Trollshaws

At dawn, everyone packed their belongings and set out from the town of Bree beneath the rising sun.

Roland unfolded the map and looked at the woodland west of the Misty Mountains along the Great East Road, unable to keep from frowning.

"Trollshaws?" Roland could not help but worry. Whether in the game or the films, the region was home to wandering trolls. It was also one of the most important parts of the Hobbits' journey, where the three Elven blades regained their glory: Glamdring—the Foe-hammer, Orcrist—the Goblin-cleaver, and Bilbo's own Sting.

"Evil lurks within these woods..." Gandalf had appeared at Roland's side at some point and murmured softly.

"Trolls? Perfect. My Knights can chop off their heads!" A cold glint flashed through Roland's eyes.

"Let us hope so..." Gandalf gave Roland a long, 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 formation, making sure everyone heard him.

The Knights silently tightened their belts, secured their Knight Swords, and hung their lances where they could most easily reach them on their saddles. The Knights in the front row leveled their lances, their eyes sweeping over the dense forest around them. The Badenia Archers removed their mithril bows and nocked arrows onto their strings.

"Stay alert and watch the formation. Do not panic if danger appears. Use your shields to block attacks from every direction. Keep moving at all times—do not become stationary targets!" Reno rode to the edge of the formation and loudly reminded the Knights on watch.

"My lord, I have noticed that some Knights are about to advance." Caslo suddenly seemed to notice something and hurried over to whisper in Roland's ear.

"Hm?" Roland raised an eyebrow. Once he opened the Ring System, he found that the Battle Qi levels of the first ten Novice Knights under his command were indeed nearing the knight rank. Roland smiled happily. Novice Knights were still knights, but knight simply sounded much better than Novice Knight, and their combat power was far greater as well. Moreover, the knight rank came with some rather useful skills, something Novice Knights could not compare to.

Compared with Novice Knights, Knights possessed several highly practical skills. Shield Wall: Condense a large amount of Battle Qi into the shield to form a glowing shield two meters long and one meter wide in front of the user. Requires a shield equipped! Sword Counter: After successfully blocking an enemy attack, immediately follow up with a slash. The Battle Qi slash carries armor-piercing effects. Requires a sword-type weapon equipped. Flash Sword: Summon a longsword condensed from Battle Qi to descend from the sky. Upon striking an enemy, it deals burning damage within a ten-meter range.

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

"My lord, I await your orders at any time," Caslo promptly replied.

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

"Of course. A large portion of a Wyvern Knight's skills are shared with ordinary Knights." Caslo froze for a moment before hurriedly lowering his voice.

"Then you will be responsible for teaching them their skills." Roland promptly patted him on the shoulder.

"What?" Caslo immediately wore an expression full of question marks.

"We do not have a class instructor here, so I will have to trouble you with filling in. Reno still needs to lead the troops, so I am leaving this task to you!" Roland patted his shoulder encouragingly.

"My lord, am I being press-ganged into this?" Caslo covered his face.

"Ahem, ahem. This is called letting the capable do more." Roland said it without the slightest blush or hesitation.

"Thorin, we need to be more careful from here on. Tell your Dwarf brothers that our tracks may have been exposed. The Orcs may have their eyes on us," Roland said after finding Thorin.

"What?" Thorin asked in surprise.

"The forest ahead will not be easy to cross. The trolls hidden within will not let us pass so easily." Roland looked at the group and sighed helplessly.

After all, Trollshaws contained far more than the three trolls from the films. There were quite a few trolls hidden inside.

"Rest assured, sir. I will make sure everyone remains vigilant at all times," Thorin replied after thinking it over.

"I hope so."

That night, beside the campfire, Balin was still telling Bilbo the story of Thorin and Azog the Pale Orc, just as Roland remembered.

"What happened afterward? What about that Orc?" Bilbo could not help asking.

"Dead! He succumbed to his wounds and died in some dark cave." Thorin approached with a cold expression.

"Get some rest. We still have a long journey tomorrow." Roland walked over.

"Sleeping, sleeping." Bilbo hurriedly spread out his blanket with the others and lay down beside the warm campfire. Roland, meanwhile, headed into the marching tent belonging to his men to rest. The marching tents were large enough to accommodate ten fully armed Knights each. They had put up thirteen tents: one each for Roland, Caslo, and Reno, ten for the others, while another ten men stood watch.

"Damn it! Someone is missing!" Roland heard someone shouting through his haze of sleep.

"Damn! I forgot—the troll attack happens at night around this time!" Roland sprang up, drew the Dragon-slaying Sword, and strode out of the tent.

"What happened?" Roland grabbed Ori and asked.

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

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

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

"Wait, where did you tie up the horses?" Roland suddenly realized that, in the original story, they had tied their horses in the woods and the trolls had taken them.

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

"Go check whether the horses are still there!" Roland hurriedly ordered.

Someone immediately ran over. Before long, Balin returned. "They are gone!"

"Damn it! There must be at least a dozen trolls!" Roland had a headache.

"Knight Order! Assemble!" Roland shouted.

"Help! Help!" Fili suddenly came tumbling out of the bushes.

"Trolls! They caught Bilbo and stole our ponies!"

"Lead the way!" Reno said coldly.

"O-okay, follow me!" Fili froze for a moment before quickly coming to his senses.

"Just wait until I catch you! I will tear you into pieces and eat you with sauce!" A troll standing three or four meters tall roared.

Below him, Bilbo and Kili continually dodged the troll's reaching hands.

"Still have not caught those two little mice?"

"How should we eat these horses?"

"I think we should eat them raw."

"Stew them in soup. I have some squirrel droppings to use as seasoning."

"Hm? Why do I hear hoofbeats? They sound a little like human heavy cavalry." A troll tending the fire suddenly raised his head and looked suspiciously at the swaying bushes in the distance.

"For the honor of the Knights! Charge!"

"Kill! For justice!"

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

In an instant, a torrent of steel burst from the bushes. Lances gleaming with cold light stood like a forest, while one iron-clad figure after another smashed through every obstacle ahead and surged forward. The troll chasing Bilbo and Kili was instantly knocked over head-on by a cavalryman. The knight behind him then lowered his lance and rammed into it. Feeling the immense resistance in his hands, the knight frowned and immediately released the lance, then grabbed his war hoe in reverse. As he passed by, he swung it down with all his strength.

"Awooo!" The troll howled in agony.

Unfortunately, before it could howl for long, it was swallowed by the torrent of steel. Under the torchlight of the endlessly pouring Knights, all that could be seen was a patch of pulped flesh smeared across the ground.