CHAPTER 11. THE CLOUDS BURST
Thorin
I will have war!
After the peace negotiation between Bard, Thranduil and the dragon-sickness possessed Thorin and the attempt to trade the Arkenstone with the share of the treasure Thorin promised to the people of Laketown as an exchange for their help for his company in their quest to reclaim their homeland and to avoid the bloodshed had failed after arrival of raven Roäc and Thorin's final answer...
...the massive, heavily armored and armed and with the heavy steps marching dwarf armies appeared on the top of the East Saddle of the mountain, along with a several dwarf-chariots before the front lines of the army, each of which was pulled by six giant rams and crewed with four dwarves and armed with the large bolt launcher.
And they were led by the red-bearded dwarf, who was riding in the back of the war-hog and was dressed in the heavy and royal armor, over of which the dwarf wore the thick fur-cape. The dwarf also had the shiny helmet upon of his head, above of which was standing the decoration, which resembled the golden wild boar with the red mane. And as his weapon, the dwarf carried the red double-bladed axe, in which wide and red bladed had been carved the wild boar in each side of the blade.
Gandalf recognized this dwarf at first sight.
"Ironfoot." Gandalf whispered.
The massive dwarf armies of the Iron Hills then stopped still on the top of the steep hill in the eastern side of the gates of Erebor.
Their presence prompted Thorin's heavily outnumbered company to cheer at the arrival of the reinforcements in the battle-ready state, despite having been marched day and night from the Iron Hills to here...
...while the dwarf army's arrival and the whole presence prompted Thranduil and reluctant Bard to break the siege upon the gates of Erebor and both kings ordered their troops of elves and men to turn away from the Mountain to face the dwarf army in the upcoming open battle.
And as the army remained on the top of the steep hill, the dwarf-lord called Ironfoot kept riding in the back of his war-hog down the hill to meet the alliance of the Mirkwood elves and Lake-men from close or to offer them his terms before the bloodshed...
...and while riding down the hill, the dwarf lord turned his look towards the sealed gates of Erebor, seeing Thorin and his company in there dressed into the dwarf armors from the Erebor's armory.
"HI, THORIN!"
"IRONFOOT HAS COME!" Thorin's company cheered from the gates.
While walking with Gandalf in the ranks of the elves, Bilbo eyed on the back of the war-hog incoming dwarf for a while, before he turned to Gandalf.
"Gandalf, who is that? He doesn't look very happy to see us." Bilbo asked from about the situation concerned Gandalf.
"I'm afraid that he isn't at all. His name is Dain, Dain II Ironfoot. Lord of the Iron Hills. Thorin's cousin." Gandalf answered with the worry filled voice.
"Are they alike?" Bilbo asked.
Gandalf let out the sad sight for that question.
"Unfortunately, I've always found Thorin the more reasonable of the two." Gandalf answered, sounding even more worried now as he walked ahead...
...meaning that even though Dain may have his own terms for the opponents, he was a quite stubborn to both listen and agree to others terms and is quite impatient and short-tempered if his terms aren't answered in his way and will show - or more likely use - the raw force as an proof that how serious he is in his words.
After hearing this, Bilbo let out the worried sight, seeing already that this was not going to end well, before he continued after Gandalf.
As the army of elves reached on the feet of the steep hill, Dain arrived in front of all of them and directed his war-hog to go on the top of from the ground emerging boulder.
"Good morning! How are we all?" Dain politely wished and asked as he stopped his war-hog on the top of the boulder.
It was followed by for the moment lasting silence, during of which the soldiers and the armed men of Lake-town stared nervously at the dwarf lord, while the elves calmly stood still.
Dain then broke the silence by opening his mouth to speak.
"I have a wee proposition which I would like to offer you, if ye wouldn't mind givin' me a few moments of yer time." Dain said to everybody in the presence, while Bilbo and Gandalf were listening in the ranks of the nervous lake-men.
"Would ye consider... JUST SODDING OFF?!" Dain roared, as his polite and calm attitude suddenly changed into hostile and demanding, with his voice echoing in the air space in front of the gates of Erebor.
ALL OF YOU, RIGHT NOW! OR DO I HAVE TO KICK ALL OF YOU OUT OF HERE WITH MY IRON FOOT?! I'LL NOT ASK THIS FOR THE SECOND TIME! OR ELSE I'LL ALLOW OUR AXES TO SPEAK FOR US!" Dain added, as he nearly stood up from his saddle.
The reaction of the allied elves and men were versatile.
Soldiers and armed lake-men instantly out of nervousness and fear backed off from the first ranks of the elves' army, trying to get far away from the angry dwarf-lord, but the elves stood calmly still, with their spearmen taking the battle-ready position and the elves' swordsmen raising their elven blades up and getting themselves ready to the fight.
"Stand fast!" Bard ordered, trying to calm down his people.
Dain then sit back onto the saddle and eyes the armies of elves and men, waiting for the response.
Gandalf, saw this as an good opportunity to speak Dain out of this, or at least try, and he stepped out of the ranks of men, while Bilbo remained with them.
"Come now, Lord Dain." Gandalf called, getting Dain's attention from the elves and men to him.
"Gandalf the Grey." Dain said, as Gandalf lowered his head down in front of the lord of the Iron Hills to show the respect for the dwarf-lord, before saying what he has to say to Dain before it's too late.
Dain opened his mouth at first to speak.
"As the only one they're willing to listen, would you tell this rabble to leave, before I'll water the ground with their blood!" Dain asked, as he turned his angry look from Gandalf to the elven army in front of him.
Gandalf knew that he was probably merely wasting his time by trying to reason with impatient and short-tempered Dain, but due to the far more serious threat being incoming towards the Mountain from the south while they were still having the ill feelings towards each others and were even at the verge of the war between of each other...
...Gandalf was left with no choice and he had to try.
"I would remain in neutral of this..." Gandalf started.
"But now I'm trying to tell all of you that there is no need for war between Dwarves, Men, and Elves. Far more greater threat will be soon upon all of us, as the massive legions of the goblins are marching upon the mountain, with the gigantic pack of wargs in their train and the bats flying above of their army, blocking with their massive flocks the sunlight from reaching to the ground and allowing the goblins to march in the bright daylight. They're led by the Bolg of the North, the same Bolg whose father you engaged and slayed along with Thorin in the battles of Moria. Now he's coming to take violently over these lands and he'll destroy anyone who stands between of him and the Mountain." Gandalf said.
"They'll be here by any second, but every moment when they are not here yet, there's yet time for council. Just stand down your armies, Dain." Gandalf pleaded.
However, just as he expected...
"I will not stand down before any elf." Dain declared stubbornly...
...earning the desperate look from Gandalf.
"Don't say that you too don't believe me!" Gandalf said with the desperate tone.
"I see with my very own eyes the army of the elves, that is besieging my kin's reclaimed homeland with the force of arms as Roäc, son of Carc, and lord of the ravens told me, nothing else. And I repeat myself, that I will not stand down before any elf!" Dain added.
And then, Dain turned from Gandalf to Thranduil on the back of the giant stag, pointing him with his red axe.
"And I will not stand down before this faithless woodland sprite. He wishes nothing but ill upon my people... do not even think that I've forgotten how that dishonorable pointy-eared buffoon turned his back to my kin's sufferings and pleads for help... and yet he stands like a foe before the defended walls or our reclaimed homeland!" Dain said while keeping his angry stare at Thranduil, who calmly and unhurt listened Dain's disdain towards him.
"And now I'll say, that if he chooses to stand between me and my kin, I'LL SPLIT HIS PRETTY HEAD OPEN WITH MY AXE!" Dain loudly declared.
However, even having received such of threat upon of him from Dain, the mocking smirk appeared to Thranduil's lips, which only added even more Dain's hatred and disdain for him.
"We'll see if he's still smirking then!" Dain added furiously, before he turned his war-hog around and rode back towards his army.
"Dain! Wait!" Gandalf called after him, but Dain ignored him and kept riding back to the other dwarves.
Thorin's company cheered from the sealed gate at Dain as he rode back towards his army...
...while Gandalf watched after him distressed, as he knew that he had failed to stop the bloodshed between of the elves, men and the dwarves.
However, Thranduil remained calm as he followed Dain riding back to his army.
"Big words from that bearded old fool with a pig as his ridiculous war-mount." Thranduil said with the mocking tone.
Gandalf turned from Dain to Thranduil, still distressed of incoming events following Thranduil's and Dain's brief but hostile discus.
"I would not urge you to underestimate nor even insult the dwarves, Thranduil. It only prompts them to strike even harder." Gandalf said...
...but he was both ignored and dismissed by Thranduil.
"Then let those fools advance. Let's see how far they'll get." Thranduil said.
However, Dain overheard this, as well as Thranduil's insults for him.
"You think I give a dead dog for your threats, ya pointy-eared princess?"Dain asked tauntingly from Thranduil while riding up the hill, igniting the elven-king's fury.
Dain then turned to his army, as he was about to reach them.
"You heard that, lads? That pointy-eared princess called me "bearded old fool" and he has insulted my war-mount... and now he has rejected my proposition and decided to stand between of us and our homeland." Dain spoke loudly to his army.
"Then so be it! They've made their choice! Let's give these bastards a good hammering... on dwarves' way!" Dain added.
And right after Dain's call for war, one of his dwarven generals riding in the armored war-goat in front of the first lines of the army opened his mouth.
"IFRIDÎL, YANÂD DURINUL/MAKE READY, SON'S OF DURIN!" The dwarf general shouted.
"KHAZÂD AI-MÊNU!/THE DWARVES ARE UPON YOU!" The entire dwarf army loudly declared.
Thranduil, however, was unmoved of the dwarves way of declaring the war.
"Fools! They do understand nothing about the war above ground, whatever they know the battle in underground." Thranduil said angrily and with the low voice, before the elven-king turned to his forces and ordered the elves' spearmen and archers in front.
And then, Thranduil rode towards Bard and his men.
"Stand your men down, Bard. I'll deal with Ironfoot and his rabble... personally." Thranduil said, ordering Bard and his army to stay out of the upcoming battle between of his and Dain's armies, which he called "personal."
Bard was himself was as distressed as Gandalf, that this is gonna end up into bloodshed despite of their attempts to avoid it.
However, he ordered his army to stand aside from this by Thranduil's orders and by his own unwillingness to get his hands dirty from the dwarf blood and to be with his people involved to this senseless war.
And once Dain reached to his army, he turned to his generals.
"Alright then, let's get this done." Dain said, earning the nods of agreement from his generals.
"Send in the goats!" Dain ordered.
"IFRIDÎL!" One of the generals ordered towards their army...
...and within the seconds, the dwarf soldiers in each lines of their army formed the dozens and dozens narrow passageways through of their ranks, through of which moved in front of the army the heavily armored cavalry of goat-riding dwarves...
...until about roughly over one thousand and five hundred goat-riding dwarves were standing in front of the dwarf infantry.
Dain then made his way to the another boulder in front of his army, before he gave the order to attack.
"IH-GIRÎ NI-HUN!/RIGHT INTO THEM!" Dain ordered as he pointed with his axe at the elves' ranks down the hill as a signal, and within the seconds after the command was given, the entire dwarves' cavalry was charging in the full speed down the hill towards the elves' ranks with the spears, dwarf swords and ax/hammer combined heavy weapons.
And one the dwarf cavalry's charge had began, Thranduil gave his command, and within the seconds his army's hundreds and hundreds of elf-archers placed the arrows in their longbows and tensed the bowstrings backwards as they pulled the bows up, ready to fire their arrows and eliminate the dwarves' cavalry with the one volley, before they could get in the touch with their ranks.
"THRANDUIL! THIS IS MADNESS!" Gandalf shouted from behind of the elven ranks, trying for the last time speak some sense into the elven-king, but he was too late...
...as the dwarves' cavalry charged within the range of the elves' bows, Thranduil ordered his archers to fire a volley of arrows at the dwarves' goat cavalry.
The elves released the grip from their bowstrings and send the massive volley of elves' arrows to fly in arch towards the dwarves' cavalry, and there was heard the hissing sound of the thousands of in the air flying elves' arrows as they flew towards the dwarves goat-riders.
"BARUK KHAZÂD!AXES OF DWARVES!" Dain ordered by raising his ax in the air, before he waved his ax down.
And with that, the Dwarves countered to the elves' volley of arrows by firing with their nine heavy ballistas the line of large javelins with spinning tails behind them over of the dwarves' ranks, and once the line of javelins with the spinning tails reached on the way of the elves' arrows, they shredded within seconds the entire hail of arrows and allowed the dwarves' cavalry to continue their advance...
...until all nine javelins crashed into the elven ranks before the elves were able to scatter out of their way, with their still spinning tails ending up to violently slicing dozens and dozens of elves apart and tossing several of them with the deadly power all around from their point of impact... much to Thranduil's shock and anger.
"Hey, pointy-eared princess! How did you like of the old twirley-whirlies?" Dain asked with the taunting tone.
"We got to you before you even got to us! Ha, ha, you buggers!" Dain tauntingly laughed.
Filled by the anger, Thranduil ordered another volley of arrows to be released, which from the dwarves first devastating blow recovered and regrouped elf archers fired towards the dwarves' cavalry, which the dwarves countered again with another spinning ballistas shot that shredded the hail of arrows and crashed into the elves' ranks again with the similar devastating consequences like in the first round, that caused the large casualties to the elves...
...and the dwarves' cavalry just kept approaching towards the heavily with the spinning-tailed javelins destroyed and scattered elven ranks.
However, as the dwarves' cavalry reached closer of the elves' ranks, the elven archers retreated behind of the elves' spearmen ranks, who raised their shields up and lowered their spears down, ready for the impact against the dwarves' cavalry.
And once in the verge of the impact, the first elven spearmen lines separated from the rest of the army and formed the sloping shield phalanx with their shields as the dwarves goats were about to hit to their ranks.
This was followed by the ful chaos.
As the dwarves' cavalry finally reached to the elves, some of their goats keep going or bounced over the elves shields, but most of the dwarves' goat-mounts were either halted back by the elven shields or either goat-mounts ended up to the elven spears and were speared to death by the elves, and the elves' archers freely fired their arrows over of the ranks of spearmen towards following dwarves goat-riders and their goat-mounts, killing dozens and dozens of dwarves and goats from the close-proximity, before they even reached to the first lines of the elven soldiers.
And as for the dwarves who reached behind of the first elves' lines, from the dwarves javelin attacks recovered and back into the ranks reformed elves formed the tunnels and funneled the Dwarves in, where the both dwarves and their goat-mounts were slaughtered from each side by the elven spears and arrows.
However, despite suffering casualties for over half of their entire cavalry by the elves' archers and spears and despite most of the elves holding firmly on their ground, some of their goats were able to avoid the spears and arrows, along with their dwarf riders, and ram into the elves' ranks, knocking down dozens of elves over to the ground and breaking their ranks, some of them even reaching to the archers and causing them to halt their fire, allowing even more of dwarves' goat riders to break deeper into their ranks, where the dwarves' riders killed with their spears, swords, axes and war-hammers several elves before they were either killed or their goat-mounts were halted by firmly on their ground standing elves' spearmen.
And as the dwarves' cavalry had successfully managed to break some holes into the elves' ranks and reached to their archers, halting their fire, Dáin and half of his heavy infantry soon charged down the hill towards the elves' ranks... while another half of his army remained in the middle of the hill as an reinforcements.
Dain's war-hog pushed with ease through of the line of the elves' spearmen, knocking nearly dozen of elves' soldiers over to the ground with one push while Dain himself chopped the heads off from some elves' spearmen with his red axe, and allowing Dain's goat-mounted dwarven generals and his bodyguard to push into the elves' ranks, killing dozens of elves on their way...
...while the heavy dwarf-infantry, suffering some dozens of casualties among their ranks from the elven arrows fired into the front lines of their army, clashed into the ranks of the elves' spearmen, resulting in the large and bloody massacre that claimed nearly into the hundreds reaching number of elves and dwarves.
Thorin's company watched from the sealed gate of Erebor the bloody brawl between of Dain's and Thranduil's forces.
However, some of the company's dwarves, Balin, Bofur and especially Kili - due to his relationship with the particular elven woman named Tauriel - as the best example, weren't at all happy with seeing the bloodshed, which could have been avoided.
Before both sides suffer even heavier casualties than what they had already suffered, there was then the deep thundering and the ground shaking sound that came from the Eastern Ridge of the Mountain next to the city of Dale, which caught Gandalf's, Bilbo's, Bard's and the army of lake-men attentions.
The deep and thundering sounds in underground reached even into the ears of the battling elves and dwarves ears despite the loud war-cries and the metal's clash against the metal, and slowly but certainly, one by one, the elves and the dwarves, including Thranduil and Dain, stopped instantly fighting each other and all turned to the direction of the sounds.
Even Thorin Oakenshield's company's attentions were caught by the sounds, which draw their attention from the halting battle to the Eastern Ridge of the Mountain.
From all of them, Gandalf was the only one who recognized the makers of this strange deep and thunderous sound.
"Were-worms!" Gandalf whispered in horror.
And with no time, the first massive-sized were-worm burst from the earth, roaring at the armies at the gates of Erebor, before the first were-worm was folloed by the others, whose burst one by one out from the earth beneath of the Eastern Ridge.
"OH! C'mon!" Dain said as he stared at the massive creatures with the others.
The leaders of the armies of men, elves and dwarves were left all surprised, confused and speechless as even more similar creatures came roaring out of the ground like earthworms during of the rain.
And within the seconds, right after their appearance, the were-worms retreated back into the earth instead of attacking the armies at the gates of Erebor, leaving behind of them seven-eight gaping holes in the ground... much to the armies relief.
However, their relief soon faded away as they realized the truth of the were-worms brief appearance and then them retreating back into the ground.
Meanwhile, on the top of the ruined fortress of the Ravenhill, Bolg of the North along with his goblin generals, had finished of erection of their command post on tops of the tower and were ready to make their move onto the armies in the Valley.
"IN THE DAME OF THE DARK ONE... AND IN THE NAME OF MY FATHER, AZOG THE DEFILER... COME... FORTH, MY ARMIE'EEEEEES!" Bolg shouted loudly, that his voice echoed over of the valley bellow.
And with that, two goblin generals spread their bigger four-winged war-banners wings into wide, while two other goblin generals pulled the secondly largest war-banner's right wing up... and the first goblin general blew into the large horn on the top of the tower, from which the loud and coarse sound spread over the air space of the valley.
And with that, the massive armies of goblins burst out of the holes like the army of black ants.
This first wave of goblins was formed mostly into the bugs' shells resembling black armors dressed and mostly over dwarf-sized goblins from the Goblin-Town, who had joined their forces with the Dark One of Dol Guldur out of their old grudges and the lust for revenge against the dwarves for the death of the Great Goblin.
And along of them, there was also a bit man-sized goblins from the mines of Moria.
Most of these goblins had dressed into the Moria goblins' long-skirted chain armor shirts, but instead of wearing the spiky and sharp chest armor of the goblins of Moria, they were dressed into the heavy goblin-made armors made of rounded or pointed metal scales, over of which they used from the animals' skins or thick fur, even from the men or dwarves' bearded scalps, made dirty and torn rags and tunics, but some of them of course used the Moria goblins' spiked chest armor over of their tunics instead of using the scale armors under of them.
And, most of these goblins used the helmets of the Goblins of Moria, but some of them didn't even wear the helmets and fought either their heads bare, covered with the leather hoods or they wore from the wolves/wargs head scalps made headgears over their heads.
The Goblin-Town wielded a mixed weaponry of from the wood, stone and bones made short, curved and coarse swords, small goblin-made wooden bows, the spears, axes and daggers with a long wooden handles and a different shaped and coarse blades made out of stone, clubs made out of the humans', dwarves' and animals skulls, into which the goblins had attached the bone spikes.
But all the goblins coming from Moria/Dol Guldur carried the swords with the swords with the same long and narrow triangular shaped and coarse design like with the heavy goblin swordsmen infantry's swords and their shields. And into their armament belonged also the short and for the close combat designed or thrownable goblin-spears with the long, wide- and serrated-blades, the long, curved and serrated-bladed goblin-daggers, a huge goblin-axes with the crescent-shaped wide and heavy blades, goblin-made two-handed war hammers,a long and vicious-looking spiked maces, short-handled goblin halberds meant for the close combat, from the armory of Moria stolen dwarves' axes and war-hammers, and the goblins' own the close-combat goblin-bows.
And once the goblins burst out of the holes in the ground and moved from each hole towards each others to link the armies into the one massive horde of goblins, the gigantic pack of howling wargs and giant-wolves along with their warg-riding goblins appeared on the top of the Eastern Ridge, from where many of the goblins and their mounted or dis-mounted wargs then charged down the Eastern Ridge's hill to join to the goblins first wave while majority stayed still on the top of the ridge.
And finally, from behind of the Eastern and western ridge and from behind of the Mountain appeared into the air space of the valley the massive and thick flock of the black vampire bats of Dol Guldur. And thanks to the arrival of the bats, whose flock was so dense that the daylight could not reach to the ground between of their wings, the massive darkness followed their flock with a dreadful swiftness as the darkness spread upon the entire Valley.
"ANSARU, BEKÂR!/Company, weapons!" Dain called to his armies.
"THE HORDES OF HELL ARE UPON US AND OUR HOMELAND! TO BATTLE! TO BATTLE, SONS OF DURIN!"
Upon the arrival of the new enemy, which was coming from the Eastern Ridge as a massive wave, all from the brutal brawl with the elves survived dwarves of the first half of Dain's entire army immediately forget the elves and rushed out from the elven ranks to face the incoming waves of goblins, while the survived elves regrouped and reformed their ranks and remained behind, waiting for Thranduil's orders.
...
Also the Thorin's company on the sealed gates of Erebor saw the incoming wave of the goblins.
"I'm going over the wall. Who's with me?" Bofur said, more than just willing to fight the enemy that was worth of killing.
All dwarves cheered as an agreement, ready to go to the fight and crying the encouraging war-cries.
However, Thorin, whose Dragon-Sickness was taking even firm grip from him, slowly turned away, caring nothing about the outside events,
"Stand down." Thorin firmly ordered.
The dwarves of his company were rather shocked after hearing such of order, as they watched as Thorin slowly walked away from the wall, turning his back to the events and armies outside the Mountain - even to his own kin out there - and started to walk into the Mountain.
"Are we to do nothing?" Nori asked, with the shocked and confused tone.
However...
"I said, STAND DOWN!" Thorin ordered, even more firm and even angry voice.
Such of shocking order coming from the one dwarf, whom he would have gladly followed, and even called king, left Balin under of desperate and sorrow... because he would never have believed that his friend would have turned his back so selfishly like that to his own kin outside of the Mountain.
...
And in the battlefield, Bilbo noticed that the elves didn't do anything to fight the newly arrived goblins and wargs. They just stood still in their reformed ranks.
"The elves... will they not fight?" Bilbo asked from Gandalf, who watched in concern from aside with the armed lake-men as the dwarves were the only ones who made their stand against the incoming wave of goblins and wargs.
Gandalf also knew too well that despite the dwarves stubbornness, their firm will to fight and their a tough military discipline, the dwarves lines won't last long against the massive wave of goblins and wargs... but they will be all crushed within minutes without the help and support from the other armies, no matter about the ill feelings and old grudges between of them in the face of the new and far more dangerous enemy.
Gandalf then turned to Thranduil, who was intensely reluctant to participate in the fight... especially alongside the dwarves.
"THRANDUIL! FORGET EVEN FOR ONCE YOUR PRIDE AND DO SOMETHING! IT'S PURE MADNESS TO NOT STAND AGAINST THE ENEMY THAT IS THE COMMON ENEMY OF ALL OF US!" Gandalf shouted, attempting to convince the pride-filled elven-king to make his stand against the goblins and wargs alongside the dwarves, despite the old grudges between of two people.
As the dwarves charged towards the enemy, all the dwarf pikemen suddenly and quickly formed the firm shieldwall and stand their ground, lowering their pikes down ready and getting themselves ready to face the goblins in the close combat, as the dwarven swordsmen and axemen gathered behind of their pikemen.
"RAKÂN! BEKÂR AI-RUSÊ!/LINES! WEAPONS UPON THE FILTH!" One of from the brawl with the elves survived dwarf generals shouted.
"IFRIDÎL!" The dwarves shouted, as their prepared for the impact against the goblins and wargs towards them charging massive wave of goblins.
However, before the goblins and wargs collided with the dwarves, out of surprise for both the dwarves and goblins, the several hundreds of elven swordsmen in three long lines bounced over of the dwarves' battle lines/heads and launched a surprise frontal attack deep into the front lines of the goblins... presumably Thranduil having for now let go of his pride and relenting to give his help and support (though a bit reluctantly at first) for the dwarves against their common enemy.
Using their centuries of training and their mastery of wielding the elven-blades, the elves moved swiftly and elegantly like the dancers deeper into the goblins ranks and they wielded their long elven-blades deadly masterly, directing them with their skillful hands from side to side, killing hundreds of goblins in the process and suffering themselves extremely minor casualties.
This distraction given by the elves surprise-attack was enough for the dwarves to break their shieldwall and charge into the ranks of the goblins with their shields up and their down lowered long pikes in front, which skewered hundreds of goblins and even some wargs into their pikes and the dwarves' lines kept advancing deeper into the goblin army, wiping out with ease the dozens of goblin ranks with their pikes, swords and axes along with the elves.
The rest of the armies of elves and dwarves started to make their move towards the enemy, even some Lake-Town swordsmen joined to them to battle, though majority of the lake-men remained to stand with Bard, ready to give their support for the elves and dwarves when needed.
With the cold and bitter hatred they harbored for the goblins even more that what they did for the dwarves, the elven spearmen launched their own onslaught upon the goblin ranks, halting them back with their large golden leaf-shaped shields and wiping out the enemy lines one by one with their deadly spears.
And the elven swordsmen, armed with the swords and shields and accompanied by the two hundred of Laketown's swordsmen from Bard's army, clashed against the goblins own swordsmen, but thanks to the superior military skills of the elves and the support of the Laketown's swordsmen, the goblins suffered the heavier losses than what the men and elves did, as even a one single elven swordsman slayed ten goblins, and a one single swordsman of Laketown slayed equally or less than five goblin soldiers in minutes... and the ground was soon covered by the mutilated bodies of the dead goblins and stained black with goblin-blood.
Followed by his goat-mounted generals, personal bodyguards and several dozens of goat-mounted dwarven soldiers, Dain charged even deeper into the goblin lines, with his war-hog knocking the goblins out of its way and his master swinging his axe towards the goblins.
"IDMI D' DUM!/WELCOME TO THE HALL!" Dain shouted to the goblins he either passed with his war-hog or killed with his red axe.
Meanwhile, aside in the battlefield with Bard and the rest of the Lake-Town army...
"Uh, Gandalf? Is this a good place to make a stand?" Bilbo asked a bit nervously.
Gandalf was unable to answer to this because, even though he was relieved of that the men, elves and dwarves have finally joined their forces together against the common enemy, he was still worried that how or when the tides would turn against them.
...
Meanwhile, in the Bolg's command post.
Bolg was enraged of witnessing the first wave of his goblin troops and wargs being cut to pieces by the elves and dwarves allied forces, whom were quickly gaining the upper hand over his own armies.
And determined to regain the initiative, Bolg turned to his generals.
"Let's see how those foolish beard-faces and pointy-ears can handle with this." Bolg said with the sadistic tone.
"Send in our heavy infantries... along with the War Beasts!" Bolg ordered.
...
From the battlefield, Gandalf had managed to locate the goblins command post from the top of the ruined tower of the fortress standing on the tops of the Ravenhill by listening the another sound of the goblin horn.
And once looking at there, Gandalf saw that Bolg's goblin generals spread their largest war-banner's both left-side wings into wide and the lower right wing of the banner into the hook, while they had pulled their secondly largest war-banner's right wing upwards.
And after with that, Gandalf turned to from the holes incoming waves of the goblins.
Instead of the light infantry, from each of the tunnels started to pour out the fully and heavily armored and with a cruel military discipline in the black legions marching Moria/Guldur goblins, armed with the swords, shields and halberds...
...and among of which he spotted a dozens of gigantic 25-30 ft and 10-12 ft sized ogres (along with one-two amputated giant war-ogres) and giant goblins pouring out of the tunnels and advancing upon the allied armies and began wreaking havoc with their large spiked wooden clubs and metallic spiced maces in the left flank of the armies of dwarves and elves, sending over fifteen elves and dwarves to fly into the air from the fatal strike of their clubs and maces.
Upon the arrival of a new units of goblins along with their war beasts, Thranduil rallied his hundreds elven archers who fire a thousands of arrows at the heavy goblin legions and their war-ogres, which upon landing in the front-legions of the Moria/Guldur armies killed at least four gigantic ogres, causing them to either fall onto their stomachs or backs onto the groups of heavily armored goblins and crushing them beneath of their weight, and the volley nearly wiped out entirely two front battalions of heavily armored Moria/Guldur goblins in the process, before they were able to engage the fighting elven and dwarves forces.
And as the elven archers fired another massive volley of the thousands of arrows, all the dwarves nine heavy ballistas, which the dwarves had quickly moved to the feet of the steep hill, fired their own giant javelins with the spinning tails after the elves' volley and towards the next approaching wave of fresh goblin battalions and ogres.
As the elves' volley wiped out third heavy battalion of the goblins and several more gigantic ogres, the dwarves giant spinning tailed javelins crashed into the fourth fresh battalion of goblins, with their spinning tails ended up to violently slicing dozens and dozens of goblins apart and tossing many of them with the deadly power all around from their point of impact... which caused the third legion of goblins to scatter and fall into the disorder.
Elves massive volleys and the dwarves spinning tailed javelin attack allowed Dáin's war-chariots the opportunity to charge into the heavy goblin lines and slaughter dozens of goblins with the war-chariot's metal wheels spinning blades and the arrow launchers... along with the chariot pulling goats ramming with their horns the goblins out of their way.
However, this wasn't left unnoticed by Bolg, who had grown even furious that his armies attack waves had been destroyed one by one by the elf-archers volleys and the dwarves war-machinery.
Bolg then turned to his generals again.
"DESTROY THE ARCHERS AND THE DWARVES ACCURSED WAR-MACHINES!" Bolg furiously ordered.
By Bolg's orders, his goblin generals then spread the largest war-banners right side's wings and the secondly largest war-banner's both wings tips upwards, signaling the order to their war beasts.
The regular-sized ogres and the giant goblins, after receiving the command, charged towards the dwarves war-chariot from each sides through of the lines of the heavy goblin infantry.
Two ogres were about to reach one of the war-chariots that was charging through of the goblin-lines. And when they did, the ogres together knocked the war-chariot over and onto the small group of the heavily armed goblin soldiers, and the crew of the chariot was as well knocked off from the chariot to the ground.
...and during of its brief flight, the chariot collided with another war-chariot and dragged them upside down to the ground as well.
Elsewhere, Another ogre emerged out from the goblin ranks and stretched its arms towards the full speed going war-chariot in attempt to stop it, but the ogre itself was knocked over to the ground by the chariot's speed. And due to the creature's firm grip in the war-chariot, the chariot dragged the ogre with it along the ground... during of which the ogre moved its left leg dangerously close of the chariot's metal wheel's spinning blade, which cut off his leg off from the rest of his foot.
The war-chariot, with the ogre hanging on it, kept going until another ogre, with an abnormally small left arm, charged towards it and managed to halt the chariot, though the monster itself was knocked a few steps backwards.
And once the chariot was halted, four other ogres joined to to two first ogres and surrounded the chariot.
As the cripple ogre attempted to climb back up by using the chariot as a support, he was immediately killed with the head-shot by the chariot's bolt launcher wielding dwarf crew member, before he dwarf was pulled off from the chariot and killed by the ogre with the abnormally small left arm.
The four other ogres launched the brutal attack upon the chariot and the remaining dwarf crew onboard of it.
One of the ogres started to break the chariot by kicking and smashing it with its club, while another one ogre grabbed the dwarf crew member and dragged him off from the chariot, lifted him into the air and brutally tossed him against the ground, killing him.
One of them swung its spiked wooden club towards the chariot's driver, knocking him off from the driver's spot, before the ogre finished the driver off by swinging its club up and brutally landing it down onto the fallen dwarf.
The remaining dwarf crew member climbed off from the chariot and attempted to flee, but was instantly stopped by sixth ogre, who swung his spiked club towards him, striking the dwarf with its club's deadly spikes and mass and sending him to fly against the another ogre's spiked mace, which the ogre still kept onto the dead driver of the chariot...
...and as the ogre moved away, both the dead dwarves were dragged along with its mace, as their bodies were pierced by the club's spikes and they had remained to hang on from them.
And meanwhile, after knocking down two dwarves' war-chariots with one push, about six ogres turned their attentions to eight dwarf crew members of the chariots, whom were lying on the ground at their mercy.
The ogress mercilessly slaughtered the dwarves one by one either crushing or striking them with their spiked wooden clubs or crushing them against the ground by stomping on them with their feet, leaving no survivors.
Elsewhere, the fourth dwarves war-chariot, which deadly broke through of the heavy goblin infantries, leaving behind the line of mutilated bodies of goblins, was about to embrace the same fate of former three war-chariots...
...in the hands of five towards them approaching gigantic troll-like goblins, whom despite their sickly obese appearance, and obese belly, and thick and short goblin-legs - just like with the Great Goblin of the Goblin-Town - they moved towards them a pretty fast.
The bolt launcher-wielding immediately turned his weapon at from the right towards them charging giant goblins and immediately opened the fire at them even though they were apparently doomed just like the three another chariots crews...
...managing to kill at first one of them with two directly at the monstrous goblin fired bolts, one of which pierced the monster's eye-hole, sinking into its brains, and another pierced the goblin's throat, after which he killed the second one of them with three-four bolts sinking into the goblin's obese stomach...
...and just like the gigantic ogres that got hit from the elves volley, these giant goblin fell either dead or dying onto their back and stomach over the handful of fully armored goblin soldiers after getting hit from the bolts.
The dwarf was then about to turn the launcher at third giant goblin that was attacking them from the left and was about to open fire...
...until the chariot's left metal wheel run over from the elves volley dead ogre's head, crushing it beneath of the weight of the chariot and the metal wheel, but which also caused the chariot's left wheel to bounce up from the ground, which happened at the very moment when couple of giant goblins were about to attack the chariot from each side.
However, as the giant goblin from the left side lifted up his spiked wooden club in order to crush the driver of the chariot, the spinning blades of the left side metal wheel, that had reached to the level of the giant goblin's belly due to the bounce from the head of the dead ogre, unexpectedly, smoothly and bloodily gutted the giant goblin, causing the monster to let out a loud roar out of pain as the spinning blades brutally slashed its stomach open, draining the gutts out, before the chariot's left side landed back onto the ground and kept moving forward, leaving mortally wounded monster behind, after which the dying giant goblin eventually fell onto the ground, holding with its arms from the gutts coming out from the vicious and heavily bleeding wound in its obese stomach.
The dying goblin's bellow caught the attention of the another goblin, who instantly halted its attack when it turned its attention towards its gutted and on the ground dying fellow giant goblin, but it also let down its guard as it remained to stand on the way of the chariot's right side's metal wheel's spinning blades...
...which brutally cut off the goblin's legs as the chariot passed the goblin, leaving the crippled giant goblin behind as it, roaring out of pain, fell onto its stomach oveer the bloody trail of mutilated goblin bodies, though the giant goblin still attempted to grab from the chariot with its hands as it kept going out of its reach... and even kept pursuing it by crawling against the ground.
And when the bounce happened, the bolt launcher-wielding dwarf crewmen managed to fire only one-three bolt towards from their left side attacking giant goblin before the bounce knocked him off from the next of the bolt launcher.
And albeit not fatally, the two of the bolts managed to injure the giant goblin's left leg, one of them badly scratching the right side of the giant goblin's leg while another pierced through of its leg from beneath of its knee and caused the giant goblin in "its" full speed to fell forward, roaring in pain, and landed onto its stomach to the ground.
The goblin managed only lift its head up from the ground, angrily and out of pain snarling at incoming chariot's crew, before its faces met with the chariot's left metal wheel's with the goblin blood and the shreds of flesh covered spinning blade... that split the goblin's head in half, killing the monster.
The fifth dwarves' war-chariot was meanwhile chased by the flock of the dire-birds and on their backs riding goblin archers, whom fired the black arrows at the dwarves onboard of the chariot while their monstrous bird-like beasts rushed and bounced along the trail of the goblins dead and by the chariot's metal wheels spinning blades mutilated bodies the war-chariot left behind.
And because the dire-birds were beyond of the reach of their chariot's bolt launcher, the dwarf crew had instead turned around and tried to keep the bird-monsters away by using their crossbows to kill as many dire-birds and on their backs riding goblin archers as possible...
...even though there was too many at them hungrily screaming dire-birds for two dwaves armed with the crossbows to handle, and yet they were partially pinned down by the goblin archers fired arrows.
They managed to kill only two dire-birds and two goblin archers from their backs before the bird-like monsters gained on them, which forced the crew to grab to their swords and fend them off.
One of the dwarves managed to slice off one of the dire-birds head while another dwarf badly wounded with his sword another bird-like beast's leg, causing the beast to fall its head ahead onto the wheel's spinning blades, which cut off/sliced its head into pieces, while the another wheel's spinning blades sliced the legs in pieces from other direbird.
The dire-birds also advanced them from ahead, prompting the dwarf wielding the bolt launcher to open the heavy fire upon the dire-birds and their goblin archers, killing from the incoming flock about nine dire-birds and seven goblin archers.
However, there was too much even for the bolt launcher to handle...
...as their fire was returned with fire, by the goblin archers in the backs of the dire-birds whom fired the arrows at the dwarves onboard the chariot...
...managing to kill their driver with one directly shot arrow through of his throat, knocking his body at the same time off from the chariot in front of the chariot following flock of the dire-birds, whom immediately surrounded the dead dwarf and began to tear him apart limb by limb with their beaks in hope of the fresh dwarf-flesh and -blood.
The goblins own arrows forced the dwarves to take cover, which allowed the dire-birds to reach the goats pulling the war-chariot, snapping their beaks deadly around of the goats heads, throats or legs and pulled them one by one from the front of the war chariots, thus tiring out the remaining goats and slowing down the chariot's speed...
...that allowed the dire-birds to surround and hungrily finish off the remaining goats and the dwarves of the chariot.
And as for the elven archers and the dwarves' ballistas, whom had managed to demolishor two other heavy goblin legions once the war-chariots were nearly destroyed and the remaining ones retreated...
...from the holes on the ground appeared sevenof huge, monstrous and white-gray furred 30 - 50 ft tall mountain apes, carrying the wooden catapult mechanisms on their backs and the small group of goblins operating each one.
The giant apes, aggressively growling and snorting, moved away from the holes towards the battlefield in front of the gates of Erebor, and they positioned themselves in the open line and in between of the heavy goblin infantry, whose legions poured/marched in the long lines out of the holes in the ground and to the battlefield.
And once the giant apes were on their position, the goblin crew on the backs of the mountain apes then quickly prepared the catapults to fire by pulling their long throwing wooden arms down, tensing their mechanisms so that the ammunition will gain the long reach for their targets and loading their leather sacks - or even from the chain armors made sacks in case of with the oil covered and into fire ignited boulders - in the ends of the throwing arms with the huge boulders...
...before their commander, an ogre, swung its wooden club with the iron spiked and smashed it against the ground...
...signaling the goblins to pull from the triggers of the catapults...
...which then launched their boulders into the air, after which the goblin crews started to prepare the catapults quickly ready for the another round...
...as into the air launched and during of their flight rolling heavy boulders flied over the battlefield and the battling armies or elves, men, dwarves, and the massive forces of Moria/Guldur, heading straight towards the positions of the elven archers and the dwarves heavy ballistas... knocking in the process from the fifth elven archers fired volley several hundreds of elves' arrows off the flight and breaking some spinning tailed javelins in the mid air.
In the ranks of the elven archers, the large and rolling boulders launched upon of them weren't as destructive as the dwarves spinning tailed javelins, but upon of landing in the elven ranks, the boulders crushed many elves beneath of their deadly weights and caused the lines near of the landing sposts to scatter. And the elves faced even greater casualties from the boulders when they, once landing in middle of the elven archers, even rolled among of the elven ranks, breaking the lines and crushing the elven archers beneath of their weight... this attack upon of them halted the elven archers fire.
From the boulders, three or two of them, landed among of the dwarves heavy ballistas, destroying at least couple of them and killing handful of the dwarves balliusta crew with couple direct hit.
However, the elven archers and dwarven ballista crew faced the another threat - right from below of them... as the goblin crews of the catapults prepared for the another round.
From the ground, quickly and unexpectedly, emerged out of the smaller but even fiercer and snake-like version of the were-worms, with their lizard-like four-fingered and -clawed limbs.
And once after emerged out of the ground, they immediately attacked the dwarves ballista crew and the elven archers, provoking them to grab to their swords and axes and face the nasty snake-like were-worms, and even though both elves and dwarves were able to slice the heads off from some dozen of were-worms, the snake-like monstrous worms had already got the elves and dwarves by surprise. And even more and more holse emerged to the ground, from which even more were-worms emerged out, running quickly on their four along the ground like the lizards and striking their fanged monstrous mouths around of either their legs or faces like the snakes biting fatally the mouses.
And because the were-worms gained their strength in the groups, they attacked in the packs every single elf or dwarf, that was separated from the rest of their kind by the were-worms surprise attack, by coiling their long snake-like bodies all around of their victims bodies, as for an example, three of were-worms had coiled around of the one elven archer and even five had coiled around of the dwarven soldier, and even though the elven and dwarven soldiers tried to shake even one of them off from themselves or even managed to kill one of the were-worms, two other fresh were-worms replaced them by coiling themselves as well around of their victims...
...and attempting then to capture both the elves and dwarves with the helmet-covered heads, or with the face-guards covered faces, or their necks in between of their fangs-filled jaws and the skull-crushing bite-forces, which was an easy with those elves and dwarves whom had lost their helmets, but proved a bit tricky with those ones whom had still helmets upon their heads.
...
Back in the Ravenhill comman post, Bolg grinned viciously and satisfied as he witnessed the destruction of the dwarven war-machines and the elven archers, leaving the allies forces of the men, elves and dwarves without the archers and machinery against his own forces and thus allowing his own forces to continue advance... without suffering the larger casualties than what in the beginning of the battle.
And as Bolg witnessed how his from the worm-holes emerged heavy Moria/Guldur goblin-infantries, along with the massive packs of wargs, massive swarming hordes of the Misty Mountains goblins and the Goblin-Town goblins, the giant ogres and other war-beasts, surrounded most of the allied forces of men, elves and dwarves in the Valley and forcing the rest of their armies to protect their flanks from the approaching legions of goblins and giant ogres while the main armies were caught in bloody conflict in middle of the Valley.
"Those fools cannot fight on two fronts..." Bolg said, snarling sadistically as his attention turned from the battlefield to the ruined city of Dale, full of defenseless, wounded and sick men, women and children, to where the fighting on the Valley hadn't yet reached...
...until now.
Bolg turned his attention to the four holes, which the were-worms had created to the East Ridge, and quite next to the city of Dale... and from those holes was pouring out dozens of fresh and battle-ready battalions of the heavy goblin infantry and a new war-ogres.
Upon seeing the opportunity to make another to the allied enemy forces unexpected move, Bolg turned to his generals and pointed with his finger at those holes.
"Give the heavy infantries of those four holes the order to halt their advance and separate them from the rest of the army. We have use for them elsewhere, because now we'll make our move!" Bolg declared and turned to the battlefield, as his generals rushed to their positions under of their war-banners and behind of their horn.
Bolg waited for a moment, until there was enough of battle-ready battalions of the heavy goblin infantry poured out from the worm-holes in next to the city.
Until Bolg then seized the opportunity.
"ATTACK TO THE CITY!" Bolg roared as he ordered a full-scale attack on the city of Dale as a flanking move in order cut off the men, elves and dwarves escape and force them to separate their forces and fight on two fronts.
And once this order was given, the goblin trumpeter behind of the goblin horn blowed the sound into the air upon the Valley, halting from the four warm-holes into the battlefield pouring and advancing goblin legions.
And the goblin trumpeter blowed another coarse sound and the goblin generals lifted from the ropes the largest war-banners wings even higher than what they did in the first one when they launched their attack upon the Valley.
And upon seeing this, and recognizing the order, all the heavy goblin infantries that poured our from the four worm-holes instantly turned their course away from thebattle in the Valley and to the city of Dale, after which the goblin legions began to march in the four lines of the disciplined battalions towards the walls of the ruined city.
And along of them joined dozens of the goblin-banners carrying or as shock-troops serving smaller ogres and giant goblins, several gigantic war-ogres and another group of the gigantic white-furred mountain apes carrying the catapult mechanisms on their backs as the legions advanced the city...
...where the defenders, upon realizing that the enemy armies had changed their course from the Valley to the walls of the city, immediately occupied with the lake-town archers and swordsmen that part of the wall towards of what the goblin-legions were advancing.
Most of Bard's army, which stayed still out of the main battle, saw the great threat that had been launched upon of the city of Dale, much to the horror of most of lake-men in Bard's army, because the city was at the moment half-defenseless and their families were in there... in the great danger.
However, only Gandalf realized the motivation of the full-scale attack against the city of Dale.
"Bolg... he's trying to cut off our only escape and get us separated!" The wizard said in horror.
Seeing the goblin battalions and the war-beasts advancing the city at the very moment, without the hesitation, Bard turned to his army.
"ALL OF YOU! FALL BACK TO DALE! NOW!" Bard ordered, because he needed his army most back in the city to defend his people from the approaching enemy, instead in the open battle on the plains of the Valley...
...and after giving his orders to his army, Bard encouraged his horse to rush towards the northern entrance of the city of Dale, hoping to get there in time to warn his people (including his children) and get them out of the way of the approaching enemy before they reach to inside of the wall.
And his army instantly followed their king towards the city, leaving the elves and dwarves to engage Bolg's forces on the plain.
And as the lake-men began to retreat back to the city to regroup with the rest of the Lake-Town forces to defend it from the goblins, Bilbo turned for a moment towards the sealed gates of Erebor...
...seeing no sign of Thorin on the wall, except all twelve armored dwarves of the company, seeing all of their faces filled with the shock and sadness, due to dragon-sickness possessed Thorin forbidding them from joining the battle and turning his back remorselessly to his own kin in the battlefield, as they witnessed the battle raging outside of the Mountain.
Some of them, for example Bofur, Balin, Fili and Kili and even Dwalin, peered to his direction from the sealed gate, and from the concerned looks in their faces, Bilbo saw that they were agree with him about the words he had firmly said to Thorin back in the gate...
You are changed, Thorin. The Dwarf I met in Bag End would never have gone back on his word! Would never have doubted the loyalty of his kin!
...when he revealed himself as one who handed the Arkenstone to Bard and Thranduil in order to bring the peace between of men, elves and dwarves without fighting... with the risk of his own life.
"Aren't you going to fight, Thorin? Not even alongside of your own kin? Not even with your own cousin?" Bilbo silently asked with the concerned tone.
However, he was snapped out of his thoughts by Gandalf.
"BILBO! TO THE CITY! HURRY!" Gandalf shouted as he waited for Bilbo, not going to leave the hobbit in middle of the bloody fight that was raging around of them.
Bilo paid one last look at his dwarf-friends at the gate, before he eventually turned around and rushed with Bilbo after the army of Lake-Town towards the city.
Meanwhile, as the heavy goblin infantries were marching past of the hilltop, crossing the frozen river and marching up the steep hill, on the top of which was the northern part of the wall of the city of Dale, through of which the Moria/Guldu/Goblin-Town armies intended to get into the city, along with two ogres, into the backs of which was tied up the wide siege ladders for capturing the wall...
...the group of seven-eight mountain apes with the catapults and the goblin crews, under command of another ogre, positioned into the line on the top of the hilltop, during of which the goblins pulled the catapults throwing arms down, tensing up the catapults mechanisms for the volley, and loaded the fabric sacks in the ends of the throwing arms with the huge boulders.
And as the ogre commander swung its wooden club with the iron-spikes against the ground, the goblins pulled the triggers of the catapults and launched volleys of rocks against the north wall, destroying one defensive towers and and inflicted heavy damage on the wall, killing even more than half of all lake-men archers and swordsmen that had occupied the certain wall to defend it from the attacking goblins.
However, despite suffering the heavy casualties from the volley of rocks, the remaining Lake-men archers kept firing the arrows at the front lines of the advancing legions of Moria/Guldur goblin swordsmen and the goblin halberdiers and Goblin-town's goblins, whom despite suffering large casualties in the front lines kept advancing the wall... and the swordsmen prepared for the close combat when with the with the siege ladders equipped ogres kept advancing towards the wall.
However, as Bard, his army, Bilbo and Gandalf made it from the battlefield to the bridge leading to the north entrance into the city...
Bard noticed that through of the goblin infantries, that were approaching the damaged wall which the mountain apes and the goblins have been badly bombared with the volley of boulders launched with the catapults on their backs, was charging towards the wall the bulky and muscular ogre, that was equipped with a stone headpiece upon its head and served no doubt as an living battering ram... intenting to break the way through of the wall and allow the goblins to flood into Dale.
Gasping in horror, and with no time to lose, Bard encouraged his horse to run faster.
However, he was too late.
As the ogre-ram was about to pass with the lake-men archers arrows heavily thinned front lines of the goblins, the lake-men archers immediately turned their arrows at the threateningly towards the wall approaching ogre-ram in order to kill it before it reaches to the wall, though its skin proved to be too thick as the trolls skin for the arrows to pierce it.
Caring nothing about the arrows, and getting close enough of the wall, the roaring ogre-ram bounced with its a stone headpiece equipped head ahead towards the wall with all its strength.
For decades old walls of Dale, which were consumed by the dragon-fire when Smaug came in the first place, had no match for the ogre-ram's strength.
And even though the ogre-ram, after it had bashed its with a stone headpiece equipped head against the wall, tottered backwards while letting out the throaty moan before it eventually fell on its back to the ground, presumably from getting its skull crushed from the impact against the wall...
...A portion of the wall, that was bashed backwards by the ogre-ram, was breached and eventually collapsed, creating an opening for the orcs to enter.
And with that, the hundreds and hundreds of Moria/Guldur goblins, along with the Goblin-Town goblins and the dozens of ogres, broke from the disciplined rows and poured through of the hole into the city, occupying quickly with their numbers the city's north-side's streets and buildings looking for and slaughtering killing dozens of the unexpected Laketown villagers inside of the city.
And within the seconds, the air space of city of Dale was full of the goblins sadistical laugh from their pleasure to kill the defenseless refugees of Laketown, leaving behind the carpets of cruelly slaughtered corpses of villagers to the streets... as well as the screaming and shouting of horror of the villagers. who have perceived the danger, and the cries of pain from those people, whom were unfortunately crossed paths with into the city pouring goblins and were slaughtered immediately.
Small trivia.
In my story, the ogres, giant goblins and gigantic mountain-apes replaces the trolls used in the BotFA film completely.
There was not the great flock of the bats to block the daylight from reaching to the ground of the Valley, so I added it to my story.
There's no such of beasts, the dire-birds, four-legged snake-like were-worms, mountain apes and giant troll-like goblins (inspirations fo the Great Goblin) in the BotFA film, but there's the concept arts of all of them.
I gave for the goblins of Goblin-Town a bit bigger role in the beginning of the battle.
Quote *Fools! They do understand nothing about the war above ground, whatever they know the battle in underground* is from the book, but the Bard was the one who said that in the book, not Thranduil. I felt it to be right if Thranduil is the one who says that... due to his much stronger dislike towards the dwarves and overgrown pride and desire for those white gems.
Some questions that why those dwarven ballistas were never used against the orcs and trolls in the film... so I made some extra scene for them.
