Chapter 77: Legolas

Just as all the dwarves began unpacking their bags, preparing to eat and drink.

"There's something nearby! Be on guard!"

Kili, taking advantage of the moment, swiftly drew his bow and shot an arrow.

The sharp arrow pierced through the air, embedding itself into the distant forest, followed by a chilling screech from within the dense woods.

All the dwarves nearby, without any hesitation, dropped their food, quickly drew their weapons, and formed a circle, ready for battle.

As fate would have it, the dwarves in the forest were attacked by giant spiders.

With that chilling screech, spiders, much larger than the dwarves in both height and size, with massive jaws, swarmed from all directions.

"Slice them apart!"

Reacting quickly, Ino raised his hand and cast a severing spell. In this dense forest filled with cover, magical attacks were indeed more effective than physical ice arrows.

In the distance, two of the fastest charging giant spiders were split in half as if cut by an invisible blade, their bodies severed by inertia.

This seemed to signal the start of the battle. Inside the circle, Kili and another archer began their ranged attacks.

The fierce battle commenced.

Even when facing the gigantic spiders, the dwarves in close combat showed no fear, fighting bravely with their weapons.

Standing within the circle, Ino continuously waved his wand, casting various spells like an automatic rifle firing continuously.

Although the spells were rapid, most of them were barrier and repelling spells, as the dwarves were too close to the spiders, and a careless mistake could easily cause friendly fire.

On the other side.

A giant spider descended from above, targeting Bombur, the fattest dwarf wielding two axes. Just as the venomous bite was about to strike him, a red light flashed.

The entire spider seemed to be bound by invisible ropes, falling stiffly to the ground with a thud.

Realizing what happened, Bombur swiftly chopped the spider with his axe, then continued fighting the other spiders with his dual axes.

In such intense combat, there was no room for distraction, especially for the frontline warriors.

Finding a gap, Ino grabbed Bilbo, who had been running around with his short sword, fighting the air since the battle began.

"Don't cause trouble here. Take this potion and apply it to their wounds. And be careful!"

Saying this, he tossed a bottle of Dittany to Bilbo.

The battle raged on.

And the surrounding spiders not only did not decrease but intensified, their numbers continually growing.

Seeing the endless spiders, Ino felt a sudden urge to set the forest on fire.

Of course, it was just an impulse. The spiders were one thing, but setting fire to the dark forest would mean they couldn't leave either.

Since the First Age, no one had dared to set fire in the elves' territory.

Meanwhile.

On the battlefield, Bilbo lived up to his reputation as a burglar. With the natural agility of a hobbit, he always found gaps to apply Dittany to the wounded dwarves.

With the help of the potion, the battle gradually reached a stalemate. The dwarves barely held off the spiders' assault.

But their defeat was only a matter of time.

After all, facing an endless swarm of spiders, the dwarves' stamina and energy were limited.

...

"Whizz! Whizz, whizz, whizz!"

Amid the dwarves' exhausting fight, countless arrows sliced through the air, producing crisp sounds, swiftly clearing a large number of spiders.

Then, an entire squad of woodland elves gracefully descended from the trees, using the webs left by the spiders.

Upon landing, the elves immediately attacked the spiders, fluidly switching between long swords, short blades, bows, and daggers as needed.

From a distance, the elves seemed to be dancing a death waltz, continuously harvesting the spiders' lives.

Witnessing this, Ino saw firsthand the power and elegance of Middle-earth's elves.

Though most of them lacked magical abilities, their fluent swordsmanship alone was enough to challenge many wizards.

Think about it: agile footwork combined with high-frequency attacks, one strike after another, giving no chance to cast spells.

Unless a wizard cast a Shield Charm first, falling into the elves' rhythm would be dangerous.

"With such skills, they might be the next Gryffindor."

Ino watched the elves' battle with some excitement.

He couldn't help it... the elves' fighting was just so elegant, each turn and slash precisely hitting the rhythm.

Seeing the elves' performance, he also thought that applying such agility in magical duels would yield surprising results.

...

Legolas.

In the woodland (Sindarin) Elvish language, it symbolizes green leaves, but it's also the name King Thranduil of the Woodland Realm gave his son.

As the prince of the woodland elves, unlike his father, Legolas was born with a hatred for the forces of darkness. He never forgot the fallen comrades of the woodland elves under the dark influence, or their once-glorious capital.

Many only knew Dol Guldur, the stronghold of the dark forces occupied by the Necromancer.

But they didn't know that the grand city had another name thousands of years ago—Amon Lanc, the capital of the woodland elves.

This was why Legolas hated the forces of darkness, and this rebellious prince often ignored his father's objections, leading the elven guard to hunt the dark minions in the tainted forest.

But today, he seemed to have made an unexpected discovery.

After the elves cleared the spiders, they nimbly jumped onto the branches, then drew their short bows and aimed at the circle of armed dwarves.

"Wizard! Drop your wand."

Legolas said calmly, completely ignoring the dwarves beside him.

"I mean no harm!" Ino said, extinguishing the Sunlight Charm and quietly slipping his wand into his sleeve.

As for disarming himself, he wouldn't even consider it. He was ready to fly away on his broom if the elves insisted. Whoever wanted to take care of the dwarves could do so.

Perhaps because of the Sunlight Charm, Legolas didn't press further and instead instructed the other elves to disarm the dwarves.

Moments later, Legolas approached them.

"I know you mean no harm, but you must come with us now. As unauthorized intruders in the forest, I have the right to judge you."

Faced with the relatively friendly woodland elves, Ino nodded silently.

"Alright, you're right. But I hope you treat the dwarves well. They didn't enter the forest with ill intentions."

Being taken by the woodland elves didn't bother him much, as the original story had the dwarves going through this.

In a way, the elves were also the dwarves' saviors. Without them, the spiders might have wiped out the entire group.