Hearing Bud's unkind tone, Carl was not very angry because he knew that the man in front of him was indeed a rare... good thing.
This guy not only cherishes righteousness but also has a strong will that can resist the temptation of Lonely Mountain's wealth.
Even in the original timeline, in order not to let Long Lake Town suffer from the destruction of Smaug, he risked his life to go into the sea of fire, took the only remaining black arrow, and boarded the wind crossbow, just for that ray of hope-- The courage to kill the dragon.
This is a legendary human, and that's what Carl gave him.
However, at this moment, this legendary man was standing in front of him, and said to him with a serious face, "I can't resist the dragon with the power of mortals?"
Thinking that in the original timeline, the dragon was killed by Bard, Carl felt a little funny.
Sure enough, if people are not driven to a desperate situation, they will never know how much possibility and how powerful they are hidden within themselves.
After thinking about it, Carl said to Bud:
"Everything is unknown; how can we assert it out of thin air?"
"Of course, whether you want to accept this situation or not, we will go to Lonely Mountain, and you can't stop it."
Carl told the truth: "However, you don't have to worry; we will assure you that everything you are worried about will not happen, and Long Lake Town will not be destroyed because of it. On the contrary... it will usher in a new life!"
Carl said, suddenly turning his head to look at Thorin, who was beside him, with an inexplicable meaning in his eyes. He smiled and said, "Is that right, Thorin?"
Thorin was silent for a while, then met Bud's gaze and nodded hesitantly. "Of course, yes, Long Lake will return to its former prosperity."
"Are you worth my trust?" Bud turned to Carl again.
"Well, I always say one is one," Carl laughed.
The two looked at each other in the air, and for a long time, Bud finally got discouraged.
He still didn't believe Carl's words, but, like Carl said, he had no ability to stop these things from happening.
He knew his mayor too well, and knew Alfred too well. With these two greedy guys in existence, he could no longer dissuade the residents of Long Lake.
He only hoped that, when the time came, the death of these dwarves... would quell Smaug's wrath.
…
The next day, with the enthusiastic eyes of the residents of Changhu Town, the crowd slowly drifted to the other side of Changhu Lake.
Once they stepped on solid ground again, everyone's mood became happy again.
Dwarves are born with an inexplicable passion for soil, so they don't like life on the water very much.
Everyone stood on the edge of the riverbank, stopped, and looked into the distance.
Crossing the Long Lake is a lonely mountain. It's not a joke. Looking up at this moment, in the distance, where is a towering mountain that stands out of shape?
The area on the Lonely Mountain side has not experienced any chaotic wars since Smaug occupied it.
All living beings have consciously avoided this place, so this place seems to have become a "clean" place.
The dwarves didn't waste much effort, and after walking for half an hour, they came to the foot of the mountain.
On the way, they encountered a ruined town. The town was baked by the fire, but the city embryo of the year was left.
Everyone can recognize that it is Hegu Town, but now it is empty.
"What should we do next?" At the foot of the mountain, everyone was lost.
They hadn't been back here for a long, long time, and the terrain had changed too much after the war, so they couldn't find out where the city under the mountain was buried.
Carl smiled and said, "When the thrush is beating, standing beside the grey stone, the last ray of light of the Turin day will shine on the shrinkage hole."
"Haven't we already consulted Elrond? As long as we find the gray stone, we will find the entrance to the mountain gate."
Following Carl's reminder, everyone came to their senses, turned around, and left, and began to spread out, looking for the so-called "grey stone" in the language.
It didn't take long before Bilbo's excited cry suddenly came:
"Here! Come on, I found it! Here!"
Bilbo's body was flexible, and he didn't use much effort. He had already climbed half of the mountain's veins, but finally found the so-called "grey stone".
Everyone stopped their movements when they heard the sound, climbed up excitedly, and got close to Bilbo.
Halfway up the mountain, on a sunken platform, a gray stone wall was standing in front of everyone. Although the surrounding area was covered with grass, it still couldn't conceal the color of the huge gray stone.
"This is Greystone?" Groin turned his head and looked around. "Where is the entrance?"
"Idiot, didn't you say it? The last ray of light on the Turin day will shine on the shrinkage hole, and it must be discovered when the sun is about to set."
Thorin also suddenly said: "Tomorrow is the day of Turin. We only need to wait until tomorrow night to open the gate of the underground city."
At this moment, Thorin couldn't help feeling a little excited. It's not easy; all this is too easy.
However, now, they are finally standing in front of the gate. As long as they wait until tomorrow night, everything, everything in the underground city, will be displayed in front of them again.