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

Chapter 243 Dragon Nest and Dragon Eggs
"Ah~ Roland, why can't we sleep a little longer?" Ollie murmured, rubbing his sleepy eyes and carrying an axe as he staggered behind Roland.

"If we keep sleeping, we can march at night from now on!" Roland glanced at the sky helplessly. It should be around 2 or 3 pm now. The allied army, after taking a nap, had been eating, drinking and packing their things and had been dawdling until now.

"Damn orcs! They've been chasing us! They chased us before we came to Lonely Mountain, and they chased us after we reclaimed Lonely Mountain! Now they even want to join in the fun when we reclaim Caesar'dum!" O'In angrily clenched his fist.

"So what? Should we run up to him and tell him, 'Don't come looking for us anymore'? Isn't that annoying?" Roland shrugged and spread his hands helplessly.

"Keep going! After we cross this ridge, we'll be out of the Misty Mountains! Rivendell is just ahead. Once we get there, we can all rest and enjoy the elven wine and vegetables!" Roland encouraged them as he rode his warhorse through the ranks.

"Your Highness, is there no spirits or roast meat?" some simple-minded dwarves asked Roland, looking at him with embarrassment.

"Slap!" Roland covered his face, speechless. Elves, a race that loves nature, actually want to eat meat? Are you dreaming? Besides, elves are naturally tranquil, and strong liquor has no market among them. So, shall I go and conjure up some rum for you?

"Hey! Keep moving! Don't stray from the group!" Bahrain patted them on the shoulder, getting Roland out of the predicament.

"I'm sorry, these children haven't interacted with elves for too long. Life in the Blue Mountains is a bit isolated..." Balin explained somewhat embarrassedly, offering an explanation for his people making such a common-sense mistake.

"It's alright, it seems the long march has made everyone a bit dizzy!" Roland shook his head. The confined spaces of the jungle along the way had already caused some of the dwarves to develop war-weariness.

"Yes! There have been constant attacks along the way, and we've been rushing around, so the soldiers haven't been able to get a proper rest..." Bahrain shook his head bitterly. After all, with so many people, the team was difficult to manage, and they were far less agile than the Lonely Mountain Expeditionary Force back then.

“Although we haven’t suffered any casualties, some soldiers still need to rest. After all, the Holy Light can only heal their bodies, but I can’t help them with their mental state!” Roland frowned. It was obvious that morale was declining day by day, but Roland and Balin couldn’t stop it. The Lagrang soldiers were alright; those loyal to the country and the king could endure hardship and persevere for the funds to build their future homeland. But the dwarves, who came with only passion and gold, were now only bound by their trust in Balin.

"Let's leave here as soon as possible... Dwarves really aren't suited for the jungle!" Roland shook his head. He had seen many times how dwarves tripped over tree roots because of their heavy armor. Their short stature gave them a natural disadvantage when marching through the jungle.

……

"Look what this is?" Caslo mysteriously held up the object in his hand and said to Roland.

"This is... a monster egg?" Roland stared in surprise at the giant egg in Caslo's arms. The egg was at least one meter tall and about half a meter wide, with a symmetrical teardrop shape.

"Where did you find this?" Roland asked in surprise, because the system scan revealed that the egg was unregistered! It couldn't be detected!

“Dragon’s Nest!” Caslow’s words were startling.

"What? There's a dragon's nest here? I didn't sense any dragon's might at all?" The Smurf in Roland's arms immediately popped out, its beautiful eyes staring intently at Caslo.

“The Dragon Rider is not lying!” The Smurf then shook her head again; she saw no lie in Caslow’s eyes.

"What's going on?" Roland's palms were sweating with nervousness.

"Don't get excited, it's just a former dragon's lair. So ancient that even its dragon's might has vanished... What's even more pathetic is that it's been taken over by a bunch of goblins... I found it under the goblin's throne; they're using it as a display of their high status." Caslo grinned, finding it utterly absurd. He'd accidentally discovered their lair while clearing out a wave of goblins attacking the allied forces... It was a buried nest, with obvious traces of dragon claws on the walls, but no trace of dragon's might remained. It seemed this dragon's lair was incredibly ancient, so ancient that even its dragon's might had dissipated...

"So do you know what this thing is?" Roland asked, tapping the petrified eggshell.

"It might be a dragon egg... but it's been too long, and the creature inside can no longer hatch." The Smurf shook his head in disappointment after sensing it for a while.

“I can’t recognize it either. Time has washed away its patterns, making it hard to tell what it is… But it’s most likely a dragon egg, just that it can’t hatch for some reason!” Caslo shook his head and said to Roland.

"Then what's the use of this thing?" Roland was speechless.

“Keep it as a collection! The king’s treasury is full of treasures and antiques, but yours is so big that mice could run around in it.” Caslo shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Your Highness, it's my fault. You don't have a treasure vault at all..." Caslo seemed to remember something after a few seconds and quickly turned back to Roland.

“…Thank you for reopening my wounds!” Roland was speechless.

“Keep it, King Roland! Even if it’s not a dragon egg, this fossil still has collectible value!” Balin said after walking over and examining it. After all, dwarves who specialize in mining are experts in this field. They often encounter high-quality fossils in the mines, and those in good condition usually have a considerable price.

"Okay, thanks. I'll keep this as a keepsake!" After all, it was Caslo's kind offer, and besides, it has sentimental value—it looks like a dragon egg! Anyway, my system space is huge; I won't lack room to store this fossil. I'll just consider it my first collectible.

What Roland didn't see was that as he stored it in the system space, a wisp of light quietly flowed through the dragon egg.

The dragon egg, which lay quietly in the system space, shook gently, and then strands of spatial power swept across its petrified shell.

"Alright, let's go!" Roland said to Caslo after taking one last look at the ancient dragon's nest.

"Sleep now, no one will disturb you anymore!" Caslo pointed the tip of his sword at the entrance dug by the goblins, and ancient, obscure dragon language rang out, as if mourning the passing years and the dragons that once lived here.

"Boom!" The dragon rider unleashed a torrent of powerful dragon energy from the tip of his sword. The terrifying stream of dragon energy swept away the entrance, and the ancient dragon's nest was buried underground in a cloud of dust, where it continued to slumber.

Caslo stood quietly for a moment, and only when the smoke and dust cleared and the entrance was no longer visible did he sheathe his sword and leave. Dragons! Even the ruins of a dragon's nest, once inhabited by them, could not be defiled by these filthy goblins!

"Wait for me! Your Highness!" Watching the group's departing figures, Caslo reverted to his usual unreliable self, frantically chasing after them.

"Hurry! I hope to see Rivendell by tomorrow night. I want to spend the night there! I want to see the beautiful elves!" Roland shouted, whistling.

(End of this chapter)