Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 244 Beheading and Capture of Azog

The Orc Town in the Misty Mountains is less a small town and more a large, complex mine or cave.

The Orcs are said to have been monstrous creatures created from the captives of elves, humans, and other races who were captured by the Dark Lord Morgoth and tortured and abused after being corrupted by dark forces.

After they multiplied throughout Middle-earth, these Orks gradually evolved into different forms and clans in order to adapt to the environments of different regions.

The orcs in the orc town are small in stature and have poor eyesight because they have lived in dark and narrow caves for a long time. They like to dig caves and set traps, and their lifestyle is similar to that of goblins in fantasy worlds.

Compared to the orcs who were exploited for their labor, the Azog clan, who have now migrated to the former dwarven kingdom of Moria, have become stronger and more skilled in combat. They practice semi-military management and have gained a more dominant position over their former kin in the Misty Mountains.

After suffering heavy losses in the last siege of the expeditionary force, Azog sent a message to his son, Borg, to lead more orcs from Moria to this place. At the same time, he went directly to his old friend, the orc king of the orc town, an old orc who had ruled the orcs of the Misty Mountains for nearly a thousand years, to discuss matters.

After the two orc clan leaders met, they didn't exchange many pleasantries and immediately began discussing various plans to deal with the expeditionary force.

As the saying goes, rivals are enemies. In fact, it's not just the dwarves who hate the orcs. The orcs, as the dwarves' sworn enemies, also deeply resent these greedy and stubborn little dwarves.

When Azog brought news of the expedition to the Orc King and offered a hefty reward, the cunning old Orc immediately agreed to join forces.

In this old man's mind, those skinny orcs under his command were just his slaves, and they were even used as food reserves for other strong orcs. Even if some were lost, it didn't matter.

While they were discussing how to devour Thorin, the grandson of the former king of the mountain and the dwarf prince, and turn him into a delicious dish,...

Suddenly, a huge explosion came from somewhere in the cave, followed by the shouts of a group of orcs and a terrifying roar that sent chills down one's spine.

Azog's expression shifted as he recalled his subordinates' report that the expedition team included a wizard who could fly through the sky, and that terrifying behemoth.

He immediately frowned and said to the Orc King:

"It's very likely a wizard among those dwarves. He can use some kind of magic. They must have found your cave."

"It is said that they also subdued a terrifying beast with extremely strong fighting power, and many of my orcs died at the hands of that beast."

Upon hearing this, the Orc King felt he had lost face in front of Azog. Enraged, he grabbed his metal scepter and struck one of the Orcs on the head several times, roaring:

"Send men over there immediately to see what's happening. You bunch of useless trash, bring me the enemy's head! I want to eat fresh meat today!"

Because he only needs to accept food from his subordinates year after year and does not need to hunt or fight, this orc king's size has far exceeded that of an ordinary orc. His body is as fat as an overweight elephant, and his legs have almost degenerated. He usually sits sprawled on a wooden bed and is moved by his subordinates.

As the ruler of the Orc Town for nearly a thousand years, this Orc King wielded extraordinary power among the Orc clans of the Misty Mountains.

It could even be said that for such a long time, almost half of the orcs in this clan were his offspring, connected to him by blood, and no one dared to disobey his orders.

His loud shouts quickly attracted the attention of the orcs who were digging nearby. These orcs were short in stature with small eyes, but they were relatively agile. Their skin was festering and ulcerated, and they had virtually no armor. They carried weapons such as pickaxes and shovels. Under the command of the orc king, they swarmed towards the direction from which the explosion came, like a swarm of bees.

Soon, at the Orc King's command, the number of people surrounding him increased rapidly. Within a few minutes, nearly a thousand Orcs armed with crude weapons had gathered around him.

The group was crowded on the narrow, suspension bridge-like passage, swaying precariously. Some unlucky ones were even pushed off the bridge by their companions and plunged into the bottomless abyss below.

Therefore, in Azog's view, although these orcs were numerous, they were no match for the elite orc warriors under his command; they were just a motley crew of grotesque and incompetent men.

Lacking a clear class division and having undergone no military training, they were like a chaotic group of refugees; despite their large numbers, they were unlikely to form any effective fighting force.

When Azog and the Orc King arrived at the site of the battle, surrounded by a group of Orc minions, things were going much as he had expected.

The most striking thing that appeared before them was a monster that was eight meters tall, with dark brown skin all over its body. It looked somewhat like a dragon, but its muscles were more developed, it had huge horns, and it was even more terrifying in appearance. It had no wings.

The monster stood directly in the passage leading to the mine exit. Its two huge, sharp claws, like excavators, relentlessly slapped, tore, and ripped apart the orcs surging towards it. Its immense power was like an unstoppable force, easily crushing those tiny rats, who were less than a meter tall.

The other two roads leading to the mine had been destroyed by an unknown weapon. Many buildings that originally stood on those roads collapsed, and the orcs living inside fell to the bottom of the mine, where they had little chance of survival.

Behind the monster, Thorin, the dwarf prince, along with his companions and Bilbo, was the target of Azog and the Orc King. As if in a provocation, they were hurling insults and using their crossbows to take advantage of the terrain and shoot down the Orcs in the passage from above.

With Robin, the terrifying Deathclaw, serving as a meat shield in the passage, no orc could cross this chasm. Even when they used all their might to smash the Deathclaw with their once-proud wooden javelins and short-handled throwing axes, they could not break through Robin's defenses or cause him any damage.

Even though the number of orcs in the mine exceeded a thousand, surging towards them like a black tide, the expeditionary force led by Deathclaw was like a solid reef in the sea. No matter how the waves surged, they remained unmoved and quickly reaped the lives of the orcs.

In less than ten minutes, thick, black blood began to flow down the gaps in the suspension bridge, staining the ground crimson. Robin threw a large number of corpses into the pit, and the death of his companion quickly cooled the passion of this rabble.

Deathclaw was also very excited to kill. Sometimes he was no longer satisfied with guarding one place. Instead, he would put on all fours and use the various weapons on his body to kill through the enemies in front of him. Then he would kill his way back in the opposite direction. There was no one among this scum who could stand a chance against him.

Seeing this scene, Azog frowned, finally witnessing the terror of the monster firsthand. The Orc King, on the other hand, was furious. Having reigned supreme in the depths of this land for over a thousand years, he had almost forgotten the taste of defeat and setbacks. He simply kept smashing his iron-headed scepter against the Orcs around him, cursing them and urging them to attack even more fiercely.

Just then, Azog suddenly sensed a chilling killing intent coming from behind him, and a deep voice spoke in Sindarin:

"Found you!"

"White-skinned orcs, you must be Azog and the Orc King."

Before Azog and the orc king, who was being carried on the heads of his minions, could react...

Suddenly, from a rock wall above them, a figure appeared, clad in blood-red armor, with a terrifying and intimidating appearance, and carrying a magnificent two-handed sword on his shoulder.

It was Wayne who had been lurking in the mine, searching for enemy generals.

When facing a mob, decapitation strikes are always one of the most cost-effective, fastest, and most effective methods.

Wayne was incredibly fast. After saying that, his body shot off the wall like a cannonball. While still in mid-air, he quickly formed an enhanced version of the Aard sign with his right hand.

When he landed next to Azog and the Orc King, he slammed his left hand down on the ground.

Bang! A loud bang!

A dense surge of chaotic magic erupted from his palm, and a powerful shockwave spread rapidly outwards from him.

The immense force struck the orcs surrounding the Orc King and Azog directly, sending these small orcs flying like autumn leaves in the wind. Countless dust and debris flew up, forming a large circular clearing.

The impact was enormous; almost all the orcs who were knocked away had their internal organs displaced and coughed up blood. Some unlucky ones even had their sternums and brains shattered and died while still flying through the air.

As the central area was instantly cleared, the orcs standing on the periphery were immediately pushed back several steps by the immense force.

Because the suspension bridge was not very large, dozens of orcs fell into the bottomless pit because they lost their footing.

However, just as this fierce attack ended, and the other orcs were preparing to rescue their leader, they recklessly charged towards the center.

Wayne's figure suddenly became blurry, and in the blink of an eye, he transformed from a figure wearing blood-red armor into seven identical blood-armored knights.

Using the territory cleared by the Alder sign as his base, and with the enhancement of his superb swordsmanship, the seven magnificent two-handed greatswords instantly transformed into death scythes, rapidly reaping lives at an extremely fast pace.

He sent out a mirror image clone with only half the power to fend off the orcs surging in from all directions, while Wayne's main body charged towards his target without hesitation.

Even though the Orc King and Azog had realized the danger and were preparing to flee from him.

However, the Witcher's superhuman speed gave them no chance to escape.

Without any fancy moves, under Azog's gaze, Wayne lightly leaped up, his two-handed greatsword becoming a blur, and with a powerful New Year's greeting sword technique, cleanly and swiftly, without any hesitation, he cleaved the still somewhat bewildered Orc King in two from top to bottom.

After accomplishing the feat of killing the Orc King, Wayne's left hand instantly unleashed a powerful Aard sign, blasting the Orc King's corpse, along with the remaining terrified Orc laborers, off the suspension bridge and into the bottomless mine pit.

From the moment he made his voice, to his sudden appearance from the sky to kill the Orc King, and then to the destruction of the body, the entire process took no more than ten seconds.

Because the orcs here are relatively weak, many of them lost their leader who had ruled them for thousands of years without even realizing it.

Due to the narrow terrain of the mine, the advantage of numbers was severely limited. The other six powerful mirror clones easily blocked the orcs surging in from other places with their sharp two-handed greatswords.

After killing the Orc King, Wayne deliberately held back and controlled the others, quickly killing them all, leaving only Azog and Wayne on the platform.

In the battle just now, this pale-skinned, strong orc with a large sword in one hand and an iron fork on his other severed arm also performed quite fiercely.

Azog's infamy had been known throughout Middle-earth for centuries as the leader of the orcs who ruled Moria.

Thorin gained considerable fame for his ability to hold his own against Thorin in battle, blocking his attack with his oak shield and then cutting off one of his arms.

No one can deny that Azog was a highly elite warrior in Middle-earth.

Unfortunately, he was ultimately just an ordinary orc. Although he was very strong, he had neither magic nor special abilities, and he was ultimately powerless against a well-rounded warrior like Lord Wayne.

With the mirror image's duration already halfway through, more and more orcs surged in from all directions of the mine.

Wayne suddenly gave Azog, who was already panting heavily from his exhaustion, a slightly mocking smile. With his left hand, which was not holding a sword, he snapped his fingers. Under the influence of chaotic magic, the power of the Axii sign, imbued with immense magical energy, instantly surged into the pale orc's brain.

Although Azog's fighting spirit was extremely strong, and his body was filled with violent and angry emotions, he was still controlled for three seconds by Wayne's Axii sign.

In those brief three seconds, when Azog came to his senses, Wayne's figure had already appeared behind him, his left hand, clad in an iron gauntlet, delivering a powerful punch to the back of his head, leaving him dizzy and disoriented, and he quickly passed out.

(Waaaaah, I'll be updating with 10,000 words tomorrow, but not today.)

(End of this chapter)