Being an otaku in the world of American comics

#130 - First encounter with orcs

Following this pattern, they proceeded with intermittent stops, all the while being discreetly filmed by a camera crew.

Although Thorin and his company of dwarves were on horseback, their travel speed wasn't significantly faster than Liang Yue's, as the route from the town towards the Lonely Mountain led through vast mountainous and forested regions.

Similar to what was depicted in the movies, the scenery along the way was breathtakingly beautiful, almost surreal, with every aspect reminiscent of a Western oil painting in its composition and texture.

Liang Yue even began to suspect that each scene along their journey had been meticulously designed.

However, a mountain road is still a mountain road. Upon entering the dense forest, there were no more paths to follow, requiring them to traverse the terrain, their feet sinking deep with each step.

Despite having to pause periodically to breathe, gather energy, and replenish his internal power, Liang Yue managed to keep pace with the dwarves, often even taking the lead.

Amidst this silent tug-of-war, time flew by swiftly.

Night arrived, accompanied by a gentle breeze.

A crescent moon slowly ascended into the sky, casting a veil of white upon the dark night.

After a full day of monotonous travel, Thorin's company had crossed the forest and climbed onto an open expanse within a range of rolling hills.

They lit a bonfire and engaged in casual chatter while consuming the dry rations they carried.

Before long, this group of dwarven warriors, along with a shorter, young hobbit, and Gan Dofu and the others, lay down haphazardly on the ground, seeking shelter from the wind behind some mountain rocks.

Their weary bodies urged them to fall asleep quickly, and the sound of loud snores gradually filled the air.

"Awoo ~ ~ ~"

Just then, a long, drawn-out wolf howl echoed from the distant hills.

A non-human-like roar followed closely behind, shattering the silence of the night and startling the dwarves who were in a state of half-sleep.

Soon, the hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who was experiencing his first journey away from home and was unfamiliar with the outside world, couldn't help but shiver. Already somewhat troubled and unable to sleep, he couldn't resist asking one of the dwarves who was keeping watch by the fire.

"What was that just now?"

Afterward, they'll even break down the bodies and devour them!"

"Heh heh heh heh ~"

A burst of laughter immediately erupted between the two dwarves on watch, clearly intended to scare Bilbo Baggins on his first outing.

"Is it that funny?"

The deep voice of the dwarven prince Thorin echoed from the side as he slowly walked over, looking at his two cousins as he spoke.

"Do you think an orc raid is a joke?"

"We... we didn't mean that."

"That's right, but you know nothing about this world."

"Don't mind them, lad. Thorin hates orcs for a reason. After the dragon occupied the Lonely Mountain, King Thror tried to reclaim the dwarven kingdom.

But the orcs arrived there first. They had formed an alliance with the dragon ~"

An old dwarf with white hair then recounted their past campaign to Bilbo, his eyes filled with memories and sorrow.

Their king was beheaded by Azog the Defiler, the leader of the orcs, during that battle. Subsequently, Prince Thorin's shield was shattered by the orc's blow.

On the verge of death, Thorin picked up a piece of oak tree trunk as a shield and continued to fight valiantly against the orc leader.

Finally, Thorin, consumed by anger and hatred, swung his sword and severed Azog's arm, scattering the orc army and leading his people to victory in the battle, but the dwarves themselves suffered heavy casualties.

They had no strength left to enter the Lonely Mountain and fight the dragon Smaug, and in the end, they had to retreat in disappointment.

The name Thorin Oakenshield began to spread widely throughout Middle-earth after this battle…

"Ah ~! !" "Ugh ~!" "Awoo, oong eeng ~"…

Just as the white-haired dwarf's story was nearing its end, a series of screams suddenly came from afar, one after another.

The abrupt screams, roars, and the dying wails of the wolves shattered the original tranquility of the night, echoing through the mountains and hills.

But only moments later, the screams abruptly ceased.

Slowly, the night regained its silence, but there was a faint, bloody scent in the air.

All the dwarven warriors were awakened, and now they stood at the top of the hills, holding their respective weapons, gazing in the direction of the sound with solemn expressions.

Gan Dofu was also standing in the crowd, looking into the depths of the night with his wise and weathered eyes.

Unfortunately, in the end, besides the pitch-black mountains and shadows, they found nothing.

After a long while, they returned to the bonfire behind the leeward slope, each with a hint of vigilance and doubt in their expressions.

…

On the other side of the hills and cliffs, Liang Yue waved the longsword in his hand, flicking the blood droplets from the blade onto the ground.

At his feet, dozens of corpses lay scattered, half of them giant wolves and half of them orcs.

Most of the bodies had been cut in half or directly beheaded, and pools of blood flowed together, forming a small lake.

The foul, bloody stench gradually rose into the air.

Liang Yue looked around, and as his gaze shifted, the slightly cold look in his eyes slowly returned to normal, and the murderous aura gradually subsided.

Then, with a flip of his hands, he put the double swords back into his storage space.

With a forceful stomp of his foot, his entire being instantly transformed into a gray shadow, disappearing like lightning into the shadows of the mountain forest.

Above, a round object was flashing with a faint light, rapidly rotating a pair of dragonfly-like wings, closely following his figure as it flew into the distance.

"Compared to humans, the skin of these orcs is very resilient, their muscles are strong, and the bones in their bodies are also very hard, requiring more force to completely sever their bodies."

"However, overall, it feels about the same as hacking and killing zombies in the Outpost world, so it's not a big problem."

"The only difference is that these orc scouts have giant wolf mounts, and they possess intelligence no less than that of humans, and they can form a coordination that is no weaker than that of ancient armies."

"Melee hacking, ranged arrow ambushes, plus the harassment of giant wolves ~"

"Indeed, it's worth noting!"

On a thick pine tree trunk, Liang Yue had now removed his armor, wearing only a large red inner lining, standing between the branches facing the moonlight.

After muttering to himself and summarizing the previous battle, this guy completely calmed the murderous intent in his heart and assumed the standard posture of the Hunyuan Stance.

Subconsciously, he glanced again at the screen of the video recorder, which had also landed on the treetop, and then began his unwavering practice of the Hunyuan Gong.

After a while, he completely entered a state of cultivation, his eyes closed gently, and his body relaxed.

The clear wind blowing through the hills and the swaying pine tree beneath him could not affect him in the slightest.

At this moment, Liang Yue's feet were as if rooted, firmly standing on the tree trunk, no matter how the tree swayed and moved, he could still remain calm!