After Dain brought his army into Lake-town, Bard deliberately stayed behind, waiting outside Lake-town for a while.
He kept waiting until he saw Orc wargs appearing at the distant horizon, then deliberately jumped up and waved his hands a few times before unhurriedly walking into Lake-town.
The warg rider who witnessed this scene quickly reported what he had seen truthfully to the Orc commander.
This left the Orc commander somewhat confused as it frowned and muttered to itself: "What does this mean?"
Here we go again.
The Orc rider looked on with boredom as its commander entered that self-talking state again, rolling its eyes internally. It felt that the Orc comrade disguised as a human was obviously signaling for their army to enter Lake-town together to kill the Dwarf scum.
Wasn't this obvious? Why was the commander still hesitating here?
But it didn't dare voice its thoughts, only looking down on the other in its heart.
The Orc commander asked: "What clothes did you see the guards on Lake-town's watchtower wearing?"
"Black armor, exactly the same as Lord Bolg's disguise when intercepting the Dwarf scum," the Orc rider replied.
This wasn't fabrication. It had indeed seen a comrade with a bow on a watchtower pointing at it, though after apparently noticing it was also an Orc, that companion had lowered the bow.
In reality, that was Igon who had instinctively drawn his bow upon seeing the warg rider appear, then immediately remembered Tarnes and Bard's plan and stopped.
Though that warg rider was also outside Igon's range, actually attacking would probably expose something.
The Orc commander said admiringly: "Lord Bolg is truly worthy of being the master's son. It has already brought Lake-town's guard forces under control in such a short time. We'll go directly over; Lord Bolg will open Lake-town's gates for us."
Hearing this, the warg rider showed a bloodthirsty, excited expression: "Then can we... deal with Lake-town's humans?"
The warg rider didn't finish the second half of its sentence but licked its dirty, vicious teeth. The warg beneath it also drooled, fantasizing about tearing apart human bodies, chewing bones, and devouring flesh.
The Orc commander naturally understood its meaning, showing a fierce grin: "Of course! But everything must wait until we eliminate the Dwarves in Lake-town. But remember, don't kill all those humans. The master said they still have great use."
Inside Lake-town, Dain, who had been safely brought into the town with the Iron Hills remnants under Bard's arrangement, showed a weary expression on his face, though he finally saw Thorin and managed a smile.
"I'm very glad to see you again, Thorin! Though your beard is still as short as before, your body has become even shorter and sturdier!" Dain gave Thorin a big hug.
Seeing that Dain was only mentally exhausted without much physical harm, Thorin finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He also gave Dain a hug, then stepped back with a smile: "You too, Dain. Shorter and stockier."
Then Thorin grabbed Dain's sleeve, pulling him over to Tarnes' side and introducing: "Dain, I want to introduce the friend who has helped me the most on this journey. Tarnes."
Dain looked him up and down, then said heartily: "Anyone can see you're an excellent warrior! Since you're Thorin's friend, you're also Dain's friend! If you ever come to the Iron Hills, just mention my name!"
Tarnes looked at this forthright Dwarf king and nodded: "I won't be polite then."
"Why be polite! Thorin has told me almost everything about you in his letters. Both the adventures along the way and healing Thorin's father. You've shown too much kindness to us Dwarves! As long as you come to the Iron Hills, roasted meat aplenty, ale to your heart's content!"
Tarnes nodded in agreement again, then said: "But we need to win the battle ahead of us first."
The smiles on Thorin's and Dain's faces also faded as they became serious.
Dain said: "When I came in, I saw the area you prepared for the Orcs. Please allow my soldiers to join as well. These damned Orc scum have killed too many of my comrades along the way. We must have our revenge."
Tarnes agreed: "I had that intention anyway. Though with current Lake-town Mayor Bard's cooperation, my people have relocated the Lake-town residents in the ambush area to other safe places, those houses remain, and there are many waterways. To prevent any Orc stragglers from escaping through the lake water to other parts of Lake-town and harming people, I hope you can spare a small portion of soldiers to guard the waterways with Bard and Thorin."
Dain nodded readily: "No problem! But my soldiers aren't familiar with the terrain yet..."
"Please rest assured, I will point out all the waterways in the ambush area for you, King of the Iron Hills, Lord Ironfoot Dain." At this moment, Bard removed his stinking Orc iron helmet and walked over.
Dain looked at Tarnes and Thorin, asking: "Is he Bard?"
Bard looked directly at Tarnes, asking rather nervously: "Never mind that now. The Orcs outside are about to arrive. Tarnes, are your soldiers ready?"
Letting Orcs enter Lake-town was a clever move, but also a risky gambit.
After all, if done poorly, catching turtles in a jar could become inviting wolves into the house.
"Don't worry, Bard. As long as the Orcs dare to enter, they definitely won't leave alive," Tarnes said.
Bard hesitated for a moment but still nodded, glancing at Dain: "Alright, I hope things go smoothly. According to plan, I'll lead Lake-town's guards and some of Lord Dain's soldiers to guard the ambush area's perimeter, preventing those Orcs from escaping."
But Dain added: "Since we're acting, let's make it more realistic. I'll have my lieutenant lead a group of soldiers to pretend resistance then immediately run toward the trap area you've set up."
Just as Bard and the others finished arranging their forces, the vast Orc army surged like a tide to Lake-town's outskirts.
"Creak!"
Amid the Orcs' excited roars, Lake-town's gates made a harsh sound and, just as their commander had said, slowly opened before their eyes.
"Charge in!"
"Kill all the Dwarves!"
The Orcs beat their weapons, bloodthirsty light gleaming in their eyes. Under the cold gazes of Igon and Storm Soldiers disguised as their comrades, these Orcs rushed in without any guard.
Inside the ambush area, at windows of various houses, Storm Soldiers were coldly watching through window gaps as Orcs continuously poured in through Lake-town's gates. Ballistas under their operation quietly adjusted angles, precisely targeting those unsuspecting Orcs.
In concealed spots along narrow passages, flame-throwing devices filled with fire oil were also positioned. The dark muzzles of these devices gave off the distinctive smell of fire oil, quietly waiting for Orcs to take the bait.
Dain's lieutenant commanded Dwarf soldiers in symbolic resistance, engaging in brief combat with the Orcs.
After killing several Orcs, the Dwarves immediately pretended to be outmatched and retreated into Lake-town.
"These Dwarf scum fear us! After them!" the Orc commander roared. At this moment, his mind was filled only with killing all the Dwarves. This would allow him to perform well before Lord Bolg.