"Ah~ Roland, why can't we sleep a little longer?" Oli rubbed his sleepy eyes and murmured as he staggered behind Roland, carrying an axe.
"If we sleep any longer, we can march at night!" Roland glanced at the sky helplessly. It should be around 2-3 o'clock in the afternoon. The coalition forces had slept for a while, and had been eating, drinking, and packing up until now.
"Damn orcs! They have been chasing us all the time! They chased us before we came to Lonely Mountain, and they were still chasing us after we recaptured Lonely Mountain! Now they are even coming to join in the fun when we recapture Khazad-dûm!" Oin also waved his fist angrily.
"How about we run over to him and tell him not to come to us anymore? Isn't that annoying?" Roland shrugged and spread his hands helplessly.
"Come on! After crossing this ridge, we will be out of the Misty Mountains! Rivendell is ahead, and we can have a good rest there. We can enjoy the elves' fruit wine and vegetables!" Roland rode his warhorse among the team to encourage them.
"Your Highness, don't you have any liquor and barbecue?" Some honest dwarves stared at Roland and asked embarrassedly.
"Pah!" Roland covered his face, speechless. "Elves, a nature-loving race, actually want to eat meat? Are you kidding me?" Besides, elves are naturally tranquil, and there's no market for strong liquor there. So, should I turn it into rum for you?
"Hey! Hurry up! Don't leave the team!" Balin patted them and rescued Roland.
"I'm sorry, these children haven't interacted with elves for a long time, and life in the Blue Mountains is a bit isolated..." Balin explained a little embarrassedly, explaining why his people made such a common-sense mistake.
"It doesn't matter. It seems that the long march has made everyone dizzy!" Roland shook his head. The cramped jungles along the way had already made some dwarves feel war-weary.
"Yes! There were constant attacks along the way, and we were always in a hurry to get by, so the soldiers couldn't get a good rest..." Balin shook his head bitterly. After all, there were too many people, and the team was difficult to lead. They were far less flexible than the Lonely Mountain Expeditionary Force at that time.
"Although we haven't lost any men, some soldiers still need recuperation. After all, the Holy Light can only heal their bodies, but I can't help them with their mental state!" Roland frowned. It was obvious that morale was declining day by day, but Roland and Balin could not stop it at all. The Lagran soldiers were fine. The soldiers loyal to the country and the king could still endure hardships and work hard to get funds for the future construction of their homes. But the dwarves, who came here with passion and gold coins, were now only restrained by their trust in Balin.
"Let's leave here soon... Dwarves are really not suitable for the jungle!" Roland shook his head. He had seen many dwarves tripped by tree roots because of their heavy armor. Their short stature gave them a natural disadvantage when marching in the jungle.
…
"Look what this is?" Caslo raised the thing in his hand and said to Roland mysteriously.
"Is this... a monster egg?" Roland looked at the giant egg in Caslo's arms in surprise. The egg was at least one meter high and half a meter wide, and the egg body was a symmetrical teardrop shape.
"Where did you find it?" Roland asked in surprise, because the system scanned the egg and found it was an illegal one! It couldn't be scanned!
"Dragon's Nest!" Caslo said shockingly.
"What? There's a dragon's nest here? I don't feel any dragon power at all." The Smurf in Roland's arms immediately came out, staring at Caslo with his gorgeous eyes.
"The Dragon Rider did not lie!" The Blue Elf then shook her head again. She did not see any lies in Kaslo's eyes.
"What's going on?" Roland's palms were sweating with nervousness.
"Don't get excited. It's just a former dragon's lair. So long ago that even its might has been lost... Even more tragically, it's been taken over by a group of goblins... I found it beneath the goblin throne. They use it as a throne to show off their lofty status." Kaslo grinned, feeling incredibly absurd. He'd stumbled upon their lair while clearing out a wave of goblins attacking the coalition forces...
It was a nest buried underground. The walls bore clear traces of dragon claws digging, but no trace of dragon might remained. It seemed this dragon's nest was extremely ancient, so ancient that even the dragon's might had dissipated...
"So do you know what this is?" Roland asked, tapping the petrified eggshell.
"Maybe it's a dragon egg... but it's been too long, and the creature inside can no longer hatch." The Smurf sensed it and shook his head in disappointment.
"I can't recognize it either. Time has washed away its patterns, making it difficult to tell what it is... But it's most likely a dragon egg that can't be hatched for some reason!" Caslo shook his head and said to Roland.
"Then what's the use of this thing?" Roland was speechless.
"Keep it for your collection! The king's treasury is full of treasures and antiques, but yours is so full of rats." Caslo shook his head.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. It's my fault. You don't have any treasure house..." After a few seconds, Caslo seemed to remember something and quickly turned back to Roland.
"...Thank you for exposing my scars!" Roland frowned.
"Keep it, King Roland! Even if it's not a dragon egg, this fossil is still worth collecting!" Balin walked over and took a look at it. After all, dwarves who specialize in mining are experts in this area. They often encounter high-quality fossils in mines, and those in good condition usually have a high price.
"Okay, thanks. I'll keep this thing!" After all, it was Kaslo's kindness. Besides, this thing is also commemorative. It seems to be a dragon egg! Anyway, my system has a lot of space, so there's no shortage of space for this fossil. I'll just consider it my first collection.
What Roland didn't see was that when he put it into the system space, a flash of light quietly passed through the dragon egg.
The dragon egg lying quietly in the system space shook gently, and then strands of spatial power swept across its petrified shell.
"Okay, let's go!" Roland said to Caslo after taking a final look at this ancient dragon's nest.
"Sleep well, no one will disturb you anymore!" Kaslo pointed the tip of his sword at the entrance dug by the goblins, and the ancient and obscure dragon language sounded, as if mourning the passing years and the dragons who once lived here.
"Boom!" The dragon rider gushed out powerful dragon power along the tip of the sword. The terrifying stream of dragon power directly broke through the entrance. In a cloud of dust, the ancient dragon's nest was buried underground and continued to sleep.
Kaslo stood there quietly for a moment, and only when the smoke and dust cleared and the entrance was no longer visible did he sheath his sword and leave. Dragon Clan! Even the remains of a dragon's nest where they once lived were not something these filthy goblins could defile!
"Wait for me! Your Highness!" Looking at the receding backs of the crowd, Caslo returned to his usual unreliable appearance and chased after everyone in a panic.
"Hurry! I hope to see the shadow of Rivendell before tomorrow night. I want to spend the night there! I want to see the elf beauties!" Roland whistled and shouted.