Chapter 219: The Restored Prosperity of the North, Simulation

"So, you have a very deep friendship with His Majesty the King of the Lonely Mountain?"

The unusually talkative Tiehaer chatted with Allen with great interest, inquiring about matters related to Thorin.

In fact, as creations of Aule and adopted children of Eru Iluvatar, Dwarves are not inarticulate; although they are tough and loyal, and famously stubborn, they can sometimes be very long-winded and noisy.

Allen, who had traveled with Dwarves and experienced an expedition, understood this well.

And that Tiehaer was interested in Thorin's affairs seemed perfectly normal to Allen; what subordinate would not want to be more familiar with their future leader?

Therefore, Allen would also pick out some widely circulated deeds that showcased Thorin's excellent qualities to tell Tiehaer.

For example, personally killing Azog, having the courage to face a dragon, and having many friends; from Eriador to Rhovanion, many figures who had achieved great merits were friends of Thorin II.

Anyway, it was just a round of flattery; the stronger Thorin's strength, the happier Allen was—after all, the two of them were friends with a deep bond, and Rhovanion and the Lonely Mountain also had an unbreakable alliance; one could say they shared the same fate, for better or worse.

And Allen's words naturally displayed his familiarity with Thorin, making Tiehaer interested in the relationship between Allen and Thorin.

"Yes, we are indeed good friends. This time I am heading to the Lonely Mountain, and I am indeed planning to visit Thorin, and incidentally ask him for a small favor."

Allen smiled as he explained his relationship with Thorin to Tiehaer; he did not go into great detail, as he was currently just an ordinary human by his side—perhaps with some power and wealth, but not the King of Rhovanion.

After an ambush, Allen felt it was better to be discreet; not only did he and Yamila make some disguises, but even the Twilight Knights and Girl Rangers following behind him donned cloaks from Lothlórien to hide their uniqueness.

"Oh, what is the matter?"

Tiehaer asked this subconsciously, but looking at the smiling, silent corners of Allen's mouth under his hood, he soon realized he had asked too much.

After a moment of awkward silence, Tiehaer shut his chattering mouth and touched the golden belt at his waist with some embarrassment.

Allen also truly wanted to end this conversation, because the Dwarf traveling with him was simply too talkative and had a strong curiosity about many things.

From the climate of Rhovanion to the plot of the Battle of the Lonely Mountain, he was even very curious about Allen's experiences during the expedition.

In the cognition of the Dwarf before him, it seemed there was no such word as "stranger," and he seemed unable to grasp what kind of distance two strangers who had just met should maintain.

Allen, who was somewhat unable to handle this, was really not quite used to Tiehaer's overflowing enthusiasm.

At the same time, he silently decided in his heart that it would be better to have less contact with this person in the future, or to meet as little as possible, to avoid any more awkward situations.

From then on, the road to the Lonely Mountain finally became quiet.

If one sets out from Long Lake Town to the Lonely Mountain, there are actually two paths.

Merchants carrying large quantities of goods generally drive cargo ships from Long Lake and go upstream along the river, which is a method that saves time and manpower.

As long as one is willing to spend money, one can basically reach the foot of the Lonely Mountain in a little over two days, where there will be residents of Dale responsible for receiving merchants who come to trade.

Occasionally, one can also see the figures of Dwarves on the riverbank.

But for travelers without goods, riding a horse might be a better choice than taking a boat.

Long Lake Town is about a hundred kilometers away from the Lonely Mountain, with a vast, boundless wasteland in between, and the road to the Lonely Mountain lies upon this wasteland.

And unlike in the past, this place is no longer the "Desolation of Smaug" ravaged by the dragon; under the diligent cultivation of the people of Dale, this plain has long since recovered its former prosperity and fertility.

In spring, it is filled with birdsong and flowers, and in autumn, it is laden with fruit.

Even though the season Allen passed through here was the less fortunate winter, one could still see low orchards on the hillsides and boundless farmland on the plains.

Although he had expected it in his heart, Allen nodded with gratification as he looked at all this; this showed that Bard, the Lord of Dale, governed this place extremely well.

And as the group continued to move forward, the sky gradually darkened, and the closer they got to the Lonely Mountain, the colder the winter nights became.

After all, this place was already considered the border of the warm lands; another two hundred kilometers or so to the north was the bitterly cold Forodwaith, also known as the North Wasteland.

If it were now, perhaps only the physically powerful Cold Dragon could live there.

The group that had walked for a day prepared to set up camp and rest; even a figure as powerful as Allen would not travel on a cold night without an emergency, not to mention he was traveling with Yamila.

And another matter was that Allen had already begun his simulation in the Magic Continent.

In fact, after obtaining the Chain Lightning ability, his simulation progress had been stuck in Zendar.

Because in terms of the highest combat power that might appear in the Magic Continent, it was actually not much different from the Pendor of the Age of Doom.

Although Pendor is a world with gods, they only whispered in Allen's ear and could not truly have any influence on him.

And those powerful Apocalypse Knights—if it were guys like the "Slayer" Wolfbird of the Mist Mountains, the Three Sages of the Snake Cult, or the "Devourer" Egremont who worshipped evil gods—if Allen did not stand in their way, there would be no danger.

On the contrary, the Druid Order of the Magic Continent indeed had some powerful existences whose abilities might not be weaker than Allen at this time, not to mention the endless soldiers of the order.

For instance, the Doom Thunder Knights who were loyal to the Druid Order had combat strength even greater than the Griffin Knights by Allen's side; relying solely on those five hundred Lion-Hunting Knights, even if it bankrupted Allen, they could not stir up any trouble in the Magic Continent.

The most critical point was that Allen seemed to have accidentally raised himself into something like a "protagonist," so being targeted by the Druid Sect was a certainty; therefore, Allen, who felt he was still very weak, had been unwilling to push the progress of the Magic Continent.

He wanted to obtain stronger power in Pendor before heading to the Magic Continent to confront the darkness.

And in the continent of Calradia, Allen's status had already reached the pinnacle of secular power; after all, a real simulation would not have loopholes to exploit like a game, and the rulers and noble classes of the other five kingdoms were as shrewd as ghosts and would absolutely not let Swadia dominate alone.

For example, King Graveth of the Rhodok Kingdom, who had "unfortunately" been a prisoner, should originally have been extremely hostile to Allen, the culprit.

But after learning that Allen had become king, the bearded Graveth kept sending envoys with some velvet, Wine produced in Veluca, and even glittering Dinar to Praven to give gifts to Allen, wanting to ease the relationship between the two sides.

Allen, who was kept in the dark at first, did not know what his old rival was going crazy about.

But after much probing by spies, he learned that the defeat of the Rhodok a few years ago had caused the prestige of the heavily-lost Graveth to plummet, and voices opposing his rule had actually appeared within the Rhodok.

Now, Graveth was almost unable to suppress the nobles in his country; after all, his throne was obtained by coercing the noble council, and once his strength was insufficient, it was an extremely serious hidden danger, and the appearance of rebel armies was not uncommon.

Therefore, Graveth began to send gifts to the young Allen, and his real purpose was naturally not to get on good terms with Allen and have Allen help him.

Having been king for more than a decade, Graveth was far from that naive; he knew that Allen not taking the opportunity to step on him would already count as a living saint.

The real reason Graveth did this was simple: it was nothing more than to show the nobles in his country, letting others think that the King of the Rhodok had already buried the hatchet with the King of Swadia.

And Graveth also shamelessly spent a large amount of Dinar to bribe some idle Swadian nobles to spread the news of an impending alliance between the two countries within the Rhodok, so as to delay the progress of the noble rebellion.

Although lies would eventually be exposed one day, lies could also make those wavering nobles fall into doubt, giving Graveth enough time to win over forces that supported him at a high price, and use the general trend to suppress those opposing voices.

And by the time Allen figured out the meaning behind the gifts, Graveth had already stabilized the situation in his country. There was no way around it; in Calradia, where communication basically relied on shouting and transportation basically relied on walking, information transmission was just that slow, not to mention that the two countries, which had been in a state of war for years, also had a certain degree of information blockade.

Allen, realizing he had missed the opportunity, could only helplessly send a team of messengers to deliver a Letter with a large "6" written on it to Graveth.

You motherfucker, you really play dirty, Graveth.

And facing these cunning and opportunistic opponents, Allen also felt a bit of the feeling of drawing his sword and looking around in bewilderment; this was not a game where NPCs must follow established rules. In the simulation, the rules these guys followed were that there were almost no rules, and even things placed in the open were not something some people were willing to follow.

And it was true that Allen possessed powerful strength, but he was not yet powerful enough to ignore everything and be able to fight against several kingdoms.

The border of Swadia is a land of four-way battles, connected to most of the other nations.

To the north is the barbaric Nord, and since the armistice agreement between the two countries has not yet expired, Allen has no sufficient reason to do anything.

As for the northeast, it is the Vaegirs, where most of the region is covered by snowfields; what benefit is there in attacking them? To go catch rabbits in the snow?

Furthermore, seizing those relatively warm lands of the Vaegirs would directly exacerbate the hatred between Swadia and the Nord Kingdom, because those barbarians believe those lands belong to them.

As for the Khergit to the southeast, Allen leading Swadian Knights to rob a group of semi-nomadic, semi-urban herdsmen always gives one a sense of incongruity.

Moreover, the Khergit, with their nation of soldiers, could gather a sufficiently powerful Cavalry force in a short time and drag the entirety of Swadia into the quagmire of war; Allen, having once been a half-lord of the Khergit, has a deep understanding of this.

Therefore, Allen, who has become king but has not yet found an opportunity to start a war, can only keep maintaining his rule in the simulation of Calradia.

And then, like watching a play, he enjoys watching those nobles with ulterior motives perform some unpresentable plots in front of him; well, sometimes it is quite amusing.

At the same time, Allen also enjoys the large amount of Dinar brought to him by his fiefs, as well as the fairly decent prestige gains; of course, that bit of honor every year is also quite sweet, and this wealth can help Allen quickly raise an army in Varonian and, in times of crisis, summon the Lion Hunter Knight Order to assist him in battle.

It is just that matters in Calradia do not take up too much of Allen's energy, because his prestige is extremely high; most Swadian nobles' first impression of the king is fear, while the commoners, due to years of peaceful life, are also extremely supportive of Allen's rule, so he is a king who has it very easy.

At the very least, it is easier than in Rhovanion; after all, there is no Eye of Sauron burning with flames, staring at him covetously every day.

So under these circumstances, Allen has spent most of his energy from the previous period on Pendor, because this land is an important node where he can currently break the stalemate.

If he establishes a kingdom in Pendor, he can build a sufficiently powerful Knight Order with the help of the Noldor Elf; a powerful force can not only help Allen break the deadlock on the Calradia continent, but with the assistance of the Lion Hunter Knight Order, he can also contend with the army of the Druid Order and then obtain more powerful abilities.

One must know that the Magic Continent has five gems of wind, fire, water, earth, and air, and there are also artifacts such as the "Shield of Fate" and "Hero Badge," and these things might just help Allen possess the ability to confront Sauron head-on.

It is just that re-establishing the Pendor Kingdom is truly too difficult; Allen does indeed have a hidden territory in the valley near Lion City, but the scale of that valley cannot even compare to a village, and it is right under the noses of the enemy.

Using that place as a secret hiding spot is a very good choice, but it is not a reliance that Allen can depend on.

Perhaps maintaining a good relationship with the Noldor Elf is the most important thing for the identity of the "Prophecy Child."

And Allen is indeed doing just that.