I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 112 Bad News

When Tanis heard Thorin's words, he said in surprise, "Is this really what Bard has decided? And do the townspeople of Lake-town agree with Bard's determination and are willing to fight for him? You know, we will not only face Orcs next, but also the dragon of the Lonely Mountain."

Thorin smiled and nodded. "Yes, not only you, but even I was surprised. But Bard said that they, as descendants of the residents of Riverdale, had fled to Lake Town. They had worked so hard to build this town. If they continued to flee, where else could they escape to? So Bard decided to fight with us. After hearing Bard's speech, the people of Lake Town, at least at the time, all supported Bard very much."

Tanes raised an eyebrow: "So you actually don't think highly of the people of Long Lake Town?"

Thorin suppressed his smile and sighed, "Of course, since many of these humans are not qualified warriors, it's already very good that Bard and his men can gather 800 soldiers with combat capabilities."

Then he shrugged again: "But having an ally is better than having no ally at all. Perhaps the people of Long Lake Town will help us when we least expect it."

Tanes thought for a moment and said, "My army will arrive within a month. What about you dwarves?"

Thorin replied, "During the day, while you and Gandalf were away, I received a message by pigeon from the Iron Hills. Dain said he would soon arrive at Lake-town with 5000 fully armed dwarf heavy infantry, 20 chariots, and 300 war sheep riders. What about you?"

He paused, then said with some anticipation, "While I believe you, Miss Millicent, and Mr. Bernal are enough to defeat a thousand men, if it were your army, I think we would have a better chance of winning this battle against Oak."

Tanes smiled, then patted Thorin on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry, Thorin, the helpers I brought are to help you take Lonely Mountain back from the Orcs."

Then Tanes changed the subject and said to Thorin seriously, "But there is one thing I must tell you in advance. If the war drags on and becomes a protracted war, I will consider withdrawing my troops depending on the situation."

Thorin took a deep breath and replied sincerely, "Of course, I understand your decision. In fact, the fact that you told me this in advance is already far superior to those human kings."

Then Thorin came to the window in the hotel corridor and pushed the wooden window open a palm-width gap. The night wind, as cold as a blade, immediately rushed into the room.

He subconsciously raised his face, letting the cold wind scrape across his nose like the rough tongue of a snow wolf, feeling the biting cold.

Thorin then closed the window and turned to Tanes, saying, "Now, we only have to wait for the Dwarven coalition led by my father to cross the Misty Mountains so that we can attack the Lonely Mountain and reclaim our home."

Tanes also gave his blessing: "I hope so."

But unfortunately, the opposite happened.

A week later, jackdaws flew across the leaden sky of Long Lake Town. The seventh dawn did not bring the expected sound of the Iron Hills Horn.

When the carrier pigeon with disheveled feathers and dark brown blood stains on its breast fell into Thorin's palm like a puppet with its strings cut, the burning pine branches in the fireplace suddenly burst into a crackling sound.

Because this should have been a snow-white messenger, but now it looked like a fragment of a battle flag fished out of a pool of blood.

"It's Dain's carrier pigeon..."

Thorin's Adam's apple rolled as he squeezed out broken syllables, and something cold crawled up his spine.

All the dwarves in the house noticed the abnormality of the carrier pigeon. After Thorin took the letter tied to the pigeon's leg, Ori carefully held the pigeon in his hands and started to treat this diligent carrier pigeon.

The white-haired Balin no longer had a kind smile on his face. Instead, he came to Thorin with a slightly anxious look on his face and looked at the letter with him, which was also stained with dark red blood.

Dwalin also stood over in silence. When Thorin raised his eyes from the letter with a trembling hand, the reliable dwarf warrior asked, "What does the letter say?"

The other dwarves in the house also pricked up their ears. Thorin was silent for a moment, handed the letter to Balin, and then without saying a word, hurriedly rushed out of the guest room, rushed out of the main door of the inn, and ran towards the mayor's house where Tanis, Gandalf and others were currently living.

After reading the contents of the letter, Balin collapsed to the ground.

Duvalin asked his elder brother impatiently, "Balin, what did the letter say? Tell us now!"

Balin's face was pale, and a wry smile pulled at the corners of his mouth, making him look like he was crying. "Dain and his men were ambushed by Azog's Orc army on their way to Lake-town, suffering heavy losses. Dain is currently leading the remaining troops in a retreat towards Lake-town, and he hopes we can send support."

Three days ago, outside a valley pass between Iron Hills and Changhu Town.

In a rugged mountainous area, the mountain road, which is not very wide, is lined with rocky slopes covered with ice and snow.

Dain Ironfoot, the leader of the Iron Hills, was riding on the back of a strong and well-behaved wild boar. He was wearing plate armor specially made by the dwarves of the Iron Hills. The armor was engraved with flames and goat totems, and the joints were inlaid with copper rivets.

He had a face as weathered as a chiseled one, and a thick reddish-brown beard that cascaded down to his waist, braided in bundles with mithril rings.

Despite his barbaric appearance, Dain possesses a cunning and strategic mind. If one underestimates his intelligence simply because he's a rough-and-tumble dwarf, they'll be greatly disappointed.

Because Dain the Ironfoot is not only a brave general who charges into battle, but also a ruler who is well versed in political games.

Behind Dain Ironfoot, and behind him, was the dwarven army from the Iron Hills.

The 5000 fully-armored dwarf heavy infantrymen were like a mobile steel fortress. They were stocky and muscular, wearing heavy plate armor, with wide visors covering most of their faces, revealing only a pair of fearless eyes.

More importantly, the movement speed of these dwarf heavy infantrymen was not slow, but even very fast, as if they were not wearing metal armor but light leather coats.

In the formation of the dwarf heavy infantry, the 20 dwarf chariots are like steel behemoths.

These chariots were made of solid oak, with the bodies covered in thick iron sheets. The wheels were huge and sturdy, making dull sounds when rolling over the ground, and even the earth was shaking.

The chariots were equipped with huge crossbows. The crossbow arrows were as thick as a child's arm and had sharp arrowheads that could penetrate the enemy's defenses from a hundred steps away.

On the flanks of the army, 300 war sheep knights were like a surging torrent.

The war sheep were sturdy and thickly haired, their horns sharp as knives, gleaming with a metallic sheen. The dwarven riders on their backs wore the same heavy plate armor as the heavy infantry, but the war sheep paid no mind to their heavy loads, treading the rugged mountain roads as if they were flat ground.

"At this rate, haha, we'll be able to meet Thorin and the others in another week!" Dain laughed heartily and said to the dwarf adjutant beside him.

The wild boar he was riding seemed to sense his master's joy and hummed, as if echoing Dain's optimism.

The adjutant nodded, then narrowed his eyes and gazed at the white valley pass not far away. He respectfully suggested to Dain, "Lord Dain, I think we should send out scouts to explore both sides of this pass."

Dain showed no sign of refusing. Instead, he laughed even louder. "Haha, you are right, and it should be so. I received a letter from Thorin, which mentioned that the commander of those Orc scum was none other than Azog, who deserved to be damned long ago. This Orc is different from his fellows, and he is extremely skilled in the use of troops. Now that we are approaching the Lonely Mountain, we must be extremely careful."

As he spoke, Dain also looked towards the snow-capped valley in the distance and said in a deep voice, "Send the order to stop the army. Don't just send one or two scouts in. Have all the War Sheep Riders directly scour both sides of the valley. Kill any Orcs they encounter on the spot. Leave no one alive!"

The moment the adjutant heard the order, he straightened his body and gave a crisp, dwarven salute. He then turned and locked eyes with the nearby messenger. His voice was loud and urgent: "Messenger! Blow the horn and halt the march! Then immediately convey the order to the War Sheep Riders! Everyone, carefully search the slopes on both sides of the valley pass. Kill any Orcs you encounter, leaving no one behind!"

When the dwarf messenger heard the order, his body tensed up reflexively. He straightened his chest and shouted, "As you command!"

Without any delay, he took the horn from his belt.

Then he put the horn to his lips, took a deep breath, and blew it hard.

Suddenly, the low and heavy sound of the trumpet echoed throughout the army, penetrating the air and reaching every corner.

When the dwarf soldiers heard the horn, they obeyed the order and stopped marching in unison.

As the tone of the horn began to change, the originally low and heavy sound suddenly became rapid and high-pitched, as if urging the war sheep knights to speed up their pace.

When the War Sheep Knights heard the changed horn sound, they immediately understood the new instructions.

They began to readjust their formation, leaning forward slightly.

As the horn continued to sound, the war sheep knights began to charge, and their speed became faster and faster.

On either side of the valley pass, the rocky slopes were covered with thick snow, which shimmered brightly in the sunlight.

The War Sheep Riders charged towards these hillsides, like arrows from a bow, rushing towards the snow-covered rocky slopes on both sides of the valley pass ahead. Their hooves left deep marks on the snow, and every step splashed snowflakes, like white fireworks dancing in the air.

If there were any Orcs lurking on the hillside at this moment, they would surely be smashed to pieces by the War Sheep Riders.

However, even when the War Sheep Riders returned from the other end of the valley, they still could not find any trace of the Orcs.

In this snowy valley, it is difficult to find the footprints of animals, let alone orcs.

After listening to the War Sheep Knight's report, Dain nodded slightly and said in a deep voice, "Keep moving forward."

"Yes, sir! All troops, continue marching!" the dwarf adjutant shouted loudly, and the messenger beside him blew the horn.

The dwarf army from the Iron Hills marched forward again. The footsteps of thousands of soldiers gathered together, causing the earth to tremble slightly.

The dwarf heavy infantry, clad in heavy armor, marched ahead with firm steps.

Behind them, thirty dwarf chariots slowly followed.

As for the War Sheep Knights, they displayed amazing mobility and adaptability, just as they had done when searching the hillside before, running quickly and steadily on the rugged snow rocks as if they were walking on flat ground.

Dain stepped into the pass and looked up at the snow slopes on both sides that were trampled into a mess by the war sheep riders, and couldn't help frowning.

The adjutant noticed something was wrong with Dain's expression and asked with concern, "Master Dain, what happened?"

Dain shook his head, the tension between his brows easing slightly. He said, "Perhaps I'm overthinking it. The War Sheep Riders haven't found any trace of the Orcs, which means the valley is safe for now... However, I still want to remind the soldiers to remain vigilant and be prepared at all times. Every step we take from now on could lead to us falling into a trap set by Azog."

The adjutant nodded in acceptance and whispered a few words to the messenger.

The messenger then blew the horn. After hearing the horn, the dwarf soldiers quickly took off the tower shields on their backs, hung them on their arms, and held the steel spears tightly in their other hands.

That way, if they were ambushed by Orcs, the Dwarves could react quickly and launch a powerful counterattack.

Until they were about to leave the valley, Dain and his army did not encounter anything unusual, which made Dain, who had been tense all the time, finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Then, he looked out at the vast snowy plains ahead and shouted, "Everyone, pay attention! Continue to advance with vigilance! When the sun is about to set, we'll choose a place to set up camp and rest!"

"Huh!"

The dwarf soldiers responded to their king with powerful voices. The uniform and loud shouts made the earth tremble violently.

Dain had a smile on his face, but when the dwarves' shouts gradually faded away, the tremors of the earth did not subside, but became more violent. This made the smile on Dain's face disappear instantly and his expression darkened.

He felt the ground beneath his feet shaking violently as if there was an earthquake. At the same time, something made a loud rumbling sound, and the sound was rapidly approaching his army.

"Run! Those who are still in the valley, leave immediately!"

Dain immediately roared, and the dwarf soldiers who were still in the valley quickly obeyed the king's orders. They no longer maintained their formation, but ran out of the valley at the fastest speed.

However, the dwarf infantry could still run at high speed, but the dwarves who originally pushed the chariots had no way to make the chariots speed up.

However, although the dwarven infantry could run swiftly, the dwarves who were originally responsible for pushing the chariots were unable to make the chariots move faster.

It’s not that these steel behemoths are slow. In fact, they are also pulled by war sheep, and their movement speed is no less than that of the war sheep knights.

But the front of the chariot was crowded with soldiers who had not yet run out of the valley, so the dwarf driving the chariot naturally could not run over the bodies of his compatriots.

"Roar--!"

"Crack-!"

The rocks on the ground were arched up by some huge creatures. There were more than one of these terrifying worm-like creatures, and the rocks were crushed into pieces in their mouths.

Their appearance also caused the collapse of the valley. The dwarves still in the valley could only watch in despair as the huge rocks fell on them. None of the thirty dwarf chariots were spared and were all submerged in the valley.

Dai, in anger and shock, slowly spoke the names of the creatures that attacked him.

"Earthworm..."

(End of this chapter)