After Dain led his army into Lake-town, Bard intentionally stayed behind, waiting for a while outside Lake-town.
He waited until he saw the silhouettes of orc wargs appear at the far end of the distance before deliberately bouncing and waving his hands a few times, then unhurriedly walking into Lake-town.
The warg riders who witnessed this scene quickly reported what they saw to the Orc Chieftain.
This left the Orc Chieftain somewhat bewildered. He frowned and muttered to himself, "What does this mean?"
Here we go again.
The orc rider watched his Chieftain enter that self-muttering state again, rolling his eyes inwardly. He felt that the orc fellow disguised as a human was waving at him, and the meaning was obvious: to let his army enter Lake-town to kill the dwarf scum together.
Isn't it obvious? Why is the Chieftain still agonizing over this?
But he didn't dare to voice his thoughts, only looking down on the other party in his heart.
The Orc Chieftain asked, "What kind of clothes were the guards on the Lake-town watchtower wearing?"
"Black armor, exactly the same disguise Bolg used when he received the dwarf scum," the orc rider replied.
This was not fabricated; he had indeed seen a comrade on a watchtower holding a bow and pointing at him, but after realizing he was also an orc, that comrade lowered his bow.
In reality, it was Igon who, upon seeing this warg rider, instinctively drew his bow and notched an arrow, then immediately remembered Arthur and Bard's plan, and stopped.
Although that warg rider was also out of Igon's range, actually taking action might still expose something.
This Orc Chieftain said admiringly, "Bolg truly lives up to being the Master's son. He has already taken control of Lake-town's defenses in such a short time. We'll go straight in; Bolg will open Lake-town's gates for us."
Upon hearing this, the warg rider revealed a bloodthirsty, excited expression: "Then the humans of Lake-town, can we..."
The warg rider didn't finish the latter half of his sentence but licked his dirty, grotesque teeth. The warg beneath him also drooled, fantasizing about tearing apart human bodies, chewing bones, and devouring flesh.
The Orc Chieftain naturally understood his meaning, a sinister grin appearing at the corner of his mouth: "Of course! But everything must wait until the dwarves in Lake-town are eliminated. But remember, don't kill all the humans; the Master said they still have great use."
Inside Lake-town, Dain, who had safely brought the remnants of the Iron Hills into the town under Bard's arrangement, showed a weary expression. However, he finally saw Thorin and managed a smile.
"I'm glad to see you again, Thorin! But your beard is still as short as ever, and your body is even shorter and sturdier!" Dain gave Thorin a big hug.
Thorin finally breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Dain was only mentally tired and hadn't sustained much physical harm.
He also gave Dain a hug, then stepped back and smiled, "You too, Dain, you've become shorter and sturdier."
Then Thorin grabbed Dain's sleeve and pulled him over to Arthur, introducing him: "Dain, I want to introduce you to the friend who has given me the most help on this journey, Arthur."
Dain sized him up and down, then said heartily, "One look tells me he's an excellent warrior! Since you're Thorin's friend, you're Dain's friend too! If you ever go to the Iron Hills, just mention my name!"
Arthur looked at this hearty dwarf King and nodded, "Then I won't be polite."
"Why be polite! Thorin has told me almost everything about you in his letters. Whether it's the adventures on this journey or healing Thorin's father, I know it all! Your kindness to us dwarves is truly immense! As long as you come to the Iron Hills, there'll be plenty of roasted meat and enough ale to fill you up!"
Arthur nodded in agreement again, then said, "But we must first win the battle before us."
The smiles on Thorin and Dain's faces also faded, becoming serious.
Dain said, "When I came in, I saw the area you prepared for the orcs. Please allow my Storm Soldiers to join as well. These damned orc scum have killed too many of my comrades on this journey; we must avenge this."
Arthur agreed, "I already had that idea. Although with the cooperation of Bard, the current mayor of Lake-town, my people have moved the residents of the ambush zone to other safe places, the houses are still there, and there are many waterways. To prevent any orcs from escaping through the water to other parts of Lake-town and harming people, I hope you can assign a small portion of Storm Soldiers to guard the waterways with Bard and Thorin."
Dain nodded readily, "No problem! But my Storm Soldiers are not familiar with the terrain..."
"Please rest assured, I will point out all the waterways in the ambush zone for you. King of the Iron Hills, Lord Ironfoot Dáin." Bard, at this moment, took off his iron helmet, which reeked of orcs, and walked over.
Dain looked at Arthur and Thorin and asked, "Is he Bard?"
Bard, however, looked directly at Arthur and asked somewhat nervously, "Never mind that now, the orcs outside are coming soon, Arthur, are your Storm Soldiers ready?"
Luring the orcs into Lake-town was a clever move, but also a risky one.
After all, if not handled well, catching a turtle in a jar could turn into inviting a wolf into the house.
"Don't worry, Bard, as long as the orcs dare to come in, they will certainly not leave alive," Arthur said.
Bard hesitated for a moment, then nodded, glancing at Dain and saying, "Alright, I hope it goes smoothly. According to the plan, I will lead Lake-town's guards, along with a portion of Lord Dain's Storm Soldiers, to guard the edge of the ambush zone, preventing the orcs from escaping."
Dain added, "Since we're putting on a show, let's make it more realistic. I'll have my second-in-command lead a group of Storm Soldiers to feign resistance and then immediately run towards the trap area you've set up."
Just as Bard and his men finished arranging their personnel, the swarming orc army surged like a tide outside Lake-town.
"Creak—"
Amidst the excited roars of the orcs, Lake-town's gate let out a harsh screech and, as their Chieftain had said, slowly opened before their eyes.
"Charge in!"
"Kill all the dwarves!"
The orcs pounded their weapons, their eyes revealing a bloodthirsty gleam. Under the cold gazes of Igon and the Storm Soldiers disguised as their comrades, these orcs charged in completely unprepared.
Within the ambush zone, from the windows of various houses, Storm Soldiers were coldly staring through the window gaps at the orcs continuously pouring in from Lake-town's main gate. One after another, the ballistas, under their operation, were quietly adjusting their angles, precisely aimed at the unsuspecting orcs.
And in the hidden spots of various narrow passages, flamethrower devices filled with oil were also set up. The dark nozzles of these devices emitted a faint, unique smell of oil, quietly waiting for the orcs to take the bait.
Dain's second-in-command directed the dwarf Storm Soldiers to offer symbolic resistance a few times, engaging in a brief skirmish with the orcs.
After killing a few orcs, the dwarves immediately feigned defeat and retreated further into Lake-town.
"These dwarf scum are afraid of us! Pursue them!" the Orc Chieftain roared. At this moment, his mind was solely focused on killing all the dwarves, hoping to make a good impression on Lord Bolg.