I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 126 At this time, Latarn was still on his way

The goblins' movements naturally could not be hidden from Tanes, Thorin, Dain and others in Long Lake Town, or rather, the scouts sent by Dain discovered these goblins who suddenly came around from the Mirkwood to the old site of Valley Town.

As the dinner in Long Lake Town celebrating the elimination of the orcs was coming to an end, Bard appeared and asked the townspeople to wait for a moment while he explained something to them.

Afterwards, under the townspeople's curious and puzzled gazes, Bard told them everything that Long Lake Town might encounter in the future, and hoped that they would follow him to the old site of River Valley Town to rebuild the city-state.

"I will not force every one of you to follow me to Riverdale, nor will I, like the previous mayor, make you leave your property behind and then expel you. For those of you who do not want to go, I will personally go to Mirkwood and beg King Thranduil of the Woodland Kingdom to accept you. As for those who are willing to follow me, I will, as before, do my utmost to ensure our survival and rebuild Riverdale."

That's what Bud said.

However, his words obviously could not soothe the hearts of all the residents of Long Lake Town. Except for some of Bard's followers, most of them just had a good impression of Bard and knew that he was much better than the fat mayor who lay on them and sucked their blood, but it did not mean that they could easily hand over their future to Bard.

Perhaps they might be swept up in the excitement of Bard's followers. Promise Bard and follow him to Riverdale.

But once they found that life in Riverdale was worse than that in Lake Town, they were easily confused and began to complain about Bard. Even after the dwarves won the Battle of Lonely Mountain and defeated the Orcs, this seed would not disappear.

This is everyone's nature, and you can't blame them. It also can't be eliminated in a few words.

Bud knew it himself, but there wasn't much he could do.

After communicating with Tanis, Gandalf, Thorin and Dain, he also realized that Lake Town could not resist the attack of the Orcs.

Or go to River Valley Town and rely on the remaining city walls there for defense.

Or he could abandon Long Lake Town again, just like he abandoned River Valley Town more than a hundred years ago, but this time Bard didn't know where he could take them.

It is true that the Woodland Kingdom will protect them, but it is obvious that they will not be allowed to live in the Woodland Kingdom for the rest of their lives.

But if the dwarves can win this war and Lonely Mountain can return to its former prosperity, then Riverdale can also become as good as before.

Bud admitted that there was a gambling element involved, but he didn't have any better options at the moment.

However, after Bard finished speaking, the two dwarves, Thorin and Dain, immediately came to his side and explained to the residents of Lake-town that the dwarves were willing to help them rebuild Dale-town, and promised that if they could recapture the Lonely Mountain, they would share part of the gold in the mountain with them as a reward for their support of the dwarves in this war.

With this promise, the confused residents of Changhu Town finally felt relieved.

However, Bard did not rush the residents to pack up and head to Riverdale, because Thorin and the others still had to wait for Thrain's army in Lake Town to join them.

A few days later, Dain suggested sending out scouts and a team of sheep riders to go to Riverdale to take a look. After all, no one could say for sure whether there were orcs in Riverdale.

Bard naturally nodded in agreement. He certainly didn't want to mobilize his compatriots to pack up and head to Riverdale, only to find that what was waiting for them in Riverdale was a group of grinning orcs.

Thorin told Dain to ask the members of the Lonely Mountain Expedition who followed him to Long Lake Town to join the reconnaissance operation.

After all, many of the dwarves he brought with him had often been between Dale and Lonely Mountain when Dale was still prosperous.

Dain thought about it and nodded in agreement. It was better to have a dwarf who was familiar with Riverdale as a guide than to run around in Riverdale.

The final candidates were confirmed to be Barin and Groin.

Balin was chosen not only because he was very familiar with Riverdale, but also because this amiable dwarf was quite famous among the dwarves of the Iron Hills, and Dain's war sheep riders were willing to listen to his command.

As for Gloin, Thorin originally wanted the brothers Balin and Dwalin to go, but Dwalin said he wanted to stay with Thorin, so Gloin was sent instead. In fact, Gloin's mission was mainly to protect Balin.

The next day, when Balin led Gloin and the War Sheep Knights across the frosty gravel road, the ruins of River Valley Town were bathed in the leaden morning light.

The broken human statue fell in the middle of the nettle-covered square, its empty eye sockets staring at the birds startled by the iron hooves of their war sheep.

Groin spat, his voice echoing in the cold wind: "Even rats don't want this damn place."

He was right. The valley was eerily quiet at the moment. Apart from the startled birds, there was no movement at all.

Balin, still smiling, agreed with Gloin. "You're right. Let's focus on checking if the walls are strong enough, and then we can go back."

Nothing unexpected happened during the inspection. The walls of River Valley Town were still strong, and some places only needed simple reinforcement to continue to perform their duty of resisting the enemy.

When Balin and his men were about to go back, the war sheep they were riding suddenly raised their front hooves and sprayed white mist from their nostrils as a warning.

At the same time, Balin and the others also felt the ground shaking slightly and heard a sound like nails scratching against rock.

A group of goblins came from nowhere and rushed in from outside the old site of River Valley Town, and more goblins continued to come in.

These hunched creatures, caked with dust and blood-tinged slime dripping from their fangs, were like a herd of beasts driven by an invisible whip, searching for something. They screamed, smashed open the rotten doors of the houses, and even pulled out the hibernating lizards in the cracks of the rocks to devour them.

Fortunately, Balin and his group were on the other side of the Valley Town, so they were not discovered by the goblins at the first time. However, they saw that the goblins were about to collide with their group of dwarves.

"Retreat to the cliffs outside River Valley Town!"

Balin reacted quickly, tightened the reins, and the war sheep's front hooves almost vertically stepped onto the remaining wall of the tavern.

These war sheep can jump between cliffs as if they were walking on flat ground, so it is no problem for them to carry the dwarf knights and jump onto the roofs of the houses.

Broken tiles splashed under the iron hooves of the war sheep, and more goblins were pouring out from cellars, wells and even the cesspools of toilets.

Relying on the war sheep's ability to climb almost 90-degree vertical slopes, they jumped onto the houses in the valley town and escaped by jumping to the mountains next to the valley town.

Balin and the others then looked outside the ruins of Riverdale, their clothes soaked with sweat. Thousands of goblins roamed the wasteland outside Riverdale, covering the ground like rotting moss.

What made Balin and the others look even more solemn was that some of the goblins suddenly turned to the northeast towards Raven Ridge, and their figures dragged winding black marks on the snow like daggers.

Balin took a deep breath and said in a heavy tone, "Let's go back. We must tell Thorin and Dain what we saw as soon as possible."

"What did you say? Why are there so many goblins?"

When Thorin, Dain, and Bard heard the news from Balin and Gloin, they all fell silent.

Balin hesitated for a moment and said, "And those goblins, if I'm not mistaken, should be the ones we encountered in the Misty Mountains. We killed their king, and Azog must have discovered this and took advantage of these angry goblins."

Dain slammed his fist on the wooden table, knocking over the wooden cup of beer. "Why aren't they even going to spare that lousy place called Riverdale? That maggot Azog is filling even the toilet with his minions!"

Bard glared at Dain and thought to himself, if you compare River Valley to a toilet, then what will become of the residents of Long Lake who are about to move in?
Dain also realized this. He coughed lightly and skipped over the topic of Riverdale before continuing, "Raven Ridge overlooks the entire eastern slope of Lonely Mountain. If the goblins occupy the commanding heights, I'm afraid Azog will be able to see all our soldiers' movements clearly."

Bud's voice was like a taut bowstring as he asked, "So what do we do now?"

Gandalf, who had rushed over, lit his pipe after hearing the news, and puffed away continuously. The pipe lit up and dimmed, and each flicker deepened his wrinkles.

When the smoke finally reached the top of the tent, the old wizard tapped the ash and said, "We can't give Raven Hill to Azog, otherwise the war will be extremely disadvantageous to us."

Then he stood up, and Bud asked nervously, "Where are you going?"

Gandalf said without turning his head, "Of course we should go find Tanes. He is the only one who may be able to deal with the goblins in Riverdale and Raven Hill."

Tanes was in a hurry to bring the soul collector back to the Golden Tree territory, and he had not returned for several days.

Bernal, Millicent and Egon had not been home for a long time, so they followed Tanes back to change their mood.

Upon hearing this, Bud quickly said, "Then I'll go with you. I also want to ask him for something."

Gandalf stopped and looked back at Bard meaningfully. "Then you can wait until he comes back with me and tell him that some of the wizard's methods are not suitable for outsiders to see."

He didn't want to expose Tanes's long-distance teleportation portal for the time being, at least until the war in Lonely Mountain was over and the surroundings were safe.

After hearing what Gandalf said, Bard had no choice but to give up.

Gandalf returned with Tanis at dusk, bringing not only Benar, Millicent, and Aegon, but also a fiery army.

As dusk cast a dark golden hue over the Lonely Mountain, unnatural ripples suddenly appeared on the surface of Changhu Town's lake. The wooden dock trembled slightly, and the fishermen, finishing their day's fishing, gazed out toward the town in uncertainty.

The Red Lion soldiers appeared first, marching in unison.

They were dressed in fiery red armor, like balls of burning flames, which was particularly eye-catching. Long swords and shields engraved with lion patterns hung on their waists and backs.

The Red Lion Knight following closely behind was even more majestic.

They rode red warhorses with carefully groomed manes and tails.

The knights wore red cloaks embroidered with golden lion emblems that fluttered in the wind. Their spears hung beside their saddles, and the tips of their spears flashed cold light from time to time.

The residents of Changhu Town were all shocked when they saw the arrival of the Red Lion Legion.

They stopped what they were doing, walked out of their homes, stood in the streets and alleys, and looked at the fiery red army excitedly.

Children ran around excitedly, pointing at the soldiers of the Red Lion Legion, their eyes full of curiosity and longing, while men and women talked in low voices, discussing the origins and purpose of this army.

When the huge figures of the three lion guards and the five goblin knights appeared respectively, the surroundings became quiet. The fishermen slumped in the bow of the boat, not even noticing that the fishing nets in their hands quietly slipped into the lake.

If it weren't for the scimitars tied to the Lion Guard's forelimbs and the Goblin Knights also bearing the emblem of the Red Lion Legion, they would have already started running away in panic.

Several children instinctively hid behind their mother's skirt, but could not help but peek at the walking flames.

When the dwarf soldiers saw the arrival of the Red Lion Legion, they unconsciously tightened their weapons, because the simple march of this army made them feel threatened.

When they saw familiar faces such as Tanes, Bernal and Gandalf at the front of the Red Lion Legion, they breathed a sigh of relief.

It turned out to be one of our own.

Thorin, Dain, and Bard rushed over immediately after receiving the news of the arrival of the Red Lions.

Thorin widened his eyes slightly. He had thought that the Storm Legion of Stonewell City was already the most elite army in Tanes, but he did not expect that there was an even more powerful Red Lion Legion.

When Dain saw this elite army, especially the Lion Guard and the Goblin Knights, his eyes flashed with envy.

He let out a hearty laugh, the sound almost shaking off the icicles on the eaves. "So that's how it is, Thorin. No wonder you've always been so confident in retaking the Lonely Mountain. Look at this army. If we can't take the Lonely Mountain even with their help, we should all be ashamed and commit suicide."

"I've heard from Gandalf about what happened in Dale and Ravenhill." Tanis spoke directly when he saw Thorin and Dain. "I've brought the Red Lions from the Golden Tree Territory. They're one of the best at siege warfare in our territory, but their commander, General Latan, is still on his way. He'll be here soon, in just a few days. When General Latan arrives, I hope you'll join us in attacking Dale. Bard, your men will come too, as a special forces unit to prevent any accidents."

Dain was stunned. "What about Raven Ridge? Don't we need to worry about it?"

Tanes shrugged. "Raven Hill? Leave it to Latarn. He will personally lead a group of red lions to take down Raven Hill."

(End of this chapter)