"Are we leaving now? Why don't we rest for a few days?" Elrond asked Roland as he looked at the coalition forces ready to go early in the morning.
"Time is running out. I don't want the orcs in Dol Guldur and Gumbaldur to react and move in! That would increase our casualties! And we have been exposed to the Gumbald orcs! They chased my royal banner and intercepted me in the Misty Mountains, but my people scared off their leader, the Fourth Ringwraith Amorath, so they retreated. But there is no guarantee that they will not come back, so we have to hurry." Roland shook his head and rejected Elrond's kindness.
"Well, please tell me if you have any material needs. I will do my best to prepare them for you. I wish you a safe return!" Elrond said in a humble and gentle tone, stroking his chest.
"Hahaha! Thank you, King Ailon! If I really can't come back, please go to Moria to retrieve my royal flag and bring it back to my country!" Roland said seriously.
"Hmm?" Elrond was stunned. Moria was shrouded in darkness and filled with terror, but could you not think of something better? How could one hero and two dragons (er... who says elven dragons aren't dragons? Come on, stand out, let me see?) not be able to protect you? You're going to fight Moria, not Mordor! It's like entrusting an orphan to someone else... It's fine for people to speak down to earth, but being down to earth is a pain...
"Hehe, just kidding! Don't worry, Moria is not a den of dragons and tigers. After this matter is over, let's take some time to gather the leaders of the Kingdom of Rohan, the Kingdom of Gondor, the Shire Militia, Rivendell, the Golden Forest, the Kingdom under the Mountain, the Iron Hills, the Kingdom of Akvia, Thingry and my Kingdom of Raglan, and see if we can form a coalition to directly capture Mordor? What do you think?" Roland asked Elrond with a smile.
"King Roland, you are truly a man of genius. If you had been there during the War of the Last Alliance, Sauron would have been driven back!" Elrond glanced at Roland, implying, "You're such a talker, old man! Why would anyone join forces with you? What's the benefit?" Forget about Sauron's return. If the sky falls, there are taller men to hold it up. Human hearts are more complex than you can imagine. The elves might be able to keep their promise, but the dwarves and humans... forget it. I'd rather hope the orcs in Mordor rebel...
"...Alas..." Roland sighed helplessly. Sauron was still weak, still accumulating troops in Mordor. If they could eliminate him now, the plot of The Lord of the Rings wouldn't have to play out. But human nature was complex; who would want such a thankless task? Roland wouldn't do it alone. (Raglan's generals: Listen, thank you! You're so arrogant! You're going to fight the Nine Ringwraiths with your heads?)
"You underestimate Mordor. He's been able to stay there safely for a reason. The Orcs also have their own sixth-order warriors!" Seeing Roland's thoughts, Elrond spoke helplessly. Unless it really came to a life-or-death situation, who would trade their own sixth-order warriors with the Orcs? No one was so understanding. Middle-earth was essentially a world where the strong preyed on the weak.
"Thank you for telling me, King Elrond, we will meet again!" Roland said to Elrond, stroking his chest.
"Be careful. If things get out of hand, you can consider going through the East Gate to Lórien to seek help from Queen Galadriel, or you can retreat back to Rivendell." Elrond kindly reminded.
"Okay, thank you for your hospitality..." Roland thanked him.
…
"King Roland, what did you talk about with King Elrond?" Balin asked curiously. With his current status, he was naturally not qualified to participate in the discussion between Roland and Elrond, but it did not stop him from being curious.
"We talked about the prospects of the Moria expedition. Although Elrond was not optimistic about us, he still gave us his blessing..." Roland smiled and shook his head.
"Your West Gate of Moria should be by Mirror Lake, right? I hope you remember the way!" Roland said with a smile.
"Don't worry! Dwarves will not forget their homes!" Balin laughed.
"I heard you have a cousin named Jin Pi?" Roland suddenly realized that this guy might be the young dwarf's cousin. Isn't the age gap too big?
"Yes! That little guy will definitely be the bravest and most skilled warrior of the dwarves in the future! He will definitely be the pride of our family!" Balin said proudly.
"..." Roland was silent for a moment. No matter how you looked at it, Jinpi was indeed faring better than Balin. In the game, he was a Level Six Overlord, the King of Moria! In the original novel, he was the only dwarf to reach the Eternal Land... And Balin? Sigh... not to mention being ambushed by the Orc Old Six, he couldn't even save his vast family fortune. In the end, he was even dragged down by the Fellowship of the Ring, and his coffin was torn open by trolls...
"Let's go! We have to hurry and reach Moria as soon as possible! The orcs from Mordor and the orcs from Dol Guldur might be intercepted by Queen Galadriel's elven army, but the orcs from Gunbaldar can easily go around the east gate and ambush us!" Roland said seriously.
"I'll make them speed up!" Balin nodded. The dwarves' short legs did slow down the speed of the coalition forces.
…
"Hoo, hoo, hoo... Shit! I'm being shaken to death!" Roland leaned over the horse's back, putting on a mask of pain. This damn road is full of potholes! Oh! No! There's no road at all!
"Mountain...gable!" Balin suddenly said excitedly.
"Home! Khazad-dûm! Our home!"
"Dwarf City!"
"We're home!"
"The dwarves are back! We're back again!"
Hundreds of dwarves excitedly raised their weapons and celebrated, roaring. The blue veins on their necks and flushed faces showed their excitement and joy.
"Oh my God!" Roland looked up and saw a spectacular scene!
It turns out the so-called mountain wall was actually half of the mountain that the Dwarves had cut through and leveled, creating a massive, thousand-meter-high wall! This demonstrates just how magnificent Khazad-dûm was at its peak, with thousands of Dwarves living here. However, their decline and greed eventually led to the release of a Balrog, a force they could not defeat, leading to the area's abandonment. Later, dark forces like Orcs and Goblins took over, and the Dwarves sought to reclaim it. Unfortunately, even Smaug couldn't drive out the Dwarves, so how could they possibly conquer Moria, where the Orcs' elite were entrenched?
"Don't get excited yet! Find out where the gate is. Also, stay away from the lake and don't disturb the water!" Roland ordered. After all, the underwater watcher can be slowly dealt with after retaking Moria, but it will not slow down the progress of his own strategy!
"Yes! Let's go into the city first!" Balin said excitedly, slapping his head.
"Your Highness! There seems to be something in the water?" Caslo suddenly frowned. As a dragon knight, his perception was sharper than that of ordinary heroes!
"Never mind it for now! Let's recapture Moria first before we talk about it!" Roland shook his head. If the underwater watcher knew what was good for him, they would talk about it later. If he dared to show up, Roland wouldn't mind giving him a big grilled squid.
Friends, it's the third day since Xiao Yangren started writing, and he has a high fever that won't go away. Please forgive me if there are any interruptions.