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

Chapter 11 Rivendell
Roland came with 103 men and returned with 193. Is this the legendary ultimate military strategy—the more you fight, the more you have?
"Guys, speed things up! We need to get to Rivendell!" Roland said with great enthusiasm.

"Then, my lord... where exactly is Rivendell?" Renault asked tentatively. (In this world, Renault is not yet the Governor of the North, and he doesn't know the location of Rivendell.)
"..." Roland.

“Caslo, do you know where Rivendell is?” Roland asked, clinging to a sliver of hope.

"Ahem, how about we look at the map and try to find it?" Caslo said, scratching his head.

"So...we're lost again?" Roland asked incredulously.

Seeing Renault and Caslow's affirmation, Roland's forehead creased with dismay, and he immediately covered his face. He remembered that the last time he got lost was when he was looking for Bag End in Hobbiton.

"Alright, let's look for it..." Roland sighed.

……

"This is the last sanctuary of the elves in the Eastern Sea, which is what people often refer to as..." Gandalf raised his eyebrows as he introduced it.

“Rivendell!” Bilbo murmured, stunned by the beauty before him.

“Gandalf?” an elf approached.

“Ah! Lind, I’ve come to see King Elrond,” Gandalf said.

“Unfortunately, King Elrond is not here,” Lind said.

Just then, the sound of horses' hooves came from behind them...

"When the thrush chirps, it stands beside the gray rock. The setting sun, in the afterglow of the Turin day, will shine on the keyhole." King Elrond read the lunar script on the map by the moonlight.

……

Late at night, Roland and his group, exhausted from their journey, were gathered around the campfire, carefully examining the map, trying to find something. Unfortunately, the parchment map, which resembled a simple sketch, offered nothing of interest.

"Sir, why don't we just go our own way..." Renault said helplessly.

"What are you thinking? We still have 10 brothers with them." Roland rubbed his head.

With Roland's current strength, he could easily conquer a small town in the Shire region and become a local tyrant, but he's reluctant to give up the rewards from the main storyline quests.

“System check-in!” Roland looked up at the sky. Good, it was well past midnight.

"Sign-in successful! Reward: 100 Lagrange Empire Swift Infantry."

"Holy crap, they've really amassed troops!" Roland exclaimed in surprise.

However, the Swift Infantry can no longer ride horses. Firstly, as infantry units, riding horses won't improve their combat effectiveness. Secondly, Roland's warhorse reserves are almost depleted...

Roland summoned the 100 infantrymen, and sure enough, soon dense footsteps could be heard in the distance. The vigilant Battanian archers had already drawn their bows.

"We're all on the same side, relax." Roland rolled his eyes at the overly sensitive crowd. No group of wandering orcs would attack an army composed entirely of professionals, unless it was a large orc army.

"My lord! We have been ordered to come to your aid!" The swift infantrymen, standing in neat rows, clenched their fists and pounded their chests. In the memories given to them by the system, they had come from the Charr region to support their lord, who was, of course, the last lord of Lagrange.

"You've worked hard, everyone take a rest." Roland waved his hand, and immediately someone went up to help set up the tent. Everything proceeded in an orderly manner.

Roland carefully examined the Swift Infantry. This was the first time he had ever closely observed this type of soldier. They were the most numerous infantry in the Lagrange Empire. Because they were not professionals, they were just ordinary people armed as infantry. In the game, they were practically cannon fodder among cannon fodder, but they were clearly not now!

Thanks to the powerful Lagrange Empire, even ordinary infantry were equipped with exceptionally good gear (relatively speaking). This particular infantry unit was recruited from the Swift River basin, hence their name, the Swift River Infantry. They were a class of soldiers somewhere between light and heavy infantry. They wore iron helmets, leather armor underneath chainmail, carried 5-meter-long chevaux-de-frise, carried iron-plated full-body shields on their backs, and had steel-studded maces at their waists—they were heavily armed. Unfortunately, the Swift River Infantry were not professionals and could not use skills. If faced with an equal number of professional infantry, even apprentice-level professionals, they would be slaughtered. ...

Under the clear blue sky, Roland led a large group of people on their way—or rather, they were going in circles…

"Everyone scatter! Find the elves! Damn it, if I can't find Rivendell, I can't find the elves either?" Roland suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"Brilliant! Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant!" Caslo quickly offered his flattery.

Renault covered his face. This lord was something else! It was so embarrassing. He'd never seen someone get lost and kidnap someone to ask for directions before…

At this moment, Linde was leading a patrol of 10 elven cavalrymen. They crossed hills, forded streams, and traversed meadows, and then… they were surrounded. Nearly 300 men, armed with weapons, surrounded them from all sides. Linde's heart sank at the sight. The weakest among them were the Swift Infantry, but the forest of spears formed by 5-meter-long chevaux-de-frise was far too formidable. The heavily armored archer knights patrolling the outer perimeter looked menacing (the Battanian archers on horseback were incredibly deceptive), and the knights in full plate armor wielding steel lances would probably be found lying in the ground after one charge.

Thinking of this, Lind spurred his horse forward and roared with all his might, "What do you want? Are humans going to break the covenant? This is Rivendell!"

"Pfft!" Someone couldn't help but chuckle.

Roland's eyes twitched. He looked at the young man with thick eyebrows and big eyes, who rushed out with a face full of righteous indignation. He thought the young man was going to have a one-on-one fight or something. Who knew that this kid was just trying to intimidate others and make a big show of things.

"Alright, this is Rivendell! Arrest him!" Roland rubbed his hands together.

"Alright! Watch closely!" The loyal lackey Caslo grinned and led everyone to surround them.

"Ah! Despicable humans!"

"Holy crap, don't hit my face!"

……

"My lord! We've brought them all back," Caslo said happily.

"Pfft!" Renault was shocked by the scene before him.

"What the hell did you do to them?" Roland asked, pointing at the 11 pig heads in front of him.

"Well, they're resisting, and we can't kill people..." Caslo said embarrassedly.

"You've got a shark in your nest! You've got a shark in your nest!" Lind mumbled incoherently.

"Uh, let go..." Roland turned around, his shoulders trembling. After a while, Roland finally turned around.

"Excuse me, how do I get to Rivendell?" Roland asked, barely suppressing a laugh as he looked at the "pig-headed" man in front of him.

"You son of a bitch! I can't even run fast mud!" Lind said angrily.

"What should we do, sir?" Renault shrugged helplessly.

"Everyone on alert! Let's wait for the other elves to come looking for us. I don't believe the elves won't react if a patrol squad goes missing," Roland sighed.

"Alright!" Renault accepted the order and left to make the arrangements.

Thank you all for your recommendation votes. I hope you will continue to shower me with votes.

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(End of this chapter)