The people of Lake-town quickly returned to their homes and began packing belongings and food they could take with them.
This time no one was injured and no one died. Everyone prepared for evacuation in an orderly fashion, heading to the promised safe haven.
"This might be the beginning of a new life."
"Honestly, I don't feel anything different."
A townsman complained: "Almost all the wealth is in the Master's hands. Besides having a house to live in, what else do we have?"
"If Bard hadn't been fighting for benefits, many people still wouldn't have enough to eat."
"Exactly."
"I heard that near the Lonely Mountain is Dale, where our ancestors lived. Once the people there were wealthy and happy, and the city was prosperous. I really hope we could experience that kind of life."
Listening to the townspeople's discussions, Bard remained silent.
He thought of what Thorin had said about the king's promise. Perhaps this promise could be used to rebuild people's former homeland and restore Dale's prosperity.
Even without the orc army's invasion, Lake-town wasn't really a very suitable place to live.
After all, it was a floating city in the center of a lake. Due to building materials, construction techniques, and long periods without maintenance, Lake-town's area shrank every year, and it could accommodate fewer and fewer people. Sooner or later it would have to undergo major changes. Either rebuilding and renovation or relocation. Either way, trouble was inevitable.
If they could use this opportunity to transfer some townspeople to live on land, that would be a good thing too.
While Lake-town was busily taking action.
In Mirkwood, almost that same day, the elf sent to deliver messages returned to the king's throne to make a series of reports.
"Gundabad..."
Thranduil muttered this place name in a low voice, getting a headache.
Why go wandering around there? Didn't he know that place was full of orcs?
This old father sighed repeatedly.
But at least nothing had happened yet.
Knowing that Legolas was still relatively safe with Tauriel accompanying him, Thranduil continued asking:
"Any other news?"
This question opened up big trouble.
The dragon had been killed by Levi Stonecraft and another human, and the dwarves had successfully reclaimed Erebor. Upon hearing this news, Thranduil immediately felt the urge to send troops directly to demand his family's treasures.
But following this news came tens of thousands of elite orc armies.
Thranduil fell into deep thought.
Gandalf had also mentioned this matter, begging the Woodland Realm to send troops.
The Lonely Mountain and Lake-town lay within easy reach of the Woodland Realm—far nearer than Levi's dwelling was to Bree. These were indeed neighboring lands, where one might journey from realm to realm ere the sun had set.
If something happened, no one could escape.
If the Lonely Mountain and Dale region were all occupied, the Woodland Realm would likely become a true island, surrounded on all sides by orcs, with spiders nearby as well.
Besides these problems, there was another matter. Legolas was still over there, and with his stubborn nature, he definitely wouldn't choose to flee. His figure would certainly be seen on the battlefield.
No way.
Thranduil immediately stood up and ordered his adjutant:
"Prepare armor and weapons, assemble the elite. We're going to reclaim what rightfully belongs to us and support our allies."
"Allies?"
The adjutant was somewhat confused. Weren't there only dwarves?
"Levi and Gandalf, plus the humans of Lake-town. They'll need help."
"As for the dwarves, if they're willing to return our things and sincerely beg, then giving them some help isn't impossible."
An elite elven army thus set out with a pile of aid supplies.
…
Far to the east of the Lonely Mountain, at the Iron Hills.
Dain listened to the message delivered by the thrush, his expression grave.
"It seems Thorin needs some help."
"All you lads whose shields have been stained with orc blood, come with me!"
The dwarves roared as they prepared armor and war machines, mounted goats and boars, and advanced toward the Lonely Mountain.
This force was smaller in number than the elves, but sufficiently elite.
The Iron Hills were called the Iron Hills because that region had extremely high iron ore content, though other metal deposits were pitifully scarce, especially gold and silver.
Weapons, armor, war machines, heavy crossbows. All equipment was abundant, but if you needed money, they really couldn't squeeze out a penny.
You could say they had everything except money.
The dwarves and elves. Two great armies. Thus set out for the Lonely Mountain one after the other.
Only at the Lonely Mountain, Levi looked at this vast expanse of deep valleys and city ruins, feeling like his head was about to go bald.
Building a wall capable of effective defense in this place wasn't some small project requiring just hundreds of thousands of blocks. Even using lava and water to pour it, the workload was liver-aching.
But the problem wasn't big. Levi's liver wouldn't break.
Covering the entire battlefield with walls wasn't very realistic, but one city was more than enough.
It was time to let the orcs feel what was called the Wall of Lamentation.
In a few days' time, the massive engineering project of three rings inside and outside certainly couldn't be completed, but making one ring of effective defense was still possible.
Above the ruins of Dale, Levi stood on high ground, attempting to claim this place as his territory, but soon received a notification:
[Claim Failed]
"Already has an owner?"
Levi couldn't claim land and buildings that already had owners or were occupied, just like all the various towns and faction capitals he'd encountered so far. Those all belonged to others' "territories."
Right!
Levi slapped his forehead.
Although Dale had been destroyed and become ruins, Bard, the descendant of this region's lord, was still alive and possessed the world-recognized legitimate inheritance rights to Dale.
"Bard... good thing it's Bard."
If it was Bard, he just needed to say, "You wouldn't want to see the townspeople suffer, would you?"
He would one hundred percent give up the territory.
But this matter would have to wait until he arrived. For now...
Levi held lava in his left hand, a water bucket in his right, and his backpack full of materials, and directly began building walls. While constructing the wall, he occasionally ran to the Lonely Mountain to commission the dwarves to start furnaces and smelt lava.
"What do you need so much lava for?"
At the smeltery, Dwalin wiped his sweat, operating the ore cart that rumbled as it poured stones and slag into the giant furnace.
"That's a wonderful tool that will be used in a few days."
"A few days from now? Are you planning to use this lava to burn orcs to death? Forgive my bluntness, but although their brains aren't very good, they wouldn't jump in themselves."
"Don't worry, just keep smelting. This lava will come in handy."
Levi said mysteriously, then asked: "By the way, where is your ore storage room? I might need to use some."
"Ore... you might need to ask Balin or Thorin about that. They're more familiar with the structure here."
"Ore?"
Before the king's throne, Thorin thought for a moment.
"I can take you there. Are you going to forge something?"
"Yes, something to deal with the orc army in a few days."
Thorin nodded and added: "If you need help, I can provide some assistance. Although I've been wandering for years, my forging skills have never declined."
"No need, I'll handle it myself. It's just... do you have enough mineral reserves here? I'll probably need a lot of iron, plus a certain amount of gunpowder."
This question made Thorin laugh outright.
"Levi, you might not quite understand. Although Erebor was conquered for over a hundred years, the various mineral deposits and metal reserves inside have never been touched. If you have the ability, there's enough to make thousands of iron armor sets."
"It's just a little ore. Use as much as you want. That's my word."
Thorin generously made this promise.
Ha, what a joke.
One person, in a few days' time. Could he really hollow out the Lonely Mountain?