Wizard: This witcher is neglecting his duties.

Chapter 259 The Battle of the Five Armies (Part 1)

After returning from Lonely Mountain, Wayne got his wish and received a Master-level quest and an Epic-level quest from Thorin.

These are the Master-level "Decapitation Strike" and the Epic-level "Defeat the Enemy".

He had originally planned to get a few quests from King Thranduil to see if he could kill two or even three birds with one stone. However, the system didn't allow him to exploit this loophole. After testing a few times, he discovered that the same thing wouldn't trigger similar quests even if he asked other people, thus dashing his hopes of getting free quest rewards.

However, this is only impossible at the system level; there is no such restriction in reality. Therefore, Wayne still obtained a real-world contract from the Elf King on the condition that he assist the Silvan elves in fighting against the orc army. The reward for the entrustment was the right to copy books collected by the Silvan elves, which was not particularly valuable.

This meager reward led the Silvan elves to believe that Wayne was simply a man of noble character who did not want to ask for much, and was a friend worth having.

Soon, a month after receiving the intelligence, the orc army finally appeared.

They set out from the Grey Mountains and headed straight north. They were an elite group of about three thousand fully armed orc warriors, equipped with dire wolves and wearing heavy armor. Lord Wayne was the one who received this information.

In order not to waste time and actively improve his strength, he took on a daily mission to scout enemy armies during the lull when all the races were actively preparing for war. He would then fly his magic carpet out to search for traces of the orc army.

These are all expert-level missions. Although each reconnaissance mission takes two to three days, the cost-effectiveness is still very high compared to completing ordinary-level missions.

After discovering the news of this orc army, both the dwarves and the elves became tense.

War is no child's play. Every war is accompanied by bloodshed and death. Every race in the North, down to each individual, has had relatives who died at the hands of orcs. This is a deep-seated hatred that no one will forget.

As the orc army drew closer, the eyes of the elves and dwarves were drawn to it, and brave scout squads were dispatched to monitor the enemy's movements.

However, at this point, Wayne had no intention of stepping forward.

The first reason is that the nail that sticks out gets hammered down. Although he might be able to keep up with the army and wear them down with his flying and shooting abilities, given enough time, he could even wipe out an entire army by himself.

However, that would make him the focus of everyone's attention, targeted by the commanders among the orcs, and even affect his subsequent decapitation plan.

As for the second reason, being too dazzling is not a good thing for a hero. In addition to attracting the attention of the Dark Lord Sauron, it may even attract the attention of the creator god of Middle-earth, affecting the plans of this powerful god.

Killing Smaug has already made him a big name for himself and even changed the course of the War of the Five Armies. At this point, it is not appropriate to go too far. It is a good thing to keep a low profile.

So Wayne simply hid in the shadows, observing the army's movements from afar, no longer showing himself too much, but instead lurking like a venomous snake.

In this fantasy world, the balance of power between good and evil can be determined by a single large-scale battle.

If he can launch a surprise attack and kill the enemy commander in one fell swoop, he can destroy the enemy's command system as quickly as possible.

It can greatly damage the enemy's morale. Perhaps there will be more casualties in the early stages because he did not participate in the battle, but as long as the decapitation operation is completed and the predetermined goal is achieved, the effect and the lives saved will be much greater than if he had been active on the battlefield from the beginning.

This elite orc squad moved swiftly, each member equipped with a dire wolf, and arrived near the ruins of Longlake Town from the Grey Mountains in about five days.

However, to everyone's surprise, they originally thought that this army would head straight for Lonely Mountain to attack the dwarf kingdom and avenge their predecessor, Azog.

After a brief one-night rest in Laketown, the army set off in full force, heading straight for the Dark Forest where the Woodland Kingdom was located, seemingly preparing to launch a preemptive attack on the Silvan elves.

This action immediately put the Woodland Kingdom on high alert. All the elves were busy preparing, armed themselves, and guarding their homes, ready to fight at any moment.

Neither the Elven Prince Legolas nor the Elven King Thranduil showed any hesitation. They took the lead and stood at the forefront of the battlefield, ready to fight the Orc army to the death.

Even the hundred light crossbowmen, composed of refugees from Changhu Town, eagerly rushed to the battlefield and were assigned to a relatively safe defensive position, waiting for the enemy to arrive.

Wayne wasn't idle either; the fact that the orc army would prioritize attacking the Woodland Kingdom was actually within his expectations.

Unlike the dwarves, who are protected by high walls and live in the deep mountains, the forest elves' kingdom is built in the forest and does not have very strong fortifications.

Furthermore, the elves are mostly archers and lightly armored. Although there are currently more woodland elves than Lonely Mountain dwarves, dealing with the elves who are good at ranged attacks in advance and preventing them from supporting the dwarves will reduce the trouble when dealing with Lonely Mountain dwarves later.

In just one day, this elite orc force had reached the border of the Woodland Kingdom, blocking the palace of the Silvan elves from the front.

Without any verbal exchange, the two sides immediately began fighting as soon as they met.

The Elven city walls are not high, only about three or four stories high, which cannot be compared with the tens of meters high walls of Lonely Mountain. But even so, they are not a height that orcs can climb by hand.

However, the Orcs have long been adept at using various means of warfare in their thousands of years of fighting against elves, humans, and dwarves. Although they are savage and brutal, they are not mindless fools.

This elite orc force of about three thousand men carried many siege ladders and a large number of shields. They wore heavy iron armor with strong defensive capabilities, and each of them was a strong and powerful man with a huge build. They were obviously prepared to attack the city under a rain of arrows.

Once the battle began, these elite orcs immediately formed groups of seven or eight, carrying huge shields and long siege ladders, and charged towards the elves on the city walls.

However, the elven archers were no pushovers. Led by the elven prince Legolas, they all donned flaming arrows and dispatched a large number of golden-armored elven guards to protect the city walls and the archers behind them.

In addition, the elven city walls have many defensive measures. Although their city walls are not very tall, they are more practical in terms of their ingenious design than many human city walls.

After the siege began, the two sides quickly entered a stalemate.

These well-equipped orcs were fierce and tough, and they carried shields with a large defensive area, which seriously affected the killing power of the elves' arrows. Most of them could only be killed by burning fire and the accurate attacks of the archers.

The golden-armored guards on the city wall were all highly skilled and well-equipped warriors. With them guarding the city wall, the orc warriors would not be able to rush over the city wall by relying solely on siege ladders and without numerical superiority.

Back and forth they went, both sides were exhausted. The warriors of the Woodland Kingdom were expending arrows and stamina, while the orcs were expending their lives.

These savage creatures seemed fearless, or perhaps their lives were insignificant to them. Despite suffering considerable casualties, they showed no fear and continued to charge towards the city walls, shields raised high.

Within just twenty minutes of the battle beginning, the 3,000-strong force had lost approximately 500 men, leaving a ring of corpses piled up around the elven city walls.

However, this advantage did not satisfy Wayne, who was observing the battle from a high vantage point; instead, it aroused a sense of doubt in his heart.

He remembered that in the original movie, the orc army was quite strong.

In the Battle of the Five Armies, the Orc army not only consisted of a large Orc legion, but also a large number of dire wolves and ogres that were six or seven meters tall. Most terrifyingly, they seemed to be able to control a super-giant monster called the burrowing worm, which could dig a tunnel directly into the ground and even cross great distances to create an underground tunnel that led directly to the battlefield.

While these elite orcs are well-equipped and have high morale, their combat effectiveness is not particularly impressive, and they cannot be considered the main force of the orc army.

Moreover, after observing for a long time, Wayne did not see their commander or senior generals, nor did he see any outstanding figures.

Was it because after he killed Azog, the orc army had no successor?

With this question in mind, Wayne turned to King Thranduil, who sat atop a giant elk beside him, and cautiously reminded him:

"Your Majesty Thranduil, I feel something is amiss. The orc army is far too weak."

"Such a force of three thousand men is far too weak and illogical to attack the dwarves of Lonely Mountain or deal with your Woodland Kingdom."

"They definitely have other hidden methods; we must be careful."

King Thranduil's handsome face was also grave. After listening to Wayne's words, the elven king nodded in agreement and said:

"I think the same thing, Wayne."

"We have fought against orcs for thousands of years and have some understanding of their power."

"The army currently besieging the city is definitely just bait; their main force is surely still lurking somewhere."

"Therefore, I did not send out all the troops. Only a small portion is on the city walls. Currently, my guard captain, Tauriel, is leading the majority of the troops, ready to respond to any unforeseen events that may occur."

Seeing that the Elf King was prepared, Wayne breathed a sigh of relief. He had no experience in large-scale battles and was a complete novice when it came to military operations. The only thing he could control was his own strength.

Soon, another twenty minutes of battle had passed, and the number of orc troops had dropped from 2,500 to about 2,000, with nearly a third of them killed or wounded.

Even so, they still failed to breach the city walls, and more than a dozen siege ladders used for the attack were burned, making the siege a doomed attempt.

However, just as Wayne and the others were becoming increasingly confused, a series of rapid and sharp horn sounds suddenly came from behind them, intertwined with a large number of noisy and loud roars.

Upon hearing these sounds, the Elvenking Thranduil's expression changed. He immediately pulled on the reins of the giant elk beneath him and said to Wayne:

"Please come with me, Wayne."

"It must have been the orcs who launched the attack from behind."

Without waiting for Wayne's reply, he flicked the reins, gave Legolas, who was standing on the city wall in charge of command, a look, and then quickly rode the giant elk down the city wall and galloped towards the battlefield behind him.

Wayne glanced at the city wall, where the battle's outcome was practically sealed, then leaped down, mounted a warhorse, and followed the Elf King toward the battlefield.

(End of this chapter)