In the orcs' underground caves, a frenzied slaughter is unfolding.
Facing these strange, disgusting, and short-statured orcs, the members of the Exploding Sky Gang showed no mercy. They wielded their swords without hesitation, charging across the wooden suspension bridges and passageways in the cave, beheading one orc after another. Having already experienced slaughter, they were not intimidated by the carnage.
These orcs were not the tall, monstrous beastmen; their physiques were similar to those of dwarves. Facing the members of the Exploding Sky Gang who had already embarked on cultivation and undergone system enhancement, they were far inferior to the members of the Exploding Sky Gang in terms of strength, speed, skill, reaction time, and the quality of their weapons. Even the young members of the Exploding Sky Gang were not comparable to them.
They were completely powerless to resist the members of the Exploding Sky Gang.
"this....!"
Inside the cave, Gandalf and Thorin, along with the other dwarves who had just followed Wang Han in, stared in disbelief at the carnage unfolding within.
Inside the cave, mercenaries wielding both bows and arrows and longswords and sabers were swiftly slaughtering the orcs. They were all extremely ferocious, and none of the orcs could force them to fire a second arrow or swing a second sword. The orcs' arrows were nimbly dodged by the mercenaries and posed no danger whatsoever.
Although there were only a little over 150 mercenaries, while the cave contained far more orcs—dozens of times more—at this moment, it was the majority of orcs who were being chased and killed by the mercenaries, utterly powerless to resist.
If you hadn't seen it with your own eyes, you would never have imagined that these mercenaries were all so powerful. Facing dozens of times their number of orcs, they showed no fear whatsoever; on the contrary, they were crushing and slaughtering the orcs in an overwhelming manner.
"The methods of killing are rather monotonous, with no real tactics, don't mind them! These orcs are just too weak!" After leading Gandalf and the others into the cave, Wang Han said with a smile, looking at the dumbfounded Gandalf and his companions. It was as if he were talking about something trivial.
"The commander's men are truly one in a hundred!"
Upon hearing this, Gandalf sincerely praised them, but looking at Thorin again, he couldn't help but worry once more. The strength of these mercenaries far exceeded his expectations. No wonder they dared to accept the job after knowing they were going to Lonely Mountain, and even dared to covet the treasure within; their immense strength gave them confidence.
Thorin's face also darkened.
"I have confidence in my men, but this won't be our peak. I believe my mercenary group will become even stronger in the future," Wang Han said with a smile upon hearing Gandalf's praise.
Silence followed, everyone watching silently as the mercenaries slaughtered the orcs. The orcs were wiped out in just over ten minutes. Afterwards, the battlefield was cleaned up, and valuable items were collected; after all, this was an orc dungeon, so there were bound to be some treasures.
"Commander, we've found him. What should we do with him?"
Half an hour later, more than ten mercenaries brought a skinny, half-orc-like but not quite half-orc-like man to Wang Han, threw him at Wang Han's feet, and asked him questions.
This is Gollum, the hobbit who possessed the One Ring.
"We're doomed, we're about to die."
Left behind by Wang Han, Gulu huddled in fear, trembling all over, muttering to himself.
"Where's the stuff?" Wang Han glanced at Gulu, who was muttering to himself in fear, but ignored him and looked up at the mercenary who had captured Gulu.
“Here, Commander, I dare not touch it with my hands.”
Upon hearing this, the mercenary quickly took out a dark gray cloth bag, opened it, and respectfully handed it to Wang Han. Inside was a gleaming gold ring and some dirt.
'This is... the Ring!' Gandalf's breathing quickened as he looked at the ring in the open cloth bag. At the same time, a very bad feeling arose in his heart.
Thorin and the others were also drawn to the ring, as if it possessed some kind of magic, giving them a desire to possess it.
"It's a pretty ring!" Wang Han said, reaching for the ring on the cloth bag.
"Commander, it's best not to touch it!" Gandalf quickly warned, seeing that Wang Han's hand was about to touch the Ring.
"Why?" Wang Han asked, smiling at Gandalf.
"It's too dangerous, more dangerous than Smaug the dragon!" Gandalf said solemnly. But he dared not reveal the origin of the One Ring. For the One Ring represented power and desire, and also evil. He feared that this powerful mercenary leader would not be able to resist temptation, and if he were to wear the Ring, it would be an utterly terrible thing.
"Danger! It's just a ring, what danger could it be? That's just alarmist talk. As for Smaug, he's just a large fire-breathing lizard, nothing to worry about." Looking at Gandalf's expression, Wang Han sneered disdainfully, took the ring from the cloth bag, and then, in Gandalf's eyes, put the ring into his own pocket.
Seeing that Wang Han wasn't wearing the ring, Gandalf breathed a temporary sigh of relief. However, the reappearance of the Ring, and its possession by such a powerful mercenary leader, kept his heart in his throat.
“Are you afraid? Afraid of what? Trouble, or the darkness!” Wang Han looked at Gandalf and said with amusement.
"You know?" Gandalf looked at Wang Han, only then realizing that Wang Han knew about the One Ring. That made sense. If Wang Han didn't know the One Ring, why would he have slaughtered this Orc dungeon, killing all the other Orcs except for leaving one emaciated one? And why would these mercenaries have specifically brought the ring to Wang Han? Perhaps slaughtering the Orcs was part of the quest, but they were definitely after the One Ring.
But how did Wang Han know that the One Ring was here, on this emaciated orc?
"Thinking so much? Can you even figure it out?"
"Let's go, mission accomplished, head to Lonely Mountain."
Wang Han said something to Gandalf, and then loudly gave the order.
The orcs inside have been slaughtered, and the spoils have been collected. It's time to head to Lonely Mountain for the greatest reward.
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