save the bachelors

Chapter 5081 [Regent]

"Let's go." Gandalf said to Xiang Nan and Pippin, "Power has blinded his eyes, and he even uses anger to cover up his ambition.

Minas Tirith, the thousand-year-old capital, will be destroyed because of the reckless behavior of a madman. And this white tree of the king will never bloom again. "

"Then why are there still guards guarding it?" Taoriel asked puzzledly.

Because at this moment, there are still four warriors in distinctive armor guarding the Holy White Tree.

"Because they still hold out a glimmer of hope, a faint one, but still hope that one day it will blossom," Gandalf explained.

"I believe that when the king returns, it will bloom again." Xiang Nan nodded.

At this time, Boromir came out and came to Gandalf, Xiang Nan and others, "I'm sorry, I apologize to you on behalf of my father."

"You're welcome. This is human nature." Xiang Nan waved his hand and smiled, "I've seen worse."

No one is willing to give up the benefits they have obtained, just like when Thorin Oakenshield took back the Lonely Mountain, he was reluctant to share the wealth with everyone.

The Boromir family has been the regents of Gondor for generations. Before a true king ascended the throne, they were the de facto rulers of Gondor and were only half a step away from becoming true kings.

Gondor is the largest, strongest, and richest kingdom in Middle-earth. It has a vast territory, a dense population, and abundant resources. It is many times larger than city-states such as Erebor, Lake-town, and Dale-town.

Therefore, it is understandable that Denethor was reluctant to give up the power in his hands and hand it over to Aragorn. If it were Xiang Nan, he would probably be reluctant to do so too.

Just like the succession of the throne in ancient Chinese feudal kingdoms, when the emperor passed the throne to the crown prince, his own son was still hesitant. For the sake of power, countless crown princes were killed by their own fathers.

Moreover, Aragorn is not Denethor's biological son. It would be a miracle if Denethor would willingly give up his power.

……

"What is that?" Pippin asked, pointing to the east.

The east was red, with occasional thunder and lightning. It was also possible to see dark clouds approaching this side, as if a rainstorm was about to come.

"Yonder is Mordor," Gandalf explained. "And in its shadow lies Gondor."

"The storm is coming," Pippin said worriedly.

"No, that's not a normal weather phenomenon, it's the magic cast by Sauron." Gandalf shook his head and said, "The orc army of Mordor cannot move in the sun.

So Sauron deliberately cast a spell to cover the sky so that the orc army could move forward. When this shadow reaches the sky over Gondor, the war will begin.

"..." Hearing him say that, Pippin was startled for a moment, then he smiled and pretended to be relaxed, "So where are we going next?"

"We are not going anywhere. This is where we are going to stay," Gandalf said, waving his hand, "and reinforcements must arrive."

Pippin was stunned.

"I have to go out for a while. My father asked me to lead the army to retake Osgiliath." Boromir said.

Osgiliath was the capital of Gondor during the Second Age. It straddled the Anduin River and was located between Minas Tirith and Minas Morgul.

It was once very prosperous. Countless ships passed through the Anduin River and stopped at the port of Osgiliath, bringing goods from all over the world. It was the most important trade node in the south.

But later Sauron captured Minas Morgul, posing a huge threat to Osgiliath. As a result, Osgiliath was gradually abandoned, and the royal family and people of Gondor moved to Minas Tirith, which was more solid and easier to defend.

However, Gondor did not completely abandon Osgiliath, because it was an important outer defense line of Minas Tirith. The orcs of Mordor needed to capture Osgiliath first before they could threaten Minas Tirith behind.

Therefore, Gondor and Mordor have been fighting for the control of Osgiliath. The two sides have been fighting fiercely, often fighting more than ten times a day. It is the front line of Gondor's defense. Now Denethor asked Boromir to lead his troops to retake Osgiliath, also for the purpose of guarding Minas Tirith. After all, he is just greedy for power, not a fool. Knowing that Sauron's army is coming, he naturally wants to find a way to defend it.

"I'll go with you." Xiang Nan said immediately.

"Thank you very much." Boromir said gratefully upon hearing this.

Xiang Nan alone is worth thousands of soldiers, but Gondor’s military strength is seriously insufficient.

On the one hand, ever since Sauron was defeated by the White Council in the Battle of Dol Guldur and fled back to Mordor, he has been sending orc armies to harass Gondor.

As Boromir said, Gondor has always been at the forefront of resisting the forces of darkness. The peace in other parts of Middle-earth is all due to the silent efforts of Gondor's warriors.

On the one hand, Gondor is a vast country with vast territory. Therefore, its military strength is relatively dispersed and there are many places that need to be defended.

For example, the southern part of Gondor faced the threat of pirates, and those pirates were also driven by Sauron, so soldiers were needed to defend the coastal areas.

With such a thin distribution, the number of soldiers is naturally insufficient. Unlike city-states such as River Valley Town, Changhu Town, and Eribor, the army only needs to guard one city.

Therefore, with Xiang Nan's presence, Boromir felt that his chances of winning were much greater.

"I'll go too." Taoriel also volunteered.

Xiang Nan nodded.

……

Afterwards, Xiangnan, Tauriel and Boromir went to Osgiliath together.

After hundreds of years of war, the once glorious Osgiliath is now almost in ruins.

Broken walls, broken bricks and tiles can be seen everywhere. It is almost impossible to find a complete house. All of them have been destroyed by the war.

Therefore, at first glance, the scene looked bleak, and even the soldiers of Gondor seemed somewhat low in morale.

But when they saw Boromir they were overjoyed.

"Boromir is back!"

"We Gondor are saved!"

"Our general is back!"

They cheered and seemed very excited.

"Brother~" Seeing Boromir, a handsome young man came forward happily.

"My brother Faramir," Boromir introduced. "This is Master Kili, the Hand of Justice, the Hand of the Light, the Bane of the Orcs."

"Really?! I've heard a lot about you." Faramir immediately stretched out his hand.

"You're welcome." Xiang Nan said with a smile.

"Master Kili is here to help us retake Osgiliath," Boromir added. "I have witnessed Master Kili's power with my own eyes. He used only three spells to wipe out the 10,000-man army sent by Saruman."

"..." After hearing this, Faramir was filled with respect for Xiang Nan.

"It's mainly because the terrain of Helm's Deep is good." Xiang Nan said modestly.