I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 69 Why is it Oak again?
"thump--"

"Ouch!!!"

A dull scream pierced the night. The four humans who had their own ulterior motives and were targeting Thorin were tied up by Tanes and his men, with rags stuffed in their mouths, and thrown onto the deserted soil somewhere in the cold town of Bree.

The moment their bodies fell, the soil was pressed into a dent and was stained with a cold breath.

The close contact between their skin and the wet soil brought not only physical coldness, but also a chill in their hearts.

Tanes, Bernal, and Millicent were hidden in the darkness, like ghosts in the night, with no expression on their faces.

The four bodies were scattered on the grass, their breathing gradually becoming steady, yet with the rapidity and restlessness of surviving a disaster.

Bilbo was nervous and scared, hiding behind Gandalf in his gray robe, and looking at Thorin with a gloomy face.

The other dwarves were still in the Prancing Pony Inn, and Thorin had not yet told them what had happened, not even Fili and Kili.

He walked up to the squinting man, leaned down, his eyes swept over him, and a barely perceptible sneer flashed across the corner of his mouth.

Tanes originally wanted to let himself be the interrogator, as he had a way to charm the other party and make them temporarily his own people, which would save a lot of time.

But Thorin flatly refused. He said that he was the one being targeted, so he had to interrogate these people in his own way.

Thorin drew the Frozen Shell Axe from his waist and tapped the squinting man's face with the cold axe blade. He asked in a low voice, "Who sent you here to spy on me?"

The squinting man's body trembled involuntarily, clinging to the soil, wishing he could disappear into the ground.

There was a glint of fear in those naturally slanted eyes, but because his mouth was blocked by a rag, he could only make a "wuwu" sound.

It can be seen that the man with squinting eyes really wants to take the initiative to answer the question.

Thorin pulled the rag out of the squinting man's mouth, pressed the Frozen Shell Axe lightly on his neck, and signaled him with cold eyes to speak.

A hint of hesitation flashed in the slanted-eyed man's eyes at first, but under Thorin's intense gaze and the stinging pain in his neck, he could only bite the bullet and answer, "There's a bounty on your head, sir."

"Reward? Who?" Thorin asked.

The slanted-eyed man pleaded in fear, "I really don't know. I just saw a reward notice and a portrait somewhere else. It said that if you see a similar dwarf, you can go to Green Avenue. Naturally, someone will come out and buy this information from me."

Tanes and Bernal burst out laughing when they heard this.

If it was just surveillance, then what did that murderous look they felt not long ago mean?

Thorin heard their laughter and naturally understood that the squinting-eyed man was lying, at least he didn't tell the whole truth.

So he raised the Frostshell Axe in his hand and chopped it down.

"No, no, no, I'll say it again—"

Then, amidst the terrified eyes of the squinting man and his abruptly stopped screams, the Frozen Shell Axe cleanly cut off his fragile neck.

But no blood flowed out of the wound. The freezing power contained in the Frozen Shell Axe directly solidified the blood into cold blood-colored crystals.

The squinting man's head rolled to the side of the bald one-eyed man, causing the latter to open his eyes wide.

Gandalf shook his head regretfully, and Bilbo, who was hiding behind him, let out a low cry of surprise.

This was the first time he had seen such a bloody scene, which made Bilbo feel a little nauseous, and the food he had eaten last night churned in his stomach.

But at the same time, Bilbo was even a little surprised that he did not have any resistance to Thorin's behavior in his heart.

As for Tanes, he did not forget to take out the flexible collector made for him by Teacher Serlian, and absorbed the black soul from the body of the squinting man after his death.

Thorin stood up expressionlessly, tapped the axe blade of the Frozen Shell Axe with his fingers to shake off the blood and ice crystals on it, and then walked to the bald one-eyed man.

The bald one-eyed man's only remaining healthy eye showed a panicked look, and his pupil shrank.

"You have thought of the answer, you know?" Thorin said with a smile.

The bald, one-eyed man was so scared that he was sweating profusely and nodded vigorously.

As the cloth was pulled out of his mouth, he stared at the severed head of the slant-eyed man in horror and said quickly, "That slant-eyed man is wrong about one thing. Although I saw the reward just like him, the reward is actually for your head. Bring your head to Green Avenue and you can get a large sum of money from Oak."

Oak?

A pale figure subconsciously flashed through Thorin's mind.

But for Tanes, when he heard that the mastermind behind targeting the dwarves was the Orcs, he suddenly felt speechless.

In Tanes' mind, Oak has now become like a cockroach, which can appear anywhere and disgust you at any time.

Thorin snorted emotionlessly and asked, "Where did the Orcs come from?"

The bald one-eyed man was stunned and shook his head subconsciously: "I don't know."

But the cold edge of the Frostshell Axe immediately made him cry out again: "But the bounty I tore off is in my breast pocket! I really didn't lie! I really don't know where the orc came from. Perhaps you can recognize him from the bounty!"

Just as Thorin reached out his hand to feel for the "reward order" the other party mentioned, Tanes also began to feel for the headless body of the slant-eyed man.

Since it was said to be a bounty, the dead squinting-eyed man must have one on him.

Sure enough, Tanes was even faster than Thorin in finding a bounty order made of some animal skin, but Tanes did not recognize the rough words written in black paint on it.

It is neither the writing of the dwarves, nor the writing of the elves, and certainly not the common language of humans.

Gandalf noticed Tanis's confusion and asked, "What's wrong?"

Tanis replied, "I have never seen the words on this bounty. Do you recognize them, Gandalf?"

"Bring it here, and let me see it," said Gandalf.

At this time, Thorin also found the wanted warrant from the bald one-eyed man's arms, but then he found two identical wanted warrants from the remaining two bearded men who had not been interrogated but had bad faces.

But these three bounty warrants seemed different from the one Tanes had found. The animal skin Tanes had found from the slant-eyed man's body was larger and darker, and the ink looked like it had been ground with blood.

Thorin also couldn't understand the words on it. After stuffing the rag into the bald one-eyed man's mouth again, Thorin came to Gandalf with the three bounty warrants.

Gandalf originally had a smiling expression as if he was watching a show, but after seeing the bounty warrants in the bright moonlight, his face became serious.

Tanis noticed the change in Gandalf's expression and asked, "Is there anything noteworthy in these words, Gandalf?"

Gandalf took the four bounty notices and read them one by one. Then he squinted his eyes at the three people still alive on the ground and said, "The language used on these bounty notices is written in the 'Dark Language'."

Thorin was stunned for a moment, then his expression became as serious as Gandalf's. "Dark Whisper?" Gandalf nodded, separated the three identical bounties, and looked at Thorin. "These three are indeed bounties, and the reward they offer is your head, Thorin. This bald fellow and these two darklings really accepted the bounty because they were after your head."

Without waiting for Thorin's reply, he searched the larger animal hide he had found on the slant-eyed man's body and said meaningfully, "This isn't a bounty, it's an order. It instructs the man who will be killed by your axe not to disturb you upon discovering your whereabouts, but to secretly follow you and report back at all times. The man you killed was a spy colluding with the enemy, and he came with a mission."

"It seems that our journey ahead is not as safe as we thought, Thorin. And you have to thank Tanes and his friends. If it weren't for Mr. Bernard and Ms. Millicent's help in capturing these people alive, I'm afraid we would have encountered something even worse."

Gandalf said after throwing all the animal skins in his hand into Thorin's arms.

Thorin frowned. "But I do not know where the Orcs who offered my reward came from, and I swear I have told no one of this expedition."

Gandalf said, "There is an Orc who would put a price on your head without knowing what you are doing. In your heart, Thorin, you know who it is, don't you?"

Thorin was silent for a moment, and finally gritted his teeth and uttered a name: "Azog the Defiler, the damned Pale Orc."

Gandalf nodded, then frowned at the three humans and said, "But there's one thing I don't understand. After you cut off Azog's hand, he's been hiding in the Mines of Moria for a long time. But why are you suddenly offering a bounty now..."

Thorin said nonchalantly, "It doesn't matter. Let him come. If he meets me, I will make him understand the wrath of the Son of Durin."

Gandalf glanced at Thorin, sighed, then looked at Tanis and said, "We must speed up, Tanis. The sudden appearance of Azog makes me suspect that the enemy has begun to act. Because Azog is not only an Orc, but also an outstanding general. Thorin and his men had better recapture the Lonely Mountain as soon as possible, the sooner the better."

Bilbo was completely bewildered. He didn't understand what "Azog" or "Dark Tongue" meant. After hearing Gandalf's words, he subconsciously asked, "What do you mean by 'the sooner the better', Gandalf?"

Gandalf looked at the little hobbit and said, "It means that this is the last night you will be able to sleep comfortably."

Bernard came over with a smile. "Have you discussed it? What about the remaining three people?"

After hearing Bernal's words, the bald one-eyed man and the two bearded men from the Dark Land shook their heads wildly and struggled on the ground.

Millicent controlled her prosthetic hand and took out her long sword, which made them quiet down.

However, all three of them made pleading sounds, they did not want to die like this.

Tanes thought for a moment and looked at Thorin: "It's your decision, Thorin. After all, you are the one who interrogated them, so their lives should be left to you as well."

Bilbo blinked nervously, swallowed, and looked at Thorin.

He didn't know how the dwarf would decide the fate of these three people.

Gandalf did not interrupt, but looked at Thorin quietly with deep eyes, waiting for his decision.

Thorin turned to look at the three humans begging for mercy on the cold earth and said calmly, "Knock them out. I'll call Fili and Kili over and dump them in any toilet. They're not worth my heads, so let them spend the night in the pit with the maggots and flies."

The three people breathed a sigh of relief after hearing this. Although they would be thrown into a dirty and smelly toilet, it was better than losing their lives.

Bernal looked at Tanes, who nodded. He then shrugged and knocked out the three men one by one.

The morning light of dawn gently wiped away the hazy night of Bree Town. Thorin and his companions carried their backpacks on their shoulders, drank the freshly drawn clear well water, and tied their dry food tightly to the saddles.

The residents of Bree looked at the dwarves with curiosity as they made large purchases. Bilbo, along with the dwarves, carefully selected every piece of bread and every roll of dried meat at the market.

The haggling of the merchants still seemed to echo in his ears, but the creaking of Bree's east gate told Bilbo that he was about to set out.

However, he felt that something was different about the team. Looking around, he found that one person was missing.

Bilbo called out to Tanis, "Tannis, why isn't Mr. Aegon following?"

Tanes smiled and replied, "Oh, Egon. He said he caught a cold last night. He's old after all. But don't worry, he'll catch up on horseback soon."

Bilbo nodded and said, "I see. I will prepare a bowl of hot cold-repellent soup for Mr. Egon at the next meal. Trust my cooking skills."

Tanis said, "Of course I believe you, Bilbo."

Bilbo felt relieved and happily rode his pony to catch up with the group. After the long journey over the past few days, he became more and more experienced in riding horses.

But what Bilbo didn't notice was that Gandalf looked at him strangely after hearing Tanis's words.

Tanes, on the other hand, had an innocent expression on his face.

In the town of Brie, three people who were knocked unconscious by Bernal were found by someone who got up to go to the toilet in the morning.

The bald, one-eyed man recalled last night's events with lingering fear. He heard the two dark, bearded men discussing something, which made him ask, "What are you talking about?"

One of the Dunlendings sneered, "What for? To collect the reward, of course. Those dwarves were foolish enough to let us live. Although we can't get Thorin Oakenshield's head, you heard about what the slant-eyed guy had. If we can tell the Orcs where those dwarves are, we'll definitely get the reward."

Then he raised his eyebrows and looked at the bald one-eyed man: "Why, you want to go too?"

The bald, one-eyed man shuddered as he recalled the swordswoman who had knocked him out silently. He quickly shook his head and refused, "Forget it. I'm afraid I'll have the life to take the money but not the life to spend it. I'm a native of Bree and can survive without the money. You can do whatever you want."

After he finished speaking, he left the two of them without looking back.

"Heh, coward."

The Darklander who was talking to him spat at the bald man's back, then looked at his companions and said, "Let's hurry and set off from the east gate. Those dwarves probably haven't gone very far. Follow them and report their whereabouts to the Orcs on the Green Road."

Another companion sniffed the stench on his body, frowned and said, "Do you want to take a shower first? You stink too much."

The bearded man from Dunlodge rolled his eyes. "By the time we're done bathing, the dwarves will have disappeared. This stench is nothing compared to the Dunlodge swamps. Just bear with it."

The companion had no choice but to agree reluctantly.

After the two of them left, Egon, who had caught a cold last night, came out from a hidden corner with a sneer on his face, holding his dragon-hunting bow in his hand. He then looked up, his golden dragon eyes searching for the commanding heights of Bree Town.

From then on, there was a legend in the town of Buri.

That is, people who do bad things will be knocked unconscious in the toilet by the incarnation of Bri Town. If they still do not repent, the incarnation will turn into a terrifying archer who can shoot an arrow through their heart no matter how far away they are.

　PS: The bald man is indeed a native of Bree Town, a rogue named Bill Fernney.

　　Not only did he appear in the Hobbit movie, he also had a role at the Prancing Pony Inn on the Lord of the Rings set (causing trouble for Frodo and his friends, and eventually becoming a bandit).

　　Thorin would spare their lives out of arrogance, but for killers like Tanes who came from the border area, it is impossible for him to let them go since he has already offended them.

　　Not to mention that these people who targeted the dwarves had the intention to harm them, so Tanis gave face to Thorin and Gandalf, and did not want Bilbo to be exposed to such a dark side. Therefore, he hid it from them and let Aegon, the sharpshooter, stay to deal with these scum.

　　In addition, in the original novel, Azog was actually killed by Ironfoot Dain during the Battle of Moria. I am following the movie version, after all, Daniel Wu has a lot of roles in this movie.

　　Finally, thank you all readers for your recommendations, monthly tickets, and rewards! Happy New Year! ! ! !
　　In the new year, I also rely on the company of all my readers!!!

　　
　
(End of this chapter)