Chapter 279: War 1

A sunny sky, a boundless sea, and a pure white sailing ship drifting in the blue waves.

The Elves' creations were just so magical. Having drifted on the sea for more than half a month, this ship was still as clean as when it left the port.

"Allen, drink the soup. I never thought the fish in the sea could be so fresh."

Bilbo handed a bowl of seafood soup, with a thick white color and a fragrant aroma, to Allen, who was wiping Ringil.

At this time, seven days had passed since Allen left that dark place, and the Noldor castle standing on Himling had long been left far behind.

After getting tired of the scenery on the sea, the days of sailing were boring and dull.

Everyone had to take on a part of the work more or less to ensure the normal operation of the sailing ship, and also to kill the time of having nothing to do.

Even Allen, this King, had to break his promise and dive into the sea to find some high-quality ingredients to improve the food on the ship.

After all, having eaten field rations for half a month, who wouldn't want to eat some fresh food?

Then Bilbo, as a Hobbit, naturally became the chef without hesitation.

"Allen, what exactly did you experience in the seabed that week? You seem to have become much more silent. Don't you want to talk about it?"

Regarding Allen's encounter, Mr. Baggins had always been very curious, and at the same time, very concerned about his good friend's state at this moment.

In fact, the sailing ship only left for three days before circling back from another direction.

In order to try to avoid being noticed by the sea serpent, Holimion, Bilbo, and a portion of the Twilight Knights set up a camp on one of the mountain peaks of Thangorodrim, waiting for Allen to return. The sailing ship left this area again for the sake of safety.

Then the group waited for several days, until Allen broke through the sea surface and landed on another mountain peak.

It was just that since waking up, Allen only said that the sea serpent had been executed, and didn't mention anything else.

During the return voyage, he was even more silent. Except for spending a bit more effort searching for food in a certain place, most of the other time he was either dazed or wiping his sword.

"I sank for a long time, Bilbo. There, besides darkness, there was cruelty and despair, and some things I don't really want to mention. In short, the result is good, my friend. I'm much better now."

This wasn't comfort. Allen was indeed much better at this moment. Most of the dark power contaminated in Angband had been expelled, and the action of wiping the longsword could indeed make people quiet.

"Bilbo, I have been thinking, thinking about how the battle in the Grey Mountains is going. Has Thorin taken back the Dwarves' holy land? How many of my subordinates have suffered casualties? Have those damn Goblins been driven to the Angmar Mountains, and will our most powerful enemy just watch his servants in the North be defeated without doing anything?"

After drinking a mouthful of delicious fish soup, Allen's mood became even better. Delicious food could always soothe people's hearts.

"Allen, you just think too much. Kings are indeed destined for toil. Thorin is like this, and you are like this. Oh, Gandalf, that guy who isn't a King, seems to be like this too. You should perhaps rest, my friend. In another day, the ship will reach the Grey Havens. It won't be long before you know the answers to all things."

As a Hobbit who followed the rules, even though Mr. Bilbo Baggins was slightly special, he couldn't understand why the lives of these friends of his were so busy.

In any case, people should always treat themselves better, love life, enjoy life, and of course, it would be even better if they could occasionally go on an adventure with friends.

"You're right, Mr. Baggins. Is there only a bowl of soup for lunch today? I remember I brought back quite a lot of prey."

Allen, who drank the fish soup in one breath, laughed loudly. Chatting with good friends was like this; even if there wasn't much serious business in the words, it was enough to make people happy.

After all, having someone's company was always a good thing.

"Of course not. Today there is also lobster chowder. I remember that's what you called that kind of creature."

Seeing Allen's mood rise, a smile also appeared on Bilbo's face.

The Grey Mountains, outside the fortress of Mount Gundabad.

"Fire~~!!!"

With a roar, the huge catapult built by the Dwarves operated, projecting a dozen one-meter-square stone projectiles toward the pitch-black city wall in the distance.

The Goblins hiding behind the battlements felt cold in their hands and feet, most of them covering their ears and squatting on the ground, emitting wailing sounds.

The Uruk, who were bolder and had better discipline, looked at the giant stones flying toward them, scurrying around like ants on a hot pot.

A black flag stood there, painted with a blood-colored giant wolf howling at the sky, but it looked precarious.

The effect of the first round of bombardment by the catapult wasn't particularly ideal. Most of the stone projectiles flew over the black wall, and only two successfully hit the target, causing the entire wall to tremble, and with the shattering of the stone projectiles, two huge concave pits full of cracks appeared.

The city defense built by the Goblins themselves didn't seem to be that reliable.

"Adjust the angle, prepare the ammunition."

The Dwarf operating the catapult acted quickly and orderly. Not long after, the catapult was loaded again.

"Fire~~!!!"

This time, the stone projectiles, drawing a shrill sound in the air, successfully smashed onto the Goblins' black wall.

"Clatter."

Subjected to such a violent impact, the stone wall instantly fractured and collapsed partially, raising a large patch of thick smoke and dust. Some Goblins stationed on the city wall were also buried by the falling rocks in their unpreparedness.

Wailing and cursing sounds rang out instantly.

"Woo~~~"

Seeing that the city wall had cracked, Thorin signaled Kili to blow the horn of attack.

Teams of elite Dwarves, arranged neatly, responded to the King's order, raising the shields in their hands one after another, and advanced toward the collapsed city wall.

"Shoot arrows!! Shoot arrows quickly, you scum." "Go move stones, hurry up!!" "Slap"

Urged by scolding and whipping, the Goblins also pulled their longbows one after another, shooting pitch-black arrows to block the enemy's approach. Some Goblins even carried stones the size of human heads and smashed them downward.

"Woo~ woo~ woo~"

With the change of the horn sound, four teams of Dwarves, ready to go, carried high siege ladders and ran rapidly toward other directions of the city wall. They wanted to force the enemy to disperse their forces to defend multiple areas on the city wall, reducing the pressure on the charging clansmen.

"Shoot!!"

Arnold's shout resounded through the battlefield. Hundreds of human archers pulled the longbows in their hands one after another, using wave after wave of arrow rain to suppress the Goblins on the city wall. The range of the arrow rain even covered the gap that had been smashed open.

A large number of Goblins had already gathered there, preparing to resist the Dwarves' charge.

"Descendants of Durin, charge!!" "Hoo~ ha~"

The distance between the two sides was getting closer and closer. The steel torrent composed of elite Dwarves rushed straight toward the Goblins who were full of panic.

In just one month, the dark forces that had been struggling with humans and Dwarves in the Grey Mountains had been forced into a dead end, and could only shiver behind this high wall.

And now, the high wall had collapsed, and the Dwarves' anger had burned onto their heads again.

The gathered Goblin phalanx, after the baptism of arrow rain, had its morale already fallen to the freezing point.

Immediately after, they had to face the Dwarves' charge with morale like a rainbow. As a result, they only resisted for a moment, and these enemies, who were already terrified, scattered like fallen leaves swept up by a gale.

The Dwarves chased the wailing and fleeing enemies like a gale, stepping into the holy land again. The enemies blocking them were either killed or crawled into the narrow crevices of the mountains.

Soon, Arnold led the archers across the city wall, assisting the Dwarves in chasing down the Goblins scattered in various places.

Finally, most of the enemies died on Mount Gundabad, and only a very small number of Goblins crawled up the peaks with their hands and feet, fleeing toward the Angmar Mountains.

Thus, the holy land returned to the embrace of the Durin clan.

Thorin looked at the gradually quiet battlefield, directing teams of big-horned sheep carrying heavy objects to enter the holy land. His battle was far from over.

Dozens of kilometers south of Mount Gundabad, in the tunnels, the roar of bears echoed, louder than the sound of war drums and thunder.

In the roar, three giant black bears charged wildly, and no one could block them. The anger in their hearts seemed to want to burn the enemies out. With just a light wave, the giant palms carrying the sound of wind could fan away several enemies, as if those Goblins were just straw and withered branches.

Alayen ordered the soldiers under his command to follow closely behind the Skin-changers, slaughtering the Goblins who were already scared out of their wits, while he himself kept a close watch on the pitch-black tunnel.

There was an existence there that was darker than darkness. Previously, that black robe had approached Alayen's side. Both sides exchanged extremely dangerous moves. Finally, Alayen relied on his loyalty and courage, plus the ruby rune sword in his hand that was burning with raging flames, to force the enemy back.

The slaughter between humans and Goblins only lasted for a very short time, and the remaining enemies could no longer withstand such terrifying pressure, fleeing toward the way they came one after another.

Whether it was the Skin-changers or Alayen, they didn't choose to let the enemy go, but chased all the way, driving the Goblins out of the Misty Mountains and arriving at the Ettenmoors in Eriador.

Not until most of the enemies died before their eyes did they stop their pursuit, returning to the tunnel again, and subsequently clearing one Goblin camp after another according to the Skin-changers' guidance.

And that black shadow never appeared again.

The area over a hundred kilometers south of the Old Forest Road was the home of the Skin-changers, and also the defense line Allen had high hopes for.

Recently, Goblin teams with strange movements had been approaching here, peeping at the Skin-changers' houses and fences, waiting for an opportunity to break through the defense line and attack the merchant caravans walking on the Old Forest Road.

The spiders that had disappeared for a very long time also appeared again, and sticky and dirty spider webs were everywhere in the forest.

Under Thranduil's instruction, a large number of Woodland Elves appeared near the Skin-changers' home. Relying on the information brought by birds, they divided into small teams to ambush, intercept, and snipe these Goblins.

No enemy could escape their sharp eyes, and no enemy could escape their arrows that never missed.

The commander of Dol Guldur, one of the Nine Nazgul, Khamul, sent out dozens of scout teams. In the end, not a single Goblin could successfully return. To this day, he still hadn't obtained any intelligence about his enemies.

But the orders from Mordor forced Khamul to make a reaction. He at least had to cut off the Old Forest Road so the enemy couldn't look after both ends, so he could please the master entrenched in Barad-dur.

Thus, driven by resentment and urgency, Khamul angrily dispatched an army of three thousand, together with hundreds of giant spiders, to approach the important road in Rhovanion.

However, after the main force walked out of Dol Guldur, those Elves who had been fighting with the Goblins disappeared.

The Goblin commander thought his huge military presence had scared away the enemy, and the march in the forest was even more unscrupulous. Half a month later, they successfully arrived near the Old Forest Road.

It was also at this moment that the light-footed Elves appeared silently on the treetops, the bows and arrows in their hands aimed at the enemies below their feet.

A large number of human warriors, armed and armored, shouting "For the King!", suddenly rushed out of the dense forest and blocked the Goblins' path.

And several giant bears moved their sturdy limbs, cutting off the enemy's retreat. This was clearly an ambush, a big net waiting for the enemy to enter obediently.

Even some Elves from Lothlorien had quietly followed the Goblins who were moving forward all the way.

This wasn't a battle, but a one-sided slaughter. More than two thousand Goblins died in this ambush, and the giant spiders were almost wiped out.

Soon, painful wailing sounds rang out in Dol Guldur, sounds that made the birds flying nearby flee far away from there.

Even on the Running River, which flowed endlessly even in winter, a fleet from the North was sailing, loaded with human warriors with firm faces and armed to the teeth.

In fact, this was already the second fleet. As early as half a month ago, Long Lake Town and Dale had dispatched several sailing ships full of supplies and soldiers according to the orders of the Border Count Fatis.

And the cause of all this was that a group of uninvited guests had arrived east of the Running River again. According to information from within the enemy, the newcomers were exactly the old enemies of the Kingdom of Rhovanion, the Ashur.

It was just that the situation this time was slightly strange. Baal, who had originally entrenched in this area, didn't respond to Ashur's call, but instead set up a battle formation and had several small-scale conflicts with his former commander.

As for the reason, it was still that Baal's tribe developed too fast. Last time, Allen led troops to clear all the Easterling camps nearby, and all the population was eaten by him. Plus, the trade with Rhovanion also allowed Baal to gain popularity in a short time.

And the crucial weapons and equipment.

It wasn't about whether Baal had the ambition to become a commander, but that Ashur's exploitation of his subordinates was too ruthless. Now that he had strength, Baal naturally couldn't continue to tolerate such things.

He even sent messengers to form an alliance with Fatis to jointly resist the suddenly arrived Ashur.

It was just that such things were too dramatic. Fatis didn't easily trust Baal, but in order to avoid the other party being driven to desperation and returning to Ashur's embrace, he deployed a large number of troops on the banks of the Running River, and the huge warships patrolled the river day and night.

By this, he showed his attitude. ===== CHAPTER 280 =====