The Ironfoot Army, Give It Some Face

Gandalf felt a pang of sadness and turned his face away. He never expected that after living for so long, he would be rendered speechless by a child.

Even knowing that a great war concerning the safety of Middle-earth could break out at any moment, he still shamelessly said, "Gaius, at this time, you are the only one I can count on."

The first time I saw you, I had a feeling that peace in Middle-earth would likely fall upon you.

"Heh!" Aaron sneered, giving him a disdainful look. "I don't have any sense of mission, and I don't want to be any kind of the Chosen One, so don't try to fob me off with that kind of talk."

"How can this be considered perfunctory?" Gandalf said, sounding slightly anxious.

"Don't force me to despise you, Gandalf."

I admit you are a good person, have a good sense of the big picture, and are worthy of respect.

"A good person can be so cunning that they can make a bad person weep. Even if I have some skills, I'm still just a child. You can't take advantage of me all by yourself!" Aaron said, somewhat speechless, then started counting on his fingers, "King Elrond, Queen Galadriel, Saruman, Radagast— aren't they all stronger than me? Why don't you go after them?"

Gandalf's face twitched slightly, forcing an awkward smile. "Queen Galadriel has exhausted her magic and is currently extremely weak. King Elrond is protecting her, Saruman is off to stop Sauron's plot and we don't know when he'll be available, and as for Radagast, he's gone to fetch reinforcements, so... you understand?"

Aaron felt as if a million alpacas were stampeding through his mind.

He thought that if the sky fell, the tall guy would hold it up, but he never expected that the tall guy would dodge even faster than him.

"Sorry, I've done enough, I don't want to take any more risks," Aaron said seriously. "You've really picked the wrong person."

No matter how capable I am, I'm just one person. Facing an army, I'll only be crushed and can't help at all.

"I don't want you to face an army head-on," Gandalf explained. "There will be a chaotic battle ahead, and I need a highly mobile warrior who can move freely between the elves, dwarves, and humans to provide timely support on the battlefield."

Gaius, you are powerful; no one is more suitable than you.

Aaron blinked, then immediately shook his head and said, "Impossible. Who do you think I am? I just want to stay as far away from the battlefield as possible."

Gandalf, to be frank with you, at this point, my choice to stay and face this with you instead of running away with my buckets is already more than enough.

"Within my power," Gandalf quickly added.

"If you put it that way..." Aaron paused slightly, "It's not entirely impossible."

Gandalf breathed a sigh of relief, and a smile finally appeared on his face. "Get some rest!"

After Gandalf left, Aaron leaned against the city wall, feigning sleep, but his attention was focused on the system's quest panel:

Defeat the orc army;

The reward for completing the task is 2000 Magic Points. There is no penalty for failure. Do you accept this offer?

"Accept it, just let nature take its course."

The next morning, as the first rays of sunlight appeared in the east.

The entire expedition team followed Thorin up the city wall, and not far opposite them were the fully equipped golden-armored elf troops and the human troops from Long Lake Town.

Thranduil, the Elf King, rode a giant stag, with Bard, a tan horse, beside him. The two slowly passed through the center of the army and arrived at the front.

Because of the agreement reached last night, Thranduil and Bard have stationed their troops in front of River Valley City, leaving a large buffer zone between them and Erebor.

"Hmph!" Thorin sneered, looking at their troops. "This is a demonstration."

"No, Thorin, that's not it," Gandalf said wearily. "They're just on guard against the possibility of an Orc army appearing at any moment."

"Really? Where are they?" Thorin said nonchalantly. "I haven't seen a single dire Warg, let alone an orc army."

Although you have reached an agreement with them, their fundamental goal remains unchanged: to seize our tribe's wealth.

"Thorin Oakenshield, can you please stop valuing gold so much?"

"Call me King," Thorin said coldly. "I am King."

Gandalf sighed deeply. He knew that Thorin was having mental problems, becoming increasingly autocratic and unwilling to listen to anyone.

With a formidable enemy at hand, the dwarves, elves, and humans must absolutely not fight.

"Has the Ironfoot Army not arrived yet?" Bilbo asked.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a black raven flew over and landed on the city wall.

"Here they come," Thorin said with a smug smile.

The sound of orderly footsteps came from the distant hillside, and a large army of dwarves slowly approached, led by King Dain riding a ferocious wild boar.

The Ironfoot Army is an elite force of dwarves, whose combat strength and numbers are no less than those of the combined forces of elves and humans.

A dozen or so dwarves on the city wall cheered loudly; the arrival of the renowned Ironfoot Army had greatly boosted their morale.

"Is this the dwarf king of the Iron Hills?" Bilbo asked. "He doesn't seem very happy."

"Dain, Thorin's cousin," Gandalf said, "Is even more... irrational than Thorin."

"I'm rather curious why he's riding a wild boar?" Aaron asked, puzzled. "It doesn't quite fit the image of a king!"

"Dain doesn't care about that," Thorin laughed. "What he likes is the boar's charge; its close-combat charge is almost unstoppable, much better than a horse."

"That doesn't matter. It's Thorin, don't forget what you promised us."

"I know, I know." Thorin waved his hand. "I'll make him try his best to restrain himself. But if the elves and humans are not sensible and refuse to withdraw their troops within two days, then there's nothing we can do."

The Ironfoot Army halted in front of River Valley City, facing off against the combined forces of elves and humans at a distance of 100 meters.

Dain looked at Thranduil, his mockery undisguised. "Morning? Is everyone asleep?"

If you're willing to give me a little time, I have a small suggestion: could you all... get out of my way?

"Get out of here, all of you! Get out now!" Dain roared, instilling a sense of fear in the people of Long Lake, whose population was less than one-tenth that of the elves.

"Calm down, Lord Dain," Gandalf called out.

Dain turned his head to look at the Grey Wizard on the city wall, "Gandalf the Grey."

"Get these beggars out of here, or I'll make them bleed to death!"

"Dwarf, there's no need for humans and elves to fight each other. The orc army is marching in here. Tell your men to keep calm."

"I cannot remain calm in the presence of elves." Dain showed no mercy, pointing his Hammer at Thranduil, "Especially that treacherous Woodland Elves, whose only wish is to bring suffering to my people."

If he dares to stop us, I'll twist his head off and see if he dares to grin like that again.

Upon hearing this, Thranduil's lips curled into a cold smile.

With a single hand raised, all the archers of the elven army drew their bows and aimed at the Ironfoot Army opposite them.

"Stop! Don't be impulsive!" Aaron shouted, then Apparition to the front of the two armies. "King Thranduil, don't forget what we said yesterday."

"I really want to resolve this dispute peacefully," Thranduil said calmly. "But you've seen Dain's attitude; he's the kind of person who's always pushing his luck. It's better to reason with him using the sword."

"The bigger picture is what matters. Think of the Gemstone, Your Majesty," Aaron reminded him. He understood Thranduil's feelings perfectly; he wouldn't be able to bear it either.

You must restrain yourself now, no matter what. You may feel good after firing this volley of arrows, but a major battle between you and the enemy will be unavoidable.

Thranduil took a deep breath, suppressing his displeasure, and restored the elven troops to their original formation.

"Who are you?" Dain asked curiously. "Which Warlock? You're not Gandalf the Grey's apprentice, are you?"

Upon hearing this, Gandalf gave an awkward laugh.

He would be overjoyed if he had such a disciple.

"Don't misunderstand," Aaron shook his head and said, "I wouldn't dare to be his apprentice, otherwise I probably wouldn't be able to live a single day without supporting him in his old age."

Dain paused for a moment, then, thinking of Gandalf's tattered gray robe, nodded almost unconsciously.

Gandalf was highly renowned, but his life was far from ideal. Taking on another apprentice would only worsen his already poor living conditions.

"Then get out of the way, or I'll kill you too," Dain said, then looked at the Ironfoot Army behind him. "Get ready, let these bastards taste our power. Form an attack formation."

"Wait a minute," Aaron said immediately, then took out a jet-black key. "I want to ask you to restrain your army, just to give it some face."

"The key? How did it end up in your hands?" Dain asked, his eyes wide.

"It was a gift from me to him, Dain," Thorin explained from the city wall. "Aaron Gaius is the dwarves' truest friend; you cannot harm him."

"Thorin," Dain, somewhat puzzled, "That key is a heirloom passed down from the Durin Family."

"It has completed its mission, and now it only represents the friendship of the Dwarves."

Dain nodded thoughtfully, his gaze towards Aaron now filled with more respect.

"Everyone, form an attack formation and defeat them."

"Wait, why are we still fighting?"

"Everyone, pay attention." Dain gave him a reassuring look and added, "Avoid the dwarf guests when you attack."

Aaron was completely dumbfounded. "You can do this?!"

Seeing the Ironfoot Army arrayed in battle formation, Aaron quickly turned his attention to Thorin.

Thorin hesitated for a moment before finally speaking, "Dain, don't rush into action."

"Why?" Dain asked, puzzled. "Thorin, when did you become afraid of the elves?"

"You know me, I have never been afraid of them," Thorin said in a deep voice. "I may not give elves any face, but I will give my friends the necessary respect."

Therefore, I've decided to give them a few days to determine if there will be an orc attack. If not, we can fight later.