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

Chapter 324 Temptation
"Where's Holin?" Ravian was taken aback after hearing Ajax's words, only then realizing that his little brother Holin hadn't returned with him.

"He should still be on his way! Let's wait for him!" Ajax shrugged. After all, she and Carlos had flown here on dragons, while only Hollin had ridden a horse.

"..." Omske looked at these two big shots with a headache. They actually let a knight run alone across the wasteland, and even more so, let him cross the gray mountain range alone...

"Don't worry! He's a grown knight and can take good care of himself!" Ajax waved her hand dismissively.

"Let's wait for him... I estimate it will take him two days to get here..." Omsk calculated.

“It’s alright, it will take at least a week for those orcs to gather.” Ajax shook her head and sneered. It would take time for the soldiers of those tribes to gather on foot. Even Rohan, a cavalry kingdom, took a week to mobilize its soldiers, let alone these orc tribes.

"Won't they send their vanguard forward?" Ravian asked with some concern. If the orcs sent out their vanguard, it would be very difficult for them to lure all the orcs into the trap.

“You overestimate them! I looked at those tribal totems and they should belong to several large tribes…” Caslo smiled and shook his head, not continuing.

"Oh! I understand!" Ravian nodded knowingly. Without small tribes as cannon fodder, how could the large tribes possibly set off? And the gathering of those small tribes was bound to take time.

“Let’s wait…” Omsk shook his head and decided to find a sheltered place to set up a tent and get some rest. He had been exhausted for so many days, both physically and mentally.

……

"You're back?" Ravian asked awkwardly, looking at Hollin, whose eyes were bloodshot.

"Can I get some sleep..." Huo Lin looked at everyone with a resentful expression, his eyes filled with helplessness, exhaustion, and a touch of bitterness.

“No problem! General Caslo just checked on the orcs, and they are still gathering! You can sleep for a day!” Omske nodded. Because Holin was found and brought back by Caslo in just four days, the orcs were still gathering. According to the reconnaissance of the two dragon riders, the farthest orc group would take another two days to arrive, leaving Holin with a day to rest.

"Your Majesty, I'm going to rest!" Hollin, feeling dizzy and lightheaded, said that he desperately needed sleep. After all, no one could stand eating, drinking, and relieving themselves on horseback for four days!

……

"Brother! Most of the men have arrived! Shall we attack now?" asked the third brother of the Frostbone tribe.

"Second brother! What news is there from the humans? Where are they now?" The eldest of the three brothers, Lord, didn't answer. He looked at the second brother, Love, and asked. Compared to the brainless third brother, the second brother was the smartest among the brothers.

"They haven't moved from where we predicted, they've just sent their cavalry to harass a few surrounding tribes!" Love mumbled, taking a bite of an unknown beast's leg. "Hmm? They haven't gone any deeper?" Lord asked, puzzled.

"So what? You know how dependent humans are on supplies!" Love said nonchalantly. After all, they had ventured so deep into the northern border that if these human cavalry didn't stop, the orcs would suspect that there was a large army behind them! However, according to what the wolf riders had discovered so far, there were no reinforcements appearing behind these humans. As for why there was no further news, it was because all the wolf riders who approached had been intercepted and killed by the Lagrange Knights. Any wolf rider who dared to get close became a corpse.

So, although the orcs don't know the exact situation in the human camp, they know that the humans are still there and haven't left, and most importantly, there are no reinforcements! That's enough!
“Indeed! But soon they will all become our spoils of war! I will impale their heads on spears! They will all submit to the swords of our Frostbone tribe!” A glint of ambition flashed in Lord’s eyes.

If Omske saw this, he would be heartbroken. After all, he was about to personally shatter this poor fellow's daydream. A mere five hundred riders was indeed few! But if a hero led the charge, with two dragon riders assisting and over three hundred knights in combat, the orcs would probably be thinking about how to run away by now! After all, these Northern orcs, though arrogant, weren't brain-dead! A hundred knights charging head-on into a fully armed phalanx of ten thousand wasn't an exaggeration, let alone the two hundred or so fully armed centaurs among them! Centaurs in Lagrange standard equipment were practically a different species from the centaurs of the past! That heavy plate armor alone was not something ordinary orc soldiers could withstand! Only a full-force attack from a second-tier warrior could pose a threat to them!

"Wait a little longer! Wait for those smaller tribes! Although we are absolutely certain of victory, using cannon fodder to wear down the human cavalry is a good idea!" Lord smiled slyly, believing that the chiefs of the larger tribes thought the same way! Not only would they gain another fighting force against humans, but they could also weaken the war potential of those orc tribes! Once those tribes' warriors were all dead, whether or not they would deliver on the promised benefits would be up to them! This two-birds-with-one-stone strategy was one that no other chief of the larger tribes would object to.

"Notify the chiefs of those major tribes! Come here for a meeting!" Lord waved his hand, displaying the demeanor of an alliance leader. After all, the Frostbone Tribe, with its five thousand soldiers, was indeed the most powerful tribe among them. Although the number of professionals was not large, the large number of ordinary soldiers was enough to make up for this small deficiency!

The clever Lof left eight hundred orc warrior professionals in the tribe. As long as these warriors were still there, the Frostbone tribe's ordinary soldiers could rise again at any time, even if they were all killed in battle!

"Okay! Big brother!" The third brother swaggered out, carrying his weapon.

……

"Let's move forward! The orc armor has already been put on us, wouldn't it be ungrateful of us not to go and test it out?" Omske smiled as he looked at his soldiers.

"Soldiers! Remember to act convincingly! Don't mess it up! The orcs have laid out such a grand stage for us, so cherish it! If we succeed, history will remember everyone present!" Omske encouraged his soldiers.

"Understood!" everyone shouted loudly.

"I'm begging you two!" Omske looked at Caslo and Ajax. Although they were all actors in this grand drama, these two were the true protagonists! The wind fanned the flames! No one knew the true power of the fusion of forbidden wind and forbidden fire spells! Perhaps only the heavens knew…

"Don't worry!" Caslo gave a reassuring gesture.

"Let's go! We'll lure those greedy orcs!" Omsk grabbed his lance and charged out of the camp.

(End of this chapter)