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

Chapter 72 The war begins
"Kill!" The knights in Los Sannir charged at the orc wolf riders with their sturdy lances raised. Because the Kadan tribe, the predecessor of the Kingdom of Akvia, was relatively poor and lacked abundant iron, they could only use wooden lances (the kind of disposable items from the Middle Ages). However, the power of these lances should not be underestimated. They were more convenient than ordinary lances because they would break automatically, eliminating the need to pull the lance back.

Although the minimum conditions for forming a knightly order were not met, the moving torrent of steel was still unstoppable by the flesh and blood of orcs!

"Boom!" Dull thuds and the sound of wood snapping rang out repeatedly, but the result was obvious: all the wolf riders who had faced the knights fell to the ground, convulsing with broken spearheads embedded in their bodies. Some were even trampled under the heavy iron hooves and turned into "stickers" on the ground...

If Roland were here to see this, he would definitely scoff disdainfully. The Akvia knights are brave, but their equipment is rather rudimentary. There's a reason why the Lagrange knights have phased out wooden lances. Although they can maintain the terrifying destructive power of the first wave of charge, the drawbacks are too obvious... Just like these knights on the battlefield who silently draw their greatswords now, once they hit, there's no chance for a second attack before the weapon is destroyed. This is simply inhumane for knights who are constantly fighting on the front lines. In battle, there are no squires to keep handing you new lances so you can charge repeatedly. A fine steel lance, although expensive to make, has obvious benefits—you can last longer and have a wider attack range!
"The squad is free to pursue! Don't chase them too far!" said the only Grand Knight under the White Wing King calmly.

"Charge!" A knight who has activated the charge skill is ruthless and indiscriminate. If anyone stands in the way of the knight's charge, there are only two outcomes: either the charging knight is killed or the knight is killed by him! Of course, if you are incredibly lucky and manage to block the knights' charge... well, I can only wish you safety.

With a casual swing, the longsword easily severed the ferocious head of the orc wolf rider. Blood splattered as the iron cavalry passed each other.

"Clang!" The heavy spiked club struck the iron arm shield heavily, and the arm shield dented instantly.

"Swoosh!" The longsword pierced straight through the orc's chest.

"Heavy Slash!" The knight, having activated his skill, raised his longsword, which was crackling with battle aura, and with a single strike, cleaved the wolf knight's weapon, his dire wolf, and himself...

"Stop chasing!" The great knight raised his blood-stained longsword to stop the knights behind him.

They have reached the edge of the Dark Forest. A qualified knight would never enter the dense forest to fight unless absolutely necessary. Knights who are not known for their agility will have their strength severely limited by the numerous obstacles.

"Clean up the battlefield! Let's go back!" The great knight stared at the dark forest before him, which seemed capable of devouring all life, and said coldly.

"Ha..." Gasping for breath, the heavily wounded and dying orcs and howling wolves were scattered across the battlefield, struggling desperately.

"Thud!" A knight coldly withdrew his longsword from the wolf knight's chest, ignoring the still convulsing orc, and calmly searched for his next target.

"Awooo!" The dire wolf, whose back had been trampled by the charging warhorse, pounced desperately, opening its blood-red maw toward the knight who was bent down to finish him off.

"Swoosh!" A slightly deformed longsword suddenly appeared from the side and stood mercilessly upright in its path of attack, as if it had deliberately rushed towards it to seek its death.

"Young apprentice knight, never let your guard down on the battlefield..." The great knight casually tossed aside the wolf carcass and gave a brief instruction to the apprentice knight who had survived the ordeal.

"Thank you so much for saving my life, sir!" The young apprentice knight broke out in a cold sweat as he looked at the hideous corpse behind him.

"Be careful next time! You don't always have teammates behind you!" The great knight gently wiped the blood off his sword from the orc's corpse before turning and leaving.

"Yes, sir!" the young apprentice knight replied, still shaken.

……

"So... my cavalry is finished?" After meeting the only surviving cavalry squad leader, Bai Yi's face was as black as the bottom of a pot.

"What happened? The orc wolf riders are already right under our noses?" Iovia, his hand on his elven scimitar, stared at the distant battle. The elves' excellent eyesight allowed him to see everything clearly. "Azog is here!" Whitewing said, then turned and descended the city wall, leading the remaining cavalry out of the city.

……

“Your Highness! All those we could catch up with are here! To avoid being ambushed in the forest, please forgive me for not entering to pursue them,” Grand Knight Maple Leaf Purple said slowly.

"It's alright, did you see anything?" Bai Yi kicked the orc corpse at his feet.

“They are strong, and most importantly, well-equipped!” Maple Leaf Purple said, raising the obviously deformed and dented arm shield in her hand.

"The orcs have started slaughtering our scouts!" White Wing suddenly blurted out.

“Yes, they will be at our gates soon, and we are in for a tough battle,” Maple Leaf Purple said without hesitation.

"White Wing! What's going on?!" Iovia, who had chased after them, asked, looking at the corpses scattered on the ground.

"The orcs have started to slaughter our scouts! They refuse to reveal their location, and they're coming soon!" White Wing glanced casually at the corpses at his feet, then mounted his horse.

"We need to inform King Roland! We need his support!" White Wing looked towards the opposite bank of the Swift River.

"Damn it! They actually started a war in winter!" Iovia said, her face grim.

"The North has already started small-scale advance battles, so it's not surprising that something like this is happening in the South," Bai Yi said nonchalantly.

The dwarf-human alliance north of Lonely Mountain has been locked in several battles with the orcish legions from the north, but the orcs haven't launched a full-scale southward attack, as if they're waiting for something...

"They must be waiting for the orcs from Dolgodo to attack," Bai Yi said bitterly. In just one skirmish, his cavalry had lost half of its men, leaving only about 40 of the original 100 cavalrymen. For Bai Yi, this was a devastating blow.

Unbeknownst to everyone, a massive, heavily armed Gombard orc army was rapidly advancing towards Lonely Mountain in the Dark Forest. At this moment, no one knew that this orcish army, capable of changing the course of the battle, had successfully bypassed the elves' defenses…

……

"Heavy casualties?" Roland sighed as he looked at Peter Gros in front of him. This was the tragedy of small forces... They had almost no room for error... One loss could mean the end of the entire "game".

“White Wing was too reckless. He shouldn’t have sent ordinary light cavalry into the forest.” Roland sighed. Sending light cavalry into the forest under these circumstances was tantamount to suicide. White Wing made the worst mistake he could have made.

"So we need your help! King Roland!" Peter Gros bowed with his hands on his chest, his expression extremely humble, as if he could already see the allied forces defeated and the Star Elves homeless.

"Keep a close eye on the orcs! If they invade, the Kingdom of Lagrang will stand with you!" Roland said, comforting the noble dragon knight who was working tirelessly for the survival of his race.

(End of this chapter)