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

Chapter 339 Traces of Wild Griffins

"You're no good either, little brother! A sixth-tier can't beat a fifth-tier!" Roland walked over and teased, winking at him. Opportunities to mock a potential Elf King were rare, so every word he said was precious!

"It's not like you beat me, what are you so smug about? I'll talk about it when you can beat me!" Verway, who was originally very angry, calmed down instantly after glancing at Roland's third-tier strength. Why should a sixth-tier guy like himself bother with a third-tier weakling?

"By the way, why did you suddenly come here?" Roland asked seriously. He didn't think it was because Verviers couldn't get used to living in human cities. If he couldn't get used to it, he would have left long ago... Moreover, there aren't many city-states that can take in grassland elves right now. The only one that can provide them with protection is the Kingdom of Lagrang.

"Looking forward to returning to nature, huh? Bringing everyone out for a short stay. The environment here in Renma is quite nice!" Verway whistled, glancing around.

"Speak properly! Tell the truth!" Roland said irritably. Did Verway think he was a fool? That darting gaze of his was clearly suspicious. What was he hiding?
"Look what this is?" Verway quietly leaned over, took an object out of his pocket, and showed it to Roland while blocking the view of others with his back.

"A chicken feather?" Roland frowned. Wasn't this just a yellow chicken feather? At most, it was just a little long.

"Slap!" Verway slapped his forehead, speechless.

“These are griffin feathers! From an adult griffin!” A strange light gleamed in Verway’s eyes, showing that he had a strong interest in this den of griffins.

"Holy crap! Wild? Are you crazy? You're going to lead your people to their deaths? Do you know what you're doing? Don't you want to live?" Roland's five deadly questions completely stunned Verway.

"It's not that serious... just two or three griffins. I want to tame some... that way my tribe will be safer in the future. We can't always be dependent on others! We'll eventually have to return to the wilderness!" Verway said bitterly. They were, after all, children of nature; they didn't belong here...

“That’s no excuse for courting death! Have you found where they’ve settled? Do you even know how many there are? You know nothing, yet you’re leading people to their deaths?” Roland said helplessly.

While it's true that griffins can live alone in the wild, they mostly live in family groups. A typical griffin colony consists of two to five families, with a population size of approximately 10 to 25 individuals. It includes several adult griffins, perhaps a few sub-adults, and the rest are cubs. Keep in mind that adult griffins are high-level magical beasts! In a real fight, a griffin colony can be as powerful as a low-level dragon!
“I saw two griffins… um… adults! They were hunting!” Verway thought for a moment and said.

"Good heavens, you really want to become food for the griffins? There's obviously a griffin colony here!" Roland was immediately alarmed. The meaning of two adult griffins moving together was quite clear. There must be a griffin colony wandering around here. Wild griffins in Middle-earth should not be extinct yet, after all, there are so many uninhabited areas... This griffin colony may come from the Misty Mountains or the Gray Mountains, or even further to the East!

"It's not that serious, is it? I haven't done anything! I just sent some people to track them down and see where they're staying!" Verway said casually, after all, he had great confidence in his people's tracking skills.

“If there were many adult griffins, they could slay dragons! My Elf King!” Roland shook his head helplessly, his eyes full of pity as if he were looking at an idiot.

"Could we try to steal a few cubs, or capture one or two adult griffins?" Verway thought for a moment. Griffins are relatively easy to tame. Even adult wild griffins can be befriended if you feed them carefully for a period of time, provided there is no hatred! So Verway was quite tempted by griffins!
"..." Roland pursed his lips and remained silent.

"Don't you have any ideas?" Verway asked doubtfully. These are griffins! Adult high-level magical beasts can hold their own against a sixth-tier expert for two moves! Just two moves! No more than that, a third move and they're basically dead... "I definitely have ideas... but I don't need to risk my life for a few griffins, do I?" Roland glanced at Verway helplessly. He already had five griffin knights, plus two dragon knights, so the need for sky knights wasn't too high! Besides, if he really wanted to capture griffin cubs, he would definitely have to send two dragon knights to cover the retreat. If something went wrong, wouldn't that be like picking up a sesame seed and losing a watermelon?

"Don't rush! It's not too late to draw conclusions after my men return! I don't believe you're not tempted at all by the griffin!" Vervier stopped Roland, who was about to leave.

"...Fine! I'll wait!" Roland was a lone wolf anyway, he wouldn't lose anything, so he'd take advantage of any opportunity, and if not, he'd just walk away! Roland didn't believe that Verway would dare to target that griffin clan again without his help. One griffin might be nothing, but a flock of them... even dragon knights would have to steer clear! Otherwise, how would other countries deal with Lagrange dragon knights? Wouldn't they just use griffin knights and pegasus knights to besiege them?
……

"Your men haven't made a move yet?" Roland asked, idly poking at the campfire.

"Your Highness! They went to track down griffins! Not to chase after cats and dogs! Don't you know how fast those things fly?" Verway's lips twitched. If it weren't for the grassland elves having their own secret methods to track them, Verway wouldn't have been confident of finding these guys' lair.

“That’s true!” Roland didn’t deny it. He still remembered the gray lightning in Swiftstream City! Even a young griffin could fly so fast, so an adult griffin wouldn’t be too bad.

"Let's wait patiently! Those guys are probably quite far from us!" Verway frowned slightly. Griffins can hunt for thousands of miles, and without dragons, they are at the top of the food chain in the sky.

"Why don't you guess how many griffins there are?" Since he was bored anyway, Verway started playing a guessing game with Roland.

“The fact that two griffins can hunt together at once means that this is a griffin colony. Griffins don’t leave offspring and cubs alone, so there must be at least two adult griffins! Moreover, most griffin colonies hunt separately, so a griffin tribe that hunts in pairs like this must be a large colony… I estimate there are at least five pairs of adult griffins!” Roland calculated.

"I think there should only be three pairs of adult griffins! It's not that easy to see a griffin pack with five pairs of adult griffins!" Verway scoffed. A griffin pack of that size could already drive away dragons! They were truly rarer than dragons…

"You'll know when your people come back and ask them!" Roland shrugged.

“By the way! Which direction did those griffins fly off in?” Roland asked.

“Northwest! This direction could be the Misty Mountains or the Gray Mountains! Griffins often nest on cliffs, and these are the only places nearby that fit their habitat!” Verway said casually.

"Hmm! A bit troublesome!" Roland nodded. If it were the Gray Mountains, it wouldn't be so bad, there weren't too many orcs. But if it were the Misty Mountains, Roland had already decided to give up. Just for those damned, disgusting goblins, Roland didn't want to take a single step. Although goblins are trash, they're a nuisance! Like a toad on your foot, it doesn't bite, but it's still annoying!

(End of this chapter)