The grey sky hung low, like a massive, tattered tarpaulin, obscuring all light and hope. The cold wind, like a shrieking wraith, swept across the desolate plain, leaving icy kiss marks in its wake.
Dain rubbed his rough hands vigorously over his face, which was reddened by the ice and snow, trying to restore some feeling to his cold skin.
His breath condensed into white plumes in the frigid air, and his vigilant gaze constantly swept his surroundings.
The ground beneath his feet was covered by a thick layer of snow, blindingly white, and with every step, the snow emitted a soft crunching sound.
Large, scattered rocks lay across the desolate plain, their surfaces covered in frost, like they were draped in a crystalline armor, glinting with a cold, hard luster under the gloomy sky.
Among these rocks, dead tree stumps stood like broken gravestones. Their trunks had long since withered, and their once sturdy branches were now just bare main stems, covered in dry cracks.
"This damned place," Dain cursed in a low voice, a hint of helplessness and exhaustion in his tone.
He turned to his adjutant, who had broken through the encirclement with him, and asked, "Any sign of our carrier pigeons?"
The adjutant, dragging his weary and heavy body, silently shook his head, his yellowish-brown beard covered in ice and snow.
Dain's own condition was no better; his once magnificent and sturdy armor was now riddled with dents, and its formerly shiny surface was scratched and mottled.
Behind Dain followed the remnants of the dwarves' army from the Iron Hills.
The remaining hundred-plus agile War Ram Knightss had already been dispatched, divided into four groups, constantly patrolling the surroundings, wary of the orcs who might be catching up.
The remaining dwarf heavy infantrymen remained silent, seizing the time to rest, sitting or lying down, trying to recover some of their strength.
Although they showed no complaints and no obvious dissatisfaction on their faces, Dain knew in his heart that the soldiers' spirits were as gloomy and low as the cursed sky above him, filled with suppression and unease.
However, besides the morale issue, Dain knew he would soon face another, more pressing matter: the issue of provisions.
That is, what they would eat next.
Dain had been leading his remnants in retreat across the snowy plain towards Lake-town for many days, and their provisions were almost depleted.
Now they were not only physically and mentally exhausted but also faced the threat of starvation.
Dain knew that if a solution wasn't found quickly, the soldiers' stamina would rapidly decline, their combat effectiveness would be greatly reduced, and the likelihood of being caught by the orcs would increase.
If they were truly caught by the orcs again, this remnant army might not even have a chance to return to Lake-town.
The War Ram Knightss returned one group after another, but unfortunately, they brought only bad news, not good news.
More wargs had been sighted nearby; the orcs were catching up again.
The reason Dain and his forces were able to escape from that fierce battle and successfully flee was ultimately because the orcs' marching speed and endurance were far inferior to the dwarves'.
Although the dwarves were small in stature, each one was as sturdy as a small mountain; their legs were steady, and their endurance was astonishing, allowing them to march for long periods in complex and rugged terrain, while the orcs were far inferior to them in this regard.
Originally, Dain had thought he had successfully shaken off the orcs and escaped their pursuit. However, in just one night, the orcs, relying on the wargs' keen sense of smell, tracked them down.
However, Dain soon discovered that the number of orcs who caught up this time was significantly fewer than during the previous ambush. This made him slightly relieved at the time, and after paying a minor price, the dwarves successfully dealt a heavy blow to this orc army and then retreated again towards Lake-town.
However, fate seemed to have no intention of letting them go.
Soon, another orc army caught up just as Dain and his forces were resting, leading to another chaotic battle.
Although Dain and his forces still managed to defeat this orc army with their tenacious will and combat power, Dain was not a fool; he immediately realized this was Azog's open scheme.
Azog was relying on the fact that the orcs far outnumbered the dwarves, sending out army after army to pursue them in shifts, not allowing the dwarves much opportunity to rest, but instead exhausting them physically and mentally.
In this way, even if the dwarves won every battle, over time, their physical and mental strength would gradually be depleted, eventually leading them into a desperate situation.
Dain was certain that Azog's goal was to drive him and his soldiers into despair.
However, Dain soon discovered that these orcs were not pursuing them towards Mirkwood or the Lonely Mountain, but were intentionally driving them towards Lake-town.
Upon learning this, Dain, far from being anxious, was secretly delighted.
Because Thorin had previously sent a reply, explaining the situation in Lake-town in detail to Dain, letting him know that Azog was still unaware that Lake-town was actually still under human control.
Thorin mentioned in the letter that the Long Lake Town Guards were already prepared; they planned to disguise themselves as orcs and lure the pursuing enemies into pre-arranged traps. In this way, when Azog's orc army reached the vicinity of Lake-town, they would mistakenly believe it was safe, thereby lowering their guard, and falling right into the trap set by the Long Lake Town Guards.
These past few days, Dain had been trying every possible way to maintain contact with Thorin. All the carrier pigeons he brought, as long as they could still fly, had been released, with the aim of not missing any news from Thorin, and at the same time allowing Thorin and his group to be promptly informed of his situation.
If Dain hadn't known that Lake-town was friendly territory, he certainly wouldn't have been content to be driven by Azog like this. Given Dain's temper and personality, he would have turned back and fought the orcs to the very end.
He had just asked his adjutant, also wanting to know where the reinforcements were now and how far away they were.
However, Dain also truly had no remaining provisions.
In this icy and snowy environment, without food, the soldiers' physical strength and combat effectiveness were continuously declining. If no one came to meet them, they would truly starve to death in this frozen land, which was the result Dain most feared and least wanted to see.
But unfortunately, what the War Ram Knightss saw was not reinforcements, but the orcs' warg pursuers.
Just as Dain was about to order the soldiers to end their rest and continue towards Lake-town, a milky white carrier pigeon fluttered its wings and lightly landed on the adjutant's shoulder armor, cooing.
Without a word, the adjutant quickly removed the bamboo tube tied to the pigeon's leg and solemnly handed it to Dain.
Dain took the bamboo tube, opened it, and carefully read the note inside, then burst into laughter, looking up at the sky: "It seems the orc scum's good days of wantonly pursuing us are over! Pass the order: this is the last retreat towards Lake-town!"
Meanwhile, on another battlefield, Bard was leading the Long Lake Town Guards disguised as orcs.
They were wrapped in old iron armor and animal skins, their faces completely covered by black helmets, and even their necks, wrists, and other parts were smeared with black paint, deliberately mimicking the grotesque appearance of orcs.
From a distance, they were almost indistinguishable from the orcs Bolg had ambushed Lake-town with, making it difficult for other orcs to differentiate them.
Although there was orc blood on their armor, these bloodstains were not noticeable on the old iron armor. orc armor was inherently dirty, constantly used in battle, covered in dust and grime.
Therefore, these bloodstains actually made their disguise more realistic.
Bard had also made a meticulous disguise; his once handsome face was now covered by an ugly helmet, and he had smeared black paint over it so that his original appearance was unrecognizable. Worn iron armor hung on his body, clanking.
He shouted again, "Don't say anything when you meet the dwarves! Pretend we are real orcs!"
The other Lake Town Guards who were willing to follow Bard on this mission nodded in understanding when they heard Bard's shout.