Chapter 254: Detoxification
In the white rapids, the expedition team had no control over their direction or speed.
Borg led the Orcs in relentless pursuit on the shore, and a small group of them blocked their path, waiting for an opportunity to attack.
However, these Dwarves were all elite, hand-picked warriors, with several of them being seasoned veterans; they skillfully resolved every crisis.
An Orc tried to ambush Nori as he floated by, but Norigrabbed his weapon and dragged him into the rushing river. Another Orc stood on a dead tree bridging the river, preparing to attack Balin, but as he jumped down, Thorin's thrown knife pinned him to the tree trunk, and his weapon fell into Thorin's hands. Yet another Orc lunged onto Dwalin's barrel but was headbutted off and Dwalin also managed to acquire an axe.
After floating several hundred meters down the river, the expedition team not only suffered no losses but also acquired three axes and a knife, using this equipment to kill more than ten Orcs.
As they passed a tree bridge, a line of Orcs stood on its trunk.
The Dwarves demonstrated excellent teamwork; each person who floated past chopped at the tree trunk with an axe. After a few chops, the tree bridge broke, and the entire line of Orcs was swept into the rapids.
The most exaggerated display was from Bombur; he was speared onto the shore by an Orc, but he used his wine barrel to bounce around, crushing over a dozen Orcs in the process.
After stopping, he kicked open the bottom of the barrel, using the dilapidated wooden barrel as armor, an axe in his left hand, a knife in his right, and killed several Orcs before jumping into an empty barrel.
"Oh my goodness," Aaron exclaimed in astonishment, "Is he really a fatty? This is too agile! He single-handedly doubled our kill count!"
At the same time, Legolas and Tauriel also caught up.
The reason the expedition team had lasted until now was also because the Elves had taken on most of the pressure.
Legolas jumped onto Dwalin and Oin's heads, using their heads as footholds, continuously firing arrows at the Orcs on both sides.
His exquisite archery was perfectly demonstrated; to say he never missed a shot would not be an exaggeration.
"Gaius," Legolas's displeased voice came from the front. While shooting arrows, he still managed to find Aaronamong the dozens of barrels.
"Uh… yes?"
"I have already made a request to my father, and he will agree very soon. You should not have escaped."
Aaron gave an awkward yet polite smile, "Do you think it's meaningful to tell me this now?"
"Once it's safe, you will return with me to heal my father."
"Your Highness, even Elves must be reasonable.
You locked me up for no reason and used my personal freedom to force me into an unequal transaction. Do you think that's appropriate?"
Hearing this, Legolas tightened his bowstring, shooting two Orcs through, "The Elves will give you sufficient compensation, and you will also gain the friendship of the Wood Elves."
Aaron's eyes lit up slightly. He had already gained the friendship of the Dwarves from this expedition. If he also gained the friendship of the Elves, he would surely thrive in this world!
It seemed like he had escaped, so he shouldn't skimp on the Potions!
"Your Highness, you're being too formal.
I will heal King Thranduil, but before that, I must fulfill the Dwarves' contract."
"What contract?" Legolas asked curiously.
"That's none of your business."
"I can guess even if you don't tell me."
"I've had enough, get your foot off my head," Dwalin said angrily, "Otherwise, I'm not sure I won't chop it off."
Hearing this, Legolas stepped on Dwalin's head, then jumped onto the riverbank by stepping on the heads of several Dwarves, engaging in combat with the nearest Orcs.
He fought four enemies at once, but a fifth enemy appeared behind him, raising an axe high.
In a critical moment, Thorin threw the only long knife he had, saving his life.
Legolas looked at Thorin, who was drifting away, his expression somewhat complex. He had noticed the enemy behind him, but he didn't understand why Thorin, a Dwarf Prince who hated Elves, would save him.
While he was still confused, the last Orc slowly drew his bowstring behind him.
Ding!
The arrow shot by the Orc was struck down by an arrow shot by Tauriel. She leaped, kicked away the Orc's weapon, and then placed her dagger at his throat.
"Tauriel, wait.
Don't kill him, keep him alive."
"Chase, kill them, don't let them escape."
At this moment, Borg led dozens of Orcs in pursuit along the river, but Legolas and Tauriel were powerless to stop them, only able to watch them chase beyond the border... A few hours later, the expedition team escaped the Orcs' pursuit and stopped by a slow-moving part of the river.
However, this was only temporary; the slowing current meant their speed was decreasing, and Borg and his group would soon catch up.
Everyone disembarked in disarray. Kili, who had been enduring, let out a painful roar and fell to the ground, his right leg already stained with blood.
"Kili is injured, his leg needs to be bandaged," Bofur said, looking at him worriedly.
"A group of Orcs are chasing us; we can't stop," Thorin said.
"I'll do it! It'll only take two minutes," Aaron said, stepping forward. While the others discussed how to proceed, he walked over to Kili.
"How should I put this?
Not many people impress me, and you're barely half a person."
"Should I thank you for the compliment?" Kili said with a bitter smile.
"What are you joking about at a time like this?" Aaron's expression was serious. While bandaging, he looked at him sternly, "Not to mention the potent poison on the arrow, the blood loss alone is enough to take half your life. You might not live for more than a few days."
"Can you save me?"
"Yes," Aaron hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily, "I have a treasure I keep hidden, but I won't use it unless it's absolutely necessary.
And you and I are not yet close enough to be considered life-and-death friends, so even then, I might not use it on you."
"Then why are you saying this?"
"To make it clear, so my conscience won't bother me after you die."
Kili:... What a strange reason, but he was speechless.
"I have a teacher, and I understand some medical knowledge.
I will do my best to save you, but I only have about a fifty percent chance, as I don't know anything about this poison."
"Thank you," Kili thanked him solemnly, then looked at Aaron, "Can you tell me who you really are? For my sake, since I'm dying soon.
Don't misunderstand, I don't distrust you; we all trust you very much.
But you are too special, you know a lot, and you are very strong."
"I'll tell you when you're dead," Aaron patted his wound, and Kili winced in Pain!.
At this moment, footsteps slowly approached. A human man appeared behind everyone, aiming a bow and arrow at Ori, and the atmosphere instantly fell silent.
Dwalin grabbed a wooden stick and stood in front of Ori, but before he could act, an arrow shot through the stick.
In less than a second, he shot a second arrow, knocking the stone from Kili's hand. The next moment, a third arrow was already on the string.
Aaron felt a strange emotion in his heart as he witnessed this scene.
Do people in this world all handle cold weapons so skillfully?
It was one thing that Legolas's archery was better than his; after all, he was an Elf Prince and had received professional training.
But this man was dressed in rags, clearly from no distinguished background, yet his archery was also superior to his. It was simply unfair.
"Dare to try that again, and you'll lose your lives."
Everyone remained still for a moment. Balin secretly glanced behind the man, and his heart immediately settled.
"Excuse me, if I'm not mistaken, are you from Lake-town?
That barge over there, can we rent it?"
The man hesitated for a few seconds, then slowly put away his bow and arrow.
"Poor man," Aaron murmured.
"Anyone with eyes can see that," Kili whispered.
"No, I mean he's very short on money, extremely short on money, but he's not a bad person."
"How can you be so sure?" Bilbo asked, puzzled.
"Although he's alone, he has all the advantages of time and place. With his archery, killing a group of unarmed and exhausted people like us would be no difficult task.
Even if he killed us, our money would be his, but he still chose to make a deal with us."
"It seems… that makes sense."
The man carried the empty wine barrels onto the boat, "Why do you think I would help you?"
"Your boots are old, and your coat is shabby. You must have several mouths to feed at home!" Balin said with a familiar smile, "How many people?"
"One boy, two girls."
"And your wife, she must have been a beauty!"
"Indeed," the man paused, "When she was alive."
The smile on Balin's face instantly froze, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."
"Oh, come on, stop pretending to be a good person," Dwalinsaid impatiently.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" the man asked.
"Why ask that?" "I want to know who you are and what you're doing here?"
"We are merely merchants from the Blue Mountains," Balinsaid with a smile, "Going to visit some relatives in the Iron Hills."
The man nodded, then looked at Aaron playfully, "Don't tell me he's also going to the Iron Hills to visit relatives?"
Aaron's mouth twitched. Just as he was about to explain something, Balin interrupted, "He's going to visit a friend."
"Haha! His parents must be very trusting, to let a child trek through mountains and rivers with you."
"He ran away from home and joined our group halfway.
You also have children; you should know that children's friendships are sometimes just that… magical."
"The level of blatant lying is truly amazing," Aaron thought to himself.
"What about him?" The man then looked at Bilbo, "If I hadn't looked closely, I might not have even noticed there was a Hobbit in your group."
"He's also going to visit a friend," Balin showed his kindly smile, "Although the Iron Hills is a Dwarf kingdom, the Dwarves living there do have friends of other races."