In the distance, two figures hidden by the Disillusionment Charm witnessed this scene unfolding.
Kael whispered to Gandalf beside him, "Gandalf, should we intervene?"
Gandalf shook his head slightly. "Wait a moment."
At the same time, the Goblin King spoke these very words. He had recognized Thorin's identity. After mocking and ridiculing Thorin's downfall, he ordered his subordinates to send word to Azog, the Orc chieftain, planning to trade Thorin for the pale Orc's reward.
"Now!" Gandalf leaped directly into the midst of the Goblins, unleashing a powerful magical shockwave that instantly overturned the cavern.
Countless Goblins, including the Goblin King himself, were all blown away by the force of the blast. Gandalf descended like a savior before the dwarves, his staff blazing with light.
"Take up your weapons and run!"
The cavern contained tens of thousands of Goblins. Although Gandalf had dealt with the first wave, they kept pouring in endlessly from all directions, their shrieks echoing through the tunnels.
The company ran while fighting off the Goblins blocking their path, trying desperately to shake off the enemies frantically pursuing them from behind.
Just then, the fallen Goblin King suddenly appeared in front of everyone, his massive body blocking their path forward.
"You think you can escape? Never!" The Goblin King angrily brandished a massive club, his face twisted with cruel malice.
Dense swarms of Goblins also surrounded them from all sides, blocking every route of escape. Everyone was instantly trapped in a desperate situation.
"Gandalf, what do we do?" the dwarf Balin asked, placing his only hope in the wizard.
Gandalf's expression remained calm, even carrying a hint of a smile.
"Don't worry, we still have backup!"
"Petrificus Totalus!"
The next second, a brilliant spell struck the Goblin King from behind. The Goblin King's fierce expression and movements instantly froze, leaving only his eyes showing terror and unease.
Kael appeared behind the Goblin King, drew Glamdring, and thrust it into the creature's lower back, releasing scorching flames that instantly burned all the Goblin King's internal organs to ash.
With the Goblin King's death, the surrounding Goblins fell silent for a moment, but then erupted in fury.
"He killed the King! That wizard killed the King! We must avenge the King!"
All the Goblins went mad with rage, filled with murderous intent and madness, surging toward Kael and the others like a tidal wave.
"Protego Totalum!" A circular barrier protected everyone and blocked the Goblins outside.
The Goblins frantically attacked the magical barrier, crawling densely over it and forming an impenetrable wall of flesh.
Seeing the Goblins unable to break through, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. However, watching more and more Goblins gathering around them, the dwarves grew worried again.
"Kael, what do we do now? They can't get in, but we can't get out either!"
"Don't worry, I have a solution," Kael reassured them.
He then pulled a potted Mandrake from his leather pouch. Since the Mandrake had matured, Kael had regularly bound it with Petrification Charms to prevent it from making its deadly sound.
Now that he had learned the Imperturbable Charm from The Book of Spells, it could finally be put to use.
Kael first cast several layers of Imperturbable Charms on himself and his companions, then released the Mandrake's Petrification Charm and grasped the Mandrake's root firmly.
The Mandrake, having accumulated so much resentment, immediately began venting its emotions frantically once the spell was lifted, writhing its ugly, humanoid body and emitting a piercing, shrill cry.
Even those protected by the Imperturbable Charm heard a harsh sound and couldn't help but cover their ears.
But the Goblins outside were directly hit by the full force of the Mandrake's cry.
Under the deadly sonic attack, nearby Goblins died instantly, while those farther away fell unconscious, dropping densely like stones into the abyss below and being crushed to pulp.
The Goblin cavern instantly fell silent, with not a single Goblin left standing.
Kael waved his wand, sweeping the accumulated Goblin corpses into the abyss, then cast another Petrification Charm on the still-crying Mandrake to quiet it again.
Only then did he remove the Imperturbable Charm from everyone.
"Alright, now we're all safe."
The dwarves stared in shock at the Goblin corpses everywhere, then looked at the humanoid plant in Kael's hand with awe.
This plant's power was absolutely terrifying!
"My goodness, what is that thing? Its voice actually killed so many Goblins!" the dwarf Balin was dumbfounded.
"Its voice was so horrible! Even through the magic, I could hear it—like a banshee's voice. I felt light-headed, as if my soul was being pulled out!" Fíli said with lingering fear. "I can't imagine what it would be like to actually hear its voice!"
"If you really heard it, you'd end up like those Goblins," Balin rolled his eyes at him irritably.
"Since this thing's voice is so powerful, when we get to the Lonely Mountain, why don't we just throw it at the dragon and kill it directly?" the youngest dwarf, Kíli, excitedly proposed.
Hearing Kíli's idea, all the dwarves' eyes lit up, staring intently at the Mandrake in Kael's hand.
Thorin was especially hopeful—if they could really solve the dragon problem this way, he wouldn't need to search for the Arkenstone to rally the dwarf clans and could directly reclaim the Lonely Mountain.
But the next moment, Gandalf gave a negative answer.
Gandalf was also very surprised by the Mandrake's vocal power, but he still shook his head.
"The Mandrake that Kael cultivated has a voice imbued with magic that can strike at the soul, making it deadly to most creatures. But for powerful beings like the dragon Smaug, his soul is extremely strong and solid. Even the Mandrake's voice couldn't kill him—at most it could severely wound him, and only if he's unprepared."
Gandalf's words were very convincing. The dwarves were all disappointed after hearing this, and Thorin withdrew his gaze from the Mandrake.
"Let's go. We should leave this place first."
"No rush," Kael shook his head, reminding them. "We haven't found Bilbo yet."
"Oh right, where's Bilbo?"
"Bilbo? Hasn't he been with us all along?"
"We haven't seen him since we were captured by the Goblins."
The dwarves finally realized this, speaking all at once.
Gandalf also frowned. "Has anyone seen Bilbo?"
The dwarves shook their heads.
"Oh my goodness, when that plant was crying earlier, Bilbo didn't hear it too, did he?" the dwarf Balin seemed to think of something, drew a sharp breath, and said in horror.
The other dwarves all widened their eyes, looking at Kael in terror.
Gandalf also looked at Kael with some concern.
Kael shook his head. "Don't worry, I made sure Bilbo wasn't here before I dared to release the Mandrake's sound."
"Not here? Then where did he go?"
Kael pointed to the abyss crevice below.
"I saw him fall down there in the Palantír."
Seeing everyone's faces change, he continued to add:
"Don't worry, he was very lucky. After falling, he only got some scrapes and was perfectly fine."
Everyone breathed a deep sigh of relief.
"Wizard Kael, next time please finish what you're saying in one breath—it's really scary!"
"I'll try," Kael replied without much sincerity.
"By the way, Kael, quickly use your Palantír to check where Bilbo is, and we'll go find him."
Kael took out the crystal ball and focused on looking into it, while the others gathered around.
"Strange, why can't I see Bilbo?" Kael frowned, looking puzzled.
The crystal ball showed the scene at the bottom of the abyss, but there was no sign of Bilbo.
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