Chapter 142: Destiny

This trip to Lothlórien took Allen nearly three months. By the time he returned to Wilderness Town, the area around the territory had entered the busy harvest season once again. It must be said that in this era, trying to accomplish anything is extremely difficult; the time wasted just on the road is immense.

However, by the time Allen returned, the recruitment of Knight apprentices had been nearly completed by the Cabinet. Most of the one thousand recruits were children of the appropriate age, and almost all of them had received some education in the schools Allen founded. A small portion were young active-duty soldiers; some of them had even followed Allen into the tunnels of the Misty Mountains and participated in the battle to save the people of the Bëor tribe. Although they were not old, they could be considered seasoned veterans.

After recruitment was completed, these qualified Knight apprentices had already begun basic training. The subjects they currently had to master included tending to horses and basic horsemanship, identifying and maintaining common weapons and armor, as well as learning military discipline and common commands.

What was different was that the boys mostly learned the use of lances, Longswords, and Knight Shields. If they had talent, they could also learn some throwing techniques. Depending on their age, the training armor provided to them was also heavy armor, with an emphasis on physical conditioning. Beyond this, most of the education they received was on how to kill enemies during a headlong charge. Almost all the Swadian Knights had become their instructors.

As for the few girls, in terms of weaponry, they mostly learned archery skills and wore light armor. Although they could not withstand the slashes and stabs of enemies in melee combat, they could still reduce the impact of arrows while shooting from horseback.

The education they received focused on strategies for how to disengage at the first opportunity after a head-on encounter with the enemy. If they could not disengage, they were to ensure they maintained a safe combat distance from the enemy and use bows to end the fight. Of course, they also received melee training, but mostly with lightweight weapons. At the same time, they received extensive training in scouting and tracking. If they were interested, they could also learn some Flying Dagger throwing techniques.

Regarding the entire training process for the Knight apprentices, Allen did not intend to set a specific duration. Whether they could successfully join the newly formed Kingdom of Rhovanion Knight Order depended entirely on assessments. After all, the age gap among this batch of apprentices was large, and the time required to complete training varied.

By the time Allen had arranged these matters, winter had arrived. Cress, who had represented Allen to congratulate Sengel on his wedding, finally returned to Wilderness Town, bringing with her a series of events that had occurred in Gondor, as well as Sengel's request, all at once to Allen, who had just finished his busy life.

Regarding the fierce war that had suddenly broken out between Mordor and Gondor, Allen was also plunged into confusion. In his conjecture, the two sides should have been engaged in minor skirmishes; it was impossible for them to have entered into a full-scale war conflict so quickly. However, since things had already happened, Allen could only guess that his own little butterfly wings had changed the original trajectory of history.

Yet Allen also knew that Gondor's strength was great and they would not fall into a disadvantage in battle in the short term. It was just that the support he might have originally obtained might not materialize. However, for the Kingdom of Rhovanion, this could not be considered entirely bad news, because Ashur, who was entrenched in the east of Rhovanion, could not possibly obtain support from Sauron in the short term. Thus, the balance between the two sides would not be broken in the short term, which was a good thing for Allen. The longer the time dragged on, the more strength he could accumulate.

It was just that the news from Heidelberg was not very good. After a season of recuperation following the harvest, the Easterlings, having obtained large food reserves, were no longer willing to abide by the previous armistice treaty. Some Easterlings on horseback began to appear openly near the Running River. Alayen and his soldiers had already entered a state of combat readiness, constantly guarding against the Easterlings crossing the river to plunder the fruits of their labor.

Allen had thought of this long ago. Even if a large-scale war did not break out between him and Ashur, some minor skirmishes were bound to occur; after all, the plundering nature of the Easterlings could not be changed.

Regarding the active offensive of the Easterlings, the orders Allen gave to Alayen and Fatis were to rely on the Running River for defense and not give the enemy a chance to destroy the territory. Moreover, it was now winter, and the soldiers Allen had previously recruited were entering the slack farming season, which was a perfect opportunity to adapt to the combat rhythm of the Easterlings and accumulate some experience for the future decisive battle.

As for Sengel's request, Allen naturally would not refuse. However, it was winter now, and traveling long distances to Rohan in this frigid weather was an extremely challenging task for James, who was already nearly fifty years old. Although his physical condition was considered quite good for an average person, there was a great possibility of encountering some unpleasant things during the journey.

However, the leader of the Royal Guard from the Rohan capital who led the team pleaded with Allen in a humble tone to let the doctor depart as soon as possible, because their King's illness was extremely severe and could not wait for a few months. Although Prince Sengel had been guarding his father's side during this difficult time and had shouldered the responsibility of governing the territory, no loyal subordinate wanted to see the King they served die; that was always a sad thing for a country.

After considering this for a while, Allen gave the bottle of Elixir of Life he had kept to his old friend James. In Allen's plan, one or two bottles of life-extending medicine had originally belonged to this good friend of his; now it was just a matter of choosing James first between the two. As for Bandak, there would be plenty of opportunities in the future, and in terms of age, James was indeed slightly older.

After drinking the medicine, James felt the changes in his body and did not doubt anything. Since Allen already had the ability to perform great transformations, conjuring one or two bottles of medicine with miraculous effects was not particularly outrageous. If he hadn't learned that this medicine was extremely precious, James might have even wanted to study how it was made.

But this idea was destined to never be realized. Middle-earth did not have the conditions to produce such medicine, and Allen could not possibly provide finished medicine for James to experiment with; the probability of failure was simply too high, and the cost was something Allen could not afford.

Soon, James, feeling much younger, led his apprentices and followed the Royal Guard of Rohan on the road to Edoras. At the same time, Allen also dispatched a small squad of Cavalry as James's entourage to accompany him; it was always convenient to have one's own people when traveling abroad.

【By the way, the best app for listening to books currently is the source-switching app, install the latest version at. huanyuanapp.】

If James could successfully cure or alleviate King Fengel's illness on this trip, then the friendship between Rohan and the Kingdom of Rhovanion would be formally established, and the previous bit of unpleasantness would naturally vanish into thin air.

Even if James were powerless to help, given Sengel's character, he would not blame Allen for trying, and the friendship between the two could still continue.

After watching James, who bore a heavy responsibility, depart, Allen entered a relatively leisurely period. Many year-end tasks only required him to choose, to nod or shake his head; he did not need to do everything himself. He spent more time observing the progress of various matters to prevent well-intentioned policies from developing into bad results.

Unlike Allen's comfort, Saruman, who lived in the tower of Orthanc, was very busy. He was currently sweating profusely while using the Palantir, and he had been doing this for a long time.

Yes, even though nearly half a year had passed since the White Council meeting, Saruman still had not begun to fulfill his promise to send the Palantir out of Isengard.

This White Wizard's thinking was simple: although he had agreed at the meeting to send the stone to Rivendell, Saruman had cunningly not promised a specific time. Because he knew that, given the long lives of the Elves, a year or two would pass in the blink of an eye, and delaying for a while would not attract Elrond's attention.

Saruman hoped to obtain more information about the Ring during this time, and his search over the past few months had been very effective. In the stone, he saw a manuscript belonging to the Jewel-smiths Guild that had survived the fires of war. The excited Saruman had already arranged for subordinates loyal to him to search the ruins of Eregion, and he believed there would be news soon.

And today, the performance of the Palantir was very strange. While using it, Saruman always felt his gaze being forcibly drawn by an inexplicable force, looking toward the east. It was a land shrouded in darkness, where a towering black tower gradually became clear in his eyes, and at the top of the black tower was an Eye of Sauron overflowing with evil firelight.

The moment he saw this eye, Saruman knew what he was looking at. In that eye was the evil figure of the Dark Lord, and he himself had been forcibly drawn to this place by Sauron's power.

At this moment, Saruman, filled with fear, wanted to disconnect from the stone, but how could Sauron let the hooked prey escape so easily? For a time, a powerful force imprisoned Saruman's soul, and a large amount of gibberish containing evil power was polluting Saruman's will, bewitching the Wizard who was addicted to power.

In reality, an extremely distorted expression appeared on Saruman's face, which meant he was enduring unbearable pain at this moment. Suddenly, his hands left the stone, and his whole body fell onto the cold stone floor. He stood up immediately, not even bothering to wipe the sweat from his face or the dust from his white robes, and instead covered the stone in front of him with a black cloth in terror.

Because Sauron's power at this time was too weak to imprison his struggling prey for long, he ultimately let Saruman escape his ambush. Although unwilling, the result was just that. Sauron fell into silence again, and the opened Eye of Sauron closed once more.

Saruman, who had barely steadied his body and was panting heavily, looked at the stone in front of him with a struggling expression for a long time. Finally, after a sigh, he summoned his subordinates and handed over the wrapped stone, instructing them with a serious expression: "Send the contents of this package to Rivendell and hand it to Elrond personally."

The fear of being controlled by Sauron ultimately overcame Saruman's craving for power. In this mental duel with the Dark Lord, the White Wizard could clearly feel Sauron's weakness. Although he did not know why his enemy was in this state, he knew that if he hadn't been lucky enough, he might have already become Sauron's puppet from this moment on. For him, this was an extremely terrifying thing.

So, having figured everything out, Saruman did not want to see this stone for even a second longer. Even though he had successfully escaped this ambush, he would need a very long time to recuperate to completely clear the influence of Sauron on his spirit.

During this time, Saruman prepared to rest for a while, then personally take the Star of Earendil to Wilderness Town to complete the transaction with Allen. Since there was no way to obtain more information from the stone, that master Ring that once belonged to Humans was very important to him.

In every respect, Saruman was a person who acted extremely decisively and had great ability. However, his overly arrogant personality also brought his situation to a very dangerous point at this time. If it weren't for the series of accidents triggered by Allen, the White Wizard might have already completely fallen and become Sauron's puppet.

Even though Saruman's fate had deviated slightly from its predetermined trajectory because of Allen's arrival, the strong desire for domination in his heart would not change because of other things. The team carrying various supplies to Dunland signaled the ambition of the master of Orthanc to build his own army.

You must know that Saruman had always managed the lands of Isengard in the name of a steward, and once he had an army, this situation would certainly change. Moreover, some Orcish from the Misty Mountains had already arrived on the lands of Isengard. Upon learning the news, Saruman did not arrange for his subordinates to clear out these minions of the enemy at the first opportunity. It was clear that he was struggling with how to treat these fast-breeding scum.

Saruman himself knew that once he accepted the allegiance of the Orcish and Warg, he would stand forever in opposition to the White Council. So, he had not yet made a decision. Now, he was prepared to postpone this matter and deal with these annoying things after the transaction was successful.

A few months later, Allen, who was inspecting the training progress of the Knight apprentices, welcomed two waves of guests one after another; they came from Orthanc and Eriador respectively.