Meanwhile, Luke and Legolas were getting along quite well.
Unlike Thranduil's arrogance and indifference, Legolas had a gentle personality. Aside from his prejudice against Dwarves, he gave off a refreshing and pleasant feeling.
Legolas was still less than five hundred years old, which was considered very young among Elves. He had always lived in Mirkwood and rarely ventured outside of it.
Legolas showed admiration for Luke, the Wizard who had killed Azog, and was very interested in the past experiences of Luke and his companions.
Just as the two were conversing, the system suddenly reacted: [Hogwarts Sign-in System: Lothorien located. Sign in?]
A ripple flickered in Luke's eyes, but his expression remained unchanged as he silently thought, "Sign in."
[Sign-in successful! Congratulations on obtaining the Flying Broomstick Crafting Technique!]
Then, a memory of the methods for crafting a flying broomstick flooded into his mind.
Luke was pleasantly surprised.
This time, he had actually obtained the technique for a flying broomstick!
With a flying broomstick, he could completely fly on it in the future, making it simple to sign in wherever he wanted to go.
Moreover, it would be safer. As long as he was flying on a broomstick in the sky, he would inherently have an air-to-ground advantage.
After all, in Middle-earth, aside from flying creatures like Dragons and Giant Eagles, other creatures generally could not fly.
Carefully comprehending the crafting technique for the flying broomstick, Luke discovered that its creation had a similar principle to wand-making.
Both use magical trees as raw materials, except one is for flying and the other is for casting spells.
However, the difficulty and complexity of crafting a flying broomstick were much greater than a wand. Besides steps like material selection, carving, polishing, buffing, and tuning, it also involved the application of some Alchemy.
So, to successfully craft one, it would take at least one or two weeks, even under the most favorable conditions.
Despite this, Luke was still full of anticipation about owning a flying broomstick.
Conveniently, a large section of the tree core he had previously used to make wands was still left, which could be used entirely for crafting a flying broomstick.
Therefore, Luke decided to craft a flying broomstick as quickly as possible in the coming period, before reaching the Lonely Mountain.
At that time, they would see who flew faster, the Dragon or him?
However, this matter could not be rushed, as they were still at someone else's banquet.
So, Luke suppressed his impatient feelings, composed his thoughts, and continued to participate in the banquet.
But before the banquet ended, an Elf guard quickly walked up to Thranduil.
"Your Majesty, those Dwarves have escaped!" (Elvish)
Gandalf, who also understood Elvish, heard the news and his eyes immediately lit up.
However, out of consideration for his host, he restrained his smile and did not show it.
Thranduil placed his wine glass on the table, frowned deeply, and asked in a low voice, "How did they escape?"
"Someone stole the dungeon keys, released the Dwarves, and they drifted away through the wine cellar's trapdoor, riding empty wine barrels down the underground river."
Upon hearing this, Thranduil's face turned very ugly, and his suspicious eyes moved back and forth between Gandalf and Luke.
But in the end, he did nothing, merely snorted coldly, and stood up.
"The banquet is over. You must capture those Dwarves and bring them back. This time, I will lock them up until they die!"
The Elf guard accepted the order, and Legolas, as the leader, also joined in.
In the banquet hall, only Luke and Gandalf remained, ignored by everyone.
The two looked at each other, not knowing whether to leave or stay.
It was Gandalf, with his thicker skin, who directly bade farewell to Thranduil.
"Since His Majesty Thranduil has matters to attend to, we shall not disturb you further."
Thranduil looked at the two, seemingly considering whether to keep them, but ultimately let them leave.
"Go ahead!"
Seeing this, Gandalf and Luke immediately took their leave and departed the palace.
The two arrived at the Mirkwood River bank, looking at the rushing river, and pondered how to catch up with Thorin and his company.
"Gandalf, can you steer a boat?" Luke asked.
"A little," Gandalf nodded, but then shook his head. "But I'm afraid the Elves are not willing to lend us a boat."
Luke said nothing, walking directly to a section of deadwood by the river and waving his wand.
The deadwood quickly widened and lengthened, instantly transforming into a small wooden boat capable of holding two people.
He then tapped two branches with his wand, and the branches became two oars.
He took one himself and handed the other to Gandalf.
Gandalf took the oar, happily realizing, "I forgot you had this ability! Your magic is so convenient!"
Saying this, he and Luke pushed the small wooden boat into the water. Then, the two got on the boat and drifted down the river.
The Wood Elves observing this scene from afar had shock flash in their eyes, then quickly reported the matter to Thranduil.
Thranduil said nothing in response, merely raising his level of regard for Luke.
Meanwhile, Luke and Gandalf continued their journey.
As they drifted downstream in the boat, the rushing river made the small boat rise and fall erratically, always at risk of capsizing.
Thanks to Gandalf's good skill, the small boat managed to avoid large rocks and whirlpools each time.
But after their boat had drifted for some distance, they discovered that the Elves on the riverbank were fighting a group of Orcs, and Orc bodies were constantly falling into the river, staining the water black.
"What's going on?" Luke's expression grew serious.
Hadn't he already killed Azog? Why were Orcs still appearing here?
When he saw an Orc aiming a bow at an Elf fighting other Orcs on the other side, Luke raised his hand and cast a spell: "Avada Kedavra!"
The Orc was instantly torn to pieces by the spell.
The Elf fighting the Orc was Legolas. After swiftly dispatching the Orc in front of him, he nodded towards Luke, then continued to pursue other Orcs.
With a mind full of questions, Luke's hands did not stop. Drifting down the river, he eliminated the Orcs on both sides of the riverbank one by one.
"Luke, watch your back!" Gandalf sharply warned.
Luke's heart tightened, and he reacted instantly.
He waved his wand, conjuring a wave that transformed into an ice wall, blocking behind him. The next second, an arrow radiating Dark Arts energy shot into the ice wall, embedding itself halfway.
Luke's pupils contracted. This was a Morgul Arrow!
He quickly turned and locked onto the attacker.
He discovered that the one who ambushed him was an Orc riding on a Warg's back.
"Avada Kedavra!" Luke retaliated without a second thought.
However, someone else reacted even faster than him. Before his spell was even fully uttered, the Orc's head was already pierced by another arrow, causing him to fall directly from the Warg's back into the river.
The Warg was also hit by Luke's spell, instantly tearing into pieces.
It was Legolas who had shot the Orc dead. Having completed his task, he nodded to Luke and then continued to deal with other Orcs.
Further downstream, Thorin and his companions were also in trouble at this time.
They were hidden inside wine barrels, drifting with the current.
And on the bank, many Orcs were constantly chasing and shooting arrows.