Chapter 280: War 2

When Rhovanion's orderly troops appeared on the west bank of the Running River, Ashur immediately became vigilant. Not only did he stop the friction with Baal contrary to his usual behavior, but he also spent most of his energy on defense.

Since seeing the enemy's warships on the water, Ashur knew that he was afraid he wouldn't be able to get the initiative to cross the river.

The enemy's war strategy changed too quickly and was too targeted. At the moment, he didn't have any good methods to take action, so he could only prepare for battle and look for opportunities to complete the mission of the Great Emperor Sauron.

Following one order after another, teams of brave and fierce Easterling cavalry, in the biting cold wind, urged their sturdy Rune horses and stepped out of the camp like the wind.

They began to gallop and patrol along the east bank of the Running River day and night.

Ashur's main camp also became more and more lively. Teams of supplies were sent from the east, and shouting and hammering sounds were everywhere. Everyone was making preparations before the war.

At this time, Baal, with a keen sense of smell, naturally felt the change in the situation and began to strengthen the camp and prepare for defense.

At the same time, he sent his personal guards to the other side of the river with letter after letter more frequently, hoping to receive a definitive answer.

It was just that he understood that such things couldn't be fast at all.

Two nations with hatred for each other wanting to form an alliance must inevitably go through long-term probing and constant tug-of-war.

Only when the situation became critical to a certain extent and it was confirmed that both sides had consistent interests could the alliance be finalized.

However, Baal knew he still had time. Currently, only Ashur had come among the several powerful Easterling commanders. He could still barely cope.

As for the others, although they would also follow the orders of the Great Emperor Sauron, they wouldn't move troops without seeing enough benefits.

In recent years, don't know where some gossip came from, saying that a Wizard wearing blue robes was always active among these great commanders, spreading some concepts of peaceful coexistence.

It might be that such remarks indeed had a certain influence in Rune, making those great commanders no longer so keen on exchanging wealth for blood.

So they acted far less actively than Ashur. After all, this guy had stayed in Mordor for a long time; not only had the person become extremely pale, but even his spirit was a bit abnormal.

At least when Baal faced Ashur, he would constantly feel cold in his heart, as if he were being stared at by a living dead person.

At this moment, forced by the pressure brought by Fatis, Ashur stopped the oppression, but Baal still had lingering fears about his former old superior, worried that he would suffer attacks from some weird forces.

So, in a recent letter, Baal hoped Fatis could allow him to lead his tribe to temporarily migrate to the southwest of the confluence of the Running River and the River Carnen.

At the moment, that was still a land without an owner, and it was much safer than staying by Ashur's side.

And as a reward, Baal would join this battle as a mercenary with his soldiers, assisting Rhovanion in resisting the Easterlings' attack.

For Baal, this was a battle against oppression.

Ashur wanted to take away more than half of his population as soon as he came up, and also had to give up all the income from the trade with Rhovanion, if there were any trade in the future.

No matter which item it was, it wasn't a loss he was willing to bear.

At the same time, this might also be a battle that could change his destiny.

As long as he won this battle, Baal believed he had a great possibility of accepting the population left behind after Ashur's defeat. By then, his strength would be enough to barely become a new commander.

Standing at the peak of the power of the Rune people.

According to the previous behavioral habits of that King of Rhovanion, as long as he was willing to bow his head and make a promise of submission, the possibility of such things happening was still very large.

Baal almost put all his family assets on the gambling table to bet on a brighter future.

Of course, this wasn't something he could do whatever he wanted.

Fatis looked at Baal's letter, his heart full of disgust. His personality was like this; he really couldn't stand this kind of two-faced behavior.

Being able to betray Ashur today meant that it was possible to betray Allen tomorrow for other compelling reasons.

It was just that this matter was of great importance. No matter how strong the dissatisfaction in Fatis's heart was, the final result wasn't up to him.

Soon, more than ten birds flew out of Fatis's castle. They would deliver the news to Heidelberg, where messengers would be dispatched again to send Fatis's letter to the King's hands.

There was a distance of nearly a thousand kilometers in between.

And when Allen received the letter, he had already safely sent Mr. Bilbo Baggins, who was already "notorious" in Hobbiton, back to Bag End.

It was conceivable that the Hobbits of the Shire would have topics to talk about before and after meals again, and the master of Bag End also had a lot of material worth writing about.

Of course, these had nothing to do with Allen, because he didn't know he would become the protagonist in a book.

Late at night, the stars were dotted in the sky. Allen opened the letter by the candlelight provided by the Prancing Pony. After seeing the content on the letter clearly, he smiled lightly.

Regarding Baal's encounter and request at this moment, he had long anticipated it, just didn't expect it to happen so quickly.

People's ambition and temper would always change with the change of strength. At that time, Allen packed all the captives and stuffed them to Baal in one go, just to give this guy more confidence to fall out with Ashur.

The possibility of this happening was very large.

According to Allen's understanding of Ashur, this Easterling commander with a cruel personality and a bit of self-centeredness would definitely not tolerate his subordinates' strength being so powerful.

When he discovered that Baal's power had expanded to the point where it was almost impossible to hold, he would inevitably put forward quite harsh conditions to test his subordinates' loyalty to him.

And Baal? Saying he was greedy for money wasn't an exaggeration at all, and he was willing to take huge risks for the sake of profit.

Allen had heard some news about this point from Malherbe, and it was confirmed in the incident of saving the Dwarves.

According to the Easterlings' survival habit of respecting the strong, plus the tribal rule, the probability of these two people having a conflict was simply too large, too large. This was controlled by human nature.

Sometimes, Allen, who had lived in Middle-earth for nearly twenty years, always felt that his human allies here were too good to be true.

But he saw a very familiar side from the Easterlings.

So, Allen, who was quite touched, played a very idle, very idle chess piece on this Baal who was keen on trading, and at this moment, a follow-up suddenly appeared.

Soon, Allen wrote a reply to Fatis. In the letter, he accepted Baal's suggestion and agreed to lend the River Corner area southwest of the confluence of the Running River to him temporarily.

At the same time, he also stated in the letter that the leadership of this mercenary army of Baal would temporarily belong to Fatis. In any case, he must block the Easterlings on the east bank of the Running River.

However, Fatis's letter also mentioned another thing, which was that the Riders of Rohan and the Goblins of Mordor had had several large-scale battles in the Brown Lands.

According to news from the battlefield, Rohan had gathered at least over three thousand cavalry, and Mordor, in order to march the main force, had dispatched a large number of Warg Riders as cover.

After several struggles, Mordor's army suffered relatively heavy casualties, and the Kingdom of Rohan also paid a lot of price, and failed to successfully block the Goblins from entering Mirkwood.

This news was still passed back by the scout team responsible for investigating Orthanc. After all, the Brown Lands were desolate and almost no one could settle there, so Fatis didn't pay special attention to the situation there.

This point made Allen feel very strange. He had anticipated that Sauron would definitely take this opportunity to strengthen Dol Guldur's strength, so as to be able to set off a larger war in the North in the future.

That was why he sent a letter to Thengel before setting off.

But the movement of Mordor's army was so huge, even if it meant suffering huge casualties, it still had to fight a war of attrition with Rohan on the vast plains. This was a bit abnormal.

Although Warg Riders could indeed restrain horses, their numbers were still far from comparable to the brave and good-fighting Riders of Rohan. In terms of mobility, Mordor should be at an absolute disadvantage.

Standing from the perspective of the Goblin commander to think, if Allen discovered the possibility of Rohan cavalry attacking himself, then he would definitely choose to retreat at the first time, or rely on the terrain of the Emyn Muil to fight a positional war with Rohan, waiting for more support and variables.

Instead of fighting with a large number of cavalry on the plains, this wasn't a rational behavior, and not even the level a qualified commander should have. You must know that Goblins who could become leaders weren't stupid.

Allen always felt that Sauron had buried a deeper and more urgent purpose in this chaotic situation, but at the moment, he still couldn't see the connection clearly.

The next morning, in the reluctant gaze of the innkeeper, Allen, who had thought about it all night without result, left Bree with his subordinates and galloped on the Great East Road that ran through Eriador.

When the team arrived in the wilderness, Allen handed the pursuit to Holimion and instructed his personal guards to return to Feslate along the road, bringing the news of his safety to Yamila. This trip indeed had some risks.

As for himself, he stirred up a gale and flew anxiously toward Mount Gundabad; the battle there was likely not yet over, and whether the dragons hiding deep in the Northern Wasteland had been lured by Sauron remained an unknown.

Holimion looked at Allen who was disappearing rapidly in the air, and then looked at the reins in his hand, sighing deeply, followed by a sigh from his colleagues who were looking at each other.

If this continued, his captain of the personal guard would soon become a decoration. The King he guarded said fly and he flew, simply unable to serve by his side.

It was just that helplessness was helplessness, the order still had to be executed. This team of cavalry, shining silver in the sunlight, galloped rapidly toward the High Pass. After they sent the news back to Feslate, they still had to rush to the Grey Mountains.

At least, the King they revered hadn't canceled the personal guard's establishment yet.

After a fight in the seabed, Allen had a deeper understanding of the mastery of wind, which allowed him to glide faster in the air. Not long after, he left the continuous Tower Hills behind and rushed toward the rugged and desolate Ettenmoors.

"Caw?" "Caw?" "Caw?"

A burst of raven cries suddenly entered Allen's ears. In doubt, he turned his head slightly and saw an acquaintance who also showed doubt, no, it was a familiar raven.

The newcomer was exactly the raven leader who was always with Thorin, Tac. Since the elderly Roac passed away a few years ago, Tac had taken over as the leader of the ravens, while leading the group to continue the mutual help and watch with the Durin Dwarves.

"Although a bit strange, I am very happy to meet you here, respected King, Your Majesty. Thorin asked me to bring you a few words."

Through the howling gale, Tac's hoarse voice came over. Allen also gradually slowed down his speed and slowly glided to the edge of the Ettenmoors.

Ravens could speak in flight because their mouths had a special structure. Allen couldn't; once he opened his mouth, the gale would immediately fill his mouth, and he couldn't spit out effective language at all.

"Trouble you, Tac. What did Thorin say?"

Allen took a shining ruby from his bosom and handed it to Tac. This was the reward for the raven delivering the message.

Tac nimbly snatched the ruby, then buried its head into the pitch-black feathers. By the time it raised its head to speak again, the ruby had already disappeared without a trace.

"Gandalf has returned, bringing back very bad news. Thorin said you understand what this means."

Tac cawed: "At the same time, your subordinate, that very spirited young man, also asked me to bring a message. If possible, he hopes you can return to Mount Gundabad as soon as possible. He feels that things are a bit not quite right."

After speaking, Tac flapped its wings and flew into the air. Staying by Allen's side, it always felt very uncomfortable.

This world is really crazy. Humans without wings can actually fly?!

Allen didn't set off again, but lit a campfire on the spot. In thought, he ate some Elven bread Lembas and gulped down two mouthfuls of Miruvor.

Subsequently, he drew Ringil from his back and wiped it repeatedly. The sword body flashed with dazzling sharpness under the firelight.

This Elven sword was just a one-handed sword in the hands of Fingolfin, but for Allen, who was about 1.8 meters tall, its length wasn't suitable for hanging on his waist.

What should come will come.

Since Gandalf brought back bad news, it meant that the dragons had accepted Sauron's conditions and were preparing to launch an attack on the Durin Dwarves who had retaken the holy land.

"I hope Thorin's heavy crossbows can play a role, and I hope the sword in my hand can successfully slay the dragon."

Allen, wiping the sword body, pondered the situation of both sides, waiting for the recovery of strength.

Next, he was prepared to fly back to Mount Gundabad without stopping for a moment. ===== CHAPTER 281 =====