The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 1042 Someone Wandering in Middle-earth Like a Ghost

"Tsk! Dreaming again?" Roland grinned. How could a Ringwraith, a creature with a cowardice that's cowardly as a mouse, possibly be alone for no reason?

"Instead of expecting the Ringwraiths to jump out and get beaten up, you should expect us to storm Gombard Fortress and drag them out!" Roland shrugged helplessly. Sauron hadn't shown up yet. According to the original timeline, Thorin had already publicly appeared in Mordor and gathered his power in 2951 of the Third Age! But because of Roland's rise, Sauron had become unusually docile. Most likely, the Ringwraiths had been taught a lesson by the dragon riders, and Sauron hadn't shown any signs of anger? In a sense, Sauron and Roland maintained a strange tacit understanding.

While the Southern Twins were still living in a drunken stupor, Roland had already begun his battle of magic against Thorin in the Void! What shocked Thorin was how terrifying the behemoth that had risen in the North was; even the Ringwraiths could not suppress them. Instead, they were brutally beaten by the extinct dragon riders who appeared out of nowhere. Not only did they fail to suppress the Northern Kingdoms, but the Northern Kingdoms also joined forces to cut off the connection to the Dark Forest!

So Sauron didn't announce his existence as openly and publicly as in history, but instead stayed quietly in Mordor, waiting to grow stronger! Roland was happy that Sauron was keeping to himself, after all, the premature appearance of a near-god-level enemy might scare those parasites into submission. It would be a real mess if the "Twin Stars" surrendered before the people of the War of the Rings came to power, and then the kingdoms of the North would be overwhelmed by a combined attack from the North and South.

Roland held Rohan and Gondor in no high regard. Compared to the era of heroes that would emerge decades later, this era was only graced by a few remaining glimmers of light stubbornly protecting humanity.

"Just watch, the Ringwraiths will never act alone until my dragon riders are dealt with!" Roland shook his head and sighed. He had missed the chance to surround and kill the Ringwraiths back then, and he hadn't had another one since. In particular, the betrayal of Cernar had made the Ringwraiths tremble with fear. Roland could only feel regret. If he had known that Cernar was going to jump into the water, he would have done everything he could to set up a trap for Sauron!
"So cautious?" Thranduil frowned.

“Of course! That’s Sauron! Perhaps the last god in Middle-earth!” Roland shook his head, his eyes full of helplessness. Fighting against a god with a mortal body may be exciting, but it’s definitely not a good idea. In this Middle-earth world with its Middle-earth magical worldview, Roland had no idea how many people would be needed to kill a god in the War of the Ring.

"Are you sure Sauron is really alive?" Thranduil's gaze was very solemn, even somewhat fearful! He had participated in the Last Alliance War! His father and the father of King Eorvia of Singori both perished before the Black Gate. Mentioning Mordor was undoubtedly a place of sorrow for both Elven races; the wronged souls in the Dead Swamp were those who died in that battle!

"You don't believe me?" Roland retorted. From the very beginning of the Northern Alliance, Roland had repeatedly warned everyone about Sauron's return. Although everyone understood because of the powerful Lagrange Kingdom, they didn't take it too seriously, especially Thranduil. He knew that when Sauron was driven out in the Last War, his godhood was shattered, causing him to fall from grace. In addition, with the One Ring destroyed, Sauron lost his source of divine power, making it almost impossible for him to make a comeback. Thranduil had always been skeptical of Roland's warnings, believing that it was nothing more than the resurgence of the Ringwraiths left behind by Sauron.

“How could he possibly return? King Elrond and King Gondor killed him back then! Even the One Ring was destroyed! Even if he returns, he will no longer be the fearsome demon he once was!” Thranduil said solemnly.

"Tsk tsk tsk..." Roland shook his head without making any comments. After all, he could only handle things with ease when he had a god's-eye view and was cheating. What kind of information could a Middle-earth version of "Empress Dowager"... a Woodland Elf King who just wanted to play the game of seclusion and live his own little life? At most, the kind Valley Elves would send him some intelligence from the White Way Society. He relied on Rivendell for his livelihood, so what could you expect from him?

The final meeting of the Righteous Path had just concluded in 2953. Although Elrond (King of the Valley Elfs) sensed the approaching darkness and Roland, through Thranduil, warned Thranduil, Elrond inquired about the whereabouts of the One Ring, Saruman, coveting its power, chose to conceal it. This caused the Righteous Path members to lower their guard, believing that Sauron had no chance to return... As a result, Thranduil obtained it, and similarly, Roland and the other kings also obtained it. Roland scoffed at this, but there was nothing he could do.

In the original timeline, during the Third Age in 2941, the White Order's recollections showed that they agreed to attack Dolgodor to expel the forces of darkness. This allowed the White Order to discover signs of Sauron's return earlier. However, due to Roland's presence in this plane, the war in the North fared much better than in history! The alliance of northern dwarves, humans, and elves launched a push on Dolgodor themselves. Although they didn't conquer it, they successfully demoralized the Ringwraiths, causing them to flee by the time the White Order's western coalition arrived! The White Order arrived empty-handed, having captured nothing, and naturally had no defenses. (After the White Order's western coalition left, the Ringwraiths returned to the old Dolgodor fortress, but after being repeatedly defeated, they became much more subdued, even allowing Baron Ismir's army to ride roughshod over them.)
Gandalf and his party captured nothing, and Roland couldn't produce any evidence. In the end, everything remained just talk. Roland couldn't very well drag Sauron out of Mordor, could he? So, this awkward situation arose. Roland kept emphasizing Sauron's existence, and the White Order acknowledged it, but lacking evidence, and with everyone wanting to mind their own business, they naturally couldn't reach any agreement... Oh, right! There was also Saruman, the pioneer of bio-magic technology, acting as an undercover agent... Roland could only describe the White Order's future as Xiahou Dun looking at Louis XVI—a future that seemed endless. In fact, this meeting in the Third Age 2953, which is this year, was the White Order's last... After that, the White Order existed only in history books.

"..." Roland looked at Thranduil, hesitant to speak. He wanted to tell Thranduil if it was possible that the biggest spy had already become the leader of the Alliance. Under the spy's command, what could he expect to find out? Roland, who had no evidence, wanted to use a megaphone to tell the world that Saruman had betrayed them, but no one believed him. Even if they did, it wouldn't help. After all, it wasn't Sauron's family that needed to accumulate strength and build up their army. Everyone needed to develop stealthily. Now, Roland could only look forward to seeing everyone's expressions when they saw Saruman's true colors in the future.

“That guy is like a ghost from Middle-earth! A natural, lingering spirit. You’d be better off believing I’m the Dragon God than believing he’s dead!” Roland could only say helplessly in the end.

"I believe in you, King Roland!" Thranduil was still very polite, although his expression was full of disbelief, he still tried to comfort him.

"Whatever, it's still early before the fight starts! We still have time... we still have time!" Roland didn't argue with Thranduil, but just sighed softly.

"Looks like we'll have to figure out a way to crush Gambada in the future!" Roland plotted.