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

Chapter 149 The Cycle of Death
one day ago……

“Your Highness, the old fortress of Dolgodo is just ahead. We have already cleared out the orcs along the way!” An elven ranger in chainmail leaped from the treetops and landed in front of Iovia.

"Dolgdor... the former home of the Woodland Elves of Amonlanth, hills covered in grass... Alas! Damn Sauron!" Iovia, riding her unicorn, flashed a savage glint in her eyes. The Star Elves, also a branch of the Elves, had once shed blood alongside the Woodland Elves at the Black Gate, and the two races had maintained a relatively harmonious relationship. When the Dark Faction occupied this place, it was not only a slap in the face to Thranduil, but also a slap in the face to the Star Elves.

"This time, the darkness should dissipate!" Iovia's hand gripping the hilt of her sword bulged with veins. Neither side knew that during what should have been a period of rest and recuperation, the Star Elves would decisively send troops to Dolgodor. If nothing unexpected happened, it would surely have been a one-sided massacre...

……

"Swoosh!" A black pillar of blood shot out, and a mid-level ranger of the third rank flashed out from the forest. The elven scimitar, which had activated the Swift Blade and Hunting skills, swept across the head of the last orc in a patrol with a battle aura.

A fresh, pungent smell of blood wafted from behind, and the orcs in front simultaneously caught that distinct scent of blood...

"laugh!"

"puff!"

"Shh!"

The elven rangers hidden in the treetops leaped down, their scimitars, imbued with combat skills, swiftly and skillfully traversing the dense forest to orchestrate this meticulously planned murder!

A moment later, only a few orc corpses lay sprawled in pools of blood. Some had their heads severed, some had their hearts pierced, and some had been cleaved open at the shoulder. Black blood flowed freely through the dark jungle, nourishing the gloomy forest...

A moment later, a small elf squad strode over. They wielded their sharp scimitars, hacking at branches and bushes as they passed over the corpses. Through their efforts, a narrow path, barely wide enough for two people to pass, was cleared, and behind them, the path continued to extend... until the end of their sight.

“We’re not far from those bastards!” Iovia gently drew her long elven scimitar from her waist. The increasing number of corpses along the way indicated that they were getting closer and closer to Dolgodo.

"Stay alert, don't let your guard down! We're very close to our target!" Iovia whispered, knowing someone would relay his orders.

He looked up and, through the gaps in the treetops, caught a fleeting glimpse of Dolgodor's towering tower, once a source of pride for the elves, now overgrown with thorns and inhabited by filthy "blackskins"! Eovia trembled. Having long secluded themselves from the world, they had no idea that after them, the Woodland Elves, having lost their old king, would migrate north under Thranduil's leadership, abandoning their capital, Ammonlanth!
"A humiliation!" Like other elves, Iovia possessed an insurmountable pride, but as the Elf King, he was even more arrogant! How could a proud elf tolerate the invasion of his capital, even if it was not an elf of the same lineage?

The biggest difference between Éovia and Thranduil is that he has not lost his ambition. The Star Elves' reclusiveness and caution are entirely due to their pitiful population size. If the Star Elves had a larger population, Éovia would not mind leading his army to Mordor to meet the Black Gate again.

Through the shadows of the forest, one could see nearly three thousand Star Elf soldiers marching silently through the dense woods. Their ranks resembled a long dragon, with its head pointing towards Dolgodo!

……

"Halt!" Iovia immediately ordered after hearing the reports from the scout assassins, and the entire team came to a halt.

(Many elven assassins exist among the elite class. Assassins and rangers share many similarities. The elves' agility and exceptional talent make elven assassins a nightmare for many enemies!)
"Reconnoiter again!" Iovia said succinctly. He needed to enter the battlefield at the right time, and it was still daylight... "Order everyone to rest where they are and start eating!" Iovia looked at the darkening sky and gave the order. He had already decided to attack at night, so let the soldiers who had made the long march rest for a while.

……

"Line up! Form ranks!" Iovia, riding a unicorn, drew her scimitar and stood before the army. The Star Elves quickly cleared a space with their swords, though they couldn't cut down the thick trees, as that would attract the enemy's attention.

"Still no reaction?" Iovia grinned cruelly at the still calm Dolgodo. So many patrolling soldiers had lost contact with the orcs, yet they remained unmoved. It seemed he had overestimated them; they had absolutely no sense of vigilance!

Who would have thought that an army would actually travel such a long distance to attack Dolgodo?

"Go!" Iovia didn't take out her sword, but instead drew a longbow with exquisite carvings.

"call out!"

"Duh!"

The whistling arrows flew past, and the outermost sentry post of Dolgodor instantly collapsed. With the elven archers caught off guard, several archers targeting a single orc—if they still missed, the elves might as well restart the game. But the elven archers lived up to their reputation. All their targets were riddled with arrows and died instantly.

"Kill!" The elves, having scaled the mountain and crossed the road, finally arrived at the entrance to Dolgodor, where they encountered the orcs at the bridgehead. Unlike the orcs' surprise and confusion, the elven rangers seized the opportunity and swung their scimitars in a wide arc—Blade Dance!
Mutilated limbs, black blood, fragments of internal organs, and shattered bone fragments were instantly spread across the stone bridge, which stretched for dozens of meters. The rangers rushed forward desperately and quickly occupied the stone bridge at the entrance. At this moment, the Star Elf rangers were like messengers from hell. The murderous aura on their bodies, mixed with their armor stained with black blood, made the ferocious orcs tremble with fear.

"Clang!" A ranger fighting on the front lines swung his scimitar in a wide arc and brought it down, striking the orc in front of him on the shoulder. This time, however, the armor was smeared and blood gushed out as before, but this time, there was no more blood gushing out like before...

"Thud!" The thick longsword was driven into the ranger's heart by the orc's powerful arm. Instantly, the ranger collapsed to the ground like a fish out of water. Countless others were doing the same thing around him...

"Retreat! Orc heavy infantry are coming!" Finally, a ranger noticed something was wrong. Although rangers were good at armor-piercing, these orcs wearing double-layered plate armor might only be able to cut through with Blade Dance skills. But in the complex battlefield, where would the elven rangers find the opportunity to unleash spatial skills?

"Lower your head!" Countless low shouts rang out.

Amidst the buzzing, countless "full moons" radiating silver light like bolts of lightning flew overhead at a 45-degree angle, then landed in the orc camp. Accompanied by wails and ear-piercing friction sounds, those "full moons" spun back again.

"Great! It's our swordsman!"

"Moonblade Dance? Absolutely perfect!"

Yes, these are the Singree swordsmen whom Roland called useless. Unlike regular swordsmen, these swordsmen are equipped with elven moon blades that can be thrown and spun around. These huge moon blades can easily cut through the enemy's heavy armor while spinning.

The spinning moonblade, comparable to the charging lances and swung flails, unleashed an undisguised and terrifying power in the hands of the Star Elf swordsmen. Combined with their unique skill—Round Dance—their plan to block the elves at the gates of Dolgodo with heavily armored soldiers was a complete failure!
(End of this chapter)