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

Chapter 860 Aragorn's Journey to the East

Roland felt a chill run down his spine at the audacity of this group, who nearly earned him the title of "Lagrange's Backstabber." However, it also revealed that these politicians' shrewdness hadn't dulled, and King's Landing remained as ruthless as ever! This ruthlessness moved Roland deeply. So, just how desperate must this great noble family, who held out until the very end, have been to launch such a desperate charge?
"Keep quiet, everyone. If anyone finds out, the kingdom's reputation will be ruined. This matter ends here! Adolf! You personally contact Nyx and the others! In the name and by order of the King!" Roland commanded without room for argument. History had already begun to shift, and if the course of elven history was further weakened, it was hard to say where it would lead.

“Yes, Your Majesty!” Adolf Heinrich saw the seriousness and warning in Roland’s eyes and immediately nodded in agreement.

……

"Phew! We've finally left Lion's Lands! Legolas! Let's resupply!" Aragorn smiled at Legolas, the woodland elf prince he had met during his travels. (This follows the film's world-building; Legolas met Aragorn after the Battle of the Five Armies.)
"Isn't this Beorn territory?" Legolas glanced at the surroundings. They had passed through the Old Pass and arrived at the Karl Rock Ferry area, which was the area of ​​the town of Karlock. The Beorn druids protected this place from small groups of orcs.

“Yes! It’s Beorn territory!” Aragorn spread out the map, looked at it, and nodded.

"Let's go, it's time to say goodbye to our friends in King's Landing!" Legolas turned and looked back at the Lion's Landing with some emotion.

"This kingdom is so vibrant! Even a noble family that ventured far and wide possesses such strength and unwavering willpower..." Aragorn remarked with deep emotion. Having learned of his origins, even the usually composed Aragorn harbored ambitions! Such a loyal and courageous family was exactly what rulers desired! Easy to use and trustworthy! Who wouldn't love that?
"Yes! Their king is wise and learned!" Legolas had a very good impression of Roland, not the greed and cunning that elves were used to... Roland: Doesn't he understand the value of a glutinous rice ball?!

"I hope to have the opportunity to meet him and learn his strategies for governing the country!" Aragorn thought to himself. A capable king is a living example for him. He can't fail an open-book exam, can he?
……

“Aragorn has left with the Woodland prince! Notify Stream City! It’s their turn to keep watch!” The King’s Landing intelligence officer silently watched the two figures leave, shook his head, and then walked towards King’s Landing.

"Huh? That's strange. Why do I feel like someone was following us?" Legolas took off his bow and arrow and cautiously looked around.

"There are caravans coming and going all around us, who would follow us? Aren't you just being paranoid?" Aragorn smiled and gently patted Legolas's shoulder, trying to put Legolas at ease.

"Well, I guess I'm overthinking it!" Legolas looked around for a while and found that the passersby were only staring at him like he was an idiot, and no one else was looking at him. Little did they know that the person who was watching them had already left.

"Let's go! Let's see the scenery here!" Aragorn smiled without thinking much, and simply pushed Legolas toward the town of Carlock.

……

"It's finally here!" Roland rubbed his temples and breathed a sigh of relief. Another historical event had gone smoothly, which put Roland at ease. After all, besides the system, his biggest trump card was knowing the future. The scene that Roland most wanted was to have minimal changes to the timeline and let himself go along with it.

"Keep an eye on him! But don't let him discover us. Unless he crosses our borders, ignore him completely!" Roland tapped the table as a final statement. He certainly couldn't openly monitor Aragorn; keeping a close watch on him privately was enough. After all, doing too much would cause timeline shifts, which would be troublesome. Roland was already worried that his wife, left behind in Rapids City, and the other reckless men's plan to weaken the elves would affect the future!
"Is he important?" Ruhr, who had been listening intently, couldn't help but ask.

“Of course! His bloodline is that of the King of Gondor! You can think of him as the most legitimate heir to the throne of Gondor…” Roland said solemnly. As one of the few characters in The Lord of the Rings to possess the protagonist's halo, Aragorn's life was legendary, though ultimately pointless…

"Hiss? Does that mean we need to protect him?" Ruhr was startled, taken aback by Aragorn's true form. This was akin to King Romanian of Lagrange running naked through the Mirkwood all by himself! Considering Lagrange's current relationship with Gondor, it was hard for Ruhr not to deduce that the kingdom wanted to protect Aragorn.

“Protect him? No need!” Roland refused decisively. If possible, Roland hoped that Aragorn could die on the eve of victory like Thorin in the original story, and not stay to bring trouble to the Kingdom of Lagrange. After all, if Lagrange wanted to develop, it was bound to clash with the power of the human kingdoms. It would be a clear loss to confront Aragorn, who possessed the greatest laws in Middle-earth.

"?" Ruhr didn't understand, but respecting Roland's orders, he simply nodded with some doubt and didn't ask any further questions.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, go and rest. Come and say goodbye when you leave! I have a lot of things here that you need to take back!" Roland looked at the travel-worn Ruhr and immediately realized that he needed to rest.

"Thank you for your understanding, Your Majesty!" Ruhr respectfully withdrew.

"What do you think?" Adolf Heinrich asked Roland, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back.

"What do you mean, how do you see it?" Roland asked Adolf Heinrich, puzzled.

"It was the Queen's decision in Swiftstream City..." Adolf Heinrich was too embarrassed to say "backstabbing," after all, it wasn't something to be proud of.

"You mean Nyx and the others betrayed the elves?" Roland didn't try to hide anything and spoke frankly.

“…” Adolf Heinrich remained silent. I didn’t say it; you said it yourself!
"That's it. The weakening of the elves is inevitable, but the timing is wrong! We still need them now!" Roland had no moral baggage. Compared to the various deceitful schemes that have arisen from a civilization with five thousand years of history, these things were just basic child's play, mere conspiracies with a little bit of sophistication.

"Tell them to be more discreet! They're too crude!" Roland thought for a moment and couldn't help but complain again. Although their actions were decisive and the results were smooth, there were too many loopholes and details that couldn't stand scrutiny! The elves were also stunned. If they had calmed down and paid close attention, they would have realized that goblins couldn't possibly have several forbidden spell scrolls! Having one trump card is normal, but being able to blow up a cave in the mountains is clearly not something an ordinary forbidden spell could do.

In fact, Elrond, who had already realized something was wrong, returned to the old site of the Goblin Kingdom, only to find his path blocked by ruins and collapsed rocks.

"Something's not right! How could goblins possess such a forbidden spell?" Elrond's CPU seemed to explode for a moment. Having underestimated the evil in human nature, Elrond never dreamed that the real culprit would be the Lagrange who buried a bunch of people with them!
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