King Elrond

"Sir, aren't we being a bit too arrogant..." Reno, having finished setting up, mustered his courage and approached.

"What else can I do? If I knew where Rivendell was, who would be doing this kind of thing?" Roland shrugged helplessly.

"Sigh, I hope this doesn't cause any misunderstandings with the elves..." Reno glanced at the elves, who were still struggling despite being tied up.

"I'm going to sleep for a bit. Wake me when the elves arrive," Roland waved his hand and went to lie down comfortably in the shade of a tree.

Meanwhile, in Rivendell...

"King Elrond! Lindir and his scouting party are missing!" an elf came to report.

"Hmm? When did they leave?" Elrond narrowed his eyes.

"They departed at dawn. Lindir said he was going to patrol the kingdom and prevent the Orcs from the north from causing trouble. But half a day has passed, and we still haven't heard from them..."

"Bring people, we're going to find Lindir!" Elrond said gravely.

"God, please protect them from harm..." Elrond prayed softly.

"Sir, something's not right..." Caslo shook Roland awake.

"What..." Roland looked up and froze on the spot.

"Why the hell are we surrounded by an elven army?" Roland asked Reno incredulously.

"Uh, maybe there's some misunderstanding," Reno pointed to Lindir and the others, who were still tied up nearby.

"Good heavens! This isn't what I envisioned!" Roland was stunned. In his plan, even if this small scouting party went missing, the elves should have only sent a hundred cavalry to search. Who knew it would directly attract the entire elven army...

What Roland didn't know was that because the Orcs had learned about the dwarf expedition, they had organized several wolf rider units to intercept them heading south. Yesterday, they had only encountered one of those units. Elrond, believing that a large Orc army was moving south, had hastily led his army out to search for the enemy. As a result, they saw this small group of humans resting under the shade of trees. And then, lo and behold! Good heavens! Lindir and the others were tied up nearby, making Elrond think these humans intended to start a war with the elves.

A full three thousand Elf Archers were arrayed in the rear, with a thousand Elf Cavalry riding Moon Deer in front. Judging by the surging magical fluctuations from the rear, there were probably about ten Elf Mages. Roland's side had a hundred Swift River Infantry, who slammed their shields heavily onto the ground. Roland only then realized that they weren't just iron-clad leather shields, but actually leather-and-iron shields! Five-meter-long Anti-cavalry Pikes pointed diagonally towards the sky. Behind them were the Bannaria Archers. The archers had abandoned their horses and were hiding behind the infantry, so they could effectively protect their fragile bodies (compared to heavily armored classes) after the battle began. The Knights also mounted their horses and gathered together, ready to activate their Battle Qi to form combined attacks.

"Let's go!" Roland, knowing that misfortune cannot be avoided if it is destined, walked forward with Reno and Caslo.

On the opposite side, Elrond also rode his Moon Deer closer.

"My lord, why have you trespassed on elven territory and captured our people?" Elrond's tone was not exactly pleasant.

"King Elrond?" Roland recognized Elrond immediately. He looked quite like his movie counterpart.

"Hmm? You know me? But I haven't seen you? Where do you come from? Where are you going?" Elrond was very surprised, his eyes shining, clearly casting some kind of detection spell.

"Damn it! An Overlord! This half-elf is actually an Overlord..." Roland was also shocked inwardly. After all, elves were famous for their archers, mages, and rangers; elf warriors were truly a mixed bag.

"We are remnants of the Lagrange Empire from the East. Our homeland was destroyed by the Eastern Yi..." Roland didn't dwell on this sad topic, as, to some extent, Roland wasn't lying. After all, the Lagrange Empire had indeed been dismembered.

"We came specifically to find you, King Elrond!" Roland bowed respectfully to Elrond.

"Find me?" Elrond asked, confused.

"To be precise, we are looking for the group of Dwarves and Gandalf who entered Rivendell!" Roland said.

"Hmm?" Elrond looked at Roland vigilantly.

"Uh, you've misunderstood. We are a knight order hired by Thorin Oakenshield. We have ten more brothers with them, and we don't know how to get to Rivendell, so we had to resort to this," Roland shrugged and explained.

"Couldn't you have just asked Lindir and the others?" Elrond pointed to the bruised and battered elves in disbelief.

"Uh... perhaps we scared them. They were ready to attack as soon as they saw us, so we had to capture them first," Roland's eyes darted around as he spun a lie.

"..." Elrond was speechless.

"Then can you let them go now?" Elrond asked, his face dark.

"Of course! Caslo, hurry up and let them go!" Roland pretended to be angry.

"Yes, sir!" Caslo quickly went to release them.

"You scoundrel! I'll kill you!" Lindir's wailing could be heard from the other side.

"What? Thorin and the others left already? And my men were left behind?" Elrond told Roland this news on the way to Rivendell.

"Yes, your soldiers are very loyal. They insisted on waiting for you to return before they would set off. Thorin and the others didn't want to waste time, so they left ahead," Elrond said.

"Unbelievable!" Roland was dumbfounded. Thorin was being sly; he wasn't planning on honoring his debts and was just running away? Wait! The lingering light of Durin's Day! Damn it! I'm sitting up in bed in a state of shock from near death! The idiot was me all along!

"King Elrond, I need your help! I have to catch up to them!" Roland said urgently.

"What's going on?" Elrond asked, confused.

"Our whereabouts have been exposed! The Orcs should all know about the dwarves' journey to the Lonely Mountain. The Orcs in the Misty Mountains will definitely intercept them. Without our help, they will all die in the Misty Mountains, and Durin's Lineage will come to an end!" Roland said seriously.

"We were attacked by Gundabad Wargs and Orcs from Mount Gundabad! They've targeted us!" Roland quickly added when he saw Elrond didn't believe him.

Elrond gave Roland a deep look and quickened his pace: "Follow me!"

"Sir! We are truly happy to see you safe and sound!" a Bannaria Archer stepped forward.

"Thank you, Lagrange! Our lord is safe and sound!"

"Alright, you may go," Roland waved his hand.

"King Elrond! Which way did the dwarves go?" Roland asked anxiously.

"That way," Elrond pointed to a small path winding through the distant mountains.

"Are... are you kidding me? You can ride horses on a path that narrow?" Roland stared in disbelief at the path, barely wide enough for one person.

"Actually, they abandoned their horses. They left stealthily last night," Elrond shrugged.

"Damn it! They're asking for death! The orcs will tear them apart! Where's Gandalf?" Roland said angrily.

"They even left Gandalf behind..." Elrond spread his hands.

Roland forced himself to calm down. Damn Thorin, that stubborn and arrogant dwarf had successfully disrupted Roland's plans. There would definitely be no shortage of orcs hunting them, and without Gandalf, the powerful mage, relying on these amateurs... Roland wondered if it was still too late to go back to the Shire.

"It's getting late, you should get some rest," Elrond glanced at Roland and turned to leave.

Roland watched him go without a word. The situation was chaotic now... Gandalf would likely have gone to Dol Guldur as he remembered, and the dwarves entering the mountains were very likely to fall into Goblin Town. Bilbo would still get the Ring System as history dictated...

"It seems the tide of history is truly hard to change..." Roland felt a sense of despair.

As the moon rose above the treetops, Roland couldn't fall asleep. Finally, he got out of bed and found Caslo and Reno.

"Gather the troops! We're moving out!" Roland said with determination. He was determined to get the treasure of the Lonely Mountain! Perhaps he could even bring the Valley of Rivendell under his control.

"Yes!" The two exchanged a look and turned to leave.

"System! Sign in! I hope it gives me something useful!" Roland sighed.

"Sign-in successful! Reward: 100 Lagrange Empire Swift River Infantry!"

"Another 100 Swift River Infantry?" Roland was surprised.

"King Elrond, they took the path you indicated," Lindir approached Elrond, who was standing on a high platform.

"Yes, they've gone... The shadow in the north, the shadow in the south... Alas! I have a premonition that the peace in Middle-earth will not last much longer," Elrond sighed.

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