Trollshaws

In the early morning, everyone packed their bags and left the small town of Bree, stepping into the rising sun.

Roland opened his map and frowned, looking at a patch of woodland on the East Road, west of the Misty Mountains.

"The Trollshaws?" Roland couldn't help but worry. In both the game and the movies, that area was inhabited by roaming Ogres, and it was also a crucial part of the Hobbits' story, where the three Elven swords shone again: Glamdring—the Foe-hammer, Orcrist—the Goblin-cleaver, and Bilbo's own Sting.

"Evil lurks within this forest..." Gandalf appeared beside Roland at some unknown time, murmuring in a low voice.

"Ogres? My Knights will be happy to take their heads!" Roland's eyes flashed with cold light.

"I hope so..." Gandalf gave Roland a deep look.

"Clang!" Roland casually drew the Dragon-slaying Sword from his waist.

"Attention everyone! Stay alert!" Roland raised his longsword and rode back and forth through the ranks, ensuring everyone could hear his voice.

The Knights silently tightened their belts, secured their knightly swords, and hung their lances in the most convenient spots on their saddles. The Knights in the front rank raised their lances, their eyes scanning the surrounding dense forest. The Badenia Archers took down their mithril bows and nocked arrows onto their strings.

"Stay alert and maintain formation. Don't panic if danger arises; use your shields to block attacks from all directions, and keep moving so you don't become stationary targets!" Reno rode to the edge of the formation, loudly instructing the vigilant Knights.

"My lord, I've noticed some of the Knights are close to advancing." Caslo suddenly discovered something and whispered in Roland's ear as he rode up quickly.

"Hmm?" Roland raised an eyebrow. He opened the Ring System and indeed, the Battle Qi levels of the first ten Novice Knights under his command were nearing the Knight level. Roland smiled happily. Although Novice Knights were still Knights, the title of Knight sounded much better and their combat power was significantly stronger. Moreover, Knights gained some excellent skills that Novice Knights did not possess.

Compared to Novice Knights, Knights had several very practical skills: Shield Wall: Condense a large amount of Battle Qi into the shield to form a light shield 2 meters long and 1 meter wide in front of you, requiring a shield to be equipped! Sword Parry: After successfully blocking an enemy's attack, you can immediately follow up with a slash, with the Battle Qi imbued having armor-piercing capabilities, requiring a sword-type weapon to be equipped. Flash Sword: Summon a Battle Qi condensed longsword to descend from the sky, dealing burning damage upon hitting an enemy, with an attack range of 10 meters.

"Caslo, I have a task for you." Roland's eyes darted.

"My lord, I await your command at any time," Caslo replied hastily.

"You should be able to teach them skills, right?" Roland whispered.

"Of course, a large portion of Wyvern Knight skills are shared with ordinary Knights," Caslo replied in a low voice, momentarily stunned.

"Then you'll be responsible for their skill instruction, okay?" Roland quickly patted his shoulder.

"What?" Caslo immediately put on a confused expression.

"We don't have any professional tutors here, so I need you to fill in. Reno still needs to lead the team, so this task falls to you!" Roland patted his shoulder encouragingly.

"My lord, am I being conscripted?" Caslo covered his face.

"Ahem, this is called 'the capable should bear more responsibility'," Roland said, his face not flushing and his heart not skipping a beat.

"Thorin, we need to be careful from now on. Tell your Dwarf brothers that our movements might have been exposed, and the Orcs might be targeting us." Roland found Thorin.

"What?" Thorin was surprised.

"This forest ahead won't be easy to traverse; the Ogres hidden within won't let us pass easily," Roland sighed helplessly as he looked at everyone.

It was important to remember that the Trollshaws contained more than just the three Ogres seen in the movie; there were quite a few hidden Ogres within.

"Rest assured, my lord, I will have everyone remain vigilant at all times," Thorin replied after some thought.

"I hope so."

At night, by the campfire, Balin was still telling Bilbo the story of Thorin and the pale Orc Azog, just as Roland knew he would.

"And then what? What happened to that Orc?" Bilbo couldn't help but ask.

"Dead! Mortally wounded, he died in a dark cave," Thorin said, walking over with a cold expression.

"Get some rest, we still have to travel tomorrow," Roland said, walking over.

"Going to sleep, going to sleep." Bilbo quickly spread out his blanket with the others and lay down by the warm campfire. Roland, meanwhile, walked to his own marching tents to prepare for rest. The marching tents were large enough to accommodate ten fully armed Knights. Roland and his group had set up thirteen tents: one each for Roland, Caslo, and Reno, one for the other ten, and ten were assigned to guard duty.

"Damn it! Someone's missing!" Roland heard someone shout in his daze.

"Damn it! I forgot! The plot involves Ogre attacks on these nights!" Roland sprang up like a carp, drawing the Dragon-slaying Sword as he exited the tent.

"What's going on!" Roland grabbed Ori and asked.

"Bilbo and Kili are missing!" Ori said in a panic.

"Reno! Wake everyone up! Prepare for battle!" Roland shouted loudly.

"Thorin! Your people really know how to cause trouble!" Roland said helplessly.

"Wait, where did you tie the horses?" Roland suddenly realized that in the plot, they had tied their horses in the forest, and the Ogres had stolen them.

"Kili and Fili tied the horses in the forest," Dwalin suddenly said.

"Go check if the horses are still there!" Roland urged.

Someone quickly ran off, and a moment later, Balin returned: "They're gone!"

"Damn it! There must be at least a dozen Ogres!" Roland rubbed his temples.

"Knights! Assemble!" Roland shouted.

"Help! Help!" Suddenly, Fili tumbled out of the bushes, scrambling.

"Ogres! They captured Bilbo and stole our pony!"

"Lead the way!" Reno said coldly.

"Oh, oh, oh, follow me!" Fili, after a moment of stunned silence, quickly reacted.

"I'll tear you to shreds and eat you with sauce once I catch you," roared an ogre, easily three to four meters tall.

Below, Bilbo and Kili dodged the ogre's outstretched hands.

"Haven't caught these two little mice yet?"

"How should we eat these horses?"

"I think we should eat them raw."

"Let's stew them, I still have some squirrel droppings to season it with."

"Huh? Why do I hear horseshoes? They sound a bit like the hooves of human heavy cavalry," an ogre tending a fire suddenly raised its head, looking at the swaying bushes in the distance with confusion.

"For the glory of the Knights! Charge!"

"Kill! For justice!"

"For the revival of Lagrange!" This was Reno.

In an instant, a torrent of steel burst from the bushes. Lances, glinting coldly, stood like a forest, and armored figures, like iron cans, shattered all obstacles in their path as they charged. The ogres, who had been chasing Bilbo and Kili, were instantly knocked over by a charging cavalryman. The knight behind him thrust his lance forward, felt the immense resistance in his hand, frowned, and immediately let go of the lance. He drew his warhammer and, as he passed, brought it down with a heavy blow.

"Aargh!" The ogre howled in pain.

Unfortunately, before it could howl for long, it was submerged by the torrent of steel. Illuminated by the torches of the continuously emerging knights, all that could be seen on the ground was a paste of minced meat.