When Bilbo got up the next day, the sun was still high in the sky as it had been in the past few days, sending out scorching energy towards the entire earth.

After hurriedly enjoying the food that Bion gave them before leaving, the entire expedition team hurriedly set off on the road on horseback.

Let Bilbo say that the scenery along the way is not beautiful - at least it is far worse than the rich water plants and beautiful scenery of the Shire! There are not many living creatures that can be seen, and they can only occasionally come across to look for food or

It's a herd of deer drinking water along the stream.

Sometimes, Bilbo could see the beautiful antlers of a buck sticking out of the bushes. At first, he thought they were some kind of withered branches because he didn't have much experience in the wilderness!

This boring journey lasted until the third day before things improved.

At that time, Thorin was anxiously urging everyone to speed up the journey, all because before setting off, Beorn warned everyone that they should arrive at the entrance to the forest early on the fourth day.

Perhaps it was for this reason that they did not stop their busy schedule of traveling non-stop until the moon was dimming.

By the moonlight, Bilbo seemed to vaguely see traces of the big bear in the surrounding woods.

At this time, he instinctively wanted to ask the wise wizard Gandalf for his opinion, but before he could say anything, he thought of the separation caused by the wizard leaving the team in the near future, which made him speechless for the rest of the night.

of silence.

One morning, when the sky was still dark, everyone dragged their tired bodies and set out.

When the sun rose from the horizon on time, everyone saw the gradual scenery waiting for them like a high dark wall - it was a large dark and deep forest.

The deer that could be seen everywhere in the past suddenly disappeared, and the cries of birds in the forest that could be heard were almost impossible to hear. By the time the dwarves actually arrived at the entrance to the edge of the dark forest, the forest was already like a bloody basin.

The maw-like dark behemoth revealed part of its terrifying features to everyone.

The branches of the trees in the dense forest are extremely thick, many of them are covered with burrs, and they have abnormally twisted branches, dark green leaves, and nameless vines winding on them, hanging all the way to the ground.

"We are here, ha! Mirkwood!" Gandalf raised the wand in his hand: "It is the largest forest in the entire Northeast. I only hope that your next journey will be smooth sailing. Okay,

According to the agreement, I think you can now return these ponies to their owner Beorn!"

When they heard that their group was going to return this fine pony, the dwarves who had enjoyed the life of having mounts for transportation in the past few days immediately began to complain, but the wizard warned them not to do such short-sighted and stupid things.

Weng is closer than you think. You'd better not break your trust. It's not a wise move to be his enemy.

Maybe you haven't noticed that there is always a big bear following us when we are on the road these days, especially at night, or guarding our camp from a distance under the moonlight - yes, that is Bion!

He is not only here to protect you and guide you, but also to keep an eye on his ponies. Believe me, Bion's being able to lend us our ponies is already a very generous and benevolent act. Based on this, we should not let him down.

Generosity chooses treachery!”

"What about the horse you are riding?" Thorin asked reluctantly, "Why didn't you mention sending it back?"

"Of course I didn't mention it because I wasn't going to send him back."

"Then you also made a promise to return the horses!" Hearing this, Thorin became even more reluctant.

"I will handle this matter myself. As for this horse, I still need to ride it for a long distance!"

At this point in the conversation, everyone had already guessed that Gandalf was going to part with the expedition team here. Thinking of the only wizard in the team leaving, even Bilbo, who was usually optimistic, felt a little depressed.

The dwarves tried to change Gandalf's mind, but there was no doubt that they failed.

No matter what they said, Gandalf still stubbornly insisted on his own ideas without wavering.

"As for the brief separation, gentlemen, we have discussed it in advance, haven't we?" Gandalf tried to explain patiently: "Don't try to persuade me anymore, I have more important things to be busy with! We are destined to meet again.

, everyone, maybe you will see me returning from my work in some unknown place in front of the lonely mountain!"

The dwarves listened helplessly to Gandalf's nagging several times.

With a sense of sadness, the dwarves unloaded all the supplies and equipment carried on the ponies and divided them equally among all.

It was Bilbo's turn to bear the part, which was perhaps a bit heavy.

For this short hobbit, the dwarves who are half a head or a head taller than him naturally have a much stronger physique than him - and these strong muscles are very effective in dealing with heavy materials and equipment.

This made Bilbo envious.

After doing all this, Thorin took the lead in letting the ponies free and watched them disappear on the edge of the hill. When they left, Bilbo swore he saw a big bear running away after them.

Finally, it was Gandalf's turn to say goodbye to everyone.

Bilbo leaned gloomily on the trunk of a big tree, eating breakfast with everyone while making final preparations before entering the dense forest.

As the snitch in the team, the Hobbit also volunteered to briefly enter the road near the entrance of the dense forest to take a look. Although there was nothing gained, Bilbo was still amazed by all the sights he saw.

It's always hard to say goodbye...

After breakfast, Bilbo only saw Gandalf standing up and saying goodbye: "Goodbye, everyone! Before leaving, please listen carefully and remember my warning: you must walk along the road in Mirkwood and go straight forward.

, so that you can come out of the woods safely! Remember, don’t get lost and mess around!!”

"Are you sure? Gandalf, it sounds scary when you say that!" the hobbit wailed.

"I'm very sure, gentlemen, you always need to be cautious when taking risks. This has always been the case from ancient times to the present." The wizard's voice was muffled and difficult to understand: "If you want to pass through the forest smoothly, please be patient.

Follow my warning. Otherwise, it will be an immeasurable disaster. As for Mr. Baggins, please help me take care of my dwarves. I believe you can do it." He said with a smile.

"Ah——" Bilbo then asked eagerly: "Is there any other alternative, such as going around or something..."

“As far as I know, there is no one—the safest way is to follow the path straight through the dense forest.

Please remember, Bilbo, we have long been far away from the Shire, where we are accustomed to peace. The land we are stepping on now is full of all kinds of strife and war, and no one can stay away."

"Thank you, Gandalf, your words of thanks frightened everyone!" Thorin complained angrily: "Goodbye! Take care of yourself on the way."

"Goodbye then, this time I really say goodbye!" Gandalf turned his horse's head and left with a carefree pace.

However, Gandalf couldn't help but say the last few words. Before he left everyone's sight, he turned back, cupped his hands and roared.

Bilbo could vaguely hear the wizard's voice reaching his ears: "Goodbye! In the dense forest, you must remain vigilant - and, remember my words, do not leave the road no matter what!"

After saying these words, Gandalf's figure and the horse he dismounted quickly disappeared from everyone's sight.

"Oh, how strange, Gandalf always comes and goes without a trace!" the dwarves muttered, because they really didn't want to lose him, so they were all very angry.

Now begins the most dangerous part of this journey. Everyone shoulders heavy backpacks and skins filled with drinking water, leaves the light of the outside world, and heads into the dark forest.

Due to the tight gaps in the dense forest, everyone could only form a tight row to maintain the forward momentum.

All the tree trunks were pitch black, and everything was viscerally unsettling.

Soon, the light from the entrance seemed like a distant afterglow, and the dead silence all around made their footsteps sound like a heavy drum. All the trees seemed to be listening with interest.

As their eyes adapted to the dim light, they could finally see the scenery on both sides of the road. Sometimes, there would be weak sunlight penetrating through the dense leaves and tangled branches above, and luckily shining in, giving them something to see.

There was no other light source. But this scene was very rare and soon disappeared completely.

There were black squirrels in the forest, and after Bilbo's sharp eyes adjusted to the light, he could see these creatures moving furtively along the paths or spying on them from behind tree trunks.

There were many strange noises in the trees, including grunts, scratching sounds, and rolling sounds. These sounds would also spread all the way to the tall piles of rotten leaves on the ground, but he could not see what kind of creatures they were.

Make these weird noises.

The most disgusting thing Bilbo saw were spider webs: these dense, dark webs had particularly thick threads and often stretched from one tree to another, or hung from trees on both sides of the road.

However, there were no cobwebs hanging in the middle of the road. They didn't know if this was because some kind of magic had removed them, or if there was some reason they couldn't figure out.

Soon after, the dwarves developed a very strong dislike for this forest, just like they hated the orcs' tunnels at first. Moreover, the scene before them seemed to be even more discouraging. Everyone missed the sunshine or the sky.

The scenery makes me long for the feeling of cool wind blowing on my face.

However, at the same time, they must keep moving forward. There is no air movement in the forest, and it seems that it will always be in a dark and suffocating state. Even the dwarves who are used to living in underground tunnels without seeing the light of day

, can feel this sense of oppression; not to mention the hobbit who is used to embracing nature and having outdoor picnics. He feels that he is about to suffocate to death.

Night is the worst time. The forest will become dark. This is not the darkness that most people imagine. At night here, it is so dark that you can't even see your nose. Bilbo tried waving his hands in front of his nose, but nothing happened.

Invisible; perhaps saying completely invisible is not a very accurate description, because they can see with countless eyes.

Everyone slept together and took turns to watch the night. When it was Bilbo's turn to be on duty, he would see many glimmers of light shining in the darkness around him; sometimes, red or purple or black-purple eyes would stare from not far away.

Look at them.

Then, those lights would slowly dim down, and then light up again not far away; sometimes, these lights would shine on the branches above their heads, which was the most frightening sight. However, he was the most frightened.

What he disliked were the pale, protruding eyes. "Insect eyes!" he thought, "not animal eyes, just weirdly big."

Although the weather was not very cold, they still tried to light a fire at night, but they soon gave up. The flames seemed to attract hundreds or even thousands of eyes to come closer, but these mysterious creatures always

He was careful not to expose his body to the faint light of the fire.

To make matters worse, it will attract countless black or dark green moths, some of which are almost as big as your palm. These moths will keep flying in their ears, which is really unbearable. And those

Huge bats, as dark as black top hats, floated in all directions; therefore, they finally had to give up the firelight and let the darkness engulf everyone.

For the hobbit, this difficult process seemed to be as long as a lifetime in his mind, so difficult to survive; even due to the expedition's strict food control and distribution, poor Bilbo's stomach

There was a hungry growling sound inside.

Even so, as time slowly passed, they became more and more nervous. The food would not be endless, in fact, the quantity was already somewhat insufficient.

Not only that, everyone soon faced the problem of drinking water: the drinking water they brought was not very sufficient.

What made matters worse was that during this period, no one encountered a few small flowing streams or springs - which made it even more difficult for them to replenish their already endangered drinking water reserves.

Knowing that they were going forward one day, Thorin, the leader, took the lead in discovering a river on the side of the road. To everyone's surprise, the flow of this river was not very fast, but its color was pitch black, and its entire appearance was filled with...

Danger and uncertainty.

Fortunately, Bion had warned them in advance, otherwise they would have filled their kettles immediately regardless of the color of the river water, and even drank until their bellies were filled with water.

At the moment, the members of the expedition team, who are on alert, are only thinking about how to cross the river without getting their hands and feet wet.
Chapter completed!