After hearing Arthur' words, Gandalf opened his mouth, his beard twitching on his lips, and finally couldn't help but say, "If that evil dragon were so easy to kill, then the dwarves wouldn't have been homeless for hundreds of years, afraid to return to their homeland."
After hearing this, Arthur took off his Blaidd, the Half-Wolf helmet and placed it aside.
He took a deep breath of fresh air, then looked at Gandalf, who was studying his face, and said seriously, "What the dwarves can't do doesn't mean I can't, Gandalf. Although you might not believe it, I've actually killed many dragons and Ancient Dragons, and even defeated the kings of both these races. If you need me, I can help you kill that dragon, even if it's just me alone."
Even Arthur himself felt a little regretful that he hadn't defeated them at their peak.
But thinking of the two battles with Ancient Dragon Placidusax and dragon Fortissax, even now, Arthur could feel his heart surge with excitement.
It was as if the scarlet dragon lightning and flames were still tearing through the sky and destroying the earth around him.
Gandalf took a puff from his pipe and asked, "Perhaps you truly possess the power to kill Smaug, sir Arthur. But can you guarantee that one blow will incapacitate him? Otherwise, Smaug in his rage will unleash his fury upon the humans living in Lake-Town at the foot of the Lonely Mountain."
He continued, "Moreover, I don't know what the dragons and Ancient Dragons you killed in your homeland looked like. But Smaug, he is about one hundred and forty meters long. His scales are like steel, and he has flames that can instantly incinerate a person."
Arthur listened quietly as Gandalf described Smaug's characteristics, not becoming arrogant because he had killed many dragons and Ancient Dragons, believing dragons to be easily defeated creatures.
No, quite the opposite.
Even when Arthur fought an ordinary dragon in The Lands Between, he had to be fully focused, otherwise, a moment's inattention would result in being scorched by dragon fire or crushed by dragon fangs.
He was able to kill so many dragons and Ancient Dragons not only because of his own strength, but more importantly, Arthur never lost the idea of taking his enemies seriously.
In The Lands Between, never underestimate any enemy; this was the first lesson Arthur learned through blood.
After Gandalf finished speaking, he looked at Arthur, who had fallen silent, and thought he probably wouldn't have the idea of hunting Smaug alone anymore.
However, when Arthur snapped out of his thoughts and spoke to Gandalf, the wizard was surprised again.
Arthur said, "One hundred and forty meters, indeed larger than most of the enemies I've had to kill. However, the difference in size cannot make me fear. I promise you, Gandalf: as long as you need me, I will do my utmost to kill it."
Gandalf glanced at Rogier, who was silent beside him, his eyes seeming to ask, "Is he always this brave?"
Rogier sensed Gandalf's thoughts and smiled, saying, "Please understand, Arthur' courage is not recklessness. On the contrary, to my knowledge, he also feels fear when facing enemies stronger than himself, but he overcomes that fear and fights again and again, rising to the challenge until he defeats his opponent."
Fear ahead, but fearless.
Rogier had witnessed Arthur' progression in the Roundtable Hold, from being utterly helpless against the veteran Roundtable Knight, Alberich, to skillfully defeating him.
Gandalf chuckled and nodded, "It seems I still know too little about you, sir Arthur. I accept your kind offer to seek your help when necessary. However, now is not the time to kill Smaug. I haven't fully investigated the situation in the North. Besides, you and your friends probably can't leave Minhiriath for now, can you?"
Arthur understood that Gandalf's unspoken meaning was that the Erdtree outside still needed his protection, and with insufficient manpower, he indeed could not leave here.
So, as he poured various dried vegetables into the broth, which already smelled of ham, he said, "You're right, Gandalf."
Gandalf said, "I already know your courage and determination. When the time is right, I will definitely find you and ask for your help."
Arthur smiled, "When you come here again, I promise you, Gandalf, everything will be different."
"I believe you too, so when can we enjoy this thick soup you're cooking? Hobbits are always so particular about food, and what Bilbo prepared for you was carefully selected by him, which makes me a bit greedy too. In this quiet wilderness, a bowl of hot vegetable soup and good company with newly met friends, even the cold cannot dispel the warmth in my heart." Gandalf took over Arthur' words, then turned the topic to the food simmering in the pan.
This old man is really witty, Arthur thought to himself.
He said, "It will be a while yet. I've prepared enough for the four of us to enjoy."
Just then, Nepheli Loux's footsteps rapidly approached. She knocked on the wall, drawing the attention of the three people inside to herself.
"There's an uncleansable filth in the wind; something evil is approaching here," Nepheli Loux warned Arthur, looking at the parts of the city ruins not illuminated by the Erdtree's glow.
Arthur stopped cooking, looked regretfully at the vegetable soup that was almost ready in the pan, then knocked down the simple stove made of small stones, extinguishing the fire.
Then he and Rogier exchanged glances, both instinctively standing up, taking out their respective weapons, and walking out of the stone house to be on guard.
"Can you sense exactly where they are coming from?" Arthur put his Blaidd, the Half-Wolf helmet back on and asked Nepheli Loux.
Upon hearing this, Nepheli Loux extended her right hand, gripping her battle axe. Moonlight shone on the axe blade as she pointed the axe tip towards the east and north, saying, "Here, and here, the wind blowing from these directions carries an unpleasant aura."
Rogier, with his staff in his left hand and his rapier tightly gripped in his right, asked, "Could it be some kind of wild beast?"
Gandalf happened to follow them out and, hearing Rogier's question, said, "Wild beasts in nature wouldn't head towards a light source at night, sir Rogier. Because that would expose them in the darkness, which means danger."
"Ow—woo—!"
Just then, several chilling wolf howls suddenly echoed under the night sky. In the two directions Nepheli Loux indicated, the city ruins, overgrown with trees, startled flocks of birds.
Rogier heard the howling and asked, "Is that a wolf's howl?"
Nepheli Loux followed his words, saying, "That sound isn't like an ordinary wolf's howl; these are more dangerous types of wolves. Rogier, prepare your Glintstone Magic."
And Arthur' and Gandalf's expressions became incredibly solemn the moment they heard the wolf howls.
Arthur' solemn expression even carried a hint of exasperation.
Although Arthur was wearing his Blaidd, the Half-Wolf helmet, Gandalf could sense the emotions emanating from him, so he said, "It seems you also understand what that howl signifies, sir Arthur."
Arthur' tone carried a hint of helplessness: "Yes, after all, on my way here, I was attacked many times by these creatures and the orcs riding them."
Rogier, while crossing his staff and rapier and applying a Glintstone Magic damage buff to his rapier, asked curiously, "These creatures? Are they really not wolves? And what are orcs?"
Gandalf couldn't help but glance a few times at the rapier blade in Rogier's hand, which was emitting a brilliant blue light, before saying, "They are certainly wolves, but not ordinary wolves looking for food. They are wargs from Gundabad, loyal to darkness and evil."
Then Gandalf looked at Arthur and said, "Wargs approaching means a large group of orcs are nearing this place. Were you seen by them when you came here?"
Arthur thought for a moment and finally said, "Although I wasn't attacked by orcs when I came to these city ruins, earlier on I encountered a group of orcs. After killing most of them, I left. I'm afraid the fleeing orcs found their main force and followed my uncleared tracks all the way here."
Gandalf glanced at the Erdtree, which still shone brightly in the night, so out of place in the dark city ruins.
He subtly expressed to Arthur, "Perhaps it's also possible that this group of orcs didn't follow your tracks but were attracted by the light."
Arthur immediately understood that Gandalf was referring to the Erdtree, which glowed constantly and was too conspicuous at night, and he showed a pained expression.
Then Gandalf asked, "Arthur, so, do you have a way to control the brightness of this tree? To make it less obvious."
Arthur replied helplessly, "I can't control that, Gandalf. That's the tree's characteristic."
Gandalf opened his mouth, could only sigh, and then said, "Then please also give me a sharp sword, so I can help in the battle. Judging from the sound, there are about fifty or more orcs and wargs."
Nepheli Loux heard Gandalf's request and looked over: "No, you should hide in the house. I can feel from the wind that those beasts are very dangerous. But I will protect your safety; it would be a disgrace for me to let an old man go to war."
Gandalf smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, kind-hearted warrior. But just as they are not ordinary wolves, I am not an ordinary old man. Moreover, a Wizard would never sit idly by while friends are attacked by enemies, comfortably hiding behind them."
Just as Nepheli Loux was about to say something, Arthur pulled out a fully upgraded one-handed sword from his spatial backpack and handed it to Gandalf, while saying to Nepheli Loux, "Believe what he says, Nepheli Loux, especially since he is a spellcaster."
After Gandalf took the sword, Arthur came to Nepheli Loux's side and whispered, "We just need to keep a close eye on him. I know many warriors who refuse to admit their age, but facts prove they all lost to time."
Nepheli Loux nodded almost imperceptibly: "I think so too."
With Gandalf's hearing, the whispers between Arthur and Nepheli Loux were practically no different from speaking directly into his ear.
But after hearing them, he just smiled gently and said nothing more.
Moreover, Gandalf's attention was drawn to the sword Arthur had handed him. He observed the golden, slender blade and murmured, "This is a holy magic sword, and you just casually lend it to me to use."
Then Gandalf poured a small portion of his magic into it, and the entire sword emitted a golden glow, perfectly consistent with the brilliant golden light of the Erdtree behind him.
And the Erdtree seemed to sense a presence similar to its own power. Gandalf could feel more golden light gathering on the sword, shining even brighter than before.
Arthur's voice came at this moment: "This sword is called 'Ceremonial Straight Sword.' Its previous owner had some ties to the Erdtree behind you and can condense the power of the Erdtree. Weren't you curious about the Erdtree's power? I hope you can learn about it through this sword."
The Ceremonial Straight Sword was actually a pair of straight swords, but Arthur noticed that Gandalf always held his staff, so he only gave him one.
Gandalf stood next to Arthur in a standard sword-holding posture and said, "Then I must learn about it properly..."
But before he finished speaking, he asked with a strange expression, "Wait, what are you doing?"
Gandalf saw Arthur pull out a large pile of stones shimmering with sky-blue light from somewhere. He could feel the unstable magic within them.
Cuckoo glintstone, that's exactly the little trinket Arthur pulled out of his spatial backpack.
"These are the wonderful tools we'll need later. There are too many enemies; we can't do without some planning. I don't like facing large groups of enemies without any preparation, but those large-scale destructive Glintstone Magic would damage the surrounding terrain, and this is where the Erdtree is. I don't want to mess it up. Rogier, come help me bury these stones in the direction they're coming from." Arthur said, beckoning Rogier to come help.
Rogier walked over, also somewhat surprised, and said, "Where did you get so many cuckoo glintstones? Did you plunder the cuckoos?"
"Uh, you could interpret it that way, actually," Arthur replied.
Arthur was responsible for digging the holes, and Rogier was responsible for pouring his magic into the cuckoo glintstones. Then, one cuckoo glintstone per hole, ensuring that when the wargs stepped on them, they would receive an unprecedented "surprise."
Gandalf watched as Arthur, on the eve of a great battle, squatted down like he was planting radishes, digging traps.
He looked at Nepheli Loux, his eyes seeming to ask: Is he always like this?
Nepheli Loux didn't know what to say, gestured a few times with her hands, and finally let them drop: "Anyway, everything he does eventually proves useful, so friends who often fight with him are used to Arthur's seemingly outlandish behavior."
No sooner had she finished speaking than Arthur and Rogier quickly buried the cuckoo glintstones they had taken out.
At this moment, Arthur walked towards Nepheli Loux and Gandalf again, saying with a hint of regret, "If it weren't for the enemy's speed, I would have liked to dig a bit more."
Rogier gave a wry smile upon hearing this: "Any more, and my magic would probably be drained by these cuckoo glintstones before we even engaged in battle."
Arthur just patted Rogier's shoulder, then, under Gandalf's curious gaze, he pulled out five or six cracked pots emitting golden lightning from his spatial backpack.
He had previously used two thunderbolts to rescue the dwarves he encountered, so Arthur believed thunderbolts might have a miraculous effect on this group of orcs and wargs.
It was just a pity that he didn't have enough materials to make more thunderbolts, otherwise he could have brought out even more.
Arthur evenly distributed the thunderbolts to Nepheli Loux and Gandalf, then briefly explained their use to Gandalf, who hadn't used them before, and admonished him, "Remember to throw them at locations with many enemies. Don't throw them too close, or you might hit yourself and your teammates."
Gandalf still held his staff and the Ceremonial Straight Sword, so he could only cup his arms around the three thunderbolts Arthur had given him, holding them to his chest, and said, "This is the first time I've seen such a complex fighting style."
Arthur narrowed his eyes, for in the unseen darkness, he had already heard the low growls of the wargs. He replied, "Complex? No, you'll love this fighting style, trust me, Gandalf."