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

Chapter 244 Goodbye King Elon

The early summer breeze ruffled the skirts of the woodland, and the gleaming spears and axes shone brightly in the sunlight. Yet, this army from the north hesitated before Rivendell.

"We've arrived?" Roland asked in surprise. He hadn't expected to return here after a winter. However, his status was much higher than before. Back then, Roland was like a mercenary captain, but now he was the king of a city-state with a large army in his hands!

"What do you intend to do?" An elven cavalryman led a squad of cavalrymen to Roland and his group.

Roland looked closely and exclaimed, "Good heavens! Isn't that Lind? The elven servant I captured back then!"

"It's you! What are you doing back here? Wasn't Lonely Mountain liberated? Why are you back?" Lind drew a section of his elven scimitar with some excitement, staring cautiously at Roland.

"Well, it seems like you can't control where I go... Besides, I'm here as a guest! I've come with goodwill and gifts!" Roland nodded, ignoring Lind's nervousness.

“We’d like to see King Elrond and also let the troops in for a rest!” Roland said, pointing to the army behind him.

Linde swallowed hard as he looked at the massive crowd of allied troops. How did this human have the audacity to ask for lodging? Who would allow a thousand-strong heavy armored force to enter the city so easily?

"I'm sorry, King Elrond isn't here. Please leave!" Lind immediately declined, his eyes filled with resistance.

"Hey?" Roland clearly saw the royal banner of Elrond flying in the city. After all, in Middle-earth, the royal banner moved with the king, and they had never been beaten by someone called a grandson.

"Wait!" Caslo shook his head to stop Roland.

"Omske!" Kaslo looked up and gave Omske a wink, and Omske immediately gave a subtle smile.

"Boom!" A powerful burst of battle aura erupted, and the image of a knight riding a tall horse, wearing heavy armor and holding a lance rose behind Omske. Terrifying flames of battle aura swirled around the emblem, making the entire knight's emblem appear exceptionally oppressive.

"The symbol of the sixth rank, the professional emblem is displayed externally!" Caslo whispered to Roland with a smile.

“It’s hard for Elrond not to come up with something now. After all, he can’t ignore a sixth-tier being who openly reveals his identity and makes no attempt to conceal his presence on his territory. Isn’t this method of visiting convenient and quick?” Caslo smiled lewdly.

"You're here to pay a visit!" Roland nodded blankly. Is this the attitude you should have when visiting someone? It's hard to say whether Sauron had this kind of prestige when he declared war on the powers of Middle-earth!

"Your Highness, are we sure we're here to reclaim Moria, and not to attack Rivendell?" Balin's eyes were filled with suspicion. Could it be that Roland had designs on the elves and wanted to take over this place? Was he trying to drag them into this mess? The dwarves couldn't afford another racial war with the elves. At that moment, many images flashed through Balin's mind.

"Don't worry..." Roland could only say to Balin with a forced smile, as he had no idea what Elrond was thinking.

"What...are you...doing?" Lin De was terrified. Could this guy really be switching to a direct assault after realizing that outsmarting him was ineffective?

"Slap!" A warm, gentle hand landed on Lind's shoulder. A calming energy flowed from the hand through Lind's entire body. Without turning around, Lind knew who the hand belonged to. "Why have you come? I've seen you before, the child with the strange flag," Elrond's deep, resonant voice rang out.

"What is he saying? Is he cursing at me? Should we curse back?" Roland asked Caslo quietly, since it was perfectly normal for him not to understand the ancient Elvish language.

“Greetings, Your Highness Elrond, Lord of Rivendell! On behalf of my lord, I offer you my deepest respect and blessings! This is our gift!” Omske replied as he took out Roland and the gifts they had prepared and presented them to Elrond.

“I accept your friendship! But why are you with the dwarves? Your army is capable of causing upheaval, may I know that?” Elrond accepted the gift with both hands and continued to ask. He felt the power of the white gem in the box and was intrigued by the sincere looks in Roland and his companions’ eyes.

“Kathidoom!” Bahrain stepped forward eagerly.

"We are fighting to reclaim our lost homeland! The Moria Mines!" Balin's beard trembled as he spoke with unwavering determination, his eyes shining with resolute light.

"Oh!" Elrond exclaimed in surprise. He hadn't expected the dwarves to make such a big fuss! They'd only just reclaimed Lonely Mountain a few days ago, and they'd already embarked on another expedition to Moria! Elrond wanted to ask if the king of Thorinna had warmed his seat yet. Was he getting too arrogant?
"Your Excellency, is it not proper to have your friends stand outside and chat?" Caslo, his dragon might surging, pressed down on Elrond. All the mounts around him immediately moved away from Caslo, and even the moon stag that Elrond was riding took a few steps back.

“We’ve expended a lot of energy crossing the Misty Mountains, and we’d like to find a safe place to rest. We’re willing to pay for it!” Roland interjected.

“My apologies for my rudeness. Please come in. I will provide them with clean lodging and food,” Elrond said, bowing slightly and extending one hand in invitation.

“Thank you so much, thank you for your generosity, which saved us from having to sleep in the open!” Bahrain said gratefully.

"By the way, it's still the same question. Can you enlighten me?" Elrond asked curiously. Logically speaking, even if the dwarves have a home, they shouldn't be causing so much trouble, right? Look at the state of the north! The War of the Five Armies has turned the entire north into a mess. Fortunately, the Misty Mountains are there to hold them back, otherwise Elrond felt that these dwarves would definitely be dragged into Rivendell's mess.

"The Battle of Lonely Mountain has severely weakened the Orcs of the North. They should be temporarily unable to attend to Moria. We want to reclaim our homeland!" Balin said naturally, hoping to persuade Elrond to send troops to help.

"Gods! Have you gone mad? How do you plan to deal with the evil lurking deep within Moria? It's going to be difficult with just one hero and one dragon rider!" Elrond frowned.

"What if we had two dragons?" Roland chuckled as he pulled out the Smurf from his arms. The little guy had just woken up and was a bit grumpy, scratching Roland frantically.

“Oh! Gods! Elrond? How did you find her?” Elrond exclaimed in astonishment.

“I have a favor to ask…” Elrond was just about to speak.

"I'm sorry, King Elrond, I can't agree to your request. This dragon isn't cargo; it's our family!" Roland said decisively, holding the Smurf. Although the dragon was always clamoring to kill Roland, everyone realized over time that the little guy was just being stubborn. In the end, Yunfeng lifted the seal and let him stay by Roland's side to protect his king, since Roland sometimes liked to court death.

(End of this chapter)