Chapter 686

On the battlefield littered with smoke and fire, the Orcs were being surrounded and hunted down.

The thundering cavalry circled continuously, tearing apart the Orcs' makeshift formations.

Though calling them formations was giving the Orcs too much credit; they were merely huddling together for warmth, incomparable to the battle arrays of the Far East.

Throwing Azog's head onto the ground, Zhang Cheng waved his hand, signaling the cavalry in the distance to begin cutting off the retreat.

And only when the swarms of Orcs were fleeing in panic did the war truly signify its end.

Facing an Orc army of nearly thirty thousand, the Count Celingen family once again proved one thing with their strength: truth always depends on the caliber of the artillery!

Circling in the air, the Lord of Blood dived repeatedly, spewing flames on the ground as if playing quite happily.

Waving his hand, Zhang Cheng rode his horse, signaling it to come down.

Diving down from the sky, the Lord of Blood immediately let out a roar.

Looking at the dragon before them, the Orcs knelt on the ground in fear, one after another.

Looking at the Orcs, Zhang Cheng shouted angrily, "Which one of you is the general? Bring him out!"

"General?"

Looking around suspiciously, the Orcs revealed expressions of fear on their faces.

Before long, a slightly more robust Orc appeared and said, "I am the leader of their Blood-Hand tribe!"

"Very well, your tribe now belongs to Count Celingen, and you and your kin shall all be my slaves!"

Arriving before the Orc, Zhang Cheng sat on his warhorse and spoke with a stern face.

Hearing Zhang Cheng's words, the Orc immediately roared savagely, "No, we will absolutely not become slaves to humans!"

"Clang!"

With a backhand strike, he severed the opponent's head, and Zhang Cheng roared again, "Kill all the Orcs of their tribe! The family will only select the clever ones!"

Following Zhang Cheng's words, the cavalrymen drew their blades and immediately stepped forward.

Just then, a slightly smaller fellow rushed out from among the Orcs and said, "Respected Lord, I am willing to lead the tribe to surrender!"

"You are very clever!"

Revealing a smile, Zhang Cheng signaled, "Now, you may take your tribe over there to wait!"

And while the Orcs were still dazed, the fellow had already led his kin away.

Watching a large number of their companions being led away, the other Orcs still did not understand, but in the next second, Zhang Cheng roared, "Kill them all!"

"Clatter!"

Drawing their blades, the cavalrymen who rushed forward showed no mercy and immediately began the slaughter.

And just as a large number of Orcs fell into pools of blood, Thranduil also rode his great elk forward and said, "You shouldn't have let the Orcs stay; they are all despicable and filthy creatures!"

Turning his head to look at Thranduil, Zhang Cheng smiled and said, "Everything has its value, doesn't it? Even Orcs are no exception!"

Hearing Zhang Cheng's words, Thranduil did not know how to answer and could only say helplessly, "I hope you won't regret today's decision!"

But looking at Thranduil, Zhang Cheng did not refute him, because he knew that the prejudices on Middle-earth were too deep.

Orcs, Elves, and humans had fought too many wars, and too much blood had been shed!

But to Zhang Cheng, Orcs were slightly more useful than Goblins; at the very least, Orcs could understand human speech and knew how much a whip hurt when it struck the body.

Goblins, however, were different; they were like mindless beasts and would even insult human women. On the entire Skagos Island, Zhang Cheng had already ordered their extermination—ten Goblin heads could be exchanged for two Silver Stags in the Count Celingen family!

Therefore, the most numerous people on the island now were not Count Celingen family soldiers, but mercenaries and wandering knights from across the continent of Westeros; they were the main force in exterminating the Goblins.

As for the casualties of these people, Zhang Cheng would not care at all; after all, problems that could be solved with money were not problems at all.

Zhang Cheng: If you oppose me, do your kin have as many Gold Dragons as the Iron Bank? Iron Bank:

Finishing the campaign against the Orcs, Zhang Cheng now needed to resolve another thorny problem: the Dwarves of the Iron Hills.

Riding his horse forward, the Lord of Blood stayed by his side the entire time.

Its mouth seemed to be gathering something, and the Lord of Blood kept staring at Dáin Ironfoot, as if it could spew dragon fire at any second.

The two sides stood in a standoff, and Zhang Cheng looked at Dáin Ironfoot and said, "Do you still want to continue the war? Your kin seem to have died enough already!"

"Hand over the Lonely Mountain, otherwise we Dwarves will keep fighting you!"

Looking at Zhang Cheng with a gloomy face, Dáin Ironfoot could not help but become serious as well.

"This is my kingdom! I snatched it from Smaug!"

Looking coldly at Dáin Ironfoot, Zhang Cheng turned his head to look at Thranduil not far away.

Because he was giving him frantic winks, as if saying, "Go on, hurry up and go on!"

Looking at Thranduil with annoyance, Zhang Cheng drew the Dragon-Slayer and said, "Leave, or we go to war."

"Clatter, clatter, clatter!"

Stepping forward in perfect unison, the Count Celingen family soldiers silently raised their shields and lifted their spears.

Watching this scene, Dáin Ironfoot revealed a look of anger on his face, as if he really wanted to roar and start the war.

But the current situation really did not allow him to do so.

Having fought the Count Celingen family earlier, the Dwarves had already suffered heavy casualties, not to mention the Orcs.

Having experienced two consecutive bloody battles, let alone Dáin Ironfoot, even if the Dwarf King had crawled out of his coffin, Zhang Cheng could have pressed him back in.

"Dáin, enough, enough blood has been shed already!"

Looking at Zhang Cheng's stern face, Gandalf knew that he was already prepared for battle.

After all, when facing the Dwarves, the humans here were not afraid at all, because they possessed the ability to bombard from afar!

Although it was unclear how this equipment was made, for Gandalf and the others, it undoubtedly shattered their worldview.

Because everyone else was busy playing at knightly honor, and you were playing with artillery? This was no longer just a lack of martial virtue; it was absurd!

!

Smaug:

"We will reclaim the Lonely Mountain sooner or later!"

Looking at Zhang Cheng with resentment, Dáin Ironfoot knew when to quit while he was ahead, turned around, and led his kin away.

Watching the Dwarves flee in defeat, the person most upset was undoubtedly Thranduil.

After all, his prejudice against Dwarves was not ordinary!

If it hadn't been for the Orcs earlier, he would have personally joined the fray to fight them to the death!

Now that Dáin Ironfoot had actually left, it was no fun at all!

After the war, there were too many things to handle; basically, it was all about dealing with the battlefield.

However, after the Orc tribes joined, things became easier.

Watching Arthur Dayne busy at work, Zhang Cheng could not help but walk up and say, "How is the situation in the North?"

"Those kingdoms seem very united; we haven't found an opportunity yet!"

Explaining to Zhang Cheng, Arthur Dayne's face was full of confusion as he said, "Do you intend to stay here and not go back?"

"No, I will go back, but in a different form!"

Patting Arthur Dayne on the shoulder, Zhang Cheng revealed a smile.

Before leaving, he wanted to at least conquer the Northern kingdoms and leave enough living space for the Count Celingen family.

As for further north, that was the Orcs' territory; he needed someone to stand in front and leave himself a buffer zone!

Rohan and Gondor definitely couldn't be attacked; after all, they were the vanguard!

Gondor, Rohan: We fight the Orcs? You come to grab the territory?

Zhang Cheng: Should I say thank you?

(End of chapter)