Astartes of the Bear School

Chapter 1122 1104. Disease of the mind

 Lan En's voice turned cold.

He went up and grabbed the collar of Thorin's neck, which had been so uneasy under his words just now that it was fluttering in panic.

 The loyal dwarves wanted to come forward to start a fight, but halfway through, these dwarves looked at the leader who once served as them.

Thorin, who led the dwarves to open up a new home and overcame many difficulties, now looks like he is lost, confused and obviously abnormal, but he can't move his legs.

And Lan En looked directly into Thorin's eyes with his pair of beast eyes.

Thorin instinctively drew his neck back and turned his eyes around in an attempt to escape those beastly eyes.

 The amber irises have vertical pupils. This feeling.

 Made Thorin feel like he was back to that night when he faced the dragon.

 But it was only a few days that night, but it already felt like a very long time to him.

Thorin, who had dared to curse the dragon at the corner of his angry mouth for so long, now felt himself shrinking.

“You spent one night building a temporary city wall, but so what?”

“Even the original city wall, built during the heyday of the Lonely Mountain Kingdom, will fall under Smaug’s claws and fire, and this gate will be knocked open by it!”

"and I?"

Lan En's tone gradually turned from angry to calm, but everyone present could not feel relieved because of this. Instead, they felt an indescribable chill in their hearts almost at the same time.

"I tore Smaug's wing claws and let his blood spill from the night sky into the sea of ​​fire! I smashed his mouth so that he couldn't even speak! I stabbed his chest with my sword and extinguished the blazing fire. Dragon Flame!"

 “This wall cannot hold back Smaug”

 Lan En continued softly.

 “Then can it stop me?!”

"Can fourteen of you stop me? If I want to get gold, you shouldn't be standing here now, but should be lying on the ground!"

The witcher pushed Thorin away with resentment and anger.

The king at the foot of the mountain stumbled and fell backwards, but in the end it was Dwalin who supported him from behind.

 But this most loyal and experienced warrior among the dwarves, while supporting Thorin, he pursed his lips, unwilling to look at Thorin's pale face and thick dark circles under his eyes.

"What made you become like this? Weak, suspicious, fearful and greedy to the point of risking life and death, Thorin? It was clearly not like this until you left Lake Town a few days ago!"

 Lan En looked at the king under the mountain with disappointment.

His left hand emits a faint white light, like light refraction.

【Yaxsi Dharma Seal】.

“King under the mountain, are your promises, your reputation, and the reputation of your family tree no match for gold?”

With the cooperation of the seal, Lan En's voice sounded distant, like a whisper coming from the bottom of his heart.

 But Thorin's eyes were still wavering and dull.

 He pushed away Dwalin and stood still, shaking his head and holding his forehead, as if he had a splitting headache.

Thorin then panicked and pushed away all the dwarves who gathered around to care about him. As if he was escaping, he stumbled away into the darkness deep in the lonely mountain.

"No, I will never share it, even if..." He stumbled over some scattered rocks while walking backwards, but staggered back up and continued running, "Even if it's a piece of gold, gold!"

 “Thorin!”

 “Follow quickly! Don’t get into trouble!”

The dwarves swarmed into the darkness, and only Balin and Bilbo stayed behind, sighing.

"We all feel that Thorin is not normal right now. But..." the hobbit scratched his head in pain and said, "But he is Thorin after all. He has led us hard for a year and has always taken the lead and been brave and fearless. "

“So now everyone knows that he is abnormal, but still habitually doesn’t want to refute him?”

Lann frowned and looked into the depths of the Lonely Mountain, speaking for Bilbo what he had not said.

 Next to Bahrain, people will look calmer when they get older.

 But he was only calm on the surface. Seeing Thorin like this, this old dwarf who had assisted Thorin's father and grandfather during the Lonely Mountain Kingdom era, was now sobbing a little when he spoke.

When he was young, he went on an adventure to restore the kingdom with Thorin. Along the way, he fought with orcs and dealt with trolls, and he never frowned once.

At this time, the sadness that was suppressed but could not help being revealed made the bystanders feel uncomfortable.

 “This is, it’s dragon disease.”

Balin took a deep breath to suppress the sobs in his throat.

“I thought Thorin would not follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and father. He was a better man than both of them, and had a nobler soul.”

“He was tenacious. After losing the Lonely Mountain, he led us to seek a livelihood and go out to work in difficulties. In the Battle of Moria, he also bravely faced Azog with only a piece of oak as a shield.”

"Look at Thorin's expression just now. That excessive desire, the pathological pursuit of treasures and the possessive mentality once drove Throl crazy!"

“This is dragon disease, a disease of the mind, for which there is no cure.”

Several people present fell silent for a moment.

Lan En looked down at his left hand that had just used the seal and shook his head.

 Where is this ‘disease’? It's a curse.

At this moment, Bilbo moved his steps and pulled Balin, Lann, and Velvet Ball together, standing closer.

The hobbit hesitated and said in a tentative tone. "Bahrain, I mean. Look at Thorin looking for the Arken Stone like crazy now. If, I mean if!"

“He suddenly ‘found’ the gem, would that be better?”

 When he said "find", Bilbo pronounced the accent meaningfully. Suddenly, both Lan and Balin looked at Bilbo thoughtfully but uncertainly.

 Only the flannel ball is calmer.

"Is this possible?"

Lan En leaned down and looked at the old dwarf Balin seriously.

Although the words were not said clearly, several people present actually understood it tacitly.

“Would getting the Arken Stone calm Thorin down? Judge from your experience, Balin.”

Bahrain’s white beard trembled, and finally sighed dejectedly.

“The Arken gem is extraordinary. It is not just a precious gem that is unique in the world. Among the dwarves, it also symbolizes the power of the king!”

 There was a calm despair in the old dwarf's eyes.

“So do you think that by taking power over a man who is sick and thirsty for treasure, will things get better? Both for the situation and for himself?”

 Everyone was speechless except for Balin who sighed quietly.

“Perhaps it would be better for the Arken Stone to never appear again.”

“But there must be a way.” Lan En said with narrowed eyes.

"After Smaug conquered the Lonely Mountain, didn't Thrall and Thrain escape with you? And after escaping, Thrall, who you said was 'driven mad by dragon disease' organized an attack. The Battle of Moria."

“That doesn’t sound like something a madman could do.”

Balin was stunned by Lan En's idea of ​​​​focusing on the details of the question, but then, the old dwarf's eyes also burst into light, as if he had thought of something.

 “Wait. It is indeed!”

“Ever since Thror was forced to leave the Lonely Mountain and Gold, he suddenly became normal! It’s just that we all thought it was excessive grief and anger at the time, allowing him to draw the strength to support his soul from hatred! But now think about it”

“Perhaps leaving the treasure and losing the wealth can bring him back to normal?”

Lane began to try to summarize the characteristics of Thrall's case and find out the key points.

In the Magical Middle Ages, witchers would often use this trick if they received the task of lifting a curse.

“Or perhaps, a strong enough emotion, such as the grief and anger of losing one’s home, can also support a soul corroded by treasure?”

 Balin quickly took Lan En's arm sincerely, his lips trembling under his white beard.

 “Then let him lose his wealth, Lan En! Even if it is only part of it, it will alleviate his illness. Save him! Save the kingdom we took back!”

“In this situation, maybe you are the only one who can accomplish this!”

The witcher patted the old dwarf on the shoulder: "I will try my best, but you have to understand that Balin didn't punch Thorin just now, which really made me endure it hard enough."

The old dwarf, who was about to cry, smiled bitterly: "I'm telling you a joke. The character and honor of the King under the Mountain have also been shamed. But if you need to beat him, then do it! Thorin's head can even be eaten. Hundred-page hammer!”

"I'm just saying something angry, don't take it seriously. Thorin is out of his mind now, but he is still my friend after all."

As Lan En spoke, he made a gesture to take Bilbo and Velvet Ball aside, and at the same time raised his chin towards Balin.

 “You should leave first for what we are going to talk about next, Bahrain. You shouldn’t be present for this matter, otherwise you won’t be able to explain it later.”

 Bilbo and Fluffy Ball almost pointed out just now that they hid the Arken Stone. But after all, it hasn’t been fully explained yet.

If Bahrain is still present at this time, even if Thorin returns to normal in the future, his behavior will be difficult to explain. There was a rift between Pingbai and Thorin.

It is beneficial not to know something, or even to pretend not to know it.

 Balin pursed his lips and nodded, and also walked towards the shadow deep in the lonely mountain.

 He is also an old Jianghu who has assisted the king since the Gushan period and knows everything there is to know.

 When only Ellu and two people were left at the temporary city gate, Bilbo looked around carefully and put his hand into his arms.

 An Arken gem wrapped in rags was finally seen by Lan En for the first time.

When this legendary gem appeared, the radiance inside the stone almost made Lan En think he was seeing a miniature galaxy!

Such a beauty, no wonder it became a king’s gemstone.

 “You are a master snitch, Master Baggins.”

Lan chuckled lightly and teased the short hobbit.

Bilbo blushed: "No, I don't steal, and I consider myself an honest person, but this time"

"I stole the thing, right under the eyes of the evil dragon!" Flannel Ball was very proud of his skills and skills, and said with his hands on his hips. "It's just that Bilbo saw something was wrong with Thorin and asked me to stay."

"And now it seems that what I felt at the time was right." Bilbo shook his head in a low voice, "If he had given the Arkenstone to Thorin at that time, he would have been doomed."

"Balin said that Thorin's current situation is just the beginning of the dragon disease. God knows how crazy Thror was back then. So I can only leave it to you, Lann."

Without any hesitation, the hobbit took the rare gem into the hands of the witcher.

 “Please save Thorin, Lann! Please!”