"Send troops?" Thranduil instinctively wanted to refuse. After all, his father had died outside the Black Gate in the Final Battle years ago. Like the Star Elves, he had been left with postwar trauma. Even during the Battle of Five Armies, he had only marched out to reclaim the Elves' treasure and prepare for a fight with the Dwarves!
"..." Thranduil fell silent, a rare occurrence. Psychologically, he did not want the Forest Elf army to leave the kingdom! The kingdom possessed a complete defensive system and the protection of various magical arrays. In Elf King Thranduil's view, if they truly wished to hole up, neither these Orcs nor the Nazgûl could do anything to them!
Moreover, Elves had very low food requirements. With the Magic Well providing a source of power, they possessed an endless supply of energy. A small amount of vegetables and fruit could sustain the entire Elven kingdom! With everything being self-sufficient, Thranduil preferred to close his gates and live his own life. Though he was also a member of the Northern Territory Alliance, unlike the humans and Dwarves of Dale, Thranduil had been practically forced into joining. The current situation suited him just fine, and he had no intention of seeking change!
"What about the Star Elves? Didn't king Roland say what they thought..." Thranduil trailed off into silence. The Star Elves were simply too far away, stationed in Mirkwood, and it was said that they had recently helped the alliance pin down quite a few Orcs! Star Elf king Eowyn and Star Dragon Knight Peter Gro had led the Elf Rangers in causing Dol Guldur's Orcs no end of trouble!
The reason for Thranduil's silence was that he realized the Woodland Realm seemed to be the only one with nothing to do... The Dwarves