Chapter 201: Suggestions and Reflections

When Sauron saw that his allies, the Haradrim, had no way to return to Osgiliath successfully.

He gave the order to retreat to the Witch-king of Angmar with extreme decisiveness.

As Sauron's capable subordinate, the Witch-king of Angmar felt his master's summons, and subsequently hurried to lead all his troops to Minas Morgul.

At this moment, the Witch-king of Angmar, being near the battlefield, understood even more that the situation no longer allowed him to lead troops to retake those ruins.

Even a slight delay could leave him vulnerable to a three-sided attack from the south, north, and west.

Therefore, when Allen led nearly four thousand elite cavalry and over one thousand infantry to the Crossroads.

He happened to see squads of Haradrim entering the Morgul Vale in utter disarray.

That place was a poisonous wilderness, the only way to Minas Morgul, and was easy to defend but difficult to attack.

A large bridge spanned the Morgulduin, connecting the valley to the Harad Road.

At this time, it was the height of summer with flowers in full bloom; the Morgul Vale was covered in patches of pale flowers, emitting a ghostly light and a nauseating smell of decay.

Facing the enemy's turtle-like retreat, Allen burned the bridge leading to the valley with a single great fire.

He had no intention of leading his soldiers to attack Minas Morgul.

Firstly, it was no longer suitable for human habitation, and there was no point in taking it back.

Secondly, the Haradrim stationed in the Morgul Vale had not suffered too much damage to their strength, and a forced attack would truly be an unwise act.

Moreover, behind Mogu'er there was a road leading directly to the Gorgoroth plain; although that road was rugged and difficult to travel, it was sufficient for an army to pass.

As long as Allen launched an attack on Minas Morgul, the enemy's reinforcements would arrive in an endless stream.

Arranging heavy troops to guard this place was the most appropriate method.

However, such a decision would still require Allen to meet with his allies before a sound plan could be discussed.

When Ecthelion led the forces of Gondor to clear out all the enemy troops in Osgiliath, the sky had already quietly turned dark.

Yet he still led his troops without stopping to reach the Crossroads, joining the allies who were camping there.

This was the most thrilling moment in the years of war against Mordor.

Under the bright moonlight, this son of the Steward, riding on horseback, happened to see Allen standing next to the king's statue.

It was a badly damaged stone statue, carved with a king wearing a crown, seated upon a tall throne.

Over the long years, the statue had suffered countless erosion and destruction.

Especially after this land was occupied by Orcish, even the king's head had rolled to one side.

In its place was a rough stone block painted with an evil red eye.

At this moment, Allen was actually considering whether to let the young Aragorn personally place the head that had rolled to the side back onto this king's statue.

This might even add some prophecy or other for Aragorn's future succession to the throne.

For example, a king traveling abroad returning to his throne, or something like the return of the king, the crown finding its true master, and so on.

However, Ecthelion's arrival interrupted Allen's train of thought.

This son of the Steward was exactly sixty years old this year; unlike ordinary Humans, Ecthelion, who possessed the blood of Númenor, was in his prime.

In fact, in the original trajectory, he lived to be ninety-eight, and Aragorn, having accepted his fate, even used the alias Thorongil to serve as a commander of troops for the Kingdom of Gondor during Ecthelion's reign.

This was a wise ruler who was good at listening to advice.

"Lord Allen, congratulations on achieving a great victory today."

Ecthelion, leading a white horse, walked slowly to Allen's side and greeted his ally cordially.

If one were to compare national strength, seven or eight Rhovanions tied together could only then rival the current Gondor.

But if one were to compare the ability to make friends, ten Ecthelions tied together might not even compare to one Allen.

At this time, the Kingdom of Gondor, having just turned from danger to safety, was in need of maintaining friendly relations; after all, Sauron, that Dark Lord, had been fixated on wreaking havoc on their country alone.

"Congratulations to you as well for successfully retaking the entirety of Osgiliath, Lord Ecthelion."

This was the first time Allen and Ecthelion had met, but Malherbe, standing to the side, had already informed his king of the newcomer's identity.

Sometimes, having a subordinate who enjoys diplomacy and can provide information at critical moments is also a pleasant thing.

After greeting Ecthelion, Allen glanced behind the son of the Steward and asked with a look of surprise: "Has Lord Cirdan not arrived?"

In Allen's view, the coalition between himself and the Elves would likely face what might be the final battle of this campaign next.

As the commander of the Elf cavalry, Cirdan should have been here.

"Lord Cirdan entrusted me with a message; he said that a friend of his had done something out of line to help, so he urgently needed to return to Mithlond to plead for mercy from the great Lord of the Waters, so he left first. As for the matters here, he believes that you and Lord Lindir can resolve them. If there are any issues that cannot be decided, you can seek the advice of Gandalf."

Ecthelion repeated Cirdan's words with a puzzled look; he truly could not understand the meaning of these words.

The name of the Lord of the Waters, Ulmo, also circulated in Gondor, but that was already an existence from legend.

The Númenóreans living in Middle-earth might be more familiar with Uinen; after all, as one of the deities they respected most among the queens of the seas, she was frequently recorded in the scrolls.

However, Allen understood, and these words from Cirdan verified the thoughts in his heart.

It really was a sea god with complete power who had helped the Teleri Elves he loved during the war; it was just unclear whether this Maia was Ossë or Uinen.

In any case, it certainly wasn't the great god Ulmo himself who had come, otherwise what kind of mercy would Cirdan be pleading for?

"I understand."

Seeing Allen nod to indicate his understanding, Ecthelion held this clansman before him in even higher regard.

Legendary figures who had survived for who knows how many years like Cirdan were naturally recorded in the archives of the White Tower, and Ecthelion had learned much knowledge there during his youth.

And for Allen to be trusted by Cirdan, there must be something extraordinary about him, or rather, his extraordinary nature had already manifested in this war.

After all, the title "Savior of Gondor" had already spread throughout the White City, and even Ecthelion, who had been stationed in Osgiliath, had heard such rumors.

At this moment, Allen naturally did not know that his nickname had evolved from "Savior who prevents evil from descending" to "Savior of Gondor."

If the war were to continue for a while longer, perhaps titles like "Savior of Mankind" or "Savior of Middle-earth" would be pinned on him by people fond of gossip.

After all, in the rumors, Allen was already an extraordinary existence who could tear apart the Black Marshal with his bare hands in combat and easily save the severely wounded with his words; who knew what this news would spread into in the future.

"Has the master of Orthanc not come here either?"

Allen asked about this, not because he truly wanted to escape the humiliation he had received; it was merely a joke he was making with his friend.

He was simply curious about what Saruman was actually thinking at this moment, to expend so much energy and time in the war against Sauron; this did not quite fit the image of the White Wizard in his mind.

"Yes, Lord Saruman was overly exhausted from the previous battles, so he has returned to Minas Tirith."

Ecthelion stated Saruman's whereabouts with a calm expression.

In fact, when the White Wizard left, his words were far from so calm.

Regarding Allen's rapid rise to fame, this wise man clearly held a great opinion, and his words revealed deep disdain and mockery.

He was not even willing to cross the river to meet Allen.

After all, Saruman, this leader of the White Council, also believed he had been humiliated by Allen, not to mention that the hateful Gandalf would also arrive here soon.

Saruman's vicious words, however, did not bewitch Ecthelion; the members of the House of Hurin possessed quite resilient willpower.

Learning that the two people he cared about had both moved far away from here, Allen had no choice but to discuss the next plan with Ecthelion.

After all, Allen himself represented the reinforcements from the south, while Ecthelion also represented the local army of Gondor; even the son of the Prince of Dol Amroth had to obey the orders of the Steward.

Originally, Allen had also called for Lindir; after Cirdan left, this deputy of Elrond was the actual leader of the Elf Cavalry.

However, this poet was not particularly interested in meetings; he stated that as long as the upcoming war plan was not too outrageous, he would do his part to cooperate.

With no other choice, Allen had to sit near the statue of the king with Ecthelion to discuss the next steps.

From the ensuing conversation, Allen also learned the latest battlefield information, and at the same time, he re-organized the war situation at this moment in his mind.

When in the Brown Lands, he, along with Cirdan and Lady Galadriel, had dealt a heavy blow to Sauron's power, and at Pelargir, the enemy's losses were likewise not small.

Now, the pirates had also been successfully dealt with; how much of the enemy's remaining power was left?

If the progress on Gandalf's side was also smooth, then the armies of Mordor would inevitably be further weakened.

This also meant that the claws the Dark Lord had extended from the land of evil had been completely forced back to his home.

But this war was far from over, and Sauron had not shown any posture of wanting peace.

After thinking clearly about the current situation, Allen particularly wanted to test how much power Mordor still possessed.

How to test it? That, of course, meant leading troops to charge to his doorstep.

If Sauron sent troops out to meet the battle, then it meant this war would still be fought for a long time, and reinforcing defenses might be the most appropriate measure at present.

If Sauron cowered behind the Black Gate and dared not come out to fight, then a relatively long peace might descend upon Middle-earth.

Thinking of all this, Allen proposed a suggestion to Ecthelion: to station heavy troops at the Crossroads to prevent the Haradrim from coming out of the Morgul Vale.

And all the remaining troops would march north along the Harad Road, coordinate with Gandalf and Sengel to eliminate the Orcish armies there, and after retaking Cair Andros, begin the siege of the Black Gate.

"Lord Allen, although we have assembled an army of nearly thirty thousand, you should also know that Gondor does not currently have the strength to break through the Morannon; perhaps consolidating our existing positions and guarding against enemy attacks on us is the correct choice."

Ecthelion's serious words revealed a trace of sadness; he also did not want to boost the enemy's arrogance in front of his allies.

It was just that in these years of confrontation, he knew clearly how powerful the evil entrenched in Mordor was; taking the initiative to launch an attack against it was not a wise thing.

"Ecthelion, I have no intention of breaking through the gate of Mordor. What I want to say is that Sauron, who is currently residing in Barad-dur, is also in a predicament. How much power can he rely on? If the army he possessed were truly strong enough, then the endless Orcish army would have long since rushed out from behind that evil black wall, instead of watching helplessly as Gandalf led his army to besiege Cair Andros, waiting for the heroic Rohirrim to drive his minions back to the Black Gate."

Speaking to this point, Allen glanced at the statue of the king in the firelight.

At this moment, Ecthelion's attendants were under orders to scrub the graffiti off the throne, and the king's head had also returned to the position where it should have been.

And with the restoration of the statue, the light brought by the flames seemed to be a bit stronger.

"In this current era, Sauron is indeed a cunning and powerful opponent, but at the same time, he is also a guy who bullies the weak and fears the strong, and is fierce in appearance but faint in heart. Do not forget, the ancestors of the Numenoreans once captured him with their own hands; if we blindly suffer passively, then in the years to come, the free peoples will never have peace. At this moment, while the enemy is weak and we still possess strength, taking the initiative to attack and showing our fists and courage to the enemy is the only means to obtain peace. Even if it is a short-lived peace, it must be taken back by our own hands; only in this way can we be worthy of the heroism and blood we have shed on the battlefield."

Allen's words left Ecthelion silent; he also believed that Allen's words were reasonable, but the risks of doing so were truly too great.

What if Sauron was not as weak as Allen said?

What if the enemy had set an ambush before the Black Gate?

If a decisive battle unfolded at the Black Gate, even if they won, how long would it take for Gondor to recover its vitality?

For a moment, Ecthelion did not know how to respond to Allen's suggestion.

Having just taken power from his father's hands, at this moment he felt that the burden on his shoulders was truly too heavy.

And most of the people standing around, including a portion of the lords of Gondor and the young Aragorn,

also mostly revealed expressions of contemplation.

And a loud voice rang out at this moment.