One day later...
"Ahem! Sorry to trouble you, King Roland!" Balin said to Roland gratefully, rubbing his bruised chest.
"You're welcome... I'm just fulfilling my part of the contract!" Roland smiled and shook his head. After all, the blood and sweat of the dwarves couldn't be ignored! Compared to Roland's men, who had lost every single one, the dwarves had already lost 61 warriors!
"Four hundred and thirty-nine! Alas... I didn't expect so many children would leave us..." Balin sat down, rubbing his still aching chest and sighing helplessly.
"It's not your fault! You've done your best! Take a good rest these days! May 21st is a good day, you should ascend the throne on this day!" Roland encouraged Balin with a smile.
"This..." Balin was so excited that he couldn't control himself, but at the same time he was worried about the thoughts of the Dwarf King Thorin and other great lords.
"Is there anything to worry about? This is what you deserve! When Thorin gave all this to you, he had already acquiesced to it. The opinions of other lords are not important. What is important is that you have rightfully recaptured the Mines of Moria, and no one can say anything about it!" Roland analyzed to Balin.
As for whether Thorin would be wary of Balin becoming the Dwarf King, Roland thought it was unlikely. He knew Balin's goal was to reclaim Moria! Thorin himself was well aware of the influence and appeal that a Dwarf who had reclaimed their homeland could have. He knew the outcome of Balin's successful reconquest of Moria, but he still resolutely gave Balin 500 Dwarf warriors! This was a complete Dwarf army! The significance of this move was self-evident! As for the remaining Dwarf lords? They had no right to make irresponsible remarks. After all, Balin himself was a descendant of Durin and had the right to inherit Durin's throne. Moreover, he had built his own kingdom, so why should anyone else interfere?
"Thank you for your guidance, King Roland!" Balin suddenly understood, and all the previous confusion immediately became clear. He immediately understood how perfect his current situation was. Any descendant of Turin who successfully recaptured Moria could become its master!
"By the way! How is your injury? Let me heal you again! We can't let our King of Moria fall before he is even crowned, right?" Roland teased with a smile.
"It's nothing serious. Apart from some pain, there's no other impact." Balin shook his head. Why would a dwarf with such tough skin care about such things? Being tough is a dwarf's characteristic!
"What's the current situation of the troops? Can you tell me about it?" Roland looked at Balin. After they successfully recaptured the Royal Hall a day ago, in order to more quickly eliminate the remaining enemies, the two of them decided to combine the soldiers and distribute them. In this way, under the leadership of the dwarf, Raglan's elite troops could more quickly eliminate these orcs, ogres and the like.
"The progress is going smoothly, and there are no casualties reported. After all, those giant ogres died yesterday! The remaining ones are either bloated orcs or skinny goblins, and these are easy to deal with!" Balin said confidently with a wave of his hand.
"Then I'll be waiting for your good news! By the way, your coronation will be in four days, and you will successfully enter the ranks of kings! I hope you can eliminate the remaining enemies before then. After all, you don't want any accidents to happen during the coronation ceremony, do you?" Roland used the honorific. After all, Balin would also be promoted to His Highness in a few days. As for whether he could become His Majesty... Currently, only two people in Middle-earth have the possibility of taking this step: Aragorn and Roland! Roland, needless to say, is a complete jerk! Aragon is the real emperor!
"Huh? That's right! By now, Raigolas should have met the wandering Human Emperor, right?" Roland thought with a bit of evil amusement.
"Of course! I will eliminate the remaining enemies in this city, and there will be no accidents at the ceremony in four days." Balin said firmly. After all, he was so old and had finally been crowned. If the orcs disturbed his happiness, Balin would probably regret it for the rest of his life! So, in order to avoid regrets, Balin decided to ask the remaining orcs in Moria to die!
…
"Ah! What kind of dragon rider will I get?" Roland swayed in his hammock, his thoughts already drifting far away. He was still looking forward to this dragon rider he had never met! After all, unlike Kaslo, the late dragon rider, this dragon rider definitely wouldn't be a flying dragon that evolved into a giant dragon! How powerful is a pure-blooded dragon? Take Peter Groh's Star Dragon Skye for example!
"I want the Fire or Wood element! The Fire element is mainly for combat! The Wood element is mainly for assistance! These two are what I urgently need!" Roland fantasized in his heart, and the corners of his mouth almost rose to the sky!
"Your Highness! It's time for dinner!" Kaslo walked over carelessly. The wide wooden tray was filled with a rich feast: grilled steaks, honey-glazed barbecue, vegetable soup, crispy bread, and even a few bright red wild fruits!
【A novel app that has been running stably for many years, comparable to the old version of the book-chasing tool, used by old bookworms.】
"Huh? Where did these berries come from?" Roland curiously picked up a bright red berry and examined it. It looked a bit like a cherry, but was the size of a strawberry!
"Aren't we at the east gate? Just pick whatever you want when you go out! There's a valley right next to it!" Caslo said casually.
"Thank you!" Roland grabbed the food and swallowed it in big mouthfuls without any pretense.
"Your Highness!" Kaslo called softly.
"Huh? I'm listening!" Roland said incoherently with his mouth full of barbecue and bread.
"Look, we've been out for so long. When are we going back? Everyone's a little homesick..." Caslo said stubbornly. After so much time on the road, many soldiers were becoming war-weary. After all, they'd been killing orcs and goblins until their hands were tired! Caslo spoke up just to remind Roland that, after all, with such a large family and a powerful business, he couldn't afford to let any problems creep in.
"Huh? Didn't I tell you?" Roland asked doubtfully.
"Huh?" Kaslo was confused. What on earth did you tell me? Kaslo carefully recalled their conversations over the past few days and found nothing wrong.
"Look, I'm going to witness Bahrain's coronation in four days. After that, we'll take a day off and leave!" Roland slapped his head and said to Kaslo. Maybe he'd slept too comfortably these past two days and forgotten? Roland turned away awkwardly.
"Should we inform everyone about this? After all, telling everyone can calm the morale of the army a little bit!" said Caslo.
"Of course, tell everyone! Let everyone know that we will be home soon!" Roland said nonchalantly.
"That's okay! Enjoy your meal! I'll go and notify everyone first!" Caslo said immediately.
Watching Kaslo's hurried departure, Roland couldn't help but rub his hands together and take a deep breath. Hmm! It smelled like money. Roland was curious. How much was one-fifth of Moria's wealth? Roland had no idea, but when Balin promised him the employment contract and signed it, even someone as thick-skinned as Roland was amazed by the contents! What did it mean to have one-fifth of the wealth accumulated by countless generations?
"Slurp!" Roland couldn't help drooling as he imagined dragon knights flying all over the sky and mountains of gold and silver.
