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

Chapter 55 An unexpected encounter
"By the way, were you seen leaving by the orcs? This is very important!" Roland hurriedly asked Verway. Since he could send out dragon riders to scout, it was not surprising that the orcs had some kind of long-range scouting methods.

Roland's only advantage right now is the first move! He has no other advantages. This war could have been easier, but unfortunately, his only war mage is forced to stay in Swiftstream City. The simple and honest people of Lagrange are unwilling to leave their city, so someone has to stay behind. Radil, who is good at mental detection, is the best candidate to stay behind.

To be fair, old man Radil's ability in open field battles is really not as strong as his ability to defend cities. Apart from forbidden spells, his heavy earth magic doesn't really have many spells with huge destructive power.

"Probably not... After all, we moved away as soon as our sentries spotted them, and we moved very quickly! After all, you know the grassland elves are a nomadic race..." Verway's voice was a little low. Nomadism is the deepest pain for every grassland elf.

“I have a bad feeling… After all, there must be some clues about so many of you leaving.” Roland was still uneasy.

"What did you do with the boats after you crossed the river?" Renault, who was riding alongside Roland, suddenly asked.

"This..." Verway broke out in a cold sweat instantly. They hadn't sunk those wooden boats, after all, they were too busy running away. But now those wooden boats might have pointed out to the orcs that they had been discovered.

"It seems that a surprise attack on the orc camp is not going to happen," Renault said helplessly. He never expected that these supposedly meticulous elves would forget to clean up the traces they left behind.

"Forget it, we weren't expecting a surprise attack anyway; it was just an option." Roland waved his hand, signaling Renault to stop talking.

"I'm sorry..." Verway said with shame, perhaps their single action would cause huge casualties on both sides a few days later.

"Forget it, you were just trying to escape back then. Who would care about those ferries if they had nothing to do?" Roland comforted her.

"Caslo, tell the infantry behind to stop and rest!" Roland looked at the sky and saw that the sun had already sunk in the west and was now setting, the evening glow shining like blood on everyone's armor, turning it a crimson red...

"Crackling!" The group stopped on a mound at night. The tower shields of the light infantry were hammered into the ground, forming a semi-circular shield wall to block the wind. Everyone huddled behind the shield wall and lit a campfire to keep warm. The knights huddled together with their warhorses. Because the night in the wasteland was dangerous, no one removed their armor.

"By the way, why are you equipping your light infantry with tower shields?" Roland only just realized that these light infantrymen weren't carrying dwarven iron shields, but rather wooden tower shields with iron trim.

"After training, I found that wooden tower shields are still better for them. They weigh the same as iron cross shields, but their defensive range is half again as large, which can effectively improve the survivability of light infantry," Renault said while munching on hard black bread and spitting out bread crumbs.

“But this thing isn’t as defensive as an iron shield!” Roland still preferred iron armor.

"Um...don't you know their skill level? A simple and crude wooden tower shield would be more suitable for them..." Renault muttered to himself.

“That’s true…” Roland’s head ached just thinking about their initial performance. Unfortunately, they were the main force in this battle. Only if they could withstand the orcs’ counterattack would they have a chance to turn the tide.

“Caslo, Renault, you two tell me honestly, what stage are they at now?” Roland said with a dark face.

"...At least I won't be a deserter." Renault thought for a long time before finally managing to come up with this sentence.

"I'm so damn grateful to you... Can't get over the deserter thing?" Roland cried out inwardly, tears streaming down his face.

"Hehe, that's great." Roland chuckled dryly.

"Lord Verway, may I ask what professions your people are?" Roland wanted to know just how diverse and unsavory the army under his command really was.

"Everyone's a ranger!" Verway boasted proudly. "Slap!" Roland slapped himself on the head. Didn't the elves have a single proper front-line soldier? Aside from archers, rangers, or mages, the only Moon Deer cavalry they could muster were rangers and archers riding Moon Deer!

"Fine, I'll just lie down!" Roland took a deep breath and lay down on the blanket.

……

"System check-in!" The first thing Roland did after opening his eyes was to check in.

"Check-in successful! Congratulations, host, you have obtained the elven holy sword—Manikati!"

"Damn it! What the hell is the use of giving me the Elven Holy Sword?" Roland almost vomited blood. This thing was the holy sword of the Elven race, but it was completely useless to him. He could only use it as an ordinary weapon. In terms of sharpness, it was almost the same as the Dragon Slayer Sword. In terms of power, he couldn't wield it. After all, only the power of the Elves could wield this fiery sword. To Roland, it was just a useless piece of junk!
"Huh?" Roland noticed that Verwy's sword wasn't particularly fine, and immediately realized who the sword belonged to.

"By the way, Lord Verway, this sword is for you. I hope it will be of some help to you." Roland took out Manicati from his system space and handed it to Verway.

Verway raised an eyebrow. Good heavens, he has spatial equipment? I didn't realize this unassuming lord had such a deep foundation! After casually taking Manikati, Verway drew his longsword. The moment he channeled his battle aura into it, the blade of the longsword burst into flames, and dense fire magic energy swirled around the blade.

"Is this the holy sword of the Elven race?" Verway's expression changed, and he instantly felt the sword's affinity with him.

"Hmm! The Fiery Holy Sword—Manicati! I hope you're satisfied with this gift." Roland smiled. After all, he didn't have any elves under his command, so this thing was just an indestructible sword in his hands. It was better to give it to an elf who could utilize his combat power.

“This is too precious…” Verway stopped channeling his battle aura, reluctantly sheathed the sword, and handed it to Roland.

"It is very valuable, but in my hands it will only bury its brilliance! If you feel bad about it, repay me by using it to cut down a few more orcs." Roland gently pushed the sword back. With a great battle at hand, every bit of improvement in combat power could affect the outcome of the next battle.

……

“We’ll reach the Red River in a day and a half!” Verway, acting as our guide, said to Roland, holding up a map in his hand.

“Let’s all take a break! Let the knights ahead stop their reconnaissance and rest!” Roland said to the Battanian archer riding beside him.

"Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!" Suddenly, dust billowed in the distance, and Roland clearly saw that it was the Holy Knights led by Renault. Renault took the lead, waving his arms and shouting.

"What's wrong?" Roland asked, grabbing Renault's horse.

“The army of half-orcs! They’re here!” he gasped.

Roland's army and Orcs led by Oroville unexpectedly encountered each other! On this nameless wasteland, a war that would determine the fate of the North was about to begin...

At the second watch, family members, start casting your votes.

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(End of this chapter)