Chapter 265 Orcs Night Raid, Dwarf Guard Room
Lake-town.
Borg led a squad of Orcs, slowly advancing across the rooftops, carefully searching for their target.
Without a boat, they had been blocked by the huge lake for a long time, and only with great difficulty had they managed to catch up.
"The damned little Dwarf is nearby, I smell him."
Following the scent of the Dwarves, Borg sifted through the many houses, narrowing the search area to the vicinity of Bard's home.
Inside the house, Bifur watched the steaming casserole boredly, "Kili, just hold on a few more minutes, it'll be ready soon."
"Thank you," Kili nodded weakly.
"I'll go check on my father!" Sigrid said, holding an article of clothing. "I'm a bit worried about him being alone in the bell tower."
However, as she reached the door, Aaron's thought formgrabbed her right hand as she was about to open it.
"You…"
Sigrid's face flushed slightly. Before she could say anything, the thought form pulled her back.
"Something's not quite right." The thought form scanned the people in the room with a grave expression. "Bain, you and your two sisters hide under the table and protect them.
Bifur, Bofur, get your weapons and guard Kili."
"Has the Dragon arrived?" Bofur asked.
"Not Smaug, but it's not much better," the thought form said seriously. "I hear dense footsteps, the closest are right above our heads."
Everyone froze for a moment. Bain and his sisters were still confused, but the three Dwarves had already realized who the approaching enemies were.
After the three siblings had hidden, the thought form picked up a longsword and slowly walked to the door.
Without any surprise, the moment the door opened, an Orcroared and lunged forward.
Pfft!
The thought form stabbed him in the chest with a sword, then kicked him into the lake, quickly closing the door.
"Bad news, we're surrounded."
No sooner had he spoken than the back door was suddenly crashed open, and an Orc rushed in with a short knife.
At the same time, three Orcs successively jumped in from the roof.
Seeing the fierce and ugly Orcs appear in their home in such a way, Sigrid and Tilda were terrified and screamed.
Bofur stood by Kili's bed with an axe, while Bifur stood in front of the table with a hammer.
"Protect them."
The thought form quickly advanced with his sword, fighting one against four, not falling behind.
He always started with at least ten during his training at home, so these mere four Orcs were dealt with in less than half a minute.
The three siblings were all dumbfounded, looking at Aaronin disbelief.
They could barely kill fish now, but he was already killing Orcs, and five of them at that.
"Don't get distracted, our situation is still very dangerous."
A moment later, another wave of Orcs rushed in. Not only had their numbers doubled, but they were still increasing.
The thought form couldn't cover all angles, and a melee was about to erupt.
Fortunately, unexpected reinforcements arrived at this moment. Tauriel and Legolas, two Elves, joined the battle, and the pressure on everyone was immediately greatly reduced.
Orcs were killed one after another. One of them jumped from the back door onto a wooden boat on the lake and relayed the situation inside the house to Borg, "Oakenshieldisn't here."
Borg growled angrily, unwilling, but with the main target absent, he didn't want to waste his forces for nothing.
"Retreat, gather at the bridge."
Borg chose to retreat without hesitation, and the Orc who delivered his message was in trouble.
The body of a companion was thrown to the stern of the boat by Legolas, while he, standing at the bow, was flipped up. Legolas seized the opportunity to use his two knives like shears, severing his head.
"How cruel." The thought form pouted. "But no cruelty is too much for Orcs."
"Are they all dead?" Bain asked.
"Of course not, there are at least dozens more outside," the thought form said helplessly. "We're lucky that Borg's target is Thorin, otherwise, we'd be in for a tough fight."
"We can't let them just leave like that," Legolas said, looking at the retreating Orcs. "Tauriel, let's pursue."
"Wait a moment." The thought form stopped him and extended his right hand. "The wand, you should return it to me now, and you must return it to me.
Smaug will attack Lake-town tonight, I need my weapon."
"Dragon?" Legolas was somewhat skeptical. "Are you sure?"
"The prophecy says so, and I and the descendant of the former Lake-town Master are already prepared to deal with it.
Of course, it's fine if you don't return it to me, I'm proficient in wandless magic too, but it always feels a bit unusual without something in my hand."
Legolas hesitated for a moment, then took out two wands, one black and one white, from behind his waist. "Whether what you say is true or false, my father's…"
"I'll heal him."
"That's good. Tauriel, let's go."
Tauriel paused, her gaze falling on the injured Kili. After a moment of internal struggle, she was about to leave.
Seeing the deep affection and reluctance in Kili's eyes, the thought form was silently speechless, but still spoke, "Your Highness, could you lend me Tauriel for one night?"
"What did you say?" Legolas glared fiercely, his left hand already on the quiver behind his back. If Aaron didn't give him a reasonable explanation, he wouldn't hesitate to turn hostile.
"Don't misunderstand, I just want her to protect these three siblings.
Their father and I will fight Smaug in the bell tower. At that time, we might not be able to look after them, so… I mean, we can't let a warrior's heart grow cold."
"Tauriel, what do you think?"
Tauriel sighed deeply, then nodded.
Legolas was not surprised by her decision and was about to leave immediately to pursue the Orcs alone.
"Wait a moment."
Legolas stumbled, looking at Aaron with annoyance. "Can you say everything at once?"
The thought form smiled awkwardly yet politely, "She's not needed yet. Just come back in time after you've finished chasing the Orcs."
Legolas paused, his mood improving considerably. "Let's go."
After the two Elves left, the thought form walked up to Kiliwith a look of disdain. "I helped you keep an Elf here, do you have anything to say to me?"
"Thank you," Kili said gratefully, gripping Aaron's hands. "Brother, from now on, you're my true brother."
The thought form's eye twitched. Why hadn't he noticed how shameless he was before!
...Lonely Mountain, Erebor.
Aaron and Bilbo ran to the corner of the stairs, simultaneously coming out of stealth.
"As expected of the last Dragon in Middle-earth, this destructive power is truly terrifying!" Aaron cautiously peeked out and saw Smaug sweeping the ground with Dragon fire, secretly clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Never mind that, escaping is more important," Bilbo said anxiously, pulling Aaron up the stairs.
But they had only reached the second platform when they ran into a panting Thorin.
"You're still alive?"
"Not for long, the Dragon is almost here," Bilbo said.
"Did you find the arkenstone?"
"Good luck," Aaron nodded, walking towards the passage behind Thorin.
Clang!
A sword stopped in front of the passage. Thorin blocked their path, saying coldly, "The arkenstone."
Aaron frowned. He had initially thought Smaug was exaggerating, but now it seemed the arkenstone could indeed affect one's mind.
"Let's get out of here first," Bilbo said.
Thorin directly pointed his sword at Bilbo, forcing him to step back.
"Give it to me."
"I, that jewel, actually…"
Just as Bilbo was about to explain something, a low breathing sound came from nearby.
The three instinctively turned around, coming face to face with a pair of cold, vertical pupils.
Smaug had found them. The reddish glow in his belly was clearly visible in the not-so-bright palace and continuously extended up his long neck.
At this moment, the rest of the Dwarves also ran out of the passage, lining up perfectly to face the Dragon.
"I will burn you all," Smaug said, taking a few steps to stand before them.
"Run!"
Everyone immediately jumped down the steps, narrowly dodging the fierce, reddish Dragon fire.
There happened to be a passage entrance at the bottom of the steps. Without a moment's hesitation, everyone quickly scrambled inside.
Boom!
Smaug aimed his mouth at the ceiling and spewed Dragonfire. The flames spread widely, and Thorin, the last one through the passage, was caught by the Dragon fire, igniting his clothes.
"Clear spring water."
Aaron flung a stream of water at Thorin, extinguishing the fire.
Afterward, everyone proceeded cautiously along the passage, turning several bends until they reached a long corridor.
"We shook him off," Dori said in a hushed voice.
"No," Dwalin shook his head. "He's cunning."
"Where do we go now?" Bilbo asked.
"To the western guardroom," Thorin said. "There might be a way out there."
"It's too high up, there's no way to escape," Balin objected.
"That's our only chance, we have to take a gamble," Thorinsaid, leading everyone stealthily down the corridor.
But when they escaped to the guardroom, what they saw were skeletons covered in cobwebs everywhere.
The exit was blocked by boulders. Dozens, even hundreds, of Dwarves had starved to death here, among them even a few infants.
"The bones of our kinsmen," Balin's voice was heavy. "They must have come here with great hope."
"A shocking sight! This is the price of hope turning into despair," Aaron pursed his lips. "There shouldn't be any other way here, or rather, there's only one path we can take: go back and slay Smaug."
"All of us combined are no match for him," Dwalin said. "We can last a few more days hiding here, but if we go out, we'll probably die in the flames."
"That's still better than waiting to die here," Aaronshrugged. "Fighting for our lives gives us a chance to survive, but staying here means certain death.
You will become mummified like your Dwarf kinsmen, forever trapped in this despairing place, but I certainly won't die.
You might not believe it, but this place, for me, is not a dead end."
Bilbo, however, believed Aaron. He had witnessed Aaron's magic firsthand. If anyone could escape from Smaug, it would definitely be him.