"Oh! Turin! My God! You actually have two dragon knights! And they are both dragon knight generals!" Balin was dumbfounded.
"Hey! Old buddy! Relax! Maybe there will be more than two in the future!" Roland patted Balin's shoulder and teased.
"Oh! Give my regards to your great Dragon God! Is he too partial to you?" Balin also teased Roland.
"No, no, no! Partiality is completely inadequate to reflect my nobility! I should say I'm the illegitimate child of fate!" Roland said half-jokingly and half-seriously.
"Hahaha! King Roland! How can you lie to a dying old man like this?" Balin laughed.
"Hahaha!" Roland also laughed along with Balin.
Balin probably wouldn't have guessed that Roland, a time traveler, was actually no different from fate's illegitimate child. After all, not everyone could travel through time and become a king...
"Wash yourself and get ready! Tomorrow you will be crowned the King of Moria! Lord of the Dungeon in the Misty Mountains! We will all be witnesses for you!" Roland said sincerely.
"Thank you for your help to our dwarves! Raglan will always be our friend! The Longbeard Clan will never forget their benefactor!" Balin looked at Roland with great emotion, tears welling up in his eyes. He could not imagine how they could have cleared the entire Moria and killed the Balrog without the help of Raglan's soldiers!
"It's all about the contract! Since we've signed it, we need to abide by the rules, right? Just like you kept your promise to Bilbo Baggins!" Roland smiled nonchalantly. After all, if the dwarves weren't so wealthy, why would Roland board their pirate ship? The dwarves' lives? What did it have to do with him? In Middle-earth, the Virgin Mary wouldn't survive more than two episodes! It's precisely because everyone gets what they need that we can find a balance and a win-win situation!
"Of course! We all keep our promises, don't we?" Balin grinned. Although the dwarves had bad tempers and were quite stubborn, they were undoubtedly loyal and trustworthy allies!
If Roland had to choose his closest ally, he would definitely go to Thorin, not Thranduil! The long years have dulled the elves' passion, and the reclusive elves are no longer the elves of the War of Wrath! But the dwarves are different! These stubborn, fleshy creatures are incredibly loyal! This is evident in the history of the Dwarves of Moria. Many times, when unable to defeat the darkness, they have emerged from the depths of Moria, a difficult-to-defend Moria, to attack the rear of the Dark Alliance and inflict heavy damage on Sauron's forces!
"Are there enough supplies? It will be troublesome if we don't have enough food and wine on such a great day tomorrow!" Roland reminded with a smile.
"Hahaha! Plenty of rum! The dwarven-made boneless barbecue will make you swallow your tongue into your stomach!" Balin stroked his beard and laughed.
…
"Moria has been recaptured! This chess game is finally over!" Roland muttered to himself as he looked at the stone ceiling hung with crystal chandeliers.
Judging by the map, Moria's location is crucial! To its west lies the Shire and other scattered human settlements. To its east lies Lórien! To its north lies Rivendell and the Lonely Mountain region! To its south lies Fangorn Forest! It's no exaggeration to say it's the hub of the entire battlefield. If Moria were in the hands of the Allied Forces, the benefits would be obvious. At the very least, the armies wouldn't have to cross those damned Misty Mountains! With support from Moria's burrows, the Allied Forces could quickly assemble, which would definitely be beneficial in the upcoming War of the Ring! At the very least, they could mobilize a group of Westerners to support the Northern battlefields! As for Gondor in the south? Sorry! A friend dies, but I'm not the only one who can't live! And Aragorn, the Emperor of Men, wasn't that weak, but the North was in dire straits! Throughout history, the North has been decimated by war! The two Kings of the Lonely Mountain are gone! Those Easterling armies, both on and off the mountain, were completely annihilated... Therefore, the people of the North paid the heaviest price in the War of the Ring! As the saying goes, even Thorin, the Emperor, was showing off! Only Lonely Mountain was taking a beating! Didn't you see how the Dwarves of Dale and Lonely Mountain nearly wiped out the Easterlings? As for the Woodland Kingdom? Roland remembered Thranduil not having taken action... But that was okay. Roland was used to Thranduil's cautious and watchful approach... After all, the Battle of the Last Alliance had dealt a heavy blow to the Woodland Elves, even killing their father!
Now Roland could only hope that the Star Elves of Singrid and the Kingdom of Akovia would be more reliable in the future, and not end up fighting like the Three Kings of the Lonely Mountain getting beaten again... Honestly, considering the number of Easterlings who had defected to Sauron, Roland felt that even if he did join the battle, it would only end in a pyrrhic victory. Historically, those northern humans had retreated to Erebor with the dwarves! Even a dwarven fortress, easily defended and impenetrable, barely protected these unfortunate people... And what about the powerful Kingdom of Raglan? If things had truly reached a point of no return, Roland would have simply demolished River Rapids and retreated to Fort Lulong without a second thought!
Come on! Hurt each other! Just turn everyone into a soldier! Roland just couldn't believe it. If the Dongyi people had the guts to come and take down the war fortress! If they could really push down a fortress guarded by an entire nation, Roland would absolutely be convinced! He was afraid that even if all their people were brought in, they wouldn't be enough to build it up!
Although Roland wasn't afraid of the catastrophe that would sweep across the north, he couldn't really live alone in the north, could he? What good would it do to be alone? Besieged on all sides, he couldn't just stay in his fortress forever, could he? So Roland had to prepare for a rainy day, at least to ensure that reinforcements from the West could reach the north quickly! Crossing Moria was much easier than crossing the Old Pass.
Roland rubbed his face, feeling unhappy as he thought about the dark war that would sweep across the entire north in the future.
"How about...after I go back this time, I might consider an expedition to the Rune region? And avenge that girl Nyx while I'm at it!" Roland's thoughts instantly drifted away. It made sense! What a great idea! Since prevention is impossible, why not tackle this problem at its source? Conquer the Dongyi people! Bring them under the kingdom's rule and see what Sauron, that troublemaker in Middle-earth, will use to wreak havoc in the North. Fortress Gambada? Orcs from the North? Roland said he'd crush them with his feet! It's just that those nomadic tribes in the East are a little harder to deal with! They're all cavalry, highly mobile! Fighting guerrilla warfare against such a covetous force every day would drive you crazy! It's well known that the Kingdom of Lagrande favors infantry. (At least right now, a certain poor king is unable to organize a complete knight system...let alone a fully-fledged legion of ten thousand knights. That's just a dream.)
…
"Dong! Dong! Dong!" Amid the humming of the morning bell, Balin, donning a brand new suit of armor, slowly walked in from the east gate of Moria, accompanied by Floy and Olioin. The golden sunlight shone on Balin's armor, making it sparkle. The red carpet beneath his feet extended all the way to the throne in the depths.
"The time has come! Balin! Go! It's time to take up your proper place!" Roland said sincerely to Balin, his hand on his chest. After today! Khazad-dûm will once again welcome back its own king! Balin will also transform from an ordinary dwarf general into the king of the dwarves!
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