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

Chapter 430 Whose Reinforcements?
Thus, the orcs and dwarves were locked in a stalemate at the east gate of Moria, neither side able to gain the upper hand. The dwarves were blocked at the east gate by the orc army's war machines, and any dwarf who tried to cross the line was met with fierce resistance. Similarly, the orcs were unable to break into the heavily guarded halls of Moria.

Thus, an almost bizarre stalemate ensued. The orcs outside couldn't get in, and the dwarves inside didn't intend to leave. Coincidentally, both sides had ample supplies. The orcs had the Misty Mountains at their backs, while the dwarves could enter and exit at any time through the West Gate of Moria. The two sides remained deadlocked here.

……

"Tsk! Moria is quite lively!" Roland sat in a wicker chair, looking at the magic recording stone in his hand. This thing was brought back to Roland by Caslo when he went out to scout. It recorded the fierce war between the orcs and dwarves.

"Yes, it's quite a scene. The two sides are clashing fiercely with their war machines, but now that the dwarves have retreated into their bunkers, those war machines are almost useless." Caslo shook his head.

"The orcs didn't risk their lives to fill the gaps?" Roland asked in surprise, after all, the orcs' human wave tactics were virtually invincible.

"They tried to fill it a few times but couldn't anymore. Thorin's dwarven army is not so easy to deal with." Caslo smiled. The orc corpses were already piled up at the gates of Moria. If they stubbornly charged in again, they would be brain-dead.

"The dwarven reinforcements from Dain and the Blue Mountains haven't arrived yet?" Roland found it hard to believe. After all, dwarves are known for their resilience, and it was quite a miracle that no dwarven reinforcements had arrived after so long.

“Dain’s army has just crossed the upper reaches of the Anduin River. They are numerous and heavily armored, so crossing the river will be very slow…” Caslo shook his head and smiled wryly.

"They didn't go through the Beorn's territory?" Roland raised an eyebrow. Were they that stubborn?
"That's bad, the orc reinforcements will probably get there before them..." Roland said with a worried expression.

"Do we need to join the war?" Caslo asked Roland.

"What are you referring to as participating in the war?" Yun Feng, who was listening nearby, twitched at the corner of his eye and asked back with a dark face.

"Are you planning to fly there with the kingdom's soldiers or just fly there alone?" Yun Feng sneered. For a dragon knight to attack an area with a large number of heavy attack vehicles was tantamount to suicide. Yun Feng didn't think Caslo's dragons could ignore heavy crossbows.

"..." Caslo was speechless. After all, there was really no good way to help the dwarves. Moreover, the mountainous area greatly reduced the dragon knights' killing power. After all, the dwarves' hometown was nearby, and Caslo and the others couldn't just use a dragon language curse. If they accidentally buried the gate of Moria, that would be a big problem.

"Let's wait and see. It's already difficult enough for us to protect the North. We don't have the time or the ability to go to Moria and cause trouble!" Roland waved his hand, setting the tone for the matter. Mainly, Roland really didn't want to get involved.

Right now, all Roland wants is to protect the Lonely Mountain area and get the system reward troops, isn't that better? Why bother going all the way to Moria to get killed? Just for a bizarre death? Even the system has defined it as the second Battle of Azanubiza. Roland knows the tragic history of the Battle of Azanubiza. Although the dwarves have the defensive advantage this time, there is no doubt that both sides will still fight to the death.

"Pay attention to the movements in the north. The Dolgodos in the south are preparing to support the orcs in the Moria region. They probably don't have the guts or ability to provoke us, but we must be wary of those bastard orcs in the northern wastelands!" Roland said to his men as if he had just remembered something.

"Yes, sir!" The crowd quickly accepted the order.

……

Compared to the Kingdom of Lagrang, which was spying on the battle, the elves of the Golden Forest were much more pragmatic. When they discovered unusual activity among the orcs of Dolgodom, Lorian's elven army immediately deployed along the river, showering the orcs preparing to cross with elven arrows. Large numbers of orcs, sporting eerie, unruly hairstyles, lay dead in the river. If a figure named Sun Tzu were present, he would surely marvel at how skillfully this "ambush while crossing" tactic had been executed in another world. The heavily wounded orcs immediately retreated, sheepishly taking a detour upstream to cross the river. After all, the orcs didn't want to further provoke the elves; they were already engaged in full-scale warfare with the dwarves, and the addition of the elven kingdom would only exacerbate the situation. And if the elves brought their "shadows"—humans… emmm… well, let's just forget about it and start a new alliance war!

The situation described above was so dire that even Sauron was terrified, let alone the Ringwraiths... The orcs, having been soundly defeated, slunk across the Anduin River from the southern part of the Gradden Plains, continuing their journey in silence... Meanwhile, Dain, leading his Iron Cans, was also panting heavily as they advanced towards Moria. It must be said that a long-distance raid is a technical feat for dwarves, and even if the Iron Cans were running at full speed, their short legs would be utterly useless in this situation...

While reinforcements from both sides were on their way, the main characters were having an exceptionally "fun" time...

"Attack!" The orc leaders commanded the catapults to attack the east gate of Moria, intending to smash open the stone wall of the east gate. After all, the entrance to the east gate was not enough for the orcs to deploy their superior forces. The orcs hoped to widen the gap to make their attack easier.

"Whoosh!" The stone was flung up rapidly by gravity, whistling as it was thrown high into the air.

"Crack!" The stone hit the stone wall outside the East Gate and shattered into pieces. It only knocked off a few layers of plaster and some rubble. After all, how could a thick stone wall be collapsed by just a few stones?
"Fire! Fire!" Thorin commanded his soldiers to turn the dwarven crossbows and fire at the orc catapults to suppress them.

The two sides exchanged blows, creating quite a spectacle, but it was mostly all bark and no bite. After several rounds, the orcs wasted a lot of stones, and the dwarves also used up a lot of arrows...

"Stop! Stop! Stop!" Thorin rushed forward and pushed the dwarf, who was frantically pulling the crossbow, away. This guy really knew how to waste arrows. Even though they had the Moria mines behind them, they still needed to be careful with their arrows. Who knew how long they would have to fight the orcs...

"Boom~Boom~"

The earth trembled slightly.

"Huh?" Dvalin quickly lay down on the ground and pressed one ear tightly to his side.

"A large army is coming from the north!" Dvalin shouted as he stood up after carefully discerning the situation for a few seconds.

"Are you sure?" Thorin asked quickly.

“Yes! The footsteps were very heavy!” Dvalin exclaimed excitedly.

"Is it Dain's army?" Thorin slammed his right fist into his left hand, spinning around excitedly.

"Hey! Thorin! Calm down!" Balin, still very weak, walked over leaning on a wooden stick.

"Bahrain! You need to rest!" Thorin quickly helped the old dwarf up.

“Don’t forget, those who came from the north… weren’t just our own people!” Bahrain shook his head meaningfully.

"..." Thorin was taken aback, then the excitement in his eyes slowly faded.

(End of this chapter)