And it is because of the existence of these red crystals that the magma at the bottom of the mine has not cooled and solidified.

"What is that?" Dui looked at the red crystals on the cave wall in surprise and curiosity.

Gandalf was also very surprised. He replied, "This is a crystal of fire. It was formed by the flames and magic of the Balrog. It takes thousands of years to form."

He smiled and congratulated Dui, "It seems you're very lucky to have come across a flame crystal. It's even more precious and rare than mithril. Not only can it be used to forge weapons with flame attributes, it also grants immunity to fire damage. It's a rare magical material."

"We are lucky!" Dui corrected happily.

Gandalf smiled and shook his head. "Just knock a small piece for me to use as flint later. I won't need the rest. You can collect them yourself."

Seeing that Gandalf really didn't need it, Dui didn't insist anymore, and then happily began to use the divine spear Aegros to pry out the fire crystals on the rock wall bit by bit, and then put them into a mithril box cast with a traceless extension spell.

These flame crystals were extremely hot. Even with the protection of fireproof potion, Dui could still feel the heat in his hands.

If placed in an ordinary metal or stone container, the high temperature is enough to melt and burn through the contents.

Only a box made of mithril can not only insulate heat, but also does not have to worry about being melted by flame crystals.

Seeing that Dewi was happily using his divine spear Aegiros to pry out the fire crystals, Gandalf also came to help, borrowed Dewi's flaming sword, and joined in the digging.

Finally, after all the fire crystals in the Fire Demon's Lair were put into the mithril box and sealed, the temperature of the cave dropped significantly.

Of course, this drop is like dropping from tens of thousands of degrees Celsius to a few thousand degrees Celsius, which is still very hot.

However, without the flame crystals, the temperature here will drop lower and lower over time, and eventually the magma will cool and solidify, eventually turning into cold mithril ore.

If there is no external force, this process will last for dozens or even hundreds of years.

But since Due and Gandalf had agreed to help the dwarves solve the situation here, they naturally would not sit idly by.

Gandalf and Gandalf worked together to cast a spell, using the freezing spell to freeze the hot magma directly.

The temperature in the cave dropped rapidly, and the magma quickly cooled and solidified.

The two men did not stop until the magma was completely extinguished.

After it is completed.

Gandalf happily held a small piece of flame crystal, ready to use it as flint to light tobacco.

As he lightly touched it with the finger wearing the Ring of Fire, the flame crystal seemed to lose its temperature and turned into a red gem.

He casually put the gem into his pocket and said to Dui, "These flame crystals were born from the Fire Demon and are tainted with its evil aura. Remember to purify the evil power from them when you return."

"How do we purify them?"

"The simplest way is to expose them to the sun. The sunlight will slowly purify the evil power within them. Another way is to use the Light of Earendil in your hand. Of course, using both together will have a faster effect."

"I understand. Thank you for your advice, Gandalf." Dui nodded and thanked Gandalf.

Chapter 174 Mother of Mithril

Harvested the flame crystals from the fire demon's lair and extinguished the magma.

Dui looked around and finally set his sights on the black stone platform in the middle.

There are traces of burns and various sharp scratches on this huge stone platform.

This is obviously where the Balrog once lived.

"Gandalf, do you think this stone has any secrets? How can it remain intact even under the burning of the Balrog's fire?" Dui walked to the black boulder, looked at it, and said to Gandalf beside him.

Gandalf had naturally noticed it long ago.

He nodded in agreement. "Even mithril cannot withstand the scorching heat of the Balrog. The fact that this stone has remained unmelted for so long is truly remarkable."

As he spoke, he tapped the black boulder with his staff, releasing magic.

The boulder was struck by the staff, and cracks appeared on its surface. Then, like an eggshell peeling off, the black stone skin quickly peeled off, revealing the interior that was shining with silver light.

It turns out that the black stone skin is just a camouflage wrapped by magma, and the real thing is under the stone skin.

Looking at the revealed silver light, Dui was very curious and couldn't help but get closer to observe.

Gandalf was even more surprised.

Then he raised his staff again and struck the boulder hard.

Accompanied by a powerful impact, the surface of the boulder shattered and fell off one after another.

A silver-white rough stone two people tall appeared in front of them.

A soft silver light flows on its surface, like the core of a star, emitting light and illuminating the entire cave.

"Is this mithril?" Dui widened his eyes, a little skeptical.

Although Mithril can reflect silver light, it shouldn't emit light on its own, right?

Gandalf's face was filled with amazement: "No, this is not ordinary Mithril, but the Mother of Mithril!"

"Mother of Mithril? What is that?" Dui was full of confusion when he heard this name for the first time.

"It's the foundation of Moria and the source of all its mithril. As long as it exists, Moria's mithril will never run dry." Gandalf touched it in amazement. "What a miracle of creation! The Balrog's flames didn't destroy it. Instead, they absorbed the flame's energy, making it even purer!"

"This piece of Mithril Mother alone is far more valuable than the entire Mithril Mine in Moria!"

When Dewi heard Gandalf's words, his eyes lit up.

Mother of Mithril, this sounds even more awesome than Mithril, it must be a good thing.

He immediately asked Gandalf, "Gandalf, if I take down a few pieces, will it have any effect?"

Gandalf nodded and said, "Just take a few pieces. It is the foundation of Moria. Don't be greedy."

With Gandalf's consent, Dui immediately used the divine spear Aegiros as a tool to peel off a fist-sized piece of Mithril Mother from the surface of the original stone.

When he got the third piece, Gandalf stopped him from getting any more.

"We can't strip it any further, otherwise the Mother of Mithril will be affected. If the Mithril mines in Moria are depleted, that will be our original sin."

Dui didn't force it anymore.

Then he peeled off the three pieces of the Mother of Mithril, kept one for himself, gave one to Gandalf, and prepared to give the remaining one to Balin.

This time Gandalf did not refuse and accepted the Mother of Mithril.

But he somewhat disapproved of Dui's plan to send Bahrain.

"The Mithril Mother is extraordinary, and can be said to be the foundation of Moria. Even though Balin is the wisest of the Dwarves, he finds it difficult to resist the attraction of the Mithril Mother, just as the Arkenstone once attracted Thorin's lineage."

“And once he learns of the Mithril Mother, no matter how rational he is, he and the other dwarves will be obsessed with finding it in order to ensure that the Mithril Mother remains in the hands of the dwarves.

This would be the greatest disaster for the Mother of Mithril, and it might even lead to the depletion of Moria's Mithril mines!"

After hearing Gandalf's words, Dewi fell into deep thought.

As Gandalf said, human nature is the last thing to be tested.

The Mother of Mithril is related to the lifeblood of Moria's mines. Even if Balin is very generous, he cannot safely hand over the lifeblood to others.

Therefore, if he learned the news about the Mithril Mother, even if it was just to ensure the safety of the Mithril Mother, he would definitely investigate the whereabouts of the Mithril Mother and then try his best to control the Mithril Mother in his own hands.

Once the Mother of Mithril falls into human hands, many accidents will occur and even cause many changes.

This kind of thing is not impossible, but has been repeated countless times throughout the history of Middle-earth.

"So you can keep the remaining piece for yourself," Gandalf said. "But I suggest you find a place with a mineral vein near Weathertop, and then bury it and some fire crystals deep in the vein. That way, you can produce mithril continuously in the future."

Dewi's eyes lit up when he heard Gandalf's words.

"Is it really possible?"

Gandalf smiled and nodded.

"After all, this is the mother of mithril. It can continuously penetrate and release radiation into the surrounding area. In certain environments, it can slowly transform ordinary metal veins into mithril, or allow existing mithril veins to continue to grow.

Of course, the conversion time will be very long, and perhaps only one gram of mithril can be converted in a year, but it is still a benefit, isn't it? "

"Furthermore, the Mithril Mother can absorb some energy and form a natural magical energy field, which is also beneficial to the surrounding environment."

After hearing Gandalf's words, Dewi's heart was immediately moved.

When the dwarves were building Hogwarts Castle, they discovered a small iron ore vein at the foot of Weathertop.

But that was because Dui and the dwarves did not take this vein seriously and thought it had no value in mining.

But now it can be fully utilized. Bury the Mother of Mithril in it and slowly transform the Mithril.

So, under Gandalf's persuasion, the remaining piece of Mother of Mithril was also shamelessly accepted by Dewi.

"Okay, let's finish the final work now!" Gandalf clapped his hands.

"If the Mithril Mother is left like this, it will definitely be mined by the dwarves in the future. So, Duyle, please help me hide this Mithril Mother so that no one can find it."

There was a gleam of wisdom in Gandalf's eyes, as if he had seen the future fate of the Mother of Mithril.

"Only if the Mother of Mithril remains undiscovered can it continuously produce more Mithril, ensuring that the Mithril mines will never run dry."

As he spoke, he faced the Mithril Mother, raised his staff, and began to chant the ancient spell.

Dui also took out his wand and engraved runes on the Mithril Mother. Then he waved his wand and cast the Ignore Spell, the Disillusionment Spell, the Confusion Spell, etc. on it. He also cast the Fidelius Spell on the Mithril Mother to hide the secret and location of the Mithril Mother.

Now, Dui believed that even if the Fire Demon was reborn, he would not be able to find any trace of the Mother of Mithril.

After chanting the spell, Gandalf slammed his staff hard onto the ground.

The earth shook instantly, and a huge crack appeared on the originally hard cave floor.

The crack was bottomless, and the Mother of Mithril fell directly into the crack, and then the crack closed again.

After completing all this, Gandalf took a breath, wiped the non-existent sweat, and said with a smile: "Well, now there is no need to worry about the safety of the Mithril Mother."

"We have to leave, otherwise Balin will get worried up there."

Dui nodded, and the two of them left the Balrog's lair.

When returning to the bottom of the mine along the lava channel, Gandalf did not forget to collapse the Balrog's lair, completely covering up the traces of the Mother of Mithril.

Then the two of them flew up on their brooms and finally saw Balin and Arwen waiting on the cliff.

Balin heaved a sigh of relief when he saw the two return.

Arwen walked briskly and lightly to Dui and looked him up and down with concern.

"Duil, are you okay?"

Tap the screen to use advanced tools Tip: You can use left and right keyboard keys to browse between chapters.

You'll Also Like