Being an otaku in the world of American comics

#164 - River Valley Ruins

"This is your plan? To use... uh, this chili water to disrupt Smaug's sight and smell, and then take the opportunity to find a weakness?"

In the early morning, as Arwen watched Liang Yue scooping spoonful after spoonful of chili water into the wooden bucket, she slowly approached him, her delicate face wearing an indescribably strange expression.

A mix of disdain, relief, and understanding~

"This is just an auxiliary tool in my plan. To truly implement it, I still have to rely on myself."

Liang Yue, at this moment, glanced at the little girl with an air of profoundness, a knowing smile on his lips, and then continued to busy himself.

In his plan, naturally, chili water wasn't the only thing.

The One Ring was also a very important auxiliary tool.

According to the demonstrations in the original story, and Liang Yue's own personal verification, entering a state of invisibility after wearing the Ring actually temporarily transports the wearer into a gap between the soul space and the real space.

Neither world is fully entered, but both can be affected.

In this state, not only does the wearer's physical image disappear, but also their voice and scent are concealed by the spatial membrane.

Of course, perhaps because this method of void concealment isn't complete, after wearing the Ring, the wearer is only in a sort of ambiguous state.

In essence, the physical body still exists within the material space, so if one is accidentally affected by any attack, they will still be injured.

"Will this chili water really work on Smaug?"

Thorin, watching Liang Yue's actions, couldn't help but feel a little doubtful as he spoke from the side.

Beside him, the fat dwarf Bombur was even more direct, sticking out a finger and dipping it into the residual water at the bottom of the stone trough.

Then, he smeared it on his eye socket...

"It hurts so much! I can't see! Ah! ! !"

"I'm blind! My eyes are blind! !"

"Awooo~ ~ ~! !"

...

Almost the instant he smeared this red liquid on his eyelids, the fat dwarf immediately felt a strong sense of discomfort.

The burning and stinging pain in his vital area immediately caused his legs to weaken, and he lay on the ground wailing.

The essence of over a hundred ghost peppers, combined with the spicy elements extracted from Liang Yue's home-brewed high-alcohol ale, this stimulation was definitely not something ordinary people could withstand!

Fortunately, Bombur had left himself a little leeway when courting death, and didn't directly smear the chili water into his eyes, otherwise, the burning sensation and stimulation would have been something he would remember for the rest of his life~

Watching the fat dwarf at this moment, even with the frantic comforting and suppression from his companions around him, still flopping and howling like a fish out of water.

Liang Yue couldn't help but laugh and cry, quickly waving his hand and shouting to the crowd, somewhat speechlessly.

"Quickly bring clean water to rinse him!"

...

With a splash~

After about half an hour, and consuming a large amount of clean water, the fat dwarf Bombur finally gradually calmed down.

At this moment, he was sitting on the ground with a look of utter despair, sporting a pair of red, swollen eyelids.

A pair of eye sockets that were already somewhat deformed by fat were now directly squeezed into slits by the swollen flesh, whether he could see people was another matter.

Almost everyone in the entire Elven settlement was startled by his screams and rushed to see what was going on.

After understanding the situation, when they looked at the wooden bucket beside Liang Yue, their gazes became strange.

"It seems that this thing is really effective. Once it hits, it's enough to make Smaug temporarily lose his eyes and nose."

"I don't think it's just that. Judging from Bombur's reaction just now, as long as the place is hit, it will produce a strong stinging sensation. This kind of pain will definitely make people lose their normal thinking and judgment ability."

"What about the dragon? How much will Smaug be affected?"

"Even if the effect is discounted on the evil dragon, it's already enough!"

"Hehehe~ Smaug will definitely go crazy by then, like Bombur just now."

"A crazy evil dragon is the most dangerous, but it will also give us a chance to strike!"

...

After some discussion, everyone expressed an optimistic attitude towards Liang Yue's plan.

Subsequently, in a fiery atmosphere, the dwarves ate a hearty breakfast, then packed their bags and, facing the rising sun, boarded the ferry to the other side of Long Lake.

Compared with the plot in the original story, now, because of Liang Yue's intrusion, with some reasonable operations, the expeditionary force has also won a lot of time.

So that they can now calmly rush to the battlefield~

Seeing that his persuasion was fruitless, and Arwen still wanted to accompany the dwarves to Lonely Mountain to slay the dragon, the Elven Prince Legolas still wanted to follow.

But this time, Thorin didn't compromise again, but firmly told the other party to keep the previous promise.

Liang Yue also stood up at the right time, reminding them to pay attention to the orcs. Although the battle on the river had eliminated many enemies, that wasn't all of them.

The orcs are likely to attack again, and Lake-town will be their only route…

After a period of vigorous rowing~

Soon, the group disembarked and landed on the shore of the lake, officially setting foot on this once happy land of the dwarves.

After being ravaged by Smaug, only a piece of scorched gray and scars remained in the originally lush mountains.

Even today, many years later, the mountains in front of them still looked a little desolate, and the ground was covered with gray rocks shattered by high-temperature roasting.

Because it was still early at the moment, a faint mist was shrouding the surroundings, preventing everyone's sight from seeing too far.

But after landing, the dwarves still seemed very excited, and Thorin couldn't help but speed up his pace, skillfully leading everyone forward.

After walking for several hours, they still only climbed to the outer hillside of Lonely Mountain, and the sunlight had completely dispersed the fog.

The little hobbit Bilbo was standing there, holding onto a rock, looking at the surrounding vast but lifeless land, and couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

"It's too quiet here. Apart from the grass on the ground, there's almost no life to be seen."

"It wasn't always like this, Bilbo. These slopes used to be covered with trees, and I could hear the birds chirping in the forest every day. Later, Smaug destroyed them."

The white-bearded dwarf came behind him, pinching his waist with a look of emotion and memory, his tone with a hint of sigh.

"Relax, Mr. Baggins, everything will be fine."

Thorin came to their side at this time, looking around with some emotion and said.

"It's not easy to make this mountain alive again. It's a big project, but if you can mobilize the entire dwarf clan, it's not too difficult.

In addition, you also have to plan the varieties of trees to plant. I suggest you plant more fruit trees and chili peppers. I can provide you with a batch of seeds for free~"

Liang Yue also came over at this time. As soon as he said this, everyone around couldn't help but burst into laughter.

A group of people looked at Bombur behind them at the same time. The fat dwarf was still sporting a pair of big eye bags, looking like a goldfish with bulging eyes.

However, after this period of relaxation, the red and swollen signs had gradually disappeared.

"Come and look over here~!"

Not far ahead, a dwarf suddenly turned his head and shouted to them, his tone with a hint of excitement.

Hearing this, everyone immediately ran forward and stood on a high hill, looking forward.

I saw a city quietly sitting there, surrounded by mountains.

Silent, with a bit of desolation and dilapidation.

The city was entirely constructed of stone, the houses were scattered and orderly, and the city walls were unusually strong and tall, but at this time it was like a ghost town.

Some places had even collapsed into ruins.

"What is this place?"

Bilbo looked there and asked in a low voice subconsciously.

"The former River Town, that is, the former territory of Mr. Bard's family."

The white-bearded old man explained to him from the side.

"Smaug's wasteland! The sun is almost in the center, we have to speed up, we must find the secret passage before the sun goes down!"

Thorin looked up at the sky at this time, and immediately couldn't wait to run to the valley opposite.

"Wait, didn't we agree with Gandalf to wait for him to meet us?"

"We don't have time, Mr. Baggins, if you can't enter Durin's Day before today, then you'll never want to in this lifetime! Come on!"

...