Chapter 378: Battle of Five Armies
Chapter 378: Battle of Five Armies
Liam returned to Rivendell's Ruins, where the Elves had already learned of Sauron's demise through their special means. When he hurried back to the palace, he saw Gandalf waiting for him.
"A massive shadow has departed", Gandalf told Liam, and then he laughed. The laugh was like music, like a refreshing rain after a long drought. At that moment, he was no longer just an old man but revealed a hint of his Maiar power.
"By the way, everyone has a gift for you." Gandalf pulled out a simple silver crown from his robe, adorned with several very beautiful gems. "This is the Rivendell Crown. As the king of the valley, you should have your own crown. Bard donated the remains of the old crown, Legolas brought several beautiful white gems, and the Dwarves worked overtime to craft this crown for you using the finest silver."
"I know you prefer simplicity, but now that the valley and the Lonely Mountain have regained their vitality and Sauron has been destroyed, you should have a formal coronation ceremony."
Liam nodded, understanding the importance of adhering to local customs. However, he invited the Elves and Dwarves, deciding to turn this coronation into a grand celebration.
Gandalf also decided to stay, planning to return to Aman after the coronation. That afternoon, many people saw numerous birds flying in all directions, carrying invitations for the coronation ceremony, which was to take place the following month.
The day before the coronation, Thranduil arrived with his army and set up camp in Lake Town. At the same time, Dain II Ironfoot from the Iron Hills brought over 500 heavily armed Dwarf warriors to the Lonely Mountain. This was because Thorin knew Liam had invited the Elves of Mirkwood, so he asked his cousin to bring reinforcements to ensure they wouldn't be outdone by the Elves.
Liam first went to greet the Elves and was surprised to find that 2000 Elves had brought 1000 robots. Each robot was adorned with beautiful patterns, making them look like mobile galleries. In addition to 100 Elves carrying bows, the rest were equipped with high-pressure airguns.
Upon closer inspection, Liam noticed that their high-pressure airguns were different from human ones. They had a slower rate of fire but a longer range. During their conversation, he learned that the Elves of this world were mortal, but their stronger bodies allowed them to fire more arrows in a single battle without tiring as quickly as humans.
When they discovered that the wind rifles had a comparable effective range to bows and were more powerful, the Elves quickly adopted them. Their advanced knowledge also helped them improve the wind rifles, making them more suitable for their use. This had the added benefit of allowing them to carry more ammunition for the same weight compared to arrows.
As for the need for maintenance due to the precision of the wind rifle parts, it was no issue for the Elves. Thranduil happily told Liam that they had used the robots as meat shields while the Elves hid behind them, firing from a distance. This strategy had allowed them to clear a large forest with zero casualties. The robots also saved them a significant amount of time for more meaningful tasks.
"In the future, our kingdom will focus on researching and developing these machines", Thranduil concluded. Liam was at a loss for words. The idea of Elves developing industry was extremely rare in the multiverse.
After settling the Elves, Liam led a team of wagons to the Lonely Mountain. The Dwarves were delighted to accept the Mystic Plants and the accompanying machinery. With these tools, they could complete tedious, repetitive tasks and have more time to mine treasures or craft equipment. However, their approach differed significantly from the Elves. They modified the robots to be smaller to fit in the mines but increased the size of the weapons.
For example, the wall outside the Lonely Mountain now had several gun emplacements, each equipped with four large-caliber steam mortars. The Dwarven guards' wind rifles had a shorter range and slower rate of fire, but their large caliber made them devastating at close range.
The Dwarves from the Iron Hills now reside in Lonely Mountain. When Liam entered, he saw Thorin boasting about the wondrous machines, Plants, and weapons to his cousin. Seeing the envious look in Dain II Ironfoot's eyes, Liam knew he had a new customer.
Liam's carriage was filled with a large amount of meat and alcohol. Since the Elves were directly stationed in Lake Town, he had already stockpiled these items there and simply handed over the key to the warehouse. The Dwarves, however, lived in their own part of Lonely Mountain, so Liam had to bring these welcome gifts to them.
Liam watched as the Dwarves happily devoured the roasted meat and drank the ale. He was a bit worried that they might not be able to make it to his coronation ceremony the next day, but Thorin Oakenshield reassured him. He said that the amount of ale would not be enough to get the Dwarves drunk; in fact, it would barely be enough to wet their whistles.
Every Dwarf eating spiced roasted meat and drinking craft beer praised the quality of the food and drink, as well as the generosity of the King of Dale. Liam realized that spices and beer could be his key export products to the Dwarves.
The next morning, with everyone's blessings, Gandalf placed the crown of Dale on Liam's head. However, just as the coronation ceremony ended and everyone was preparing for a feast, an alarm came from the distant outposts: Orcs were attacking.
Hearing about the Orcs, the Dwarves decided to join the battle, as they were mortal enemies. The Elves also decided to fight, partly to avoid losing face in front of the Dwarves and partly to test the capabilities of the robots.
When the three burrowing worms opened large holes and released over twenty thousand Orcs, the human, Dwarf, and Elf coalition was ready with over three thousand robots and three thousand troops.
Since most creatures in this world lacked magic, the Orcs and Trolls could not get close under the dense barrage of bullets and cannon fire. Many Wargs tried to use their speed to charge, but they couldn't outpace the bullets. Their bodies piled up into a high wall about three to four hundred meters from the front lines.
The four massive cannons of Lonely Mountain were especially devastating. Each shell that landed cleared out a large group of Orcs. The Colossal Beasts, which the Orcs had hoped would turn the tide, fell one by one. In the face of flying shrapnel, their heavy armor was as useless as paper.
Another group of Orcs attempting to ambush Rivendell's Ruins also met a swift and brutal end. The Trolls carrying catapults were eliminated by Legolas' team operating the Gauss Cannons before they could even launch a single stone. The famous Ironhead was also taken out by a single Gauss Cannon round.
The Orcs who reached the city walls were blown apart by Potato Mines and then mowed down by the Steam Machine Guns on the walls. The Orcs had tried to regain the upper hand with bats, but the machine guns on the Steam Robots could also target the air. The dense hail of bullets made the bats, which were primarily designed for melee combat, hesitant to descend. They were then picked off by the Elven sharpshooters.
As the Orcs began to retreat, the Eagles and Beorn the Skin-Changer arrived at the battlefield. They thought they were coming to put out a fire, but they found the situation far better than they had imagined.
Their arrival, however, crushed the morale of the Orcs, who began to flee in a panic. The pursuit began.
Liam pointed out the position of Azog, who was commanding from a distant hill, to Legolas, who was operating the Gauss Cannon. Legolas hit Azog directly, attempting to turn the tide of the battle. When Thorin charged up the hill on a ram, he found only Azog's head and legs under the Orcs' banner; the rest had been shattered by the high-temperature and high-pressure impact of the cannon shells.
The Battle of Five Armies ended in an absolute victory for the human, Elf, and Dwarf coalition. Of the over twenty thousand Orcs who entered the battlefield, only a few hundred managed to escape. On the coalition's side, only a few dozen robots were destroyed, and only a handful of warriors were lost.
Because of this, the crown of Dale later became known as the Crown of Triumph or the Blood Crown, in honor of the great victory over the forces of evil.
(End of Chapter)
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