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

Chapter 427 Clash of Blood and Fire

"Attack!" Under the command of officers of all ranks, the dwarven soldiers advanced steadily and in an orderly fashion. They were like ancient, silent mountains; though they did not utter a word, their mere presence was enough to resonate powerfully! These were the strongest dwarves!

"I, Thorin II, King of the Mountain, will lead the dwarven army to once again defend our homeland of Moria!" Thorin drew his longsword and raised it high, the Beastbite Sword gleaming brilliantly in his hand.

"Crack!" Several chilling explosions suddenly rang out in the sky. The dwarf's anti-arrow crossbow successfully collided with the orc's heavy crossbow in mid-air. Accompanied by flying wood chips and fragments, the first wave of heavy weaponry clash between the two sides came to an end.

"Thud!" The sharp, heavy dwarven sword slashed down from above, and as the blade swept across, several orcs were instantly disemboweled, their steaming organs and entrails spilling onto the ground, where orcs were struggling in their death throes!

Yes, when Thorin led the Lonely Mountain dwarf army to clash with the Misty Mountains orcs, he discovered that the orcs were not very strong. As the two sides began to fight hand-to-hand, the entire orc vanguard was cut down like wheat, and a single charge made their formation chaotic.

Soon, to the orcs' shock and fear, the dwarven army charged directly at them. With mournful howls, the orc vanguard was quickly divided and driven away by the dwarves. In fact, the whole process went so smoothly that Thorin felt it was unreal...

"Are these all weaklings?" Thorin wiped the blood from his face and asked doubtfully. The fighting power of these orcs was the complete opposite of their previous imposing presence. They started off as a dark, imposing mass, but now they were being overwhelmed and beaten so badly by the dwarves!

In fact, this was thanks to the Dragonhawk Knights. The harassment over the past few days had exhausted the few remaining strength of the orcs. In addition, the repeated attacks on Moria were thwarted, and the entire orc army was somewhat demoralized...

"By Turin! I did not see the flag of Gambada Fortress! This is impossible! It could only be the orcs from the Orc Kingdom of the Misty Mountains. They could not possibly attack Moria so recklessly!" Dvalin came to Thorin's side while hacking at the orcs, and shouted the news to Thorin in the noisy battlefield.

"They've got tails dangling behind them! They want to be the fishermen, and so do we! Cheer up! Deal with these orcs! Our mission is to relieve Moria! Leave the rest to the Blue Mountains' forces and Dain of the Iron Hills!" Thorin laughed heartily, then cleaved an orc in two with a single blow before addressing Dvalin loudly.

Thorin knew that once the raven carried the news to Middle-earth, no one of the Turin's descendants would remain calm; the dwarves could not bear the pain and shame of losing Moria twice! Thorin knew his people were on their way, and they would not lose this battle from the very beginning!
……

"Dain! Raven's message! Thorin is already fighting the orcs outside Moria! The orcs have suffered heavy casualties, but they have blocked the valley entrance, and Thorin and his men cannot enter Moria for the time being!" A dwarf handed Dain a letter that he had taken from Raven's leg.

"My brothers are amazing! How did they manage to run so fast? Damn it! What is Thorin doing? How did they get blocked by the orcs?" Dain said helplessly, holding the hastily written letter. The letter was stained with orc blood, indicating that the place where the letter was written must not have been very pleasant.

Thorin was actually protesting his innocence. The battlefield was only so big; Thorin couldn't possibly send all his soldiers every time. That would have been a nightmare for the orc commander, as the dwarves' hope would quickly turn into a weary army… Thorin divided his forces into three groups, taking turns charging the orc army. For an orc army of this size, a thousand-man dwarf unit was more than enough, especially with the support of war machines from the rear. Fighting orcs was like fighting baby monsters. However, the orcs had also deployed their heavy siege equipment. Those heavy crossbows were already a nuisance, but they were no match for the small catapults carried by the ogres. Now, almost all of the dwarves' casualties came from these heavy machines… In battles aided by weaponry, adding more soldiers wouldn't be beneficial; it might even cause unnecessary casualties.

……

"Forward! You vermin! Speed ​​up! Get to Moria before two sunsets! Those damned dwarves are waiting for us to crush them!" The orc lords and commanders brandished their whips, shouting orders to their soldiers as they drove them out of Gombada Fortress. From the sky, the orcs of Gombada Fortress could be seen as a black torrent, sweeping southwards... At the same time, on the eastern road, a group of dwarves carrying large and small bundles were also advancing eastwards with their heads down. Among them were elderly blacksmiths, young warriors, and young children... These were the last remaining dwarves of the western world. Upon hearing the news of Moria, they had all put aside their work and gathered from the Blue Mountains!

……

“The dwarves have gathered; this is a perfect opportunity to wipe them out!” Amoraso said in a hoarse voice, clenching his fist.

"Dolgado is far from ready to join the war!" Senar said in a deep voice.

"Are you afraid, Cernar?" Amoraso sneered.

"Heh! You're going to deal with the dragon riders of the Kingdom of Lagrang? If you can't beat them, then shut up! Don't forget that dragons can't just bring one person! If you want to be ganged up on by those high-ranking professionals from those kingdoms, then go ahead!" The soul fire in Sernar's eyes flickered, indicating that he didn't want to deal with this idiot. Any Ringwraith appearing on the battlefield would turn into a major war sweeping across the North, and Sernar didn't want to be chased by a group of dragon riders in the wilderness!

"..." Amoraso was speechless.

"Alright, how many troops can we must send? At least we should support our colleagues at Gambada Fortress!" Khamur set the tone, deciding to send only ordinary orcs to join in the fun, mainly as companions.

“Gathering 5000 people shouldn’t be a problem!” Sernar shook his head. After all, these orcs were more fertile than pigs and easier to raise, making them perfect cannon fodder!
"Then let them go!" Khamur waved and disappeared into the darkness.

……

"What's the situation outside?" Balin struggled to grab a female dwarf who was passing by in a hurry.

"Your Highness, our situation is dire! Although the Dragonhawk Knights are holding them back, the Moria garrison... is almost wiped out..." The dwarf wiped away her tears in grief.

“Ah…” Balin was stunned for a moment, then burst into tears.

My family is traveling these few days, so updates will be irregular. Thank you for your understanding.
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(End of this chapter)