The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 425 The Second Battle of Azanubiza!

Outside the east gate of Moria, the first dragonhawk knights to arrive were already locked in battle with the orcs outside the gate, their scorching dragon breath and orc crossbow bolts clashing through the air...

……

What Roland didn't know was how drastically the course of history he altered had gone astray, triggering a war that never existed before—perhaps the last glorious war of the Third Age dwarves—the Second War of Azanubiza!
The regular dwarven army led by Balin is far superior to the self-funded expeditionary force in history. With the addition of dwarves from the Blue Mountains and other regions joining them, this branch of the Moria dwarves has grown stronger and is no longer as weak as in history. This allows them to stand proudly at the East Gate of Moria despite the onslaught of the orc army. To this day, half of the East Gate Hall is still under dwarven control!
What's even more remarkable is that the current king of the mountain is Thorin! Thorin, often called the orphan Thorin, is honestly a good king. Though a bit reckless, he truly steps up when needed! And look… three thousand armored warriors have already set off…

King Dain of the Ironhills was also mobilized. As one of the Dwarf Kings, he had to answer the call of Thorin, the King of the Mountain. The 1200 Ironfoot soldiers were a formidable force in the world!

Not to mention the Blue Mountain dwarves brought by the ravens. It's estimated that the entire Blue Mountain dwarf population may have migrated towards Moria. It seems they either defend Moria or die outside of it...

When the dwarves of Turin gather all the strength of Middle-earth, this clenched iron fist will be enough to make Mordor tremble...

……

"Speed ​​up! Bahrain needs us!" Dain waved his arms, followed by the Iron Legion, a mighty torrent of steel!
Thanks to the Ironhill Dwarves' long-term peace and stability within the Ironhills, they faced virtually no external enemies except for the Wildlands Orcs, allowing them to thrive. In terms of both training and equipment, this army of dwarves was arguably the last elite force among dwarves! In fact, it was this brave and tenacious Ironfoot army that held back the Eastern Barbarian army during the War of the Ring, enabling Irubor to survive the war!

……

"Where is King Balin? I am the Dragonhawk Grand Knight! Commander Yad of the Dragonhawk Knights!" Pushing aside a group of dwarves, Commander Yad anxiously searched for Balin with his short legs.

“Hey! General!” Oli pulled him over.

“Commander Eurydine? That’s great! Where is the King of Balin?” Yad asked hurriedly.

"Bahrain has been severely injured, and we need potions and magic potions to save him!" Ou Yin's face turned pale.

"Oh! By Turin!" Yad rushed forward to carefully examine Bahrain's condition.

"Damn it! Is this how you protect a dwarf king? Have all his personal guards died?" Yad's face was grim. In his perception, Balin's ribs were mostly broken. Although he had been simply immobilized and bandaged, his life was still in danger at any moment.

"The situation is urgent, we have no other choice! Go out and open your eyes! How many of those poor soldiers are left? We had nearly 700 men at the beginning! And now?" Ouli and Ouyin stood up angrily, glaring at Yad.

“If it weren’t for those warriors risking their lives to hold back the orcs outside, Moria would have already fallen! Look at the mountains of corpses piled up in the hall! We can only clear out our own people’s bodies; we haven’t even had time to clear out the orcs’ corpses!” Oli pointed to the doorway. “Cough cough… battle…” Perhaps the noise of their argument woke Balin. The old dwarf squinted and waved his hand in the air, muttering battle mantras as if countless enemies lay before him…

"Oh! Beard! He has a fever!" Ou Yin quickly brought a damp cloth and covered Balin's forehead with it.

“They won’t stay silent for long! Your dragon breath can never stop the orcs’ greed for this place…” Oli shook his head and said to Yad, patting Yad’s shoulder with helplessness and weariness in his eyes.

Yad silently watched his dwarf brethren busily working on the pile of corpses. They walked with faltering steps, yet their figures seemed incredibly tall!
“Commander… what should we do! The orcs outside are stirring! Dragonhawks are not suited to fight in such a confined space!” The other dragonhawk knights found Ad and said to him.

“We can’t stay here. The orc army could block the gate at any moment. We can’t just sit here and wait to die! The Sky Knights need to take off! It would be troublesome if those bastards blocked the gate with heavy crossbows!” Yad frowned. After all, the Dragonhawk wasn’t a dragon. Its scales were much finer than a dragon’s. They could withstand ordinary arrows, but to stop the terrifying armor-piercing heavy crossbows… it was better to ask the great dragon kin for help.

"Go! Leave the cave immediately and go outside to hold off those bastards!" Ad made a quick decision, calculating that Thorin should be able to crawl over by now! As the dwarf king who could reclaim Moria with just a small squad, Thorin's efficiency was exceptionally high!
……

At this moment, Thorin, whose thoughts were being ignored, was leading his men on a difficult trek across the Graton River. The group of dwarves trudged through the mud on the riverbank, occasionally slipping and sinking into the mud, only to be quickly pulled back by ropes tied around their waists. To be fair, these landlubbers were indeed in a sorry state crossing the river. Seeing their dusty and panting appearance, Thorin could only wave his hand and tell them to wash off the mud on the riverbank before preparing to cook a meal.

"Tsk! So many days have passed, the speed is too slow!" Thorin grumbled in dissatisfaction, while gnawing on a piece of jerky that looked no different from a rock.

"Oh, my King of the Mountain! Stop being picky. How can so many people possibly go fast... It's not like the Lonely Mountain Expedition, where a large army's food and supplies are the same as a small group's back then." Dvalin pointed to the warriors who were trudging along on their legs. Thank goodness those warriors were already considered elite for keeping up with Thorin's relentless pace. If they were any faster, they wouldn't even need to fight; they could just go and serve Turin on the spot.

"Bahrain can't handle this, they need rescue!" Thorin sat by the campfire with a worried look on his face.

“The Dragonhawk Knights have already gone ahead; perhaps they have stabilized the situation…” Dvalin advised Thorin to think of things in a positive light.

"I hope so..." Thorin remained noncommittal, only his eyes flashing with deep worry.

……

Is the situation really as they suspected? Did Bahrain and his forces truly gain control of the situation with the help of the Dragonhawk Knights?

The answer, of course, is control—what a load of rubbish! The dragonhawk riders' faces began to change color as the orcs brought out heavy crossbows...

(End of this chapter)