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

Chapter 234 Moving forward
"Then what should we do, Your Highness?" Balin asked, somewhat at a loss. The dwarves knew all too well how terrifying the destructive power of a Balrog hiding in a cave could be. Back when the dwarves still had several sixth-tier overlords, they were all ambushed and killed by that damned Balrog and forced to abandon Caesardoom. Of course, their strength now could not compare with the dwarven kingdom at its peak.

"It's too late to find a scout now... This isn't the Western town of Bree. There are no taverns here where you can hire mercenaries. We have no choice but to continue on our way." Roland shook his head helplessly, as they didn't have time to recruit a scout.

"Get some rest. We still have a long way to go tomorrow. The Misty Mountains wouldn't be the Misty Mountains if we didn't have a fight." Roland shook his head and decided to get some rest first.

“Yes, the goblins in the Misty Mountains are just as disgusting as the orcs…” Balin immediately showed a disgusted expression, clearly recalling some unpleasant scenes.

"What? Are you remembering your encounter in the goblin town in the Misty Mountains?" Roland asked with a smile.

"Oh! You know about this too?" Bahrain said awkwardly. Being captured was their most embarrassing memory. They were careless and didn't dodge. A net was put over their face... This was the deepest reflection in Bahrain's mind.

"Of course, do you think Chili and Philip's mouths are very secure?" Roland teased.

"Damn brats! I'll beat their skulls to a pulp!" Balin glared, his beard bristling. Being captured alive by the weakest goblins was the darkest chapter in his life, a truly humiliating experience for a seasoned warrior.

"So be careful this time... don't fall again, hahaha!" Roland said with a laugh.

"Um... Your Highness, I'll be going now. Please get some rest!" Balin waved his short legs and ran away.

“Omske!” Roland knocked on the wall next door.

"Your Highness...we've been waiting so long we're getting sleepy..." Omske said helplessly, rubbing his sleepy eyes.

"Don't doze off yet, look at the map!" Roland slammed the map onto the table.

"What's so interesting about this?" Omske flipped through the map listlessly.

“Rivendell!” Roland pointed to a location on the map.

"The last sanctuary of the Middle-earth elves?" Omsk glanced at the map casually.

“Hmm, do you have any way to persuade the elven scouts to join us? We need scouts!” Roland stared intently at Omske.

"Your Highness? Are you out of your mind? If the dwarves are willing to ask the elves for help... why are we even going through the Misty Mountains? Why don't we just start a second Battle of Azanubich?" Omske looked at Roland in shock. The reason they chose this path was because those stubborn dwarves refused to bow down to the elves!
“This is still negotiable; there is a basis for cooperation between Rivendell and the dwarves,” Roland pondered.

"Dwarves would cooperate with elves? I haven't seen any other examples of that, except for a life-or-death battle like the Battle of the Lonely Mountain!" Omske scoffed. Even the ghouls of Middle-earth knew that dwarves and elves despised each other.

“That’s true. The success of the dwarves’ expedition to Lonely Mountain is partly thanks to Lord Elrond of Rivendell. If it weren’t for him deciphering the Moon Script, the dwarves wouldn’t have even been able to find the secret door to Lonely Mountain!” Roland smiled.

"There's more to this than meets the eye?" This time it was Omske's turn to be surprised. Had the elves changed their ways? They were actually helping the dwarves?
"Just tell me if it's even possible! I need a scout right now! I don't want some Balrog popping out of some corner and giving me a big fight!" Roland said impatiently. Not having scouts would be disastrous. A scout with stealth abilities is a completely different story than a ranger without them. Besides, Lordaeron rangers aren't good at cave warfare, and the elves of Rivendell… tsk tsk tsk! Calling them the most versatile army in Middle-earth wouldn't be an exaggeration, would it?
“It’s difficult. First, elves have no obligation to help the dwarves’ expedition. Second, we can’t offer them the reward they deserve. Third, do you think elves would lower themselves to participate in the war? Not every elf is as humble as that half-elf Elrond.” Omske shook his head.

“If you really need it, you can look here!” Omske placed his hand on a spot. “Buri? Me fly over there? Did you eat this huge Misty Mountains? How far is it? The flowers would wither by the time you got there and back!” Roland sighed helplessly.

“Yeah! Let’s fly there! The dragons at Caslo’s house aren’t just sitting around doing nothing, are they? It’s not unreasonable to have them fly to Bri day and night and bring back a few reliable scouts, right? After all, dragons won’t care about that little bit of weight.” Omsk shrugged.

"It's such an easy thing to solve, it just depends on whether Caslo is willing to do it..." Omske nodded.

“Well, I think even if Caslo is willing… Kaldo probably isn’t… After all, dragons are intelligent beings, and I’ve never heard of anyone using dragons as laborers…” Roland shrank his neck and shivered. He felt that the probability of Kaldo spitting out his dragon breath at him was countless times greater than the probability of Kaldo agreeing.

“That makes sense. After all, Kaldor isn’t the four-legged wyvern it used to be.” Omske nodded. No one could ignore the objective factor of dragons. As intelligent beings, dragons and dragon riders only had a cooperative relationship; they signed an equal contract, not a slave contract. Historically, there were dragon riders who were abandoned by dragons because of their unsuitable character and qualities. After all, the arrogance of dragons was known throughout the world. While elves might be picky, at least they could communicate. Dragons, however, would simply unleash a breath of their dragon breath if they didn’t even deign to look at you.

“Omske, I’ve discovered you have the potential to be a regicide!” Roland sighed.

"I'm innocent! Your Highness, the Dragon God can attest to my loyalty!" Omske quickly swore an oath.

"Your suggestion is torture! Extremely restrictive! Are you trying to get me killed with a single swipe of your claws?" Roland was so angry he almost laughed. Although Emperor Lagrange possessed the ability to command dragons, his title as King of Dragons was built on sheer strength. Roland, in his current state, didn't even have a single dragon knight squad, let alone the Royal Dragon Riders. His own strength was also lacking; where did he get the courage to command dragons?

“Then there’s really nothing I can do… I really don’t know where along the way I can recruit scouts or similar professionals,” Omsk said, spreading his hands in a gesture of helplessness.

"Sigh... I can only hope the system will be more efficient with the daily check-ins... Even though I haven't seen anything good for over a month, I still have to look forward to it," Roland thought to himself.

"Alright, get some rest. I'll think about it some more." Roland waved him away.

"Your Highness, I shall take my leave." Omske bowed and departed.

……

"Thank you very much, Your Excellency Bion!" Roland said, shaking Bion's hand in gratitude.

"It's alright, we're in a cooperative relationship anyway, after all you paid me." Bion smiled憨厚ly.

“Alright, we’ll set off now. We’ll need your people to ferry us to the other side.” Roland nodded and smiled.

"Thank you, Your Excellency Bion." Balin also bowed with his hand on his chest.

"All troops, listen up! Board the ships immediately! Moria is beckoning to us!" Roland shouted, waving his hand.

(End of this chapter)