When Gandalf hurriedly left Lake-town to summon the Great Eagles, Tarnes also found Thorin, who was meeting with Bard, and told him his speculation.
This made Thorin completely unable to sit still, causing the Dwarf prince to growl: "My father will also be in danger? Damn Azog! Why hasn't it been killed by flame and steel yet!"
Bard also looked at Tarnes with a serious expression and asked: "What should we do about Lord Thrain's situation? Lake-town's people have no way to support them while also intercepting Dain. Moreover, Lord Thrain is too far from us. By the time we arrive, the battle might already be over."
Tarnes first signaled for Bard not to worry, then looked at the anxious Thorin and comforted him: "Gandalf has already gone to seek aid from the Eagle King. Those Great Eagles live in the Misty Mountains and should be able to reach the battlefield in time."
Thorin's thoughts were somewhat chaotic at this moment, and he could only nod: "Perhaps."
Bard could also see that Thorin was somewhat confused by the news Tarnes had brought and needed to be alone quietly.
Therefore, he left Thorin alone in the room, gesturing for Tarnes to follow him out of the Lake-town guard captain's room.
After Tarnes came out, Bard got straight to the point: "The war has already begun. Azog hasn't, as both I and Thorin imagined, deployed troops at the Lonely Mountain waiting for our attack, but has taken the initiative to strike against Dain, King of the Iron Hills, and the returning Dwarf King Thrain."
Tarnes narrowed his eyes, looking toward the snow-capped Lonely Mountain in the distance: "Azog may not necessarily have failed to deploy troops at the Lonely Mountain... I've dealt with Orcs several times, and this time the number of Orcs is very wrong. They want to nail their territory down at the Lonely Mountain. If you're suggesting that Thorin and I continue with the campaign against Smaug, then my answer is no."
Bard's expression stiffened. He had indeed been thinking exactly that.
He asked puzzledly: "Why? We should take advantage of Azog not being personally at the Lonely Mountain to kill Smaug. I've also given you the Black Arrow. If you think I'll cravenly hide in Lake-town waiting for your battle report, then I'm willing to go with you to directly face Smaug's flames."
Tarnes patted Bard's shoulder, saying gently: "I'm not questioning your courage, Bard. But that's Smaug, a flying, fire-breathing, invulnerable dragon, not some beast that bleeds when shot with arrows. Even though I've defeated many dragons before, each time was full of danger. Moreover, with Azog's intelligence, he wouldn't fail to consider this point. Though I'm unclear about the specific nature of the Orc-dragon alliance, Azog definitely wouldn't leave Smaug alone in the Lonely Mountain. He's certainly arranged for an Orc army to hide on the mountain."
Bard's Adam's apple bobbed several times as he said helplessly: "If we used infiltration methods to enter the Lonely Mountain, with your and your companions' strength, is there really no way to deal with that dragon inside?"
Tarnes sighed, staring at this human archer who still wouldn't give up: "What about the Orcs on the Lonely Mountain? If we fail to kill Smaug and it flies out to wreak vengeance on Lake-town's people, what then? Or have you already prepared all of Lake-town's residents to be burned to death by flames?"
"I..." Bard opened his mouth but couldn't answer.
Gandalf's voice came from behind them: "The premise for infiltrating the Lonely Mountain is that the dragon is still sleeping, not awake as it is now, my dear Mayor Bard. If you and Tarnes enter the Lonely Mountain now, it would serve no purpose other than adding another set of human bones to the Dwarf palace. An awakened dragon can sense any movement entering the palace. Forget infiltration, it would immediately notice even if a single gold coin's position changed."
Finally, Gandalf walked to Tarnes' side, showing Bard a regretful expression: "Therefore, the plan to infiltrate the Lonely Mountain failed the moment Smaug awakened."
Bard mustered courage to say to the two before him: "Then what should I do now? What should Lake-town's people do? Should we just watch Azog execute his schemes while we do nothing?"
Gandalf instinctively raised his staff, wanting to tap Bard's forehead, but ultimately just said irritably: "Watch your words, Bard. What do you mean by 'do nothing'? To help you better intercept Dain's remnants, Tarnes sent out Bernahl, one of his strongest warriors. Thorin also set aside his Dwarf pride to seek your help, requesting you send Lake-town guards to assist in the interception."
Then the old wizard paused and said with a chuckle: "As for me? I've just sent birds to notify my old friends. They'll help Thrain."
Hearing Gandalf's words, Thorin also ran out of the room, his expression somewhat eased. He said to Gandalf: "Thank you for your help, Gandalf."
Bard said quietly at this time: "I just feel we can't sit and wait for death. Since Azog is truly as cunning as you say, we can't just passively respond to the schemes he sets for us."
"Maybe Azog isn't as formidable as imagined." Bernahl held up a black hide in his hand and waved it.
Tarnes was somewhat surprised: "Bernahl? How did you get here? What's that in your hand?"
Gandalf squinted. He saw text written in the Black Speech on the hide and asked uncertainly: "A letter?"
Bernahl nodded, handing the black hide to Gandalf, then explained: "Yes, just shortly after you left, a foul-smelling bird landed in front of that fat mayor and covered his face with this thing. I saw another piece of hide tied to its leg, so I caught it. I compared them. The Black Speech on the two hides is different. The one now in Gandalf's hand is what fell on the fat mayor's face. The other is still on me. Here."
As he spoke, he took another hide from his waist, obviously larger than the one in Gandalf's hand.
Gandalf took it and quickly read the Black Speech written on both hides. He looked up with a strange expression: "This is a letter from Azog to the mayor. He's demanding the mayor cooperate with Bolg, who has infiltrated Lake-town in disguise, to pretend to intercept Dain's remnants, then coordinate with pursuing Orc armies to eliminate them. The larger one is a letter to his son Bolg, telling him to occupy Lake-town with the Orc army pursuing Dain after eliminating him."
"Bolg? That name sounds familiar..." Tarnes recalled the name from his memory. "Isn't that the name of the Orc I killed at the mayor's house?"
Then his expression became as strange as Gandalf's.
Thorin asked anxiously: "What exactly did you two think of? Why aren't either of you speaking?"
Tarnes said to Gandalf with some confusion: "This... this shouldn't be possible, right... Azog still doesn't know his son is already dead? Smaug definitely knows about this. Isn't he Azog's ally?"
Gandalf cleared his throat lightly, then looked toward the Lonely Mountain with a smile: "Ally? Perhaps that's just Azog's wishful thinking. Smaug's true ally is that fellow who escaped from Dol Guldur. Obviously, the dragon in the Lonely Mountain treats Orcs more like beings even lower than servants."
At this moment, Smaug in the Lonely Mountain yawned and shifted to a more comfortable position, continuing to lie on the pile of gold coins and gems.
As for that Orc killed by the human, Smaug truly didn't care about that ugly, stinking thing.
In Smaug's mind, Orcs were even inferior to humans. At least humans tasted good when eaten, and their death screams were pleasantly melodious.