chsdbacks Chapter 144 The Guest
Chapter 144 The Guest
Chapter 144 The Guest
The group, overwhelmed by the experience, crossed the stone bridge with a sense of pilgrimage and drove up the wide, flat road.
Finally, we arrived at the castle gate.
Upon seeing the magnificent castle up close, everyone's hearts pounded even faster.
Beneath the towering city gate, two massive bronze doors opened, adorned with intricate patterns and images depicting the victory of the Five Armies at Lonely Mountain. The allied forces of elves, dwarves, and humans raised their swords in triumph, while below, orcs, trolls, and others fled in terror.
At the highest point, a tall figure rode on the back of a giant dragon, holding a magic wand and unleashing raging flames, like the Grim Reaper, seemingly dominating the entire battlefield.
This is probably a sight and awe-inspiring even the king's palace doesn't have.
Mayor Lach thought to himself.
Villagers were also on hand to greet guests at the gate; they were well-dressed and greeted the guests with smiles.
Mayor Lach looked at the villagers in surprise. Their demeanor was elegant and natural, and they looked more like nobles than he, a descendant of nobility. Mayor Lach felt a little awkward.
If the villagers knew what the mayor was thinking, they would probably be very happy.
Upon seeing Legolas, who was temporarily residing there, they instinctively imitated his behavior to make themselves more respectable and not embarrass Lord Duir.
Unexpectedly, this had such a positive effect.
As the carriage entered the city gate, Mayor Lachi saw a straight road paved with white gravel, with lampposts standing on both sides, already lit up even though it was not yet dark.
The gold and silver trees, which could be seen from the foot of the mountain, now appeared even taller when viewed up close.
The golden tree is over a hundred meters tall, and its lush, golden, fan-shaped leaves shimmer in the setting sun, turning half of the view from Fengyunding into gold.
Although the silver tree is not as tall as the golden tree, it grows like a coiled dragon, reflecting a silvery, moonlight-like glow that tints the other half of the scenery at Fengyun Peak with a silvery sheen.
Even if he didn't recognize the two trees, Mayor Ratched knew they were no ordinary trees.
"Mayor, we've arrived. You may get off now." The servant's voice outside the carriage brought Lachi back to his senses.
As the servant opened the car door, Mayor Ratchet and innkeeper Butterfly got out of the car one after the other.
The carriage stopped in front of the fountain.
Villagers came and led the horse-drawn carriage to the place where the horses were parked.
Villagers were also present to greet them and lead them to the hall.
Looking at the golden dragon statue on the fountain, Mayor Lucky swallowed hard.
Based on his decades of experience, he was certain that it was definitely carved from gold!
That's too extravagant!
Mayor Ratched tried to look away to avoid being impolite.
After bypassing the fountain and arriving at the hall entrance, the mayor no longer cared about the fountain statue.
Because he ran into his old rival.
"Mr. Lucky, it's been a long time!" Village Chief Luke greeted him with his standard smile and polite manner. "I'm the head of reception for the banquet."
Welcome to Lord Duir's banquet.
"And Mr. Butterfly, I didn't expect you to come with Mr. Lucky. We were originally planning to pick you up from your inn."
"Luke Thompson, long time no see!" Mayor Lucky said with a complicated expression, feeling a little uneasy.
He used his power as mayor to ostracize and suppress Luke, forcing him out of Bree.
Unexpectedly, he has now become the village chief of Hogsmeade, a subject of Duir, and seems to be highly valued.
If Luke holds a grudge about what happened back then and Zhui Duir makes trouble for him, will he have any chance of survival?
But just as he was feeling uneasy, Luke behaved politely and courteously.
"Mr. Lucky and Mr. Butterfly, you are the first guests to arrive. Please come in and rest with me."
He then led the two into the hall.
As for the other militia members, coachmen, and servants who accompanied him, they were led aside by the other villagers to rest.
Upon entering the hall, the two were dazzled by its magnificent and opulent interior.
The hall is enormous, consisting of white stone walls and a tower-like roof, capable of holding thousands of people; it is truly spectacular.
What left the two speechless was that thousands of candles floated in mid-air on the ceiling, illuminating the entire hall.
The ceiling looks just like the sky outside, with blue sky, white clouds, and warm sunlight shining down.
Four very long tables were placed side by side in the hall. The dwarves were sitting around the two long tables on the left, laughing loudly and drinking with each other.
At the far end of the long table, on the upper platform, there was another long table with a large golden chair in the center.
There were also some musical instruments floating in mid-air, playing soothing melodies.
Then a group of dwarves mocked it as sounding like a funeral march.
Under the dwarves' insistence, they had no choice but to reluctantly start playing the new music again.
Upon discovering that these musical instruments could understand them, some dwarves found them fascinating toys, each asking the instruments to play the music they desired.
The instruments were bewildered by the dwarves' demands, producing notes that changed from one tune to another, eventually becoming a jumble of noise rather than a melody.
Upon seeing this, the dwarves burst into laughter.
Enraged, the musical instruments stopped playing and flew down to knock on the heads of the mischievous dwarves.
The laughter in the hall immediately grew louder.
Mayor Lucky and innkeeper Butterbloom, witnessing this scene, felt as if they had entered a magical place, shocked and somewhat at a loss.
Luke was already quite familiar with the group of dwarves, so he smiled and didn't bother them, leading the two forward.
Then I led them to the long table at the very front of the stage, to the two outermost seats.
"Mr. Lucky, Mr. Butterfly, you are both distinguished guests invited by Lord Duir. These two seats are for you."
Mayor Lachi looked at his seat and immediately felt dissatisfied.
It's one thing that the owner of Yue Ma Inn, Huang Youju, has the seat furthest to the side, but why is his seat the second to last from the left?
As the mayor of Buri, he believed he was qualified to sit to Duir's left and right.
He looked at Luke, who was smiling, with suspicion.
Did Luke hold a grudge against him and deliberately try to humiliate him with the seat?
The furious mayor, Lucky, wanted to storm off, but he was under someone else's roof and dared not offend the owner of the castle.
He could only ask, somewhat angrily, "I see there are still so many seats here. I wonder which other distinguished people are coming? Could you tell me? Maybe I've heard of them!"
Luke seemed oblivious to the sarcasm in his words, nodding with his standard smile as always.
"The guests seated here are indeed people of high status, including those representing the human lord of Dale, the dwarf king of the Kingdom of the Downhill, the elf king of the Woodland Kingdom, the elf lord and his wife of Lorien, the elf lord of the Valley, and the lord of Anduin Valley."
Hearing a string of titles like king and lord, Mayor Lucky was a little dizzy.
Good heavens, just who is the owner of this castle? How could he possibly invite so many people of such high status?
Compared to the people in those seats, he, the town mayor, suddenly became insignificant.
He was no longer dissatisfied and quickly sat down in his seat.
Mr. Butterfly, the innkeeper, showed no dissatisfaction whatsoever. He sat in his seat, admiring the surrounding environment and watching the dwarves drinking their wine with great delight.
The wine for the castle banquets is sourced from him, and the more these dwarves drink, the more money he earns.
He could almost hear the clatter of gold coins as they shoved into his pocket.
After arranging their seats, Luke took his leave to attend to other matters related to the banquet.
Meanwhile, inside the highest Amonsur Tower.
Dui is also receiving guests who arrive through the fireplace.
Bilbo was the first to arrive.
He arrived even earlier than Mayor Lucky and the innkeeper, and he brought with him ale made by the Hobbits.
The second was Legolas, who returned to the Woodland Kingdom with a gift from Thranduil: an exquisite and ornate brooch inlaid with white gemstones.
This is very much in line with Thranduil's gift-giving style.
Moreover, this brooch is not only valuable, but also contains the blessing power of the wood elves.
Wearing it allows you to form a close connection with the forest, receive its protection, and feel right at home in the forest.
This gift was undeniably valuable, and Dui carefully put it away.
Following closely behind Legolas was the skin-changing man, Beorn.
He brought a bucket of royal jelly made from the large bees he had carefully raised.
Royal jelly can boost energy and physical strength, making it an excellent supplement.
The fourth to arrive were Bard of Dale and Fili, Thorin's heir.
The two arrived together; Philip represented Thorin, who had been teleported over from the fireplace in Dale after meeting up with Bard.
Dui was not surprised that Sorin did not come.
But he didn't expect that Thorin would send Philip to the banquet on his behalf.
Duy told Edward to take the others to the hall first, while he waited here.
Before long, the green flames in the fireplace ignited, and a beautiful figure emerged from them.
Dui's eyes lit up: "Alwen, what brings you here?"
"Not welcome?" Alvin raised an eyebrow, her bright eyes shining like evening stars.
Dui quickly shook his head: "How could that be? I just didn't expect you to be the first one to come."
"By the way, did you come from the Valley of the Dead or from Lorien?"
"The Valley." Alvin stepped out of the fireplace, noticing the dust on his clothes, and frowned slightly.
Seeing this, Dui waved his hand and cast a cleansing spell to remove the dust from her body.
"Thank you!" Alvin smiled. "Your Floo Powder is amazing. The only downside is that it's so dusty. I have to wash it every time I teleport between the Valley and Lorien."
Dui shrugged and chuckled, "Nothing's perfect, right?"
"That makes a lot of sense." Alvin nodded in agreement, a hint of a smile in her bright, deep eyes, as if she could see through his thoughts. "But why do I get the feeling you want to see me, Wolf-Fox, make a fool of myself?"
"I'm innocent!" Dui raised his hands to show his innocence. "How could I have such thoughts?"
"If you'd like, I can teach you the Cleansing Charm you just used, so you won't have to worry about getting dust on your hands when you use Floo Powder to teleport in the future."
"Then it's a deal!"
"It's a deal!"
"What are you talking about?" Green flames flickered in the fireplace, and the elven twins Elohir and Elladan appeared one after the other, their eyes showing some wariness as they observed the harmonious atmosphere between the two.
"Duir said he'd teach me spells!" Alvin exclaimed happily.
"Really?" The two brothers were immediately drawn to this and looked at Dui expectantly.
"Duir, could you teach us a few more spells? We've already learned the ones you taught us before."
Seeing the expectant looks on the three siblings, Du Yi had no choice but to nod.
"No problem. After the banquet, you can stay here for a few more days, and I will teach you spells then."
The three of them were overjoyed upon hearing this.
Just then, the fireplace flames reignited.
"Lord Elrond!" Dui exclaimed in surprise.
He thought that the arrival of Alme and the elven twins already represented the Valley and Lorien.
I never expected Elrond to come in person!
Elrond seemed to sense Dui's surprise and said with a mysterious smile, "I'm not the last guest; there are more important people coming later."
He then stepped out of the fireplace and waited outside, sideways.
Upon hearing this, Dui's eyes widened, and an unbelievable guess flashed through his mind.
The next second, Lady Galadriel, tall and beautiful, appeared amidst the green flames.
The surrounding dust seemed unwilling to taint her; not a speck of dust could be seen on her pure white robe and long, gold and silver hair.
She radiated a holy glow, and her smile made everything around her pale in comparison.
"Duir, we meet again."