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

Chapter 118 Disguise
The gray sky hung low, like a vast, tattered tarpaulin, obscuring all light and hope. The cold wind, like a howling ghost, streaked across the wasteland, leaving icy kisses wherever it passed.

Dain stretched out his rough hands and rubbed his face, which was red from being frozen by the ice and snow, vigorously, trying to restore some feeling to his cold skin.

His breath condensed into white mist in the cold air, and his vigilant eyes looked around from time to time.

The ground beneath my feet was covered with thick snow, so white that it was dazzling. Every step I took made a slight "crunching" sound.

Large chunks of rock are scattered across the wasteland, their surfaces covered with frost, like a layer of crystal armor, gleaming with a cold and hard luster under the gloomy sky.

Among the rocks, dead tree stumps stood like broken tombstones, their trunks long since decayed, their once stout branches now reduced to bare, cracked trunks.

"What a damn place." Dain cursed softly, his voice revealing a hint of helplessness and fatigue.

He turned his head and looked at the adjutant who had fought his way out of the encirclement with him, and asked, "Any sign of our carrier pigeon?"

The adjutant dragged his tired and heavy body and shook his head silently, his yellow-brown beard covered with ice and snow.

Dain's condition was not much better. His once gorgeous and sturdy armor was now full of dents and the once shiny paint surface was scratched and mottled.

Behind Dain followed the remnants of the dwarven army from the Iron Hills.

The remaining one hundred or so agile war sheep knights had already been sent out. They were divided into four groups and kept patrolling the surroundings, keeping a vigilant eye on the Orcs who might catch up.

The remaining dwarf heavy infantrymen were silent, taking the time to rest. They sat or lay down, trying their best to recover their bodies.

Although they didn't seem to have any complaints and there was no obvious dissatisfaction on their faces, Dain knew in his heart that the mood of these soldiers was just like the damn sky above his head, gloomy and depressed, full of depression and anxiety.

However, in addition to the morale issue, Dain knew that he would soon have to face another more realistic issue: the problem of food and grass.

That is what these people should eat next.

Dain had been leading his remaining troops in a retreat across the snowy plains towards Changhu Town for many days, and the food they had with them was almost gone.

Now they are not only physically and mentally exhausted, but also facing the threat of hunger.

Dain knew that if a solution was not found quickly, the soldiers' physical strength would decline rapidly, their combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced, and the possibility of being caught up by the Orcs would increase.

If they were really caught up by Oak again, this remaining army might not even have the chance to return to Changhu Town.

The War Sheep Knights returned one after another, but unfortunately, they brought bad news instead of good news.

There were signs of the Wargs again, and the Orcs were gaining them again.

The reason why Dain and his men were able to escape from that fierce battle was because the Orcs' speed and endurance were far inferior to those of the Dwarves.

Although the Dwarves were small in stature, each one was as strong as a hill. Their legs were steady and their endurance was amazing, allowing them to march for long periods of time over complex and rugged terrain, while the Orcs were far inferior to them in this respect.

Dain thought he had successfully shaken off the Orcs and escaped their pursuit, but in just one night, the Orcs, with their wargs' keen sense of smell, caught up with him.

However, Dain soon discovered that the number of Orcs chasing him this time was much smaller than in the previous ambush, which made him feel a little relieved. After paying a small price, the dwarves successfully defeated the Orc army and retreated towards Long Lake Town again.

However, fate did not seem to let them go.

Soon, another Orc army caught up with Dain and his men while they were resting, and another melee ensued. Although Dain and his men managed to defeat this Orc army with their tenacious will and fighting ability, Dain was no fool and immediately realized that this was Azog's conspiracy.

Azog relied on the fact that the orcs outnumbered the dwarves, and sent out one army after another to chase them in turns, not giving the dwarves much chance to rest, but making them physically and mentally exhausted.

In this way, even if the dwarves can win every battle, their physical strength and energy will gradually be exhausted over time, and they will eventually fall into despair.

Dain was certain that Azog's goal was to plunge himself and his soldiers into despair.

However, Dain soon discovered that these Orcs were not chasing them towards Mirkwood or Lonely Mountain, but were intentionally driving them towards Lake Town.

When Dain learned this, he was not impatient, but was delighted in his heart.

Because Thorin had replied long ago, explaining the situation in Lake Town to Dain in detail, letting him know that Azog was still unaware that Lake Town was still under human control.

Thorin mentioned in the letter that the guards of Lake Town were ready. They planned to disguise themselves as Orcs and lure the pursuing enemy into a trap set in advance. In this way, when Azog's Orc army reached the vicinity of Lake Town, they would mistakenly think that it was safe and would relax their vigilance, falling into the trap set by the guards of Lake Town.

Over the past few days, Dain has been trying every possible way to stay in touch with Thorin. He has released all the carrier pigeons he brought with him, as long as they can still fly, in order to not miss any news from Thorin, and at the same time let Thorin and his men know the situation on their side in a timely manner.

If Dain hadn't known that Lake-town was his own territory, he certainly wouldn't have been so willing to be driven out by Azog. Given Dain's temper and character, he would have turned back and fought the Orcs to the bitter end.

He had just asked his adjutant where the reinforcements were and how long it would take for them to arrive.

However, Dain did not have any food left.

In this icy and snowy environment, without food, the soldiers' physical strength and combat effectiveness were constantly declining. If no one came to rescue them, they would really starve to death in this icy and snowy environment. This was the outcome that Dain was most worried about and least wanted to see.

But unfortunately, what the War Sheep Knight saw was not reinforcements, but the Orc's wolf pursuers.

Just as Dain was about to order the soldiers to end their rest and continue their advance towards Changhu Town, a milky white carrier pigeon flapped its wings and landed lightly on the adjutant's shoulder armor, cooing.

Without saying a word, the adjutant quickly removed the bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's leg and handed it solemnly to Dai Yin.

Dain took the bamboo tube, opened it, and carefully read the note inside. Then he looked up to the sky and laughed loudly, "It seems that the days of those Orc scum pursuing us so recklessly are over! Pass the order down, this is the final retreat towards Changhu Town!"

At the same time, on another battlefield, Bard was leading the Long Lake Town guards disguised as Orcs.

They were wrapped in worn iron armor and animal skins. Not only were their faces tightly covered with black helmets, but even their necks, wrists and other parts were painted with black paint, deliberately imitating the hideous appearance of Oak.

From a distance, they looked almost identical to the group of Orcs that Bolger had ambushed into Lake-town, making it difficult for the other Orcs to distinguish them.

Though the mail bore traces of Orc blood, they were not noticeable against the worn iron, for Orc mail was always dirty, beset by the dust and grime of years of battle.

Therefore, the bloodstains made their disguise even more realistic.

Bard also made an elaborate disguise. His originally handsome face was now covered by an ugly helmet and painted with black paint so that his original appearance could not be seen. The tattered iron armor draped over his body made a clanging sound.

He called out again, "Say nothing when we meet the Dwarf! Pretend we are real Orcs!"

The other guards of Changhu Town who were willing to follow Bud to participate in this operation heard Bud's shout and nodded to show that they understood.

(End of this chapter)