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

Chapter 49 Light in the Night
"But only you can change all of this!" Roland pleaded earnestly.

“We have already suffered heavy losses. Three thousand years of recuperation have only given us the ability to defend ourselves again. I am sorry that I am not capable of participating in the war…” Iovia insisted that she was unwilling to participate in the war.

“Your Highness Iovia, the Star Dragon is not invincible. Even the barrier dragon has its weaknesses. An attack that is too powerful is something the Star Barrier cannot withstand.” Roland helplessly spread his hands. If the soft approach didn’t work, he would have to resort to a hard one.

“As far as I know, Sauron has secured the allegiance of a demonic dragon, and he also has the hellish siege hammer, Gruul. Do you think this barrier can stop him? I admit you are a competent lord; you don’t want your people to be embroiled in war. But you are also without options. You will be targeted by Sauron sooner or later, unless you think you can withstand Sauron’s onslaught alone.” Roland had no choice but to drop this bombshell.

Seeing Iovia remain silent, he pressed on, "When only you remain, you will face the orcs' army alone. Singri will be destroyed by war! Your people will wail and cry in the flames! Is this what you want to see?"

"Insolence!" Peter Gross slammed his fist on the table and stood up. Feeling insulted by Roland's aggressive behavior, Peter Gross stood up.

"What? Am I wrong, Your Excellency Dragon Knight?" Roland said calmly.

“You!” Peter Gros was speechless.

"Forget it! Renault, let's go. Hopefully, the King of Iovia can hold off those orcs alone after we're all wiped out." Roland stood up, bowed slightly, called Renault back, and prepared to leave.

"Wait! Tell me your plan." Iovia's cool voice came from behind Roland.

Upon hearing this, Roland, who had turned to leave, smiled and slowly turned his head back: "Sorry, we have no other plans than to fight, unless you think we are capable of overtaking Gambada Fortress or Togoldo."

"Has the situation really become that dire?" In Iovia's view, these kingdoms outside should be able to organize an army of at least 2 people.

"The truth is, the combined forces of Irubor, the Woodland Kingdom, the Lagrange Kingdom, River Valley, Los Sannir, and Ironhill Ridge amount to only about 8000 men, and that's with all our soldiers." Roland shrugged, looking helplessly at the bewildered Star Elves.

“Our chances of winning are slim…” Peter Groh suddenly spoke up.

“Yes, but if we do nothing, we will have no chance of winning!” Roland walked up to him and stared into his eyes.

“You’re right!” Iovia rubbed his sore eyes and affirmed Roland’s words. He hadn’t expected that the kingdoms outside would be so weak and vulnerable after three thousand years.

"If I may ask, how many elven soldiers does the Kingdom of Singri have right now?" Roland asked with a strange expression, as if he had just thought of something.

Iovia waved to Peter Groh, indicating that he could tell them, and Peter Groh hesitantly began, "About three thousand elven soldiers..."

"..." Roland's eyes twitched. It was supposed to be a hidden force, so why was it so humiliating? It had at least ten thousand elven soldiers in the game, so why was it so pathetic in reality?
“However, our army is composed entirely of third-tier professions!” Peter Gro said proudly when mentioning this.

"Holy crap!" Roland's titanium alloy eyes widened in disbelief. An army of three thousand third-tier professionals... that was practically an orc-reaping machine!
"What kind of professionals are they?" Roland asked eagerly.

"A thousand mid-level rangers, a thousand sharpshooters, a thousand elite swordsmen!" Iovia rattled off the list with ease. "Damn it! Not a single decent front-line fighter!" Roland thought to himself. The archers were obviously ranged attackers. The elven rangers were also primarily ranged, with relatively weak melee capabilities. And these elven swordsmen were complete idiots!
What comes to mind when you think of a swordsman? A heavily armored tank like a Dovenian heavy swordsman, a front-line meat shield. And what about elven swordsmen? Their fragile bodies aside, at least they fulfill a front-line role. But the Star Elf swordsmen are truly outrageous! They don't wield swords! They wield... damn moonblades!
Do you know what a crescent blade is? It's a giant blade shaped like a crescent moon, with the handle in the center! The key is that this thing is thrown to slam people! Simply put, it's a giant boomerang... What kind of defensive power do you expect from them?
"As expected! In the end, the front line will depend on humans and dwarves..." Roland slapped his head, speechless.

There's a reason why the Star Elves do this. Their population is small to begin with, and they simply can't afford the attrition of frontal battles. Naturally, their unit selection tends to favor ranged and mid-range units that are suitable for guerrilla and kiting tactics.

However, Roland still wanted to ask the Star Elves, is it really polite to call that pitcher carrying a giant boomerang a swordsman?

"So... you can't fight alone?" Roland looked at Iovia and Peter Gro with a strange expression. This group of mid-to-long-range units could unleash a terrifying attack on the orcs in an instant, but once they got into close combat... that was another story. Unfortunately, the orcs just had a lot of people.

"Um, actually we can send out the dragon knights!" Iovia said, blushing.

“I understand…” Roland sighed to the heavens.

He thought the Woodland Elves' melee-to-ranged unit ratio was already outrageous enough, but he didn't expect the Star Elves to be even more extreme...

“We need to leave enough people to protect the barrier, so even if we go into battle, we can only send 2000 people!” Iovia said after a moment of silence. After all, the war hadn’t reached them yet, and they still had to protect the crystal.

“I understand.” Roland nodded. He knew the deepest secret hidden by the Singri: a Star Well! Like other elves who worshipped the Moon Goddess and the Goddess of Nature, the Star Elves originally worshipped the Goddess of Nature. At that time, the Star Well was also the Sun Well. This magical source granted the elves power and longevity. Elves who lost their magic well would gradually perish. When the Singri elves converted to the Goddess of Stars, the original Sun Well was blessed and transformed into a Star Well. Thus, the world's first and only Star Well was born.

"When will they come?" Iovia's calm exterior concealed a deep-seated rage. This was completely unlike his previous nonchalant demeanor; clearly, he harbored a deep-seated hatred for Sauron and his minions.

"Probably next spring! They won't let us plant and cultivate the land in peace," Roland said quietly.

“Hmm…” Iovia fell into deep thought.

"Peter! Gather all archers and rangers! Bring plenty of supplies! We'll head to Long Lake first and wait for those bastards to arrive!" A cold glint flashed in Iovia's eyes. He was unwilling to miss the opportunity and decided to lead his people ahead of time to await the arrival of the orcs. His scimitar was already eager to drink the orcs' blood.

“Tell my people that after I leave, I will seal off the entire Singari. If they do not see me after the seal is broken… then I will have returned to the embrace of the stars!” Iovia smiled and stood up from the throne. He pushed open the palace door and took out a blood-stained horn from his robes.

“Father, I am about to follow in your footsteps again…” Iovia’s eyes sparkled with tears.

"Now that night has fallen, let us be the only light in the darkness!"

The sound of horns echoed throughout every corner of Singri.

Second update! Please vote! Welcome to join our book club (620680901).

(End of this chapter)