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

Chapter 1078 Mosquito Marsh (Weak Water)

"Your Majesty, do you mean we should take control of this area?" Aragorn asked, looking at the map in Roland's hand.

“Didn’t I say this a long time ago? This place is under your control. Whether you restore the Northern Kingdom or the Kingdom of Arno, it’s up to you! We will help you clear out the enemy forces along the way. From now on, you will need to be stationed here to maintain the smooth flow of the East-West Road!” Roland said, looking at Aragon.

"Thank you, Your Majesty!" Aragorn breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that his lateness had not changed Roland's mind, which was the best possible outcome!
“From Fengyun Peak to Buli, we have to pass through Mosquito Marsh (Weak Water). It’s teeming with mosquitoes. We’re lucky; it’s winter now, and the swamp is frozen. If it were summer, we’d be in real trouble!” Roland’s finger slid along the east-west road and soon landed on a swamp marker on the map. There was a small skull drawn there, indicating its dangerous location.

Mosquito Marsh is located east of Brie, bordered by Chet Forest to the west and the Wind and Cloud Hills to the east. The Eastern Road winds around the southern side of the swamp. Mosquito Marsh is muddy and dangerous, with paths that are sometimes inaccessible and sometimes hidden, and dense reeds and undergrowth. Its air is filled with clouds of tiny mosquitoes, and the undergrowth teems with insects that Samwis Gamge calls "Squeaky Bugs" (the Hobbit Fellowship of the Ring in *The Lord of the Rings*). In the original story, these creatures are only described as loud, but in the real world, they belong to the lowest tier of low-level magical beasts! While their combat strength isn't high, their swarming nature is enough to give many professional armies a headache!

"Forgive my bluntness, but you may be a little too optimistic... Although there are no ordinary mosquitoes and flies in winter, the magical beasts will still be active, such as the most famous Weak Water Cricket! Moreover, because food is scarce in winter, those magical beasts will expand their activity range to the surrounding areas..." Aragorn explained.

"?" Roland was stunned. What kind of magical beast would come out to die instead of hibernating in winter? Is this a normal magical beast? Especially an insect-type magical beast, which is basically in a dead state in winter. I didn't expect there to be something that doesn't hibernate?
After Aragorn's explanation, Roland finally understood what this thing was: the kind of squeaky bug that Sam the Hobbit mentioned during the War of the Ring!

“However, there is a way. Since the environment is relatively quiet in winter, the Weak Water Cricket’s voice is very loud. We can identify them by sound and just go around them!” Aragorn suggested.

To be fair, Aragorn's words were undoubtedly wise; the best way to deal with monster colonies was to detour. But who is King Roland? In the past, few people would simply walk through, and he and Gandalf charged right through. Now, with a vast army and numerous powerful generals behind him, why should he avoid their attacks?

"Push them down! Anyone who dares to block the way will be kicked to death!" Roland said domineeringly with a wave of his hand.

……

"Just kidding, even those who aren't blocking the way die!" Roland stared at the camp before him, engulfed in flames and littered with corpses, a chilling smile playing on his lips. The orc camp before him had just been breached by the Dunedan. The Dunedan rangers had swiftly slaughtered everyone along the way... It turned out that in the winter wasteland, orcs and bots were practically indistinguishable. There weren't many sentries, and most of the others huddled in their burrows, allowing the Dunedan rangers to block the entrances and shoot them one by one. Large numbers of orcs crowded at the burrow entrances, where the rangers picked them off one by one.

The bloody carnage quickly dissipated in the howling north wind, and the stench of blood gradually faded in the cold wind. The Dunedan rangers and dwarven warriors wandering the battlefield were finishing off the corpses, dragging out the remains after they were pierced by spears and piling them up.

"Should we still erect a mound of skulls, Your Majesty Roland?" The dwarf soldier looked at Roland with awe and respect in his eyes. "No, just burn it down!" Roland shook his head.

“A mound of Jingguan?” Aragorn was taken aback, not understanding what they were talking about, and felt that they were using a very new term.

“Oh! A building sponsored by the enemy!” Roland patted him on the shoulder, seemingly unconcerned.

“Yes, child, it’s magnificent!” Thorin patted his arm, his eyes filled with amazement. Thorin was astonished the first time he saw the Jingguan (a mound of corpses). He then privately asked Roland about the feasibility of building such a thing on his territory, but Roland refused without hesitation. The reason was simple: a large number of corpses might attract the presence of supernatural forces, triggering a plague guided by supernatural forces. For the destructive power, please refer to the ancient tomb corpse demons that caused the plague in Long Lake!
As for why Roland dared to build such a thing on the East-West Avenue, it was simply because the East-West Avenue was sparsely populated. Even if these things really turned into a plague, no one would get infected. In addition, Roland's purpose was to deter the wandering orcs around. If it really broke out, it would break out in the orcs' homes. However, given the orcs' living conditions, it wouldn't make much difference whether there was a plague or not!
"???" Aragorn was completely confused, not knowing what these people were trying to tell him.

……

"The fifth tribe! The orcs along the way have been basically wiped out. The rest are either deep in the southern and northern hinterlands or some loosely organized wandering orc squads! Your Majesty, we've eliminated the orc threat around us... at least that's the case this year!" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz reported boastfully, then added a note as if remembering something. After all, considering the mobility and reproductive capacity of the wasteland orcs, the results of irregular extermination should be seen in the Kingdom of Gondor... even the fortress was lost.

"The rest is up to Aragorn and his men! This will all be Dúnedan territory from now on, so the cleanup is their job! The Dúnedan will take care of them!" Roland shook his head. The Dúnedan were already adept at dealing with orcs, so this was a perfect match for their expertise. After all, in this vast wasteland, rangers were far more lethal than knights, and the Dúnedan were known for their Northern Rangers. These two old rivals would have plenty of time to kill each other in the future!
……

"Your Majesty, we have arrived at Mosquito Water Margin! This is our northern region! The East-West Avenue is right next to the southern part of Mosquito Water Margin..." Marquis Al-Tegran Franz respectfully introduced the information he knew.

“No need, I’ve been here before!” Roland patted Marquis Al-Tegran-Franz on the shoulder, and instantly Al-Tegran-Franz bowed even more, his attitude becoming even more respectful than before.

"So many years have passed, and this place is still the same!" Roland said to Thorin with emotion.

"A stinking ditch! It's no different from back then. Even frozen solid, I can still smell that stench!" Thorin complained.