The Battle of the Five Armies (2)

Narzug had made many plans for the future. Too many to reconsider now in the heat of battle, but he had carefully thought about how to maximize his chances of surviving the future, especially the Lord of the Rings era.

He looked around the battlefield slightly confused, unsure of what to do next. Initially, he wanted to stay out of the fighting as much as possible, but the Ring had thrown a wrench in his plans.

"Well, if I'm already in the fray, I might as well improve my skills." He threw himself back into the fight, but this time with much more deliberation. That he hadn't been severely wounded before was a miracle.

Although his one of his end goals was survival, he was not afraid of death. If he died here in battle, he could kiss his future survival goodbye anyway. Compared to future battles, the Battle of the Five Armies was child's play.

So Narzug kept fighting and killing his opponents without much trouble. Only beings who had consciously or unconsciously strengthened themselves through the power of their source could still take on Narzug. The elves and dwarf warriors were now too small a number unless they swarmed him with a large number of warriors.

So Narzug continued to fight and fight until one of the humans shouted excitedly, "The eagles! The eagles are coming!"

And as if on cue, the eagles swooped in, turning four armies into five. They flew through the ranks of the orcs like a scythe, killing everything in their path. Narzug, who was fighting deep in the enemy lines, had nothing to fear unless the eagles added men, dwarves, and elves to their diet.

One of the eagles dropped a huge, broad-built man from the sky into the middle of the orc army. Still in the air, the man transformed into a bear, and Narzug realized it had to be Beorn. The huge bear landed among the orcs and struck wildly. The orcs flew as if they had been hit by a truck at full speed. Then Beorn roared his challenge to the world.

"I wonder what would happen if I consumed Beorn's power? Would I be able to transform into a bear too?! And what would happen in combination with Smaug's heart!"

Narzug remembered that with the arrival of the eagles, the fight between Thorin and Azog should be over. If everything went according to his calculations, both should now be lying bleeding somewhere on a frozen pond. He knew that the Battle of the Five Armies would soon be over, but he wanted one last fight. And maybe he could manage to obtain Beorn's heart as a trophy and material to consume.

He made his way through the ranks of his enemies with his axe until he stood before the huge bear.

-A Few Seconds Earlier-

Beorn felt the wind in his dense fur as he plunged into the midst of the orc army. The transformation from man to bear occurred mid-air; his limbs stretched, muscles grew, and his bones cracked loudly as his face turned into a powerful snout. He landed with a thunderous impact, his claws digging deep into the ground, and his eyes glowed with rage and determination. He effortlessly smashed all opponents around him.

Beorn roared his challenge to the world, a mighty, booming sound that echoed across the battlefield. But then he saw a strong orc with a menacing axe before him, who responded with a roar of his own. It was Narzug. Beorn recognized a worthy opponent in this orc but also a slight arrogance in his eyes. The bear felt a fleeting sense of respect, quickly overwhelmed by his growing fury.

Without warning, Beorn charged at Narzug. With a powerful sweep of his paw, he struck the orc's axe, which flew from Narzug's hands with a loud crash. Narzug, seemingly unfazed, dodged skillfully and counterattacked, his movements swift and precise. But Beorn was not just a bear – he was a shapeshifter, filled with an ancient, wild power.

The battles around them faded into a dull background noise as Beorn focused entirely on Narzug. He ducked under a blow from the orc and then sprang up, his teeth flashing in the sun as he bit into Narzug's shoulder. The flesh yielded like butter under his mighty jaws, and Narzug cried out, a sound that was half pain, half rage.

Beorn did not let go. He dragged Narzug off his feet and hurled him to the ground. The orc got back up, blood dripping from his shoulder, and his gaze grew wilder. But Beorn was already upon him again. With another swipe of his paw, he struck Narzug on the head, the orc staggered, his eyes rolled back, and he fell heavily to the ground.

This was not a fight of technique or strategy – it was a pure, brutal act of strength. Beorn felt the raw power pulsating through his veins, a force bestowed upon him by an ancient heritage. He stood over the fallen Narzug and raised his mighty paws for the final blow. Narzug, now barely conscious, could do nothing more.

With a final, terrifying roar, Beorn brought his paws down on Narzug. The flesh tore under his attack, bones broke, and life drained from the orc's eyes. Beorn, now in a complete blood frenzy, continued to tear the body apart until nothing remained that even remotely resembled an orc.

As the bloody remains finally lay before him, Beorn paused, his chest rising and falling heavily. He looked around and saw the remaining orcs staring in horror and fear. Beorn knew this was a sign for the rest of the battle.

With one last look at the orc's remains, Beorn turned away and was about to plunge back into the fight when he felt an incredible stabbing pain in his heart.

He heard a deep, rough voice say, "Illusions are simply the best," and then Beorn took his last breath.

Narzug hated the dwarf ring but loved its ability. While he had previously accepted Beorn's challenge, he simultaneously wove an illusion with all his skill and power. The bear's eyes glazed over as he was trapped in his own world.

Narzug could walk up to the bear as easily as on a Sunday stroll and, with the help of his axe, cut out its heart.

With the bloody heart in hand, Narzug stood there and looked around. The orcs had already lost the battle, yet they still charged at their opponents like possessed beings. The humans, dwarves, and elves continued to kill and storm towards the orcs. Only the eagles had already retreated. In his regained clarity, Narzug observed the events around him. They began to disgust him, the unnecessary waste of life. Whether on the side of the orcs or the rest, it bothered him more and more. Then, out of an impulse, he gathered all his authority and shouted, "STOP!!"

His words echoed across the battlefield, and all the fighters gradually stopped.

"Why don't we stop this unnecessary bloodshed? We orcs have lost. You mighty leaders are just wasting the lives of your soldiers if we all continue. Let us orcs withdraw and save some lives. Both ours and yours."

Slowly, everyone looked around. The orcs were very confused, but they did not have the courage to oppose their leader.

Among the remaining peoples, the will to fight slowly sank, and the thought that they had won stuck with most of them.

But then the ranks of the elves slowly opened, and Thranduil, the Elvenking of the Woodland Realm, came into view. With a contemptuous look, he regarded Narzug, and in his eyes was a hatred that could make any orc jealous.

From the ranks of the humans, a man also stepped forward, and Narzug could immediately recognize the resemblance to Bard from the movies. Beside him walked Gandalf, who observed Narzug with a thoughtful and good-natured look. Finally, Dain Ironfoot also stepped forward. They all looked at each other thoughtfully until Thranduil burst out: "You will not believe an orc. He is only planning an ambush, like all his kind. As soon as we turn our backs, we will have a knife in our back!"

Gandalf shook his head slightly and looked Narzug in the eyes: "Mhh, I believe he is serious. Let us leave peace for today."

"PEACE? PEACE?!" Thranduil looked at Narzug and practically screamed, his spit flying in disgust with every word from his mouth: "An orc talks about peace. I can feel your hatred for all living things from here, monster. There will only be peace in this world when all of your accursed kin lie in their graves. ATTACK!"

And at the command of the Elvenking, the armies of the elves charged. The dwarves and humans soon followed. Gandalf just sighed and stood still, for him, the battle was already won.

Narzug was seething with rage.

"Monster! He called me monster! How I would love to be a monster, but that would ruin the good impression I just made on Gandalf. I could use that in the future...Damn elf. Oh well, I did my best."

He also gave the command to attack but slowly withdrew himself. Then he wove an illusion around himself and disappeared from the battlefield. For Narzug, the fight was over. There was no reason to fight anymore; he had an important date with a dragon heart.

One kilometer outside, he met up with three warg riders who were already waiting for him with another warg. He took one last look back at Erebor and then set off on the journey back to the Misty Mountains. He did not care about the orc fighters he had brought with him. Most of them were probably already lying dead among the other corpses.

"So that was my story during the time of the book and the movies about The Hobbit. Now I should have about 60 years to prepare for our choirboy Sauron and Frodo and company..."

With these thoughts, the four orcs rode off towards the Misty Mountains.

Halfway through the dark forest, many thoughts surged in Narzug's mind.

"Why don't I just run away from everything?"

"I could just ride south..."

"Dol Guldur should be empty now that Azog is dead, I could build a new city there..."

But then Narzug quickly shook his head. "Fuck, these aren't my thoughts at all, it's the ring! It wants to bring me to Dol Guldur, where Sauron is waiting for me. Fuck! That's why it never wanted me to go back to the tunnels! Fuck you, ring!"

The thoughts kept rising in Narzug's mind, but he managed to free himself from the ring's manipulation every time.

"Shit, I can't put it off any longer. Right after I deal with the dragon heart, I absolutely have to do something about the ring. I'll devour it even if it kills me. Better than becoming Sauron's slave! Better than giving up my own self. I am not the ring!"

It went on like this the entire way until they were back in the tunnels of the Misty Mountains. Once there, Narzug felt an incredible urge to go out again but he simply ignored it. He went straight to the sanctuary to Morgash without interruption.

----

One day earlier in the day camp of Narzug and his escort.

Narzug sat in the corner of a small cave, facing the wall.

The three orcs looked at each other and had a conversation through eye contact alone.

"I think the moths have eaten the chief's brain!"

"My thoughts exactly! He talks to himself all the time and keeps saying 'I am not the ring! I am not the ring!', that's not normal..."

"Shh, not so loud with the eyes! What if the chief joins in and catches everything?"

"You're right, but I'm telling you, something's very strange here."

At that moment, Narzug turned around and made eye contact.

"What are we discussing?"

"Nothing, nothing at all, Master... just some jokes among friends, Master!"

And then the three orcs looked at each other with a knowing glance.

---

Decided on a name for the Axe. Its going to be called 'Ira'.

Liked the meaning and that it is short:)

Thanks for all the good submissions.

I really liked the Taylor Swift submission but for the future of the story chosed smth else:)

Big thank u to PoorGod.