"What? Did Ajax agree?" Roland guessed immediately as he looked at Balin's happy face.
"Of course! Ms. Ajax is such a beautiful and kind person! She's a dragon rider yet so approachable..." Balin kept flattering Ajax in front of Roland. Roland raised his head and glanced at Ajax who was squinting not far away.
To the dragon knight's abnormal hearing, such a distance is no different from a whisper. It can be seen that women need praise. For example, classmate Ajax now enjoys Bahrain's words very much.
"Stop, stop, stop! Okay, let's get down to business!" Seeing that Balin was about to praise the girl to the origin of Middle-earth, Roland quickly stopped him. If he didn't stop, Ajax could be his ancestor according to seniority.
"Ahem! Okay! King Roland, what do you want to say?" Balin coughed twice to ease the awkward atmosphere.
"Ahem! Um?" This time it was Roland's turn to feel embarrassed. He "shyly" stretched out his right hand and gently rubbed his thumb and index finger together, making this universal gesture - asking for money!
"Eh?" Balin was stunned, then looked at Roland awkwardly and stammered.
"Ballin, you know... my army has paid a lot, and my kingdom is in ruins. Although I understand that you also need a lot of money to revive Moria, but... the Kingdom of Lagran really can't afford it..." Roland thought Balin was going to owe him a debt, and his face immediately changed drastically and he began to act pitiful.
"Um... King Roland, forgive me for being frank, but there might be some problems with the profit-sharing agreement we signed previously. I am willing to give you half of Moria's wealth as your reward!" Balin said with his head lowered in embarrassment.
"Huh? Half? Half is too little... Yeah! Half! Are you crazy, Balin?" Roland jumped up. Holy crap! Half of Moria's wealth? What kind of astronomical figure is that? The dwarves are going to give half of the wealth accumulated over thousands of years to themselves? This isn't a reward anymore, this is robbery! Even robbery can't make money as fast as Roland does!
"Um...with all due respect, you may be a little disappointed..." Balin's face revealed an unclear meaning.
"How could that be? Let's go! Balin! I'll go install them! I'm not bragging! This spatial storage device inherited from our empire is enough to hold the entire Moria!" Roland boasted about the vastness of the system space...
…
"What? That's all? Balin, are you kidding me? It's okay if you don't want to give more. I just want the wealth in the previous contract!" Roland was stunned looking at the mountain of gold in front of him. Although the appearance of this mountain of gold was shocking, it was definitely not even one-tenth of Iluber's gold vault.
"Alas... You misunderstood King Roland... Everyone knows that Moria is rich, but have you ever considered one problem? The orcs must have consumed a huge amount of wealth when they occupied this place... Damn it! They are all thieves! Robbers!" Balin was so angry that he blew his beard and glared.
"..." Roland was dumbfounded at this moment. He took out a mirror that he had signed in with and looked at himself.
Very good! From left to right, it looks like a fool, and from right to left, it looks like a fool!
In reality, Balin hadn't lied to Roland. The orcs had indeed been exploiting the dwarves' wealth. They had no production, no planning, and were using Moria's wealth like a drained pond, squandering it recklessly. Otherwise, how could you imagine the fortress of Gunbaddar being so impregnable, a thorn in the side of everyone in the North? Even Azog relied on Moria's gold to build his powerful orc army!
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining a wealth value of 400,000!" The system's voice sounded.
"That's great! There are both small and large amounts! Adding it up with the previous amount, it will be half a million dollars!" Roland almost laughed out loud.
Logically speaking, Moria's wealth would undoubtedly surpass Erebor's. The Dwarves' millennia of digging were no pushovers! They could even dig out Balrogs from the heart of the earth, not to mention gold and mithril. But the difference was that Moria was occupied by orcs, while Erebor was occupied by the dragon Smaug! The dragon's greed was even greater than the Dwarves', and Smaug attacked any creature that tried to steal the treasure. Meanwhile, the Orcs, like bandits, would squander the wealth in the caves! This resulted in Moria being even poorer than Erebor.
"It seems that the North has to thank you dwarves for this matter! Thank you very much! Arm the orcs to the teeth!" Roland smiled bitterly.
Those orcs have no shortage of standard dwarven and human weapons! Never underestimate the human underdog. After all, those unscrupulous profiteers would even sell their own mothers to a brothel if they had gold! Roland knew with his ass that those damned human smugglers definitely sold a lot of weapons to the orcs! After all, aside from the Middle-earth biologist Saruman who developed an industrial assembly line, the orcs' smelting skills elsewhere are truly lame...
This can be seen from the orcs of Moria. They own the world's largest mines, yet they still use weapons left over from the Dwarven era. Their own weapons are even more crude! Even the core forge of Moria is destroyed... If that thing had been running, the orcs would have been fully armed over the years.
Just thinking about Roland made him feel frustrated. He fought his way from the Southern Heaven Gate to the eastern Penglai Road... No! He fought all the way from the Dark Forest to the Misty Mountains! In the end, he only got a Dragon Rider and earned 400,000 in wealth. Was it worth it?
Leading a massive army, I'm a wronged species, remember that! Roland truly delivered a swift march across Middle-earth... He truly was fast! Leading a ragtag army of tin cans on a forced march to destroy Moria, the dwarves rejoiced, and Roland wept... It's not that he didn't make any money, it's just that the psychological gap was too great!
Roland had originally thought he'd be able to add at least a hundred knights this time, but looking at his current meager wallet... wouldn't it be better to just stick with the Flowing Infantry? They're durable and resilient! And best of all, they're cheap!
…
"Thank you, beautiful Lady Ajax!" Balin bowed. The blazing dragon Renoiel's breath of dragonfire had indeed saved the lives of the Dwarves of Moria! They had initially restored their industrial capacity and were able to forge weapons and armor! Most importantly, they could now accept Dwarves scattered across the Western world! After all, not all Dwarves went to Erebor. Those unwilling to make the journey could also choose Moria; after all, the Dwarven capital was very receptive!
"Balin, remember to buy more food! You are isolated here! Be careful of the orcs in the Misty Mountains! Don't hold on when things are hopeless! Go to Lórien and ask for help from Queen Galadriel! She is not the Elf King like Thranduil who would watch people die without helping! Remember! Moria must not be lost!" Roland pulled Balin and whispered to him after the banquet.
"Don't worry! I will protect her with my life!" Balin promised firmly.
"Be careful of the Orcs' sneak attacks! Don't travel alone! I have a feeling that Sauron is coming back! You stay here! The aid channel from the Western world can quickly reach the North through the Misty Mountains!" Roland explained.
"Hmm? You mean there's danger in the north?" Balin smelled something unusual.
"The Dongyi people will come at any time! How long do you think the kingdoms under the Lonely Mountain can hold out? This is a tough battle! We need you to guard the life passage!" Roland whispered.
Roland couldn't help but recall the tragic history of the future Lonely Mountain Twins.
