"My lord, we cannot take that city."
At the rear of the great army, the orc leader ran before the Nazgûl to complain.
"That wall is too hard. Even when broken through, it is quickly repaired."
"Their materials are endless, while our soldiers will eventually be completely consumed."
At this moment, the remaining few giant beasts and a squad of trolls had already been recalled by the orc leader, waiting for orders in the rear.
Even orc brains could see that continuing this consumption was very unwise. There was really no hope of victory in sight.
"Siege ladders cannot function. Their arrows and those strange fireworks are stored in quantities greater than sand on a riverbank. Our forces are concentrated on as soon as they approach."
The orc leader looked up pitifully at the several Nazgûl before him, who showed no reaction to the battle report, tentatively asking:
"My lord, should we retreat?"
"No, continue attacking."
Finally, when the orc leader suggested giving up, one Nazgûl refuted him.
"Then what should we do next?"
"Just attack."
"But our attacks are ineffective. If this continues..."
"I told you to attack."
The Nazgûl seemed somewhat impatient.
"My lord, I am afraid that will not work. You need to give us a method, or all the orcs in our great army will just be wasted..."
Gack!
Midway through speaking, the orc leader's neck was suddenly grabbed and lifted into the air.
"Who gave you the courage to oppose my orders?"
"I just think your orders... are unreasonable..."
The orc leader struggled to squeeze out these words from his throat.
"What you should do is execute, not question."
Seeing this orc already foaming at the mouth from being strangled, the Nazgûl loosened his grip slightly.
Then he heard words that made him regret doing so:
"You are not our master."
"Including your master, that is only your master. Our master is much stronger. He is great, blazing, from the depths..."
Crunch.
Before he could finish, the orc leader's neck was crushed to fragments by tremendous force.
Thud.
The neck hit the ground first, followed by the unsupported body.
The other two Nazgûl showed no reaction to this behavior.
The orc leader died without a sound. The Nazgûl who strangled him immediately grabbed a passing orc soldier and said:
"You, take the leadership position."
"Me, leader?"
The one-eyed orc, who did not look very intelligent, pointed at himself, hardly believing it.
"That is right, you."
The Nazgûl looked at him and nodded.
"Now go lead the great army in attack."
"Yes, my lord!"
The orc immediately bowed and knelt on the ground in response.
Obviously, his wisdom and not-very-large brain were not sufficient for thinking about overly complex matters.
"Kill!"
The new leader shouted as he charged forward, bringing new orders to the great army.
The Nazgûl were not just watching either.
"Launch the general assault."
One Nazgûl suggested.
Finish this early and return early.
The other two Nazgûl nodded, so the most silent Nazgûl stepped forward, looked toward the sky, and raised his hand.
On it was a ring glowing brightly.
He was the only Nazgûl present wearing a ring.
Boom!
Thunder crashed in the air as starlight slowly disappeared. A dark cloud was drawn by some power, shrouding the entire land in shadow.
Now, except for Riverside Keep, everything outside the walls became invisible, plunged into pure darkness.
Only vague outlines of moving things suggested something was indeed still active outside.
Guards on the walls drew their bows, neither knowing where to attack nor able to distinguish if attacks were incoming.
Inside the city, lamplight and torchlight flickered, unable to travel as far as before.
The three Nazgûl emanated sickly evil green light. Standing there, they seemed like three rising evil green suns.
Panic spread like disease.
In the assault of darkness and sickly green light, a bright red-fire glow suddenly lit up.
"Do not be afraid! Their power has not strengthened at all. Those are just illusions!"
Gandalf raised his staff high, its gleaming light dispelling some surrounding darkness.
It also illuminated siege towers that had already been positioned.
Thud!
Orcs swarmed up the walls like insects. Soldiers hurriedly engaged them in chaotic combat.
"Counterattack! Counterattack!"
Gandalf ran back and forth with his staff raised, driving away patches of darkness.
Thump!
Balin kicked down an orc and could not help sighing:
"They have so many methods. If it were another territory, it would have fallen long ago."
"Fortunately, our main enemies back then came from the Misty Mountains, and fortunately no Nazgûl participated in battle."
"Of course there would not be Nazgûl."
Gandalf immediately used his staff to knock down another orc:
"You should thank Elrond and Lady Galadriel, plus Saruman. They drove away both Nazgûl and the great enemy, preventing these things from appearing on battlefields."
"This is the first I have heard of it..."
"Whether you have heard it or not, all this should end."
Whoosh.
Gandalf took a deep breath, saying to Falodan on the other side:
"Leave this dark magic to me. Watch for my signal and prepare to command the counterattack!"
"Good."
Flash!
Just as he finished speaking, a dazzling light suddenly appeared from the northern horizon.
A white firework exploded in the air, briefly illuminating distant objects.
There, a man stood on high ground. He drew a sword radiating azure brilliance, pointing toward the battlefield.
Behind him were endless masses of silver-white cavalry.
The brief light from the firework faded, darkness returned to earth, yet panic completely dissipated.
Yes, perhaps no matter how vigorously campfires burned, they still could not illuminate the entire night.
But now, the sun in people's hearts had risen.
"Ohh!"
Soldiers no longer had any confusion. Everyone seemed suddenly filled with inexhaustible strength. Now never mind the orcs crawling up like countless cockroaches; even those three Nazgûl emanating terrifying auras in the distance no longer seemed so frightening.
The shadows shrouding the sky were broken through by some power bursting from their hearts.
Falodan could not help praising: "Your signal really works, Gandalf."
Gandalf, still holding his staff aloft, was stunned.
"That was not me."
Rumble rumble...
In the darkness, massive sounds came from the north. Orcs looked around in confusion, not knowing what new development had occurred.
Now they were the ones in darkness.
"Charge!"
An azure sword led the way, followed by vast endless silver-white cavalry. They raised their weapons high, pointing toward the black mass of orc army ahead, mounted on armored warhorses capable of tremendous speed.
"Charge toward darkness, charge toward despair!"
"Kill!"