Orc Night Raid, the Dwarves' Guardroom

Long Lake Town.

Bolg led a group of orcs slowly forward on the rooftops, carefully searching for their target.

Because they had no boat, they were blocked by the huge lake for a long time before they finally caught up.

"Those wretched little dwarves are nearby, I can smell them."

Following the scent of the dwarves, Bolg sifted through the numerous houses, narrowing his search to the vicinity of Bard's house.

Inside the house, Bifur looked boredly at the steaming casserole. "Kili, just hold on for a few more minutes, it'll be ready soon."

"Thank you." Kili nodded weakly.

"I'm going to check on my father!" Sigrid said, holding a piece of clothing. "I'm worried about him being alone in the clock tower."

However, just as she reached the door, Aaron's Thought Form grabbed her right hand as she opened it.

"You..."

Sigrid blushed slightly, and before she could say anything, her Thought Form pulled him back.

"Something's not right." The Thought Form glanced at the people in the room with a serious expression. "Bain, you and your two sisters hide under the table and protect them."

"Bifur, Bofur, take your weapons and guard your Kili."

"Has the evil dragon come?" Bofur asked.

"Not Smaug, but he's not much better," the Thought Form said solemnly. "I heard the footsteps of the Mithraes, the closest ones are right above us."

Everyone was stunned for a moment. Bain and the others were still confused, but the three dwarves had already realized who the enemy was.

After the three siblings had hidden themselves, the Thought Form picked up a Longsword and slowly walked to the door.

As expected, the moment the door opened, an Orc roared and pounced on him.

The Thought Form pierced his chest with a sword, then kicked him into the lake and quickly closed the door.

"Bad news, we're surrounded."

No sooner had he finished speaking than the back door was suddenly kicked open, and an orc rushed in with a short sword.

At that moment, three orcs jumped in from the roof.

Sigrid and Tilda were terrified and screamed when they saw the ferocious and ugly orcs appear in their home in this way.

Bofur stood guard by Kili's bedside with an axe, Bifur stood guard in front of the table with Haft Hammer.

"Protect them."

The Thought Form quickly drew its sword and stepped forward, fighting four opponents simultaneously without being at a disadvantage.

When he trained at home, he would take on at least ten opponents, and he could take down a mere four orcs in less than half a minute.

The three siblings stared at Aaron in disbelief, dumbfounded.

They can barely kill fish now, but others can already kill orcs, which is quite good.

"Don't get distracted, we're still in a dangerous situation."

A moment later, another wave of orcs rushed in, doubling in number and continuing to grow.

Even the Thought Form" cannot be all-encompassing, and a chaotic battle is imminent.

Fortunately, unexpected reinforcements arrived at this moment. The elves Tauriel and Legolas entered the battlefield, greatly reducing the pressure on everyone.

The orcs were killed one after another. One of them jumped out of the back door onto a wooden boat on the lake and relayed the situation inside to Bolg: "The Oakenshield is not here."

Bolg growled angrily, feeling resentful, but with the main objective out of reach, he didn't want to waste his troops.

"Retreat, cross the bridge."

Bolg retreated without hesitation, but the orc who sent him the message was in a terrible predicament.

Legolas threw the body of one of his companions to the stern, while he, who was standing at the bow, was hoisted up. Legolas seized the opportunity and, using his twin swords as scissors, beheaded him.

"How cruel." The Thought Form curled its lip. "But no amount of cruelty is too much when it comes to Oak."

"Are they all dead?" Bain asked.

"Of course not, there are at least dozens more outside." The Thought Form said helplessly, "We're lucky, Bolg's target is Thorin, otherwise we would have had a tough battle."

"We can't let them get away like this." Legolas looked at the retreating orcs. "Tauriel, we'll give chase."

"Wait a moment." The Thought Form stopped him and extended its right hand. "You should return the Wand to me. You must return it to me."

"Smaug's party is attacking Long Lake Town, I need my weapons."

"A dragon?" Legolas asked doubtfully. "Are you sure?"

"That's what the Prophecy says, and my descendants, along with the former mayor of Long Lake Town, have made preparations to deal with it."

"Of course, it's fine if you don't give it back to me. I'm also skilled in Wandless Casting, but I always feel a little uncomfortable without anything in my hands."

Legolas hesitated for a moment, then pulled out two Wand, one black and one white, from behind his waist. "Whether what you say is true or false, it belongs to my father..."

"I will heal him."

"That's good, Tauriel, let's go."

Tauriel paused for a moment, then looked at the injured Kili. After hesitating for a moment, he prepared to leave.

Seeing the deep affection and reluctance in Kili's eyes, Thought Form remained silent, but still spoke up, "Your Highness, could you lend me Tauriel for one night?"

"What did you say?" Legolas glared at him fiercely, his left hand already on the quiver behind his back. If Aaron didn't give him a reasonable explanation, he wouldn't be so rude as to turn hostile.

"Don't misunderstand, I just want her to protect these three siblings."

I'll be fighting Smaug in the bell tower with their relatives, and I might not be able to look after them then, so... I mean, we can't let the Champion lose heart."

"Tauriel, what do you think?"

Tauriel sighed and then nodded.

Legolas was not surprised by her decision and immediately prepared to leave to hunt down the Orks alone.

"Hold on."

Legolas stumbled, looking at Aaron with displeasure. "Can't you just say what you have to say all at once?"

The Thought Form smiled awkwardly and impolitely, "We can't catch her yet. Just come back in time after you've finished chasing Oak."

Legolas paused for a moment, then his mood improved considerably. "We are."

After the two elves left, the Thought Form approached Kili with a look of disdain. "I'll leave one elf here for you. Is there anything you want to say to me?"

"Thank you." Kili gratefully grasped Aaron's hands. "Brother, from now on you're my real brother."

The Thought Form's eye twitched. How come I never noticed how shameless you were before!

Lonely Mountain, Erebor.

Aaron and Bilbo ran to the corner of the stairs and simultaneously deactivated their invisibility.

"As expected of the last dragon in Middle-earth, its destructive power is truly terrifying!" Aaron peeked out and saw Smaug unleashing Dragon Fire, and couldn't help but click his tongue in amazement.

"Never mind that, escaping is the priority," Bilbo said anxiously, pulling Aaron up the steps.

But they had only run to the second platform when they encountered Thorin, who was panting heavily.

"You're still alive?"

"I won't live much longer, the dragons are coming soon," Bilbo said.

"Have you found the Arkenstone?"

"Good luck." Aaron nodded, looking towards the passage behind Thorin.

A sword stopped in front of the passage, Thorin blocking their way, and said coldly, "Arkenstone."

Aaron frowned. He had initially thought Smaug was exaggerating, but now it seemed that the Arkenstone could indeed influence people's minds.

"Let's get out of here first," Bilbo said.

Thorin pointed his sword directly at Bilbo, forcing him to retreat.

"Give me."

"I, that gem, am actually..."

Just as Bilbo was about to explain something, he heard low breathing sounds coming from not far away.

The three of them instinctively turned around and met a pair of cold, vertical pupils.

Smaug spotted them; the crimson light emanating from their abdomens was clearly visible in the dimly lit palace and extended continuously toward their long necks.

At this moment, the remaining dwarves also ran out of the passage, forming a line to face the dragon.

"I'm going to burn you all," Smaug said, taking a few steps to stand in front of the crowd.

Run!

The group immediately jumped down the steps, narrowly avoiding the fierce crimson Dragon Fire.

There was a passageway entrance at the bottom of the steps, and without hesitation, everyone quickly slipped inside.

Smaug aimed his mouth at the Heavenly Rift and spewed Dragon Fire, the flames spreading widely. Thorin, the last to cross the passage, was caught in the Dragon Fire and his clothes caught fire.

"The Aguamenti."

Aaron threw a stream of water onto Mount Thorin, extinguishing the fire.

The group then carefully proceeded along the passage, turning several corners before arriving at a long corridor.

"We've shaken it off," Dori said in a low voice.

"No," Dwalin shook his head. "It's very cunning."

"Where are we now?" Bilbo asked.

"The guardhouse on the west side," Thorin said. "There might be an escape route there."

"It's too high up there; there's no way to escape," Balin objected.

"That's our only chance, we have to go all out," Thorin said, leading the group stealthily up the corridor.

But when they escaped to the guardhouse, they found only skeletons covered in cobwebs.

The exit was blocked by Monolith, and dozens of dwarves starved to death here, including several infants.

"The remains of our compatriots," Balin said in a somber voice. "They must have come here with great hope."

"It's appalling! This is the price of hope turning into Despair." Aaron pursed his lips. "There shouldn't be any other way out here, or rather, there's only one way out for us: go back and kill Smaug."

"All of us combined are no match for it," Dwalin said. "We can hold out here for a few more days, but if we go out, we'll probably die in the flames."

"That's still better than waiting to die here." Aaron shrugged. "A desperate fight gives us a chance to survive, but staying here means certain death."

You and your dwarf brethren will turn into mummies and remain forever in this Despair place, but I will certainly not die.

You might not believe it, but this isn't exactly a dead end for me.

Bilbo, however, believed in Aaron. He had witnessed Aaron's magic firsthand, and if anyone could escape from Smaug, it would be him.