Chapter Summaries

After killing a Lich serving Sauron, Roland and his allies learned that an Undead Army was marching south and arranged a meeting of the Northern Territory’s rulers. Roland led the Knight Order north to confront the threat while Olaf and the civilians were urged to leave Flowing City, and Apophis Breo prepared a defensive forbidden spell for the king.

• Roland gave Yun Feng the Lich’s phylactery, and Ajax warned them not to underestimate the approaching Undead Army.
• Yun Feng proposed gathering the Northern Territory’s rulers in Erebor, and Roland approved sending Caslo and Ajax to deliver invitations.
• Roland told Olaf to leave Flowing City quickly because the Undead Army had crossed over from the north.
• Roland mounted his warhorse and led the Knight Order north to attack the Undead Army.
• Apophis Breo told Yun Feng he had prepared the Desperate Spring Domain forbidden spell, and Yun Feng said Caslo would collect it.

Roland and the assembled kings discussed the Undead Army’s advance and considered forming a coalition to stop it. Dáin arrived, but Eowyn was still missing as the rulers waited to settle the coalition’s numbers.

• Valfay learned at the gathering that an Undead Army had appeared and awkwardly admitted he had not heard about it.
• Thorin and Bai Yi described the cavalry coalition’s clash with the Undead, reporting heavy pressure from their overwhelming numbers.
• Thranduil proposed forming a coalition army, and Dáin arrived at Erebor as the kings discussed the danger to the surrounding plains.
• Roland explained that the Iron Hills were relatively protected by their mountain defenses, then concealed his embarrassment when Dáin mentioned recent damage to the mountain.
• Roland said he had sent Akvia to notify Eowyn, and Bard suggested waiting for Eowyn before deciding the coalition’s size.

Roland learned that the southern Orc army had mobilized while Ajax and the Star Elves were fighting in Mirkwood, forcing the allied kings to face threats from both south and north. The system issued a two-front war mission, and the leaders ended the chapter by vowing to resist the Orcs and the Undead.

• Roland learned from Caslo that Ajax was trapped on the southern front, where the Star Elves were holding back the Orcs of Dol Guldur in Mirkwood.
• The system issued a mission to fight the northern Undead Army and the southern Orc army, with rewards for defeating or annihilating each force.
• Roland told Thranduil, Thorin, Dáin, Bard, Valfay, and Bai Yi that the southern Orcs had mobilized and Eowyn's forces were pinned down in Mirkwood.
• Thranduil and Thorin questioned how the Orcs had recovered so quickly, while Dáin and Bard suspected that Mordor had sent reinforcements.
• Roland promised Bard that Lagrange would hold Long Fortress, then he and the other leaders drew their weapons and vowed to fight.

Roland and the northern kings tallied their forces and divided up defenses as they prepared for war against the Orcs and Undead. The kings returned to gather their armies, while Roland planned to march south to Lulong Fortress and left the northern front to Thorin.

• Roland, Thranduil, Thorin, Bard, Bai Yi, and Valfay reported the troops they could provide, with Roland committing about 4,000 soldiers and the allies assembling nearly 10,000 for the northern coalition.
• Thranduil left the south to Roland, while Bard and Bai Yi each warned they could defend only one side of their territories and Valfay chose to search for scattered Grassland Elf tribes.
• Roland reassured Bai Yi that the Orcs were focused on Lagrange and Lulong Fortress, then told the kings to prepare their armies for war.
• Roland and Thorin exchanged toasts and promised to return alive; Roland said Caslo had already gone ahead and his army would march south while Thorin took responsibility for the north.
• Thorin ordered his soldiers to rest and begin assembling the army the next afternoon, then told Kili that he and his brother would stay behind to preserve Durin's bloodline.
• Roland returned to Yun Feng, Nyx, Omsk, and Old Adilai, where they asked about his plans and Old Adilai offered to serve him again.

Roland declared war on the hostile powers of Middle-earth, earning a System reward of 1,000 Lagrange City Guards, while Nyx warned that Lulong Fortress needed reinforcements. The chapter left Valfay anxious about possible conscription and Reno amused by Roland’s proclamation.

• Roland ordered Yun Feng to declare war on Dol Guldur, Gundabad, Mordor, Dorwinian, and every other evil faction.
• Yun Feng posted Roland’s proclamation, which made several Orc clans hostile and earned Roland the System’s reward of 1,000 Lagrange City Guards.
• Nyx told Roland that Lulong Fortress needed more soldiers because the Swift River Infantry could not be relied upon.
• Valfay worried that Roland might conscript Grassland Elves into the war.
• Reno received Roland’s proclamation and told Luke and Merck that it was a show of strength.

Roland assigned most of Lagrange’s forces to defend Lulong Fortress against the approaching Orc army, leaving Flowing City with far fewer troops. Omsk and Marcus protested the transfer, but Roland insisted the fortress had to hold and left Marcus to prepare the city’s defenses.

• Reno ordered the army to prepare for war and told his men to announce the proclamation to the soldiers.
• Roland reviewed his available forces and assigned most of them, including the Swift River Infantry and Bannaria Archers, to Lulong Fortress.
• Roland sent the remaining Crusaders, four Priests, and a fire mage to defend Flowing City.
• Omsk objected that the deployment left Flowing City nearly abandoned, and Marcus criticized the city’s weak defenses.
• Roland explained that Lulong was the first line of defense and said Flowing City’s residents could be mobilized if necessary.
• Marcus promised to arrange the city’s defenses, while Omsk resigned himself to leading the Knight Order into battle.

Roland sent Omsk to Lulong Fortress with elite troops as the kingdom prepared for threats from the Orcs and Undead. Reno put Lulong on alert while an Orc army gathered at the Swift River, led by a Nazgûl intent on attacking Lagrange.

• Roland ordered Omsk to patrol the Orcs, avoid attacking their main force, and deliver a letter to Reno before Omsk rode to Lulong Fortress.
• Two Ancient Giant Rhinoceroses and Giant Ogres hauled Grond, the battering ram that had breached White City, beneath storm clouds.
• Omsk told Reno that Lulong would be the main battlefield and delivered a troop list; Reno learned Roland was staying in Flowing City and ordered the fortress prepared for war.
• Reno mobilized troops and supplies, sounded the alarm, and sent soldiers to reinforce Flowing City while promising that Lulong would not fall as long as he lived.
• An Orc army stopped at the Swift River, where an Orc high lord ordered boats built, and a Nazgûl declared that he was coming for Lagrange.

Reno and the defenders of Lulong Fortress discovered a massive Mordor Orc army approaching after Omsk’s Knight Order failed to warn them. With the communication array broken, Reno and Luke Leopold prepared the fortress for a prolonged siege as the Orcs closed in.

• Reno, Luke Leopold, and Merk Leopold spotted the Orc army advancing toward Lulong Fortress and raised the alarm.
• Reno ordered the defenders to prepare for battle and sent a Bannaria Archer to report the attack to Flowing City.
• A soldier told Reno that the Communication Array had collapsed, but the Defense Magic Array was still working.
• Reno identified the approaching army’s banner as belonging to a Mordor Orc clan, not Dol Guldur.
• Reno and Luke ordered the archers to stock arrows, infantry to shelter, and tower garrisons to rotate for a prolonged battle.

Reno and the defenders of Lulong Fortress faced an Orc army led by the Seventh and Eighth Ringwraiths, while a Dragon Slaying Tower brought down one Nazgûl’s wyvern. The story left the fortress bracing for the Ninth Ringwraith, Uvasar, and the approaching assault.

• The Orc Lord and a Nazgûl led tens of thousands of Orcs toward Lulong Fortress as the defenders prepared for battle.
• Four Erlino Rangers fired a Dragon Slaying Tower shot that destroyed a flying Demon Wyvern, sending its Nazgûl rider crashing to the ground.
• Reno identified the fallen rider as Akhorn, the Eighth Ringwraith, bearer of the Ring of Withering, and Adunnaphi restrained him with chains of Death Qi.
• Merk Leopold identified Adunnaphi as the Seventh Ringwraith, bearer of the Ring of Decay, while Reno warned the defenders to watch for Uvasar’s infiltration.
• Adunnaphi cautioned Akhorn against approaching the fortress’s heavy crossbows, and Akhorn backed away as the Nazgûl watched Lulong Fortress.

The Orcs began a siege of Lulong Fortress, bombarding its magical shield while Reno and the defenders organized the city’s defenses. The fortress’s crossbows and catapults inflicted heavy casualties, but the Orc army continued its advance.

• Adunnaphi urged the Orcs to attack from all four sides, and the Orc Lord ordered them to charge while catapults were set up.
• The Orcs bombarded Lulong Fortress, but its magical shield blocked the stones and held against the barrage.
• Reno assigned Luke Leopold to the western wall and Merk Leopold to the eastern wall, then accepted Lafitte Antony’s offer to command the northern wall.
• The Orcs advanced under the protection of their shields as the fortress’s Heavy Crossbows cut through their ranks.
• Lulong Fortress returned fire with catapults, destroying an Orc catapult and killing hundreds of Orcs.

Lulong Fortress repelled the Orcs’ first siege, but the defenders faced dwindling magic crystals and a moat that was already being filled. Reno warned that the Orcs could force close-quarters combat within two days, while Lafitte Antony offered crystals to help power the shield.

• Lafitte Antony ordered the defenders to fire on the Orc siege towers, and catapult stones broke one tower open so the Heavy Crossbows could destroy it.
• Reno said the Orc advance had been checked but warned that the shield did not cover the walls’ exterior and the Dragon Slaying Towers had to be saved for the Nazgûl.
• After the Orcs retreated, Reno ordered the soldiers to eat hot soup and rest in shifts while they could.
• Reno showed the leaders that the Orcs had filled a third of the moat and said the defenders might face close combat within two days.
• Reno explained that the fortress lacked enough magic crystals to keep the shield active, and Lafitte Antony offered a supply he said could last three days.

After Lulong Fortress’s light cavalry reported an Orc siege and the disappearance of its Knight Order, Roland prepared Flowing City for the threat while discovering that a thousand Lagrange City Guards were marching to reinforce him. The chapter ended with Valfay learning that few high-rank defenders remained and being ordered to join the city patrols.

• Reno sent the magic crystals to Lulong Fortress’s control array while the defenders worried about the missing Knight Order and awaited help.
• Light cavalry reached Roland in Flowing City and reported that at least twenty thousand Orcs had surrounded Lulong Fortress, its Communication Array had collapsed, and Nazgûl had been spotted.
• Roland and Yun Feng decided they could not send aid, while a thousand Lagrange City Guards marched across the plain as Roland’s quest reward.
• Roland ordered the civilians of Delvin Town and Tupte Territory to evacuate to Flowing City, and Badel led the Centaurs there without resistance.
• Roland told Valfay that the Knight Order was missing and few sixth-rank fighters remained in Flowing City, then ordered him and the Centaurs to join the patrols.

Lulong Fortress repelled repeated Orc assaults while Reno and Lafitte Antony recognized that the battle had become a war of attrition. As the defenders kept watch through the night, Omsk realized he had wandered too far and hurried back toward the kingdom, unaware that Reno was desperately awaiting his return.

• Reno urged the defenders to fire freely as Lulong Fortress's archers and crossbowmen cut down attacking Orcs, and the Orcs temporarily retreated.
• Lafitte Antony judged that the Orcs were probing and exhausting the fortress, while Reno refused to waste ammunition by returning fire at their inaccurate catapults.
• The Orcs launched further attacks, withdrew to camp around the fortress, and the defenders took shifts while firing flaming bolts to watch their movements.
• Omsk checked his map, realized he had traveled too far, and set off through the night to return to the kingdom.
• Reno and the others waited anxiously for Omsk, who did not know how badly they needed him.

Omsk and the Lagrange Knights camped for the night, detected an Orc Warg Rider ambush, and slaughtered the attackers. After interrogating the captured Orcs, Omsk learned that the main Orc army had passed them by several days earlier.

• Omsk led the Knights north and chose a sheltered hollow where they camped for the night.
• A sentry smelled something foul, and Omsk sensed the approaching Orc Warg Riders and roused the Knights.
• Omsk and the Knights charged the Orc ambushers and killed nearly all of them.
• Omsk questioned three captured Orcs, killing two when they refused to answer or gave an unhelpful reply.
• The last prisoner revealed that the Orc army had already passed the Knights several days earlier, leaving Omsk shaken.

Lafitte Antony and Luke Leopold repelled the Orcs’ siege engines and attempts to fill Lulong Fortress’s moat, while Reno arranged for the Erlino Rangers to take over the night watch. The Rangers killed an Orc force trying to dump dirt into the moat, and the Orc Lord’s officers treated the failed attack as an acceptable loss.

• Omsk ordered his soldiers to ride north after learning the enemy had bypassed them and attacked their territory.
• Lafitte Antony used fire oil and catapult stones to destroy or disable Orc Siege Towers, while Luke Leopold’s Heavy Crossbows riddled the shield carts carrying sandbags.
• Reno ordered the Erlino Rangers to take over the fortress’s night defenses so the other soldiers could rest.
• The Rangers killed dozens of Orcs attempting to fill the moat under cover of darkness and reported the attack to Reno.
• Reno praised the Rangers and told them to stay safe while killing as many approaching Orcs as possible.
• Akhorn and Adunnaphi looked down on the dead Orc officer whose failed operation had cost the Orcs some cannon fodder.

Roland learned that an Orc army of at least ten thousand had bypassed Lulong Fortress and reached Flowing City, with a Nazgûl among them. He ordered the city mobilized for defense and assigned Yun Feng to stop the Nazgûl as the battle began.

• Valfay and Lavien warned Roland that the Orcs were less than fifty li from Flowing City, and Valfay reported sensing a Nazgûl.
• Lavien estimated that at least ten thousand Orcs were approaching, while Valfay revealed that he had killed an Orc Lord before retreating.
• Roland convened a council, where Marcus warned that Flowing City had too few soldiers and Adilai offered to help defend it.
• Yun Feng urged Roland to contact potential reinforcements, and Nyx explained that the city's intermediate magic shield could not withstand catapults.
• Roland ordered weapons issued and civilians mobilized to help defend Flowing City, assigned Yun Feng to protect Valfay and stop the Nazgûl, and left Adilai and Ladyl to protect civilians.

Orcs attacked Flowing City, and Marcus organized the city’s defenses while Valfay and the Griffon Knights struck back. As the Orcs reached the walls, Ladyl destroyed their siege engines with a surprise attack, though a Nazgûl had previously disrupted his spells.

• Marcus ordered Lavien to lead the cavalry and King Badel’s fighters outside the city, sent the Griffon Knights against the ogres, and prepared the walls for defense.
• Ladyl intercepted the ogres’ boulders with magic, while Marcus deployed the city’s rangers and armed civilians to keep up the arrow fire.
• Valfay and Holyn flew against the ogre trebuchet crews, and Valfay killed several ogres, including one with a fiery arrow strike.
• After the Orcs reached the walls, Ladyl unleashed a concealed magical attack that shattered their siege towers and killed many Orcs.
• Ladyl explained that his earlier spells had been interrupted by a Nazgûl hiding in the shadows.

Ladyl’s magic drove off Orcs, but the Orc army resumed its assault on Flowing City while Uwasa avoided a fight and threatened the defenders’ air force. Roland joined the militia on the walls, where the outnumbered defenders held off the clumsy Orc attack.

• Ladyl silently cast Bramble to rout the Orcs, while the Undead lord Uwasa ordered the assault stopped and then vanished when Yun Feng and Valfay challenged him.
• Marcus rotated the defenders and relied on militia to man Flowing City’s walls while saving the few elite troops and mobile forces for the fiercest fighting.
• Ladyl destroyed an Orc siege tower with earthen spikes, then replenished his mana as the Orcs prepared another attack.
• The Orcs resumed their assault with arrows, ladders, and a mage’s green fireball, prompting Ladyl to duel the mage while Ivy organized treatment for the wounded.
• Roland refused Marcus’s request to retreat and fought climbing Orcs on the wall, inspiring Marcus to join him as the defenders pushed the attackers back.

Roland and the defenders of Flowing City fought off Uwasa’s Orcs while the city wall nearly collapsed under a Giant Ogre’s charge. Both sides became locked in a stalemate, and the exhausted defenders ended the day with heavy injuries but few deaths.

• A Giant Ogre rammed Flowing City’s wall, leaving it cracked, and Ladyl used Earth Rejuvenation to partially repair it.
• Uwasa realized his force had strayed from its mission to attack Erebor and was trapped beneath Flowing City, while Roland lacked enough troops to defeat the Orcs.
• Roland’s defenders exchanged ineffective attacks with the Orcs as Ladyl fought a Lich and Yun Feng and Valfay faced the Nazgûl.
• Marcus and Lance knocked Orcs from the siege ladders while Roland fought until exhaustion and called for a battle assessment.
• Marcus reported that more than a thousand soldiers had been wounded, fewer than five had died, and friendly arrows had caused some of the casualties.

As Lulong Fortress endured another Orcish assault, Apophis Breo learned that forces across the Northern Territory were tied down and Flowing City was under attack. Ruhl decided to take the caravan’s soldiers and guards back to reinforce King Roland, leaving the story with the reinforcements heading toward the besieged city.

• Reno’s defenders repelled an Orcish attack in the rain, while a Dragon Slaying Tower wounded the Nazgûl Akhorn after the fortress shield exposed him.
• Olaf gave Apophis Breo a report describing battles across the Northern Territory, including Caslo’s clash with Amoras and Roland’s plight in Flowing City.
• Ruhl asked to leave for Flowing City, and Olaf warned that the caravan’s forces might not be enough to change the battle.
• After learning Flowing City faced an Orcish detachment and the kingdom had no reinforcements, Ruhl told the Griffon Knight that the caravan would return to help Roland.