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

Chapter 441 Stop the war
"Sigh..." Balin sighed, but did not refuse the two men's kindness. The two dwarf kings distributed all their people from the Blue Mountains to Balin, as the desolate Moria needed these descendants of Turin to make it prosperous.

"I hope the orcs will calm down. We can't afford another war like this!" Balin murmured, gazing at the dome.

"..." The three dwarf kings fell silent, exchanging wry smiles. The orcs' counterattack caught everyone off guard. Moria, the shortest plank in the barrel, had been targeted by the darkness. However, unlike in history, Moria's military strength was greater than in the past, and Balin had not been successfully assassinated by the orcs. Moreover, Sauron's power had not yet officially appeared on the scene, so the Ringwraiths still had some reservations.

“Alright, let’s stay a few more days. If the orcs don’t make any moves, we’ll take our people back!” Thorin and Dain exchanged a glance and said to Balin.

“Alright, let everyone get some rest!” Balin stood up and said to the two dwarf kings.

"Yes, everyone needs to get some rest. You've all worked hard this time!" Thorin said.

"By the way, have all our fallen kin been properly buried?" Dain asked, a hint of melancholy in his eyes.

"Arrangements are being made... The Moria soldiers have suffered heavy casualties, and we are still digging the burial pits." Balin sighed. There were too many dead and wounded to even bury the soldiers.

“Let’s go take a look.” Thorin scratched his head.

……

"How many people were injured or killed?" Thorin asked, his eyes reddening as he looked at the rows of coffins.

"..." Bahrain wiped away his tears and remained silent.

"Sigh... Dolgodo... Gambada, how many more lives will we have to lose..." Dain murmured.

"But if we have the chance, we should still kill them all! We can't leave any hidden dangers for future generations!" Thorin's eyes were full of murderous intent.

"Let's hope those allies are reliable... The dwarves are no longer capable of launching a war against the darkness alone," Balin said calmly.

“King Roland is not bad, but the elves…” Dain frowned as he looked at Thorin.

"The Singari elves are reliable for attacking Dolgodor, but Thranduil..." Thorin shook his head, still resentful of the woodland elves' opportunistic actions.

"The kingdom established by the neighboring northern nomadic tribe is also unable to launch a counterattack," Bahrain added.

"King Roland must be at his wits' end. Since the founding of the Kingdom of Lagrange, their war chariots have never stopped. They're tired of fighting..." Thorin shook his head. King Roland can be relied on, but you can't just fleece him! Thorin understood that King Roland led his soldiers to almost single-handedly hold off the enemies from the east and south. He even took the time to slap the enemies from the north a couple of times.

……

"It's over, I can rest easy! The dwarves won!" Roland held Nyx in his arms, unusually refraining from any rough handling, simply embracing her tightly and enjoying this rare moment of tenderness.

"So what are you planning to do now that you're down here?" Nyx asked sweetly, her eyes filled with tenderness as she gently embraced Roland, pressing her face against his chest and listening quietly to his heartbeat.

“Of course it’s—preparing for our wedding!” Roland hugged Nyx and gave her a gentle kiss.

He stretched out his hand and gestured in the air. The north wind howled past the window, rattling the glass, but the room remained warm and cozy. The fireplace burned brightly, its light illuminating the faces of the two men.

“Hmm…” Nyx glanced shyly at Roland without replying, and just twisted her long hair with her hands, looking a little lost.

"Sigh, time flies. Girl, you should rest well at home and not go out in the wind and catch a cold!" Roland patted Nyx's head, his eyes full of tenderness, and then got up to go out for a patrol.

“You…” Nyx quickly draped the leather coat over Roland’s shoulders.

“Roland, do you really have to go out?” Nyx asked.

“Of course I have to take a look! The king can’t just sit in the castle all day, can he? It’s my duty to tour the kingdom.” Roland shook his head with a chuckle.

“Oh.” Nyx didn’t say much, but simply tightened the leather jacket around Roland’s neck.

"Winter is coming..." Caslo and Roland exchanged a glance and smiled at each other.

"Yes, it's been a year!" Roland remarked with emotion.

"Where are we going?" Caslow asked.

"Let's go into the city and look around the city walls!" Roland wrapped his hands in his battle aura flames, which directly insulated him from the severe cold.

“Alright!” Caslo selected a few knights to follow Roland.

"Huh? There's a bakery here?" Roland spotted the bakery sign as soon as he looked at the houses with smoke rising from them in the distance.

“Yes, this is a bakery run by homeless people.” Caslo clearly knew the details of the shop.

"How does it taste?" Roland asked curiously.

“Rough bread, spread with homemade jam, already tastes quite good!” Caslo nodded.

"Coarse bread? Not black bread?" Roland asked in surprise. Coarse bread and black bread are not the same. Strictly speaking, coarse bread is the lowest quality white bread. Compared with black bread, which is mixed with bran and chaff, it is much better in terms of both taste and everything else.

Do they not know what their own kingdom's standard of living is like? Leaving aside whether anyone can afford it, where does their capital come from?

“Well, don’t underestimate these homeless citizens… They’re different from homeless villagers. They usually carry gold or silver coins or valuable jewelry. They use Imperial Dragon Coins, and we recognize their purchasing power,” Caslo explained.

"What?!" Roland was taken aback. Good heavens, so there's this mechanism for refugees! The spawning villagers and refugees have a chance to carry some farming tools, and the best thing you can get is an ox! Meanwhile, city dwellers will spawn some funds or jewelry, etc.

……

"Whoosh whoosh whoosh~ Hot!" Roland almost burned his mouth with one bite. The hot noodles wrapped in homemade wild fruit jam, with the wheat flavor and sweet and sour taste, made his pores open up in the cold winter.

"How is it? Not bad, right?" Caslo said with a smile.

"Thank you for the treat, great Dragon Rider." Roland smiled and waved the bread in his hand at Caslo.

"No, I don't deserve it..." Caslo waved his hand and took a bite of bread.

"Gurgle~" The stomachs of the surrounding knights all rumbled.

Everyone blushed, and more than a dozen eyes turned to Caslo, making his expression strange. Finally, Caslo sighed helplessly and took out some money from his pocket.

"Boss, one serving for each person." Caslo shrugged.

……

"Crunch, crunch!" The group munched on the crispy, caramelized bread as Roland wandered aimlessly down the road.

Roland munched on his bread while looking down on the group of knights with their bizarre eating habits. Anyone who didn't know better would think Roland was mistreating them by not feeding them.

"Your Highness! Your Highness!" Suddenly a warhorse galloped by, and the knight on it waved and shouted to Roland.

"What's wrong?" Roland was still in a daze when he saw the person dismount and then push him back onto the horse.

"Lord Lafitte Antony says the hatching is about to begin! He wants you to return immediately!" the knight said anxiously.

(End of this chapter)