Clear, cold moonlight like a thin mist filtered through branches and leaves into the forest clearing. Elrohir's face was as calm as still water.
His form stood upright, becoming a shadow that merged with the trees. His left hand gripped a dark green war bow tightly while his right hand drew the bowstring. The sharp arrowhead moved lightly with his rage-filled eyes.
Seeking targets worthy of tearing through the air. None?!
Elrohir frowned slightly, lowering his war bow to survey once more the orc formation advancing through the forest. Scattered and loose, unable to maintain even basic formation, like a swarm of black locusts advancing through the forest without discipline.
Occasionally ugly oaths and the sounds of whips striking flesh emerged from the formation. No mistake. These were familiar orcs.
Only the troops in the middle of the formation could barely be considered a real army. Those were great orcs. Elites capable of wearing iron armor and marching normally.
But Elrohir had not discovered any target resembling a leader among them. Orcs operated chaotically under might-makes-right principles—leaders were generally the strongest-looking, most fierce, best-equipped individuals.
But for some reason, no such figure appeared before him. Strange?
Sharp eyes swept over those dozen tall figures. Not right! They all wore similar equipment and carried identical weapons. Orc chieftains who ruled tribes through fear and violence would not allow subordinates to look exactly like themselves.
Moreover, these creatures' builds resembled neither orcs nor trolls. Could they be special breeds that had wandered from Mount Gundabad? Azog's kinsmen? Should they not have white skin? These were black!
"Ugh..." Amid his confusion, a whimpering sound arose not far below his feet.
Elrohir's expression shifted as he looked down incredulously. Whether orcs or wargs, movement always produced great noise that could never escape his ears. Moreover, he had already applied scent-masking potions—he should not have been discovered.
Dense grass swayed slightly. A creature with long limbs, strange appearance, and body covered in long hair burst out.
At this moment, it seemed to have already discovered the elf in the tree. Raising its neck and opening its mouth, it began barking wildly.
"Woof!" Having barely made one sound, a gleaming arrowhead had already pierced its throat.
"Foul creature!" One arrow took its life, yet Elrohir's expression remained extremely ugly as he called softly: "Attack!"
He finally understood that the orcs he faced did not come from the north. But were allies of that evil sorcerer from the Lone-lands! He had encountered such hounds during pursuit and suffered once. Naturally he remembered clearly!
At that time they had been discovered by these strange creatures, allowing the fleeing orcs to know they had a tail. Then the three of them had encountered an ambush.
At this moment, Snaga walking outside the formation, had already sensed something wrong, stopping and turning to look. Elrohir paid no attention as another arrow was nocked. Both arms exerted force as the war bow was drawn to full moon. After slight aiming, sharp string sounds instantly arose. The keen arrowhead cut through night sky, penetrating deeply into a black-tinged red eye.
"Thud"—shooting through the Black Beast's skull, the arrowhead was pitch black with a trembling shaft.
Since he could not find the leader, he would shoot more important targets. The struck Black Beast instinctively covered its eye, standing dazed for several seconds before crashing down. Then it twitched a few times and completely stilled.
Not fearing pain did not mean not dying.
At this time, Dúnedain Rangers who had heard the command also emerged from behind trees. Over ten longbows quickly aimed at the orc formation.
They knew the terrain and knew only one path led to Thornfield village. The closest and best to travel! In forests, if one did not follow roads, heaven knew where one might end up—this was forests' nature.
So they need not fear orcs would not come. After receiving Luna's message, they had moved through half the forest along the path and were already well-positioned in ambush.
"Shoot!" Fingers released, bowstrings sounded, and arrows broke through air. "Swish, swish, swish"—seven or eight black shadows fell instantly after being struck.
Reminded by screams, the orcs finally took action. Those on the periphery became confused like headless flies.
Some lay directly on the ground trying to hide and avoid arrows, only to be trampled by other wildly running orcs with continuous screams. Some tried hiding behind trees but because too many had this idea, they nearly got squeezed into meat patties.
Some charged with shields raised, bloodthirsty light flashing in their eyes, only to be pinned to the ground by arrows from the side due to lack of cover.
"Beat the drums!" "Counterattack!" "Charge!" "You stupid maggots, move now!"
Evil Black Speech rang out over the forest, followed by frantic drumbeats. Thrum-bang, thrum-bang—the great orcs in the formation's center moved.
They had more discipline, could assemble quickly, rapidly condensing under orders into a huge black fist advancing toward the attacked direction.
Elrohir frowned deeply. He hated orcs and detested this harsh, grating sound. However, this did not prevent his sharp eyes from searching amid the chaos to find who was giving orders.
At this time, Rangers shot arrows again, killing another seven or eight orcs. Could not find him. Still could not find him!
Elrohir had to admit his plan to capture the leader first had failed. Eyes filled with rage, his bowstring moved continuously. Each arrow's flight represented one evil minion reaching life's end.
Long-haired dogs, great orcs. Plus those Snaga trying to raise short bows in counterattack fell one after another. They were the first enemies killed.
While those distant tall shadows had raised great shields, covering vital points completely. Pushing aside orcs blocking the road, they howled as they charged forward!
"Retreat!" Elrohir shot his final arrow, again killing a strange-looking long-haired hound, then stepped on the tree trunk and leaped, landing lightly on the grass.
Not stopping, he ran wildly toward Thornfield village's defensive line. Since the plan had failed, he did not intend to linger in battle.
This ambush only had ten Dúnedain Rangers cooperating. No matter how capable they were, they could not withstand that mass of orcs before them. If surrounded, he might easily withdraw, but the humans would likely fight to the death.
Since enemies outnumbered them and direct confrontation was hard to win, they would set ambushes and layer interceptions, making every step the orcs took frightening until they gave up attacking.
His brother Elladan, accompanying Halladrak's newly assembled ten Rangers, waited ahead. Waiting to give pursuing orcs a surprise.
Hearing orders, the Dúnedain Rangers moved in unison. Whether they had aimed at targets or not, all stopped shooting and turned to follow the elf's figure. Orders obeyed immediately—retreat when told to retreat!
"Chase! Chase them quickly!" "You useless scum!"
Even without understanding Black Speech, one could hear from the tone how furious Chieftain Ghost Brain was. Several slender black shadows followed closely, constantly using barks to indicate direction.
Under drumbeat urgings, over a hundred orcs grabbed weapons and shields, following sound reminders in pursuit. Their builds were much taller. Though not matching Uruk-hai, they fell short by little. They wore leather armor, some sewn with crude iron plates, iron spikes, or entire pieces of chainmail.
Shields were also covered with hide while weapons gleamed brightly—clearly well-maintained. These were combat elites.
"A bunch of waste!" Ghost Brain grumbled as he climbed down from the Black Beast's back.
He was very, very short—seemingly even shorter than Hobbits—but had a very large head. A pair of pitch-black eyes rolled around wildly like a goblin emerging from underground holes, thinking unknown schemes.
Looking at the massive corpse fallen to the ground, his mood was very unpleasant. This had cost great money and was fundamental to ruling this tribe. Now before even being used, it died from one arrow—one ordinary arrow.
Besides heartache, Ghost Brain was also wary of enemies' archery skills.
He commanded in Black Speech: "Surround me inside, then protect yourselves with shields. Understand?"
Surrounding Black Beasts nodded and raised shields. Then Ghost Brain climbed back onto a Black Beast's back, ordering his better-equipped orc bodyguards: "Gather the remaining people. We continue attacking the village. Use fire and death to let them feel what fear means!"
Whip-cracking sounds arose again. Orcs were like this, especially Snaga—after being scared witless, they would only cower in dark corners. Once someone took whips to beat them, they could again rally spirits, pick up weapons thrown aside, and continue fighting.
It is unknown whether this showed resilience or forgetfulness. Orcs continued forward as the forest once again returned to silence. Even birds would not approach this battlefield.
By tomorrow, probably only crows would come look. They might not even be willing to eat orc corpses.
When Aedric caught up, he only saw scattered devastation. Several long-haired dogs killed by single arrows, one Black Beast with pierced brain, plus twenty or thirty Snaga bristling with arrows.
Two had not died completely—Aedric kindly helped them find release.
Walking to the Black Beast's corpse, Aedric's eyes brightened as he pulled out the arrow. Comparing people killed people. He had fought desperately with Morgan's cooperation to kill one. Here one arrow had blown apart a head.
Dark green fletching, diamond arrowhead, plus silver patterns wound around the shaft. This was a Rivendell arrow—it was unknown whether Elrohir, Elladan, or Luna had done this. Regardless, it represented that interception had begun.
Aedric's heart settled greatly as he strode forward in continued pursuit. Where the orc army had passed, traces were so obvious that even in the forest's hazy moonlight and dark environment, he absolutely could not lose the target.
Time disappeared bit by bit with trees left behind. The moon quietly hid in clouds as stars also vanished completely. Forest light grew dimmer.
As an ordinary human, Aedric's vision greatly decreased, barely able to continue forward along the path underfoot. Air also became humid. Stirring Month belonged to midsummer—already the hottest period. Now it was both humid and hot.
Clothing was quickly soaked with sweat, clinging to body surfaces, sticky and slippery. But Aedric could not attend to this. Wiping sweat from his face, his steps quickened.
Continuing in this darkness, he could barely see. Perhaps the next moment he would crash dead against a tree trunk, then be collected by orcs. After filling their stomachs, they would return tomorrow to continue guarding that tree.
'Can this broken log give anything else?! The invisibility ring will not let me use it—I endured that. Give me darkvision!' Irritated Aedric complained silently. Suddenly he stopped, quickly hiding behind a large tree near the path.
His right hand gripped the sword hilt, slowly and silently drawing Mithreleth. Rustling sounds came from ahead. At first they sounded like small beasts leaping through the forest, but careful listening revealed obvious differences.
"Blasted big head, cowardly Ghost Brain, only letting me take my own subordinates back? What for, to die?"
These were orcs' grumbling complaints, mixing unclear Common Speech and Black Speech. Aedric only understood "blasted," "Ghost Brain," "own subordinates," and "to die?"—these few words. Thinking briefly, he had already summarized events in his mind.
This was reinforcement the orc chieftain had sent back. Probably just to investigate the situation, because this small force only had about ten orcs—completely unable to defeat enemies capable of killing Black Beasts.
It seemed Ghost Brain was abandoning his base, preparing to attack Thornfield Village in one go.
Thinking silently, Aedric lowered his blade while temporarily abandoning his usual attitude toward orcs, quietly waiting for them to leave. Pursuing the main force was more urgent.
Though fighting desperately, he could probably only eliminate twenty or thirty Snaga. If they fought to the death without retreating. But relying on that invisibility ring's five seconds of effective time, perhaps he could execute decapitation tactics like Thorin in the Battle of Five Armies! Must try!
Only after nearby sounds completely disappeared did Aedric emerge from behind the tree. Spotting direction, he ran.
"Splash, splash, splash"—heavy rain poured down, instantly livening the silent forest. Boot soles stepping on wet grass made drum-like sounds.
Rain dispersed heat, gently patting his body. Making that cool breath within Aedric instantly active. Like originally lifeless office workers suddenly hearing they could leave after finishing work, plus tomorrow would be a weekend.
Injury recovery speed actually greatly accelerated. Originally nearly exhausted stamina also seemed to strike a spring, flowing continuously like clear water.
Vaguely, he seemed to sense everything in the rain—bushes, branches, trunks, plus strong roots emerging from earth and intertwining. Invisible, yet their outlines were clearly visible in Aedric's mind. Of course, only this small nearby area.
"Could rainy days be my domain?! I am truly stupid! Celorn, Celorn—rain is also a form of water flow! Or perhaps the practice of Celorn has reached the next stage?"
Aedric's spirits lifted as his running speed increased. Various corpses continuously appearing along the way—orcs, long-haired dogs, even a Black Beast—reminded him his pursuit direction was correct. And how intense the fighting ahead was.
Dense raindrops striking leaves made "shush, shush, shush" sounds, performing uniform music. Noise quietly appeared.
Successive footsteps sounded in the forest, growing closer and louder. Angry shouts, dying screams, arrows' shrieks cutting through rain curtains, and weapons clashing together mixed into one.
Aedric reduced speed, knowing he was close. But before him remained shrouded in darkness. Only small points of light gleamed in the distance, insufficient to let him see everything.
"Crack-rumble"—the rainy night's first thunder sounded. Instantly, an extremely chaotic battlefield appeared before Aedric's eyes.