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

Chapter 116 Are you an ally of Smaug? Azog: I think I am.

When Gandalf hurriedly left Lake Town to call the thrush, Tanis also found Thorin who was meeting with Bard and told him his speculation.

This made Thorin completely unable to sit still, and the dwarf prince growled: "My father is also in danger? Damn Azog! Why hasn't it been killed by fire and steel yet!"

Bard looked at Tanes with a serious expression and asked, "What should we do with Lord Thráin? The people of Lake-Town can't support them while also assisting Dain. Furthermore, Lord Thráin is so far away from us. By the time we arrive, the battle might already be over."

Tanis first signaled Bard not to worry, then glanced at the impatient Thorin and said soothingly, "Gandalf has gone to ask the Eagle King for help. Those giant eagles live in the Misty Mountains and should be able to reach the battlefield in time."

Thorin's thoughts were a little confused at this moment, and he could only nod: "Maybe."

Bard could also see that Thorin was a little confused because of the news brought by Tanes and needed to be alone.

So he left Thorin alone in the room and signaled Tanes to follow him out of the captain of the guard's room in Long Lake Town.

After Tanes came out, Bard got straight to the point and said, "The war has begun. Azog did not wait for our attack on the Lonely Mountain, as Thorin and I imagined. Instead, he took the initiative and attacked Dain, King of the Iron Hills, and Thrain, the returning Dwarf King."

Tanis narrowed his eyes and looked at the snow-capped Lonely Mountain in the distance. "It's not certain that Azog hasn't deployed his troops on the Lonely Mountain... I have dealt with Orcs several times before, and this time the Orcs' numbers are very wrong. They want to pin their territory on the Lonely Mountain. If you are suggesting that Thorin and I continue the campaign against Smaug, I refuse."

Bud's expression froze. This was exactly what he had thought.

He asked in confusion, "Why? We should kill Smaug now while Azog is away from the Lonely Mountain. I've also given you the Black Arrow. If you think I'll be a coward hiding in Lake-town awaiting your battle reports, then I'm willing to go with you and face Smaug's flames head-on."

Tanes patted Bard's shoulder and said gently, "I don't doubt your courage, Bard. But that's Smaug, a flying, fire-breathing, invulnerable dragon, not a beast that bleeds when struck by an arrow. Even though I have defeated many dragons before, each time was fraught with danger. Moreover, with Azog's wisdom, he would not have failed to think of this. Although I don't know the specific circumstances of the alliance between the Orcs and the dragons, Azog would certainly not leave Smaug alone in the Lonely Mountain. He must have arranged for an army of Orcs to hide there."

Bard's Adam's apple rolled a few times, and he said weakly, "If you rely on sneaking into the Lonely Mountain, then with your and your companions' strength, you can't do anything about the evil dragon in the Lonely Mountain now?"

Tanis sighed, staring at the human archer who still refused to give up, and said, "What about the Orcs on the Lonely Mountain? What if we don't kill Smaug, and he flies out of the Lonely Mountain and takes wanton revenge on the people of Lake-town? Or have you already prepared for the townspeople of Lake-town to be burned to death by fire?"

"I..." Bud opened his mouth, unable to answer.

Gandalf's voice came from behind them: "The prerequisite for sneaking into the Lonely Mountain is that the dragon is still asleep, not awake like it is now, my dear Mayor Bard. If you and Tanes and the others enter the Lonely Mountain now, it will be useless except for adding a human skeleton to the dwarf palace. The awakened dragon can sense any movement entering the palace. Let alone sneaking in, it will immediately notice even the change of the position of a gold coin."

Finally, Gandalf walked to Tanis's side and showed Bard a regretful expression: "So, the plan to sneak into the Lonely Mountain failed the moment Smaug woke up."

Bard mustered up the courage to speak to the two men in front of him, "So what should I do now? And what should the people of Long Lake Town do? Are we just going to watch Azog carry out his schemes and do nothing?"

Gandalf instinctively raised his staff, intending to strike Bard on the forehead, but in the end, he simply said unhappily, "Watch your words, Bard. What do you mean by 'doing nothing'? Tanes has sent Bernal, one of his strongest warriors, so that you can better support the remnants of Dain. Thorin has also abandoned his dwarven pride and asked for your help, requesting that you send the guards from Lake-town to assist." The old wizard paused, then said with a smile, "As for me? I've just sent birds to inform my old friends, and they will help Thráin."

Thorin ran out of the room after hearing Gandalf's words. His expression softened a little. He said to Gandalf, "Thank you for your help, Gandalf."

Bud whispered, "I just think we can't just sit there and wait for death. If Azog is really as cunning as you say, we can't just passively deal with the conspiracy it sets for us."

"Maybe Azog is not as powerful as we imagined." Bernard raised a piece of black animal skin in his hand and shook it.

Tanes was a little surprised: "Bernard? Why are you here? What are you holding in your hand?"

Gandalf narrowed his eyes. He saw the words written in black on the hide and asked uncertainly, "A letter?"

Bernard nodded and handed the black hide to Gandalf before explaining, "Yes, not long before you left, a smelly bird landed in front of the fat mayor and covered his face with this thing. I saw it had another hide tied to its feet, so I caught it. I compared them, and the black language on the two hides is different. The one in Gandalf's hand now is the one that landed on the fat mayor's face. I still have the other one with me. Here it is."

As he spoke, he took out another animal skin from his waist, which was obviously larger than the one in Gandalf's hand.

Gandalf took them and quickly read the dark language written on the two hides. He looked up, a strange expression on his face. "This is a letter from Azog to the mayor. He asks the mayor to cooperate with Bolby, who has disguised himself in Lake-town, to pretend to pick up Dain's remaining troops, and then cooperate with the pursuing Orc army to eliminate Dain and his men. The larger one is a letter from him to his son Bolger, asking him to take over Lake-town with the Orc army after destroying Dain."

"Borg? This name is somewhat familiar to me..." Tanes recalled the name from his mind, "Isn't it the name of the orc I killed at the mayor's house?"

Then his expression became as strange as Gandalf's.

Thorin asked anxiously, "What on earth are you two thinking about? Why are you both silent?"

Tanis said to Gandalf in confusion, "This, this is unlikely... Azog doesn't know his son is dead? Smaug must know about this. Isn't he Azog's ally?"

Gandalf coughed lightly, then looked towards the Lonely Mountain and smiled. "Allies? Perhaps that's just Azog's wishful thinking. Smaug's true ally is the one who escaped from Dol Guldur. It's obvious that the dragon in the Lonely Mountain regards the Orcs as less than slaves."

At this time, Smaug in the Lonely Mountain yawned, changed into a comfortable position and continued to lie in the pile of gold coins and gems.

As for the Orc that the human killed, Smaug really didn't care about that ugly and smelly thing.

In Smaug's mind, Orcs were not even as good as humans. At least humans tasted delicious, and their screams before death were pleasant to the ears.

(End of this chapter)