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

Chapter 163 Sweep
“I have 350 men here!” Roland said.

“We still have more than two thousand men left…” Iovia said, her voice choked with emotion. In fact, his reckless advance had caused the Star Elves to suffer heavy losses.

"My army has only a little over a thousand men left." Thranduil sighed softly. Their forced entry into Singari had cost them dearly.

"Still too few! We lack support from melee units!" Roland sighed, rubbing his forehead. He knew that Singrey had to leave a garrison force behind, at least a thousand men. This meant their army couldn't even muster three thousand men. Without a front line, the allied forces would be quickly swallowed up by the allied forces facing the swarming orc army!

"God! Where are the three kingdoms of Lonely Mountain? We need them!" Iovia cried out in anguish. These orc armies scattered throughout Singari were like a thorn in his side, causing him immense discomfort and unease.

“They should be on their way. Don’t be so demanding of them. They are almost all heavy infantry, and not everyone has the mobility of our guards.” Roland patted Iovia on the shoulder. At least until the reinforcements from the three kingdoms of Lonely Mountain arrive, he has to put up with this filthy barbarian hanging around him.

“Okay, you’ve convinced me…” Iovia’s lips twitched. It was indeed unrealistic to expect those short-legged “dwarves” to run quickly through the dense forest.

"Let's clear out all the orcs near the exits first, and then settle accounts with the orcs in Dolgodor when the other reinforcements arrive!" Roland suggested.

“Well, that’s the only way. Let’s clear out the orcs in the vicinity first!” Iovia nodded in agreement.

……

"Kill all these invaders!"

"Kill them!"

"For the glory of knights!"

"kill!"

Led by several high-ranking professionals, the soldiers launched an attack on the orcs outside the barrier through the barrier's exit. Caught off guard, the orcs were immediately stunned. Perhaps because the Ringwraiths had fled too quickly, they seemed to have forgotten to notify the orcs guarding the barrier's entrance to retreat. Thus, these poor orcs guarding the barrier's entrance were abandoned...

Faced with the ferocious allied forces, and with a numerical disadvantage (they only had a few Tier 6 troops in the rear, which didn't really give them an advantage), these orcs could only resort to slapstick humor when confronted with the allied forces' attack.

……

"Pfft!"

"Ow!"

In the chaotic orc camp, the Royal Guards faithfully carried out Roland's orders: finish them off! One by one, the orcs who were still breathing were beheaded by the guards raising their heavy swords. Even the orcs who tried to fight back were only left with a few white spots on their plate armor.

"That's it? Orcs are nothing special!" Roland shrugged dismissively at the overwhelming battle. With the addition of a sixth-tier warrior, these orcs couldn't even withstand a single charge. Roland immediately lost interest in slaughtering them. "Yeah! The addition of a sixth-tier warrior makes the battle incredibly easy..." Iovia sighed. The turning point in the failed attack on Dolgodor was his sneak attack and injury, forcing him to teleport away randomly. He should be grateful he had Peter Gro, the fourth-tier dragon warrior, who, in coordination with the dragon, could hold off the Ringwraiths (at the time, Dolgodor only had one Ringwraith, Khammur!). Otherwise, a Ringwraith charging into the elven army would have been a huge regret for Iovia; the relatively weak elves inside wouldn't have survived...

"So I've been pondering, what is the purpose of the others' existence? A single Tier 6 professional can completely replace thousands of low-tier professionals, yet those thousands of low-tier professionals are utterly helpless against a Tier 6..." Roland said somewhat dejectedly. After witnessing the devastating offensive capabilities and terrifying survivability of Tier 6 professionals, Roland felt utterly bewildered... Even the Elven race, known for its low defense, survived being backstabbed twice by a Ringwraith! This fully demonstrates the terrifying strength of a Tier 6!

“No, no, no, of course it’s necessary! Don’t forget that every legendary sixth-tier professional has trained step by step from the lower tiers! Including us! The lower tiers are the process to the higher tiers... And as you can see, we are ultimately a minority. The overall war still needs your support, doesn’t it?” Iovia pointed to the allied soldiers who were chasing the orcs in all directions ahead.

"So you should improve yourself faster instead of doubting your own existence. Even non-professional soldiers have their value, King Roland," Iovia said, trying to comfort Roland who was lost in thought.

He had once been confused. Faced with a group of high-end combatants in his clan, Iovia never understood where the survival space for low-end combatants lay. It wasn't until they suffered heavy casualties in the Battle of the Black Gate, when the high-level professionals were all tied up by Sauron's subordinates, that the outcome was decided by these mediocre low-level professionals.

"You're right, I was indeed overthinking it." Roland laughed freely. He had indeed been overthinking it. The overwhelming combat power of a high-level professional against a low-level professional only existed when there was no matching combat strength on the other side. The Kingdom of Lagrang just happened to have its own sixth-level combat strength, which was enough to defend itself, let alone attack other forces.

……

"Welcome! Bahrain! King Badr! King Whitewing!" The crowd opened their arms to welcome the reinforcements who had come from afar.

"Oh! My friends! It seems everyone is here? Listen to what we have brought for you!" Balin, the dwarf leader of this expedition, said happily, twirling his snow-white beard.

"As you wish, we are all ears!" Roland said with a playful bow.

"Ahem, alright, Balin, let's get started! We've brought a full thousand heavily armored dwarven warriors with us! Note! They're heavily armored! I'd like to ask for your forgiveness for being a little late, after all, short-legged dwarves in heavy armor can't run very fast, can they?" Balin winked.

"Thank God! This is the best news I've heard. We happen to lack enough melee units. We don't even dare to let our rangers engage those scum. Once surrounded, it will be difficult for our soldiers to separate from them!" Iovia exclaimed excitedly. Although they currently have the advantage in high-end combat, the allied forces would definitely suffer if a large-scale melee occurred. After all, exchanging 10 orcs for one elf is not a bad deal; on the contrary, it's quite profitable.

"I have brought 10 knights, 40 cavalrymen, and 50 spearmen!" White Wing announced before anyone could speak.

"Thank you for your assistance!" Iovia said gratefully. It should be noted that the Kingdom of Akvia had only just established itself, and as one of the main battlefields of the Battle of Lonely Mountain, they had paid a heavy price. Being able to send 100 people to provide assistance was already a great act of kindness.

“I brought 50 warriors and 150 guards from the River Valley this time!” Bard was in a better position and had a slightly better supply of soldiers.

"Excellent! With these reinforcements, we now have the strength to launch another counterattack on Dolgodot!" Thranduil exclaimed excitedly. That was once the capital of the Woodland Elves, a place they longed for...

"King Roland...you still have your promise..." Balin quietly approached Roland, rubbing his hands and blushing as he spoke shyly.

“Of course, this summer I will lead the warriors of Lagrange to accompany you on your expedition to the Moria Mines!” Roland affirmed, knowing that the reward for this mission was a Dragon Knight! Nobody complains about having too many of those.

(End of this chapter)