..."

"Impossible!" Thorin was shocked when he heard this, and couldn't help but retort, "It was you who refused to pay the fee."

Legolas let go of his hand and said sarcastically, "Do you think it's possible?"

"..."Thorin fell silent for a long time before he whispered, "But even so, the Elf King would not allow so many innocent people of the Kingdom under the Mountain to die just for a necklace. The only one guilty is... the King under the Mountain. They are innocent..."

"Your people are innocent, but aren't the people of the Woodland Kingdom innocent?"

Legolas sneered and said, "The Elf King had warned your grandfather long ago, telling him what greed would lead to, but he remained indifferent. It was the greed in your grandfather's heart that attracted the evil dragon Smaug. If you don't have to fill it with the lives of the dwarves, do you have to fill it with the lives of the elves?"

"you!"

Thorin's eyes widened and he raised his fist angrily, as if to strike.

But in the end, he dropped his arms and sat dejectedly on the stone.

Based on his understanding of his grandfather, he had to admit that his grandfather, Thrain I, who was consumed by greed in his later years, was indeed capable of doing such a thing.

As Thorin and Legolas fell silent, the atmosphere in the cave suddenly became weird.

Bilbo's eyes wandered between the silent Thorin and Legolas. He hesitated for a long time, but still couldn't say anything.

At this moment, the fat dwarf who was grilling skewers poked his companion with his arm and swallowed.

"Be careful, your kebab is about to burn!"

"oh oh!"

The fat dwarf came to his senses, quickly put away the skewers, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, and then distributed the skewers with rich meat aroma to Bilbo and the dwarves who had been waiting for a long time.

Amid the aroma of food, the atmosphere in the cave became warm again.

Only Legolas and Thorin were affected by the quarrel just now and could not muster any interest.

…

That afternoon, after everyone had their fill, they set out again on their journey to Lonely Mountain.

Although Legolas had lost his sense of direction, he still remembered the map of the Mirkwood and the Woodland Kingdom, so he suggested that they head north, bypass the Woodland Kingdom and go directly to Lake Town at the mouth of the Forest River.

Walking on the magically protected elf trail, the atmosphere once again became eerie and silent.

Thorin walked in the front, but he always turned his head from time to time to look at Legolas at the end of the team.

Bilbo also stayed at the end of the team, curiously asking Legolas questions related to elves.

As the undisputed protagonist of The Hobbit, Legolas naturally has a liking for Bilbo, so he patiently answers his questions and satisfies the curiosity of this natural adventurer among the Hobbit.

Suddenly, Thorin appeared beside them. "Bilbo, can I have a chat with him?"

"Uh... sure, you guys chat."

Bilbo grinned, then walked quickly forward, leaving them room to chat alone.

Legolas glanced down at Thorin and said calmly, "Tell me, what do you want to do?"

Thorin suddenly said calmly, "You are the Elf Prince of the Woodland Kingdom, right?"

Legolas was slightly startled, then couldn't help but frown.

Thorin looked up at his expression and said calmly, "Don't be surprised. I am a dwarf and I am most sensitive to rare weapons and armor. Whether it is the armor that can drive away animals or this strange-looking magic bow, they are not something that ordinary elves can possess. In addition, your complicated expression when you mentioned the Elf King Thranduil, I can naturally guess your identity."

"I'm curious about what you did to be driven out of the Woodland Kingdom by your own father."

Legolas said calmly: "This has nothing to do with you."

Thorin twitched his lips and said calmly, "I don't know what it feels like to be driven away by my father, but I know very well what it feels like to be driven out of my home. That is a terrible feeling that I never want to experience again in my life, so I will keep my promise and help you get what you want..."

Legolas looked at him in surprise, as if he didn't expect Thorin to say such a thing.

Is it because of the butterfly effect of his time travel that caused this guy's personality to change slightly?

Just as Legolas was thinking this, he suddenly sensed a malicious prying feeling coming from the forest.

Without any hesitation, Legolas immediately picked up the compound bow, pulled the bowstring, and shot the ice arrow condensed in the blue light into the woods.

"call out--"

The ice arrow emitting a chilly white aura sank into the woods, causing the person who was watching to scream.

The familiar voice made Bilbo, Thorin and the others change color. They drew their weapons and looked around vigilantly.

"It's the orcs!" Thorin said solemnly, "They finally caught up with us!"