Chapter 018: Extraordinary Weapons

Wang Bo certainly would not refuse, even if the elves had done something dishonorable in the past.

For instance, the elves of Mirkwood had once formed an alliance with the dwarves of the Lonely Mountain, pledging to stand together through thick and thin.

When Smaug took the Lonely Mountain and the dwarves were all routed, the elves heard the news and rushed over, but upon seeing the dwarves' defeat, they simply withdrew.

That was rather inexcusable.

Wang Bo admitted that at the time, with the dwarves defeated and the Lonely Mountain fallen, it was understandable that the elves did not want to join in and sacrifice their lives in vain. Any king who cared for his people would not want to see them die needlessly.

But you couldn't just walk away like that, could you?

At the very least, you could have sent some elves to rescue people, couldn't you?

You didn't need to confront Smaug head-on; just rescue the surviving dwarves, or shelter the wounded and provide them with treatment—that would have been acceptable, since you had signed a treaty.

But the Elvenking, Legolas's father, did nothing at all and simply left.

That was truly disheartening.

No wonder the dwarf prince Thorin Oakenshield held a grudge over this matter, not forgetting it even after decades—it was a complete betrayal of the alliance.

It was utterly dishonorable.

Although the elves had acted dishonorably, since they wanted to establish relations with Wang Bo, he would not refuse. After all, the elves had betrayed the dwarves, not him.

Moreover, he had no intention of forming an alliance with the elves.

It was merely establishing diplomatic relations.

Of course, the main point was that the elves also possessed excellent forging craftsmanship.

Wang Bo remembered that in the plot of The Hobbit, Thorin Oakenshield, Bilbo, and the others discovered three very fine weapons in the trolls' cave: Orcrist, Sting, and Glamdring.

All three swords bore inscriptions that even Gandalf could not decipher, but he was certain they were not made by trolls, nor could the humans of this region forge such blades nowadays.

Later, when they rested in Rivendell, Elrond read the inscriptions and explained the swords' purposes and original owners.

It turned out they were all creations of the First Age elves.

Thus, it was evident that the elves also possessed extraordinary forging craftsmanship.

In particular, these three weapons were magical; whenever orcs approached, they would emit light to warn their wielders.

Therefore, Wang Bo was willing to establish relations with the elves, hoping to purchase some very fine items from them.

Legolas did not know Wang Bo's thoughts, but upon hearing that Wang Bo was willing to establish relations with his kingdom, he was very happy. Ever since they learned that a mysterious wizard had defeated Smaug and taken the Lonely Mountain, the elves of Mirkwood had been uneasy.

Because the Lonely Mountain was too close to Mirkwood.

If this mysterious wizard, with Smaug, intended to expand his territory, the first to bear the brunt would be the dwarves of the Iron Hills and the elves of Mirkwood.

Thus, the elves, who were never tense, held several meetings over this matter.

They discussed how to deal with this mysterious wizard.

In the end, the elves decided to do nothing and continue observing the Lonely Mountain's movements. If the other side intended to expand, they would have to contact other humans or elves.

For example, the elves of Rivendell.

However, the elves of Mirkwood soon discovered that the new King under the Mountain had no intention of expanding his territory; instead, he had established relations with the dwarves and seemed content with the Lonely Mountain.

So they relaxed, observed for a while longer, and then dispatched Legolas and some elves to meet the King under the Mountain, intending to establish relations and eternal friendship.

Although Legolas was a prince of the elves, he was still very young and had not experienced many major events. His father entrusted this task to him, which made Legolas very nervous.

He was only a few hundred years old—not a child, but still very young and inexperienced compared to elves with rich experiences.

Therefore, he was very worried that he might mess things up.

Fortunately, Wang Bo was easy to talk to.

So he did not fail in his task; instead, he succeeded, which was why he was so happy.

Wang Bo welcomed Legolas and the elves into the Lonely Mountain and discussed the details of establishing relations with them in detail. Finally, on the second day, they settled the specifics.

Legolas, on behalf of his father, signed a contract with Wang Bo.

From now on, the Lonely Mountain and the Woodland Realm of Mirkwood were friendly nations.

Therefore, when Wang Bo proposed purchasing several high-quality magical weapons forged by elves at a high price, Legolas did not refuse but readily agreed.

However, he did not have these weapons with him and planned to bring them during the next transaction.

Wang Bo agreed.

But as for when the next time would be, Wang Bo did not ask. However, elves were long-lived; their next transaction, barring accidents, would likely be measured in years.

Wang Bo himself was also long-lived. Although he did not plan to stay in this world for long, he had a portal that allowed him to return at any time, so he was not in the least anxious.

After seeing off Legolas Greenleaf, Wang Bo dispatched some mechanical soldiers to cross the Misty Mountains and search for nearby trolls.

Because while entertaining the elves, Wang Bo suddenly remembered the three swords hidden in the trolls' cave.

Orcrist, Sting, and Glamdring.

Wang Bo wanted to obtain these three weapons.

But he was well aware that this might be very difficult, as he had no idea where the trolls' cave was, only a general direction. Finding the cave would be like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So Wang Bo did not hold out much hope.

If found, he would be delighted; if not, it didn't matter.

After all, he had already established relations with the elves, and sooner or later he would obtain fine weapons from them, which in terms of power should not be inferior to these three.

Moreover, Wang Bo still had many dwarves. Now these dwarves were becoming increasingly skilled at forging weapons with vibranium, producing one superior weapon after another.

He believed it wouldn't be long before they forged extraordinary weapons.

Now that his strength had reached such a level, his standards had become extremely demanding. Ordinary weapons, no matter how fine, no longer interested him.

Only extraordinary weapons could catch his eye.