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

Chapter 814 Sauron's Shadow

While the Kingdom of Lagrange was thriving, Sauron of Mordor was far from happy...

“Thenas…” Sauron murmured as he looked at the broken ring before him. He couldn’t understand why Threnas would betray him. How could the Ringwraiths, corrupted and controlled by the Ring, break free from its control?
“Strange…strange!” Sauron stared silently at the Ring of Power shattered into several pieces, his eyes filled with doubt. These rings were made one by one by him and given to humans. This was the first time in all these years that the Ringwraiths had broken free of his control.

"My lord! How are we now?" Uvasa appeared before Sauron like a ghost, kneeling on one knee with utmost respect. His face was distorted and could not be seen from under his helmet, only the soul fire in his eyes flickered and leaped.

"Command the orcs to reforge Baradur!" Sauron's voice, which had been silent for a long time, finally came from within his armor.

"Isn't this... a bit too conspicuous?" Uvasa asked with some concern. After all, they were still conserving their strength... Conserving what?! Their accumulated resources weren't even enough for two battles against the Kingdom of Lagrang... Mordor now was far weaker than Mordor in history! Many Tier 6 Orcs had been wiped out by the Kingdom of Lagrang, and their army had been nearly decimated. The worst off were the vassal Orcs of the North and the Chariot People of the East...

However, it has one advantage compared to history: in the past, Sauron didn't openly conquer Dolgodor until 2951 of the Third Age, while now this ancient fortress is firmly held by the Ringwraiths! Strategically, the Dark Forest, the Dead Swamp, and Mordor are connected! Originally, Gombad Fortress was also connected to them, but it was divided by the diverse territories of Apophis Breo, the Beorn, the Star Elves, the Kingdom of Akvia, and the Woodland Kingdom, which weakened the Orcs' ability to unite.

Originally, Dolgodor could connect with Gambada via the Gradon Plains east of the Anduin River! Once across the Old Ford, one could reach Gambada Fortress. But now, the Beorn have suddenly appeared with Rosgar Castle… strictly speaking, it's similar to a smaller war fortress. This fortress, along with the Beorn, has successfully blocked the orcs' fastest route…

“It’s alright! That kingdom has already noticed us…” Soren said with a sense of helplessness.

"We've already exposed ourselves to them in this war; we can't hide anymore! And we don't need to hide anymore!" Soren waved his hand. The only thing they really needed to pay attention to was that damned human kingdom to the north. Those dragon riders that blotted out the sky made him uneasy, and the betrayal of Cernar had also dragged the North into the picture, casting a shadow of fear over Soren's feelings towards the North. It wasn't that he was too cowardly; it was just that he had risen up in the North countless times only to be taught a lesson by the brutes of Lagrange led by Roland. Even in a situation where he clearly had the upper hand, he had been turned around by them. Now, Soren didn't want to look at this place anymore; just one glance from him was enough to warrant psychological treatment.

"Don't worry, those guys in the north won't want to go south. They're licking their wounds right now! They're too busy taking care of themselves!" Soren made a mistake here. He really thought that the soldiers and generals of the Lagrange Kingdom had suffered heavy casualties. In Uvasa's intelligence, these soldiers and generals were already on the list of the dead... Well, the Lagranges also received the same treatment as the Enterprise, being reported as dead in the intelligence.

However, this mistake doesn't seem fatal now, because Roland genuinely has no intention of heading south to fight the fools of Mordor. It's better to leave this dirty work to Gondor. Whether it's Denezor II, the weightlifter of Gondor, or the so-called "King of Men," Aragorn, anyone can handle this tough nut. Roland prefers to cheer them on from behind and suck up to their coattails! If he can watch others kill Sauron without lifting a finger, Roland wouldn't mind at all. After all, his initial reason for opposing Sauron was to live a better life, not to kneel down and be someone else's dog!
"As for the southern human kingdoms? What can they do?" Sauron let out a hoarse, grating laugh. Whether in Gondor or Rohan, the Ringwraiths moved through almost unopposed territory, except for a small portion of the core areas! At Sauron's signal, Uvasar and his forces had already entered Gondor and Rohan multiple times! In fact, these two nations, long enjoying peace, had no border defenses, and even their nobility was utterly corrupt! The true pillars of their nation, the generation of heroes, were still growing up, and many hadn't even been born yet. If Sauron hadn't been severely weakened and his soldiers hadn't suffered heavy casualties, failing to achieve his goals in initiating the war, Gondor would already be engulfed in war!

"As you command!" Uvasa bowed and accepted the order. Since Soren thought it was acceptable, Uvasa naturally wouldn't object. He was incredibly frustrated, always hiding like a mouse! On the battlefield, he was chased like a dog by the Lagrang dragon riders... This was like a dark chapter in Uvasa's life! He hadn't even been this humiliated in the final Alliance War, but the Lagrang dragon riders truly terrified him. Their expressions of deep hatred made them look like he had done something to all his female relatives.

"Sigh..." Sauron glanced at the broken Ring of Power in his hand, then clasped his hands together, grabbed the fragments, and walked toward Mount Doom.

"..." Uvasa watched Soren leave, shaking his head helplessly before disappearing into the darkness.

"Have you recovered from your injury?" Apophis Breo asked anxiously, pulling the muscular old Leo back.

"Of course! I can jump and leap! Look! I'm in great shape!" Old Leo patted his bare chest.

"Then why is there blood seeping out here..." Apophis Breo's lips twitched as he watched as a patch of red slowly seeped through the snow-white gauze around Old Leo's waist.

"Cough cough! I moved a bit too much..." Old Leo said somewhat awkwardly. He had moved a bit too much and hadn't expected to tear his wound open.

"Medic! Medic! Someone! Drag him back! Re-bandage him!" Apophis Breo yelled at the top of his lungs into the castle. This was the nth time Old Leo had reopened his wound.

"No need! No need! Just ask that kid Dula to give me some life-saving skills to heal me!" Old Leo said to Apophis Breo while pushing away the two guards supporting him.

"Drag him back!" Apophis Breo angrily flung his hand away. The wounds, already afflicted by the curse, were difficult to heal. Although the artifact had banished the death curse, without the healing of holy and light skills, residual curse energy remained in his body. While these weren't major problems, they hindered the healing process. Otherwise, given Old Leo's level, the wounds would have healed long ago.

As for what Old Leo said about getting Dura to cast some life-saving spells on him... that stuff can only replenish life force, not make him heal quickly! You can't expect Apophis Breo to give him several precious scrolls for an injury that will heal in a few days, can you? That would be such a waste!

"It's okay! I won't die! I won't die!" Old Leo, who was being dragged along, still tried to struggle.

"I'm going to get moldy from lying around! I'm going to get moldy from lying around! If I don't move around, I'll rust..." Old Leo muttered.

"What are you standing there for? Drag him back!" Just as the guards stopped, the expectant old Leo heard Apophis Breo's words that sent chills down his spine.