Facing Thranduil's praise, Luke revealed a humble smile.
"Your Majesty Thranduil, you overpraise me. This is not my achievement alone."
"Oh, by the way, where is Prince Legolas? Why haven't I seen him?"
Hearing Luke ask about his most proud son, Thranduil's smile deepened.
"He discovered some traces of Orcs and is currently tracking them."
When Orcs were mentioned, Gandalf's expression immediately turned serious, and he frowned slightly: "Your Majesty, do you know where these Orcs appeared?"
Thranduil said carelessly: "They appeared in northern Mirkwood, seemingly coming from the northern Misty Mountains. Legolas was worried, so he followed them. He should be back in a few days."
Aside from matters of the Woodland Realm, Thranduil was indifferent to the outside world.
He came this time to retrieve the white gemstone necklace he had custom-made for his deceased wife.
As for the war between the Dwarves and the Orcs, he did not provide aid when the Dragon attacked the Lonely Mountain, and he likewise had no intention of intervening this time.
However, his son Legolas held a different opinion.
Legolas possessed a more benevolent heart. He believed that although the Lonely Mountain Dwarves had grievances with them, they were like lips and teeth—if one perished, the other would be in danger. Now that the great enemy (Orcs) was at hand, they needed to set aside past differences and unite against the foe, rather than passively shrinking back into Mirkwood.
Therefore, he actively chose to track the Orc party, attempting to locate the Orcs' main camp.
Thranduil did not stay long in Lake-Town.
After allowing the Elven army to rest briefly, he intended to continue towards the Lonely Mountain.
Seeing this, Gandalf tried to persuade him again.
"Your Majesty Thranduil, with the Orc army potentially invading at any moment, your conflict with Thorin will only give the Orcs an opportunity…"
Thranduil raised his hand to stop Gandalf from continuing his persuasion, stating unequivocally: "This is not for me to decide. As long as Thorin Oakenshield returns my deceased wife's item, I will immediately turn the army around and not stay for another moment."
A hint of mockery appeared on his face.
"Do you really think Thorin Oakenshield will agree? The madness flows in their family's blood. I personally witnessed his grandfather's madness. I fear Thorin is not much different now, is he?"
The white gemstone necklace Thranduil desired, though not comparable to the arkenstone, was still priceless.
Originally, Thorin's grandfather, Thror, was affected by Dragon sickness. After the white gemstone necklace was made, he developed a greedy desire to possess it and refused to return it to Thranduil.
This caused enmity between the Lonely Mountain Dwarves and the Elves of the Woodland Realm.
It also led the Woodland Realm to stand by indifferently when the Lonely Mountain was attacked by the Dragon Smaug.
Gandalf sighed helplessly, thinking of Thorin's current state of madness, affected by the Dragon sickness.
Undoubtedly, with Thorin's current mental state, let alone the white gemstone necklace, he probably wouldn't even be willing to share a single gold coin.
What troubled Gandalf even more was that not only Thranduil wanted the white gemstone necklace from Thorin.
Even Bard wanted to follow Thranduil to demand compensation from Thorin for the losses Lake-town suffered, and as a descendant of Girion, the Lord of Lake-Town, he had the right to reclaim his share of the treasure.
After all, when the Dragon Smaug destroyed Lake-Town, he also hoarded all of Lake-Town's treasures to the Lonely Mountain.
So the treasures on the Lonely Mountain included not only those of the Dwarves but also a portion belonging to the Men of Lake-Town.
However, Bard also did not wish to see war break out between the Elves, Men, and Dwarves.
So he requested Thranduil to allow him to negotiate with Thorin first.
Thranduil did not hold out much hope for this but did not refuse Bard's request either.
After all, he wasn't in such a rush.
However, he still had the Elven army prepare to march, ready to advance directly on the Lonely Mountain to reclaim the gemstone necklace if Bard's negotiations failed.
Bard was going to negotiate, and Gandalf, feeling uneasy, also chose to go along, to see if he could persuade Thorin and thus avoid a war.
Luke knew the outcome and did not follow.
He took out the Palantír, first checking the location of the Dragon Smaug.
He hadn't paid attention to that fellow these past few days, and wondered where he had wandered off to.
Above the Desolation of Smaug, north of the Lonely Mountain, Smaug bit a wild ox to death, then roasted it with his scorching flames. When it was nearly cooked, he began to enjoy his meal.
A Dragon's appetite was not small; one wild ox was only enough for a single meal.
But they could also endure hunger remarkably well; if they fell into a deep sleep, they could go decades without eating or drinking.
These days, Smaug had not considered escaping when the opportunity arose.
But as soon as he thought about it, the golden-red markings left by the unbreakable vow on his neck would come alive, tightening and heating up, like cramps and bone marrow being pulled, causing the entire Dragon unbearable pain.
Under such continuous torment, Smaug completely resigned himself to his fate, no longer daring to harbor any thought of escape or betrayal.
So Smaug could only obediently hunt in the wilderness, then await Luke's summons.
When Smaug finished eating the roasted wild ox, he suddenly looked up at the sky with vigilance.
He keenly sensed that someone was watching him.
"Master?" Smaug felt the unknown gaze was somewhat familiar and tentatively asked.
The next second, one of the vow lines on his neck tightened slightly, becoming somewhat hot.
This was a vow made long ago: no matter where the Dragon Smaug was, as long as Luke needed him, he must come unconditionally.
Confirming that Luke was summoning him, Smaug immediately stopped his delay and rushed towards the Lonely Mountain at the fastest possible speed.
The only regrettable thing was that his wings were not yet healed, so he couldn't fly directly.
"Hmph, quite a quick reaction." Luke watched the image of Smaug moving rapidly on the crystal ball and snorted.
Don't think he didn't know how many times this fellow had had rebellious thoughts these past few days.
He even wanted to escape to a place north of the Grey Mountains to hide, planning to outlive him before reappearing.
But Smaug didn't know that every time he harbored rebellious thoughts, Luke would also sense it.
For this reason, whenever Smaug was tormented by the vow due to rebellious thoughts, Luke specifically increased the punishment, making it even more painful.
Seeing Smaug obediently returning, Luke no longer continued to watch him.
Instead, he re-examined the situation of the new Orc King, Bolg.
Now that the conflict between the Elves and Dwarves was about to begin, there was no reason for the Orcs to remain inactive.
Indeed, the image of Mount Gundabad soon appeared on the Palantír.
Mount Gundabad, located in the northern Misty Mountains, was a massive fortress inhabited by a large number of Orcs, and it was Bolg's territory.
At this moment in the image, at Bolg's command, countless Trolls, Orcs, and Wargs rushed out of the fortress. Giant bats obscured the sky, allowing the light-sensitive dark creatures to move about during the day.
The dense Orc army, numbering in the tens of thousands, advanced rapidly towards the Lonely Mountain.
"Hmm? I didn't expect him to have tracked them all the way here!"
Luke looked in surprise at the figures of Legolas and Tauriel appearing in the image.
They were hiding behind a large boulder near the Gundabad fortress, secretly observing the movements of the Orc army.
Suddenly, Legolas seemed to sense something and immediately scanned the sky behind him with vigilance.
"What's wrong, Legolas?" Tauriel, beside him, asked in confusion.
Legolas shook his head, somewhat hesitantly: "I don't know, I just feel like someone is watching me?"
"Hmph, that sensitive!" Luke was somewhat surprised, then withdrew his gaze and continued to check other situations.
This time, his focus was on the east of the Lonely Mountain.
As far as he knew, a contingent of Dwarves also lived in the Iron Hills, east of the Lonely Mountain. Their lord was Dain II Ironfoot, who was a cousin to Thorin Oakenshield.
Currently, there were only Thorin and thirteen other Dwarves on the Lonely Mountain. Even if they blocked the city gate, they would not be able to withstand the attack of the Elven army.
So, if Thorin wasn't foolish, he would certainly seek aid from Dain II.
Indeed, on the wilderness east of the Lonely Mountain, an army of tens of thousands of Dwarves was approaching.
All parties of the Battle of Five Armies had arrived. Luke stopped observing and put away his crystal ball.
He found Beorn and Bilbo: "Let's go, we'll head to the gate of the Lonely Mountain. The Orc army is coming, we can't let them start fighting first."
Hearing that the Orc army was coming, Beorn's eyes immediately lit up.
"Finally, those fellows are here!"
Although Bilbo was a bit nervous, he wasn't afraid. Instead, he gripped his Elven short sword tightly.
Luke handed the flying broom to Beorn.
"You bring Bilbo along afterwards, I'll go stop them first."
Saying that, he performed Animagus, transforming into an eagle, and flew towards the gate of the Lonely Mountain.
Beorn had ridden a flying broom a few days ago, so Luke wasn't worried about any accidents.
Meanwhile, at the gate of the Lonely Mountain, the atmosphere was tense.
As expected, Thorin refused Thranduil's demand for the white gemstone necklace and Bard's request to share the treasure.
Even though Gandalf earnestly tried to persuade both sides, no one accepted his good intentions.
"Thorin, lay down your weapons! Open the gate, those treasures will be the death of you!" Gandalf said.
"You cannot win this war. Don't bring ruin upon your companions who follow you."
Thorin's eyes flickered, but he remained unmoved.
"Enough, Gandalf, put away your useless words. You cannot wake someone who pretends to be asleep."
Thranduil, in full armor, rode his great stag to the front, speaking with a mocking tone.
Then his stern gaze fell upon Thorin on the city wall.
"Now it's time for your answer, Thorin Oakenshield, do you want peace or war?"
Looking at the tens of thousands of Elven soldiers, Thorin felt a lack of confidence. He paced anxiously back and forth on the city wall, his gaze fixed on the far east, as if waiting for something.
Finally, a raven appeared on the wall.
Thorin immediately brightened, his confidence surging. He unhesitatingly answered Thranduil below: "I choose war!"
Thranduil was momentarily stunned by Thorin's sudden confidence. He immediately looked towards the eastern mountains, as if sensing something, only to see a dense army of Dwarves appearing on the eastern peak.
"Prepare yourselves!" Thranduil commanded.
The Elven army quickly turned its attention towards the more threatening Dwarf army.
The heavily armored Dwarf army marched on foot to within a thousand meters of the Elven army.
Dain II Ironfoot, Lord of the Iron Hills, rode a war pig, holding a hammer, and came to the very front.
"Good morning, everyone, how are you all? I have a small suggestion, if you don't mind, I'd like to take a moment of your time."
"Could you all consider — rolling as far away as possible?!"