Chapter 155: War Begins

Anduin Valley, Wilderness Town.

In his study, Allen used the reports from the Scout Cavalry to sketch and mark on a map, quickly outlining the Easterlings' sphere of influence, which included two Easterling camps that had suddenly approached Heidelberg recently.

To Allen, the sudden approach of these two Easterling camps toward Heidelberg seemed relatively normal.

After all, this time he had dispatched over a hundred cavalrymen to scout the eastern part of Rhovanion; it was impossible for every one of the dozen or so small squads to remain completely hidden, so being discovered was inevitable.

It was a natural result for Ashur to take some action after discovering the enemy cavalry; if the Easterlings had shown no movement at all, Allen would have had to consider delaying the start of the attack, as the enemy might have already opened a pocket, waiting for him to dive headlong into it. The current reaction of surveillance perfectly matched Allen's conjecture.

Allen never underestimated Ashur; after all, this Easterling commander had occupied the eastern region of Rhovanion like a hot knife through butter in a short period of time.

【Currently, the app that is the most comprehensive and best to use for listening to books, integrating 4 major speech synthesis engines, over 100 timbres, and is also a source-changing artifact that supports offline reading, huanyuanapp source-changing app】

Fortunately, thanks to the help of animals during this scouting mission, the dispatched cavalry were able to discover the enemy's tracks from a great distance. Through deliberate avoidance, no large-scale conflicts occurred between the two sides, and the cavalry Allen sent out returned to Wilderness Town safe and sound.

At this time, the harvest matters within Allen's territory had reached their end, and a large amount of supplies had been transported along the Old Forest Road to the warehouses in Heidelberg, which was the front line for the battle against the Easterlings.

Ioviah and the Conscripts from Long Lake Town had arrived at Wilderness Town two days ago under the leadership of Fatis and Malherbe, and under the arrangement of the Cabinet officials, they had built a camp outside the city, while the defense of Long Lake Town was being handled by a group of Dwarf warriors preparing for war, as well as Bard, the lord of Lake-town.

As the large-scale war initiated by Allen as King, Bard, as a lord, naturally needed to contribute his strength.

At this moment, the three thousand Conscripts gathered in Wilderness Town had already received their weapons and equipment and were making preparations for war outside the city. Once Allen issued the order, they would follow their officers to march into eastern Rhovanion to engage in a life-and-death struggle with the Easterlings.

Among them were many captives Allen had rescued from the hands of the Easterlings; some of them had found their families here and started new lives, while others could only pin their hopes on their families still living under the Easterlings' reign of terror, hoping to save them after this war.

Regardless of the situation, these Northern Men held deep-seated hatred for the Easterlings. Their destroyed homes and murdered relatives were enough for them to abandon their stable lives and actively respond to Allen's recruitment.

At this moment, these people were sweating on the training ground, improving their combat skills, preparing to return death to their enemies in the upcoming war.

The support from the Dúnedain had also arrived a few days ago. According to the previous plan, Allen had equipped every Ranger who came to support with a horse and handed the weapons and equipment transferred from the Woodland Realm to Abinas for him to arrange freely.

The Northern Rangers had no trouble at all using the longbows and spears of the Woodland Elves; their skills and strength were already fully sufficient, but they had lived such hard lives in the past that they could not obtain such fine weapons.

Looking at the Elven Plate Armor shimmering in the sunlight, Abinas felt a bit dazed. In the records, the once-powerful Kingdom of Arnor could also organize powerful cavalry units wearing plate armor, but now, the entire Ranger team could not even produce a few sets of such armor.

After a brief moment of emotion, Abinas ordered his taller clansmen to put on these fine plate armors. From this moment on, they were no longer Rangers guarding the people in the shadows, but assault cavalry following behind Allen, moving like the wind on the battlefield—at least for this war.

Along with these Northern Rangers, Allen's original 1,400 professional soldiers also changed their equipment. Years ago, after the first batch of equipment from the Lonely Mountain arrived, Allen had handed it over to his cavalry officers to conduct relevant training.

Now, Allen had enough plate armor to fully arm his cavalry, and to ensure the combat effectiveness of these heavy cavalry, Allen equipped them with two horses per person and had them find suitable Attendants from among the male Knight apprentices to help them with daily tasks like caring for the horses and putting on armor, while also letting these knights familiarize themselves with real heavy cavalry combat.

As for the infantry and Archers, Allen had exchanged enough Chain Mail and Iron Helmets through the Simulator to arm them, turning these thousand men into an Elite Infantry unit clad entirely in iron. After years of training, these soldiers who had followed Allen in the battles at the Lonely Mountain had significantly improved their physical fitness and could fully engage in combat while wearing over twenty pounds of weapons and equipment.

Arming them also cost nearly 100,000 Dinar, but this money was not earned by Allen on the Magic Continent; that money had been spent long before he obtained "The Favor of the Firmament," and the Dinar he spent now came from the 10 points of Honor he had accumulated for a long time.

It was a pity that even though Allen had saved up 10 points of Honor, the Simulator did not provide special options, but directly offered as many as thirty rewards, from which Allen chose what he needed.

【10 Noldor Girl Rangers (Friend of the Elves exclusive): After years of effort, your name is renowned in Elacrai, especially among many female Elves who hold you in high regard; now, ten noble female Elves have put on their equipment and come to follow you, pursuing their own lives with the longbows and swords in their hands.】

【12 Noldor Rangers * 3 (Friend of the Elves exclusive): There are always some Elves who wish to follow you, this Friend of the Elves, to venture into the world of Humans.】

【10 Griffin Knights * 2 (Prophecy Child identity exclusive): These young nobles who pursue justice and truth are the guardian knights of the Pendor royal family. Their leader, Sir Azriel, learned of your identity in the dark and had them fully armed to come and pledge their loyalty to you.】

【10 Metenheim Death Warriors: They come from a distant land covered in volcanic clusters, having come to the Pendor continent to seek the wealth they desire. After being wiped out by the army group led by King Vidus of Fierdain, these ten Death Warriors survived by chance thanks to their rich battlefield experience. Now, they need a trustworthy employer, and you have entered their sights. Note: Death Warriors are generally older; although they are all powerful melee experts and are equipped with weapons and armor representing Pendor's top craftsmanship, these warriors can only serve for five to ten years, so please choose carefully.】

【100,000 Dinar: Don't speak, you will always need it.】

【Sapphire Noldor Rune Bow * 2: This bow is based on the Noldor Composite Bow, with more powerful magical energy added. It can imbue the fired Noldor arrows with the power of frost. Please note that ordinary arrows cannot withstand its magical power at all.】

In fact, Allen had seen almost everything that could be exchanged from the Pendor continent. Besides powerful troop types friendly to his identity, there were various magical items, potions that could increase life or spirit, and of course, many Dragon Tears.

If he had a choice, Allen still hoped to get some heroic figures like Holimion to help him lead troops in battle or manage the territory, but unfortunately, there were none in this wave.

Before using the Honor, Allen had thought about whether to draw prizes on the Magic Continent, but after careful consideration, the combat effectiveness of the soldiers there was far from as strong as those of Pendor. Although there were some powerful magical items, Allen felt that 1 point of Honor might not be enough to exchange for a gem like "The Favor of the Firmament," and other than the shield that could heal wounds, there was nothing that could not be replaced, so he finally chose Pendor; on this continent, he had many choices.

As for the powerful soldiers exchanged, Allen had also carefully selected them. Although those thirty-six Noldor Rangers were all foot archers without horses on the Pendor continent, they actually possessed level 7 Riding and level 9 Horse Archery. It was just that the terrain of the Noldor Forest was not suitable for them to display their skills, and only top-tier combat forces like Twilight Knights could maneuver Elf Horses to gallop in the dense forest, because their Riding was at the maximum level, representing the highest level on the Pendor continent.

However, in Rhovanion, which had vast plains, these Noldor Rangers could fully become Horse Archers similar to Twilight Knights, capable of completing the tasks Allen entrusted to them in various environments. It was just that Allen did not have enough Dinar to buy Elf Horses for them now, so he could only let them ride ordinary steeds.

It was not that Allen's friendship with the Noldor Elves was insufficient, but that in the Simulator's shop, the price of one Noldor Elf Horse was over 10,000 Dinar, an expense Allen could not afford at all right now. The only way was to rely on the income after the fiefdom was established to slowly equip them.

As for the Noldor Girl Rangers, besides fulfilling Holimion's past request, this was the last Elven troop type among the thirty options. They were also excellent warriors; although they were slightly inferior to the Twilight Knights in all aspects, they were still one of the best Horse Archers on the Pendor continent.

Regarding the Elven troops, Allen chose them whenever he could. Although they did not have eternal life like the Elves of Middle-earth, these Elves from the Pendor continent could also live for a very long time. As long as no major problems occurred, these Elves could even serve Allen's family for thousands of years, and their fertility rate was extremely low, so their numbers would not grow, meaning there was no need to worry that these powerful Elves would one day usurp his position.

As for other powerful troop types, such as the Dawn Order, Fierdain Blood-sworn, Dragon Knights, Silvermist Rangers, and the Kraken Warrior Order, they all had appearances, but Allen ultimately chose twenty Griffin Knights and ten Metenheim Death Warriors.

Allen's reason for choosing the Griffin Knights was simple: the philosophy upheld by the Griffin Knight Order was to protect the weak, fight against the strong, and fight for justice and the common people! This best matched his intentions, while other Knight Orders had more or less some problems, such as the Dawn Knights who were like lunatics, or the Fierdain Blood-sworn who demanded female superiority, and the Kraken which had ominous religious implications. Regardless of whether they were strong or not, they could not be chosen, as choosing them might cause some chaos in Allen's territory.

As for the Silvermist Rangers, it was because Allen had chosen a large number of Noldor Rangers, so he did not continue to choose the weakened version. As for the Dragon Knights..........

In Allen's plan, if there were no particularly urgent circumstances, he hoped that his command would only need the Griffin Knight Order, because the philosophies of the various Knight Orders in Pendor always had some conflicts, and some were even completely opposite. It was better to have fewer such philosophies; Allen did not want to spend his days dealing with these messy things in the future.

As for the Metenheim Death Warriors, it was because these powerful warriors, in addition to having rich battlefield experience, also possessed top-tier human blacksmithing skills. They walked onto the battlefield wearing weapons and armor they had forged themselves. After these people grew old and could no longer serve in the army, they could fully go to the blacksmith shop to exert their remaining heat. Even if they didn't forge personally, as long as they were willing to pass down the skill of forging plate armor, it would be enough. After all, the blacksmiths under Allen could at most forge Chain Mail now.

According to legend, Metenheim also possessed ironclad ships that could sail on the sea, but Allen did not count on these rough men who risked their lives on the battlefield all year round to possess this skill. After all, shipbuilding was not a simple matter, and the Shipbuilding Master from the Lindon Elves had arrived at Long Lake Town not long ago under the escort of Holimion. It was believed that Allen's naval plan had already been put on the agenda, and Long Lake Town was not short of money or timber.

Moreover, these Death Warriors could also ride horses, and their riding skills were even much more superb than the heavy cavalry under Allen. It was just that because the two-handed greatswords in their hands were too long, they could not fight to their heart's content on horseback, so they preferred to engage in foot combat with the enemy and then use the two-handed greatswords in their hands to hack open any enemy that approached them.

As for the two Sapphire Rune Bows that could cause frost damage, they were prepared by Allen to deal with the Balrog, but whether the effect was good or not would require some experiments. He could not spare the time to go to Moria now, but in this battle, he could see just how powerful this weapon, which required two Dragon Tears to exchange, really was.

With this, Allen had made all the preparations he could for this war, which had been planned for many years.

In terms of infantry, Wilderness Town was currently gathering three thousand Conscripts wearing Leather Armor, holding Spears, and a small number equipped with Hunting Bows; six hundred Elite Infantry wearing Iron Armor, equipped with Longswords, machetes, and Shields; as well as three hundred Longbowmen and one hundred Crossbowmen who could fight both at range and in melee.

In terms of cavalry, Allen scraped together four hundred Heavy Cavalry whose horses and riders were both clad in heavy armor. In addition to lances, Longswords, and Shields, some of them also carried throwing weapons according to their habits. Some adult but not yet graduated Knight apprentices would follow behind the heavy cavalry on the battlefield to fight the enemy; there were about a hundred of these apprentices.

Other cavalry units were the five hundred assault cavalry armed by the Northern Rangers. Three hundred of them wore Elven Plate Armor, and as for the rest, most also wore Iron Armor that Allen had scraped together. After all, since the Swadian Knights and Khergit Lancers who previously wore Iron Armor now had Plate Armor, Allen naturally made rational use of the replaced equipment.

These cavalry were mercenaries, and they would return to Rhovanion after this war.

As for the most elite troops, they were all organized by Allen into his personal guard, including nearly sixty Elven horse archers, who were still led by Holimion, while the twenty Griffin Knights and ten Metenheim Death Warriors became subordinates directly commanded by Allen.

These elites would follow Allen and appear on the battlefield at the most critical moment.

After counting the army he had built, Allen let out a soft breath. With this strength, in eastern Rhovanion, he should barely be able to fight Ashur, who had a population of nearly forty thousand.

Allen knew that the Easterlings were a race where everyone was a soldier; even young women received combat training. Out of a population of forty thousand, excluding the untrusted slaves, and then removing the old, the weak, the sick, and the young who could not go to the battlefield, as long as Ashur was given time, he might be able to organize an army of over ten thousand, or even nearly twenty thousand, to have a big melee with him on the wilderness of Rhovanion.

This was not what Allen wanted to see. If this big melee were to happen, regardless of whether he could win, the losses suffered would inevitably be something he could not accept, so he made an additional plan.

After stuffing all the information about the Easterlings into two envelopes, Allen summoned Gale and Bard, ordering them to deliver the letters to his two allies, Thorin II of the Lonely Mountain and Thranduil of the Woodland Realm. In addition to the intelligence, Allen also told them that in one month, he would launch the battle against the Easterlings.

And one month, under various preparations, passed very quickly.

That night, under the clear starry sky, a night hawk flew with its wings spread around a noisy camp in the moonlight, seemingly observing something consciously.

A moment later, the night hawk seemed to be tired of flying, landing behind a hillside to the west of the camp, and then stopped on the shoulder of a young girl, and this pretty little girl took out some food to feed the night hawk, while chatting with the bird.

After the conversation ended, the bright-eyed little girl looked at the leader in shining silver armor beside her and said, "My lord, Little Gray says there are no more enemy sentries in the surrounding area."

"Very well, immediately relay the order to Fatis and Alayen, tell them to begin the attack, and at the same time tell Holimion not to let a single person escape."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

As soon as the words fell, two Cavalrymen spurred their horses and left this place, while a bird took flight once again, flying toward the east of the camp.