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

Chapter 52 Enemy Traces
“Looks like we’re in big trouble…” Iovia sighed.

“If the orcs cross the river to attack Swiftstream City… then…” White Wing couldn’t continue.

The orcs who successfully bypassed the southern defenses could then join forces with the orc legions in the north to launch a pincer attack on the Lonely Mountain battlefield, completely separating the allied forces.

"King Roland, I want to know what the defenses of Swiftstream City look like now!" Iovia said helplessly.

“Come with me!” Roland sighed.

……

“This…” Iovia stared in shock at the City of Swiftflow before her. Although the magic-patterned city wall, which was hundreds of meters long, five meters high, and five meters wide, looked incredibly impressive, were the walls next to it, which were less than two meters high, really for real?

"What can this stop? Goblins?" Iovia said, spreading her hands in grief and indignation.

"I'm sorry, most of our people are still wandering and haven't returned... and our mages can only produce this many magic-inlaid stone bricks each day." Roland sighed helplessly.

"If the orcs cross the Swift River! What will we use to stop them? Our lives?!" Iovia was dumbfounded. He felt that leading his people into this mess was a mistake.

“There’s no other way. If they cross the river, I’ll have to lead my soldiers to block them on the riverbank!” Roland sighed.

"I hope they won't discover this fatal flaw!" Iovia sighed, mounted the unicorn, and the unicorn spread its wings and flew into the sky.

"System! Territory page details!" Roland called out to the system after watching Iovia leave.

As the familiar light screen unfolded, Roland immediately saw the current state of his city. There was still only one lonely city, Swiftstream, on his territory. After clicking on the Swiftstream City page, the current state of Swiftstream City appeared before Roland.

Swiftstream City:
Area: One kilometer in radius.

Building units: 1 dilapidated lord's castle, 80 crumbling houses, 20 shabby houses, a dilapidated stone wall (under repair), a stone well, a blacksmith's shop, and a military camp.

Troop strength: 913
Population: 247 (52 civilians who can be trained)
Evaluation: The lonely king leads his surviving people back to their homeland. This ruin, barely offering shelter from the wind and rain, brings them some solace. Darkness still threatens the newborn king. The town has no productive capacity other than fishing; its formidable military strength is perhaps its only redeeming quality. Note: The town has no war potential; a single crushing defeat could wipe it out.

Abilities: 1. As the only territory of the Kingdom of Lagrange in Middle-earth, she will attract the remnants of Lagrange. The system will guide a wave of wandering Lagrange civilians to her territory every day, hoping that the lord can properly settle them.

2. Allow the recruitment of local civilians to train swift infantry.

"Population is still a major problem! There are more soldiers than civilians!" Roland sighed. It was something he couldn't do. Soldiers could get 100 or even 500 people with each sign-in, but the number of refugees would only come in one wave a day, and the number was uncertain. This caused Roland's population to remain low. The population base determined the number of troops Roland could recruit in the future. Without population, it was as if the war potential of the Kingdom of Lagrange was being suppressed out of thin air.

"Caslo! Equip the Elnino rangers with Sharmas and have them stationed downstream on the Swift River to monitor whether the orcs cross! Light the signal fires as soon as they do, and have the Knights move around daily, scouting along the Swift River." Roland had no other choice but to resort to this clumsy method. If the orcs actually crossed, then it was truly a matter of fate…

“Yes, sir!” Caslow nodded, clearly understanding the seriousness of the matter.

"Renault! Train the light infantry well these days! I don't expect them to be particularly valiant in battle, but I do hope they can form ranks and fight the orcs." Roland turned to Renault and instructed him, after all, those poorly trained conscripted light infantry were really... well, let's just say they were a different story...

“Yes, my king.” Renault bowed and stepped out of the tent.

“Time is running out. The orcs could attack at any moment…” Roland analyzed Azog’s style and felt that the orcs might launch an attack in winter to catch everyone off guard.

"My lord! You need to see this!" Caslo suddenly rushed in, holding up a memory crystal.

"What's wrong?" Roland suddenly felt that something bad was about to happen.

"Roar!" "Awooo!"

Driven by Caslo's battle aura, the image crystal displayed the image it held inside, which was a group of wasteland orcs. However, the number of this group was a bit exaggerated. Judging from the position of the image crystal, the group numbered at least tens of thousands.

"Where did this come from?" Roland's face was grim. He saw that the totems of those orcs were almost identical to the orc totems of the wasteland on the east bank of the Swift River where he was! The thought that there was such a force around him made Roland break out in a cold sweat.

“It was brought by a wandering tribe of grassland elves. They were migrating westward to escape these orcs and ended up at the foot of Swiftstream City,” Caslo said.

“Take me to their chieftain,” Roland said hastily.

……

"Greetings, Your Majesty King Lagrang. I am Valve, the chieftain of this herd of grassland elves." The young elf chieftain bowed in respect.

"Thank you for the news, but I want to know the details!" Roland said anxiously, pulling him aside.

“Here’s the thing, this footage was recorded on the east bank of the Red River. We originally lived at the foot of Iron Hill Ridge, but for some reason, the orcs in the wasteland there started to gather. For the safety of my people, I had no choice but to lead them to migrate!” Verway said, subtly pushing Roland’s hand away.

"Did they cross the river?" Roland asked the question that concerned him most.

“They hadn’t crossed the river when we reached the other side, but they were looking for trees to build a raft!” Verway asserted.

"Damn it!" Roland immediately understood. It wasn't that Sauron was doing a handstand dance! The Rune region was already under Sauron's control. Why would the orcs from the wastelands gather and move westward for no reason? Roland would never believe that no one was directing them.

"How many of you are there? How many are capable of fighting?" Roland hurriedly asked Verway, because the grassland elves were essentially nomadic elves. Without the Magic Well, their lifespan was much shorter than that of other elves, and their combat strength was inferior to that of other elven races. Their weapons were also not sophisticated enough, and their population was extremely small. They could be described as the vagrants of the elven race. However, it was precisely because of these reasons that the grassland elves possessed such a brave and warlike character. In terms of fighting spirit, the grassland elves could be said to completely overwhelm all other elves.

"Our tribe has 657 people, but only 149 of them are elven warriors capable of fighting, and most of them are only first-tier professionals." Compared to other elves who possess magic wells, the average professional level of grassland elves is one major stage lower than theirs.

“Very good! You can leave your people here or choose to cross the river to the city of Los Sannier on the other side! But you need to stay and fight the orcs with us!” Roland said directly.

"Why? You have no right to order me around!" Verway's eyes widened. He had never seen such a shameless king! Is it now fashionable to force people to join a group?

“It’s not an order, it’s that you have no choice! Would you rather go south to face the Togolden Orc army, or go west to venture into the Misty Mountains filled with Orcs, or do you plan to go north and clash with the Gangaba Orcs?” Roland asked curiously.

"Buddy! We're surrounded by orcs! Got it?" Roland said, afraid he wouldn't understand, so he pulled out a parchment map and drew a circle on it, which perfectly encircled the entire area around Lonely Mountain.

"...By Goddess! This can't be real!" Verway was dumbfounded. He thought he was about to escape the orcs' territory, but he didn't expect to be surrounded. Verway just wanted to ask quietly, is it still okay to leave now?

"I suggest you let the women and children cross the river first, but the city on the other side has more reliable defenses than mine..." Although he didn't want to admit that Jiliu City's defenses were so weak, he still couldn't bring himself to praise its defensive capabilities.

"By the way! How many days have you been gone?" Roland suddenly asked this crucial question.

“Five days!” Verway thought for a moment.

"Very good, after you've settled your people, prepare to face the enemy!" Roland patted him on the shoulder.

"Caslo! Scout eastward! Renault! Cross the river and explain the situation to Iovia and Whitewing on the other side, asking them to send reinforcements if necessary." Roland commanded methodically.

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(End of this chapter)