Chapter 185: The Rohirrim

In fact, before the battle had even begun, Gandalf, relying on the prestige he had accumulated and his language that could see into the hearts of men, was at Meduseld in Rohan.

"My Lady, you surely wish for Lord Sengel to return to Rohan as soon as possible."

This single sentence successfully persuaded Lady Morwen, Sengel's wife, to agree to help Gandalf by speaking with Eoloth, who was stationed at Edoras, to borrow a crack force.

Eoloth was the Lord of Aldburg and the Third Marshal of the Mark.

He was a tall and burly Rohirrim with golden hair, a warrior on horseback with sharp eyes and extraordinary courage.

It is worth mentioning that he was a descendant of the House of Eorl, and it was he who had led the Rohirrim of East Emnet to migrate to the vicinity of Edoras.

The military administration of Rohan generally had three Marshals—the First Marshal, the Second Marshal, and the Third Marshal—who commanded the entire military strength of Rohan.

Each Marshal had their own "Eored," which was the Marshal's personal guard.

At this time, the First Marshal of the Mark was still Fengel, who often had to lie in bed.

Nominally, he was in charge of the defense of the royal city of Edoras, while also controlling the Royal Guard and the surrounding royal lands, the Harrowdale, and other areas.

At the same time, Fengel also had the authority to command all the armies throughout the nation of Rohan.

The Second Marshal of the Mark was Sengel, who was away on a campaign, but he had taken with him the soldiers of the royal lands and all of the Westfold, which was more than two-thirds of all the cavalry in Rohan.

As the Third Marshal, Eoloth was in charge of the army of the Eastfold.

The meanings of Eastfold and Westfold were based on dividing the most essential region of Rohan, the West Emnet, according to military administration, with the Snowbourn as the boundary; east of the river was the Eastfold, and west of the river was the Westfold.

The Eastfold region connected to Anorien of Gondor, with the Merlin River, which flowed down from the White Mountains, serving as the boundary that defined the border with Gondor.

The Westfold region was closer to Saruman's Orthanc, and in days past, this military zone had always shouldered the heavy responsibility of resisting the Dunlendings.

It was just that after Saruman took control of Orthanc, the Westfold had become much more stable.

It should be mentioned that the Westfold region did not include the royal lands and surrounding areas controlled by the First Marshal.

And Orthanc was not a territory of Rohan; its keys had always been held in the hands of the Steward of Gondor.

Now, Fengel was bedridden; although there was no danger to his life, he was powerless to command the army.

Sengel, as Prince, was still active in Anorien, fighting a life-and-death struggle against the armies of Mordor.

Therefore, at this time, Eoloth was the actual supreme military commander of Rohan.

And the responsibility he shouldered was precisely to lead the remaining troops to guard the safety of Rohan.

In fact, Eoloth had objections to the order to rely on the Entwash for a full-scale defense.

He felt that allowing the enemy to enter his own country was a very humiliating thing; the House of Eorl should fight bravely to drive the filthy Orcish out of the home of the Horse-lords.

But he deeply respected Sengel's courage and integrity, and he also greatly admired Lady Morwen's justice and dignity.

Of course, her high lineage from Gondor also added many points to Morwen at this time, not to mention that she had also given birth to a princess for the House of Eorl.

Therefore, although Eoloth was full of indignation at the enemies entrenched near the North Highlands, he still respected Lady Morwen very much and complied with her decision.

At this moment, the extremely restless Third Marshal of the Mark, upon hearing that the renowned Gandalf urgently needed a crack force to go to the North Highlands to scout the enemy situation,

agreed without a second thought; he even stated that he would lead his own Eored to personally accompany Gandalf to the North Highlands.

Lady Morwen wanted to stop this; sending troops to support was one thing, but having the only Marshal of the Mark go himself was another.

But Lady Morwen could only advise, not forcibly prevent it.

In the end, the matter was brought to the King of Rohan, Fengel, whose condition had only just stabilized.

At this time, as a patient, Fengel was taking a walk near the Golden Hall under James's instructions.

With his condition, it was always good to walk around if he could.

Upon hearing Eoloth's request, the King of Rohan waved his hand and agreed to Eoloth's request.

Having been through a serious illness, Fengel had figured out many things on the edge of death; besides no longer being so gluttonous and greedy, he also began to consciously improve his relationships with other lords of Rohan.

Fengel needed to make some preparations for Sengel's succession; in his state, it was unlikely he would remain on the throne for much longer.

In fact, the relationship between Eoloth and Fengel was indeed very tense, to the point where they did not even communicate with each other.

If it were not for the returning Sengel, who had won Eoloth over through his own actions, this Third Marshal would likely have fought alone rather than obey the King's orders.

Eoloth himself was also a direct descendant of Eorl and likewise had a claim to the throne.

However, Fengel's agreement changed Eoloth's view of Fengel somewhat.

At the very least, the King of Rohan had not yet lost the bravery and courage of the House of Eorl.

Just like that, after a little preparation, an extremely elite force of Rohirrim cavalry galloped out from Edoras, heading in the direction of the North Highlands.

As the personal guard of the Third Marshal, this Eored had received complete combat training and was basically equipped with chainmail and steel helmets.

Besides the spears that were advantageous for mounted combat, some were also proficient in mounted archery and throwing, making them one of the most elite units in Rohan.

After leaving Edoras, they changed horses but not riders along the way, and without a moment's rest, they headed north, crossed the Entwash, and galloped across the plains of East Emnet.

And in the process of galloping, they also had the good fortune to witness with their own eyes the moment when light and dark clouds collided, which left the Rohirrim, who had never seen such a scene, shocked beyond measure.

Gandalf, who was always galloping at the very front of the team, immediately guessed that Lady Galadriel had participated in the battle.

But this did not put the Grey Wizard at ease; the strength of the enemy was constantly climbing in his heart.

And the estimation of the enemy's strength finally climbed to the extreme when Gandalf vaguely saw the Great Eagles diving toward the enemy.

At this moment, the unease in his heart also rose to the extreme, because his messengers were not flying in the skies of the Brown Lands.

That meant the Great Eagles had seen that the situation was very serious and had come to the rescue themselves, which forced Gandalf to start worrying about how much power Sauron had arranged here.

This worry even made this team of Rohirrim cavalry lose much interest in pursuing the Orcish army as they saw them fleeing frantically to the east.

Because they wanted too much to know what had happened on the other side of the Great River.

Then, this group of over a hundred people, with the help of the moonlight, saw the countless wolf corpses in the Brown Lands.

This tragic scene naturally told of how intense this battle had been.

In fact, by this point, Gandalf no longer needed the help of the Rohirrim cavalry.

His initial idea was to drive away the enemies guarding the Two Rivers and then meet up with the Elf reinforcements coming from the south.

Then, when he saw the dark clouds rising over Dol Guldur from the Golden Hall, Gandalf knew at that time that the matter was far from that simple.

It would be unwise to mobilize the army of Rohan in such a rush, and it would also be impossible to complete such a task in a short period of time.

Therefore, scouting the enemy situation and making corresponding plans were the only two things he could do.

However, by this time, the battle had already ended, and the Orcish forces stationed at Two Rivers to block the southward advance of the Elf army had also seen that the situation was unfavorable and fled the area.

Because the Mouth of Sauron had witnessed the entire process of the war with his own eyes, that streak of white light galloping through the air had scared him out of his wits.

And the Great Eagle flying in the sky, as well as the Elf reinforcements coming down the river, became the final straw that crushed his psychological defenses.

Panicked, he immediately took the Uruk around him and fled toward Mordor.

The Mouth of Sauron believed that he had already hindered the Elf advance southward; it was not his fault that they had lost the head-on battle.

So, he ran without the slightest psychological burden.

Therefore, the path for Gandalf to rendezvous with the Elf reinforcements was now clear and unobstructed.

However, they did not cross the river immediately, but instead set up camp and rested for the night on the leeward side of a hillside.

Their troop had also been sprinting for more than half a day; exhausted and weary, even though they were elite, they lacked the capacity for further action.

Whatever needed to be done, it was better to handle it tomorrow morning.

The next morning.

With the help of the Galadhrim, the troops heading south to support Gondor were currently undergoing post-battle repairs.

Damaged armor needed to be mended, and dulled weapons needed to be sharpened.

And those wounded soldiers, although they had received initial medical treatment and care, still needed time to recover.

At this time, Allen had just arranged for Baron to take the Knight apprentices, along with the dozens of soldiers who had sacrificed their lives on the battlefield, back to Wilderness Town.

From the bottom of his heart, Baron was unwilling to leave; Allen originally only had two Attendants by his side.

Before this battle, Gale had already left with the Letter of alarm.

Now, even he had to obey Allen's order to return to Wilderness Town.

In this way, by the King's side, there was not even one person left suitable for carrying the royal banner.

Baron was unwilling to hand the royal banner to an ordinary soldier, even if Allen himself did not care about this matter.

In the end, it was young Aragorn who took the initiative to accept this responsibility; young but already tall and sturdy, he was fully capable of handling this job.

Even after learning of his own identity, young Aragorn was still very willing to stay by Allen's side.

Although he possessed the noblest bloodline among Humans, his status was merely that of a leader of a group of rangers; serving a King was not a shameful thing.

Moreover, after a period of contact, Aragorn also greatly admired Allen's ability and character.

Whether it was his heroic posture as he moved freely among the wolf pack, or his meticulous care for the wounded after the battle, it was enough to prove that Allen was a brave and benevolent monarch.

Staying by the side of such a person naturally allowed one to learn many things, not to mention that Allen's knowledge base was extremely profound.

As for the questions Aragorn raised, from national governance to historical documents, there was almost nothing Allen could not answer.

He even told a unique story about the origins of the sun and the moon.

Although it was a legend that ended in tragedy.

And when explaining problems, he spoke in a way that was easy to understand, unlike his foster father who often spoke in riddles, leaving young Aragorn to slowly comprehend them on his own.

This was also an important reason why Aragorn decided to stay by Allen's side.

At first, Allen was actually not very willing to accept Aragorn's service.

It was not that he cared about Aragorn's status or any noble bloodline.

In fact, Allen had always believed that he himself was the most special Human in Middle-earth.

He just felt that as a successor to the throne, Aragorn was still too young.

He should continue to live by the side of Lady Gilraen.

When he came of age and went out to travel, Allen would be very happy to accept Aragorn's service.

Now, it was not the time.

However, in order not to dampen the young man's confidence, Allen still agreed to Aragorn's request.

But the condition was that after returning to the North from Gondor, Aragorn must still return to Rivendell to continue growing there.

In fact, Allen also thought of one point: if he accepted Aragorn's service at this time.

Then, would Aragorn, who stayed by his side year-round, still meet Arwen?

And would this love story that he liked no longer exist?

Or would it unfold in another form?

But these were all things that would happen a long time later.

Allen had already decided not to let Aragorn serve him for a long time.

The rest would depend on the young man's own fortune.

And just as Allen decided to take in Aragorn.

Legolas, who was responsible for scouting outside, brought in an old friend of Allen's.

It was Gandalf, who had just crossed the Anduin River and arrived here.

The moment he saw Legolas, Gandalf naturally guessed that Allen was also here.

Thranduil of Mirkwood could send a troop, so how could Allen be absent?

And under Gandalf's introduction, Allen also met the Third Marshal Eoloth of this time.

Upon hearing that Eoloth was the lord of Aldburg and a direct descendant of Eorl.

Allen thought that the person opposite might be Eomund's father, that is, the grandfather of Eomer and Eowyn.

It was just unclear whether Eomund had been born yet, and how old he was.

This guy was Theoden's brother-in-law and First Marshal.

However, at this time, Theoden had not yet been born, though he already had an older sister.

That fellow Sengel had a daughter not long after he got married, naming her Bernice, and even wrote a letter to Allen to show off about it.

However, Allen simply ignored it; after all, in the original timeline, for this fellow to still be able to have a daughter when he was nearly sixty, one could say he was a person with great fortune.

Upon learning that Allen had traveled thousands of miles from River Valley to head south to support Gondor, Iorlas's attitude toward Allen was extremely favorable.

Because this reminded Iorlas of his ancestor Eorl; only a courageous person could make such a decision, and he liked brave and courageous people.

Allen simply entertained his guest, and at the dinner table, recounted the difficult battles from before and analyzed how Sauron was currently strong in appearance but weak in reality.

If one were to say that at this time, Sauron could still bring out such a powerful army, Allen would not believe it.

Hearing the process of how the war unfolded, Iorlas's favorable impression of Allen grew even higher, and he insisted on inviting Allen to be a guest at Aldburg.

Allen then took the opportunity to agree.

The army's subsequent journey would inevitably take them from Aldburg toward Anorien, so making a friend was also a good thing.