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

Chapter 131 Carr Rock Ferry

"Boom! Boom!" The heavy sound of hooves rang out, and an army carrying the Lagrange Dragon Banner appeared near Karl Rock.

"Watch your surroundings! We're not sure if there are any orcs here!" Lance said, riding his warhorse and gazing at the towering Karl Rock ahead.

"Clang!" The heavy cavalrymen casually drew their weapons, their sharp knight's swords and straight lances gleaming with a deadly cold light.

……

"Thud! Thrud! Thrud!" Three arrows flew out in succession and landed in front of Lance and the others. Seeing the arrows embedded deep in the ground, the group's steps faltered!
"Be careful! It shouldn't be an orc!" Lance's cautious tone revealed a hint of joy.

"Why?" Jessie asked, puzzled.

“If you were an orc, those three arrows wouldn’t have sunk into the ground; they would have landed on your forehead or throat!” Lance shook his head.

"Masters of this place! I want to talk to you. We mean no harm!" Lance noticed several boats floating on the river not far away, so he quickly put away his weapons and slowly stepped forward.

"Who are you?" A man holding a staff and wearing a dark green robe jumped out of the bushes.

“We are northern humans from Lovanian. We belong to the Kingdom of Lagrange, and we have important business to attend to in Gondor.” Lance looked at the human in front of him and immediately recognized him as a human druid.

"The Kingdom of Lagrange? What's that?" Clearly, this druid had never heard of the Kingdom of Lagrange.

"It's a newly established human kingdom at the foot of Lonely Mountain..." Lance could only say concisely.

“Hmm… how about this, you come with me to see our leader! But your army will have to stay here and wait for you!” The druid was very cautious.

"Alright, thank you for the introduction!" Lance patted his chest in gratitude.

……

“Bion?” Lance exclaimed in surprise. Wasn’t the person before him the Skin-Changing Druid who appeared in the Battle of the Five Armies? (Because of the variables introduced by Roland and others in this battle, the role played by Pion and his companions was much smaller compared to history.) Although Lance hadn’t personally witnessed the Druids’ rampage in the Battle of the Five Armies, Ivy’s recording stone had faithfully recorded their heroic figures.

"You know me?" Bion was greatly surprised. He hadn't been out and about for a long time, except for the Battle of the Five Armies when he was invited by the wizard and for his own survival and development.

"I witnessed your heroic figure during the Battle of the Five Armies! The giant bear you transformed into was simply a meat grinder on the battlefield!" Lance spared no praise.

"Uh..." The simple-minded druid had never experienced such flattery before. Lance's words made Bion feel extremely happy and comfortable!
"No...no, no." Bion waved his hand sheepishly. Lance's words made him overjoyed; he had no idea he was so powerful.

In fact, as one of the few beast druids in Middle-earth, druids, with their transformation spells such as bear, eagle, and wolf, are versatile warriors on the battlefield. Their nature magic can inflict massive damage from a distance, their melee transformations grant them combat abilities comparable to magical beasts, and their abundant magic power provides them with formidable magical shields. Therefore, when they step onto the battlefield, even knights tremble before them!
“By the way, what brings you here?” Bion finally remembered his business. “We need to head south to Gondor, and we would like to rent one of your boats!” Lance turned his head and gestured towards the boats floating on the river.

"Hmm, I see. We can rent the boat to you, but you'll have to pay a commission!" Bion thought for a moment.

“Of course, this is the rent!” Lance readily agreed and took out a small bag of gold coins from his pocket, handing it to Bion with both hands.

"Whoosh!" Bion tossed the bag in his hand and nodded in satisfaction. He knew that such a bag of gold coins was enough for him and his people to buy a lot of necessities. There were still quite a few human villages here, unlike Roland and his people who had money but nowhere to spend it.

"Let your soldiers come in and rest! The conditions here aren't great, but it's safe enough that no creatures from the Dark Faction dare to cause trouble here!" Bion patted his chest proudly.

Lance's lips twitched. In fact, there were very few fools who would dare to mess with this group of druids. After all, they were a bunch of simpletons who could attack from a distance and fight in melee, and they were both tanky and had high damage output. There was no need to make trouble for them, right?
"Wow! This place is so simple!" Jessie Ava exclaimed in surprise as she looked at the druid settlement, which was filled with a pastoral atmosphere. The place where these druids lived was full of natural charm and rarely saw industrial products, which was obviously inseparable from the druids' love of nature.

“These druids are really strange!” Jessie said with some disdain. You see, the history of goblins may be longer than that of humans. They had dealt with druids long ago, so the goblins were quite familiar with these eccentric druids.

"Dwarves?" Bion's expression changed immediately when he saw Jessie Ava mixed in with the group. Druids, who love nature, and dwarves, who are known as destroyers of nature, are natural enemies. If it weren't for the orcs, who are their common enemies, they might have already started fighting.

"Oh! Damn it! I was so afraid of causing this misunderstanding!" Jessie Ava rolled his eyes, looking helpless, as he dismounted and lifted his hood.

"Hey! Are your eyes on your face? Can't you see my noble green skin? Can't you see my pointed ears? I'm a goblin! Not one of those muscle-bound dwarves!" Jessie Ava was so angry that she jumped up and down. Clearly, goblins and dwarves didn't get along particularly well.

“Uh…” Bion rubbed his eyes and looked closely at Jessie Ava, and realized that the thing in front of him was indeed not a dwarf. He immediately blushed.

"Is there anything to eat? I'm hungry!" Suddenly, Jessie's stomach started churning. The previously aggressive Jessie was taken aback, and then, without blushing or skipping a beat, she asked Biwon.

"Um, these are freshly baked shortbreads, would you like some?" Bion asked in a friendly manner.

“Of course, the druids’ cooking skills are still commendable!” Jesse Ava tugged at Lance and began to explain.

Because the druids living in the valley area are skilled in planting and herding for generations, their baking and roasting techniques have been passed down for countless generations and have become very sophisticated. They can even make magical food with special effects, so if you are lucky enough to taste the food cooked by a druid, you should definitely give it a try.

"By the way, do you have cheese jerky? Our ancestors tasted that dish and said it was quite delicious!" Jessie asked, also wanting to try the taste of the food praised by their ancestors.

“Of course!” Bion smiled, his eyes narrowing. For them, who loved nature and peace, gaining the recognition of other races was obviously a joyful thing.

(End of this chapter)