Chapter 199: Ambush and Counter-Ambush

Emin Arnen, located in the South Ithilien region, is the ancestral home of the family of Hurin, the Steward of Gondor, and is a spur extending from the Mountains of Shadow.

This area is mostly hilly and covered in extremely dense forests; before Sauron launched this offensive, some people loyal to the Kingdom of Gondor still lived in this region.

But now, they have long since passed through Osgiliath and obtained a place to live on the Pelennor Fields.

However, this place, which had been desolate for several years, welcomed a group of uninvited guests today: a squad of Uruk lying in ambush here.

At this time, the season was approaching the Month of Flowers, or May by conventional reckoning, and the sun in the sky had already become scorching.

The evil and dark creator of the Uruk had endowed them with a physique that could barely endure the sun.

At the same time, these fellows, who were smarter than the Orcish, also suppressed the bloodthirsty cravings in their hearts according to the orders of their Commander.

Holding black, vicious longbows, they waited on both sides of the road for their prey to walk right to their door.

Having learned of Angmar's failure, Sauron naturally could not just sit idly by and wait for his enemies to come to his door and completely ruin his plans.

Even if the power Angmar had brought back this time was enough for him to recover to his peak state without the Ring.

Yet, how could the insidious, cunning, and arrogant Sauron so easily admit his failure?

So he arranged for his confidant to lead a formidable army to lie in ambush on the only road to Osgiliath.

And the one leading this force was none other than the Mouth of Sauron, who had been punished.

Although this Black Numenorean had performed poorly in the Two Rivers and had been severely whipped, he had still not lost the favor of the Dark Lord.

Now entrusted with a heavy responsibility, he was lying in ambush here for the approaching enemy.

The Mouth of Sauron looked at the sun, half-hidden by dark clouds in the sky, praising the power of his master in his heart, while also pondering the intelligence he had obtained from those Black Knights.

According to those half-man, half-ghost fellows, the prey was not far from their position.

It was a sizable force of elite Cavalry, currently advancing along the Harad Road that ran through this area toward Osgiliath.

And the troops the Dark Lord had assigned to the Mouth of Sauron consisted of nearly ten thousand Uruk and over a dozen Olog-hai Trolls.

Compared to their ordinary kin, the Olog-hai Trolls were smarter, with intellects exceeding that of common Orcish, and they could communicate using the Black Speech invented by Sauron, their voices being extremely harsh and grating.

These fellows were also larger in size, their bodies covered in thick, horny scales, and some were even equipped with crude and clumsy iron armor, clutching heavy hammers of various materials and massive wooden round shields in their hands.

Now, these Olog-hai Trolls were lying motionless in the dense forest, and even their heavy breathing had been slowed down by them.

Clearly, these fellows were smart, very smart.

As time passed, the sun gradually reached the center of the sky, and in the distance on the Harad Road, a Cavalry force kicking up dust appeared.

The Mouth of Sauron stared fixedly at the enemy not far away, brewing all sorts of evil and venomous plans in his heart.

He knew that the leader of the force before him was the Human who had embarrassed him in the Two Rivers, and also the culprit who had caused him to be punished by the Dark Lord.

This time, he would make these detestable fellows pay.

And as for that bastard who had unleashed lightning at him, he would certainly make him enjoy the elaborate torture instruments in the dark dungeons of Barad-dur.

However, what the Mouth of Sauron did not know was that two Elf forces, each numbering over a thousand, had already appeared behind the Orcish.

The Cavalry force led by Allen was merely bait to attract their attention.

While Lindir and Legolas had each led an Elf force to quickly circle around to the enemy's rear.

Originally, Allen had been worried that Legolas did not have enough prestige to command that portion of the Elves.

But the Elf Prince's strength, which was like a cheat, had gained the recognition of some of the Elves.

And the former King of the Woodland Realm, Legolas's grandfather Oropher, had earned considerable prestige for his family with his own life at the Battle of Dagorlad.

Regardless of the outcome, that heroism was recognized by many Elves.

What's more, Legolas was still under Allen's command.

At this moment, Lindir and Legolas were leading their troops, moving silently through the forest.

Compared to the filthy Orcish race, both the trees and the grass seemed more willing to shelter the Firstborn of Iluvatar.

Soon, the agile figures of the Elves approached the rear of the Orcish, and silent, lethal blades killed the evil minions before them time and time again.

"Enemy, the enemy is behind us, ah!!"

A shrill scream squeezed out from the mouth of an Orcish; this was an Orcish who had an urgent need to urinate due to the long ambush, and his voice completely brought the entire forest to life.

"Swish," "swish," "swish," "swish."

Realizing that their tracks had been discovered by the enemy, the Elves were well prepared for this, even though Elves made no footsteps when moving in the forest.

But Lindir and Legolas, who led the troops, had never thought they could rely solely on a sneak attack to kill all the enemies before them.

The situation on the battlefield was very subtle, and any detail could lead to a different result; for instance, a certain Uruk with an urgent need to urinate had, at this moment, performed a great service for the Mouth of Sauron.

Of course, his final fate was to be struck in the throat by a green arrow and die in this dense forest.

He was by no means the only one to suffer such a fate.

At this time, the arrows shot by the Elves darted through the forest like lightning, and almost none missed or were blocked by trees.

This rain of arrows caused massive casualties to the Orcish just as they were reacting.

And the Mouth of Sauron, whether using some evil material or some dark Magic, released a cloud of black smoke the moment he discovered the Elves, covering his figure.

This black smoke gradually spread in the forest, and the trees enveloped within it lost most of their greenness in an instant.

Regardless, this Black Numenorean always had a few tricks up his sleeve when it came to saving his own life.

And this black smoke not only blocked the Elves' vision but also enhanced the Uruk moving through the black mist.

Aided by the Magic, they ran quickly, and the moment they rushed out of the black smoke, they brandished their weapons and cut down the Elves before them.

And the Elves, who were fighting hard, also scattered away from the area shrouded in evil.

Being under Sauron's dark clouds had already made the Elves' bodies weaker, and that black smoke was even more vicious than the dark clouds.

And when the forest began to liven up, Allen and his Cavalry galloped even faster.

After approaching the battlefield, they charged directly into the forest along the gentle slopes on both sides of the road, then abandoned their horses one after another, forming small squads to slaughter the Orcish not shrouded in smoke.

And Allen led his personal guards, charging directly toward the Trolls that had just begun to move.

These massive fellows were originally positioned very close to the road in the middle, so that they could join the battlefield the moment they launched their attack.

However, the direction of the Elves' attack was precisely behind the Orcish, which meant the Troll still needed a little time to reach the area of engagement.

And it was precisely because of this delay that Allen and his personal guards entangled them.

Facing these thick-skinned and terrifyingly powerful evil creatures, Allen dared not be the slightest bit lax; before even getting close, a barrage of arrows flew toward these Troll.

And the most conspicuous among them were those streaks of blue light.

Allen had already used up these arrows capable of carrying Magic once while fighting Angmar.

However, during the time he rested in Pelargir, he initiated a simulation in Pendor, and while developing his forces, he once again obtained some Noldor arrows.

These consumables could still be mass-produced by the Elves of Pendor.

The Troll, who were rushing to the battlefield, suddenly suffered some casualties upon being hit by such a rain of arrows.

Three or four of the big guys who were running fell to the ground like hedgehogs; the crude Iron Armor on their bodies was thick enough to withstand the attacks of arrows.

But that thick layer of cuticle could not; under the dense rain of arrows, they would still suffer huge damage.

Not to mention that this attack came from the Enchanted Composite Bow in the hands of the Noldor Ranger.

But the Troll who reacted quickly turned back to protect their vitals with the massive wooden round shields in their hands, and let out bursts of roars as they charged toward Allen's side.

And what greeted them was the Chain Lightning released by Allen at full power; four or five dazzling electric lights crazily darted among the dozen or so Troll.

Even these thick-skinned monsters fell into paralysis under this electric light.

And on Allen's side, the first to charge up was a roaring Giant Bear; Grim, in his mad dash, directly knocked over two paralyzed Troll and then began to tear at them.

As for the Mertheim Deathsworn wearing heavy armor, they formed small teams of two or three, using the sharp Greatsword in their hands to first split the thick cuticle on the enemy's legs, making them kneel to the ground.

And next, they swung the greatsword in their hands toward the Troll's thick neck.

With the spraying of foul blood, these veterans with extremely rich battlefield experience efficiently and brutally killed the Troll on the spot.

And the thirty-plus Noldor Ranger, taking advantage of the brief opportunity provided by Allen, aimed at the enemy's unprotected eyes and used the arrows in their hands to cause fatal damage to several Troll.

And Allen was riding Zhuilieh, which could also run at high speed in the forest.

In a charge with instantaneous acceleration, he used all his strength to thrust a Giant Lance into the chest of a Troll; this was already the last Troll, and it was even one preparing to turn and flee.

With the Chain Lightning released at full power as an aid, in just a few minutes, Allen and his personal guards finished off the Troll that could have caused huge damage.

Aragorn, who was rushing behind the team with Cress, looked at everything happening before him in disbelief, once again gaining a clear understanding of Allen's strength.

And Allen, having finished all this, reined in his mount to observe the battlefield at this very moment.

In the forest to the east of the road, the battle was already coming to an end; under the surprise attack of the Elves and the help of the Humans Cavalry, those Uruk, without the command of a Commander, had already begun to run toward the direction of Minas Mogu'er.

The battlefield here did not need help at all; Legolas could handle all of this.

And the battlefield to the west had a big problem, although Allen had solved the very troublesome Troll at the first moment.

But the Mouth of Sauron, who could release Dark Magic, was an even more evil existence.

Those plumes of black smoke caused huge trouble for the Elves led by Lindir; not only that, even the sturdy Durin Dwarf could not fight in this black smoke for a long time.

And in the gaps of the smoke, the sharp-eyed Allen discovered the figure of the Mouth of Sauron.

Immediately, he shared his remaining power with his mount Zhuilieh, and in a state of white light radiating from his whole body, he charged toward the Mouth of Sauron.

And this black smoke would not affect the vision of its master; at this time, the Mouth of Sauron was feeling smug.

Although the enemy had seen through his plan, he had still caused huge trouble for the Elves with the help of the black smoke.

And as time passed, the Mouth of Sauron believed that the Harad people of Osgiliath and the remaining Orcish of Minas Mogu'er would definitely discover the battle situation here, and reinforcements should arrive soon.

However, the joy of the Black Numenorean did not last long, because he saw a silver-armored Knight charging toward him, and the white light emanating from his body made his own Dark Magic retreat.

The Mouth of Sauron was afraid again; although he worshipped Sauron very much, he never had the determination to die for the Dark Lord.

He had always believed that only by living could he better serve the Great Emperor Sauron, who was destined to rule the world.

So this time, the Mouth of Sauron shamefully fled again, and before fleeing, he even ordered the surrounding Uruk to block the enemy.

And he himself took the remaining troops and fled toward the direction of Osgiliath.

In fact, the flight of the Mouth of Sauron was exactly what the Dark Lord wanted.

Sauron had long seen through the essence of this subordinate of his; letting him set an ambush here was essentially for his flight at this moment.

Because a large number of Harad people and troops composed of Orcish were ambushing at the Crossroads leading to Minas Mogu'er and Osgiliath.

That place was only a few miles away from the current battlefield; as long as Allen dared to charge over, what he would face would inevitably be a catastrophe.