Chapter 60: The Battle of the Lonely Mountain (Part I)

The location of the Lonely Mountain is very close to the Northern Wasteland, and it is inherently very cold.

Last night was even more so; the bone-chilling cold froze the Running River in front of Dale into solid ice overnight.

In the morning, several Humans were pulling small carts on the Running River to break the ice and fetch water, but the gradually rising sound interrupted their actions.

At this moment, whether it was the Humans and Elves stationed in Dale, or the Dwarves who had returned to the Kingdom of Erebor.

Everyone was startled by the "rumbling" sound drawing ever closer, and everyone looked toward the direction the sound was coming from.

Immediately after, under everyone's gaze, four Earth-eaters made a magnificent appearance in the southern part of the Lonely Mountain amidst the earth-shaking tremors.

In that instant, the commotion they caused left many feeling despair; fortunately, they immediately retreated back into the earth.

Following the exit of the Earth-eaters, everyone heard a dull horn sound coming from Ravenhill.

Amidst the horn sounds, large groups of Orcish wearing crude black armor formed neat phalanxes and walked out from the tunnels.

At this time on Ravenhill, Azog was using his flag and the dull horn sounds to issue the order for a full-scale attack to his army.

He did not care about the Humans and Elves stationed in Dale.

The number of Uruk soldiers Azog brought from Dol Guldur this time reached over fifteen thousand.

In his order, he had the portion of the army that exited the tunnel first attack Dale to pin down the Humans and Elves.

The remaining Uruk, accompanied by the dozen or so Trolls that walked out of the tunnels, ran straight toward the gates of the Lonely Mountain.

Azog prepared to use his absolute numerical advantage to break through the gates of the Lonely Mountain, slaughter the Dwarves inside, and then turn back to finish off the Humans and Elves stationed in Dale.

Allen was currently in Thranduil's tent, discussing defense matters with the Elves and the Wizard.

After hearing that rumbling sound, he already knew what was about to happen.

With a serious expression, Allen said to the surprised Thranduil and Gandalf: "The Orcish are coming."

After speaking, Allen rushed directly out of Thranduil's tent and loudly called for his personal guard, ordering them to notify everyone in the city to enter a state of war.

He and Holimion mounted their Elf Horses at the first opportunity, shouting "Take up your weapons, prepare for battle" while riding toward the city walls where his soldiers were stationed.

At this time, a large number of Uruk soldiers were rushing from the tunnels toward the direction of Dale.

They wore crudely made Iron Armor, held Curved Blades, and carried a Shield that could only cover their left arm.

Like a black flood, they silently approached the frozen Running River and were about to attack the walls of Dale.

The commanders of Allen's infantry and archer legions, Bandak and Alayen, had always followed Allen's orders, leading their troops to guard the city walls at all times.

Upon seeing the Earth-eaters emerging from the mountains, their hearts instantly sank into despair.

In their lives, they had never seen such a massive creature; they dared not imagine how they could resist such a gargantuan beast trampling over them to complete the task Allen had given them of holding the city walls.

Although they would not flee because of this, their loyalty to Allen made them willing to fight to the death.

Yet, facing such an enemy, they could not see a glimmer of hope for victory and could only sacrifice their own lives to fulfill their loyalty and duty.

Fortunately, the Earth-eaters' own characteristics made them only suitable as a means of transport.

They soon retreated back into the mountains and disappeared, replaced by squads of Uruk swarming out.

Seeing these somewhat familiar enemies, the hearts of Bandak and Alayen instantly settled back into their chests.

Their spirits were reinvigorated; such enemies, no matter how numerous, were not to be feared—as long as they could be killed, there was a chance of victory.

Immediately, the two began to loudly order their soldiers to occupy key positions and launch attacks on the approaching enemies.

The two hundred Archers holding Elf Bows were the first to strike; their range was the longest, and standing on the high platform behind the city wall, they had already begun to form a covering strike against the enemies on the other side of the river.

In a very short time, they poured out 5 waves of arrow rain, which landed accurately on the formation of Uruk soldiers, with each strike claiming the lives of dozens of Uruk.

After continuous shooting, the archer unit entered a short rest; after all, they were using Elf Longbows, which required time to soothe their somewhat sore arms.

The five hundred Spearmen standing on the city walls took out their Hunting Bows; their range was shorter and the power of the bows was inferior, so they could only strike enemies at close range.

Therefore, after the enemies crossed the Running River, they also began to fire at will at the Uruk soldiers who had walked onto the riverbank.

Before long, the rested Archers began to pour arrows onto the enemies on the other side of the river again.

This time, they adjusted their rate of fire to ensure a continuous stream of fire against the enemy until their arrows were exhausted.

One hundred Crossbowmen had already walked onto the city walls, mixing in among the Spearmen to precisely kill the enemies closing in on the walls.

These several rounds of long-range strikes actually managed to curb the momentum of this Uruk offensive for a time.

Azog on Ravenhill noticed this; he did not feel surprised, but simply shouted, "Break the walls."

The dull horn sound rang out from Ravenhill once again.

A Troll carrying a giant rock on its head, its body bristling with arrows, ran along the Uruk formation onto the ice of the Running River and, like a madman, charged toward the city wall with its head down.

This scene was just witnessed by Allen as he stepped onto the city wall.

Gripping his Rune Bow tightly, Allen felt as if this scene was familiar, but this did not affect his performance.

Allen grabbed five Rune Arrows from his quiver with his right hand, then quickly pulled the bowstring, pinning the Rune Arrows one by one into the exposed abdomen of the Troll.

Each Rune Arrow could reduce the Troll's speed slightly, until the fifth arrow Allen shot within ten seconds caused the Troll to stop, collapse to the ground, and after struggling a few times, lose its life.

At this moment, 5.6 large stones flew in from afar, accurately hitting a small section of the city wall.

Allen, who had just shot the Troll, watched with eyes splitting in anger as dozens of his Spearmen were sent flying by these large stones, their fates unknown.

Because the Troll had attracted a portion of the arrows, the Spearmen's rate of fire had already decreased after multiple volleys, and the Catapult attack caused dozens of Spearmen to lose their combat effectiveness.

Before long, a portion of the Uruk approached the city wall, and they climbed up one after another along the rubble of the collapsed section of the wall.

Alayen had been slightly affected by the previous bombardment and had not yet reacted.

Allen noticed this and was preparing to lead his personal guard over to plug that gap; he could not let the Orcish climb the city wall so easily.

At this moment, it was Fatis who had already led the Heavy Infantry holding Broad Shields to charge toward the Uruk soldiers climbing up.

Subsequently, the Humans and the Orcish collided fiercely on the city wall.

The Heavy Infantry raised their shields, pushing hard against the Orcish, while simultaneously brandishing their weapons, hacking or stabbing at the Uruk in front of them from above and through the gaps in the shields.

The Crossbowmen and the Spearmen holding Hunting Bows also changed their targets, beginning to shoot at the Uruk soldiers about to charge onto the city wall, creating a vacuum zone under the massive arrow attack.

Now, the dozens of Uruk soldiers who had already charged onto the city wall became an isolated force.

Very quickly, under the valiant fighting of everyone, they were all killed.

The Heavy Infantry picked up their shields again, occupying this dangerous section of the city wall to resist the enemy's offensive.

Below the city wall lay a mass of grey-black or black corpses, while inside the city wall, Bard had already led the militia of Long Lake Town to begin searching for and rescuing the wounded.

Those who could still move were carried back to the temporary hospital; those who were dead were no longer paid any attention, left to be dealt with by the Humans or Orcish after the battle.

At this moment, Allen had already set his sights on those six or seven Trolls carrying Catapults on their backs; they were already beginning to prepare to fire their second shot.

Allen knew that if he did not take out those guys, he would only be able to watch helplessly in the coming battle as his soldiers were smashed to death by the incoming stones.

At this time, a force of over a thousand Elven Spearman and five hundred Elven Archer arrived at the city district defended by the Humans.

This was Thranduil, standing at the highest point of the city, who had discovered Allen's pressure and dispatched his own soldiers to assist the Humans.

The arriving Elven Archer also occupied high platforms in the city with good lines of sight, forming a continuous strike against the Orcish troops together with Allen's Archer.

The Elven Spearman formed a golden shield wall on the city wall, coordinating with Allen's Spearman to continuously kill the Uruk that were gradually climbing up.

Subsequently, another five or six giant stones flew over, but this time the enemy's aim was much worse; only two stones smashed into the crowd, yet even so, it caused irreparable damage to the Elves and Humans.

From within Dale, stones also began to fly out, smashing toward the Orcish army; the rolling stones smashed into the Uruk phalanx, grinding out black paths.

It was Bard who had arranged for the Long Lake Town militia to use those two repaired Catapults to launch a counterattack against the enemy.

With the help of the Elves, the pressure faced by the Humans while defending the city wall was much smaller.

For a time, the Humans, Elves, and Uruk fell into a stalemate on this section of the city wall.

Allen, meanwhile, took his personal guards and left the city wall; he was going to resolve the greatest threat to the defensive forces.

And the greatest threat they faced was those six Trolls carrying Catapults.

After Allen, leading his personal guard, jumped down from the city wall, he said to Fatis, who was commanding the troops defending the wall: "Hold the wall, I will be back shortly."

Having said that, Allen mounted his Elf Horse and, taking Holimion and the others, ran toward the gates of Dale.

He could not watch helplessly as his army died in droves under the Troll Catapults.

Allen wanted to lead the Twilight Knight through the entire battlefield to directly take out those two Catapult squads.

Just as Allen and his personal guard were rapidly weaving through Dale, the Dwarf inside the Kingdom of Erebor had already finished assembling at the gates of the Lonely Mountain.

The King of the Iron Hills, Dain Ironfoot, had not considered relying on the existing defenses of the Lonely Mountain to hold his ground.

In order to defend the Lonely Mountain, the moment the Earth-eater appeared, he had already ordered the Dwarf troops to assemble at the gate, prepared for a life-or-death battle with the Orcish.

The first to emerge were over four hundred Goat Cavalry, followed by Dwarf Chariot, and then eight hundred Dwarf Heavy Infantry.

Finally, there were the Dwarf Axe brought by Dain; originally these things were meant to deal with the Woodland Elves, but clearly, they were now to be used on the Orcish.

At this time, standing at the very front of the formation was none other than Dain Ironfoot; the expression on his face was furious, because before setting out, he and Thorin Oakenshield had had a falling out.

Dain knew that relying on the 1,000-plus troops he brought and the current dilapidated city defenses of the Lonely Mountain, it was impossible to hold out against Uruk soldiers ten times their number and over a dozen Trolls.

In the past, the gate of the Lonely Mountain was made of steel mixed with Mithril, and it also had the bonus of Magic; if that gate were still there, Dain might have considered defending.

But that gate had been destroyed when the dragon Smaug attacked the Lonely Mountain; now, they could only rely on stone defenses—what use could broken stones be?

Once the Uruk soldiers, with the help of the Trolls, breached the gate and broke the Dwarf defensive formation behind it.

Then this black scum would pour into the Kingdom of Erebor like a tide, and their massive numbers would inevitably surround and isolate the Dwarf inside the Lonely Mountain.

By then, the Cavalry Dain brought, the War Chariot he brought, and the Dwarf Axe he brought would all become useless waste.

By then, the Dwarf trapped in the Lonely Mountain could only be desperately killed while under siege; as an excellent commander, Dain would absolutely never commit such a foolish act.

As for those Humans and Elves, Dain felt they were already overwhelmed themselves; as long as they could hold back more Uruk, Dain felt it was already something to be thankful for.

Originally, having arranged his army, Dain had hoped his cousin Thorin Oakenshield would lead the Iron Hills army and the Orcish in a head-on decisive battle.

After all, Thorin Oakenshield, who had reclaimed the Lonely Mountain at this time, was revered by all of Durin's Folk.

In fact, Dain, who had brought his soldiers, was already prepared to crown Thorin Oakenshield as the King of Durin.

By then, under the leadership of this King of the Longbeard, the morale of the Dwarf army would inevitably be extremely high; as long as they could inflict heavy casualties on the enemy in the early stages of the battle, and with the help of the Humans and Elves, it was not impossible to win this fight.

But his cousin was no longer the Thorin Oakenshield he knew; the once far-sighted Dwarf Prince was now so short-sighted, guarding a pile of cold treasure while unaware that his end was near.

Having had a falling out, the furious Dain led his troops and set up a formation to fight the Uruk to the death.

Just at this moment, Allen and his personal guard, like a gust of wind, charged out from the bridge, hacked to death dozens of Uruk soldiers attempting to intercept them, and along the banks of the Running River, charged straight toward those two Troll Catapult squads.

Meanwhile, the Elven Archer in their defensive sector also found suitable positions within Dale, using the Elven Longbow in their hands to strike the Uruk soldier formations from a distance under the bombardment of the Troll Catapults.

Every volley of arrows, like a dark cloud, caused the Uruk to be mowed down like wheat.

This undoubtedly attracted the attention of Azog; soon, another burst of dull horn sounds rang out, and a large number of Uruk and Trolls began to close in on the area defended by the Elves.

It was just that there was a long cliff in between, and with no other choice, they could only increase their forces again and charge toward the city wall defended by the Humans.

At this time, Allen and his guards were already in a mad dash, approaching the first Troll unit carrying a Catapult.

A portion of the Twilight Knight drew the Rune Bow in their hands while running, pouring Rune Arrow toward the Trolls and shooting them down one after another.

As for the other Twilight Knight, they held the Noldor Rune Bow, continuously shooting and killing the Uruk soldiers who had separated from the formation and were preparing to approach them.

Among the scattered Orcish troops surrounding them, they forcibly shot out a path where the enemies were sparse.

It was just that the arrows in their quivers were decreasing rapidly.

Allen, meanwhile, led Holimion and several Twilight Knight, charging at the very front of the formation.

Allen was holding a Greatsword in his hand at this moment, and he continuously swung his weapon, hacking and killing the Uruk soldiers blocking their path.

He created an environment for the Twilight Knight behind him who were holding bows to shoot.

The first Troll Catapult squad, which was just preparing to fire a Stone Projectile, swayed and fell under the attack of the dense Rune Arrow; the stones that flew off before they died even smashed into the Uruk soldier phalanx, causing massive chaos.

As for the remaining Troll Catapult squads, they were still firing toward Dale from further away.

Between Allen's squad and them lay an entire phalanx of Uruk soldiers.

But Allen did not hesitate; he raised the Greatsword in his hand and led the Twilight Knight to launch a charge toward the gaps between the Uruk phalanxes.

Just at the moment Allen launched his charge, a rain of arrows flew from Dale, accurately covering the phalanx that was blocking Allen's path.

Under the impact of the arrow rain, that formation instantly became sparse; Allen led his personal guard, hacking to death the Uruk soldiers blocking their way during the charge, and dashed toward the other Troll Catapult squad.

This was the support brought to Allen by Thranduil, who was observing the battlefield at all times; the stones thrown by those Trolls had also taken the lives of many Woodland Elves, forcing him to take notice of Allen, who had already charged toward the Troll catapults.

At this moment, the Orcish phalanx was already about to reach the gates of the Lonely Mountain.

Dain looked at the Uruk soldiers close at hand and shouted, "Dwarf Axe!"

Ten Arrow bolts, each over ten meters in diameter and resembling large umbrellas, flew toward the distant Uruk formation with a buzzing sound, spinning at high speed.

The moment these Arrow bolts landed, they tore the Uruk soldiers' formation to shreds, killing hundreds of them in a single blow.

Following this came another roar from Dain Ironfoot.

"Sons of Durin, the center army, move out!"

"Fight to the death, no retreat!"

Over eight hundred Dwarf Heavy Infantry, amidst the roars, arranged themselves into a neat three-layered Shield formation.

The first and second ranks were Dwarves holding Tower Shields and Longswords; they were responsible for holding back the enemy's push and inflicting damage at close range. If a comrade in front fell, the Dwarf in the rear rank had to step up immediately.

The third rank consisted of Dwarves holding Spears, who would use their weapons to continuously inflict horrific damage upon the enemy.

These Heavy Infantry formed a Shield wall two to three hundred meters long in front of the Lonely Mountain gate, blocking almost half the space before it.

Seeing the Dwarves set up a formation for a decisive battle, Azog on Ravenhill grew excited; the Dwarves' actions undoubtedly reduced the trouble he would have had attacking the city walls.

Azog, who was keeping a constant eye on the battlefield, directly issued the order for "all-out engagement."

The Uruks, who had been jogging, began to roar and charge toward the Dwarves upon receiving the order.

One after another, black figures rapidly approached the Dwarf Shield wall, like a black stream of water crashing into a silver rock, exploding with a boom.

Facing the charge of the Uruk soldiers, the Dwarves in the front rank steadied their footing, relied on the strength of their entire bodies to hold their Shields firmly, and simultaneously used the Short Swords in their hands to attack the Uruk soldiers before them through the gaps in their Shields.

The Dwarves in the third rank continuously thrust and retracted their three-meter-long Spears, their skilled movements killing a large number of Uruks approaching the Shield wall in a short time.

The blood splattered when the Uruk soldiers died had already stained the silver-bright Shields of the Dwarf Infantry black.

However, the killing speed of the Dwarf Heavy Infantry could not keep up with the pace of the Uruk soldiers coming to reinforce.

Thousands of Uruks rushed up one after another, fearlessly slamming into the Dwarf Shield wall.

Relying on the crude Iron Armor on their bodies, they used the Curved Blades in their hands to search for gaps in the Shield wall and fought hand-to-hand with the Dwarves holding Short Swords behind the Shields.

Under such fearless impact, some Dwarves began to be unable to withstand the Uruk soldiers' pushing and retreated bit by bit.

At the same time, some Dwarves died under the Curved Blades delivered by Uruk soldiers at the cost of their own lives.

For a moment, the central Dwarf Shield wall actually showed signs of being unable to hold on.

Moreover, a large number of Uruk soldiers surging over at this time had already begun preparing to surround the Dwarf Shield wall from both sides.

Just then, the "buzzing" sound echoed in the air again; it was another wave of Dwarf Axes.

These ten Arrow bolts once again landed precisely within the subsequent Uruk formation, breaking the rhythm of the Uruk attack; the enemies not increasing for a short time eased the pressure on the Dwarf Shield wall.

Dain Ironfoot then divided the Dwarf Goat Cavalry into two parts; he led one part himself along the hillside on the east side of the Lonely Mountain gate, drew a semicircle, and bypassed the Dwarf Shield wall.

Afterward, roaring "Sons of Durin" and brandishing the war hammer in his hand, he plunged headlong into the Orcish troops already smashed by the Dwarf Axes, amidst the response of "fight to the death."

The other part went along the west side of the Dwarf Shield wall, also shouting "fight to the death" and charging toward the Orcish troops.

They kept charging forward along both sides of the Uruk soldier formation, like a white wave washing away a pile of black sand, still surging toward the interior of the sand pile.

In an instant, thousands of Uruks were knocked down by the Great Horned Goats, and then, countless goat hooves trampled upon them.

Those still moving on the ground would also have their lives taken by the Dwarf Cavalry following behind, brandishing their weapons.

At the same time, a large number of Dwarf Cavalry were also pulled or knocked off their goats by the fearless Uruk soldiers; the unlucky Dwarves would immediately have their lives taken by countless Curved Blades and Spears.

The lucky Dwarves would quickly get up, brandishing the weapons in their hands to make a final struggle against the surrounding Uruk soldiers.

With the help of the Dwarf Goat Cavalry, the Heavy Infantry Shield wall quickly finished off the enemies in front and began to advance forward, not only saving a small portion of the surviving goat riders but also pushing their formation to the vicinity of the Running River bridge.

Suddenly, the muffled horn sound of the Orcish army sounded again from the direction of Ravenhill.

The dozen or so Trolls that had been mixed in the Uruk formation, walking at a leisurely pace, began to act after hearing the order.

They held iron-headed clubs, moved their feet, and their massive bodies squeezed aside the Uruk soldiers in front of them.

They even cleverly avoided the path of the Dwarf Cavalry charge and charged toward the Dwarf Shield wall along the center of the Uruk soldier phalanx.

At this time, the five Dwarf War Chariots were racing one after another toward the Trolls along the bank of the Running River on the west side of the Lonely Mountain.

No Uruk could block the charge of the Dwarf War Chariots; they galloped across the battlefield.

The Dwarves in charge of the Ballistae on the chariots aimed at the Trolls approaching the Dwarf Shield wall, continuously rotating the triggers, and soon several charging Trolls died under their Arrow bolts.

But the Trolls that survived their attacks were about to charge to the front of the Dwarf Shield wall.

At this moment, the Dwarves in the rear rank of the Dwarf Shield wall suddenly threw the Spears in their hands; these fast-flying Spears instantly pierced the bodies of several Trolls, pinning them dead in the Uruk formation.

In the end, three Trolls still withstood the Dwarves' attacks; after approaching the Shield wall, just a single powerful swing smashed the Dwarves' proud Shield wall to pieces.

Afterward, relying on their massive bodies and terrifying brute force, the Trolls squeezed into the Dwarf formation, waving their arms and weapons to knock the surrounding Dwarves away and widen the gap in the Shield wall, though they soon died under the Dwarves' Spears and powerful Crossbows.

But the Trolls' mission had been accomplished; following closely behind them were dense masses of Uruk soldiers.

They followed the gap opened by the Trolls and cut off the Dwarf Shield wall; in an instant, seven hundred Dwarves were divided into four parts, fighting on their own under the encirclement of the Uruk soldiers.

At this time, Thorin Oakenshield, standing on the city wall of the Lonely Mountain, was staring blankly at the battlefield before him.

The Dwarves of the Expedition all looked at him with longing eyes; they hoped to go out and fight, rather than being on this city wall, watching their own kin fight desperately while they themselves remained on the sidelines.

And Thorin Oakenshield, amidst such gazes, returned to the great hall of Thror, the place paved with gold, and fell into a deep struggle there; his Honor, his reason, and his sense of responsibility were desperately resisting the Dragon Sickness of his family.