They had fought off a midnight Orc ambush just last night.
The members of the Company remembered those howls all too well.
"Those are Orc Wargs."
"The Orcs can't be far from here!"
Gandalf spoke in a low voice, then quickly snuffed out his pipe and put it away.
"Come on, hurry back to camp!"
Thorin Oakenshield's face darkened as he spoke at once.
"We have to get back to camp immediately. Our provisions and horses are there!"
"Even if we escape the Orcs, we won't get far without our provisions and horses," Gandalf added, nodding.
"Move!"
The others knew how serious the situation was, too.
There was no need to say more. The group immediately picked up the pace and hurried toward their makeshift camp.
"Awooo!"
"Awooo!"
The howls came from all around, each one clearer than the last.
Everyone in the Company wore a grim expression.
After last night's battle, they had already seen how terrifying and savage the Orcs were.
Now they had returned in force. Just from the howls, it was clear that this attack wouldn't be a small one.
"Faster!" Thorin Oakenshield urged loudly.
Of everyone in the Company, not even Gandalf knew better than Thorin Oakenshield how terrifying a large Orc army could be.
His own company was so small. If the Orcs surrounded them—
He couldn't even imagine how horrifying the consequences would be.
The clearer the Wargs' howls grew, the closer the Orcs were getting.
Judging by how clearly the howls carried from their direction, Thorin Oakenshield's expression darkened further.
He had a terrible feeling. I hope we're not too late.
"Move!"
Thorin Oakenshield led the way, sprinting toward the makeshift camp.
The three Stone Trolls' lair wasn't far from the camp.
In less than half an hour, the Company spotted the tents they had set up for shelter from the rain.
They had just begun to relax, relieved that the Orcs hadn't reached the camp yet, when an Orc riding a large Warg stepped out of the most conspicuous tent.
As luck would have it, the Orc looked up in their direction.
"Bad! Get down!" Thorin Oakenshield immediately crouched and hissed.
But Bombur, Nori, and the other Dwarves at the back of the company were clearly a beat too slow.
The Orc spotted them and immediately pointed in their direction, shouting wildly.
Several more Orcs riding Wargs rushed out of the tent.
Then a low horn sounded.
Warg howls rang out one after another through the surrounding forest.
Listening closely, they could tell that the sounds were drawing nearer.
The Orcs in the makeshift camp charged furiously toward them.
"The camp's been taken!"
"They've probably spotted us, too!"
Gandalf, with his long legs and height, was the first to see the Orc Warg riders charging from afar. He shook his head, then looked at Thorin Oakenshield, who was still weighing his options.
Gandalf's expression turned grave. "Thorin, we have to go!"
Thorin Oakenshield knew the Orcs had spotted them. He also knew how dangerous their situation was.
But if they fled now, they would be abandoning their provisions and horses for good.
Even if the Expedition Team managed to escape the Orcs, it would be hard to continue the journey to the Lonely Mountain.
This was the outcome he had feared most.
He hadn't expected that, even after rushing back as fast as they could, they would still be too late.
"This is infuriating!"
Thorin Oakenshield's face twisted with anger. Gritting his teeth, he said, "Go!"
As soon as the words left his mouth, Thorin Oakenshield turned and sprinted toward the direction of the three Trolls' lair.
They had just come through that way. It was probably the safest route through the forest right now.
"Awooo!"
"Awooo!"
The Wargs' terrifying howls came from all directions.
The Company's members raced for their lives through the forest.
But on two legs, they clearly couldn't outrun Gundabad Wargs that moved through the forest as easily as if it were flat ground.
Before long, the roars of more than twenty Warg riders charging out of the camp sounded behind them.
The first wave of Orcs had caught up.
Thorin Oakenshield glanced back at the Orc Warg riders already close on their heels and immediately skidded to a halt.
He turned to face the Orcs charging toward them, drew his short sword, and roared, "Kill them!"
"Kill them!"
"Kill those filthy mongrels!"
"Take revenge for our kin who died!"
"Kill those monsters!"
The Dwarves answered Thorin Oakenshield's call at once, waving their weapons and shouting in a frenzy.
For all their cursing, the Dwarves didn't waste a moment. More than a dozen of them immediately formed a line to meet the enemy.
The flustered Bilbo and the two Dwarves who had been badly injured while fighting the three Trolls, Bofur and Bombur, were surrounded by the others.
The Dwarves often teased and mocked Bilbo, but when it mattered, they were dependable.
The Company split into two groups to face the enemy.
Thorin Oakenshield led all the Dwarves into battle.
Morgan stood with Gandalf once more.
The two were both powerful, and their abilities complemented each other. Fighting side by side would maximize their strength and keep them safer.
"Thud! Thud! Thud!"
The force of dozens of Wargs charging together was fearsome.
"By the master's orders, kill every last one of those Dwarf bastards!" roared the large, vicious-looking Orc Warg rider in the lead.
"Kill the Dwarf bastards!"
"Kill the Dwarf bastards!"
The Orcs following behind him immediately cackled and shouted, brandishing their weapons as they charged the Company.
"You sure sound excited. You'll be the first one to die today!"
Morgan raised his bow and nocked an arrow. Calmly watching the large Orc in the lead, who rode a towering Warg and grinned savagely, he muttered under his breath. Then his fingers released the string.
"Whoosh!"
An arrow shot over the Expedition Team and streaked toward the charging Orcs.
A moment later—
The large Orc leader, who had been bent over on his Warg with a savage grin, suddenly stiffened.
Then his body tipped to one side and tumbled off the Warg's back.
The Warg kept charging forward, though for some reason the weight on its back suddenly felt much lighter.
The Warg wasn't smart enough to notice anything was wrong, but the riders behind their underling saw their leader fall and hesitated.
But the Orc Warg riders quickly recovered, and an even greater fury surged through them.
They roared as they charged the Company, their momentum undiminished.
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