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

Chapter 231 Carlock Town

"Clang clang clang!" The town's alarm bells rang frantically, and militiamen clad in leather armor and wielding wooden spears emerged one after another. They quickly climbed the three-meter-high city wall, stood behind the breastwork, and stared at the desolate wilderness in the thin mist with a mixture of fear and determination in their eyes.

"What happened?" Bion, a tall man as big as a giant, quickly grabbed a running militiaman and asked.

"I don't know, my lord... The watchtower's alarm bell has rung, we have to climb the city walls to defend." The militiaman finished speaking quickly, bowed hastily to Bion, and immediately ran to his position.

"Hey! What the hell? Could someone have invaded? That shouldn't be the case. How could orcs sneak into this godforsaken place?" Bion mumbled, scratching his head as he decided to go check out the watchtower.

"Guards, what happened? Why is the alarm bell being rung?" Bion asked as he approached the watchtower and looked at the guards who were still diligently ringing the bell.

"My lord! So many people! A sea of ​​people! They are fully armed... They will bring death! That surging silver light is the sharpness of their weapons..." the guards stammered.

“Be brave, young man! You may have the talent to be a bard…” Bion shook his head and smiled as he looked at the guards’ trembling legs and pale faces, while also sighing in his heart. Humanity in this era was truly living a difficult life… These displaced refugees were always worried about their safety. These rabble who had just put down their pitchforks and picked up weapons had no fighting ability whatsoever, but because their families were here, although they were terrified, none of them were willing to flee.

“Sigh…” Bion’s eyes flashed over all sorts of people one after another, and he sighed helplessly before speaking to comfort them.

"People! I am with you! The Druid family in bearskin is with you! I will fight with you to the last moment! Until you are unwilling to fight or your life ends! I will defend our homeland! Long live Karok!" Bion roared.

"Long live! For our homeland!"

"Fight! Fight for our homeland!"

……

"My God... it's so noisy over there!" Caslo picked at his ears; the deafening mobilization noise had already reached them.

“Something’s not right… There’s murderous intent! The hostility there is so strong!” Omsk frowned. He could vaguely sense the hostility there, which was one of the Light and Shadow Knight’s little talents.

“Maybe we scared them…” Roland shrugged and gestured behind him.

Look, look! A whole thousand heavily armored soldiers have arrived in this godforsaken place. The sunlight reflecting off their armor is dazzling even from miles away. Who wouldn't panic if such an unfamiliar army were stationed at their doorstep? You have to understand that in this impoverished place like Middle-earth, a thousand heavily armored soldiers could already wage an epic battle. When a whole mountain of gleaming iron cans is pressing down on you, anyone would lose the courage to resist.

……

"Oh! Goddess of Nature! Have you abandoned us?" Beon, atop the city wall, looked up and swore in the name of nature! He almost fainted at first glance; the gleaming armor was so conspicuous even in the thin mist. For a moment, he nearly blurted out, "Everyone, run for your lives!"

However, Bion was ultimately wise enough to understand that defending the city still offered a chance to turn the tide, while abandoning the city walls and fleeing would mean certain death. Even if he and his people escaped danger, the ordinary people would certainly not survive.

"May the goddess of nature protect us..." Bion prayed fervently. If the newcomers were hostile and a fight broke out... he could only pray for a miracle.

"My God! There must be at least a thousand people!" a sharp-eyed hunter exclaimed.

"Quiet! Prepare for battle! Our families are here. If you don't want your wives and children to become playthings, then act like men! The people of the North will never yield!" Bion roared.

……

“Looks like we’ve scared them…” Roland grinned, looking at the heavily guarded city. “Raise your shields!” Omske suddenly ordered.

"Click!" With a synchronized movement, all the Lagrange soldiers raised their shields.

"Defend!" Bahrain commanded, waving his hand.

"Whoosh!" The dwarves also raised their shields.

"What?!" Roland looked completely bewildered.

"What's going on? We don't intend to start a war!" Roland quickly said.

"As you said, we scared them. To prevent them from causing us losses due to their excessive behavior, we're just being prepared." Caslo shrugged. After all, accidental discharges are common when people are nervous.

……

“Human army? That’s a dwarven legion! How could there be a human-dwarven alliance in the North?” Bion recognized the battle banner of the Longbeard dwarven clan at a glance through the mist. It was a red banner (symbolizing the flames of smelting) with snowflake patterns on the border (representing the Longbeard clan). Two axes and a hammer were crossed on a black felt, and blue Arkenstones shone above them.

“Lonely Mountain Kingdom!” Bion’s pupils contracted. He knew that the dwarves had already reclaimed Lonely Mountain and had even hosted the members of the advance team. But he never expected that the dwarves would form an army so soon. It seemed that they were going to do something big again. And the only target in the North that was worth the dwarves’ mobilization was undoubtedly the Moria Mines!

“Hey! Lord! We’ve seen that flag before.” Bion’s people pointed to the Lagrange dragon flag fluttering in the wind, barely visible.

“We think we’ve seen that flag before… what was it called again? It was called something like ‘La Lang.’ We were able to build this settlement thanks to those people’s gold coins.” Bion scratched his head, but couldn’t quite remember.

"Look, they probably don't mean any harm..." Bion said uncertainly. He really couldn't understand which intelligent race, apart from orcs and those savage creatures, would want his small, run-down settlement.

……

"Boom!" The footsteps of everyone landed in unison, making a uniform muffled sound. Looking at the militiamen cowering on the city wall, Omske grinned. So they were just a bunch of cowards. Judging from their appearance, they probably hadn't put down their pitchforks for long.

"Great Romanian Conqueror! Guardian of the North! Ruler of the Swift River! Great Lord of the Dragon Kingdom! One of the leaders of mankind! His Highness King Roland of the Kingdom of Lagrange has come to pay his respects! Please grant us the proper courtesy due to your lord, and we will decide our attitude towards you based on your choice!" Omsk, riding his Abyss Warhorse, trotted to the city gate with his lance at the ready and shouted.

Clearly, hearing that long list of titles, regardless of whether they were true or not, these uneducated country farmers were completely stunned and turned their heads away, not daring to meet Omske's gaze.

"Pfft!" Roland almost spat out his drink. Listening to Omske's introduction, he nearly wanted to disappear into a crack in the ground. What the hell was all this? Were these guys exchanging battle titles among themselves? What kind of nonsensical titles were these? The Conqueror of Romanian? Roland just slapped Alexander in his face!
"This is the territory of the Bearskin-Clad Family! One of the northern human settlements! The town of Karok, which rules the Old Pass, Karl Rock Ferry, and the entrance to the Old Forest Road! I am Lord Bion here! Welcome, Your Majesty. May I ask your purpose in coming, and what can we do for you?" To Roland's utter surprise, someone actually responded with such seriousness...

A response has been given...

I agreed...

Up...

In that instant, Roland felt utterly mortified, a sense of utter disorientation washing over him. What was this? How could such an awkward conversation start? He was exhausted... Let's just destroy it.

(End of this chapter)