Chapter 235: Returned

On a bright morning as they were about to enter the Month of Starlight, Allen and his party Bard farewell to the beautiful Caras Galadhon and set out on the road home.

When they first left the Golden Wood, the surroundings were almost entirely wilderness, with no roads and no signs of human life; on the distant hillsides, one could occasionally see some human structures, though these were ruins with thousands of years of history.

In the north, the July sun was quite pleasant; while it warmed the body, it did not make one feel particularly hot.

Fluffy white clouds drifted under the breeze, dotting the sky that was as clear as if washed; walking in such a wilderness, even without signs of human life, everyone's mood was quite good.

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At the very least, there were no annoying Orcish around, nor were there any unsettling wolf howls.

The once gloomy land was recovering its past beauty under the sunlight.

Just like this, after the group had walked for over ten days, their spirits became even better.

Because after crossing several watchtowers built on the hills, they entered the village of Ioviah.

This was a piece of land that had been cultivated and was full of fruit; the residents living here were mostly ruddy-faced and treated others with enthusiasm.

After noticing the flag raised by Allen and his party while working in the fields, they would take off their hats and bow from afar, expressing their respect for the King.

Smooth roads crisscrossed between the plots of land, and occasionally a simple yet brand-new house would stand on either side of the road.

Some of them were inns, while others were simple dwellings.

Allen, walking on the road, looked into the distance; from near to far were patches of orchards, as well as farmhouses and warehouses, all dotting the vicinity of Ioviah.

The party's journey was not lonely either; when the group overtook ox carts loaded with vegetables, they would even receive gifts of melons and fruits.

For example, cool and refreshing cucumbers, or sweet and juicy tomatoes.

After these few years of development, this once desolate land had become a prosperous and fertile agricultural town.

However, the party did not stay here long, leaving only after replenishing some fresh supplies.

As a benevolent King, Allen did not want to disrupt this tranquility with his arrival.

Soon, the party passed the clanking Old Ferry, where hundreds of blacksmiths lived, along with their newly formed families.

Allen had built high walls here and arranged for a fully armed army to guard it day and night, protecting his own forging district.

This place was near the Misty Mountains; even though the vast majority of Orcish were hiding in dark and damp tunnels in fear due to the failure of their master, there were still those who, in desperation, risked their lives to attack Humans.

Precautions were always necessary.

Before heading to Moria, Allen had issued a large number of tasks to the craftsmen here, having them forge Scale Armor, so the furnaces near the Old Ferry had been running at full capacity, and the smoking chimneys had not stopped for these past few months.

And when the group returned to Fislate, Allen did not immediately devote his energy to the production of Silver Leaf Armor.

His speed in preparing Rune Equipment materials and drawing runes far exceeded the progress of the Scale Armor forging, so this part of the work was not urgent.

Distributing the spoils with the Dwarf was a more pressing matter; in situations involving a large amount of wealth, it was better to settle it quickly to avoid complications.

The Dwarf's temperament was truly a bit awkward, and sometimes Allen could not grasp their thoughts.

Therefore, after a celebratory banquet, Allen discussed the distribution with Dain, Oin, and Ori.

The most valuable wealth harvested from this trip to Moria was the dozen or so boxes of Mithril Ingot; according to the previous distribution plan, Allen gave 30% to the Dwarf, kept less than 60% for himself, and the remaining 10% plus was gifted to the Lord and Lady of the Golden Wood in Lothlorien.

As for the Mithril ornaments and armor found in the Sixteenth Hall, except for those belonging to the Durin Dwarf who still had lineages that could be found in the Lonely Mountain, the rest belonged to Allen; in this regard, both sides roughly split it fifty-fifty.

Even if they were precious, it was better to return the items with lineages to those Dwarf; on one hand, Allen did not want certain Dwarf to think about his treasury every day—most Dwarf dared not go to Moria to face the Balrog, but they certainly had the confidence to come to Rhovanion to cause trouble.

On the other hand, using this kind of special wealth was enough to make Allen's name spread throughout Erebor once again, and his reputation would inevitably rise to a higher level.

And the development of Rhovanion could not do without these Dwarf; there would always be a time when they were needed.

So returning those heirlooms to the Dwarf was actually a decision where it was unclear whether one lost or gained.

In addition, the armor on the three Dwarf belonged to them, which could be considered a reward for them, while the remaining four sets of Chainmail belonged to Allen.

As for other matters, such as what compensation Thorin, as the King of Durin, would give Allen for finding Durin's Axe, and what rewards the Dwarf who received the heirlooms would give Allen.

That would have to wait until Dain and the others returned to the Lonely Mountain for the Dwarf to carefully consider.

As for Mithril, Allen no longer had much demand for it; the harvest from this expedition was plentiful, so much so that he might not need to worry about materials for Rune Equipment in the future.

There were even very sufficient materials to forge repeating Crossbows for those female Knight in charge of reconnaissance—a type of weapon that could be fired multiple times after being loaded once.

So, why bother with those minor details?

After ordering the arrangements for the three Dwarf's journey, Allen also rested well for a few days, while assisting his Queen in handling some miscellaneous state affairs.

After all, Yamila's protruding belly was already very conspicuous, and James had also advised her many times to put down the work in her hands.

Then, a portion of the Prime Minister's work was transferred to James; after all, he was always hovering under Allen's nose, and he kept nagging, saying that it was truly very unreliable for Allen to go out on an adventure while Yamila was pregnant.

Reliability aside, when Allen learned that Yamila was pregnant, he had already made all the preparations before departure; it could be said that as long as the Dwarf guide arrived in Fislate, the team could set off.

Allen had always believed that once things were planned, they had to be done; if he didn't go now, was he supposed to wait until after Yamila gave birth?

Once he saw his child, Allen estimated that he wouldn't want to leave; in the absence of particularly urgent events, a father should at least accompany his child through their early childhood, giving them love and care.

Then this originally planned matter would probably have to wait until the child grew up, and who could know what the state of things would be then?

Standing in Allen's current position, there would always be complicated affairs entangling him, forcing him to make various choices.

Most importantly, doing things in Middle-earth in most cases did not allow for hesitation, because time could wait for people, but Sauron, entrenched in Mordor, would not wait for anyone.

And things like forging weapons and armor were very important for an emerging force with a shallow foundation like Rhovanion; this was a necessary reserve for resisting the darkness.

Therefore, Allen did not think there was any problem with his decision, but facing James's nagging, he could not order his friend to shut up, because the other party was concerned about his family.

Or rather, after the passage of time, the relationship between James and Allen was no different from that of family, and Allen had no good way to deal with this situation.

Then just find something for him to do; anyway, except for war, most of the state affairs, after these years of sorting out, were relatively simple matters, and the ability of the Cabinet officials was also quite good.

Many times, these young people who held power only needed a plan or someone to approve their actions.

This journey, for Allen, also had an unexpected joy, which was the recipe for Miruvor and Lembas.

Miruvor was a sweet wine with special abilities; this liquid was obtained through blending, and the specific method was secondary, but the materials used for blending were extremely precious, most of which were plants produced in Valinor, and the environment required to grow them was somewhat harsh for the current Middle-earth.

As for Lembas, it was even more so; this bread used by the Elf for long-distance travel used the wheat seeds of Aman, and although this wheat had vigorous vitality, it required the care of Elf women from planting to harvesting, and at the same time, it needed a field with sufficient sunlight that would not be eroded by darkness and the north wind.

Such harsh planting conditions, if handed over to Karl, who was in charge of agriculture, would probably be a task that would take more than ten years or even decades to complete, and it might even be impossible to complete forever.

Karl was, after all, just an ordinary person; he had the confidence to plant ordinary plants with similar habits, but he had never come into contact with this kind of Magic plant with special power.

However, Allen immediately thought of his good friend, Beorn, regarding this matter.

Skin-changers possess a special ability when it comes to planting; flowers cared for by them can bloom in all four seasons, even in the cold north.

As they are very fond of plants, seeing some seeds from Valinor would surely make them feel much happier.

Moreover, female Skin-changers who love life are also proficient in brewing and baking, making them the perfect candidates to complete this task.

Furthermore, the friendship between Allen and Beorn is deep enough that there is no need to worry about such precious recipes leaking out.

The biggest problem is that after expending some energy, the yield of these two special foods might not be very high, but there is no way around that.

Allen has never thought of using these two things as staple food; it is difficult, and they also have very strong side effects.

It is said that eating too much Lembas makes one yearn for the sea and Valinor, thereby despising one's mortal life; it is estimated that Miruvor, also from Valinor, should have similar side effects.

However, Valinor rarely accepts living mortal Humans; if possible, Allen feels it is better to eat less of these things to avoid any irreversible mental problems, such as wandering the seas all year round without returning home.

Of course, Allen's visit to Beorn this time is not entirely because of the Lembas and Miruvor; the migration of the Skin-changer race has already begun after a long period of discussion.

……

The trees of Mirkwood are always so tall, with lush green canopies like large umbrellas, completely blocking the bright sunlight and making the light in the forest very dim.

In the past, countless evil minions haunted the jungles south of Mirkwood Road, with the clamor of Orcish and the howling of Warg echoing one after another.

Not to mention the ugly spiders that would suddenly leap down from the high branches of the trees, and their web traps spread all over the forest.

In the past, facing such a harsh environment, most areas of Mirkwood were simply not suitable for Humans to live in, and those Woodland Residents could only barely survive under the threat.

However, since the Battle of the Lonely Mountain, this situation has changed drastically.

The reopened Old Forest Road has added a lot of vibrant atmosphere to the nearby forest; those dense woods that even sunlight could not penetrate have lost their former gloomy atmosphere and become quiet and beautiful.

The reason for this change is that Allen, in order to initially ensure the safety of caravans and travelers, built several sturdy outposts along this road, which is more than two hundred kilometers long.

He also arranged for light cavalry to patrol the road and the outposts at regular intervals.

After years of maintenance and fighting, it can be said that the area nearby has shaken off its former darkness and returned to the embrace of light.

It is just that this light does not shine into the depths of Mirkwood; the deeper southern regions are still shrouded in darkness, where strange things occasionally happen, and ordinary people dare not set foot in that area at all.

However, this once sparsely populated forest has become lively recently; large groups of loggers, escorted by a well-armed force, have set up a camp in this forest.

Their purpose for being here is very simple: to cut down all the large trees, then dig out the tangled roots, and clear a space in the woodland suitable for building a manor.

This is precisely to make preliminary preparations for the migration of the Skin-changers.

In the design of the goddess Yavanna, her creations, the immovable Ents, are interlinked and contribute to each other, but it is undeniable that if Humans want to live in their own way, they will inevitably destroy the existing order of nature and then change everything around them according to their own needs.

For example, the manor where the Skin-changers live naturally cannot be without flowers and grass, but the lush trees will block all the sunlight; in a dark environment, flowers and green grass simply will not grow, not to mention that the thick and dense root systems of the large trees will rob the soil of most of its nutrients.

Therefore, Yamila sent such an advance team to make the corresponding preparations.