Chapter 84: The Fruits of Several Years of Effort

At noon, the sky was perfectly clear, and not a single cloud could be found.

Under the warmth of the winter sun, Wilderness Town entered its busiest time of the year.

A large number of townspeople put on their best clothes and gathered at the banquet venues belonging to their respective residential districts.

Of course, it was impossible for nearly ten thousand people to celebrate the New Year together; the mere possibility of a stampede was enough to make Yamila worry herself sick.

This newly appointed Hand of the King had prepared over a dozen venues for this banquet, evenly distributed throughout the urban area of Wilderness Town.

Each banquet venue could accommodate between four hundred and five hundred people, with a large bonfire in the center of the site.

Surrounding it were numerous tents, inside which wooden tables were laden with various kinds of food.

These foods were placed on special metal platters; the platters had three layers: the bottom layer was charcoal, the middle layer was water, and the steam was used to keep the food in the platter at a constant temperature.

A considerable number of residents gathered in front of each tent, picking the food they liked, and whenever a platter became empty, someone was immediately responsible for refilling it until the banquet ended.

Scattered around the venue were over a dozen wine barrels, with Honey Mead and beer available for choice, managed by the person in charge of the residential district; everyone attending the banquet could be served three large cups.

Of course, children were not allowed to drink alcohol, but there was honey water provided specifically for them.

Each venue also had over a dozen fully armed soldiers responsible for maintaining order; most of the time, they only served as a deterrent, and for several years now, no one had ever caused trouble for Allen at these banquets.

The residents moving about the venue ate and drank with smiles on their faces, and from time to time, someone would raise their glass and shout toasts such as "To thank Lord Allen for his generosity," "To thank Miss Yamila for her hard work," "To celebrate this year's harvest," or "To the victory of the battle."

Each shout could resonate with a large group of people; everyone raised their glasses to drink heartily, happily chewed on delicious food, and chatted and laughed with their neighbors—it was a very harmonious and happy scene.

This was a scene Allen was extremely willing to see, and this was only at noon; there would be an even better one in the evening, but he was not participating in it.

At this moment, Allen was busy; he was in the conference room with Tier, Yamila, Stephen, and Alayen, discussing the renovation of the Old Forest Road.

The plan Tier brought forward was excellent, with the ultimate goal of restoring the Old Forest Road to its former glory during the Second Age, but it would be extremely time-consuming; including the construction of strongholds, it would take at least five years.

Allen did not want to wait that long; his suggestion to Tier was to first open up the road and then slowly expand it, and perhaps even build defensive strongholds or open inns in the middle of the road later on.

But the prerequisite was that it must be opened first; only then could it continuously attract merchants, build up a reputation first, and then consider the matter of expansion.

Upon hearing this, Tier thought for a moment and finally decided to agree to Allen's suggestion; although this would increase the difficulty of a unified renovation, the speed of opening the road would be several times faster, and the lord's wishes should still be the primary objective.

In Allen's plan, after the New Year, Alayen would lead two hundred soldiers to the Old Forest Road to build a simple stronghold, forming a preliminary defensive force.

This would coordinate with the Northmen responsible for repairing the road to avoid any unexpected situations.

Allen had learned some information from Gale that he had not known before: the eastern part of Rhovanion was far from as peaceful as he had imagined; it was just that there had been no large-scale battles worth recording for the past few hundred years.

The barbaric Easterlings would cross the Running River or the Redwater River from time to time to harass the Rhovanion People who still lived in the Running River basin.

To resist the harassment of small groups of enemies, Northern Men would sporadically break out into small-scale battles in many places, and some of the Rhovanion People relied on offering a certain amount of grain or gold and silver as protection money to avoid attacks from the Easterlings.

In the entire eastern part of Rhovanion, only the Running River near the northern Mirkwood could be considered somewhat safe.

Because those raiders had suffered at the hands of the Woodland Elves in the past, they were not very daring to approach the edge of Mirkwood, so they had learned their lesson a little bit.

It was precisely for this reason that Gale and his fellow villagers did not stay in the vast plains but had always lived on the edge of Mirkwood.

But now it was different; once the road started to be maintained, who knew if it would attract the attention of those guys? It was better to make some preparations early.

This was only to the west of the Running River or the Redwater River; once across these two rivers, that was the world of the Easterlings, where no one knew how many Easterling tribes lived, nor how many Rhovanion People were living there as slaves.

Allen noted this point, but he did not have enough strength yet, so he could only focus on the matters at hand.

Moreover, after the New Year, Allen would also have Stephen, the Finance Consultant, go along with Alayen; his main job was to calculate the wages for these hired Northmen and to further understand the grain prices in eastern Rhovanion.

If it was cheap, they could slowly and continuously purchase it after the Old Forest Road was opened.

Large-scale purchasing would inevitably lead to a skyrocketing of grain prices; Allen still had this bit of economic common sense.

Allen never felt that he had too much grain; he had too many places that needed to consume this stuff.

As for Stephen's family, they would remain in Wilderness Town to receive Allen's protection; Allen was truly too afraid of this greedy guy playing tricks on him, so keeping some hostages was good to prevent Stephen from forcing him to hang him.

At that time, a large amount of tools and the initial wages for the Northmen would also go with the team.

The overall progress of opening the Old Forest Road was decided by Tier; Alayen's soldiers were only responsible for protecting everyone, periodically transporting some wealth, and then distributing it to the hired Northmen.

If there was any problem the three of them could not solve, they would send someone to ride back quickly to notify Allen; it was not that far anyway, just a few days of fast riding.

Of course, Allen's idea was that it would be best to open the road in a year; by that time, Allen should have also opened the High Pass.

The group discussed until evening before settling all aspects of this matter, and at this time, Duosili also came to the conference room to report to Allen that the evening banquet was ready and could begin.

Allen told Duosili to let the officials announce the start and not to wait for him; if he had time, he would go around to the various banquet venues.

In fact, Allen would not go at all; the banquets now were not like they were at the beginning, when Allen could still chat and drink with the villagers at the banquet.

Now, as long as Allen appeared at any banquet, it would instantly become silent and fall into a lull.

Then Allen would have to say a few words on the stage where the subjects performed programs; if he didn't say a few words, the whole banquet would fall into a very awkward situation.

Allen had no talent for this kind of speech; it was nothing more than "eat well and drink well," or "drink well and eat well." After saying it, Allen could not stay long; in his view, it was as if he were fleeing the banquet in disgrace.

And often, not long after he left, the banquet could return to revelry; after just a few times like this, Allen was no longer willing to appear at the venue, though his subordinates were still able to chat and joke with the subjects at the banquet with ease.

Of course, this did not include Yamila; as the Hand of the King who had managed Wilderness Town for years, her presence was equally heavy.

Allen could understand the subjects' thoughts; even if Allen did nothing, he never deliberately maintained the majesty of a lord when seeing his subjects.

But with the fermentation of time and the brewing of various legends, the pressure Allen exerted in the hearts of his people became heavier and heavier, to the point where lulls often occurred.

This could be considered a good thing, but it just made Allen feel that the distance between him and those people was getting further and further away; the feeling of being slightly isolated was not particularly pleasant either.

At this moment, Allen could only sit on the balcony of the lord's house with Yamila, drinking Wine, stroking Juan, and watching the piles of bonfires light up in the city, which meant the banquet had begun.

Soon, the sounds of everyone cheering, the sounds of singing and dancing, and the sounds of toasting and drinking reached the lord's house in waves.

Allen picked up the red wine glass in his hand, clinked it with Yamila's, and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work."

But Allen, who had turned his head, did not notice that Yamila's eyes turned red in that instant, and it seemed that crystalline tears slid down from her eye sockets.

However, Yamila, who had long been in a high position, had a very calm expression on her face; taking the opportunity to drink, she had quickly returned to normal. She did not speak, but just quietly accompanied Allen, watching the banquet in the distance.

This scene always had a hint of loneliness.

However, in Allen's hometown, there was a saying: "After endless mountains and rivers that leave doubt whether there is a path out, suddenly one encounters the shade of a willow, bright flowers, and a lovely village."

Soon, two guys, one tall and one short, came to Allen's lord's house; they were Allen's good friends, Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins.

Now in Wilderness Town, only they two and Allen had a pure friendship, and now these two had come to invite Allen to set off fireworks together.

In recent days, the two of them had been staying at Radagast's hut, from where they hauled back a large quantity of fireworks to celebrate today's New Year's banquet.

Busy, they had spent the entire afternoon setting up these fireworks on the eastern city wall, and by now, they were all prepared.

Feeling slightly dejected at the moment, Allen happily responded to the two's invitation, not forgetting to turn back and call out to Yamila: "Come on, Yamila, let's go together; I guarantee it's something you've never seen before."

Dressed in her finery, Yamila nodded in a daze, lifting her skirt and taking Juan to follow the other three; immediately behind the four of them and the dog, a dozen guards followed from the darkness, Holimion and Gale prominently among them.

Having lived in Calradia all her life, Yamila had indeed never heard of any fireworks, but facing Allen's invitation, she was still a little excited.

Soon, the group arrived at the eastern city wall, where dozens of soldiers were still patrolling and standing guard; they would receive a nice bonus to make up for the regret of missing the banquet.

Allen, walking onto the wall, nodded in response to the soldiers' greetings and followed Gandalf and Bilbo Baggins to an observation deck.

Gandalf smilingly handed the ignition tools to Allen, signaling for Allen to light the first firework.

This year, Gandalf was truly too happy; the things he had plotted had all yielded excellent results: Sauron had been driven back to Mordor in the East, and the Lonely Mountain had been reclaimed by the Durin Dwarves, reuniting with the Dwarves of the Iron Hills to once again become a great kingdom.

Most importantly, he had met Allen, this very interesting leader of the Humans; under Allen's leadership, the Northern Men were once again showing signs of entering greatness, which likely signaled that the time for Gandalf to return home was not far off.

Allen had already lit the first firework; soon, a streak of fire flew toward the sky with a "zhee" sound, and with a "bang," it scattered, the light revealing none other than Allen's Crown Three-Star Flag.

Before the light of the flag faded, Bilbo lit several more fireworks; what appeared first were silver birds, and as they flew, crisp bird calls could be heard.

Following that was a large tree composed of golden light, its golden leaves seemingly dancing in the air with a rustling sound; accompanying the tree were countless silver-white arrows that flew rapidly into the distance high in the sky, disappearing directly from sight.

Soon, the reveling crowd at the banquet was attracted by the commotion of the fireworks, and as the fireworks escalated, a great deal of cheering drifted over Wilderness Town.

By now, Allen had handed the igniter to Yamila, signaling for her to go play herself; seeing such colorful and brilliant fireworks, Yamila was also eager to try, so she took the igniter from Allen's hand and joined the ranks of Bilbo and Gandalf.

For a time, the fireworks in the sky were constant; Gandalf had prepared very, very thoroughly for this day, enough for several people to play for a long time.

Allen, meanwhile, took Juan and found a corner to sit down; after sitting, his right hand continuously stroked Juan's soft fur, his eyes watching the fireworks in the sky, lost in thought.

Soon, a sneaky figure poked their head out from the stairs of the city wall; it was Cress, and following closely behind her was actually Alayen; soon, these two fellows also joined the team setting off fireworks.

The fireworks in the sky reached their most brilliant moment of the night at this time: one moment there were countless silver butterflies diving into the golden leaves, the next a colorful and gorgeous fountain falling from the sky, then brightly colored flowers blooming in the heavens, and then swarms of meteors as if about to crash into Wilderness Town.

At this moment, Gandalf sat smilingly by Allen's side, holding a pipe filled with "Old Toby" which he handed to Allen.

"Allen, my friend, have a bowl; this is tobacco quite famous in the Shire."

After Allen thanked him and took it, a flash of fire appeared in Gandalf's hand, and the tobacco in the pipe was lit.

Allen took a deep puff, the smoke entering his lungs and quickly steadying his mood, after which a large ring was exhaled from Allen's mouth—the only skill left over from his previous life's smoking habit.

Subsequently, a dragon made of white smoke passed through the ring Allen had exhaled; that dragon, looking like Smaug, even scattered Allen's ring as it flapped its wings.

Allen turned his head to look, and a smiling Gandalf was also watching him.

"Allen, what are your plans for the future?"

Hearing this question, Allen looked at Gandalf strangely and said, "What plans?"

"Of course, regarding how to resist the power of Sauron returning to Mirkwood; have you considered forming an alliance with the Elves and the Dwarves?"

Allen looked at this Grey Wizard who fought for the stability of Middle-earth at every moment, and said somewhat helplessly: "Gandalf, my friend, do we really have to bring up this topic at this moment? Alright, alright, in fact, I have already discussed this matter with King Thranduil; the key still lies with Thorin. I plan to wait until Thorin officially becomes King of the Lonely Mountain before bringing this up; I have a certain degree of confidence that it will succeed."

"Oh, oh, oh, then I am relieved."

Gandalf exhaled a thick cloud of white smoke and said: "If you need help, you can come to the Shire to find me, or I will also come to see you often."

Allen nodded and said: "Your presence is always welcome, Gandalf. If I have time, I will also go to the Shire to visit Bilbo and you. In my plan, the road from here to the Shire will be very easy in the future; a fast horse might take less than two months."

Gandalf nodded with a gratified smile.

At this time, Bilbo also walked over, holding a pipe in his hand, and as he walked toward them, he said: "I smelled the scent of Old Toby; good friends should learn to share."

Saying this, he sat down right next to Gandalf and handed the pipe to Gandalf, signaling for Gandalf to fill it for him.

After Gandalf took it, he filled a bowl for Bilbo Baggins to the brim, then secretly glanced at the pouch containing the tobacco and frowned slightly; there wasn't much left inside, as Radagast, who was addicted to smoking, hadn't spared Gandalf too much either.

Afterward, the three old friends who had known each other for a year but were on excellent terms puffed away on the city wall, occasionally telling jokes encountered during their adventures—like how Bombur could spit moths while sleeping, or how a group of Dwarves had broken the sewer in Bilbo's house, and other such small matters.

Yamila and the others were already having a blast, something they had never experienced since arriving in Middle-earth; the soldiers guarding the city wall would turn their heads from time to time to look at these figures who held significant power in Wilderness Town, yet were playing like children at this moment.

The banquet in the city also reached its peak amidst the blooming fireworks, a scene of total revelry.

Everything happening in Wilderness Town filled Allen, who was smoking "Old Toby," with relief; the wish he had originally held to protect the Northern Men had finally been partially fulfilled.