Dragon-Slaying Secret Art, the Destruction of the Gundabad Orcs

Gandalf brought Legolas and Tauriel into the fray, helping the dwarves shoulder the pressure. As for the Thoughtform, it escorted Bilbo to Aaron’s side.

The main body and his clone shared the same mind and worked in perfect sync. Before long, they had eliminated more than a dozen Orcs in front of them.

"We need to hurry and help Thorin," Bilbo said.

"Not yet. I need to recover my magic."

"That was why I came here." The Thoughtform smiled meaningfully before dissolving into particles and merging with the main body.

Feeling his magic surge, Aaron was immensely relieved. At last, he felt that long-lost sense of safety again.

"Can we help Thorin now?" Bilbo asked anxiously, Sting clutched in his hand.

"The others can, but you need to stay here. I’ll be counting on you later."

"What are you talking about?" Bilbo asked in confusion. "Is there anything more important than helping Thorin?"

"There is." Aaron gestured for Bilbo to look toward the sky. A massive dark cloud was steadily approaching Ravenhill, packed with countless giant bats.

"Gollum!" Bilbo felt a chill run through him and silently slipped his hand into his pocket, ready to put on The One Ring at any moment. "Have the Gundabad Orcs arrived?"

"Thorin won’t die anytime soon. We need to find a way to stop this Orc army, or forget about the elves and dwarves below—even we won’t be able to protect ourselves.

"That’s no exaggeration. Even if all eight of us used Apparition, we might not get away."

"What are you planning?" Bilbo asked gravely.

Aaron had just been about to explain when a swarm of giant bats flew over Ravenhill and joined the battle below, attacking the Ironfoot Army and instantly turning the tide in the Orcs’ favor.

"Let’s hope Radagast is reliable and brings our reinforcements here soon.

"If he’s any later, the battle might be over by then."

"Attack! Kill them!" Bolg suddenly appeared within their sight and commanded the Gundabad Orc vanguard under his command to attack them.

"Patronus Charm!"

Without another word, Aaron cast the Patronus Charm and formed a gigantic protective barrier, blocking Bolg’s army on the other side of Ravenhill.

At the sight of this, several distinct black lines appeared on Azog’s pale face.

At first, only Oakenshield, Fili, Kili, Dwalin, and one ordinary wizard had charged up Ravenhill. He had thought victory was assured; it was only a matter of time before the defenders on Ravenhill dealt with those five people.

Later, their numbers doubled. He still did not think it was a problem. If anything, he had been a little excited.

The elven prince and that damned Grey Wizard were both here. As long as they took their heads, this battle could practically be declared an Orc victory. Though the defenders might be insufficient, once the Gundabad reinforcements arrived, every problem would cease to be a problem.

But what was he seeing now? A wizard had actually stopped his reinforcements. This was nothing like what he had expected.

Thorin seized the instant Azog lost focus and slashed down at his shoulder armor. "Looks like you miscalculated!"

"Hmph! An unexpected variable." Azog sneered. "But it doesn’t matter. How long do you think he can sustain that kind of magic? Perhaps this isn’t a bad thing, because you won’t be facing just the vanguard. The Gundabad army will gather in a short time, then crush you with ease."

"Not a bad idea." Aaron led Bilbo to the top of the watchtower, then gave Azog an utterly harmless smile.

"I should have killed you first," Azog roared angrily.

Aaron curled his lip dismissively. "You say that like you could have killed me."

"Gaius, can you still hold on?" Thorin asked.

"It’s fine. I have a plan. I’m going to do something big." Aaron glanced unobtrusively toward the other side of Ravenhill. "But I didn’t expect the audience to be this cooperative!"

"Is this really the right time to say that?" Bilbo asked uneasily. Less than ten meters away, a large number of vicious Orcs were attacking the barrier.

"I’m about to unleash the strongest magic I can currently use and try to deal a devastating blow to this Orc army. But after that one attack, my magic will be completely drained. I won’t even be able to cast the most basic spell.

"When that happens, I’m entrusting my life to you. The others are all damn unreliable."

Hearing that, Bilbo turned to look at the ever-growing Orc legion and suddenly understood something. The Magic Carpet on his back felt incomparably heavy.

"I understand. Before I die, I’ll definitely protect you."

"Thanks."

Aaron let out a long breath and waved one hand, dismissing the protective barrier. The tide-like Orc army immediately surged forward.

Seeing this, Aaron leaned forward slightly, took a running start, and jumped down from the watchtower.

As he fell, he mobilized every last bit of magic within him. Blazing flames burst from his hands as he held them in a spiraling stance before him.

"Dragon-Slaying Secret Art—Crimson Lotus Exploding Flame Ninja."

The flames in Aaron’s hands instantly expanded countless times over, transforming into a vast sea of fire with overwhelming force and destructive power. In the blink of an eye, it covered half of Ravenhill. Countless Orcs were burned to nothing by the extreme heat before they could even scream.

The massive explosion also triggered a chain reaction. The frozen lake on one side of Ravenhill shattered, and the mountainside collapsed on a huge scale.

The Orcs lucky enough to survive the flames did not even have time to catch their breath before they were swallowed by the icy lake water and countless chunks of rubble.

The Gundabad Orc army was instantly reduced by ninety-nine percent. Fewer than fifty survived, and even those freakishly lucky survivors were half-dead. Standing up was a problem for them.

Aaron knelt on one knee atop a huge boulder, his chest heaving violently as he gasped for breath.

Just as he had expected, the Dragon-Slaying Secret Art had directly drained all his magic. But the effect was nothing short of earth-shattering.

The Gundabad Orc army was completely crippled. Now, as long as Radagast’s reinforcements arrived, this war could be brought to an end.

Just then, Aaron heard heavy footsteps.

When he turned around, he was nearly scared into having a heart attack. Bolg was charging toward him with a black Hammer in hand.

What the hell! He didn’t die even after that?

Bolg could lead an army, so naturally he was not brainless. The moment Aaron shouted the words Dragon-Slaying Secret Art, he sensed an immense danger.

Warnings of death rang relentlessly through his mind. He almost instinctively dropped to the ground and dragged several Orcs beside him over as several layers of thick meat shields. Only then did he barely survive the sea of fire.

Even so, he had suffered numerous burns, though none serious enough to damage his foundations. That was how he escaped the following flood.

"Don’t come any closer. This really is just a misunderstanding," Aaron said anxiously, while inwardly cursing Bilbo for not coming to save him yet. He had no strength left to fight Bolg one-on-one.

"Die!" Bolg roared furiously, the killing intent in his eyes almost solidifying.

The Gundabad army had been the key to the Orcs winning this war, their final bargaining chip. But now, it was all gone.

If not for the giant bats suffering almost no losses, it would have made no difference whether they had come or not.

And now Aaron actually had the nerve to call it a misunderstanding. Bolg would not believe that even if his brain had gone haywire.

Moreover, Aaron was far too dangerous. Before even reaching adulthood, he could already use such absurdly powerful magic. It was likely that only the Orcs’ master could defeat him.

Now was his weakest moment. If Bolg did not kill him now, there would be no chance later. The Orcs would never again have a day of rising to power.

Just as Bolg raised his Hammer and Aaron prepared to squeeze out the last thread of his magic to cast a spell, a stone struck Bolg squarely in the back of the head.

Dizzy and disoriented, Bolg staggered.

At that critical moment, Bilbo seized the opportunity. Controlling the Magic Carpet, he grabbed Aaron by the arm and carried him into the air.

Having escaped death, Aaron glared resentfully at Bilbo. "Why did you take so long?"

"I was already fast enough," Bilbo said. But when he met Aaron’s suspicious gaze, an awkward look flashed across his face. "All right! Your magic stunned me.

"That was ridiculous. One move destroyed an entire army. Even seeing it with my own eyes, I still couldn’t believe it."

"Heh! So you forgot about me?" Aaron said speechlessly. "You should have come to rescue me immediately."

"Uh… I was only stunned for a few seconds," Bilbo said sheepishly. "The moment Bolg crawled out of the pile of corpses, I rushed over to save you without stopping."

Hearing that, Aaron rolled his eyes in anger.

Damn it!

If you had saved those few seconds of being stunned, I wouldn’t have been terrified under Bolg’s weapon. I’ve never had such an exciting experience before.

"Go back."

"Huh?" Bilbo froze. "In your current state, you shouldn’t be on the battlefield."

"Don’t worry. Gandalf and the others are there. The scattered Orcs on Ravenhill pose no threat to me at all."

Bilbo thought that made sense and immediately guided the Magic Carpet back to Ravenhill.

Seeing them return, Bolg roared in rage, wishing he could grow wings and fly into the sky to kill them.

"Impotent rage." Aaron mocked him to the fullest, then leaned back theatrically. "I did it on purpose just now. All Orcs deserve to die. There wasn’t even the slightest misunderstanding."

Though Bolg trembled with rage, he knew there was nothing he could do to them. He simply pretended not to see them and rushed toward the summit of Ravenhill.

Now that the army was gone, the quickest way to win this battle was to help Azog take the heads of Thorin and the others.

Near Ravenhill’s frozen lake, Gandalf and the others had nearly finished clearing out the Orc guards.

The situation had naturally undergone a tremendous reversal. Originally, the Orcs had been surrounding and attacking a handful of dwarves. Now, dwarves, elves, and wizards were surrounding Azog.

Even Azog the Pale Orc could not help feeling uneasy while facing the encirclement of seven people.

Just then, Bolg arrived, giving him hope of victory.

"Bolg, you’re back. That means that wizard is dead, right?

"Hurry and mobilize our army. Kill them all."