Luoshengnier City

After staying in the dwarven Erebor for several days, Roland left in high spirits with the newly equipped light infantry and dozens of carts of supplies. Since Thorin had learned of the Orcs' movements, he had generously given all this to Roland. After all, Roland was Erebor's most important shield to the south. Thorin clearly understood what mattered most. Because of the previous Battle of Erebor, both Orc chieftains had escaped. After lying low for a few days, they were beginning to stir again.

"I hope nothing goes wrong in the north..." Roland cast a worried glance at River Valley City and Erebor. Although many wandering dwarves from the Blue Mountains had returned, Erebor still had fewer than five thousand dwarves. Winter had prevented most dwarves from returning home, but there were still far too few of them. The next time the Orcs of Gundabad attacked, they would surely come out in full force! And Azog, having learned from his previous defeat, would definitely bring Heavy Crossbows. Then Caslo would no longer be able to slaughter Orcs without restraint... As for the Woodland Elves in Mirkwood, Roland did not even want to mention them. It would be a miracle if that old bastard Thranduil took the initiative to help humans and dwarves! During the War of the One Ring, when the Battle for River Valley City erupted in the north, king Bard's grandson and Dáin, the dwarf king, had both died outside Erebor's gates... Where were the elves then?

The elves could not be relied upon. Thorin and Bard would be tied down in the north, leaving only himself and the White Wing King in the south. Perhaps it was time to pay the White Wing King a visit, Roland thought.

When Roland turned and saw the newly equipped Conscript Light Infantry, he felt slightly more at ease. Even if things truly became impossible, he would lead the soldiers in a rear-guard action and send the civilians west of the Misty Mountains. He would decisively abandon Flowing City. After all, a king's crown was bestowed by the people under his rule. Without people, was a king still a king?

Looking at the youthful faces of the Conscript Light Infantry behind him, Roland felt a pang of reluctance. These armed civilians were all young boys, probably no older than seventeen or eighteen, yet he was about to lead them toward death... At that moment, Roland seemed to see the Swift River Infantry charging upstream... Back then, they must have wanted to live too...

"Caslo, train them well when we get back. I don't expect them to charge bravely into battle, but I hope they can protect themselves while defending," Roland said softly as his gaze swept over those young faces.

"Don't worry, my lord! They will grow stronger!" Caslo promised.

"But there is no time for them to grow stronger..." Roland lowered his head.

"Your Majesty, the White Wing King across the river has invited you as his guest. He says he wishes to discuss a matter concerning the survival of both cities!" Reno stopped Roland, who had just returned.

"Did they say what happened?" Roland asked curiously.

"It seems they fought the Orcs," Reno replied after thinking for a moment.

"Good. Prepare the boats. We will cross the river!" The moment Roland heard the word Orcs, he perked up.

Accompanied by Reno and the Erlino Rangers, Roland stepped onto the western bank. After walking for several minutes, his attention was drawn to the wooden-and-stone city wall in the distance.

"They built it that quickly?" Roland turned to Reno and exclaimed in surprise.

"Well, Your Majesty, walls made of wood and stone are convenient to build in the first place. With so many people, they only needed to cut down more trees and they could put one up quickly," Reno explained. After all, there was not much technical skill involved in these walls. In a world of magic, mages could handle wall construction; there was no need to ram earth into city walls like on Roland's Blue Planet. In Mirkwood, one only needed to cut down a patch of tall trees, sharpen one end and drive them into the ground, bind all the stakes together with rope, coat the outside with mud, and let it dry. That made the outer wall. Add some wooden frames and planks, and there was the simplest kind of city wall.

"Oh! So that's how it is!" Thinking of the thick walls of Flowing City, built from massive Magic Rune Stone Bricks, Roland immediately felt better. The defensive power was right there. So what if it was slower to build?

Boom! The soldiers standing guard at the city gate saw Roland's royal banner fluttering in the wind behind him and immediately struck their chests in salute.

"Welcome, King Roland! Please forgive the King for being unable to personally receive you due to urgent matters." A man who looked like a steward hurried forward.

"I kept you waiting." Roland inclined his head.

"It is my honor to serve you!" the steward receiving him said with a bow.

"Take me to see the White Wing King. I want to know what happened!" A grave look flashed through Roland's eyes. He had clearly smelled blood in the air just now... Human blood! Only a large number of wounded could create such a heavy stench of blood.

"Greetings, King Roland. Please forgive me, but I cannot receive you properly right now!" Bai Yi caught sight of Roland approaching from the corner of his eye, but his hands never stopped moving.

"Dragon God above! What happened?" Reno's eyes widened. Beneath the wooden shelter before him lay more than a hundred wounded of all kinds. Bai Yi and the others were changing their medicine and bandaging them, then carrying the treated wounded into tents or wooden houses.

"What happened?" Roland narrowed his eyes, unease coiling around his heart.

"Our cavalry scouts heading south were attacked! Thousands of Orcs ambushed them on a large scale! We lost over a hundred men!" Bai Yi gritted his teeth. His cavalry had not been numerous to begin with, and now nearly half of them had been wiped out for nothing.

"Impossible! The Orcs of Dol Guldur do not have the strength to launch another large-scale attack!" Roland declared. During the Battle of Erebor, the Orc army from Dol Guldur had been the only force completely annihilated. Nearly twenty thousand had died on the battlefield. Roland did not believe the Orcs could have recovered enough strength to attack so soon. Had their wounds healed after only a few days?

"Your Majesty! You should look at this!" Reno casually grabbed a scrap of cloth nearby. It was covered in Orcish totems that looked like incomprehensible scribbles.

"My soldiers brought that back," Bai Yi said after glancing at it.

"Is there a problem?" To Roland, all Orc banners looked the same.

"There is a huge problem! No, this is huge trouble!" Reno swallowed.

"That is not the totem of Dol Guldur's Orcs! I have never seen these markings before! They came from Orcs farther south..."

"Mordor!" Reno and Roland both looked up, shuddering at the same time.

"Is it too late to move?" Roland asked weakly.

"Damn it! Why would Mordor care about this place? We are in the north!" Reno cried in frustration.

"Fuck..." Roland silently cursed his bad luck. The Orcs of Dol Guldur were Sauron's lapdogs. They had ruined Sauron's plans, so how could Sauron possibly fail to respond? These thousands of Orcs were likely reinforcements sent from Mordor, and there might be even more following behind them.

"Have the southern Orcs stretched their claws this far?" Bai Yi's face was frosty.

"Yes. Darkness is about to shroud the north, and we are its last guardians..." Roland took a deep breath.

"I will wait for them here! Right here! This is Luoshengnier City of the Kaden Tribe! This is our homeland! We will fight to the death until the very last moment!" Bai Yi roared furiously. If they left this place, his people would truly have nowhere to go. Crossing the Misty Mountains in winter with supplies, the elderly, and children was something only an idiot would attempt. They would not get far before the Orcs divided, surrounded, and swallowed them whole.

"Then be careful! If anything happens, light the signal beacons! My soldiers will come to support you. I need to go to Erebor and find the dwarves. I must inform them of this news!" After reminding Bai Yi of several things, Roland left Luoshengnier City. He needed to quickly tell Bard, Thorin, Dáin, and Thranduil!

The entire north was in grave danger!

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