bookbashuk Chapter 260 Despair and hope, one after another
Chapter 260 Despair and hope, one after another
Gondor's southern coast.
wow wow wow~
Five or six warships sailed into the bay from the vast ocean, and the strangely shaped triangular sails stood tall, looking from a distance like locusts lying on their stomachs.
It carried the notorious and vicious Umbar pirates.
They make a living by plundering merchant ships and coastal cities. They are all ruthless and bold, have no moral character at all, and commit all kinds of crimes, including burning, killing, raping and torture.
The images of these pirates are also very consistent with the setting, either with Mediterranean bald heads, or with shiny braids, no armor on their bodies, and the coarse linen clothes they wear make them more ruthless and vulgar.
But the pirates of Umbar have a long history.
At first it was the rebels from Gondor who fled to the western coast of Harad. Until now, their composition is basically Harad.
The Haradians were called the Southern Barbarians by Gondor.
call!
call!
Just as the fleet entered the waterway between the two banks, hundreds of feathered arrows flew out from the cliff on one side.
Immediately afterwards, Faramir, the prime minister's youngest son, showed his figure. Behind him, hundreds of soldiers wearing light armor that was convenient for marching drew their bows and shot arrows again.
"Smaug was right. These pirates really intend to land here. Our task is very simple, and that is to keep them from approaching the White City."
Faramir spoke resolutely, a resolute expression that looked death at home appeared on the young face.
One second before launching the charge, he looked back to the north, worried about Baicheng, which was the main battlefield.
He set off earlier, so he didn't know the situation in other places.
……
Baicheng was originally a satellite city that defended the old capital.
It is located in the east of Gondor, close to the border, facing Mordor far away, like two kings standing majestically on a chessboard.
And the soldiers and horses of the two kings are already facing each other.
The half-orc army of Mordor seemed to have been beaten with chicken blood, and penetrated the border defense line of Gondor like a bamboo, passed all the way, and killed the plains outside the White City in one go, and set up camp with extreme arrogance. It seems that the posture is to rest in place. Then launch a siege.
And the army on the front line of Gondor has retreated again and again, and has now been absorbed into the capital guard army.
The next morning.
"They are more terrifying than I expected, and I can't see the odds of winning." Prime Minister Denethor stood on the city wall, overlooking the enemy phalanx that moved him.
"Anyone can be cowardly, but you shouldn't." Gandalf snorted coldly.
"For some reason, I always feel that this day has come too early, as if something is pushing the wheel of history to run over us. I stand on the highest place overlooking the battlefield, as if I am a chess player, but in fact, I'm just a chess piece, what role does Sauron play?" Denethor muttered, frowning.
This time it was Gandalf's turn to be silent, and he turned away without saying a word. Instead of engaging in nonsense literature with Denethor here, he might as well go to direct the battle.
Aragorn, Legolas, Boromir, and Gimli gathered together, looking at the enemy with sad faces.
In a lonely tower at the side and rear, a mysterious female bard is looking at the gunpowder-smelling battlefield indifferently.
Like an outsider who has nothing to do with herself, she records the miscellaneous things that happened with the pen and paper in her hand, and looks up at the sky from time to time, as if she is looking for or waiting for something.
city wall.
"It seems that Sauron is serious and wants to put an end to everything." Gandalf came to Gimli and said sternly.
He said this because all the enemies wore good quality close-fitting armor and were equipped with excellent weapons.
From the commander, down to the soldiers, and even huge trolls, trolls and other non-human creatures, all have equipment to protect their bodies.
It's hard to see.
Most of the time, Orcs are rarely fully armed, at most a leather breastplate and crude iron armor.
woo-
Mordor blew the horn, and everyone's expressions changed drastically.
Whoosh!
The troll put huge boulders into the catapult, and in the next second, flying stones blasted into Baicheng.
The tower made of white bricks and stones suddenly had large holes, and many human soldiers screamed and turned into meat paste, which evenly covered the ground.
"Counterattack!" Boromir roared majesticly.
The human side also began to use trebuchets, and the boulders on both sides shot at each other like this, and many orcs were crushed to death motionless.
The formation of troops at this moment is the beginning of high morale, and anyone who dares to retreat will be killed.
What's more, once tens of thousands of people are in chaos, it is easy for the enemy to seize the opportunity.
"Fire the arrow!" Aragorn suddenly shouted.
As soon as the words fell, a Glenn elf army behind him shot out life-threatening feather arrows one by one, and the sharp arrows easily pierced through the orc's armor, taking away their lives one by one.
Elrond is naturally not here. After all, he also has a daughter and homeland to protect, but Aragorn was raised by him after all, and he treats Aragorn as his own. He is also a man his daughter likes, so he sent an elite archer to help out.
"Kill!" Oak's coach held up the blade, and his ugly and deformed features twisted and twitched as he shouted.
rumbling~
In an instant, a man-made earthquake came, and the terrifying Mordor army launched a siege charge.
The trolls were still throwing boulders, and the siege ladders were quickly erected on the city wall, and the short, fast-moving Orcs were scrambling to climb up.
Soon, the flames of war reached the city wall, and the two sides entered the stage of hand-to-hand combat.
On the ground, a group of Orcs carried battering rams, hitting the metal city gate again and again.
However, no matter how hard you tried, even if two trolls pushed behind, the city gate was as solid as a rock, and at most it trembled politely.
"Casted by mithril and blessed by the elves, how can ordinary things break through the city gate?" Boromir said proudly when he saw this, and ordered the soldiers to shoot the orcs that carried the hammers.
"A bunch of disgusting scum, get the hell out!" Gandalf turned into a melee mage with a wand in his left hand and a long sword in his right. His tall and burly physique swept down four Orcs at once.
Don't be deceived by his appearance, he is a demigod in essence, and his current image is just a transformed human body, which does not mean that Gandalf is really an old man, whose physical fitness and strength are by no means comparable to human beings.
Seeing his morale sinking, Gandalf clenched his wand tightly and yelled with trembling beard, "Cheer up, don't be afraid, don't panic!"
The imposing voice was like the beating of war drums, and everyone who heard it was shocked, and felt inexplicably excited and high-spirited.
Except that Gandalf himself is the wizard played by Maya, the Lord of Fire "Naya" he wears has the effect of resisting despair and depression, and can give himself or others courage and tenacity.
At this moment, the ring of fire played an important role.
With firm conviction, the soldiers of Gondor fought the enemy until noon, and the entire wall was filled with broken limbs.
"What is that?" Legolas asked in astonishment as he pierced the enemy's temple with a feathered arrow.
"What?" Gimli, who was not far away, tried to look, but unfortunately he was not tall, so he could only keep jumping up.
"I don't know, but my intuition tells me that it is definitely not a fun thing!" Aragorn lay on the broken city wall and looked down.
The eyes of the three people all focused on the gate of the city.
"No!" Gandalf whispered.
"What?" Boromir's heart skipped a beat when he heard that.
I saw three quadrupeds walking towards the Mithril Gate. Their body structure was similar to that of a rhinoceros, but their size was several times larger.There are a pair of bull horns on the back of the head, and a sharp single horn extending from the forehead to the nose, but they all have a pair of clear and honest eyes.
The four-legged horned beast is not the protagonist, but only the tracker. Together, they dragged a huge chariot, and there was a troll panting behind the chariot.
It can be seen how heavy the things on the chariot are~
There is a warg on it.
To be precise, it is a metal battering ram in the shape of a warg!
The hollowed-out wolf eyes and the slightly opened mouth were filled with orange-gold light, like a flame.
"Keep it near the gate!" Gandalf yelled, feeling uneasy.
The commander-in-chief of Mordor had been prepared for a long time, and almost at the same time, he ordered the archers to shoot a rain of arrows towards the back of the city gate, effectively suppressing it.
And in this kind of narrow escape situation, it is naturally the turn of the protagonist group to act.
No, Aragorn and Legolas jumped down with the help of the ladder of Mordor, stepping on the head and shoulders of Orcs to start a smooth killing, and quickly approached the battering ram of the worg.
Whoa!
With a sliding shovel, the nimble Legolas stabbed the dagger into the jaw of a quadruped horned beast, cutting a bloody mouth that severed the throat.
Aragorn single-handedly overwhelmed the dozens of orcs who surrounded him, as fierce as a god of war. The long sword in his hand was indistinguishable from the death scythe, and each swing could take away one or more lives.
Soon, Legolas jumped onto the ledge of the chariot, and from above he shot three arrows, killing the second horned beast.
His goal had been achieved, and the only remaining horned beast didn't have the strength to pull the battering ram alone. Instead, it jumped wildly in fright, trying to break free, and its heavy body crushed several orcs to death.
"Legolas, time to go!"
In a blink of an eye, Aragorn was already clinging to a rope, kicking his feet hard on the wall, and the whole person swung out.
Legolas understood, jumped high with great confidence, and reached out to grab Aragorn's right arm.
Then, Gimli and Boromir at the top hurriedly pulled them up.
But this can only be delayed. An hour later, four huge trolls replaced the four-legged horned beast, and the worg battering ram was raised again, and it slammed into the Mithril city gate with a brutal momentum.
Boom!
At this moment, everyone's hearts tightened.
But the battle became more and more urgent. So far, only half of the Mordor army had dispatched, and the remaining half formed an encircling formation and stood still.
There is no doubt that Baicheng is caught in a battle of trapped beasts.
Boom!
The battering ram hit hard a second time.
The Mithril gate trembled violently, and many cracks spread out.
"It smells of dark magic," Gandalf said, staring at the lifelike metal warg. "It's a blasting spell."
He guessed right.
Only the power of magic can tear the gate, and the battering ram was cast by the Witch King of Angmar before the expedition.
"Sauron has made far more preparations than we thought. He has planned for a long time." Gandalf took a deep breath, feeling a little at a loss for a while.
"Perhaps that traitor Saruman also conspired." Boromir said angrily.
"None of our reinforcements have come, and it seems that they are all in trouble, so we can only rely on ourselves. Everyone, it is my honor to live and die with you. No matter whether we survived or not after this battle, we will not regret it." .” Aragorn gripped the hilt of his sword tightly, his eyes always as firm as iron.
Boromir on the side was a little dazed, the man in front of him seemed to have the potential to become the emperor.
"I'll kill those ugly monsters one by one, and I'll be serious next time!" Gimli laughed and put on a posture of going all out.
Boom!
The battering ram struck for the third time.
Amid the cheers of the Orcs, a huge wave pierced through the gate of Mithril, tearing the last armor of the White City in one fell swoop.
Several trolls armed with maces rushed in first, and dozens of soldiers were beaten to death without any resistance.
But just as the Orcs were about to file in, a horn sounded from the north.
hum-
At this moment, all Gondor soldiers were stunned, and then ecstatic.
Because this unique sound is all too familiar to them, and it is a symbol of the charge of the Gondor army.
This means that those who come are their own reinforcements!
But Boromir was puzzled, at this juncture, how could there be any extra Gondor troops?
For a time, both the enemy and the enemy turned their attention to the north.
I saw a dark line rising from the end of the plain.
It was an army dressed in black armor, and the spirit of killing soared into the sky.
The contrast of black, white, and burning dark red eyes created a strong impact, and even the war horses under them lingered with a wild air.
There were not many people, but the murderous intent was almost substantial, as if they were carrying a large black cloud.
"We failed to defend the city last time, this time, we must not repeat the same mistakes!"
"Those children are all descendants of the Dúnedain, and they may be related to us. Why don't we ancestors rush?"
General Skeleton raised his arms and shouted, flicked the reins, and then took the lead in charging.
"kill--"
The skeleton army, all riding wild horses, was like a sharp sword, piercing into the Mordor army from the side. They had no flesh and blood and no pain. Their fighting strength was overwhelming, and their terrifying faces scared the Orcs out of their wits.
On the left side of their breastplate was engraved the emblem of the northern kingdom of Arnor, and on the right armplate was engraved a white skeletal dragon with outstretched wings.
The former is close to the heart and is the eternal destination.
The latter is connected with a strong right arm, implying dedication to Chu Xin.
"kill--"
Boromir roared excitedly, and then led the army to rush out of the city gate. Even the mighty troll was hacked to death by chaotic swords.
Even a fool should understand something.
What's more, the prime minister's eldest son is not an idiot, he instantly realized who the horrific skeleton army was and where they came from.
Blessed by the ancestors, even if we are all withered bones, we still have to charge forward. The younger generation must not shrink behind the bricks and tiles and stand on the sidelines!
Gandalf and Aragorn fought out together, how could such an excellent opportunity be let go?
Stimulated by the Skeleton Legion, the Gondor army was undoubtedly buffed with blood, and one by one broke out with unprecedented fighting spirit.
Soon, they forcibly cut a big gap in the Mordor army from a weak point, and the ordinary feathered arrows and swords basically did no harm to the skeleton soldiers, unless it was a very powerful spear, spear or ax hammer .
"I'm glad you rushed to help in time, but where is the Smaug?" Gandalf immediately asked the leader of the skeleton general.
"Just behind that mountain range, King Skull was intercepted by the Witch King of Angmar and others. He knew that the situation here was critical, so he let us come here first." General Skeleton explained succinctly.
"So it turns out that Sauron's goal has always been the same and has never changed. The root of the world war in Middle-earth is to seize the Supreme Lord of the Rings!" Gandalf said.
"Are we going to help? The Witch King was defeated by Smaug, but he still came. His strength must have greatly increased, I'm afraid~" Aragorn pondered.
"I trust him." Gandalf said flatly.
"Guys, maybe we can't care about Smaug?" Gimli said suddenly.
Everyone followed his gaze and frowned.
The chaotic fighting on the battlefield was still going on non-stop, but at the river behind the Mordor army, there seemed to be a group of ferocious wolves galloping.
Those burly giant wolves are full of fangs and sharp teeth, and the number is as high as five hundred.
The key is that five hundred tall and burly orcs are riding on their backs!
The Orcs gave way one after another, and the orc army came to the front line unimpeded.
With grim faces, they picked up the huge crossbow hanging on their backs, installed bows and arrows, and then took out cylindrical objects from the pockets on their waists and chests, then raised their arms and shot in the direction where Gandalf and the others were.
"No! That should be the explosive mentioned by King Mu!" General Skeleton exclaimed.
He jumped out at a gallop, jumped into the skeleton army, opened his arms vigorously, and shouted neatly, "Fit together—"
The surrounding skeleton soldiers instinctively rushed towards him.
With an ear-piercing creaking sound, dense white bones criss-crossed, and a 20-meter giant skeleton slowly stood up. Upon closer inspection, one could find that the bones of his whole body were wriggling, and the armor did not come off, but scattered around. at each joint position.
Whoosh whoosh!
The explosive arrow rain is close at hand.
The giant skeleton took a step forward without hesitation, waving its arms upwards, trying its best to catch dozens of explosive arrows.
Bang bang bang!
Flames and explosions bombard the sight and hearing at the same time.
The smell of blood and gunpowder filled the air, countless pieces of meat flew in all directions, and the mist was filled with chilling screams.
The power of its explosion has improved significantly, and Saruman may really be worthy of the title of pioneer of the first industry in Middle-earth.
Gandalf and his pupils trembled, completely unaware that the enemy still had such a terrifying weapon.
At this time, the tallest prime minister, Denethor, trembled all over. He looked to the south in despair, "I didn't expect that even the group of southern barbarians would get involved."
Among the mountains, the army of the Haradians is extremely conspicuous.
Because the leaders are twenty super giant elephants that they are proud of!
A full-grown man, about the height of the instep of a giant elephant. (end of this chapter)