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

Chapter 95 Lonely Mountain Alliance
"Your Highness, the King requests your presence!" A dwarf gently knocked on the door, and after Roland invited him in, he explained his purpose.

"Thorin wants to see me?" Roland was taken aback, then realized it must be about post-war recovery and various alliances. Although they had dealt with the unfortunate father and son, Azog and Borgo, the orc kingdom in the north still existed, and orcs still occupied Dolgodor… Most absurdly, the chariot people and other miscellaneous races currently living in the Rune region were all Mordor's lackeys…

……

"Good morning, everyone!" Roland casually picked up a wine glass from the side and raised it to the crowd.

"King Roland! Good morning!" Thranduil smiled kindly.

"Oh! Roland! My brother!" Thorin came up and gave him a bear hug to express his enthusiasm.

"Good morning, Your Excellency," Iovia said, raising a glass of juice in greeting.

"I'm so glad I'm alive to see you!" Bai Yi joked as he spread butter on the bread in his hand.

"Hey! Come here, buddy!" Valve showed none of the elegance of an elf, and invited Roland to dine with the enthusiasm of a commoner.

"Thank you for your assistance. Your heroic deeds and those of your soldiers have changed the future of the North!" Bard praised sincerely.

"Everyone's here! By the way, where's Dain? How could the King of Ironhill not be present for such a grand occasion?" Roland searched around but couldn't find Dain.

"Oh! Damn it! Didn't anyone pull me up? I'm wounded! Didn't you see Roland looking for me?" Dain's muffled grumbling came from under the table next to Bard.

"Oh! Sorry! Dain, you're really too heavy!" Bard scooped Dain up, but Dain's weight was clearly beyond Bard's imagination; the dwarf's sturdy body density was simply outrageous.

"Hahaha! Bud, you're a real man!" Din patted Bud on the shoulder.

"Oh! King Dain of Ironhill? Hello!" Roland carefully observed the dwarf king before him. This dwarf king, historically more accomplished, intelligent, and shrewd than Thorin, had a red beard, a rugged face, and sturdy, short limbs that contained unparalleled explosive power. Moreover, he seemed to be the strongest professional dwarf at present. Thinking about it, dwarves are quite pitiful; their nomadic lifestyle leads to a scarcity of cultivation resources.

"Hello, King Lagrange, thank you for helping us in our most difficult time. You will always be a friend of the dwarves!" Dain said sincerely.

“It is my honor.” Roland nodded in acknowledgment. It must be said that Dain was indeed a king who could rule Lonely Mountain after Thorin and make it prosperous. Even his words were so pleasant, which was rare for a stubborn and arrogant dwarf.

"Alright, let's get back to the main topic!" Thorin clapped his hands to attract the kings' attention.

"Although the darkness has receded, they have not been completely defeated. The orc kingdom in Mount Gondabad, the orc tribes in the Misty Mountains, and the remnants of Azog entrenched in the Dolgodo Fortress are all deadly threats to us!"

Thorin stood up, glanced at everyone's expressions, and continued, "I want to form an alliance! To completely eliminate these threats!" "As expected..." Roland inwardly covered his face. The dwarves' tendency to be ambitious and eager for quick success was fully displayed in Thorin. His wounds hadn't even healed yet, and he already wanted to launch a counterattack?
"We have the mighty knights of the Kingdom of Lagrang! The most fearless warriors of the dwarves! The deadliest rangers and archers of the elves! We even have dragon riders and true dragon knights! We are fully capable of defeating them! We will carve out a pure land for our descendants that will not be invaded by darkness!" Thorin clenched his fist and said passionately.

"I'm sorry... the elves of Singree will not be participating in the battle below." Iovia stood up and bowed slightly in apology.

“Our people are few in number, and the loss of nearly four hundred this time is a significant blow. Knight Peter Groh’s dragon is also badly injured, having been hit head-on by several dragon-hunting crossbow bolts, and needs proper rest.” Iovia explained, no longer willing to sacrifice the lives of his people for those vague and uncertain threats.

"The Woodland Kingdom also suffered heavy casualties. In the final battle, the Woodland Kingdom's rangers and Swiftfoot fought side by side on the front lines. We have honored our oath!" Thranduil said calmly. To be fair, the Woodland Kingdom's rangers had indeed suffered heavy losses this time, with more than a thousand casualties, which made Thranduil's heart feel like it was being rubbed on a washboard.

"Why are you looking at me? Don't you know what's going on in the Kingdom of Akvia? The soldiers in Los Saint-Neil are almost all gone!" White Wing rolled his eyes. Los Saint-Neil, as one of the main battlefields, had suffered huge losses.

Finally, everyone's eyes fell on Roland...

"Give up. I don't have the manpower to organize another major battle. The Swiftflow Legion has 1500 men. Go count how many of them are still intact. Don't tell me you're going to send the Knights to attack the city?" Roland shrugged. He really didn't have many infantrymen left, and the most crucial thing was that Roland didn't seem to have any strong siege units. Swiftflow infantry, heavy cavalry, and knights were suitable for plains warfare, archers and rangers were suitable for jungle warfare, Dovenian heavy swordsmen and Lagrange city guards were suitable for siege warfare, and as for recruiting light infantry... forget about them. Although they become brave and skilled after training, their potential is not high. So if Roland really wanted to attack the city, the outcome would be hard to say.

"This..." Thorin stared blankly at everyone, unable to understand why no one was willing to take such a good opportunity to end the orcs. Bard and Dain beside him gently shook their heads.

"My suggestion is that everyone go back to their own homes and find their own mothers, and just help each other in offense and defense. We've been fighting for so long, it's time to rest and recuperate. I don't even have enough food for my people to eat by the autumn harvest," Roland sighed.

“Yes, we can’t fight anymore. I don’t know if the orcs will be wiped out if we keep fighting, but Los Sannier will really be gone.” White Wing said sadly, thinking of his dead people.

“I cannot sacrifice the lives of my people for the sake of counterattacking the orcs; that would be too unfair to them.” Iovia looked at Thorin.

"The Woodland Kingdom also needs to recover. Our outposts have been infiltrated by orcs, and many have been uprooted. It will take a long time to re-establish surveillance of the Woodland Kingdom's borders," Thranduil explained his predicament.

“Thorin…you also need to rest. The casualties in River Valley and Iron Hill are considerable, and Irubor has also paid a price. You should bring back your wandering people to recuperate, instead of rushing to counterattack the orcs!” Roland advised.

“Thorin, my brother! I know you’re furious! You hate orcs! But Roland and the others are right. We can’t afford to fight anymore. We need to recuperate. Behind every victory are the cries of our people. We can’t sacrifice our people any more!” Dain looked at Thorin sincerely.

“…Let’s form an alliance, we need each other…” Thorin didn’t say anything more, but it was clear that he had been persuaded by the crowd.

"Clatter! Clatter!" With each seal symbolizing power falling, the Lonely Mountain Alliance was officially established on this day.

(End of this chapter)