Chapter 20: Hard hit

[General POV]

After the battle, the group gathered as they chatted about the attack they had repelled.

"Orcs! And there were too many of them to be just a scouting party," Thorin said as he sat down to catch his breath, as he was a bit tired from the sudden attack.

"They're looking for us, that's for sure," Gandalf said, looking seriously at Thorin. "We need to move and fast."

"Yes, we need to move and fast!" At Thorin's prompting, they all began to break camp quickly. Despite their tiredness, they moved with urgency as the situation called for it.

The dwarves, who used to be very meticulous with their equipment, now hurriedly packed it away in their packs.

All this was watched by little Bilbo, who had hidden behind a rock when the attack began. With trembling hands, he began to put his things away. At first he wanted to fight bravely against the orcs, but fear won out this time, so he had no choice but to hide.

[Aldril POV]

As I approached my backpack, I could see Bilbo who was putting away his things while his hands were shaking. I felt a little sorry for him, as it was natural to feel overwhelmed by what happened.

So I wanted to give him some encouragement. I know that later Bilbo's bravery will blossom, but it never hurts to support him at this time.

"I had the same reaction when it was my first life-threatening fight," I said as I put my things away.

At my comment, Bilbo paused for a moment, then continued putting his things away. "I heard one of the dwarves say that I am a coward for hiding," his voice was low, but it sounded sad.

"It's not cowardice to hide to survive, besides, you've never fought, have you?" That was what bothered me. From what little I knew from the books, the dwarves weren't rude to Bilbo, which is the opposite here.

"Yes, well, I've never fought or wielded a sword," he answered me in a low voice.

"Well, in that case, I wouldn't mind helping you out a bit, at least teach you the basics so you can defend yourself." After putting my things away, I stood up while giving Bilbo a sidelong glance.

"In that case, I'd really appreciate your help." I could see his sad countenance change a little. In a way, I liked Bilbo. He was a character that showed that even someone so small and cowardly could evolve into someone brave and unafraid to risk his life for his friends.

As Bilbo and I made our way to the horses, I could see how two orc corpses were trampled right in front of Shadowstar.

"Apparently you got a little action too, big guy," I said as I approached the horse, who whinnied happily at the sight of me.

"Your horse protected the others." Turning my head, I looked at Gandalf, who I didn't know at what point he had stepped up beside me as he placed his things on his horse.

Laughing lightly, I nodded toward Gandalf. "Yes, so it seems the orcs wanted to kill our horses, but fortunately Shadow Star protected them."

As I chatted with Gandalf, the dwarves began to group together and take their respective horses. As they readied their horses, Glóin looked at me with a haughty look. "I killed six orcs, who's the newbie now?"

Raising an eyebrow, I just laughed as I shook my head. Now I understood why his son Gimli would be so competitive and count the orcs he kills. "Well, I killed five wargs and over a dozen orcs."

"You cheated, since Gandalf helped you!!" replied Glóin.

"Do they really count how many they killed?" muttered Bilbo after seeing the interaction Glóin and I had.

By this time, we had all gotten on our horses and were preparing to leave when a howl rang out in the silent night.

"Auuuuu!!!"

Our expressions changed, as that howl was not a good sign, and I was right, as Gandalf immediately turned to look at us as he said in a serious tone, "Another group of orcs, we need to move fast!"

I could see Thorin's face change to a cold temper as he clenched his fists in anger. "Those filthy orcs," he said in a deep voice.

"Quick, waste no more time, get on the horses. Kili, Aldril, ready your bows in case the wargs show up." At Thorin and Gandalf's instructions, we all stopped relaxing, as the situation became serious again.

"Kili, you to the right," I said, as I pulled more arrows from my pack and placed them in my quiver. Fortunately, I bought two dozen of these.

Soon we all gave the order to the horses and began to ride as fast as we could over the dense, dark moor. Traveling through the wilderness at night is obviously dangerous, but fortunately, we were all together and the dangers were reduced.

As we rode along, I could see on Kili's side a direwolf approaching. "Kili, be careful, there are wargs coming!" I shouted as I readied my bow.

My shout made Kili tense up, but fortunately he reacted quickly and, with one shot from his bow, killed the warg.

"Shiss" "Uuugh"

Soon two more wargs caught up to us and came towards me. I fitted two arrows to my bow and shot them at the same time.

"Shiss" "Shiss" "Shiss" "Uuugh"

I killed one warg, but the other bastard managed to narrowly dodge my arrow and threw himself at me. At that moment, I got too nervous, I never thought they could evade my arrows.

Soon, the warg leapt towards me as it opened its mouth wide, ready to murder me with its sharp teeth. I didn't have time to draw my sword, and at that moment, I felt as if time slowed down as I watched the warg slowly approach.

"Craak!"

The sound of bones breaking was heard and, with that sound, the corpse of a warg was seen flying with its head engulfed by a heavy stomp.

At the most unexpected moment, Shadow Star raised both of his hind legs and delivered a lethal blow to the warg that nearly murdered me. I was stunned for a moment as Shadow Star resumed its course, having stopped for a brief moment when it released its kick.

I continued to be stunned as I caught up with the group. Only Shadow Star's angry whinny brought me back to reality. "Sorry, mate, I got overconfident. Thanks for saving me," I said quietly as I tightened my grip on the reins.

I was too arrogant, too confident that damn confidence almost killed me! Ever since I transmigrated, I've treated this world like a movie. This event gave me a rude shock of reality. "No way am I the best archer!!!" I said to myself in frustration.

"Are you okay, Aldril!" I heard Kili say as we rode on.

"I'm fine, just an oversight. Fortunately, I have my partner to cover for me," I said as Shadow Star whinnied with a serious look on his face.

Perhaps the [Universal Language] skill makes me understand what Shadow Star wants to convey.

"Be more careful, Aldril," I heard Gandalf say in my ear, but that was impossible as Gandalf was further ahead and we were still riding.

I would understand from Kili, as he rode his horse closer. For sure it's magic, but whatever it was, I appreciated his concern.

"[Nah, I'd win]" My arrogant words echoed in my mind "Damn, if I almost got killed by a warg, no way I can kill Smaug in my current state. I need to get stronger," I told myself with a resolute look on my face.

[General POV]

A change came over Aldril again. His statement to himself caused his hair to begin to glow ever so slightly, as if he was responding to his determination.

....

Fortunately, there were no more wargs attacks, but still the tension could be felt in the air. The darkness of the moor kept the team on their toes.

Fortunately for Aldril, he could see clearly in the dark, not as if it was daytime, but more clearly than the common people, so he was not as nervous as the others, but still did not lower his vigilance.

Time passed slowly, and after a few hours, the moon, which had been hidden behind the clouds, emerged again, giving a little light to the dark moor.

At that point, the group began to slow down as their horses began to tire, with the exception of Shadow Star, who continued as if the hours spent running were nothing.

"How long have we been running?" asked Ori as he massaged his backside.

"Are the orcs still following you?"

"I don't know."

"Gotta rest, my butt hurts."

"Keep moving, no need to stop. The direwolves are fast and will catch up with us if we don't hurry," Gandalf said, urging the group on despite their complaints.

The group had just escaped from another group of orcs not long ago and most of them were tired, having failed to get adequate sleep.

Time passed and as the group reached a forest halfway up a mountain, the sky began to brighten and the sun began to rise, giving them hope of rest for the group.

"Dawn is breaking, we can get some rest now!"

"Can we rest? I really can't stand my sore butt anymore."

"I'm really hungry, I need to eat." This particular comment was said by Bombur, who kept complaining that he was hungry.

Looking at the state his party was in, Thorin turned to look at Gandalf. "Orcs do not like daylight."

Understanding the meaning of Thorin's words, Gandalf nodded. "We must take a break."

Receiving the assent, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Even Bilbo got off his pony with numb legs and almost stumbled on his way down.

He was not the only one, for Bombur, getting off his horse, threw himself on the ground and spread his arms like a starfish. "I think I'm going to starve to death."

Shaking his head, Balin pointed to a destroyed wooden house. "Let's settle in there, it's a good place."

"Well, let's get some rest. Kili, Fíli, feed the horses. Bombur, Bofur, get some wood for the fire. The rest of you, prepare the food." After Thorin's orders, the group of dwarves began to move.

Climbing down from his horse, Aldril stretched and creaked his bones as he advanced to a rock a little higher up. "I'll be watching."

Not caring about anything else, Aldril climbed onto the rock and closed his eyes slightly to rest. Curious, however, he opened his system and got a pleasant surprise that excited him.

[Attribute points: 4]

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Hey! Here's your favorite author, in that chapter I wanted to give a reality check to the MC, remember he was able to fight all those orcs and wargs thanks to Gandalf's support.

According to what was said in the previous chapter, I thank you very much for your support. But I would also like you to tell me where I am wrong, how can I make it even better grammar and even more readable?

I want to improve and give you quality in writing, I know I will improve with time, but your help will speed up that process.

Remember that Rome was not built in a day.

You can support me on patreon, where you will find 7 advance chapters" patreon.com/Mrnevercry" Support me to reach 100 subs, that's this year's goal.