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

Chapter 673 Corpse Pile
"Form ranks! Descendants of Turin! The devils are attacking!" Balin said solemnly, gripping the Axe of Turin.

"Elves of Rivendell! Banish the darkness!" Lind said in a deep voice, watching the slowly approaching orc heavy infantry.

"For Lagrange! For our homeland! Men of King's Landing! Arise!" Apophis Breo's roar roused the fighting spirit of the Lagranges!
Everyone scrambled to their feet at the command of their generals. They knew tonight would be the night that would decide the fate of their territories; if they held on, all would be well; if they couldn't, everything would be lost...

However, Balin and Lind were not too worried about Apophis Breo's situation, since they had both noticed the forbidden scrolls around his waist, many of which contained the aura of powerful forbidden spells.

"Duke... calm down!" Lindra pulled Apophis Breo aside. He was really afraid that Apophis Breo would start using forbidden spells to cleanse the land before the battle even began! Although forbidden spells are useful, many of them leave behind magical residue on the spot. If there is no human intervention to remove it, the impact on the land can last for at least several decades! It's on par with Earth's nuclear bombs. Otherwise, why would it be called a forbidden spell?

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Apophis Breo nodded to show he understood. After all, these were the family's assets, and he certainly wouldn't be so foolish. He was only taking them out for emergencies. Judging from the war clouds, he knew some stupid Ringwraiths were coming. Apophis Breo thought for a moment and figured it was probably the Fourth Ring, Amorazo, since the other two Rings were useless... To prevent the Ringwraiths from acting desperately, he not only took out offensive forbidden spells but also defensive forbidden spells!

……

"Roar!" The roars of dire wolves and trolls echoed in the night as groups of dark figures slithered toward King's Landing fortress.

“They’re here!” Apophis Breo roared at Lind.

"Fire!" Linde immediately ordered the rangers to unleash a barrage of arrows. A series of explosive sounds filled the air as arrows pierced the orcs' bodies, causing secondary damage as bone fragments and flesh flew everywhere. Even the arrows that missed were equally dangerous; although they didn't directly hit the orcs, the archers' Explosive Arrow skill would cause them to explode… Each arrow could take the lives of several orcs, and in an instant, the night became a graveyard for them…

"Raise your shields!" Balin glanced at the elves behind him and could only order his soldiers to raise their shields high above their heads, since these short, iron-clad men couldn't protect the elven rangers behind them without raising their shields.

"Clang!" A series of crisp sounds rang out, and the dwarves' shields trembled slightly before they regained their footing. Clearly, the orcs' arrows were like a tickle to them.

"Close combat is inevitable!" Apophis Breo drew his longsword and looked down at the city. Although they had temporarily stopped the orcs' offensive, human strength has its limits. Even a ranger needs to expend battle energy and stamina to draw his bow. Close combat was the final outcome!

"Kill!" Olaf swung his halberd down, instantly sweeping over two orcs. The blade easily pierced their chests and abdomens, disemboweling them. The halberd's two halves then fell from the sky to the city below.

"Pfft!" The dwarves also abandoned raising their shields and instead came to the edge of the battlements with their spears, easily attacking the orcs who were trying to climb the walls from above.

"Watch out for the wolf riders!" Balin turned around casually to warn them, his battle axe still swinging, and slammed it into a dire wolf that pounced on him. Instantly, the dire wolf arched its back, its body twisting in a terrifying manner. The twisted corpse then slid a considerable distance after collapsing to the ground, and the orc rider that was thrown into the air even knocked over several brave warriors.

"Kill!" The orc cavalryman stood up dazedly, and just as he raised his sword, he was torn to pieces by long spears that came from all directions. "Thud!" A soft sound rang out behind Balin. Balin quickly turned around and saw that a dire wolf that had jumped up from below had been shot away by an arrow. Following the direction from which the arrow came, Balin saw Lind, whose bowstring was still trembling.

"Dwarf King, don't ignore your back!" Lind calmly drew an arrow and shot down another dire wolf.

"He got away with it!" Bahrain muttered, shaking his head.

"The orcs are reinforcing their troops!" Lind narrowed his eyes; after all, his eyesight was exceptional, and he easily spotted the orc army moving through the night.

"I hope your walls hold up!" Bahrain teased Apophis Breo.

“Their forces can’t spread out! This is the narrowest part of the valley!” Apophis Breo nodded confidently. After all, a fortress must be steep and easy to defend, so he certainly couldn’t set up the pass in an open area. Behind them was a gourd-shaped terrain, which was a place he had specifically chosen. This way, the defenders could deploy as many troops as possible, while the attackers would resort to piecemeal tactics.

"I hope so!" Linde pulled back a warrior in armor to dodge a fatal slash, then raised his long leg, channeled his battle aura, and kicked the orc's upper body into a bloody mist.

"What a powerful Cloud-Soaring Kick!" Balin exclaimed. It was no easy feat to practice a kicking skill, a basic skill for rangers, to this extent. After all, the original intention of this skill was to allow rangers to actively move away and create distance. Whether kicking away the opponent or knocking themselves back, it could be a lifesaver. But Linde's kick turned the orc into a bloody mist...

“Tier 5!” Apophis Breo’s eyes narrowed. He had heard Reno talk about Roland’s beating up the elves. After spending the last few days together, he knew that Roland was the protagonist of the story. He didn’t expect that Lind, who was easily defeated by Roland back then, was already Tier 5.
In fact, it was the experience of being captured and brutally beaten by Roland that dealt a blow to Lind's fragile pride. He, who originally had no desire for strength, worked diligently and finally succeeded in reaching the fifth rank not long ago! (Elves are born professionals, but their long lifespans make them more inclined to pursue their passions than their strength. For elves, strength is something that happens naturally; very few elves actually train hard, even in the elven army. If humans had this talent… ha! Mordor?)

"Why do I feel like the more we kill, the more there are?" Balin swung his battle axe, and a battle aura dozens of meters long suddenly appeared, clearing out a section of the city wall.

"Damn it! Those orcs have pushed the siege engines up?" Apophis Breo narrowed his eyes, somewhat surprised and uncertain. After all, the orc army outside the city walls had begun to pour in, and the siege ladders obviously couldn't handle the volume.

"Pfft! Pfft! Pfft!" Lind glanced at Apophis Breo, then put down his longbow, drew his scimitar, and began to swing it left and right. The swift eagle-eyed ranger reached the edge of the city wall in just a few moves, then glanced outside.

"Damn it! Duke! The orc corpses are piled up like a hill! We can't hold out much longer!" Lind's pupils shrank. It wasn't that the orc siege engines were coming, but simply because the seven-meter-high city wall was too low and was leveled by the pile of corpses!

"Think of something!" Linde roared, then grabbed an orc and threw him into the distance. His unspoken question was whether to use a forbidden spell...