Alone and Infinite.

Chapter 57 The Tripartite Alliance is Established!

As a city-state that once had close ties with the Lonely Mountain Dwarf Kingdom, the Valley State's armory is filled with equipment crafted by the dwarves.

These weapons, infused with trace amounts of rare metals, remain sharp even after a century.

These equipment were distributed, and fifty bows and corresponding arrows were 'bought' from the Elf King, with the payment deducted from the share due from the 'Lonely Mountain Treasure'.

As mentioned before, apart from women and children, the survivors were all able-bodied men. They were reasonably agile and their archery skills were generally between LV2 and LV3.

Some can even reach the level of being proficient at LV4.

Thus, the previously loose-fitting residents of Changhu Town appeared exceptionally capable after donning armor and taking up weapons.

The apostles were even more delighted with their equipment. Although the equipment was of low quality, just ordinary green, it was a complete set.

Unfortunately, none of them could be taken out of this world.

Generally speaking, the gains of these new apostles after completing the solo trial are approximately 3 attribute points, 1500 points, 1 to 2 pieces of green equipment, 1 to 2 pieces of white equipment, and a number of consumables.

They usually possess one skill, but their proficiency is very low, generally around LV1, which means they can use it, but that's about it.

Li Xia only found out about this when he overheard other Apostles chatting through the Scott Combat Assist System.

The rewards from serendipitous encounters are much higher. For example, if Li Xia obtains the green bloodline, he could potentially become incredibly wealthy by selling it.

The remaining option is to join a team. Although you won't be able to obtain equipment that exceeds your own tier, you can find some green items and consumables in the team's equipment pool at a fairly favorable price.

Therefore, a complete set of green armor and weapons directly elevated these apostles, who were originally relatively low-ranking, to a higher level.

After issuing several faction quests to strengthen the defenses of Vale, Li Xia strongly advised Thranduil not to lead his soldiers to Lonely Mountain.

In the end, each side brought ten people, carrying the flags of the Forest Kingdom and Long Lake Town, and headed towards the River Valley State.

Upon approaching the gate, they discovered that Thorin had already completely sealed the gate to Lonely Mountain with stones.

A deep yet clear voice came from within the gate: "Who goes there? Why are you fully armed, coming before Thorin, son of Thalein, the King of the Mountain, intending to start a war?"

"Thorin Oakenshield, if you consider the retinue of a king as an army, then every meeting of the king is a battle."

Thranduil's voice rose and fell, like an aria, giving it a strange, sarcastic quality.

"you!"

Thorin choked for a moment, then said in a harsh voice:
"Thranduil, I have not yet avenged your imprisonment of me. Take your elves and go back! I know what you want! I will not give you a single coin!"

Thranduil sneered, clearly well aware of the dwarven nature corrupted by greed.

So he directly brought up Li Xia: "This is Xia the Dragon Slayer. He killed Smaug with his own hands, and you obtained the treasure through his hands as well."

Isn't this none of your business?

Moreover, he is the leader of Lake-town, and as a descendant of the Riverdale clan, he is rightfully entitled to inherit the Riverdale kingdom. Much of your treasure was stolen from Riverdale by Smaug. Doesn't he have the right to discuss this with you?"

Surprise and hushed whispers came from inside. After a long while, Thorin said, "He may be qualified, but only if the elves return to their homeland will I speak with the leaders of Lake-town."

Li Xia shook his head: "No, Thorin! I'm afraid you don't understand the seriousness of the matter. The Elven King must be here because this negotiation concerns the fate of Lake-town, the Forest Kingdom, and the Lonely Mountain Dwarves."

We must discuss this—

He paused for a moment, then decided to be sarcastic: "If you are unwilling to come out and meet me, then we will leave immediately. I have never seen a true king cower behind a high wall and only dare to speak from behind it."

The arguing inside immediately escalated, and after a while, Thorin's cold voice finally rang out:
"can!"

A short while later, several ropes were thrown down the high city wall, and several dwarves and a tiny man even smaller than the dwarves slid down.

Thorin looked very imposing, especially in his magnificent armor, but Li Xia's attention was entirely on the little man.

He is Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit and the holder of the One Ring.

Li Xia had absolutely no interest in the One Ring; frankly, the only good thing about it was the name.
The Elf King's retinue began busily preparing again, but this time they couldn't manage to put together a beautiful meal.

They could only lay a cloth on the ground, so the three leaders sat on cushions (Thorin and Thranduil both looked unwell).

"Thorin, I've come here mainly to tell you some news. The Orks of the Misty Mountains have all been mobilized and are digging tunnels using the Leyline Worms."

Lonely Mountain is in danger.

Thorin's face immediately darkened, but he quickly regained his composure:
"Thank you for the advance warning, but the dwarves will not fear the Orks—"

"Your reliance, your cousin from Tieqiuling, won't arrive for another three whole days. And how many of them will they bring? Five hundred? A thousand?"

Li Xia sneered:
"The Ork army numbers in the tens of thousands, and they are faster than your cousin. If you think you 13 dwarves can hold Lonely Mountain, we're leaving now."

After you've secured Gushan, we'll discuss the compensation issue for Changhu Town.

You don't actually think you can get away with not paying compensation for alerting Smaug and destroying Lake-town, do you?

Thorin shut his mouth and stopped talking. He didn't doubt what Li Xia said, because the agreed payment would definitely be settled afterward, just like the payment he gave Bilbo Baggins.

"If you think you can force me to hand over the treasure this way, then—"

Nobody wants to steal your treasure!

Li Xia interrupted him without hesitation, saying directly:
“I prefer to call this a mercenary act! We are sending troops to fight against the Orks, and you should bear the cost of sending troops; this has always been the principle.”

Thorin closed his eyes and stopped speaking. In fact, as long as the nerve of 'stealing the treasure' was not touched, this dwarf king's abilities were quite outstanding.

The dwarves around him looked at him expectantly. These dwarves did not have Thorin's 'dragon disease' flowing in his blood, nor did they have an infinite greed for gold.

After a long while, Thorin finally spoke slowly:

"If everything is as you say, I am willing to make a pact with the elves and humans and offer a certain amount of wealth as a reward."

I swear in the name of the King of Turin!

[Announcement to all: The Human, Elf, and Dwarf factions have reached an alliance. The Quartermaster will be available to apostles of all three factions. Existing contribution and bonuses remain unchanged.]

[Announcement to all: The final main quest has begun!]

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1. Monthly pass 2. Recommendation vote

(End of this chapter)