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LOTR: TMCP Ch. 61
🕑 Added 2025-07-14 02:16:05 +0000 UTC[Misty Mountains Orcs Reputation -1000]
[Current Reputation: -2523 (Nemesis)]
Thud.
Before even the flames had a chance to rise, the Great Goblin's health dropped to zero. He collapsed to the ground, lifeless.
At the moment of his death, the word "Nemesis" on the reputation interface suddenly turned blood-red, as if it had been activated.
"The King is dead!"
No one knew which goblin shrieked it, but the moment the words echoed through the cavern, the remaining goblins erupted in chaos, some wailed, some stood frozen in confusion, some trembled in terror, and others snatched up weapons and charged forward, trying to mask their panic with violence.
But it was all futile.
"Now! Run!" Gandalf shouted, quickly taking the lead.
Garrett pointed his sword forward, pushing back several frenzied goblins, fighting while retreating.
However, the goblins quickly accepted the reality and realized that their king was truly dead. In unison, they turned their gazes toward Garrett and the others, all moving in coordination, swarming from every direction, burning with murderous rage.
Garrett looked up. The cliff faces, the edges of the wooden bridges, even the ceiling of the cavern... goblins were crawling everywhere, filling every corner like a flood. If they were overrun, not even the dwarves or Gandalf would stand a chance, nor would he.
"This area's too open! I can't hold them all off!" Garrett quickly shouted.
As he spoke, he pulled out his pickaxe and began digging, thunk thunk thunk, while placing blocks behind him to seal the path.
"Quick, get in! We'll dig our way out!"
"Wait, don't leap down there!"
Gandalf hurriedly grabbed a dwarf and said to Garrett, "We might not have enough time. Don't forget, there are thirteen dwarves here. I can see light over there. It should be the rear entrance. Follow me, and move quickly, we'll run straight through. These goblins won't come into sunlight!"
"Run!"
With a loud cry, he dashed ahead with surprising agility. Seeing this, Garrett had no choice but to store his pickaxe and follow, glancing around anxiously as he ran.
He still hadn't seen Bilbo and had no idea what condition the hobbit was in.
BOOM!
As Garrett was lost in thought, a thunderous crack erupted. With too many goblins blocking the way, Gandalf was forced to use another lightning spell to clear a path. However, this time the attack was noticeably weaker, just enough to break through their ranks.
As they advanced, the passage ahead grew brighter. The sound of wind could be faintly heard.
The exit was in sight.
The dwarves slipped out one by one, with Gandalf close behind them.
Garrett hesitated at the exit for a moment, glancing left and right, then followed them into the light.
Whoosh.
The sunlight was so brilliant that no one could keep their eyes open, but not a single one of them stopped running. They continued for a long distance before finally pausing to catch their breath.
"Thirteen dwarves, just right..." Gandalf was counting heads.
"Where's Bilbo?"
He suddenly froze and looked around frantically.
---
The moment everyone was escaping through the rear exit, Bilbo had followed Gollum to the back entrance. The exit was just ahead, but the wily creature stood directly in front of it, blocking the path.
Clearly, Gollum didn't have the strength to hold the exit on his own. As Garrett and the others approached, he immediately ducked behind a boulder, trying not to make a sound.
Bilbo watched as the group ran past and wanted to shout for help, but before he could, they had already vanished.
Seeing Gandalf and the others depart, Gollum let out a sigh of relief and prepared to resume his search for the thieving hobbit.
Just then, a dark figure suddenly doubled back, startling Gollum so much that he recoiled behind the rock, clutching his head and holding his breath.
Curse that Gollum... What a wretched creature, Bilbo thought.
The figure stood at the exit for a while, scanning the surroundings, his gaze sweeping across every nook and cranny.
For a moment, Bilbo felt their eyes might have met. He took several steps forward and was almost about to call out. But the figure turned and left.
He sighed inwardly.
Another chance for rescue, gone. That meant he could only rely on himself now.
He drew his short sword and raised it high, eyes locked on Gollum, who was still searching the area.
One strike.
Just one quick strike, and this strange creature who had tried to kill him several times would be dead.
True courage is not knowing when to take a life, but knowing when to spare one.
Looking into Gollum's large eyes, he suddenly remembered something Gandalf had once said. In the end, he shook his head, sheathed his sword, gave Gollum a firm kick, and escaped.
"Thief! Nasty thief!"
Gollum shouted from behind, but Bilbo ignored him and ran down the forested mountainside, following the trail the dwarves had left.
---
"No need to look anymore."
Thorin stepped forward to answer Gandalf's question.
"He's most likely abandoned us and returned home."
"No, I haven't."
Bilbo suddenly appeared behind them.
"Bilbo..." Gandalf stepped forward. "I've never been so relieved to see anyone in my life."
"How did you escape from that place?" one of the dwarves asked curiously.
Bilbo froze for a moment, unconsciously slipped his hand into his pocket, and touched the ring within.
Should he tell them about it? But why... why did he feel so reluctant to part with it?
It was just a ring he had found, at most, it possessed some strange magical properties. Besides, it wasn't even his to begin with.
He took a deep breath, preparing himself to tell the truth...
"Does it matter? He's back, and that's what counts."
Gandalf's sudden comment interrupted him.
"Of course it matters," Thorin stepped forward, staring intently at the hobbit.
"I want to know... why you came back."
"I know you've always doubted me. And yes, I do miss my home... a beautiful garden, comfortable chairs, and a warm little house. That is my home. But you... you have no home. So I will do everything in my power to help you reclaim yours."
After hearing this, the dwarves fell silent. Gandalf looked at Bilbo with a warm, approving gaze.
Garrett patted Bilbo on the shoulder as a gesture of support and encouragement. As he looked down at Bilbo, he suddenly noticed something glimmering faintly in the hobbit's pocket. The light was subtle but eye-catching, shining through the small gap made by Bilbo's hand inside the pocket.
The One Ring.
He instinctively held his breath. For a moment, he even felt an overwhelming urge to reach into Bilbo's pocket and seize the ring.
[Charm Effect: 3s]
A new status icon appeared on his interface.
But the moment he became aware that he was being influenced, the effect vanished.
[Corruption Level: 0%]
A new entry appeared in his system interface.
"What are you doing, Garrett?"
Everyone was bewildered to see Garrett suddenly produce a large bucket of milk and start drinking it right there.
Never mind where the metal bucket or the milk came from, could he really consume that much? Even if it were ale, that's not how you drink it!
"It's nothing. Just thirsty."
Garrett let out a satisfied breath, trying to reassure the others. But no matter how much milk he consumed, the corruption meter didn't disappear from the system, it seemed to have become a permanent status indicator.
This thing really is cursed...
He took several steps back, putting distance between himself and Bilbo.
The faint glow from the ring reluctantly faded away.
---
Meanwhile, on a nearby hill not far from the rear gate of the goblin stronghold, Azog stood listening to a goblin messenger. After hearing about the devastation in Goblin-town from his subordinates, he bared his fangs in rage.
Not only had the dwarves escaped, but the Great Goblin had also been slain?
"Hunt them down!"
---
Awooooo!
A chorus of howls echoed from the hilltop. Gandalf abruptly looked up and saw a pale figure, followed by a massive pack of wargs and orcs.
There were at least several hundred of them.
"Run!"
They had only just caught their breath, but now they had to flee again, escaping from the hunting pack of wargs pursuing them.
"Running every day… not a moment's peace," Garrett muttered, turning and rushing past the dwarves, drawing his sword, which gleamed brilliantly in the twilight.
The charging wargs roared as they descended from the heights like an avalanche, covering every corner of the slope, leaving no escape route.
But their overwhelming charge was suddenly halted, as if they had crashed into an immovable mountain that wouldn't yield no matter their force.
ROAR!
Wargs swarmed around Garrett, enclosing him completely. The thin magical barrier granted by the golden apple quickly dissipated. But while the protection was fragile, his armor was thick, even the most vicious wargs couldn't leave so much as a scratch on the elven steel.
He could take countless attacks, but any warg struck by his blade was immediately reduced to a smoking corpse.
Azog, who had been leading the hunt, soon noticed the commotion behind. He ordered the rest of the wargs and orcs to continue pursuing the dwarves while he turned back, heading straight for Garrett.
