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

Chapter 223 The Ubiquitous Attacks

Under the watchful eyes of the rangers, the group moved forward quickly. Fortunately, they were all wearing armor, otherwise the ubiquitous thorns would have easily torn their clothes into rags.

"Clang!" A sharp sound of a hard object striking a shield rang out, and a Lagrange City Guard at the forefront was knocked back a few steps by a javelin thrown from an unknown source.

"Counterattack!" The enraged Lagrange City Guards were no pushovers. Compared to the short-armed Lagrange Royal Guards, the Lagrange City Guards at least possessed the ability to counterattack from mid-range. These brave soldiers grabbed their Lagrange crossbows and fired blindly in the direction of the attack. Regardless of whether they hit their targets, suppressing the enemy with firepower was essential. It was a pity there were no mages with them; otherwise, the wealthy and powerful Lagrange army wouldn't mind launching a few rounds of magical attacks first. This attack pattern was somewhat similar to that of a certain shameless nation on Earth. With superior ranged firepower, the Lagrange soldiers were even unwilling to engage in close combat. After all, mages could easily blow their brains out; there was no need for them to risk their lives.

"puff!"

"Hmph!"

"boom!"

As countless arrows flew out, a sound of wood chips flying everywhere was heard, mixed with the faint sound of arrows piercing flesh and painful groans.

"Those bastards have been hit by arrows! Rangers! Go check it out! If possible, cut off their heads!" Hearing the commotion, the Lagrange City Guards certainly wouldn't let such a good opportunity pass; everyone loves to kick a man when he's down. Dealing with a few wounded trolls was a piece of cake for the rangers. If the Lagrange City Guards weren't heavily armored, they would have already gone and chopped those guys off their heads.

Soon, several Lordaeron rangers emerged carrying blood-stained scimitars. These half-elf rangers possessed unparalleled control over their scimitars, so unlike most Lagrange Empire rangers, they did not use longswords as melee weapons.

"We killed ten, but we didn't leave two alive; they got away! Guys, your crossbows were very accurate!" The Lordaeron ranger gave the Lagrange City guards a thumbs up. Most of the trolls had been injured by these light yet powerful crossbows, so their battle was quite easy.

"We can't compare to you. We're just shooting randomly. Your eyes are as sharp as eagles, and your bows and arrows are as cunning as griffins!" the city guards complimented.

"Oh! By Turin! I've had enough!" Oli reluctantly put down his greatsword and shield. Watching the humans discuss their spoils of war, and looking at his own shield and greatsword, the dwarves felt utterly dejected.

“I miss Kili…” O’In said, staring blankly at the rangers of Lordaeron. After all, it was a well-known fact in Middle-earth that dwarves were not good at shooting. At least, there were very few archers like Kili among the dwarves. So most of the dwarves’ ranged attacks came from crossbows, since those things didn’t require any talent…

"Oh! Thorin...you are truly a great and wise dwarf king!" Balin was already marveling at Thorin's wisdom. Thorin probably already knew that the Dark Forest would be a bottomless pit after spring; otherwise, given his impulsive nature, why wouldn't he have come? It's likely that Thorin didn't have any real expectations for this expedition. His willingness to provide Balin with various forms of support was purely out of friendship and a "let's give it a try" attitude. After all, Irubor had been restored! The Lonely Mountain Kingdom once again stood tall in Middle-earth, the dwarves had found their home, and while it would be good if the Moria Mines could be reclaimed, it wasn't a big deal—they'd been lost for so many years anyway. Balin's success in obtaining this expedition was truly a stroke of luck. If Ironfoot Dayin had succeeded to the throne according to history, he wouldn't have provided Balin with any support. In that case, Balin would have had to set off with a self-funded expedition. Fortunately, Thorin was a man of old friendship; he provided Balin with a full 500 men! This is far superior to the historically dilapidated expeditionary force of Balin! Moreover, a regular army equipped with dwarven standard armor and weapons is much more powerful than a self-funded expeditionary force. If Balin had been more careful after reclaiming Moria and hadn't been outmaneuvered by those orcs, Moria could have become the next settlement for the dwarves.

“Dwarf friends, bear with it. Once we leave this forest, it will be your time to unleash your power. But for now, please protect yourselves and do not lean out of your shields easily…” Kaslow looked at the agitated dwarves and had no choice but to go and calm them down himself. After all, Omske was commanding the army at the front, and Roland was recovering from his injuries. It seemed that there was no one else who could go besides himself.

“You are right, Your Excellency Dragon Rider!” Balin said respectfully. Although they were anxious in this environment where they could be attacked at any time, the influence of a Dragon Rider was enough to make the proud and stubborn dwarves bow their heads. Although the dwarves were stubborn and even rigid, they were not brain-dead. No one would have a disagreement with a Dragon Rider who could decide the success or failure of their expedition.

Seeing that Balin was starting to appease the dwarves under his command, Caslo breathed a long sigh of relief. Although he did not have to be responsible for the dwarves' actions, they were still his allies after all. Letting them suffer casualties in such a meaningless place would be harmful to his side. Every dwarf lost would increase the burden on his soldiers.

"Cough cough! Caslo, where are we?" Roland, carried on a stretcher by two royal guards, tucked his leather back and whispered. He was badly injured! Thanks again to the system for the Lord's Adamantite Armor; this armor allowed him to escape death without warning.

"Your Highness, you should continue to rest. Although your ribs weren't broken, they are now riddled with cracks!" Caslo pointed out incisively. Although the material prevented the armor from being broken, this was no ordinary spear! It was imbued with the skills of a troll, and the troll's battle aura, aided by the terrifying impact, had penetrated the plate armor and caused Roland's sternum to crack.

"I feel much better! How are you now?" Roland asked, forcing himself to stay calm.

"...He's still badly injured, his sternum is almost broken inch by inch..." Caslo ignored Roland and instead grabbed his hand, channeling his battle aura into his body to examine him. The examination immediately made Caslo frown; Roland's injuries had worsened!

"Dragon God! We should have brought a few priests with us!" Omske helplessly grabbed his hair. There were already some people within the Kingdom of Lagrang who opposed Roland's personal expedition, but out of curiosity about Moria and a thirst for the thrill of battle, Roland ultimately decided to go himself! Now look what happened!

"Take good care of His Highness, he needs rest!" Caslo could only instruct the royal guards who were protecting Roland so closely. Roland's current injuries could only be treated with rest and quiet, except through magic. If Renault were here, things might not be so bad, since a few holy spells would have made Roland almost fully recovered.

"Holy Light!" Roland raised his hand to his chest, and a soft yet dazzling light appeared in his palm. He then pressed his hand to his chest, since he could only heal himself now. "Thank you to the system for allowing me to become a Paladin!" Roland thought to himself.

(End of this chapter)