Luke and Gandalf traveled down the Mirkwood River by boat, drifting all the way to the estuary and entering the Long Lake.
Long Lake was formed by the confluence of the Mirkwood River and the Running River, which originated from the Lonely Mountain, and then flowed eastward to eventually merge into the Sea of Rhûn.
Lake-town was located on the central island of Long Lake, protected by stone headlands, and was a prosperous trading town.
Luke and Gandalf traveled down the river but did not encounter Thorin and the others.
"Point the way for me."
The light from the wand pointed towards the center of the lake, which was shrouded in mist.
"Gandalf, Bilbo and the others must have found a way to cross the lake."
"That's good news," Gandalf nodded. "I suppose we can reunite in Lake-town."
Just then, a group of Orcs also pursued them from the upper reaches of the Mirkwood River.
After entering the estuary, the river slowed, and the two people in the boat instantly became slow-moving targets.
"Ghash!"
At the Orc Leader's command, a dense volley of arrows flew towards the two.
Facing hundreds of arrows, Luke was unconcerned. With a wave of his wand, a protective barrier blocked them.
But unexpectedly, although most of the arrows were blocked, a few arrows ignored the defense, directly pierced the barrier, and shot towards Luke's head.
"Be careful! Those arrows contain Morgul Arrows!" Gandalf reacted quickly, splitting an arrow with a powerful swing of his sword and shouting a warning.
Luke's reaction was also swift; he immediately used the wide oar in his hand as a shield in front of him.
Instantly, two Morgul Arrows pierced the wooden oar, and the immense force caused the arrowheads to penetrate the wood, revealing sharp and dangerous black tips.
He hadn't expected these Orcs to be so cunning, hiding Morgul Arrows, which carried potent poison and Dark Arts, within the dense volley of arrows, making them impossible to guard against.
Luke's expression was grim. He discarded the oar with the Morgul Arrows embedded in it and immediately counterattacked.
"Exploding Bolt!"
The Orcs on the riverbank seemed to have anticipated this, quickly pulling out shields from their backs to block the attack.
Although the massive explosion's impact sent the Orcs flying, only a few were actually killed.
The shields, made of an unknown material, were incredibly sturdy and successfully withstood the force of the explosion.
Luke and Gandalf's expressions became solemn.
"Luke, these Orcs clearly know your methods; they were prepared!" Gandalf warned.
Luke nodded silently, also realizing the problem.
"Gandalf, let's get ashore first. I need to get some answers from these Orcs!"
Gandalf agreed, quickly steering the small boat towards the shore.
"Ghash!"
"Ghash!"
"Ghash!"
The Orcs tried to prevent the two from landing with dense attacks.
But the next second, their bows and arrows transformed into poisonous snakes, opening their fangs and quickly biting their necks or arms.
The Orcs were startled and panicked by this sudden change, instinctively throwing away their bows and arrows, falling into a chaotic state.
The snakes fell to the ground and reverted to their original weapons, as if it had all been an illusion.
But before they could retrieve their weapons, Luke's attack followed immediately.
"Diffindo, Avada Kedavra, Exploding Bolt—"
Luke leaped from the small boat onto the riverbank, casting several spells in succession.
Accompanied by the sound of massive explosions and shattering, the Orcs were instantly killed or wounded.
Seeing the unfavorable situation, the Orc Leader immediately turned to flee, but Luke struck him with a Petrificus Totalus, freezing him in place.
After dealing with all the other Orcs, Luke approached the petrified Orc Leader.
With a wave of his hand, he lifted the Petrificus Totalus from him.
The Orc Leader immediately drew a dagger and attacked Luke.
With a bang, the Orc Leader was instantly sent flying backward, slamming heavily against a large rock behind him.
"Trying to kill me?" Luke sneered, stepping closer to the Orc.
Seeing the dagger in the Orc's hand, which exuded the aura of Dark Arts, he raised an eyebrow,
"It seems you're well-prepared. Besides Morgul Arrows, you also have a Dark Arts dagger. Is all this just to deal with me?"
With that, he waved his Mirror Staff, and the arm holding the dagger was instantly severed.
The Orc Leader let out a scream, still glaring fiercely at Luke.
Luke's eyes hurt from the Orc's ugly, ferocious face. He lightly raised a finger, and the Dark Arts dagger floated up from the Orc's severed arm,
and quickly pressed against the Orc Leader's neck.
"Tell me, who is your leader after Azog's death? Why are you still chasing the Dwarves?"
Luke threatened.
"If you tell me, I'll let you go."
The Orc Leader was not threatened; instead, he showed a sinister, malicious smile and said triumphantly:
"Wizard, you'll never know! Just wait, my master is already prepared. Whether it's you or those Dwarves, you will all be burned to death by flames!"
Gandalf walked over and also heard the Orc Leader's words, immediately enraged, he forcefully pressed the Orc against the rock wall with his staff.
"Tell me the secrets you know, Orc, or I will purify you with the Light of Fire right now!"
The immense impact caused the Orc Leader pain, but his face became even more defiant.
"Haha, you won't get any information from me! Our era has returned, the flames of war will engulf the land,
and we will ultimately achieve victory!"
Gandalf became even angrier, striking again with his staff.
Luke stopped Gandalf from pressing further, "Gandalf, since he's unwilling to speak, let's try another method."
"Imperio!"
Feeling the strong Dark Arts aura emanating from Luke's spell, Gandalf frowned slightly, looking at him with some concern.
However, he didn't say much, trusting that Luke knew what he was doing.
So he focused his main attention on the Orc.
Luke was casting Imperio, one of the three Unforgivable Curses.
Imperio had no direct killing power; it couldn't kill directly like Avada Kedavra, nor could it torture like Crucio.
But its most dangerous aspect was its ability to control others' thoughts and actions, turning them into puppets of the caster. Even the most beloved family members or friends could be killed without hesitation.
It could be said that Imperio was an influence and control over a person's soul, making them no longer themselves.
More importantly, there was no counter-curse for Imperio.
To break free from Imperio's control, one had to either break through its influence with an extremely strong will;
or directly kill the caster, causing the Imperio they cast to automatically fail.
Other than that, it was almost impossible to break Imperio's control with other magic.
Seeing the Orc Leader's eyes become vacant, Luke immediately asked:
"Who is your new leader?"
The Orc Leader's expression became somewhat hesitant, but the next moment it returned to calmness. "It is Azog's son—Bolg. He is our new king."