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

Chapter 877 Hunting the Griffin
"I sense the aura of a large group of high-level magical beasts!" Doss, who was in Roland's arms from a distance, suddenly spoke up.

“Those griffins are on the southern slopes of the Grey Mountains! That's where they can shelter from the north winds!” Roland nodded after thinking about the information in the intelligence report.

"Conceal your presence!" Roland communicated with all the dragon knights and dragons through his mental power. After all, griffins were also high-level magical beasts, possessing sufficient intelligence and combat power. The griffins would definitely sense the dragons' ostentatious aura! A single dragon might not move these griffins, but if a group of dragons flew over, any griffin that wasn't a fool would definitely run away!
"Received!" The dragon knights nodded in unison, and the two dragons flying alone obediently withdrew their dragon might. Instantly, the oppressive feeling in the air disappeared, as if everything had vanished without a trace.

In a valley in the gray mountains, a flock of griffins, organized by family, huddled together in warm caves. Griffins of all sizes nestled side-by-side, their bodies cushioned by soft, dry grass to keep out the cold. The valley was dotted with over ten caves, all filled with griffins, which they had carved themselves using their skills. However, not all griffins lived in caves. Some had built large, spherical nests from dry branches in the barren trees, their nests sheltered from the wind to protect them from the cold.

The once magnificent sight of griffins rising and falling here is gone. Only a few diligent adult griffins take turns on guard duty. A huge adult male griffin struggled to carry a sub-adult bull, and the loud commotion of the bull landing startled the dozing guard.

"Cry!" A loud eagle's cry echoed throughout the valley. The other hibernating griffins remained motionless, while only a few alert griffins opened their eyes, got up, and began to eat.

……

"It must hurt a lot if you get scratched by this thing!" Roland whispered.

"That thing could crack your skull open with one peck!" the Smurf cursed viciously.

"Silly child! You're testing your emperor's professionalism! A golden dragon knight can be killed by a griffin? Doss doesn't need a living person, just kill him directly!" Roland chuckled.

"..." The Smurf was speechless. After all, Dos was the Dragon King of the entire Lagrange Kingdom, both in name and in reality! The bloodline of the Golden Dragon was as pure as gold! In terms of bloodline, it was equivalent to the five-star red flag of Holy Terra! As a dragon, the Smurf could mercilessly mock Roland, but he could not insult the Golden Dragon Dos.

"Your Majesty! What should we do?" Dragon Knight Commander Caslo, the team's top enforcer, asked, cracking his knuckles with eager anticipation.

"What to do? Of course, just block the door!" What good plan could Roland possibly have? It's not like he's fighting a human and can use the Thirty-Six Stratagems to show off his terrible command skills. Fighting a monster that doesn't know military strategy, it seems like there's no good way to fight it head-on!
“…” Caslo was stunned, feeling that the question was unnecessary!

"Let's just go for it!" Roland continued. There were only a few dozen griffins, how difficult could it be compared to those dragons? Moreover, Roland didn't bring anyone else this time, only dragon riders, because the dragon riders' combat power had already successfully overwhelmed those griffins, so there was no need for the forbidden spells of other sages and wise men to create a barrier!
"Ajax! Dos Anthony! Chase Light! Caslow! You guys go block the other end!" Roland assigned tasks. The east-west valley only needed to be blocked for two days and the air force controlled to successfully trap them like turtles in a jar!
“Then what about you here…” Caslo glanced at Weiss and Purple Chain. Roland had thrown all the high-level combat power to one of them, leaving him with only Weiss, the couple, and a lone Purple Thunder Dragon!

"I have Doss here! Don't worry!" Although Doss's endurance was questionable, no one doubted the fighting power of this golden dragon who could briefly borrow the power of his ancestors! Given enough time, he could absolutely tear the griffins here apart with a single dragon!
"Remember! I want them alive! Don't kill them! They are the future hope of the kingdom!" Roland instructed, but the crowd's reaction to Roland's words was extremely indifferent. He had said the same thing when he captured Joel and the others!

"Action!" Roland waved his hand, signaling the start of the operation to capture these griffins. These griffins had done nothing wrong; their only crime was getting too close to Roland and catching his eye! "Eighteen adults! That means their population could exceed fifty! And it's possible new members will join them!" Roland muttered to himself as he calculated.

After all, griffins are social animals. In the northern lands where there are no natural predators, they will expand their groups and territories without any scruples. This is why they can snowball into such a large griffin colony. When food is plentiful, wandering griffins will choose to join griffin colonies with fixed territories to settle down. They will wait for the female griffins in the colony to come of age and form new families with them. Therefore, a hunting ground with abundant food can raise griffin colonies that even dragons fear!

"Roar!" A loud dragon roar from Kaldor echoed through the sky in the distance, and Roland couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

"They've started! We can enter now!" Roland grinned maliciously. The stage was set up, and the actors were all in place. It was time for the grand performance!
"Roar!" Dos burst out of Roland's arms, and his figure began to grow rapidly amidst flashes of golden light! Huge membranous wings cast large shadows! The powerful dragon roar shook the snow off the trees.

"Roar!" One after another, the giant dragons unleashed their dragon might without reservation, their terrifying power almost tangible! Within a radius of a hundred miles, magical beasts and wild animals all prostrated themselves on the ground, holding their breath in hopes of not being noticed by the dragons.

"Screech!" The terrifying dragon's might immediately alerted the griffins, and the subsequent pressure from the oncoming forces completely made them bristle! The alert adult griffins all stood on end, spread their wings and cried out, their sharp warnings quickly waking up the hibernating griffins.

"Screech! Screech!" As the adult griffins awoke one after another, they were not intimidated by the dragons. Instead, to everyone's astonishment, they formed a circle in the air, with the adult griffins protecting the sub-adult and juvenile griffins behind them, and they aimed at one spot to break through.

“I thought they would scatter and run away!” Roland exclaimed in surprise.

“Intelligent species with a sense of social organization are not mindless beasts! They have their own civilization!” Doss warned. Although dragons look down on every race equally at the strategic level, it does not mean that dragons will underestimate a complete griffin race.

"Tear!" The two electric nets suddenly flashed, and as their range expanded, they completely sealed off the entire valley.

"Dos Anthony and Kurt have made their move!" Nyx nodded. The blue electric net was clearly the dragon power of Dos Anthony's mount, Kurt! As for the purple... the real deal was right beside them!

"They've broken out in the direction of Lord Caslo!" Weiss shouted, gesturing with his hand.

"Let's go! We need to help! These griffins can't escape!" Roland said. If the griffins weren't crazy, they wouldn't have charged at the Golden Dragon's defenses. The eldest brother, who had the deepest aura in the entire arena, what kind of crazy thing would a griffin have to do to rush here?