The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 102 Stop the war
"Wait! Don't get agitated!" Verway quickly tried to dissuade Roland, fearing that Roland might get killed by the centaur leader in a moment of impulsiveness.

“This is Badr, the leader of the northern centaur tribe. They certainly wouldn’t have entered your territory without a reason. They must have a reason!” Verway, who had been leading his tribe on a nomadic journey for many years, recognized the centaur in front of him at a glance.

"Oh? Then please ask this great centaur chieftain why he has led his army to my territory!" Roland's eyes blazed with fury.

The obscure Elvish language flowed rapidly from Valwy's mouth, yet its elegance was undeniable. Baldr, speaking at the same rapid pace, exchanged words with Valwy, his lips moving rapidly, his eyes filled with a resentment and anger that, if materialized, could kill any Lagrange present.

Finally, Verway and Badr stopped talking, and Verway let out a long sigh of relief, his face showing some relief.

"What's going on?" Roland immediately sensed something was amiss when he saw Verway's relaxed expression.

"It must be a misunderstanding..." Verway sighed.

“It is like this…” Verway began to recount.

The centaurs of the Tuput tribe originally roamed the northern wastelands, following their prey to the northern foothills of the Grey Mountains, where they lived a nomadic life. However, not long ago, a large number of orcs suddenly appeared near the Tuput tribe's pastures...

Like other intelligent races, centaurs hated the bloodthirsty orcs and other creatures of the dark faction. However, the centaurs' superior combat strength and mobility made them fearless of the orc army. After all, they lived a nomadic life; if they couldn't win, they could always run away. With this mindset, Baldr led his able-bodied centaurs to cause trouble for the orcs. Nearly 500 centaurs, with combat strength equivalent to cadet knights or knights, charged towards the orc army from the foothills!
The valiant centaurs, relying on their innate skill—Shared Fate!—engaged in a frenzied melee with the orcs. Wooden spears engraved with magical runes snapped in two, and the enraged centaurs used spears, bows, hands, bodies, and even their hooves as weapons in a bloody battle. The orc army, overwhelmed by the centaurs' charge, crumbled in no time. The vanguard of a thousand was swiftly torn to pieces by the centaur riders… limbs, internal organs, and shattered armor and weapons littered the ground…

The orcs, initially panicked, calmed down after being attacked. After collapsing several thousand-man square formations, the orcs finally blocked the centaurs who were still fighting. These centaurs, whose muscles were practically in their brains, certainly did not understand that the most important thing for cavalry was speed! Relying on their four legs, they recklessly fought the orcs using their shared life force until they were surrounded... Ultimately, the valiant centaurs were not knights, and shared life force could not compare to honor. Unlike honor, which allowed them to share damage and remain unharmed until their battle energy was depleted, shared life force merely allowed them to share life force, rapidly healing when one was injured... So, as time passed, the orcs multiplied, and finally, when a centaur was pierced by dozens of weapons and beyond death, the centaur's unstoppable offensive momentum was severely hampered. Centaur knights were swarmed and killed by the orcs, and their numbers dwindled rapidly. Only then did Baldr realize the situation and hurriedly called for his people to leave the battle, but it was too late. Many centaurs who had fought bravely were separated and surrounded by the orc army... In the end, fewer than 300 centaurs managed to leave the battlefield alive...

So the Tuput centaurs had no choice but to abandon their hunting grounds and flee south across the Grey Mountains. After bypassing Lonely Mountain and Stream City along the way, they finally discovered this nameless forest not far from Stream City. Crucially, this forest was vast, with hundreds of hectares of primeval jungle providing enough food for the Tuput tribe to survive the winter. Having finally led their people away from the orcs who had been harassing them (the elderly, weak, and disabled centaurs severely hampered their march!), they arrived here only to find the Stream City Lagranges hunting and gathering there. This infuriated the territorially-driven centaurs. Although their relationship with humans was cold, it wasn't one of hatred. The centaurs hid in the shadows, shooting and driving away the Lagrange people who had entered. But would the Lagrange people, backed by the Knights, be intimidated by mere arrows? When driving them away proved ineffective, the centaurs resorted to wounding the civilians to drive them away (the knights' plate armor, covered in battle aura, was impervious to their arrows...).

"I see!" Roland suddenly realized. No wonder the orcs, who usually swaggered around like madmen, had set up camp. Roland had been wondering about that! Orcs sleeping in the open had actually established semi-permanent camps along the way—it turned out there was a centaur tribe they were chasing lurking ahead! If they hadn't had camps to block their path and had been ambushed by the centaurs that night, they would have been in big trouble! Just imagine being ambushed by three hundred knights at night… The unprepared orcs might as well give up on Lonely Mountain and head back to lick their wounds. In the end, it was these centaurs who bought precious time for the entire Lonely Mountain Alliance; otherwise, the orcs who quickly marched south would have definitely given Thorin and Bard a surprise.

"Alright, considering your contribution to the fight against the orcs, I will let it go." Roland's expression softened a bit. Since neither side had suffered any casualties, there was still room for negotiation. Roland waved his hand, and the knights holding Baldr immediately removed their weapons.

Having broken free of his restraints, Badr stretched his limbs, his strong bones crackling like popping beans. He said coldly and displeasedly, "Humans don't think I'd be grateful to you! If it weren't for your advantage with your weapons, we would have defeated you long ago!"

Baldr, who lost because of his weapon, looked resentful. Due to their long period of wandering, most of the centaur tribes were now unable to smelt metal. The only ironware they had were a few precious iron pots (obtained through trade). Furthermore, they were too poor to afford to have weapons made to their own (centaur armor and weapons were not compatible with most other races).

"Hehe! Weapons are also a reflection of strength." Roland smiled. The quality of a faction's weapons is an important foundation for that faction. Just like the powerful elves and dwarves, how many of their names have been made famous by their excellent weapons?
"Hmph!" Badr snorted coldly, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Let's sit down and talk! We're still facing the threat of darkness; we don't have the strength to fight amongst ourselves!" Verway advised, watching the two lords prepare to clash again. One was a knightly order! The other was a centaur! A fight between them would be devastating! A clash between knights is both the safest and the bloodiest; either they pass each other without anyone falling from their horses, or it's a bloodbath with flesh flying everywhere and bodies scattered...

(End of this chapter)