Children of the Stars

"There's big trouble in the north! How did this insignificant place, Lonely Mountain, manage to attract the personal attention of Lord Sauron himself! They've even sent Mordor's armies!" Roland sat on Caslo's dragon, his mind racing.

"My lord, relax, everything will pass! May Lagrange's glory bless us!" Caslo turned his head to comfort him.

"Alas, even if the Elves join the fight, our chances of victory aren't great!" Roland said after a moment of thought.

"Why?" Caslo asked, confused. Roland could muster 800 men, Bai Yi could gather 500, the Iron Hills could field over 1,000, Thorin could command nearly 2,000 Dwarves, Bard of River Valley City could scrape together 500, and the Elves had at least 3,500. That would make an allied force of over 8,000, and with proper strategy, defeating the Orcs might be possible.

"We'll have to fight on two fronts! Only King Dain of the Iron Hills can support the south!" Roland explained.

"The Elves will surely intercept the Orcs from Gundabad heading south, and Bard and Thorin will fight for their homes. The only ones who can move are the Iron Hills Dwarves led by Dain Ironfoot! And we're facing Azog at Dol Guldur, supported by Mordor's armies!" Roland rubbed his temples.

"Wait! Take me back! You go north to deliver the message!" Roland suddenly remembered something, his face lighting up with joy.

"This..." Caslo didn't understand his king's orders, but he complied.

Did Roland think of a way to break the stalemate? The answer was indeed yes! This Middle-earth was very similar to the Middle-earth in the Ring System games Roland had played. If that was the case, did the hidden factions within Middle-earth truly exist? Roland decided to verify. If they did exist, then Roland could say he had already won half of the Lonely Mountain battle!

Roland whispered a few instructions to Ladyl with Reno and then hurried his horse towards the docks. Coincidentally, there was indeed an order-aligned hidden faction in Mirkwood, the Star Elves, known as the Children of the Stars! They resided in Singri, a secret realm within Mirkwood, directly north of Dol Guldur. They had hidden their entire kingdom behind a powerful Star Forbidden Spell formation. If Roland guessed correctly, there should be Dragon Knights in the Singri kingdom! When players mistakenly entered in the past, they encountered an old dragon, but that was the Fifth Age. It was currently the Third Age, so this should be a young Star Dragon. Its powerful barrier abilities had created the Star Barrier for the Singri Elves, separating them from the outside world and allowing them to successfully avoid the chaos of the times. The predecessors of this Elven race seemed to be a group of High Elves seeking refuge, who eventually worshipped the Star Goddess, leading them to call themselves Star Elves!

Roland felt he should go and find this reclusive kingdom. If he could successfully persuade these Elves to join the war, Roland wouldn't be worried about the Orc army in the south at all, and could even push back towards Dol Guldur. This way, he wouldn't have to trouble the Elves of the Golden Forest and Rivendell to attack the fortress.

"King! Where are we going?" Reno grabbed Roland as he prepared to enter the forest. That direction led to Dol Guldur! Was their king out of his mind? Planning to take on the fortress with just two Paladins? Forget two Paladins, even two Dragon Knights would struggle against a well-staffed, fully equipped fortress.

"We're going to find someone who can break the deadlock!" Roland said with a mysterious smile.

"No! King! We can't break the deadlock. The two of us, with a single slide tackle, couldn't even feed Dol Guldur's Wargs! Our gift of a thousand miles for a head is too generous!" Reno hugged Roland tightly, afraid his king was going to lead them to storm Dol Guldur. Faced with such overwhelming numbers, even two Hero-level Knights would have no chance of survival.

"What? Dol Guldur? Get lost! Who the hell is going there! I'm not crazy! I can't beat Azog!" Roland kicked away the hugging Reno irritably.

To his surprise, Reno didn't get angry but said with a grin, "Alright! Your Highness, you kicked well!" Roland's normal thought process relieved Reno.

"We're going to find the legendary Star Elves! If they agree to join the war, then we still have a chance to win!" Roland adjusted his plate armor, speaking irritably.

"Yes! Your Highness, you are right!" Reno smiled warmly.

"Let's go! We need to travel quickly and avoid the Orcs' eyes!" Roland said.

"Then we can't ride horses!" Reno said solemnly.

"No horses? How many days will it take?" Roland was shocked.

"Your Highness, horse tracks will expose our whereabouts, the sound of hooves will reveal our location, and riding horses in the forest is not a good choice..." Reno explained patiently.

"Uh... you make a very good point." Roland thought about it. He had been foolish, only thinking of convenience and not considering the serious consequences of riding horses.

"Your Highness, let's hurry while it's still light..." Reno glanced at the sky.

"Let's go!" Roland cast one last look in the direction of Flowing City before turning and leaving with Reno.

"What? Orcs from Mordor?" Thranduil stared in shock at Caslo, who stood on the steps below him.

"Yes! Our allies were ambushed by them and suffered heavy casualties!" Caslo replied with neither subservience nor arrogance.

"How did they get to the north!" Thranduil still couldn't believe it.

"But it is true!" Caslo took out the totem flag from his bosom.

"This totem does not belong to the Orcs of the Misty Mountains, nor is it the flag of the Orcs of Dol Guldur! Our allies were ambushed while scouting south. So, Your Majesty, the Woodland King, which Orc factions are there in the south?" Caslo asked, raising his eyes and speaking coldly.

"Damn it!" Thranduil's facial muscles twitched, clearly showing his extreme anger. During the Last Alliance war, before the human and Elf allied forces attacked the Black Gate of Mordor, two units had already clashed with the Orcs. These were the Woodland Elves led by Thranduil's father and the Elves of the Golden Forest. Both Elf armies were ambushed in the Dead Marshes. Oropher, the King of the Woodland Realm at the time and Thranduil's father, died in this battle. Even more ironically, Dol Guldur, the old fortress occupied by Orcs, was actually a former capital of the Woodland Elves...

Even Caslo couldn't help but want to complain, Big brother, why didn't you demolish the city when you left? Was magic too expensive to use? Or were all the Elf Mages dead? Leaving such a great disaster for everyone to deal with...

"I have received your message. Please convey to King Roland that if the armies of Mordor come, I will lead my troops to support them! Please light the beacons to show us the way!" Thranduil's eyes flashed with hatred.

"No! Your Highness the Elf King, I think you need to understand one thing: once Mordor's army arrives, the Orcs of Gundabad will also pour out! The northern defenses need you to stabilize them!" Caslo looked at Thranduil gravely.