Chapter 209: After the War

The war to conquer the Black Gate did not come to a sudden halt after the Free Peoples achieved victory.

Because too many people were wounded, crippled, or killed in action on this lifeless Dust Plain.

The stars in the sky were no longer obscured by dark clouds, but instead twinkled with points of light, shining down upon every busy member of the Free Peoples.

Du De, the "Eagle Eye" from Pinath Gelin, was pierced through the neck by a pitch-black arrow while commanding archers in a fierce battle against the Orcish, and he would never return to that lush, fertile valley of fragrant grasses.

And the "Tenacious and Brave" Alger died in the first wave of the Troll assault; at that moment of extreme peril, he charged out holding a long spear alongside the Imperial Guard of the Kingdom of Gondor, perishing together with a heavily armored Troll.

Abinas, who had followed Allen for a long time, also lost his life; this mature, steady, tenacious, and loyal Northern man died in a clash with the Haradrim.

Whether of noble blood or a nameless nobody, many, many people died, especially the Kingdom of Gondor, which bore the greatest pressure.

The losses of the Rohirrim were also extremely heavy; the horses still able to run happily were less than half of what they were upon arrival, and the casualties among the men were no less than that number.

Even the Heavy Cavalry under Allen's command had nearly a quarter of their number lose their combat effectiveness in this battle.

Too many people needed a suitable environment for medical treatment, and a portion of the soldiers had to be arranged for defense, remaining vigilant at all times against the enemy returning.

Busyness was the only main theme after the great battle, but everyone's morale remained quite good; this great victory meant they were no longer afraid of the terrifying enemy from the rumors.

Camps for treating the wounded were set up just like that outside the enemy's gate.

And all the soldiers who were physically sound and did not need to shoulder guard duties carried stretchers, weaving through the entire battlefield.

Time and again, they carried the heavily wounded warriors who could not move back into that brightly lit large tent.

The bright moon moved quietly toward the west in the sky, providing light for all the busy people.

At this moment, Allen was almost driven mad by the busyness, and his mental state had reached the verge of collapse, relying solely on his persistent willpower to forcibly resist the increasingly intense sleepiness.

"Did I increase my willpower a little bit by staying up late every day in the past?"

Having just finished saving a heavily wounded man whose stomach had been sliced open, Allen, whose brain was already somewhat muddled, had this thought appear inexplicably.

It seemed to be a theory seen somewhere: after exhausting one's mental energy, the upper limit would increase once it recovered.

Allen did not know if this claim was correct, but he did not feel any effect of improvement.

There were simply too many people injured in this battle; even setting aside the lightly wounded who were not in life-threatening danger, the critically wounded alone filled the entire medical tent.

The Kingdom of Gondor had a high capacity for treating wounds, and Ecthelion had also brought Physicians from the White City before setting out.

But not all of them were brought to the front line; their numbers were few, and they were powerless against the most severely injured.

And Allen, who always held kindness deep in his heart, naturally could not watch these heavily wounded men die.

They had fought bravely against the enemy on the front lines of battle and should not die so miserably after the victory.

It was just that there were too many people critically wounded and dying; the power required to save them was immense, and the Qi in Allen's dantian was exhausted in a very short time.

Yet the current situation could not wait for the natural recovery of power, so Allen could only risk consuming his mental energy to recover in the Simulator, and then, after ending the simulation, continue to treat the wounded.

When Allen performed a simulation, time in Middle-earth barely flowed, which did not affect the treatment of the wounded.

However, the price paid was Allen's extremely limited mental energy.

Aragorn, who was assisting in treating the wounded on the side, watched as one heavily wounded soldier after another escaped the fate of death, while his teacher's face grew increasingly pale.

His once firm and imposing figure actually appeared to be swaying and about to fall when the sky began to brighten.

"If possible, I must exhaust all my strength to save them; whether it is a noble body that has performed great deeds or a man who has lived an ordinary life, every single person has a reason to live."

The expression on Allen's face as he said this was extremely serious, as if he were teaching Aragorn, or perhaps speaking to himself.

However, after working busily for an entire night, Allen finished treating one heavily wounded man and could no longer hold on; his body, not yet having had time to remove its armor, collapsed toward the ground with a boom, only to be caught by the quick-handed Aragorn.

"Someone, come here! We need a Physician."

The young chieftain's voice was exceptionally loud in the tent filled with the wounded, yet such words carried a trace of absurdity and helplessness.

Which wounded man here did not need a Physician?

"What are you panicking about!

Don't go shouting every time you encounter a little thing; the boss is just tired, let him sleep and there will be no problem. If you still have this much energy, come over and do some work."

Cress, who had experienced such events in the past, stopped the bandaging work in her hands, stopped Aragorn's shouting, and at the same time mercilessly reprimanded this junior.

This was, after all, a temporary infirmary, and shouting and yelling could easily affect the mood of the wounded.

Upon hearing Cress's words, Aragorn quieted down.

In any case, Cress was one of the first batch of subordinates to follow Allen, and she possessed enough seniority to lecture any newcomer—at least, that was what she herself believed.

And Allen, after falling unconscious, was placed in an independent tent, where he slept for a full day and night.

During this period, the battlefield had been mostly cleaned up.

Regrettably, some wounded soldiers who had not received treatment had left this world forever.

As for those treated by Allen, their conditions had stabilized; although it was impossible for them to recover their health immediately, it was basically certain that they had all survived.

On the other hand, the enemy huddled in Mordor was very quiet, with no sign of sending troops out to harass them, but that Eye of Sauron still looked toward here, and even the wise Gandalf did not know what this defeated Dark Lord was thinking.

When Allen woke from his deep sleep and left the tent, feeling muddled, he discovered that every gaze directed at him was filled with respect.

Whether they were nobles, officers, commoners, or the Rohirrim, even the Elves from Rivendell and Lindon were the same.

Many soldiers, upon seeing Allen, would remove their helmets to salute, thanking Allen for saving their relatives or friends.

Allen, long accustomed to this situation, nodded to most of them in greeting, then learned about the current situation from Grim.

He walked hurriedly toward the mess hall, because he was truly too hungry now and urgently needed to replenish some energy.

And after Allen had simply consumed some food, the post-war meeting was held in Ecthelion's large tent.

This meeting had been delayed for a day and a night, a sign of the many generals' respect for Allen.

And when everyone had gathered, Gandalf's booming voice rang out.

"My lords, since the end of the Second Age, the Free Peoples have never achieved such a great victory. Although we cannot completely banish the Lord of Barad-dûr, there is no doubt that united, we possess power far beyond imagination; even evil as powerful as Mordor is something we can defeat."

At this moment, Gandalf felt joy in his heart; this Wizard, who bore a heavy burden, finally saw the hope of returning home.

And just as Gandalf's voice fell, Lindir shook his head and spoke:

"Respected Mithrandir, the force we gathered this time did indeed barely defeat the enemy, but blind optimism is not advisable. Every lord present should know that the enemy's power is not limited to what we have defeated; as long as there is sufficient time, the Lord of Mordor can still gather an army capable of overturning us, and we cannot break through that fortress full of evil. I think it is time to leave this detestable place."

This was not a rebuttal but a statement of fact; even having lost so many troops, Sauron was far from being at the end of his rope.

Those armies coming to reinforce from further south might already be on the way, and Mordor still retained the army guarding the Black Gate.

In this battle, even an elite force as powerful as the Elf suffered certain losses.

Many of those Elves who could have enjoyed a peaceful life in sanctuary also died in battle on this plain.

Even though he had prepared himself mentally, facing the death of his kin, Lindir could not soothe the sorrow in his heart within a mere day.

The Elves are by nature a race of delicate emotions.

What's more, the dark power filling the entire War Plain tormented the Elves at every moment.

Through the battle two days ago, the Free Peoples could be said to have exceeded their war objectives.

Now, Lindir did not want to stay here for even a moment longer.

Soon, Ecthelion took over the lead of the meeting.

"Departure is the inevitable result. Whether it be the Morannon or that pitch-black fortress, we do not have sufficient strength to destroy them. In fact, for the Kingdom of Gondor to achieve this much is already quite extraordinary. The result is gratifying; although we did not annihilate the enemy, we have also severely weakened the power of Mordor. This is enough for us to gain a long period of peaceful life. I believe this is, all in all, a good thing; the people are in dire need of rest and recuperation."

As the Steward governing the Kingdom of Gondor, Ecthelion urgently needed a stable period to allow the entire kingdom to recover from the wounds of war.

Allen had been observing the expressions of everyone in the tent.

After experiencing a victorious battle, besides the look of joy on Gandalf's face, there was also a trace of anxiety.

If he guessed correctly, the Grey Wizard likely wanted to renew the ancient alliance, allowing the strength of the Free Peoples to unite; in that case, the chances of defeating the darkness would greatly increase.

Ecthelion, meanwhile, wore a look of relief; after suffering such heavy losses, Mordor had now ceased hostilities.

The subjects of Gondor could naturally regain their previous stable lives, and the burden on the Steward's shoulders had instantly become much lighter.

Sengel, at the side, was listening carefully to the words of others and did not reveal his own stance.

As the true ruler of Rohan at this time, he had fulfilled his own obligations by supporting his allies in the war; anything else was already unimportant to Sengel.

As for Lindir, it went without saying; the desire to return to Rivendell was written all over his face.

The strangest one was the attendee Saruman; the master of Orthanc sat silently at the side of the tent for some reason, head bowed and saying nothing. Allen could not quite guess the White Wizard's thoughts.

However, Allen was also unwilling to spend too much time on Saruman; the power he now possessed was no longer afraid of Isengard.

Because the performance of the Lion-Hunting Knight Order was truly too good; although they numbered a mere five hundred, they played a crucial role in this battle while fully armed.

Not only did they aid Rohan, allowing Sengel to defeat the entangled Easterlings, but they also crushed the Haradrim, who outnumbered them several times over, in a head-on engagement.

Moreover, after accomplishing all this, the Lion-Hunting Knight Order was still able to maintain a sound formation and pursue the fleeing Orcish relentlessly.

One can only say that the trait of knowing neither fatigue nor pain is simply too powerful.

However, the cost of summoning them is also enormous; the bare minimum is 50,000 Dinar, plus 100 points of renown, and the Swadian Knight can only be maintained in this world for three days.

And when the time is up, additional fees must be paid to continue maintaining their existence; each Swadian Knight requires 20 Dinar as a daily consumption expense.

If a member of the Knight Order dies, Allen needs to pay a cost of 1,000 Dinar, along with a one-week cooldown period, to replenish them.

In Allen's view, this price is naturally not cheap, but in a critical moment, having such a mobile force that can also appear in most parts of the battlefield at any time is a trump card that can change the course of the war.

This kind of power that one can control oneself is naturally the more, the better.

Allen was already considering how he should go about establishing his own Knight Order in the Pendor Continent.

However, the suddenly quiet atmosphere inside the tent interrupted his train of thought.

At this moment, all the generals attending the meeting were looking at Allen, waiting for him to offer his opinion.

In truth, it was a very simple matter: whether the entire allied force should leave here immediately, or follow the original plan and wait for the Catapult to be built.

Ecthelion and Adrahil hoped to stay and see if the Catapult built by the Dwarf could cause damage to the Morannon.

After all, opportunities to reach this far are limited, and being able to learn a bit more about the enemy's strength is always good.

Lindir, however, hoped to leave here immediately; all Elves know that their final destination can only be a return to Valinor, and the coming era is the era of Humans.

Whether Sauron could be expelled, Lindir did not care at all; or to put it another way, without the orders of Lord Elrond, he did not care much whether Gondor would perish.

Gandalf was persuading everyone that they must act collectively and not disperse.

Sengel and Saruman did not express an opinion.

Allen had not expected that after they had discussed for a long time, they would all end up looking at him.

After a light cough, Allen looked at Lindir and said:

"My lords, I still hope that everyone can persist here for a period of time. On one hand, we still need to continue observing Mordor's reaction; no one knows what kind of evil the cunning and wicked enemy is still brewing in their hearts. On the other hand, those wounded soldiers need to be sent away in batches; we cannot withdraw in such a rush, as this would leave an opportunity for the enemy, and should an accident occur, those wounded might not be able to keep up with our pace."

Although Allen said "My lords," he was actually only negotiating with Lindir; as long as he could persuade this Noldor Elf, he could stay for a period of time.

Regarding the suggestion Allen proposed, Lindir nodded and agreed after pondering for a while.

Anyone could see that Mordor at this time no longer had the strength to fight again, at least not for a short time; there was no danger in the army staying here.

As for observing Mordor's subsequent reactions, that was also the proper thing to do; in case Sauron had arranged some other vicious plan, the gathered crowd could also react immediately.

Of course, these were not the main reasons; most importantly, Lindir always had to give Allen some face, and there were not a few Elves among those severely wounded and dying.

Just like that, the allied force of the Free Peoples stood in a standoff against Sauron before the Black Gate for about a week.

During this time, the soldiers who were injured and had not yet recovered were sent out of Dagorlad one after another, far away from this land of evil.

And the Eye of Sauron atop Barad-dûr would still look toward this side with a vicious gaze from time to time, but that pitch-black gate never opened again.

This situation did not change until the Catapult, which the Dwarf were responsible for, was finished.

When stones carrying immense power flew toward the Morannon, the Orcish guarding that high wall scrambled to hide; no flesh and blood could withstand such an attack.

However, when Sauron built the Black Gate and Barad-dûr, he left the power of the One Ring within the foundations of these two structures; the damage caused by the flying stones launched by the Catapult to that pitch-black high wall was extremely limited.

This was not a defense that mortal power could destroy.

Yet, under the insistence of many generals, this bombardment lasted for a full three days, not only battering the surface of the Morannon into a pitted state but also causing the Teeth of Mordor standing on both sides of the Black Gate to collapse into rubble.

Even so, Mordor remained completely motionless, and the Dark Men who had fled on the battlefield earlier showed no signs of returning.

It seems the Lord of Mordor intends to stay holed up until the day his strength recovers.

It is just that this will take a very, very long time.