A magical journey that begins at Hogwarts

“Since the king has spoken, I will certainly grant him this favor,” Dann said readily, and then ordered the Ironfoot Army to march toward the city gate.

Aaron breathed a heavy sigh of relief and teleported to the city wall.

Although the process was a bit exciting, the result was still good; at least a fight didn't break out.

Thorin immediately ordered the dwarves around him to open the city gates and prepare to welcome the Ironfoot Army into the city.

But then a loud noise came from the distant hillside, the deafening sound attracting everyone's attention.

“They look like earth serpents.” Gandalf’s expression changed drastically. “They must be working with the orcs.”

The next moment, several huge and ferocious sandworms suddenly burst out of the burrow, their mouthparts filled with countless sharp teeth that crushed the hard boulder to pieces.

But they did not attack; after a brief appearance, they retreated, leaving several huge caves in the mountainside.

"Gandalf, please don't tell me that all our next enemies are this size." Aaron couldn't help but swallow hard. If Gandalf dared to say "yes," he would run away without hesitation.

“There are certainly huge enemies, but not many. The main enemy force is still orcs,” Gandalf murmured, looking at the huge burrows. “And they’re already here.”

"You mean the orcs will come out of those caves?" Aaron looked at the caves in disbelief, and was also shocked by Azog's tactics, which had actually dug tunnels all the way to the edge of Lonely Mountain.

He was somewhat relieved that the elves, humans, and dwarves hadn't started fighting; otherwise, the orcs would have seized the opportunity and severely damaged all three sides.

At the same time, he also had some doubts about Azog's intelligence. Given the current situation, a little trickery could make the elves and dwarves kill each other. Could it be that the orcs' bloodlust wouldn't allow them to reap the benefits?

"Forward, my army!"

Meanwhile, on Raven Ridge in the distance, Azog the Destroyer loudly summoned his army, vowing to annihilate the humans, dwarves, and elves in one fell swoop.

A massive command banner was unfurled, followed by the resounding sound of horns, and countless orc legions surged forth from the tunnels dug by the earth serpents.

"The devil is attacking us! Fight! Fight! Children of Turin!"

Dann immediately turned around and led his Ironfoot army to meet the enemy. Although he disliked the elves, he knew even more clearly that the orcs were the real enemy.

The Ironfoot Army was far outnumbered by the Orcs, but they were fearless and quickly erected a shield wall, with spears protruding from the gaps in the shield wall, ready for battle.

“I want to join the battle. Who will come with me?” Philip asked.

"Alright! Let's go!" Dvalin shouted, and the other dwarves echoed his agreement.

"No one is allowed to go," Thorin suddenly said.

"What? Are we just going to stand by and do nothing?" Groin asked in astonishment.

“I told you not to go,” Thorin emphasized.

The dwarves were stunned by these words; they simply couldn't believe Thorin would issue such an order.

"You want the gold, is that it?" Aaron looked at him meaningfully. "Even if you watch your own people die in battle, you don't want to go and help?"

Thorin paused for a moment, then walked down the city wall without answering.

"How could he have become like this?" Balin had a feeling of his faith collapsing. He had always firmly believed that Thorin would become a qualified king and revive the dwarves, but Thorin's current performance was heartbreaking.

“He is better than his grandfather; gold cannot deceive him.”

“It’s not that I don’t believe him, but why now?” Bahrain said bitterly. “Our compatriots are fighting a bloody battle, but we have to stand by and do nothing.”

“There’s never been a better time than now.” Aaron patted him on the shoulder. “If it were peacetime, he would be consumed by gold and live in a daze for a long time.”

But now the dwarves are facing a huge crisis, and if he had even a shred of conscience, he couldn't possibly turn a blind eye.

“But that will take time.” Bahrain looked at the Iron Legion below, who were standing ready for battle, with a troubled expression. “What we… lack most is time.”

“Then let’s shorten the time,” Aaron said meaningfully. “Use this time to organize some profound lines, go over and give him a good scolding, and try to wake him up.”

"Will this work?" Philip asked. "Thorin is unusually stubborn."

“There’s a saying in Gaius’s ancestral teachings: ‘Language is the most lethal weapon in the world.’” Aaron said meaningfully. “As long as you have a sharp tongue, coupled with convincing acting skills, and if necessary, a few tears that can fully express your emotions, you can even make the gods shut up.”

“We’ll talk about those unrealistic things later,” Bilbo interrupted Aaron somewhat anxiously. “The elves don’t seem to be planning to fight.”

Everyone looked closely and saw that the allied forces of elves and humans remained in a wait-and-see posture in front of the city of River Valley, holding their positions still.

“Thranduil!” Gandalf roared, somewhat angrily, “You cannot do this!”

"I'll go!" Aaron shrugged. "I'm just destined to be a workaholic!"

The black and white spatial vortex swept Aaron into it, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of the elf formation.

“Thranduil, you can’t do this,” Aaron said in the same tone as Gandalf. “I know you have Dale as your backing and a chance to retreat, but you won’t retreat forever.”

Gandalf made it very clear yesterday: I don't know what the Old Kingdom of Angmar in the North is, but I do know that after the orcs revive that kingdom, humans, elves, and dwarves will face annihilation.

“The brave dwarves won’t allow themselves to be the second to charge forward,” Thranduil said, somewhat annoyed. “But the pride of the elves won’t allow them to hide behind the dwarves.”

Aaron paused for a moment, then bowed respectfully to Thranduil.

Then, knowing better, he stepped aside and made way for the elf.

Seeing this, Bard, who was standing nearby, also wanted to bring people over to help.

“You have to stay here,” Aaron said, stopping him.

"But..."

"No buts. There are just too many orcs. If you join in, you won't even make a ripple."

"Although I hate to say this, we need a way out in case both the dwarves and the elves lose," Aaron said gravely. "This isn't pessimism, it's the truth, and there are probably still many old people and children in the city."

Bard nodded blankly, then looked at Aaron, "Can you help us?"

"I can only say I'll do my best." Aaron didn't make any definitive statements. He was only a high-level mage at the moment, capable of protecting himself on such a battlefield, but he couldn't influence the course of a war at all.

After saying this, Aaron's phantom teleported to the walls of Irubor.

“What did you say to Thranduil?” Gandalf asked.

“It’s nothing.” Aaron looked at the elven army charging towards the dwarven formation and couldn’t help but sigh, “Thranduil is much wiser than I thought.”

Although his personality was a bit cold and his overbearing manner made some people dislike him, there was no doubt that he was a qualified king.

“He is certainly a worthy king,” Gandalf said matter-of-factly. “Thranduil has protected his people for ages.”

“Amazing.” Aaron raised his black wand and waved his arm repeatedly at the distant sky.

"What are you doing?" Gandalf asked.

"You know perfectly well what I'm asking." Aaron curled his lip in disdain. "I'm a wizard, of course I fight with magic."

Gandalf: ......

This is awkward.

He was also a wizard, and his magic was no less powerful than that of Yaron, but his combat strength was a real weakness.

On the battlefield, just as the orc legion was about to clash head-on with the Ironfoot Army, the elven troops suddenly leaped out from above the dwarves and joined the orcs in battle.

The Iron Legion was not to be outdone, and resolutely charged into the enemy ranks with their spears.

Two races that originally disliked each other have now become friends and are fighting side by side against the orc army, with the three forces clashing together.

"Send out war behemoths."

Azog calmly gave the order, and several-meter-tall war behemoths slowly emerged from the enormous cave. With their massive bodies, they rampaged across the battlefield, causing heavy casualties to the elves and dwarves.

Upon seeing this, Thranduil immediately ordered the elven archers to launch an attack.

A barrage of golden arrows rained down like a downpour, instantly annihilating several war beasts along with dozens of orcs.

At the same time, the dwarves also sent chariots into the battlefield. The wheels were extremely powerful and destroyed a large number of orcs.

But the chariot was quickly targeted by the giant beasts, who used their bodies as human shields to block the goats pulling the chariot, and then overturned the chariot from the side.

Without their chariots, the chariot cavalry were instantly at a severe disadvantage and were quickly overwhelmed by the enemy forces.

“They cannot fight on two fronts.” Azog saw from Ravenhill that Vale was a place that neither the dwarves nor the elves could attend to, and immediately gave the order, “Begin the operation now, attack Vale.”

Upon hearing the horn, a well-rested orc army, seeing the flag signal, immediately changed direction and marched in a grand procession towards River Valley Town.

Once Riverdale falls, the dwarves, elves, and humans will have no way out and will face certain death against the massive orc army.

"Damn it!" Aaron said angrily. "I knew Asog would arrange it this way."

“Bard and his men won’t last long,” Gandalf said worriedly. “Humans don’t have many warriors at all.”

"But we have no choice but to fight to the death. Before that, I'll help them reduce the strength of the orc army."

As soon as he finished speaking, a giant magic circle formed in the sky, and dark purple light shone down on the earth.

Sizzle~ Sizzle~

Purple arcs of electricity flickered in mid-air, and the orc legion marching towards River Valley Town sensed a great danger and stopped in their tracks.

Rumble!

The next moment, violent purple lightning struck down from the magic circle.

Purple lightning flowers bloomed among the orc army, painting the surrounding sky purple, but this dazzling color contained the power to destroy everything.

Ah!

A deafening roar of screams echoed as one-tenth of the orc army attacking River Valley fell to the ground under the onslaught of thunder.

They were charred black from being hacked, and the black smoke emanating from their corpses was nauseating.

Chapter 279 The Great Grey Wizard, His Doppelganger's Fate

The thunderstorm came and went quickly, but the tremendous commotion left an indelible impression on everyone's mind.

Elves, dwarves, humans, and orcs alike stared in awe at the walls of Irubor, for in their understanding only powerful wizards could wield such magic, and there happened to be one there.

Meanwhile, on the walls of Irubor, Bilbo and a dozen or so dwarves stared blankly at Aaron, their eyes filled with a sense of unfamiliarity and an indescribable awe.

But more than anything, people are glad that Gandalf recognized his talent and brought him into the expedition. It would be a waste of his abilities to be a thief.

Aaron's heart skipped a beat when he noticed the gazes of the others.

He realized what was happening instantly and looked at Gandalf with reverence.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Gandalf asked, puzzled, but a sense of foreboding crept into his heart.

The next moment, Aaron grabbed Gandalf's right hand, which was holding the staff, and shouted to the battlefield below, "Long live Gandalf! Long live the Grey Wizard!"

While shouting, he also used a megaphone spell to ensure that his voice could reach everyone's ears.