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

Chapter 757 Accident
"May we return home safely!" the falconer prayed fervently.

"It definitely can..."

"Boom!" Before the other falconer could finish speaking, a loud bang completely interrupted their conversation.

The unleashed shockwave of battle aura swept away and shattered the meadow where the two were hiding, leaving only bare earth in front of them. The two stared at each other, bewildered and shocked by the scene before them.

"Hi! Good afternoon, gentlemen!" Caslo's wicked laughter suddenly came from outside. The next second, the two people huddled in the cave were surprised to find that their heads were lit up. It turned out that the Storm Dragon Kaldor had dug up the ground with one claw and opened up a sky for them.

"Ah—" The shrill scream made Caslo's face contort. This behavior, which was not very harmful but extremely humiliating, seemed unforgivable to Caslo.

"Duang! Duang!" With a swing of his sword sheath, Caslo easily put the two charioteers' falconer to sleep. Looking at the Dongyi man who had fallen into a baby-like sleep, Caslo nodded in satisfaction.

"Damn rats! Did you really think I couldn't find you?" Caslo snarled. If they had behaved themselves as rats in a ditch, finding them in the wilderness would have been quite difficult. But these arrogant Eastern barbarians dared to release their training eagles right in front of the Dragon Knights? They were truly asking for trouble! The Dragon Knights' dominance wasn't just in battle! Was this some kind of game involving Void Search? A perfectly clear sky, and suddenly a training eagle takes flight? Did they think the Dragon Knights were idiots, or the dragons themselves?
"Let's go back! These two rats are enough!" Caslo shook his head and said to Weiss and Dos Anthony, who had just landed. Two survivors were enough to get them over with; they had done right by Roland!
“Okay!” Dos Anthony nodded. He didn’t really like catching mice anyway, so he was more than happy to end this boring life.

As for Weiss, needless to say, he was completely subservient to Caslo! As Caslo's loyal disciple and devoted lackey, Weiss never disobeyed Caslo's orders!
……

"Your Highness! The rat has been caught!" Caslo led two falconers in.

"Crack!" The two royal guards inside the tent immediately drew their longswords and rushed forward.

"It's alright! They're just two clowns! Step back!" Roland waved his hand, indicating to his guards that they didn't need to be so nervous. He was, after all, a fourth-tier Holy Dragon Knight, so he couldn't possibly be overthrown by two first-tier druids, could he?
"Yes, Your Highness!" The two royal guards exchanged a glance, patted Roland's chest, and stepped aside.

"Wake them up!" Roland waved his hand, sounding a little sleepy. After all, these two looked like the kind of extras who didn't even deserve to have names, so it would be a waste to focus attention on them!
"Splash!" Caslo didn't hesitate and flipped the two over, then casually pulled out a water pouch and poured it on their faces.

"Pfft!" The two choked on the water and immediately woke up. They looked around blankly until they saw the golden-armored man on the high seat in the tent, and their pupils shrank.

"How dare you! You lowly bastards!" Before Roland could speak, the royal guards beside him rushed forward as if they had been desecrated and kicked two Dongyi people to the ground.

"Kneel down!" Several royal guards rushed forward and instructed the two on how to properly greet their king.

“Tell me, you rats in the gutter! How long have you been watching us? How many of you are there?” Roland’s lips curled into a cold smile.

……

"What? You're the first outpost?" Adolf Heinrich's face darkened, and even Verway, who had been watching the spectacle, unusually abandoned his standard elven smile. "Drag them out!" Caslo waved his hand irritably at the Royal Guards.

"Spare me! Your Highness! Spare me! We can be your dogs! Spare me! Your Highness..." The two trembling falconers cried and begged for mercy, desperately trying to pry at the ground, but the fierce royal guards only gave them a light tug. As their pitiful pleas faded into the distance, only two marks remained on the ground.

"It can't be what I'm thinking, can it..." Roland asked the crowd with a dark expression.

“If you’re thinking of the worst-case scenario, then unfortunately we are thinking the same thing, Your Highness!” Adolf Heinrich said as the strategist.

"It seems we've been discovered ahead of time!" Roland said with a dark face. They had all thought that the army of the Lagrange Kingdom had been discovered by the dark forces long ago, so Roland had sent the Goblin Knights ahead of time to occupy advantageous positions in order to buy time. But now they were being told that this was the first outpost of the dark forces they had come from!

"Disgusting! This is outrageous!" Roland exclaimed angrily. He felt like he had been outsmarting thin air for ages, only to be confusedly helping the dark forces light up the fog of war! Now Roland felt like he had the words "brain-dead" etched all over his forehead.

"The Goblin Knights will expose our presence!" Verway said with a wry smile.

"Is it too late to catch up now?" Roland asked anxiously.

"What do you think? We're all back! Guess how far those goblin knights, led by Lord Alistair, can run?" Omske, who had been standing quietly to the side, weakly stood up to make his presence known to Roland. They had just run into the goblin knights on their way back. How long had it been since they returned?

"This is troublesome. A thousand goblin knights are enough to attract the attention of those falconers behind them! If they're willing to investigate, they'll find out that a huge legion is following behind those goblin knights!" Roland exclaimed. In his plan, his goblin knights would arrive at the ruins of Lagrange City with lightning speed. Using the goblin knights' advantage to strike at the scattered dark forces would be enough to hold out until Roland's army could crush them with overwhelming force. After all, the dark forces' surveillance could only confirm that his army had set off, but it couldn't pinpoint the exact location of his main force. But now... all of this has been exposed with the goblin knights' attack.

"Let the soldiers rest! We're traveling through the night! We must march day and night from here on out!" Roland's face turned ashen. After all, it could very well be a crushing defeat. The dark forces, who had received the news earlier than Roland anticipated, wouldn't just stand by and watch Roland bring his army. This would be a disaster for Alistar and his people! With reinforcements unable to arrive in time, the elite goblin knights would face a comprehensive, all-encompassing encirclement by the dark alliance. The alliance, capable of handling Roland's army, could easily crush the unsuspecting goblin knights.

"I'll go after them!" Caslo, having figured out the intricacies of the situation, turned pale and immediately stood up.

“No need! It’s useless! If they don’t reach their positions quickly, the Dark Alliance soldiers will be able to cross the Swift River more easily!” Roland said with some pain. War is destined to be accompanied by sacrifice. If Roland recalls those goblin knights now, their lives will be temporarily guaranteed, but they will then face a well-organized and well-rested Dark Army! Roland’s expeditionary force will suffer even more casualties.

"It was all worth it, wasn't it?" Roland asked softly, as if to give everyone an explanation or to save face for himself.

“It is worthwhile, but it is not necessary!” Adolf Heinrich slowly shook his head.

"Victory can be built on blood and sacrifice, but not on shameful exploitation and betrayal! They are not cannon fodder!"

"Phew... I understand. We'll begin the forced march tomorrow! We won't win by betraying our comrades!" Roland's gaze calmed as he gave the order with composure.