Lingering Ghosts! The Tacit Understanding Between Enemies and Allies

As a legendary ranger, Aragorn was naturally not some aloof prince who kept everyone at arm's length. On the contrary, this future king of men was easygoing and sincere. Over decades of arduous training and wandering, he had made many friends.

Now that he saw Wang Zhen and these strangers of unknown origin possessing a large quantity of supplies suited for war, Aragorn naturally found it suspicious that such a group had suddenly appeared at this critical moment. But right now, he truly wanted to befriend Wang Zhen and the others!

No matter how unclear their identities and origins were, the large quantity of war supplies in their possession could not be overlooked. That was what mattered most. Aragorn knew very well that, three thousand years after his defeat, the Dark Lord Sauron had returned. It was not merely the reappearance of the One Ring—the empire of Mordor was now strong in soldiers and horses, fully prepared for war. Even Saruman, the White Wizard, one of the five Maiar who guarded Middle-earth, had fallen into despair and ultimately defected to the Dark Lord Sauron's side. That alone showed just how much power Sauron, who had prepared for three thousand years, had amassed.

As for the side of men, elves, and dwarves, men were still the same as ever, having spent a full three thousand years fighting among themselves. The nearly immortal elves had never truly set their minds on Middle-earth, so naturally they had no intention of expanding. The dwarves, meanwhile, were obsessed with excavation and cared only about the mineral deposits underground.

As one side waned, the other waxed.

With such a comparison, it was no wonder that Saruman, the White Wizard and one of the guardian Maiar, had grabbed his bucket and run. He must have felt that