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

Chapter 282 Transformation
"Oh! Turin! My God! You actually have two dragon knights! And both of them are dragon knight generals!" Balin was speechless.

"Hey! Old buddy! Relax! Maybe there will be more than two in the future!" Roland teased, patting Bahrain on the shoulder.

"Oh! Please give my regards to your great Dragon God! Isn't this a bit too much of a show of favoritism towards you?" Balin teased Roland.

"No, no, no! Favoritism cannot reflect my nobility at all! I should say that I am the illegitimate child of fate!" Roland said, half-jokingly and half-seriously.

"Hahaha! King Roland! Is it really appropriate to deceive an old man who is on his deathbed like this?" Balin laughed heartily.

"Hahaha!" Roland laughed along with Balin.

Bahrain probably never imagined that Roland, this time traveler, was actually no different from the illegitimate child of fate; after all, not everyone can time travel and become a king…

"Take a good wash and get ready! Tomorrow you will be crowned King of Moria! Lord of the dungeons of the Misty Mountains! We will all witness this for you!" Roland said sincerely.

"Thank you for your help to our dwarves! Lagrang will always be our friend! The Longbeard Clan will never forget their benefactor!" Balin looked at Roland with deep emotion, tears welling up in his eyes. He simply couldn't imagine how they could have wiped out the entire Moria and killed the Balrog without the help of the Lagrang soldiers!

"It's all for the contract! Now that we've signed it, we need to abide by the rules, right? Just like you kept your promise to Bilbo Baggins!" Roland smiled nonchalantly. After all, if the dwarves weren't wealthy enough, why would Roland have boarded their pirate ship? What did the dwarves' lives or deaths have to do with him? In Middle-earth, the Holy Mother wouldn't even last two episodes! It's precisely because everyone gets what they need that a balance and a win-win situation can be found!

“Of course! We’ll all keep our promises, won’t we?” Balin grinned. Although the dwarves weren’t exactly known for their good temper and were quite stubborn, they were undoubtedly loyal and trustworthy allies!

If Roland had to choose a closest ally, he would definitely choose Thorin over Thranduil! The long years had dulled the elves' passion; the reclusive elves were no longer the elves of the War of Wrath! But the dwarves were different! These stubborn, muscular men were exceptionally loyal! This was evident in the history of the Moria dwarves; many times, even when they were unable to defeat the darkness, they still emerged from the deep, easily defensible Moria to attack the rear of the Dark Alliance, inflicting heavy losses on Sauron's forces! "Are supplies still plentiful? It'll be troublesome if we don't have enough food and drink for tomorrow's big celebration!" Roland reminded them with a smile.

"Hahaha! Rum to go! The dwarven-style boneless roast meat will make you swallow your tongues!" Balin stroked his beard and laughed heartily.

……

"Moria has been recaptured! The game is now won!" Roland murmured to himself, gazing at the stone ceiling adorned with crystal chandeliers.

Looking at the map, Moria's location is crucial! To its west lie the Shire and other scattered human settlements. To its east is Lorient! To its north are Rivendell and the Lonely Mountain region! To its south lies Fangorn Forest! It's no exaggeration to call it the hub of the entire battlefield. If the Allied Forces control Moria, the benefits are obvious; at least their armies won't have to cross that damned Misty Mountains! With the support of Moria's caverns, the Allied Forces can quickly assemble, which will definitely be advantageous in the future War of the Ring! At the very least, they can mobilize a group of Western humans to support the North! As for Gondor in the south? Sorry! Better to sacrifice a friend than myself! And King Aragorn isn't all that weak, but the North is in a terrible state! The North has been decimated throughout its history! The two kings of the Lonely Mountain are gone! Whether on the mountaintop or below, the Eastern Barbarian armies have all been wiped out… Therefore, the people of the North have suffered the most in the War of the Ring! As the saying goes, King Thorin is just showing off! Only Lonely Mountain is getting beaten up! Didn't you see that the Vale and the Lonely Mountain dwarves almost wiped out the Eastern Barbarians? As for the Woodland Kingdom? Roland doesn't recall Thranduil intervening... but it's alright, Roland is used to Thranduil's conservative, spectator-like approach... after all, the final alliance war really hurt the Woodland Elves, even taking away their father!

Now Roland can only hope that the future Star Elves of Singrey and the Kingdom of Akvia will be reliable and not end up like the Three Kings of Lonely Mountain, getting beaten up again... Honestly, considering the number of Eastern Barbarians who sided with Sauron, Roland feels that even if he were to participate in the war, it would be a Pyrrhic victory. Historically, those Northern humans all retreated to Irubor with the dwarves! Even that easily defensible dwarven fortress almost couldn't protect those unfortunate souls... Not to mention the powerful and wealthy Kingdom of Lagrang. If things really come to a head, Roland will dismantle Swiftstream City without hesitation and retreat to Lulong Fortress!
Come on! Let's hurt each other! Let's mobilize the entire population! Roland doesn't believe the Eastern Barbarians have the guts to take down this war fortress! If they can really destroy a fortress defended by the strength of an entire nation, Roland will be completely convinced! I'm afraid even if they bring their entire population, it won't be enough to build it up!
Although Roland is not afraid of the future catastrophe that will sweep across the North, he can't really live as a country alone in the North, can he? What's the advantage of being isolated? Surrounded by enemies, he can't just stay in the fortress forever, can he? So Roland has to plan ahead now, at least to ensure that reinforcements from the Western world can reach the North quickly! Crossing Moria is much easier than climbing the Old Pass.

Roland rubbed his face, feeling uneasy at the thought of the dark war that would sweep across the entire north.

"How about... we consider an expedition to the Rune region after we get back this time? And get revenge on that girl Nyx while we're at it!" Roland's thoughts immediately took flight. That makes sense! A great idea! Since we can't prevent it, let's solve it at its source! Beat the Eastern Barbarians to a pulp! Bring them under the kingdom's rule, and see what Sauron, that troublemaker in Middle-earth, will use to wreak havoc on the north? Gombada Fortress? The Northern Orcs? Roland thinks he can crush those bastards with his feet! It's just that the nomadic tribes of the East are a bit harder to deal with! They're all cavalry, highly mobile! Having to wage guerrilla warfare against such a menacing force every day will drive anyone crazy! As everyone knows, the Kingdom of Lagrange is a nation that relies on infantry (at least right now, that poor king is powerless to organize a complete knightly system... let alone a well-organized legion of ten thousand knights; that's just a dream).
……

"Dong! Dong! Dong!" To the sound of the morning bells, Balin, dressed in brand-new armor, walked slowly through the east gate of Moria, accompanied by Floy and Olliouin. The golden sunlight shone on Balin's armor, making it gleam! The red carpet beneath his feet stretched all the way to the throne in the depths!

"The time has come! Balin! Go! It's time for you to take your rightful place!" Roland said sincerely to Balin, placing his hand on his chest. After today, Kazadoom will once again welcome back its king! Balin will transform from an ordinary dwarf general into the king of the dwarves!
(End of this chapter)