A Twist of Fate

Morgan knew what the Dwarves were thinking.

Just as Thorin Oakenshield had said earlier.

Now that the Trolls were trying to escape, there was no need for the Dwarves to risk their lives fighting them to the death.

If Morgan hadn't known about the treasure hidden in the Trolls' cave, he would have agreed with them. It would have been perfectly understandable.

But the key thing was that the cave where the Trolls were hiding held not only a considerable amount of gold and silver, but also several high Elven swords.

It was just that Morgan had no way to explain this to the others.

The Cross Longsword Morgan was using now was still the most ordinary iron sword the original owner had brought from Fero Town, where he'd served in the Town Guard.

He had wanted to replace it with a longsword for ages.

Over a month ago in Hobbiton, when Gandalf took him to sell the Giant Bear, he had wanted to buy a new sword, but he hadn't had enough money.

Now several high Elven swords were waiting for him in the Trolls' cave.

How could Morgan possibly resist?

It was like a computer enthusiast wanting an Alienware, a motorcycle fan wanting a Kawasaki, or a car lover dreaming of owning a Lamborghini or a Ferrari.

Now Morgan, who loved swords, was just as powerless to resist the allure of a high Elven longsword.

"Does this mean I'll have to handle it alone after all?"

The last Troll, and the largest of them, was breaking through the Dwarves' encirclement and was about to run into the depths of the forest.

The thought came to Morgan's mind again.

He had shot and killed two of the three Trolls. Only the last one remained.

If he really had to take it on alone, killing it would be a little troublesome, but definitely not too difficult.

The problem was that killing it would be easy.

Claiming the treasure and swords in the Trolls' cave for himself would be easy, too.

The hard part was explaining to the Company how he'd gotten the high Elven swords.

He couldn't exactly say he'd found them lying on the road.

Morgan wanted to earn everyone's trust, and that would help with his plans later.

Things were going well so far, but if he suddenly produced an Elven sword without being able to explain where it came from, he might ruin that trust. It wouldn't be worth it.

Damn it!

Morgan was annoyed, and then he noticed that the rain around him had eased considerably.

He looked up at the sky and saw that it had brightened as well.

The early-autumn downpour had been raging for almost an hour. It probably wouldn't be long before it ended.

And with the Trolls causing all this trouble, once the rain stopped, Thorin Oakenshield would surely have the Company set out again at once.

"Forget it. I'll worry about whether I can use them later. First, I'll kill that Troll and claim the treasure and high Elven swords in its cave!"

"At worst, I'll bury them and mark the spot, then come back for them when I have time."

Just as Morgan was making up his mind,

and the last Troll was on the verge of escaping into the depths of the forest,

a dazzling burst of white light suddenly flared up in front of it.

The Troll's face twisted with terror. It covered its eyes and roared as it hurriedly stumbled backward.

But it was so huge that it backed up too fast. After only a couple of steps, it fell heavily onto its backside.

Thump!

The ground shook.

The Company's attention was still fixed on the Trolls.

When Morgan saw the sudden turn of events, his face lit up with delight.

He grabbed his longbow and immediately ran after the Troll.

Just then, the one responsible for frightening the Troll stepped out.

He wore a gray robe and a pointed gray hat, and held a wooden staff.

It was Gandalf, the wizard who had left earlier.

Seeing the Dwarves still standing there doing nothing, Gandalf immediately shouted, "That's a Stone Troll. These creatures are extremely vengeful."

"What are you standing around for? Waiting for this monster to come chat with you tonight?"

As soon as Gandalf finished speaking, Thorin Oakenshield snapped back to his senses.

"Quick! Get in there and keep it busy. Give Morgan a chance!"

Thorin's expression changed, and he roared.

The Dwarves finally reacted, rushing toward the fallen Troll.

The Trolls, who were extremely afraid of light, had been terrified just moments ago.

But when the Troll realized it was unharmed, it quickly came around.

However, the huge, powerful creature stood nearly five meters tall. Having fallen to the ground, it couldn't get back up in a hurry.

Before it could rise, Morgan had already rushed over.

The enormous creature was right in front of him, struggling to get back to its feet.

Morgan immediately scrambled up a nearby tree and climbed quickly to the middle of the trunk. He hooked his feet around it, leaned out to the side, held his bow in one hand, and pulled an arrow from the quiver on his back with the other.

Before, he had always focused on using a single arrow against these Trolls.

This time, Morgan pulled out three.

He quickly nocked all three arrows. His gaze settled on the hulking Troll, growing focused and unfathomably intent.

Morgan hadn't even made his move yet.

The Troll was struggling, on the verge of getting to its feet.

At last, the Dwarves arrived.

Thorin Oakenshield spotted Morgan hanging from the tree, bow drawn and aimed at the Troll. He immediately roared:

"Quick! Get in there! Don't let it stand up!"

As he shouted, Thorin charged forward first and drove his sword hard into the thick lower leg of the Troll as it shakily rose.

The Dwarves right behind Thorin noticed Morgan, too.

They surged forward, crowded around the Troll, and raised their various weapons, stabbing and smashing wildly.

Enough ants could kill a person.

And the Dwarves were far stronger than ants.

Their many attacks immediately wounded the giant Troll's legs. With one of its crucial legs injured, its enormous body could no longer rise.

Its legs buckled, and with a thunderous crash, the Troll fell to the ground again.

"Damn it!"

"You damn little turnips!"

Menbo was furious. He immediately swung his huge hands at the Dwarves around him.

Those annoying little turnips! Once he got up, he would swallow them alive.

Menbo had noticed the human archer in the distance—the one who had shot and killed his brothers, Robb and Kuibo—aiming at him.

So instead of trying to get up, he raised one hand to shield his eyes and began turning in place.

Menbo believed that as long as his eyes weren't hit, the human archer couldn't do anything to him.

Morgan calmly aimed at the hulking Troll. He didn't draw his bow in haste, nor did he let his guard down just because the Troll was covering its face.

He was waiting for the perfect opening, the kind that would let him kill the Troll with a single shot, just as before.

He believed his companions would create that opportunity for him.

At the very moment the Troll was about to turn around, Gandalf finally acted again.

He quickly approached the Troll, then raised his staff high.

Whoosh!

Dazzling white light burst forth in front of the Troll once again.

Aagh!

The Troll screamed. Its body jerked backward, and it desperately twisted its huge, bald head to one side.

"Now!"

The instant the Troll panicked and forgot to shield its eyes,

Morgan seized the chance and released the bowstring with his fingers.