Chapter 139: A Conversation After the Meeting Ends

Watching Saruman, who looked helpless and ultimately compromised, Allen suddenly felt a sense of unreality; the task of prying away the Palantir had been accomplished far too easily.

One must know that Saruman's ultimate fate was inextricably linked to that Palantir kept in Orthanc.

Allen knew that a Maia who had left Valinor and had their wisdom clouded would likewise be influenced by emotions such as fear, jealousy, and envy; for a Saruman whose wisdom was clouded, it was quite normal to be bewitched after connecting with Sauron through the stone for a long time. After all, Sauron possessed immense talent in this regard—Ar-Pharazon, still buried in the Caves of the Forgotten, and Keleborn, who was shot to death by a hail of arrows, had profound experience with this.

According to the original trajectory, after being bewitched, Saruman not only accepted the allegiance of the Orcs of the Misty Mountains but also used Humans and Orcs to research some sort of Uruk-hai; it could be said he would stop at nothing to increase his power.

Moreover, his idea at that time was to first play along with Sauron and cooperate to dominate the world, with the ultimate goal of overthrowing Sauron and becoming the new Dark Lord himself.

But the current White Wizard was merely obsessed with power and had become keen on authority; furthermore, his original intention in doing these things was to oppose Sauron and hold his head high in front of the elite elders, especially the Valar, with the ultimate goal of proving his own capabilities.

The results caused by these two mindsets were, of course, worlds apart. Allen did not know whether Saruman, having lost the Palantir, would ultimately still meet such a miserable end; with his existing power, it was of course impossible to forcibly change the fate of a Wizard.

Allen bringing up the matter of the Palantir was, on one hand, to change the fate of the people of Rohan; after all, under the attacks of the Uruk-hai, the children of Eorl had suffered heavy losses, and it could be considered a special wedding gift delivered in advance to his friend Sengel.

On the other hand, it was also an attempt to weaken the power of Sauron's side. If there were no interference from Orthanc, and Gondor had the support of Rohan, the battle would be much easier to fight once a decisive battle with Mordor began.

Even if these goals were not achieved, it was good to disgust Saruman. This annoying old man, even if he had not joined the dark camp, was still impossible to like; that arrogant and hypocritical face made it difficult for Allen to feel even a shred of goodwill toward him.

But what Allen did not know was that the humiliation suffered here today made Saruman's heart crave power more than ever before.

This old man with a kind face looked at Allen with eyes full of resentment at this moment, and he had already made up his mind in his heart: once he returned to Orthanc, he would turn it into a fortress and begin recruiting the Dunlendings of Dunland to cultivate his own army, so that when the opportunity arose in the future, he could make this young man who spoke without thinking in front of others pay.

Allen sensed the malice coming from Saruman, but he did not take it too much to heart. He knew that, in fact, a Wizard's combat effectiveness in Middle-earth was very limited; even Saruman, who held the highest status and possessed the greatest strength, could only cast some large-scale destructive spells in specific environments. Usually, he just threw a fireball or bewitched people's hearts. As long as there was a large-scale army, there was no need to fear him making any waves.

It was just that one needed to be careful not to let this Wizard get close, otherwise, it would be easy for problems to arise. However, Saruman was a tech-geek; Allen felt that after obtaining the Ring this time, he might not step out of Orthanc for decades, so there was no need to worry about anything in the short term. As for decades later, by that time, it was not certain who would fear whom.

Moreover, after he returned, he would immediately arrange for corresponding personnel to go to Isengard to monitor Saruman's every move, so as to avoid any sudden situations to which he would be unable to react in time.

The entire meeting ended here. The result of the meeting did not satisfy everyone; at the very least, there was not a hint of a smile on Saruman's face when he left, and he did not intend to organize or attend any meetings related to the White Council for the next few decades. He was going to devote all his energy to increasing his strength, both personally and militarily.

Although Lady Galadriel had indirectly refused Allen's request at the meeting, before Allen left, she presented a Cloak woven by Elves to this neighbor of hers. In fact, the Elves of Lothlorien were quite dexterous and had high attainments in weaving clothes. To say nothing else, Saruman's white robe and Gandalf's grey robe both came from Lothlorien; they were not only warm in winter and cool in summer, capable of insulating the human body from temperature, but also extremely durable and could be worn for a long time without breaking. One must know that these two had been wearing their robes for who knows how many years—it was just that Gandalf did not take much care of his, looking all dusty, but Saruman's white robe could still emit a dazzling light in the sun.

Regarding the gift presented by Lady Galadriel, Allen expressed his heartfelt gratitude to this beautiful lady. At this moment, his business in Lothlorien was finished. For Allen, this trip could be said to have been worthwhile; not only did he achieve his initial goals, but he also gained many things he had never thought of.

After Allen and Gandalf left Caras Galadhon, Lord Elrond chose to accompany Allen. Besides the elite warriors of Rivendell, there was also an unexpected presence with him: the Lord of the Grey Havens, the Shipwright "Cirdan".

This Elf, who had lived in Middle-earth for nearly ten thousand years, had the rare appearance of an old man and kept a long beard; one must know that this was extremely rare among the Elven race.

Cirdan did not have many thoughts about following Allen; he just wanted to keep Elrond company and take the High Pass to return to the Grey Havens via the Great East Road. At this time, the human soldiers under Allen's command, while controlling the former Orc Town, directly set up checkpoints on the upper and lower passages of the High Pass and charged a not-too-exorbitant toll to passing travelers and merchants. This was a very common thing in Middle-earth; after all, Allen had led his soldiers to drive away the Orcs in this area and had made contributions to the surrounding residents, and even the Dwarves returning from the Blue Mountains to the Lonely Mountain paid this fee without complaint.

In Cirdan's view, this meeting was not much different from a farce. From the beginning, he felt that Saruman was making a mountain out of a molehill, so at the meeting, this ruler of Lindon maintained the attitude of a bystander, quietly watching the development of the situation without expressing any views. At this moment, his impression of Allen was not particularly good either; he felt that this young Human was a bit too sharp-edged and would sooner or later suffer a great loss because of this personality.

Allen had always wanted to build a fleet capable of assisting in combat within the river regions he controlled. Whether it was the Anduin River or the Running River, they both had sufficient width and depth for large enough warships to gallop on the rivers. Relying on the rivers could also accelerate the circulation of personnel and supplies, which was an extremely beneficial thing for the forces Allen controlled.

However, Allen's subordinates did not have the ability to build large ships. If it were just some small boats, Gangding, who had once commanded ships in battle, had a little experience, but those light warships similar to those of the Vikings did not quite meet the requirements. Therefore, Allen had always wanted to get to know Cirdan, who was known as the "Shipwright," and felt that now was a good opportunity.

Just as the group had left Caras Galadhon, Elrond found Allen. He was very curious about Allen's obsession with pursuing the "Star of Earendil" related to the Kingdom of Arnor, so he came directly to him to voice his questions.

Because Allen had lived in Rivendell for a period of time and had been treated with hospitality by Lord Elrond, the relationship between the two was quite good. In fact, for Elves, the passage of time would not affect their views on friendship; their lives were truly too long, and even if they did not see each other for decades, they still remembered the friendship between themselves and their friends.

In this regard, Humans and Dwarves were much worse; races with limited lives were always very busy, and friendship would be diluted by time in this busyness. Therefore, the beings of these two races would always take time from time to time to go out and visit their friends—in fact, Gandalf had more say in this point.

At this moment, facing the question from Lord Elrond beside him, Allen naturally had nothing to hide and spoke his thoughts truthfully.

"My Lord, this is actually a very simple matter. The current situation in Rhovanion seems very peaceful, yet any person with foresight knows that this is merely the calm before the storm. Indeed, after the Easterlings obtained large tracts of land and a large number of slaves, they have calmed down, but human desire is endless; having become accustomed to plundering, they will soon have new demands and launch a second round of attacks."

Allen said this and looked at the East, which seemed to be turning gloomy.

"Our enemy, since he has already sent out his servants, naturally has corresponding demands. I do not know what mission the Ringwraith I killed originally had, but his ultimate goal was in all likelihood Dol Guldur, which still stands in Mirkwood. Once Orcs and Easterlings entrench themselves in these two places, my people will be slaughtered by the enemy at any time. This is very dangerous; I cannot let such a thing happen. Moreover, the power the enemy possesses is extremely terrifying; not to mention the Orcs and Ringwraiths entrenched in Mordor, even the men of Khand, the Haradrim, or other Easterling tribes surrounding Mordor—no matter which army appears in Rhovanion, it will break the current precarious balance. For this reason, I must do my best to find power that can help me."

As he spoke, Allen began to count the reinforcements he could find to Elrond.

"I have never hoped for the help of the Elves. In the past years, you have indeed experienced too many battles and contributed countless blood for the peace of Middle-earth. It is a very reasonable demand for Elves to yearn for a peaceful and stable life. Even His Majesty Thranduil, who faces the enemy directly, has tried every means to avoid battle for his people. I can understand this feeling, and I will try my best not to trouble you for the sake of human affairs or ask for your help."

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Saying this, Allen sighed deeply and continued in a helpless tone.

"Then the kin closest to me is actually the Kingdom of Rohan. The current King is Lord Fengel—I don't know if you have heard of such a person. How should I put it? He responded to my request for aid, but demanded that I provide wealth enough to fill Meduseld. Regardless of whether I possessed this wealth, I rejected this demand, which was more like a robbery. In my view, this is an insult."

After finishing talking about the Kingdom of Rohan, Allen mentioned Gondor again.

"Then, those who can help me also include Gondor, the great Kingdom of Gondor. She is indeed very powerful, but she also has a lot of land to defend. The enemy I just mentioned could attack them at any time. In fact, I think the enemy who has returned to Mordor may have already launched harassment against North Ithilien and South Ithilien. The Steward of Gondor will soon be unable to attend to himself. Even if they had enough power, the time it would take for them to rush over would be too long; distant water cannot put out a nearby fire."

Elrond then took over Allen's words and said: "So you have your eyes on the descendants of Arnor hidden in Eriador? Actually, I have always wanted to know, what relationship do you have with them?"

"Yes, actually I know that these warriors who call themselves Northern Rangers are the descendants of the Kingdom of Arnor. My family cares quite a bit about them and has left a large number of records about them. I know they have been guarding the Shire and Bree area; it is precisely because of their protection that the people there have a relatively peaceful life. I also know that they are living in the area between the Hoarwell and the Mitheithel at this moment, and it seems they are living quite well. After all, the Orcs of the Misty Mountains cannot make any waves at this moment; it is relatively easy to just defend against the remnants of the Kingdom of Angmar."

As he spoke, Allen suddenly coughed a few times. The coughing even affected the muscles of his abdomen, producing a tearing pain. Allen guessed that the damage Saruman had inflicted on him was still at work; his Qi, which was constantly being consumed, was the best proof, though it was nothing serious.

"Cough, cough, cough, an ancient precept has been passed down in my family: if you want to get help from others, you should put forward a proposal that people cannot refuse at the very beginning. I don't have other things, but I happen to know the whereabouts of the 'Star of Earendil'. It is actually in the hands of Saruman, in the secret chamber of Orthanc. Since Saruman has requests of me, this ornament is very suitable as a gift for me to build friendship with the Northern Rangers. I think Estel would also very much like to find this treasure lost by his ancestors."

Allen actually did not know how much combat power the Northern Rangers could provide at this time—three hundred? Five hundred? The records he knew did not mention the number of these people in detail, but Allen guessed it would not be particularly small. After all, the area of the Shire and Bree was very large; if they only relied on the thirty-man squad led by Halbarad, it would be impossible to defend such a large area, not to mention that they still had to leave people to look after the areas where they lived themselves.

Allen's idea about this was that these Northern Rangers might be scattered in Eriador in squads of about thirty, guarding the Hobbits living in the Shire and Bree, which was a major thoroughfare. In the original trajectory, when the news of Aragorn going to war reached Eriador, only Halbarad's squad had time to rush over; the others either did not get the news or were on their way after getting the news. It was impossible that after a chieftain issued a summons, only thirty people responded—that would be too miserable.

At this point, Elrond had cleared up most of the questions in his heart. Although Allen still did not explain his identity, various signs indicated that this young man in front of him might have some inextricable connection with his brother's family; otherwise, who would spend a lot of energy and resources to pay attention to a group of rangers living in the Wilderness for no reason? It couldn't be out of boredom.

"I will convey your intentions to them. I think they will soon arrange for envoys to visit you."

Hearing Elrond's promise, Allen nodded with relief. He had been here pestering Lord Elrond for such a long time, wasn't it just because he hoped that this person would pass the word?

It was just that Allen did not notice that Cirdan, who had been listening to the whole thing on the side, was looking at him with eyes that were already somewhat different from before.