Chapter 1116: Chapter 1096: The Expanding Halo
The light waves above the clouds spread outwards.
Even though the expanding rings grew larger and wider, the brightness of the light did not diminish in the slightest.
The halo swept past the nearby dark clouds, illuminating them for a fleeting moment until the halo moved on, and the clouds returned to their gloomy, dark state.
Lann, who had just slid down from Smaug’s corpse, suddenly looked up, performing instant calculations through Mentos.
Having roughly determined the arc of the circular expanding light wave above, the bio-computer only needed to employ simple geometric calculations to judge the diameter of the circular wave and its center position.
"Is it... Dorguldu?!"
Lann, who had just finished battling the evil dragon, involuntarily widened his eyes upon receiving the data reported by Mentos.
The circular wave spreading from Dorguldu... Long Lake is at least hundreds of kilometers away from Dorguldu!
And this halo clearly originates from some sort of power.
A power that felt familiar to Lann.
"Lady Galadriel?"
It wasn’t Lann who spoke, but Thranduil.
The Elves had already approached from their previous position, along with the Qilin carrying the barely awake Bard.
While the Elf Archers, filled with awe and respect, watched the ever-expanding halo above the sky in the distance,
they only glanced for a moment, then turned with disbelief and an expression of relief and joy to look at Smaug’s completely still corpse.
But Thranduil, being the Elf King, remained very composed, put away his bow and arrow, and stood beside Lann watching the massive power spreading in the sky, no longer concerned with the dragon’s corpse behind him.
Beside them, the flames of Long Lake Town, having transformed into ordinary fire due to the dragon’s death, couldn’t sustain in the damp environment and gradually extinguished.
The white wooden ashes, already burnt to completion, descended with the thickening cold mist, resembling snowfall after a fire disaster.
A slightly dizzy Bard was also taken down from the Qilin’s back by the Elves and taken care of well.
No matter if his black arrow succeeded or not, his courage to face the giant dragon and his sense of responsibility and fear when shooting the arrow left no Elf discontent with him.
Beside the enormous dragon corpse, the Elves started a small bonfire to warm themselves in the returning cold of the ruins.
Lann found a stone step not yet scorched by dragon fire, dusted it off, and sat down.
Thranduil looked at his exquisite and luxurious cloak, adjusted it, but did not sit down, only stood beside the step.
"Is this... Lady Galadriel’s power?"
Lann let out a long breath as he sat down, casually pointing at the sky and curiously asking Thranduil.
"What, you can’t feel it?"
But instead, the Elf King gazed at him with astonishment.
"Lady Galadriel shared the Light of Airendil with the sword in your hand, yet you tell me you’re not familiar with her power? Are you joking with me?"
"On this Middle-earth Continent, such vast and pure light power is possessed by only a few, even to the extent of exaggeration."
Indeed, according to Mentos’s calculations, this power is unbelievably immense.
It almost vertically spanned the entire Mist Mountains with the longest trajectory, yet showed no signs of diminishing.
Lann shrugged wordlessly, indicating he really wasn’t familiar.
He couldn’t even fully understand the deep power emanating from his own blade.
The bewilderment when his sword glowed earlier was already quite evident.
It was only his top-tier warrior experience and instincts that enabled him to temporarily wield the Light of Airendil, crisping Smaug’s evil-powered scales.
Finally, it was Thranduil who informed Lann about the Light of Airendil.
"Is it that star?"
Following Thranduil’s direction, Lann looked up at the brightest star in the sky.
The Elf King nodded: "Yes, the Star of Great Hope."
"My father, Ourephel, once fought alongside him in the War of Wrath against Morgoth’s armies during the First Era."
"Wow..."
Lann couldn’t help but click his tongue.
After all, the idea of someone transforming into a star sounded mythical, yet here beside him stood the son of a marginal character from the story, making Lann feel wonderfully peculiar.
"Earyendil had two sons, both Half-Elves. Ilúvatar gave them the choice to become elves or humans, each picking a side, and the one who chose to become an elf should be someone you’re familiar with."
"Hmm? I don’t know many people, who’s that?"
"Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell."
This time, Lann’s mouth fell open, his sense of wonder deepening.
So, Thranduil was the offspring of a marginal character in the story, and Elrond was directly the son of the story’s protagonist.
But knowing this underlying connection, the uncertain yet nostalgic expression on Elrond’s face when handing over the adjusted Lady of the Lake’s Sword to Lann made more sense.
Apart from the fact that the Light of Airendil was too precious, and he wasn’t sure if Lady Galadriel would grant a portion to Lann.
He should have also felt a familiar and nostalgic connection to his father’s power.
"But leaving that aside..." After explaining the origin of the Light of Airendil, Thranduil frowned, looking at the night sky, long since restored to calm after the halo passed.
"What on earth is happening over there that would prompt Lady Galadriel to unleash such precious power?"
Lady Galadriel’s power is unparalleled even among the Elf Race across the Middle-earth Continent.
She is one of the rare Light Elves who once bathed in the light of the Two Holy Trees in ancient times.
To this day, her eyes still contain that sacred radiance.
This is not on the same level as the Dark Elves who have only seen the light of the sun and moon.
Moreover, she grew up in the Blessed Undying Land of Valinor, receiving teachings from many Villa and Vilya. In terms of bloodline, she also possesses the royal lineage of the three great Light Elves.
When it comes to knowledge, power, life experience, and noble blood, she is perfectly beyond imagination.
However, excessive high-quality power also brings troubles—restoring Lady Galadriel’s power after it’s released is not easy.
If it were in the Blessed Land, this would not be an issue, as even Villa and Maia can live comfortably there.
But here is the Middle-earth Continent, which, under Ilúvatar’s will, gradually stabilized into a peaceful state after the Second Era.
This place does not easily provide an environment for the regular recovery of high-quality power.
Of course, if it were someone like Tom Bombadil, presumably, there would be no difference anywhere.
That’s why Thranduil says that the power Lady Galadriel unleashed this time is too ’precious.’
"The outbreak point is Dorguldu."
And when it comes to this, Lann is the one with more say.
"That place is the nest of dark forces, it’s understandable for Lady Galadriel to go there for a purge."
"Dark Forces?"
Thranduil instinctively rejected it, frowning as he pushed his loose white hair back.
"The world is at peace; where are the dark forces worthy of Lady Galadriel’s power?"
Lann sneered and leaned his back lightly against the remnants of the ruins, speaking softly.
"World peace? I remember Legolas should have sent you an Orc’s tongue, right? Didn’t you figure out anything?"
"Orcs," Thranduil said with self-assurance and no emotion, "are just a bunch of brain-damaged murderers. I’ve been listening to their nonsense for thousands of years."
"But hearing the nonsense of Orcs right at the doorstep of the Dark Forest, plus a dragon charging out of the Lonely Mountain at this time... I think you haven’t seen such scenes for thousands of years, right?"
Lann shook his head.
"Don’t think that just because you don’t admit it, bad things won’t happen, Thranduil. With your life’s experience, you shouldn’t need others to remind you of this."
"I can tell that you don’t want to accept what the Orc said, so let me tell you instead."
The Demon Hunter raised his head and met the gaze of the Elf King who looked down.
"The Dark Forces want to connect the entire north and thus revive the Angmar Kingdom. Is that clear enough?"
Thranduil’s jaw clenched abruptly, causing his cheek to bulge for a moment.
"Sorlin and the others should already be in the Lonely Mountain; there’s no point in hiding this. The reason for sending them on a journey to restore the kingdom is mainly to have the Lonely Mountain stand once more, blocking the dark forces from joining together."
"And in response to our arrangements, the enemy will definitely respond tactically, which is to prevent us from achieving our goal."
Lann calmly looked at Thranduil.
"This place will become a battlefield."
The Elf King silently surveyed the chaotic scene of Long Lake Town.
He pursed his lips but turned his head away under Lann’s gaze.
"Even if what you say is true, it has nothing to do with our Woodland Kingdom."
"Do you think you can stay out of it? Are you not very close to the Lonely Mountain?"
Lann immediately pressed further.
But Thranduil’s rebuttal was equally quick.
"So what?"
The Elf King’s tone was heavy and unfriendly.
"Do you know how many of us there are? Do you know how long it takes for an Elf to mature and how precious they are? Yet on the battlefield, even Elves will easily die when surrounded by Orcs!"
At last, Thranduil deeply looked at Lann, who sat on the stone steps.
"Not everyone is like you, Yadanisil! Most Elves are just ordinary people; they have limits. Swordsmanship, archery... after hundreds of years, they can no longer make progress!"
"These elves make up the majority of our warriors, and when faced with swarming Orcs, they can only barely fight back, and then die due to being outnumbered!"
"They’re not like you! So strong as to defy logic, capable of slaying dragons!"
Thranduil repeated once more.
"And my responsibility is not to lead them to such a battlefield."
"I must... prioritize protecting my people!"
At last, Thranduil also found it difficult to speak.
In the silence with Lann, he sighed.
"We will not get involved in this matter. I have only one request for the Lonely Mountain: return my wife’s relic, the Starlight White Gemstone, to me. I have already paid for the repair costs to Sorlin’s grandfather; it should rightly belong in my hands now."
"I will settle this matter quickly if Sorlin Oak Shield is still reasonable... You are our friend now, Yadanisil. I won’t make things difficult for you."
