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

Chapter 126 The ghost cries and the wolf howls
"No way! Lord Lance, are we really going to camp in a place like this?" Jessie Ava nervously wrapped his blanket tighter around himself. Early spring was still a bit chilly for a goblin. Jessie Ava stared intently at the soldiers setting up camp in an orderly fashion and couldn't help but ask.

Short in stature and physically weak, goblins are obviously much less resistant to nature. They usually live in underground cities and rarely live on the open surface, because even wild beasts are enough to give them a hard time.

“Of course, there aren’t any caves nearby big enough for more than a hundred people to fit in. At least this place is relatively dry, so we can clear it out and camp here,” Lance said with a shrug.

"With limited resources, a temporary camp is certainly not as comfortable and safe as staying in a city, but with the rangers keeping watch, we should be able to get through the night safely," Lance said, trying to reassure Jessie, noticing her nervousness. As for why he didn't use heavy cavalry for the night watch, well... let's not even go there, they'd probably only notice him if he were right up close.

"Alright, guys, hurry up! Set up the fence first! Then quickly pitch the tents! It's getting late, and I don't want you all shivering in the night wind!" Lance clapped his hands and urged.

"Yes, sir!" the crowd responded.

……

"Crackling and popping~" Dozens of bright red bonfires were lit, and the heat of the flames instantly warmed everyone's bodies and dispelled the chill of the night.

"Thump thump thump!" A dozen Lordaeron rangers lightly touched the ground with their toes and leaped onto the nearby treetops. They hid their figures in the shadows of the branches, and their figures were almost invisible from below the trees.

"Alright! Your Highness Jessie, you can go and rest now. By the way, your tent is over there." Lance smiled kindly and pointed to a small, separate tent.

"Um... okay." Jessie Ava glanced at Lance a couple of times, still uneasy, before leaving, turning back to look at him every few steps.

"Phew!" Lance let out a long breath. He suddenly felt that this goblin king was more difficult to serve than a child.

"Be vigilant and protect our supplies. We can't go far without them! Don't let anything else slip through our defenses. Remember to rotate shifts with the rangers on guard duty," Lance said solemnly, looking at the dozen or so wagons in the temporary camp.

“Yes, sir!” a ranger nodded in response.

……

"Awooooo~" A series of eerie howls echoed through the dark forest, sounding particularly chilling.

"Waaah! What's that sound..." Jessie Ava huddled in the tent, burying herself in the blankets, shivering helplessly as she endured the eerie howling outside. But the tent and blankets couldn't block out the strange, piercing sound.

"What the hell is that!" Lance was also startled by the sound. He jumped out of bed, grabbed his longsword, and rushed out.

"My lord! It looks like a pack of ghost wolves..." A Lordaeron ranger grabbed a tree branch and swung down.

"What? Ghost wolves? This is troublesome... Although they are only low-level magical beasts, their numbers are too large! Be careful to defend! All rangers, climb the nearest trees to defend, take good care of the horses, all cavalry, put on your armor! Form a defensive formation within the campfire area!" Lance was stunned for a moment, then reacted. He gave orders while observing the surrounding situation.

"Damn it! Can't they even let people get a good night's sleep?" Lance thought viciously, his teeth itching with hatred for these monsters that disturbed his peaceful dreams. If one of them were in front of him right now, he would definitely chop it in half with a single stroke.

"Grip your spears tight! Hold your shields firmly! Don't panic! They're just a bunch of beasts! Don't be afraid!" Lance said in a deep voice after hearing the clanging of armor from the cavalry around him in their tension.

It's important to understand that the current heavy cavalry are just ordinary humans who haven't awakened any extraordinary powers. When facing ferocious magical beasts, ordinary humans are always at a disadvantage. Although their heavy plate armor can withstand most fatal damage, there is still a possibility of injury or disability. Therefore, when facing attacks from magical beasts, it's best to maintain a disciplined formation and be ready for battle to minimize losses.

"500 meters to the east! They're coming!" The Lordaeron ranger on the treetop was the first to spot the pack of wolves rushing rapidly in the distance.

At this moment, a group of giant wolves with green fur and a nearly three-meter-long ridge extending from their backs to their heads quickly leaped over the trees and moved swiftly toward the camp.

"Multiple Arrows!" All the Lordaeron Rangers quickly raised their longbows, their battle aura flowing from their fingertips onto the bowstring, and a crystalline arrow quietly condensed... "Bang!" The bowstring trembled, and the arrow flew swiftly across the sky, instantly splitting into three arrows, a total of 150 crystalline battle aura arrows flying towards the wolf pack.

"Ugh!"

"Woo!"

"Endure~"

A few ghost wolves were shot down, while many others that were not hit in vital areas were still rolling and struggling on the ground, their howls sounding unexpectedly eerie.

"Damn it! They've activated their innate abilities! They're ghosts!" The Lordaeron ranger, who had a better view from above, shouted as his pupils constricted.
Ghost: Immune to physical damage!
"Damn it!" Lance's heart sank when he saw that the Lordaeron Rangers' attack was not very effective and then suddenly heard this terrible news. You have to know that these Lagrange heavy cavalrymen don't have any battle aura.

"All cavalry, listen up! Discard your spears! Light the torches in an orderly fashion!" Lance had a sudden inspiration; fire wasn't a physical threat, was it?

"Whoosh~" In an instant, rows of heavy cavalrymen lit the torches they carried with them.

"Prepare to withstand the impact!" Lance held a shield in one hand and a sword in the other, with brilliant battle flames flickering on the blade.

"Kill!" Just as the ghost wolves were about to pounce, Lance burst out, his longsword flashing in a cold, smooth arc, swiftly cleaving two ghost wolves in two.

"Boom!"

"boom!"

The burning torches slammed fiercely onto the ghostly wolves, who were like phantoms. Instantly scorched by the flames, the wolves were pulled out of their ghostly state, their eyes wide and their teeth bared as they glared fiercely at the heavily cavalrymen in neat formation. No! They should be heavy infantrymen now.

"Hold your guns! Slaughter them!" Lance roared angrily. "You think you can get away with not letting us sleep at night?"

"Roar~" Several clever ghost wolves were preparing to flank and attack their rear.

"Bang!" Several fine steel arrows shot out accurately, instantly piercing the ghost wolf's skull and embedding themselves in the ground.

Lance gave a thumbs-up to the treetops in the distance, confident that the excellent eyesight of the Lordaeron Ranger would be enough to see it clearly.

"Send half of the men forward in a gun formation!" Lance ordered after surveying the remaining thirty or so ghost wolves in front of him.

"Tora! Tora! Tora!" The Lagrange heavy cavalry, lined up in a row, shouted in unison, constantly forcing the ghost wolves to retreat.

After retreating a certain distance, one or more ghost wolves were shot down. The Lordaeron Rangers, with their excellent marksmanship, were the main protagonists of this slaughter...

……

"All done, sir! A total of 67 ghost wolves! The magic crystals are all here!" A Lordaeron ranger, still covered in beast blood, respectfully handed Lance a small bag. Despite the ghost wolves' large size, the magic crystals were only the size of a longan.

(End of this chapter)