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

Chapter 165 Dolgodo
"Thud!" Iovia casually pulled her scimitar from the chest of an orc who was trying to sneak up on her.

"We've arrived! The old fortress!" Verway's eyes were filled with anticipation as a dark city covered in tree roots and thorns appeared before them not far ahead.

“Amrons…our home!” Thranduil’s eyes gleamed faintly.

"Everyone keep up! Don't fall behind!" Bard, the dragon slayer, drew his longbow and cautiously surveyed his surroundings. The dark, dense forest always made him feel incredibly oppressed!

"Alert! Be prepared to attack and counterattack at any time!" White Wing, carrying a large shield, weaved through the crowd, constantly patting the allied soldiers who had stopped, telling them not to just marvel at the grandeur of the elven city, but also to be wary of possible attacks at any moment.

"Archers at the rear! Rangers in the middle! Warriors in front! Knights, follow me! Don't panic!" Roland roared, looking at the dense jungle around them.

The dense tree trunks clearly hindered the soldiers' assembly. The places where they should have formed ranks were often blocked by the tree trunks, which caused gaps and loopholes to appear in the soldiers' square and circular formations as they moved. Although no major accidents were caused, many people were ambushed and injured as a result.

"Form ranks!" Suddenly, several low shouts rang out from ahead.

Dozens of dwarves scouting ahead raised their large shields, forming a tight double-layered shield wall. Several low-quality iron arrows that came flying at them could only clatter and clang against the shield wall.

"Counterattack!" The elven rangers following behind them immediately hid behind the shield wall, drew their bows, and launched arrows towards the approximate location where the enemy was hiding.

"Agh!" A shrill wail rang out, clearly indicating that an unlucky fellow had been hit by an arrow. Judging from the sound of the arrow, the creature was still lively and had a strong voice, so it seemed that the arrow had not hit a vital spot. However, after the elves fired another round, the orc was already silent.

"A rain of arrows!"

Having suffered heavy losses in this regard, the allied generals clearly had no intention of advancing again, and ordered their archers and rangers to unleash a barrage of firepower upon this area.

"Alright! No survivors! Retrieve the arrows, let's go!" Verway said coldly, arms crossed. His mental energy had already spread out to scout for half a day, and apart from the orcs hiding behind the tree, there were no other living creatures. As for why Verway didn't kill them? What a joke! A few insignificant orcs wouldn't warrant the intervention of a sixth-tier combatant.

"Let's regroup! We're too close to Dolgok. With such a large-scale march, it's no use trying to hide our whereabouts!" Roland said to the high-ranking officers of the allied forces.

The allied soldiers are currently scattered over a distance of several square kilometers, making them too dispersed. If a sixth-tier combatant is tied up, even a single cavalry unit from the enemy could inflict terrifying damage on the allied forces. It should be noted that even ordinary knights do not dare to underestimate the orc wolf riders!

"Dudududu!"

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

The bugle calls from all the tribes in the allied forces blended together, and the soldiers who heard the bugle calls quickly moved toward the place from which the calls came, as spectacular as rivers flowing into the sea. In no time, the entire woodland was filled with soldiers.

"Melee fighters in front! Rangers on the flanks, archers in the center! Spellcasters at the rear! Cavalry, roam freely, but don't stray too far!" Omske commanded without hesitation. In terms of combat prowess and multi-unit coordination, Omske was undoubtedly the best here. "What a great opportunity! It's a pity Peter Gro wasn't here, otherwise a dragon language spell would have been perfect!" Roland said regretfully, looking at the quietly standing Dolgodor fortress. Clearly, the Ringwraiths had no intention of venturing out to fight. From Roland's perspective, not a single orc soldier could be seen on the walls; they were obviously prepared for street fighting with the allied forces.

"They've abandoned the outer walls? Excellent! Attack immediately!" Thranduil's keen eyes instantly saw through the true nature of the defenses on the walls.

"No! Thranduil! You can't be so hasty!" Roland grabbed Thranduil's arm armor.

"What's wrong?" Thranduil asked, puzzled.

“Let’s proceed cautiously. They might not let us cross the walls so easily. They could be lying in ambush! Don’t forget, the evil faction has occupied this place for years. They have enough resources to interfere with our mental detection! Don’t be fooled by your mental power! Besides, there are three Ringwraiths hiding here! Don’t forget the tragedy of King Éovia!” Roland’s soft shout startled Thranduil.

Iovia gazed calmly at the quiet, lifeless city, his clenched fist revealing his inner turmoil. This was a battle for revenge! The elf, originally skilled in agile attacks, had been outmaneuvered by the enemy in his own area of ​​expertise. This was a considerable humiliation for Iovia and all the Star Elves.

"We will kill them all!" Iovia sneered, the gleaming scimitar in her hand stinging the eyes.

“Of course! But we don’t need to pay such a heavy price for these dying people, right?” Roland reminded the two elven kings, who were getting a little carried away. As for Verway? He didn’t bring any army with him, so why should we care?

In Roland's eyes, even if high-end combatants act recklessly, they won't die quickly. As long as their own side provides timely support, it's a minor problem. However, once the majority of ordinary soldiers are deployed in a moment of impulsiveness, they are difficult to bring back. They either annihilate the enemy or cut off their own forces to survive. It's impossible to expect most of them to retreat intact. And these ordinary soldiers are precisely what determine the life and death of a race. The Elven race's thin population base is partly due to the difficulty of reproduction caused by their long lifespan, and partly due to the fact that once the Elven army, overflowing with individual heroism, is deployed on the battlefield, the final casualties may take thousands of years to recover.

“It’s never wrong to be careful! King Eovia! King Thranduil! Think of the few remaining people of both races!” Balin, the dwarf leader, also stepped forward. Compared to the elves, the stubborn dwarves were in a worse situation. After several hardships, their population was not much larger than that of the elves. With the mentality of “everyone is a piece of cake,” although the dwarves were not afraid to die fighting evil, it would be better to reduce the losses.

“I agree!” Bud raised his hand in agreement.

"Me too!" Bai Yi brandished his sword, making his presence felt, though he hadn't really made it.

The Kingdom of Akvia and the Kingdom of Vale are prime examples of the "no man's land." One was ravaged by Smaug and then fought the Battle of the Five Armies, while the other was driven out by the Orcs and then fought the Battle of the Lonely Mountain. Neither faction wanted to lose too much of their fighting strength.

"This battle will be tough. We need to proceed cautiously and steadily. Don't forget! Orc reinforcements could come from behind at any moment to deliver a fatal blow! What we need to do is not give them any opportunity!" Roland had no objections whatsoever. He was joking! The Knights! The Royal Guard! The Elnino Rangers! Each and every one of them was a priceless treasure. If even one of them died, Roland's heart would be crushed into a piece of paper.

"Then let's leave it at that..." Iovia and Thranduil had no choice but to agree after seeing everyone's reaction.

"Attack!" Omske raised his lance and pointed it diagonally towards the abyss-like Dolgodo, the dark old fortress like a giant maw waiting to swallow this elite expeditionary force!

(End of this chapter)