Chapter 188: Thoughts

The elite forces led by Allen and Cirdan were enough to live up to the rumors.

And they had indeed crushed tens of thousands of Mordor troops on the plains, just not on the Pelennor Fields.

So, amidst the cheers of the people of Gondor, Allen did not feel the slightest bit awkward.

This was the accessory he deserved for resisting the darkness and helping the Kingdom of Gondor: honor.

Under the publicity of Lord Turgon, most of the residents naturally knew that these reinforcements included Humans and Elves, and even Dwarves.

Amidst cheers of "Ancient friendship still endures," "A helping hand from brothers, a heart of gold," and "Those sturdy bodies also possess noble character," the residents scattered a large amount of flower petals to welcome the reinforcements helping their country.

And as they drew near, these thousands of fully armed, robust, and fierce Cavalry made the atmosphere at the scene reach a new height.

Even those women and children who knew nothing of military affairs could see that the elite level of this army was enough to compare with the Imperial Guard guarding the Gondor Royal City, yet their numbers were several times greater.

And those with a bit of insight were sharp-eyed enough to discover that two-thirds of the reinforcements were Elves, which filled them with even more confidence in the victory of this battle.

In the stories passed down by word of mouth in Gondor, Elves were always mysteriously powerful.

Presumably, with the help of these strong individuals from the stories, the crisis of Minas Tirith would surely be resolved immediately, and they would be able to return to their previous stable lives.

At this moment, the person responsible for the welcoming work at the city gate was Turgon's "Key-bearer" Galdor, who was also a member of the Council of Gondor.

With Turgon's current physical condition, it was impossible for him to walk out of the Tower of Ecthelion to welcome his allies.

And his only son Ecthelion, the heir to the Steward of Gondor, was currently resisting the increasingly fierce attacks of the Haradrim in Osgiliath.

If possible, Turgon hoped that his reinforcements could head to the battlefield immediately to alleviate Gondor's current crisis.

However, the pride of the Numenoreans and Turgon's own cultivation did not allow him to do such a thing; a grand welcoming ceremony was always necessary.

And settling the soldiers who had come from afar, letting them have a good rest, was also a must-do.

Otherwise, should the friendly forces be dragged to the front line of the battlefield with exhausted bodies? This was an extremely unwise act.

The vast majority of the soldiers were settled in the first level of the White City; this was the most spacious area within the White City, sufficient to accommodate thousands of Cavalry.

"Key-bearer" Galdor had, in a short time, prepared comfortable camps, sufficient food, and scalding hot water for his allies there.

This could not be separated from the enthusiastic help of the people of Gondor, but they paid this toil willingly, and upon seeing the friendly forces, they felt it was worth more than the price.

If every time the country encountered war, they could obtain such powerful support by paying just a little bit of labor, then even in their dreams, they might laugh out loud.

After simply settling his subordinates, Allen and his main companions set foot on the road to the Feast Hall.

This included Legolas, Fili, Cress, James, the tall Grim and Malherbe, as well as a portion of the mid-to-high-ranking officers under his command.

There were also the Dunedain who had come to Gondor with Allen, though only the young Aragorn and Abinas had come; most of their kin chose to wander around the White City rather than attend this banquet.

After all, their High King Isildur was also one of the founders of the Kingdom of Gondor, although his residence, Minas Ithil, had already been occupied by the enemy.

But standing in Minas Anor was enough to let them feel the former glory of the Numenoreans, and the streets of the White City were very lively tonight due to the arrival of the reinforcements.

Of course, Cirdan and Lindir also walked in the procession toward the Feast Hall with a portion of the Elves; they were not very interested in the banquets of Humans.

Besides not wanting to refuse the good intentions of the Steward of Gondor, the Elves also felt that they had been out for too long on this trip.

Although the time they had spent marching with Allen was at most four months, they had been away from their own homeland for almost half a year.

After leaving their beloved homeland, most of the Elves felt that time passed very quickly and was also very dull.

Especially the Noldor Elves living in Rivendell; living outside made them feel that their bodies were very tired, a kind of fatigue that was hard to recover from.

And the very aged Cirdan had already begun to miss the sea he loved dearly, while Lindir also often missed the misty, splashing waterfalls of Rivendell.

Therefore, both Elves were eager to end the war, but this was not something one could rush; it always needed to be done bit by bit.

Then the first step must be to learn enough information from the Steward.

Minas Tirith had a total of seven levels of architecture; traveling from the first level to the seventh level, which was over two hundred meters high, took some time even though the wide streets were enough for everyone to pass on horseback.

Allen, who was looking around, did not feel that it took too long; even though he had seen plenty of so-called high-rise buildings in his past life, he was still somewhat amazed at the Numenoreans' proficiency in architecture.

Presumably, they had accumulated a considerable amount of knowledge when they lived on Star Island.

According to Allen's understanding, the tower top of the former Minas Ithil could actually rotate slowly, and the marble walls shone brilliantly as they reflected the moonlight, making the moonlight and the houses of Minas Ithil white from top to bottom.

If one were to say there was no Magic involved in such architecture, then Allen might have to hold a joking mindset and go look for the existence of an engine.

And Aragorn, who was following closely by Allen's side, felt somewhat complicated and heavy in his heart; he knew he had the qualifications to inherit this kingdom.

But his current identity as a Ranger did not match that high and lofty throne.

Ever since arriving in this city, Aragorn had felt very lost; the road ahead of him was pitch black.

Allen did not notice the young man's psychological changes, but this did not prevent him from talking about some of his insights into this city in front of the young Aragorn.

Because the identities of the two of them, up to now, felt more like that of a teacher and a student; Allen believed it was necessary to impart more knowledge to Aragorn.

"Estel."

Allen called out in a low voice, releasing Aragorn from his wandering thoughts.

"Before this, I don't know if you have learned about this city, but I think you might need to know some of its origins. When it was first established, its greatest purpose was actually to guard against the Humans of the White Mountains. You also know that the Great Enemy's ability to bewitch hearts is evil beyond compare; there are always some of our kin who are deceived and work for him. The Numenoreans who came to Middle-earth once tangled with them endlessly."

Scanning his surroundings casually, Allen discovered several enthusiastic gazes; he smiled and nodded to acknowledge the surrounding residents, continuing the topic from before.

"However, those Humans living in the White Mountains eventually submitted to the powerful Gondor and swore allegiance to Isildur. But when resisting the Great Enemy, they grew timid and retreated under Isildur's summons. That is a story that ends in tragedy; I will tell you in detail another day."

Speaking of this, Allen looked back at the calm-faced, heroic youth behind him, and a strange thought suddenly appeared in his heart.

Regarding the story of the King of the Dead, whether for Aragorn or for Allen himself, this was a very important matter.

Because Allen knew that this matter was not a hollow legend; it determined whether an army possessing powerful strength could play its due role when resisting the darkness.

Although he could not lead these undead to storm Sauron's base camp, they were enough to become a trump card to turn the tide of the battlefield in an instant.

It was just that this trump card belonged exclusively to the descendants of Isildur; in these current days, only Aragorn, holding the reforged Narsil, could barely use this trump card.

Allen, speaking of the Men of the Mountains, suddenly thought that if this trump card were used now, it would certainly be able to resolve the crisis in Pelargir immediately, and at the same time, it could greatly increase Gondor's voice at sea, resolving the threat of the Umbar Pirates in one fell swoop.

This would be like cutting off one of Sauron's hands.

In fact, decades later, Aragorn, who had grown into an adult and went by the name "Thorongil," would also be well aware of the threat of the pirates and personally lead a team to eliminate a portion of the pirates' power.

But that was not thorough enough, and Gondor's naval power remained very weak, because building Ships was an extremely labor-intensive and costly affair.

If he could help Gondor obtain a large number of Ships in this battle, allowing it to restore its former maritime hegemony, then Allen would also be able to receive more assistance when counterattacking Sauron in the future.

However, this thought only lasted for a few seconds in Allen's mind, because at this moment, what Aragorn was wearing at his waist was that Noldor Rune Longsword, not the reforged Anduril.

But what Allen did not know was that Anduril had already been reforged by Elrond's two sons when Aragorn left Rivendell.

That longsword, representing the status of the heir of Isildur, was currently being carried on Lindir's back, only it was wrapped in layers of protection and had not been revealed to the eyes of the world.

After Turgon's letter for help reached Rivendell, Elrond had discussed it with Lady Gilraen for a long time, and the two of them agreed that this war was actually a rather good opportunity.

If Allen could lead the Dúnedain to shine brilliantly in this battle, and Aragorn could also obtain merits befitting his status.

Then, amidst the glory of saving Gondor, and with the help of Allen and the Elf, the heir of Isildur would very likely be able to take back that long-lost crown.

But Allen was unaware of all this; Elrond had once instructed Lindir not to inform Allen of this matter.

As for Aragorn, Elrond told him that he must decide everything for himself.

This was the opportunity for the heir of Isildur to take back the throne, and at the same time, it was a test for Aragorn; although he was only fifteen years old, he was a descendant of the royal family, not a child of an ordinary family.

Whether to seize this opportunity to inherit the throne, and whether he needed the help of others, were all things Aragorn had to think about and handle himself.

Elrond only provided the corresponding opportunity to his foster son.

But if he wanted to take back the throne, he could only rely on Aragorn's own efforts; if he succeeded, he succeeded, and if he failed, it meant the time was not yet ripe.

It could only be said that Aragorn did not yet have the ability and character to inherit the throne.

Or perhaps it could be said that fate had not yet come to favor Aragorn.

"In fact, Minas Tirith is extremely important, whether for Gondor or for the whole of Middle-earth. If it did not stand here, the enemy's evil claws would continue to extend, and by then, all peoples who love peace and a stable life would be threatened. Now, it has stood here for over two thousand years, making a great contribution to resisting the darkness."

No matter how chaotic Aragorn's thoughts were, Allen still told the information about the White City to the youth behind him.

Furthermore, at the end of his words, Allen said in a low voice: "If there is an opportunity, I suggest that after you come of age, you live here for a period of time to understand how this country operates, and at the same time pay attention to the thoughts of the common people and the nobles. You are still young now and may not know how important this information is to a leader who governs a region. To master it, you must first understand it, otherwise, it will only be a castle in the air, without the slightest foundation."

Allen said these words just to give Aragorn a heads-up, because he could foresee that Aragorn would inevitably live here for a period of time in the future.

Moreover, after experiencing this war, this time would likely be brought forward by a lot, so Allen felt it was necessary to offer some suggestions he considered relatively important to the young Aragorn at this time.

To manage a country well, especially a Human kingdom like Gondor with a complex population and vast territory, relying solely on the knowledge gained in Rivendell is far from enough; understanding and learning are the only ways.

But these words, when they reached the ears of the young Aragorn, were no less than a thunderclap.

At this moment, he even thought that his learned teacher already knew the plan buried deep in his heart, as well as the heavy burden that the plan brought.

After the surprise, Aragorn felt somewhat relieved; since his teacher suggested that he live here after coming of age, the implication in the words was naturally to tell him.

Now is not the time to take back the throne of Gondor; he still needs to wait and still needs to grow.

Thinking of this, Aragorn nodded earnestly and seriously to Allen to express his gratitude, and a heartfelt smile appeared on his calm face, just like a spirited youth who had found his path forward.

And Galdor, the "Key-bearer" who had been leading the way in front, was very puzzled; he did not quite understand why this Human king from the northern lands knew so much about the affairs of the White City.

However, he did not raise any questions because of this confusion, but silently performed his duty, leading everyone to the Hall of Feasts located on the seventh level of the city.

And at the entrance of the banquet hall, two tall elders, accompanied by a slightly shorter young man, were waiting for the arrival of the group.