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

Chapter 45: Son of the Stars
"There's big trouble in the north! What has this tiny place like Lonely Mountain done to deserve the personal attention of Lord Sauron? The army of Mordor has even come!" Roland sat on Caslo's dragon back, lost in thought.

“My lord, don’t worry, everything will pass! Lagrange’s glory blesses us!” Caslo turned to comfort him.

"Sigh, even if the elves join the battle, our chances of winning aren't great!" Roland said after a moment of contemplation.

"Why?" Caslo asked, puzzled. Roland could muster an army of 800 men, Whitewing could manage 500, Ironhill could raise over 1000, Thorin could assemble a dwarf army of nearly 2000, Bard in River Valley could squeeze out 500, and the elves had at least 3500. All this meant they could muster an allied army of at least 8,000. With proper planning, it might not be impossible to defeat the orcs.

“We have to fight on two fronts! The only one who can support the south is King Dayne of Ironhill Ridge!” Roland explained.

“The elves will definitely intercept the orcs heading south from Gombad Fortress. Bard and Thorin will do anything for their homeland. The only ones who can leave are the Ironhill dwarves led by Ironfoot Dain! And we are facing Azog of Togoldor, who is supported by the army of Mordor!” Roland said with a headache.

"Wait! Send me back! You go north to deliver the message!" Roland suddenly seemed to remember something, and his face lit up with joy.

“This…” Although Caslo did not understand his king’s order, he still did as he was told.

Has Roland figured out a way to break the deadlock? The answer is yes! This Middle-earth is very similar to the Middle-earth of Lord of the Rings that Roland played. If that's the case, do the various forces hidden in Middle-earth really exist? Roland intends to verify this. If they truly exist, then Roland can say he has already won half the battle in the Battle of the Lonely Mountain!

Roland, accompanied by Renault, whispered a few words to Radil before hurriedly riding towards the docks. Coincidentally, there really was such a hidden force within the Dark Forest—the Star Elves, known as the Children of the Stars! They resided in the secret realm of Singri within the Dark Forest, directly north of Dogordo, concealing their entire kingdom with a powerful Star Forbidden Spell array. If I'm not mistaken, there should be dragon knights in this Singri kingdom! When the player accidentally entered, they discovered an old dragon, but that was during the Fifth Age; now it's only the Third Age, so it should be a young Star Dragon. Its powerful barrier abilities forged a Star Barrier for the Singri Elves, separating them from the outside world and successfully shielding them from the chaos of the world. The ancestors of this elven race seem to have been a group of high elves seeking refuge, who eventually worshipped the Star Goddess, leading them to call themselves the Star Elves!
Roland felt he should seek out this secluded kingdom. If he could successfully persuade the elves to join the war, Roland would be completely unfazed by the orc army in the south and might even be able to push back against Dolgold. This would save the elves of the Golden Forest and Rivendell the trouble of attacking the fortress.

"My king! Where are we going?" Seeing Roland preparing to head into the woods, Renault grabbed him. That direction led to Togoldo! Was his king out of his mind? Was he planning to use two paladins to take over the fortress? Let alone two paladins, even two dragon knights would be helpless against a well-managed and fully equipped fortress.

“Let’s find someone who can break this deadlock!” Roland smiled mysteriously.

"No! Your Majesty! We can't break this deadlock. Even a single slide tackle from the two of us wouldn't be enough to feed the dire wolves of the Togol Fortress! This is too much of a sacrifice!" Renault grabbed Roland, fearing that Roland would lead him to force his way into Togol. Faced with such a huge numerical disadvantage, even heroic knights like the two of them would not be able to escape.

"What? Togold? Get the hell out of here! Who the hell wants to go there! I'm not crazy! I can't beat Azog!" Roland kicked Renault, who was hugging him, away in annoyance.

To everyone's surprise, Renault wasn't angry at all. Instead, he grinned and said, "Good job, Your Highness!" Roland's surprisingly normal thought process relieved Renault.

"Let's go find the legendary Star Elves! If they're willing to join the battle, then we still have a chance to win!" Roland said irritably, adjusting his plate armor.

"Yes! Your Highness is right!" Renault greeted him with a smile.

"Let's go! We need to get going quickly and avoid the orcs' spies!" Roland said.

“Then we can’t ride horses!” Renault said solemnly. “Not riding horses? How many days will it take to get there?” Roland was immediately surprised.

“Your Highness, hoofprints will reveal our location, the sound of hooves will reveal our position, and riding horses in the forest is not a good choice…” Renault explained patiently.

"Um... what you said makes a lot of sense." Roland thought about it and realized that he had indeed been brain-dead. He only thought about convenience and didn't think about the series of serious consequences that riding a horse would bring.

"Your Highness, let's hurry while it's still light..." Renault glanced at the sky.

"Let's go!" Roland glanced one last time in the direction of Swiftstream City, then turned and left with Renault.

……

"What? Orcs of Mordor?" Thranduil stared in shock at Caslo below the steps.

“Yes! Our allies were ambushed and suffered heavy casualties!” Caslo said neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"How could they come to the north!" Thranduil exclaimed, still unable to believe it.

“But it is indeed true!” Caslo took the totem flag from his pocket.

“This totem does not belong to the orcs of the Misty Mountains, nor is it the same as the orc banner of Togold! Our allies were ambushed while scouting south, so Your Majesty, what other orc forces do you say exist in the south?” Caslo raised his eyelids and said coldly.

"Damn it!" Thranduil's facial muscles twitched, clearly showing his extreme rage. He knew that before the combined human and elven forces attacked the Black Gate of Mordor during the final Alliance War, two armies had already clashed with the orcs. These were the Woodland Elves and the Goldshire Elves, led by Thranduil's father. The two elven armies were ambushed in the Dead Swamp region, and Orophir, Thranduil's father and then-King of the Woodland Kingdom, perished in this battle. Ironically, Dolgold, this old fortress now occupied by orcs, was also the former capital of the Woodland Elves…

Even Caslo couldn't help but complain, "Brothers, why didn't you demolish the city before you left? Is magic too expensive? Or have all the elven mages died out? Leaving such a huge menace for everyone to take on..."

“I have received your message. Please tell King Roland that if the orcs of Mordor arrive, I will lead my army to their aid! Please light the beacon fires to guide us!” Thranduil’s eyes flashed with hatred.

“No! Your Highness the Elven King, I think you must understand one thing: once the army of Mordor arrives, the orcs of Gombad will surely come out in full force! The northern defenses need your support!” Caslo looked at Thranduil with a solemn expression.

It's the second update! Readers can join the book club to discuss, group number 620680901. Everyone is welcome to chat.

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(End of this chapter)