Chapter 154: The Situation of the Easterlings

After walking out of the cave in Sharpster, Allen did not spend much time thinking before exchanging the gem for abilities via the Simulator. Although keeping the gem would have been highly efficient for finding people and objects, and would have been a great help to Allen's situation at the time, "Favor of the Firmament" could only be used in the Magic Continent. Once exchanged for abilities, however, he could use the "Chain Lightning" and "Eye of the Sky" abilities in any scenario, or even in Middle-earth; this was a fundamental difference.

After the exchange, Allen immediately tested the effects of the abilities. Allen had Momucha hide, then triggered the "Eye of the Sky" ability with him as the target. As a small amount of Dinar was consumed, Allen's eyes emitted a deep blue light. What appeared before his eyes was no longer his normal field of vision; it was as if he were standing in the sky looking down. Momucha himself and the situation around him appeared clearly in his field of vision. After a brief comparison, he very easily found Momucha, who also had some experience in hiding; after all, being proficient in tracking and reconnaissance naturally meant one would have some insights into how to conceal one's tracks.

Perhaps because the place where Momucha was hiding was not far from Allen's position, and Momucha himself was just an ordinary person, the Dinar consumed this time was very little, and it provided a very precise location right from the start. Allen guessed that if he wanted to look at certain powerful existences, the Dinar consumed would likely be very high, and some might even exceed the ability's limit, not allowing him to see them at all. He just didn't know if Sauron was within this range of "unviewable" targets.

As for "Chain Lightning," Allen did not intend to test it lightly; it was a lethal skill, and it was never good to hurt the innocent. However, the situation on the continent was still very chaotic at the moment, and on the way back to Zendar, he and Momucha ran into some blind Snowfield Bandits.

After the classic opening line of "Give me some money, and my brothers and I can guarantee your safety," the bandit leader did not see the purse he had imagined, but instead saw Allen's index finger, which was still emitting a pure white light in broad daylight.

"Crackle, crackle!"

The team of over a dozen people was wiped out clean by a bolt of lightning released by Allen at full power from twenty meters away. The first few to be hit were scorched to charcoal by the lightning without a sound, while the few at the back barely managed to keep their lives, but they collapsed to the ground in wails, and it was estimated they would be unable to move for a short time.

The release time for this bolt of lightning was between two and three seconds. Allen guessed that if it weren't released at full power, the speed would likely be a bit faster. The ability consumed was about one-quarter of Allen's total, but the recovery speed of the Qi Technique Allen practiced was still quite good. If there were no other drains, he could release it once every five to ten minutes.

The lethality of "Chain Lightning" was also satisfactory. After clearing out these dozen or so people, there was clearly still some power left; the number of people it could affect should be between twenty and thirty. It was just that these were all trash bandits without the slightest bit of power. If he were dealing with enemies who possessed Qi Techniques or other powers, the effect might not be as good. Of course, if the opponents were all elites wearing Iron Armor, the effect might be even better.

Allen, who returned to Zendar with Momucha, inquired about some news and learned that after the Druid Sect failed to hunt him down crazily in the first two months, the wind had died down. However, because he had been hiding for so long this time, only about half of the subordinates he had dismissed were able to return to his command; the others had either died in battle or had already found other employers. This was a sigh-worthy matter.

After resting briefly in Zendar, Allen ended this simulation in the Magic Continent and intended not to turn on the Simulator again in the short term, because the area around Wilderness Town had already entered the autumn harvest stage, and the information he needed and the preparations for the war were almost complete. Now he needed to devote more energy and time to this war he had been preparing for so long.

Just as Allen thought, as a commander who had fought his way out of the law of the jungle, Ashur naturally could not stop his wild ambition to expand after suffering a setback. At this time, his base camp was located south of the middle point between Heidelberg and Red River Town. This place was closer to the south, so the climate was warmer, the water sources were abundant, and the sunlight was sufficient. The surrounding area was close to a lush forest, and the Northern Men who had not yet been attacked by Ashur had built a large number of farms and vineyards here.

After two years of development, Ashur had built a permanent camp on the basis of the many local farms and vineyards, naming it Chariot City, representing that this was his base camp.

Not only that, he had also built several simple bridges over the Running River. Clearly, half of eastern Rhovanion could not satisfy his ambition. Allen guessed that Ashur's next plan should be to cross the Running River directly to ravage the southern region after gathering enough strength, so that his forces would border the Brown Lands, making corresponding preparations for later threatening Rohan and Gondor, and also being able to better coordinate with Dol Guldur in Mirkwood to eliminate the enemy's resistance.

Even Allen had to admit that Ashur's next plan was extremely effective, and the probability of it being realized was high; if it were him, he could only do the same.

Ashur indeed thought so too. When he first attacked Rhovanion under Sauron's orders, the population he could directly or indirectly control was less than twenty thousand. After the consumption of the war, the population in his hands had not been greatly affected, but the warriors who could go to the battlefield had decreased, while the number of slaves for farming and service had greatly increased.

After the battle where Hamish and Khamul died, the war between the two sides ended. At that time, the power in Allen's hands was very fragile, the Dwarves' legs were very short, and the Woodland Elves, who possessed powerful strength, were unwilling to go deep into the Wilderness to hunt down the Easterlings. Both sides had to sign a treaty and enter a brief peace.

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This was a fairly good result for Allen, giving him time to digest the gains from this war, and why wouldn't it be the same for Ashur?

At that time, Allen saved a large group of Northern Men, most of whom were the old, weak, women, and children. Although they were numerous, they were not young and strong adults after all. However, the prisoners of war of the Northern Men who fell into Ashur's hands were thousands of young and strong adults. These slaves were currently either harvesting crops for the Easterlings in the fields or helping Ashur brew Wine in their former vineyards.

Having stabilized his base in these two years and possessing vast lands and abundant supplies, Ashur had been constantly sending envoys to lobby smaller tribes in the Rhun region to come to Rhovanion and join him.

At this time, the ale produced in Red Leaf Town and the Wine produced in Chariot City helped Ashur a lot during the lobbying process, because the cruel living environment caused most Easterlings to be alcoholics. The attraction of alcohol to them was very high, just as the comfortable life in the Shire made most Hobbits smokers.

Moreover, most of the Easterlings near Rhovanion knew that the produce here was richer and the survival pressure was small. With sufficient supplies, everyone could live, and there was no need to face backstabbing from their own kin at all times.

Under the blessing of various reasons, nearly ten small tribes brought their families to Rhovanion within a few years, causing the population under Ashur's command to suddenly increase by more than twenty thousand. Feeling that his power was rapidly expanding, Ashur did not treat these small tribes poorly, drawing large tracts of land within his control for them to live on. Of course, tribute still had to be paid; this could not be exempted.

But even so, these newly arrived Easterlings held Ashur in great awe. Their living environment had indeed been greatly improved, and from time to time, blind merchant caravans would enter their territory, and then these Easterlings would harvest a large amount of supplies and a portion of slaves.

Such a life was simply a life these small tribes had never imagined, which also led to their increasingly arrogant and domineering behavior. After the merchant caravans decreased, they set their sights on Alayen's territory, Heidelberg, and the section of the Running River close to Mirkwood. Most of the conflicts between the Easterlings and Alayen over these years stemmed from these newly arrived Rhun people.

In fact, Ashur knew that his opponents were not to be trifled with. He was not clear about the strength of the Humans, but Ashur knew something about the power of the Dwarves and Elves. Therefore, after signing the treaty, he rarely did anything to provoke the other side. Over these years, he had only sent one or two small teams to spy on the situation in Allen's territory, such as the small team of enemies wiped out by Wulf in the south of Mirkwood.

Ashur did not intend to stop the actions of his subordinates, because the nature of the Easterlings was like this: they were accustomed to plundering and bullied the weak while fearing the strong. If Ashur sent envoys to stop these new subordinates, he would inevitably lose his majesty in their eyes, which was unfavorable for Ashur's rule.

This Easterling Warlord, who resided in Chariot City, felt that after these new subordinates suffered some losses at the hands of the enemy, they would naturally learn to behave. For example, Kurda, who now lived in Iron Wall Town, and Baal, in Red River Town, had never sent troops to harass Allen's forces, and even rarely engaged in looting.

When Baal was hunting down the escapees from Red River Town, he was scared out of his wits by Grim, who had transformed into a great bear, and he abandoned his teammates to flee the scene in a panic. After calming down a little, Baal, on his way back to Red River Town, instructed his subordinates to only say that they had separated from Akad and the envoy to pursue the enemy, and that he did not know their fate. After colluding with his subordinates, Baal returned to Red River Town and used all kinds of means to recover Akad's old troops. The population once swelled to more than five thousand, and he became the most powerful Warlord under Ashur in one fell swoop.

By the time Ashur learned the ins and outs of the matter through his secret agents, Baal had already relied on the foundation of Red Leaf Town and the large amount of farmland around it to win over most of the power in his hands. Ashur knew that it was no longer possible to cut meat from Baal's hands at this moment, unless he sent troops to attack the well-defended Red River Town.

Ashur, whose strength had been damaged repeatedly, would of course not do such a thing. In desperation, he could only switch to a soft policy to maintain Baal's loyalty to him, while Baal, fearing Ashur's power, also dared not do anything excessive.

For these few years, both sides maintained a decent facade on the surface, but Baal had never personally attended the meetings convened by Ashur. Every time, he found various excuses and sent envoys with large amounts of gifts to represent him. Both sides understood the meaning behind this, but Ashur maintained a certain restraint.

He hoped that he could surround Red River Town with a large army and then force Baal's subordinates to tie Baal up and bring him out. This way, his own strength would not be damaged, and he would have cleared out a traitor. At this moment, his strength could not yet easily make such a move, but according to this development trend, this opportunity would come soon, and Ashur was not in a hurry.

Of course, Baal also knew that he had offended Ashur. Watching Ashur's strength continue to expand, his heart was also very anxious. He was also constantly sending envoys to secretly contact other Warlords, hoping to form an alliance for self-preservation. However, there were almost no responders. At this moment, he was already considering whether to contact the Northern Men across Mirkwood, but he had previously killed Herbert, the lord of Red River Town, and the seeds of hatred had already been sown; the hope of success was truly slim.

For this reason, Baal built several bridges on the Redwater River behind him. Once the situation was not right, he was prepared to take his elites to defect to other Easterling Warlords. This kind of thing was also very common within Rhun.

Ashur's other original subordinate, Kurda, who had luckily escaped with his life in the Battle of Long Lake, placed his base camp in Iron Wall Town near the Iron Hills. This was actually not a particularly good place; not only was it very close to the Dwarves' forces, but there was also very little arable land around. However, Kurda still unhesitatingly placed his base camp here.

In that battle, he witnessed how powerful the enemies he faced were. The unmoving Dwarves and the fierce Elves left an extremely deep impression on him. If he hadn't reacted quickly at the time, he felt he would very likely have stayed in that fire along with his good friend.

Ashur looked at this fairly loyal subordinate who insisted on living in Iron Wall Town, so he didn't say much. After all, it could form a certain deterrent to the enemies in Long Lake Town and could also monitor the movements of the Dwarves, so he did not refuse Kurda's request.

Regarding Kurda's failure in Long Lake Town, Ashur did not blame his subordinate too much after learning that Khamul had disappeared after the battle, and at the same time, he supplemented Kurda with a few men to restore part of his strength.

Ashur knew how powerful Khamul was. Since the Ringwraith, who was a capable subordinate of his master, had failed in this raid, Kurda's panicked escape could barely be tolerated.

Ashur, who was still constantly recruiting subordinates, was planning to make a move on the southern region. At this moment, he had already sent two small tribes across the Running River, preparing for his large-scale offensive. But what he didn't know was that most of the situation in his tribe had already been learned by the enemy across Mirkwood, and this enemy was already sharpening their swords, preparing to make a move against him.

However, Ashur did hear from his subordinates that some Northern Men had recently begun to wander in his territory, seemingly scouting for information.

Ashur did not believe that the Woodland Elves, who had always pursued a stable life, would send troops to help the Northern Men attack him. Without the help of allies, a Human kingdom that had only been established for ten years could not possibly have enough foundation to attack him; just the weapons and equipment alone would be enough for such a small country to accumulate for a long time.

Although the reconnaissance team sent by Ashur himself was annihilated, he himself had obtained the general situation of Allen's forces through some secret channels.

Therefore, Ashur did not care about this intelligence. However, this Easterling Warlord still made a certain response to this matter, placing two of his Warlords near Heidelberg to monitor the movements of the Northern Men, while he himself continued to plan the invasion of the south.