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

Chapter 142 Death of Azog

Just as Gandalf finished speaking, Smaug's scream before his death reached everyone's ears.

At the same time, Millicent came to Tanis, glanced at Thorin and the others, and said to Tanis: "Smaug is dead, General Latarn has won."

She spoke quietly, but loud enough for everyone around her who had quieted down after the dragon's roar to hear.

Before Tanes could say anything, Thorin excitedly looked at Fili and other dwarves behind him and said, "Azog's greatest support is dead! Today we will definitely use its blood to commemorate our fallen compatriots!"

Then he looked at Tanes again and said impatiently: "Tanes, do you think this decapitation operation is a waste of life?"

Tanes' expression also relaxed. He shrugged and said, "Change of plan. Prepare to wipe out the roots!"

Tanes then turned to look at Millicent and said, "Since Latarn has successfully dealt with Smaug, there is no need for you to keep an eye on them. Join us in helping Thorin capture Azog."

Millicent smiled and nodded, "Of course."

Bilbo, who had been nervously watching Tanis and the others, hesitated for a moment. He suddenly looked up at Gandalf, his Adam's apple rolling slightly. "Perhaps...perhaps I should witness the final chapter of this journey to the Lonely Mountain with my own eyes? Please take me with you."

Bilbo's voice was very soft, as if he was asking himself a question, yet he made every syllable clear and audible.

Gandalf twirled his beard but hadn't spoken yet when Thorin took action again.

He came up to Bilbo on his war-ram and slapped the hobbit on the thin shoulder, laughing, but Bilbo did not stagger as he had done before.

"Bilbo," said Thorin, "I thought you said you wanted to write a book about this journey. But you are already a part of the story. When you have dipped your quill into the ink, you need only add two words: Thorin Oakenshield slew Azog in the Lonely Mountain."

When he had said this, he looked at Bombur and signaled him with his eyes to blow the horn.

Bombur immediately understood and puffed out his round belly, taking a deep breath like a bloated frog, and only blew into the horn when his cheeks turned purple.

“Woo↓Woo↑——”

Amid the trembling sound of the horn, Thorin called upon Fili and the others, and rushed out of River Valley Town like an arrow.

Tanis glanced at Gandalf and Bilbo, circled Torret's reins twice in his palm, and said, "I'll wait for you to catch up," then rushed out of the Valley with Millicent.

Seeing that Gandalf didn't say anything, Bilbo cautiously poked his head in and asked, "Uh, Gandalf?"

The next moment, he was lifted onto the horse by Gandalf. He heard the wizard's angry voice: "I regret letting you come to Lonely Mountain. I don't know when you learned the stubbornness of the dwarves!"

At this moment on the Lonely Mountain, Azog's eyes suddenly contracted, and his pupils reflected the remains of Smaug falling like a landslide.

It couldn't believe that Smaug died outside like this.

Amid the sound of the dragon's body falling, Azog suddenly gripped the wolf reins, and his knuckles made a crisp sound like popping beans.

There was a rare hint of panic in its eyes, but it was quickly brought under control, and none of the surrounding orcs noticed Azog's situation.

Then Azog noticed that after Smaug's fall, the gates of Dale Town burst open again, and a small group of cavalry composed of humans and dwarves pierced through the smoke and rushed straight towards Lonely Mountain.

At the same time, almost all the catapults and crossbows in the valley town were helping this cavalry team to deal with the Orc army that tried to block them from both sides.

Immediately afterwards, a beam of azure light suddenly appeared from the cavalry squad, and wherever it passed, the snow evaporated and the ground cracked.

The orcs didn't even have time to raise their shields before their twisted bodies fell apart in the glow. Several wargs that rushed in front of the team and tried to attack the cavalry squad turned into ashes without even a howl.

It's that human wizard!
Azog's pupils shrank, and he immediately realized that this mixed cavalry team of humans and dwarves was here to take his life.

Knowing his Orc soldiers well, Azog knew they would be unable to withstand the onrush of this cavalry squad.

"Stop with all your strength..."

Azog's thoughts raced, and he abruptly stopped the urge to order the Orc army to stop the human wizard.

No, no, ordering these rubbish away won't stop that human wizard. Instead, it will expose my position and let them know that I'm powerless.

Even in this extremely bad situation for Azog, it still remained calm and thought about the chance to escape successfully.

Just half a minute later, Azog came up with a solution.

It narrowed its eyes, looked at the Orc messenger beside it, and shouted to him, "Pass the order, the entire army quickly retreats to Lonely Mountain and defends the hall to the death!"

"Okay, master." The Orc messenger didn't think much and immediately went to convey Azog's order.

Then Azog looked at the other Orc messenger, gave him a sly smile, and whispered seductively, "Do you wish to survive this war?"

The Orc messenger was stunned. Although he didn't know why Azog asked him this question, he knelt down in fear and replied, "I will not run away, Master."

Azog kicked him and said, "Coward, I'm asking you if you want to live!"

"Let me think about it..." the other party replied nervously.

Azog took the initiative to help the other man up, and his tone became even more friendly: "Very good, you go find the wolves, choose a white wolf as your mount, and then leave here from the west of the Lonely Mountain with my most elite Orc wolf riders."

The Oak messenger was confused. "Leave here? But didn't you just order us to hold on? I, I won't run away!"

"Idiot! That's because without them guarding us, how can we escape while the humans and dwarves are distracted? Now go find the wolf, or I will throw you off the Lonely Mountain!" Azog threatened.

The Orc-herald instantly rose from the ground in terror and made his way to where the Wargs were.

Azog watched the Orc messenger walk away, then turned his gaze to the battlefield that was in chaos due to the retreat order and sneered.

The Orcs first saw Smaug fall, then received Azog's order to retreat, and immediately realized that they had lost the war. From now on, if they ran slowly, they would die.

Therefore, after receiving Azog's order, even the best-equipped Orc soldiers ran back in disorder, and even began to attack the weak comrades around them who were hindering their escape.

Some Orcs saw that they could not retreat to the Lonely Mountain in time, and they even began to flee in other directions in order to survive.

And what Azog wanted was this kind of disorder and chaos. Even if these Orc soldiers retreated in an orderly manner, the war was already lost. It was better to let the battlefield be in this chaotic state, so that Tanis and Thorin who were rushing straight to the Lonely Mountain would be stopped by the large number of Orc soldiers running around.

Azog looked at Tanes and Thorin who were getting closer and closer, his teeth gritting, and his eyes filled with hatred and unwillingness as he deeply engraved their faces in his mind.

"When darkness once again descends upon the Lonely Mountain, I will brew mead from your skulls and sew banners from human skin. Then, you will kneel and beg me for the mercy of death!"

Then it turned around and left the spot, walking quickly towards the lonely mountain.

Whether it was the Orc army that it ordered to retreat to Lonely Mountain, or the wolf riders who escaped from the west of Lonely Mountain, they were all baits that allowed it to escape successfully.

Thorin's Frostshell Axe froze a group of Orc soldiers who had stumbled into their cavalry squadron in panic. After catching his breath, he called to Tanes beside him, "Tannis, the battlefield is too chaotic right now! It's really hard for us to advance! Can you use that spell you just cast again?"

Tanes nodded slightly: "Yes, but I can only use the remaining magic power once more."

Thorin grinned, "That's enough!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Tanes used [Comet Azrael] again, and wiped out all the Orc soldiers who were fleeing in a straight line in front of him.

When the nearby Orc soldiers saw this scene, they were so frightened that they rolled and crawled, threw away their weapons and armor, and moved away from Tanes and his men.

"The road is clear, speed up the charge!" Thorin lifted the reins, and the war sheep ran even faster.

Fili and the other dwarves also hurriedly picked up speed, following their uncle. Gandalf, though with a sullen expression, rode silently, speeding up to catch up.

Tanis, with Millicent on his back, made it easy for Torret to catch up with Thorin. He shouted beside him, "This order to retreat was obviously given by Azog. He intends to let these Orcs stop us! But I think Azog definitely did more than just give such an order. Do you see the Orcs on the walls of Lonely Mountain? They intend to defend the palace inside to the death."

Just as Thorin looked up at the gate of the Lonely Mountain Palace, the sharp-eyed Kili beside him shouted a warning: "Pay attention to the Lonely Mountain, on the west side! A group of wolf riders are sneaking out!"

Bilbo, who had been hiding in front of Gandalf, heard Qili's shout and quickly looked up. He said hesitantly, "Yes, there is indeed a group of wolf riders fleeing... Wait, one of the wargs is white!"

"A white warg? That's Azog's mount! I knew this cunning Orc scum wouldn't sit still and wait for death in the Lonely Mountain! It actually used the entire Orc army of the Lonely Mountain as its scapegoat! Turn around and let's chase after it immediately! Those wargs are not as agile as the war sheep in the mountains!" Thorin roared immediately.

But when Bilbo waited a moment, he saw that neither Gandalf nor Tanis turned their horses.

Thorin noticed this as well and turned around to ask, "Tanis, Gandalf, what's wrong?"

Tanes frowned and said, "Azog is so cunning. Would he really let himself escape in such a position that we could easily find him?"

Gandalf nodded silently in agreement with Tanes' words.

Thorin also calmed down a little, but his tone was still a little anxious: "What if Azog is taking advantage of your and Gandalf's overthinking way of thinking and really escapes in that wolf rider?"

Tanis said without hesitation, "Then we'll split up and chase! You, Fili, Kili, Gandalf, and Bilbo will continue to chase into the Lonely Mountain. Let Millicent, Balin, Dwalin, and the others go to the west of the Lonely Mountain to chase the wolf riders."

Thorin didn't hesitate and agreed immediately: "Did you hear what Tanes said about grouping? Let's split up! Be careful, I want you to die drunk in the Lonely Mountain!!"

The cavalry squad split into two groups. Millicent nimbly leaped from Torret's back and landed lightly on Balin's war sheep, causing the old dwarf to breathe a sigh of relief. "A wonderful performance, ma'am."

Millicent replied calmly, "Thank you for reserving space for me, too."

After Taneth and the others separated from Millicent, Thorin spoke up, "How are we going to find Azog when we get to the Lonely Mountain? You know, there are many Orcs in there now. If we can't find Azog in time, we might be overwhelmed by them."

"When Jerion and Dain see the Orcs retreat, they will surely send out their orders to pursue them. We don't have to worry about being isolated and helpless in the Lonely Mountain. The only thing we have to worry about is that Azog will escape before we find him."

As Tanes said this, he looked behind him and saw that the Red Lion Legion and the Dwarf Army in River Valley Town were rushing towards Lonely Mountain.

Thorin nodded. "Then the question comes back again. Where in the Lonely Mountain will Azog escape from? Perhaps he will escape through a dwarven secret passage that I don't know about!"

Bilbo, who had been listening to the conversation, suddenly said, "No, Azog will definitely not escape through the dwarfs' secret passages! He wouldn't dare to bet on whether we know those secret passages and will intercept him at the exit in advance."

Thorin asked, "Where will it go then?"

At this time, Tanis and Thorin happened to be passing by Ravenhill. Bilbo looked at the collapsed Ravenhill and an idea suddenly occurred to him. He shouted hurriedly, "Those giant bugs! They are earthworms! Azog will definitely escape through the tunnel created by the earthworms! Only this one is not a secret passage dug by the dwarves!"

"Great! My dear Snitch! You are worthy of being a Hobbit who likes to live in a cave!" Thorin praised.

At the bottom of the Lonely Mountain Palace, Azog came alone to the place where the worms originally rested.

It pushed the door open carefully, noticed the bodies of the orcs killed by the human soldiers who had invaded before, and walked in after confirming again and again that there were no other humans guarding here.

Azog looked at the underground tunnels that stretched in all directions and chose one of them without hesitation.

But before Azog could breathe a sigh of relief, he suddenly heard the faint screams of the Orcs from the direction it came from, followed by the increasingly loud sound of hooves.

"Azog!!!"

Thorin arrived at this place before others with a roar full of anger, and then the war sheep jumped up from the steps and landed steadily on the ground. Azog's surprised pupils met Thorin's eyes burning with anger.

"call out--"

The sound of a bow and arrow broke through the air. The moment Kili saw Azog, he bent his bow and shot, hitting Azog in the right shoulder, making the Orc roar in pain and anger.

"Gandalf and I will help you block the Orcs outside! Deal with him, Thorin!!!" Tanis's shout also reached Thorin's ears from above, making him whisper "thank you".

When Azog heard that neither wizard would come down, a sinister smile flashed across his lips.

Then it dodged the three throwing knives thrown by Fili, broke the one left on its shoulder with force, looked at Thorin and grinned sarcastically: "Without your wizard friend, you are nothing, Thorin, you can't even take revenge on me alone."

After seeing Azog, Thorin seemed to calm down, but he was breathing heavily with excitement, and his eyes looked as if he wanted to eat the other person.

Fili and Kili stood beside Thorin, glaring at the culprit who had caused the dwarves years of suffering.

Seeing that Thorin did not make any move, Azog continued to try to use words to make Thorin lose his composure, so that he would rush towards him alone in anger.

Azog was confident that he could seize the opportunity to defeat the mad dwarf and capture him alive in exchange for a chance to leave safely.

So Azog deliberately approached Thorin little by little and said in a mocking tone, "Are you wondering why I gave up the Lonely Mountain so easily? Why are my elite troops so small? And why are there only two earthworms attacking Raven Hill?"

Thorin suppressed his anger and asked calmly, "Why?"

Azog was very satisfied that Thorin cooperated with him, so he took another step forward and put his good hand behind his back to hold the hilt of the knife.

It squinted its eyes and calculated the distance between itself and Thorin, saying, "That's because they attacked your father's army, Thorin Oakenshield! Your father should have died in Dol Guldur. The prey my master has decided to kill cannot escape! Calculating the time, your father should be trapped under some broken rock right now, crying out your name!"

Thorin stared at Azog with his eyes trembling, and Azog sensed the hesitation in Thorin's heart, and stepped forward with force, while drawing a knife from behind and swinging it.

"Snapped!"

But a stone suddenly hit Azog's head from nowhere, and before he could react to the pain, his eyes met Thorin's sneer.

Wait? He wasn't swayed by my words?
Before Azog could react, he felt his legs enveloped by a bone-chilling coldness, and then his entire body knelt right in front of Thorin.

No, it wasn't a feeling, but Azog's legs were really frozen to the ground.

Thorin slowly raised the Frostshell Axe in his hand and placed it on Azog's neck. He looked up at Bilbo, who had hidden behind an Orc corpse, and nodded slightly. "Thank you, Master Baggins."

Azog felt the cold and stinging pain from the axe blade on his neck and shouted in panic: "Wait, Thorin Oakenshield! I didn't lie to you! I really ordered an elite army to ambush your father again! As long as you let me go, I can order them to give up the attack."

But in Azog's vision, Thorin just slowly raised the Frozen Shell Axe, his eyes looking at his neck as if thinking about how to cut off his neck in one go.

Meanwhile, Thorin said to Azog, "Where do you suppose those soldiers who invaded the Lonely Mountain and caused you to plot against Smaug have gone?"

Varied……

Before Azog could figure out why Thorin thought that a hundred-man team could save Thráin, he felt a sharp pain in his chest, making him cry out in pain.

“Ahhhh! Lord…”

Thorin's pupils reflected the black blood surging in Azog's chest. The frost of the Frozen Shell Axe spread along the broken bones, condensing the splattering blood into black ice crystals.

A hoarse curse came out of Azog's broken throat, but it was completely extinguished the moment the Frozen Shell Axe shone down.

The dull sound of the axe blade cutting through the cervical vertebrae mixed with the sound of ice breaking. When the pale beast head rolled to the frosty ground, Azog's frozen and ferocious eyes seemed to be looking somewhere in the south of Middle-earth.

Thorin's boots stepped on the head, crushing the last half of the word "master" into ice chips.

In 2940 of the Third Age, Azog the Defiler died at the hands of Thorin Oakenshield, Lord of the Lonely Mountain.

At this point, the dwarves of Durin returned to their homeland after one hundred and seventy-one years.

(End of this chapter)