"Thank you, Bion. Let's go!" Roland thanked Bion who personally saw him off.
"Thank you, Mr. Bion, and I wish you good health and safety." Balin touched his chest in greeting.
"I wish you success in regaining your homeland. Although I hate dwarves, those damn orcs and goblins are a thousand times more disgusting than dwarves." Beorn smiled innocently.
"Goodbye." Roland waved his hand.
"Gee!" After a light tap on the horse's belly, the very human-like Charles warhorse immediately kicked off with all four hooves and galloped away.
"Children, follow up!" Balin waved his arms to call out to the dwarf warriors who had just landed.
"Oh! By Torino I hate a rough boat!"
"Thank God! I swear on my beard! If we don't get ashore soon, I'll go crazy."
"Damn it! What on earth was I thinking to suffer the pain of taking a boat again?" It was obvious that he was a dwarf who came from the Western world.
"Hey! Come on! If you guys are fast enough and can reach our destination on time, we will enjoy soft toast at noon! Rich cheese and dried meat, and everyone will have a glass of beer!" Balin immediately took out his "killer weapon". Nothing is better than alcohol to deal with dwarves.
"Turin! I feel much better!"
"Damn it! My legs aren't weak anymore! I can run another 10 miles without even getting out of breath!"
"Yes! I can still run now!"
"Make way, make way, don't block my way!"
"Hey man, if you're feeling unwell, why don't you give me your beer?"
…
Roland watched in amazement as the dwarves, who had been as decadent and lazy as dead dogs, underwent a "medical miracle" under the beer attack of Bahrain! The dwarves, who had been lying on the riverbank with sore backs and legs, suddenly burst into a morale higher than that of the Lagrang soldiers. If the Lagrang soldiers fought for their king and their homeland, then these dwarves were undoubtedly fighting for alcohol and food!
"Oh my God, Mom! I can't believe I've seen such a medical miracle in my lifetime! Isn't the effect stronger than the forbidden healing spells and divine arts?" Roland said in shock.
"Oh! My God, Dragon God... these dwarves are really..." Omsk smacked his lips, not knowing how to describe it.
"Maybe if they give you enough drinks, they would even dare to chop down God for you to see?" Caslo shrugged and jokingly whispered.
"It seems that I underestimated the dwarves' love for alcohol." Roland shook his head in shock.
It's undeniable that sailing on a gently flowing river is a torture for dwarves who have no swimming ability. All dwarves hate the feeling of being tossed around; it makes them feel insecure and ungrounded, and most of them get seasick. And the dwarves' behavior on the boat just now... well, let's not talk about it. They should be thankful that the dwarven kingdom never had access to the sea; otherwise, I wonder where they'd find a navy to protect their shipping routes.
…
"Your Highness, come and try it!" Balin handed the roasted, golden brown rabbit to Roland.
Roland took it and was immediately greeted by a fragrant aroma. Only then did he realize that the roasted rabbit was sprinkled with all kinds of precious spices.
"I have to admit, I know too little about you dwarves. I always thought only halflings were good at cooking! I didn't expect you dwarves to be so good at grilling!" Roland exclaimed as he took a bite of the roasted rabbit. The browned skin was incredibly crispy, while the meat inside was incredibly tender. At that moment, Roland finally experienced what it meant to be crispy on the outside and tender on the inside! The combination of the dwarven spices and salt immediately whetted his appetite, and he devoured the entire rabbit in no time.
"How's it? Not bad, isn't it?" Balin smiled as he watched Roland finish the roasted rabbit. He flipped it over in his hand and then said proudly, "Your Highness, you underestimate the dwarves. We have more gatherings than the nobles in the human kingdom. After all, dwarves are never stingy with their own people. How bad do you think our cooking skills can be? Halflings aren't the only ones who can cook. I can't guarantee anything else, but it's true that every dwarf has a superb grilling skill. After all, we spend all day around the fire!"
"That's true. I know the vampires among the human nobles very well!" Roland nodded. Although he had never seen the human nobles in Middle-earth, he thought it was similar to the Middle Ages. There were only a handful of nobles who were willing to share with the people under their rule, and most of them were vampires like the mayor of Changhu Town who lay on the people!
"Yes! Greed is the original sin! The end is destruction!" Balin said in pain, closing his eyes. The destruction of both Khazad-dûm and Erebor was due to greed! The dwarves' greedy excavation of the treasures of the underworld brought endless covetous eyes, ultimately paving the way for the end.
"We should be at the foot of the Misty Mountains now." Roland changed the heavy topic.
"Yes, we just walked through here last fall!" Balin showed a nostalgic look.
"Yes! Who could have thought of it! The dwarves successfully recaptured the Lonely Mountain, and the name of the king under the mountain spread throughout Middle-earth! This time it's your turn, Balin! Don't let us down!" Roland stared at Balin and said solemnly.
"You need the restoration of the Old City to demonstrate the glory of the Dwarven resurgence, and we need its wealth to feed our people, repair the city's defenses, build villages... (And a Dragon Rider!)" Roland's gaze was deep and far-sighted. The Dwarves might be able to withstand the failure of the expedition; after all, they were already accustomed to it. But Roland couldn't bear the impact of all this. Without funds, River Rapids couldn't develop. Waiting for the caravans to open? That would take forever! Maybe by the War of the Ring, Roland wouldn't even be able to muster 10,000 men! If that happened, Roland would be too embarrassed to even join the royal family! After all, which of the two great human kingdoms couldn't easily raise an army of 10,000?
"Of course, the dwarves will not let their allies down!" Balin said firmly.
"Then I wish you all the best in advance, Lord of Moria, His Highness the Dwarf King Balin!" Roland said with a smile.
"Um... it's a bit early to talk about this now." Balin said helplessly, wiping the sweat from his forehead. King Roland's thinking was too unconventional. He blessed me with the title of king before even conquering Moria...
"Early? Not early anymore. Think about how to hold your succession ceremony. After all, you will be the first dwarf to successfully set foot in Moria in so many years." Roland shook his head. After all, even without Roland's help, Balin could be named the Conqueror of Moria, not to mention Roland leading a large army. The only variable is the number of casualties!
"Caslo, cheer up your soldiers! We are about to enter the Misty Mountains... I brought them out, but I can't guarantee that I can bring every one of them back, so even for my own sake I hope they can cheer up! The road here is not easy to walk on! And this time we don't have the Knights to support us!" Roland frowned and called Caslo to warn him.
"I understand, Your Highness!" Caslo pounded his chest and saluted, then immediately went down to convey Roland's order.
"Rest assured, Your Highness. I will be your strongest wall. Anyone who wishes to harm you will have to step over my corpse first!" Omsk raised his majestic lance, a muffled voice emanating from beneath his heavy helmet. Omsk, who had been slacking off all the way, now stood beside Roland, fully armed.
"Thank you very much, but I am also a knight!" Roland smiled leisurely, buttoned up his armor and raised his lance!
"For our future... move forward!"