The 278th Chapter Lord of the Rings Total War (3)

"Head... I, what should we do now?!"

On the city wall, a soldier with a shield on his back and wearing a pair of silver-white steel plate breastplate and leggings gasped for breath, and asked in fear to a little leader who was also panting beside him.

These people are actually soldiers belonging to the elite Dundan warrior team in the town of Stad. They belong to a group of professional soldiers, loyal to the lord here, and their status is not very high.

However, the situation here in Stad Town has become like this: their governor and lord, Lord Aedarian, has been beaten to death by those women holding devil weapons in the distance! Then, the lord's deputy was also killed! Even those knight lords under the lord who usually have their eyes above the top are all dead, or so dead that there is not even a single one left!

At this moment, in Stad Town, apart from those government officials, the highest-ranking military officer seems to be this little centurion who is responsible for coordinating and leading the two teams of Dundan warriors?

"What else can I do? I can only stick to it!"

"The iron rods in their hands that make loud noises, emit fire and thick smoke must be some kind of devil's weapons! Therefore, we must not go out of the city to fight them head-on!"

It was the leader of the Dundan warrior who was the first to run back from his team just now. After panting violently for a while, he finally calmed down slowly.

"Confess immediately, let the brothers calm down! They don't have as many people as us, so they shouldn't attack the city by force. As long as we stick to the city wall and don't go out, they will definitely leave by themselves in a few days!"

No matter what, he will never go out of the city casually to find death!

Then, after looking at the corpses of the scattered knights outside the city, he suddenly realized that right now, it seems to be a great opportunity for him to succeed in the position?

The current situation is already very bad. The lord and his hardcore knights were all killed outside the city just now! And at this time, all that's left in the city are their useless dandy families? The people in Stad Town must have been gnashing their teeth at them for a long time, right?

And if, if he can successfully defend the city wall this time and rely on his 200 elite Dundan warriors to slowly take over and enclose the other defense soldiers, maybe, when the enemy retreats, he might be able to Can become the new lord of Stad Town?

The more he thought about it, the more he couldn't help the excitement that almost made him want to laugh out loud! This is directly from a little centurion who is not a nobleman,

Directly become this large piece of land, a great lord who includes tens of thousands of people in the surrounding area...

"Hurry up! Send a few trustworthy brothers to guard the city gate immediately, and block it with more things! As long as you guard the city gate, no matter how powerful their weapons are, you can't get in!"

boom! ! !

The leader of the Deng Dan warrior had just finished speaking, when suddenly, he felt the shock of shaking the city wall, and then there were bursts of explosions like thunder and thunder, which shocked him. When retreating hastily, he fell directly into the city from the three-meter-high city wall...

"How is this going……"

When the leader of the Dundan man who was dreaming of being a lord just stood up from the ground, he only saw: the tough and large riveted iron-wood gate in their town of Stad, which is said to be able to withstand The solid door that could withstand the impact of the ogre was actually penetrated by some kind of terrible thing?

Moreover, at the same time that the city gate was pierced and shattered by a huge force, there are only a small half of broken pieces of wood still hanging in the city gate hole? What method did those enemies use to smash a city gate in such an instant?

Thinking about the loud noise just now, could it be... did they summon thunder and lightning?

...

On this day, the offensive and defensive battles in the town of Stad soon ended!

When the gate of Stad Town was blasted open by the enemy's large devil's iron rod weapon, the soldiers who were frightened by the annihilation of the lord and the knight lord almost ran away in an instant. !

Some of them, after discarding their armor and weapons, ran back to their homes to pretend to be civilians; some of them, after taking some of the original lord's belongings, together with others, passed through the gate on the other side of the town. Direction, ran away without a trace!

As for the rest, since they had their own families and properties in the city, they were reluctant to discard them easily, so they chose to hang a white flag and surrender to the army outside the city, which was said to be the United Kingdom of Alicia.

"Alas... Middle-earth belongs to the era of individual bravery, and it is finally going to be gone forever..."

Looking at the dilapidated city gate in the distance, after touching the huge gun barrel in front of him that was still hot and smoking, Groin sighed deeply while looking at the star On the wall of Dezhen, the soldiers who almost ran away and the white flag waving continuously expressed their willingness to surrender.

Of course, the old dwarf himself had already prepared in his heart before this, and he could probably imagine the performance of cold weapons in the face of muskets?

However, looking at the tragic battlefield in front of him now, he still feels deeply moved... Those hundreds of human Dendan knights with excellent riding skills and heavy armor didn't even touch the side of the Musketeers, and all of them Was easily killed here by a group of women who had hardly touched a weapon before...

It seems that this little girl witch has created something amazing with the help of their dwarfs! Under the ravages of muskets and cannons, the rules of war in the future may undergo major changes, right?

Glo Yin, who had seen the actual combat effects of the new weapons, felt that if he armed himself with thousands of musketeers and a part of the cannons, and provided the logistics supplies were sufficient, perhaps he would dare to lead an army of thousands of people. Push all the way, and hit all the way to Mordor? !

"Your Excellency Annie, I seem to have discovered a little deficiency of the musket..."

"This first model of the 'Goddess' Fury' musket has a long enough range, and the penetration power seems to be okay! However, I think its caliber is still a little smaller, if it is to deal with super large targets , it seems that the power is slightly insufficient?"

Groin, who has been in contact with the entire process of musket manufacturing, is no stranger to the production technology and craftsmanship of this weapon. He has fully understood the construction principle of this weapon, and soon thought of some better improvement plans.

That is: increase the caliber! He Groin needs a bigger and thicker barrel, and a bigger and heavier tapered projectile!

After thinking for a while, he realized that the caliber of 18 mm seemed to him to be a little bit smaller? If it is used by the dwarves themselves, then it must be possible to directly expand the caliber, at least to about 30mm? Anyway, their dwarves are strong and strong, with a low center of gravity, and they don't have to be afraid of being overturned by the powerful recoil if they have a larger caliber?

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that it was feasible. Groin secretly decided that after he returned to Bray Town, he must privately order 30mm rifles for the more than two hundred dwarves under him. Let's see if Wei Li can meet his own expected standard!

"To deal with large targets? Increase the caliber? Do you want to fight dragons? Are there any dragons here in Middle-earth?!"

Little Anne was also a little curious about this dwarf's thinking.

She had read the documents in Rivendell. Wasn't the last dragon that haunted Middle-earth killed decades ago? Then why does he still want to increase the caliber?

Could it be that there are still big and fun creatures like giant dragons in Middle-earth?

Anyway, in Annie's opinion, the front-loading rifled flintlock Mini rifle that is currently being used has a long range, high precision, and super armor-piercing ability is already very good. She even crossed the smoothbore directly. Matchlock gun, this epoch-making ultra-elite weapon has been produced!

If it is added to 30 mm, it is a hand-held artillery, right? Humans in this middle-earth world must not be able to stand that kind of powerful recoil!

Moreover, the battle just now is enough to explain: the 'Goddess' Fury' muskets, at a distance of more than 100 meters, they can easily penetrate and tear apart the enemy's knight plate armor, such power is not small right?

If it was necessary just now, they would directly shoot directly at a distance of 300 meters to suppress the opponent's city wall, and conduct long-distance volleys of guns to hit the opponent until they can't get their head on, or even until the morale of the opponent collapses. ?

"Giant, giant dragon?!"

"No no no! Mistress Anne! I don't want to fight any more dragons! Besides, I haven't seen any dragons other than the dead Smaug for decades!"

As soon as he mentioned the dragon, Groin hurriedly shook his head with a messy beard and hair. He himself is not stupid, how could he go to trouble the dragon for no reason?

The psychological shadow caused by Smaug in the Battle of Gushan decades ago has not been completely eliminated until now!

That terrifying existence that is invulnerable to swords and guns, invulnerable to fire and water, and cannot be wiped out even by pouring molten gold, that mythical monster that flies in the sky and can breathe out flames at a height of hundreds of meters, where are they? What mortals can easily fight against?

If it wasn't for that Smaug who carelessly underestimated the enemy back then, and was shot directly into a defective unprotected scale on the opponent's left chest by Bud, the townsman of River Valley, with a special magic-breaking black arrow, thus killing the opponent by chance, what would have happened now? Hegu Town and those dwarves who were on their expedition to the Lonely Mountain, probably died long ago, right? And there will be no Turin dwarf kingdom like the Lonely Mountain and Iron Hill!

"Oh! By the way, Your Excellency Anne! I also discovered a very important problem!"

"I think so, in case our enemies in the future... I mean those half-orcs of Mordor or their allied forces! In case they also imitate this terrible gunpowder weapon by then, What shall we do?"

In Groyin's view, even if the dwarves don't use those precision machine tools and steam boiler power for standardized industrial production, if they replace it with pure handcrafting by the dwarves, they are still capable of mass production imitation and mass deployment in the army, right?

In his own opinion, this is really not too difficult. It is nothing more than adding gunpowder to a uniform iron pipe? And the only thing that is a bit difficult here is at most the correct formula for the rifling and gunpowder, right?

He had experimented secretly before: hand-built rifled rifles, if firing ball lead bullets, although the range and accuracy were not ideal, but at close range, within a hundred yards When it is used, its power is actually no worse than the rifled Minie rifle?

And this one hundred yard distance alone is enough to suppress most of the archers in Middle-earth, as well as almost all cold weapon troops!

And the only trouble is that the caliber of the handmade musket may have a large error due to the skill of each craftsman? Then, it also makes the projectile have to be specially manufactured according to the caliber of each gun?

Or, simply distribute small crucibles and lead weights, and let the soldiers use the lead weights to smelt them according to the caliber of their muskets and rub them out by themselves? It's easier to melt lead lumps anyway, right?

For the formula of gunpowder, it is actually even simpler!

For existences like the white-robed wizard Saruman, or the demon lord Sauron, if the other party captures the real thing and conducts a comparative study, Groin believes that they will be able to quickly imitate the correct formula! After all, this kind of black powder is nothing more than a few very common materials. It is much simpler than the kind of flash fire that the dwarves used to prepare before throwing it out...

"The enemy wants to imitate?"

Hearing this, Annie blinked, then tilted her head and thought for a while.

"I'm not afraid of them imitating! At that time, if they dare to imitate, then we will make even more powerful ones!"

Annie was actually not too worried about this.

Because, not only does she have blueprints of various eras, but her Queen Ofina has also begun to train the core royal guards, and plans to train some loyal men to garrison the War Workshop, as long as the steam turbines are kept. Just like the secrets of those industrial machine tools, such as muskets and cannons, there is definitely no way to keep them secret for a long time!

So, in Annie's opinion, those villains are at best imitating musket-loading muskets? At that time, at worst, they will create a more advanced breech-loading Minnie firing pin rifle, no matter in terms of range and reloading speed, they will definitely be able to blast those stupid enemies!

And when the time comes, if they still dare to shamelessly continue copying, then she will leap forward to the era of internal combustion engines and electricity, install semi-automatic rifles and automatic machine guns with metal cartridges, and then kill the enemy suddenly when they line up?

If it is still like this, it can be imitated, then those gods must be cheating! Then she herself will be shameless, and when the time comes, she will directly use those electromagnetic rifles, siege tanks and space battleships, and then throw Ivan the Great, and they will imitate them if they have the ability!

"A more powerful musket? How powerful can it be?"

Hearing this, Ge Luoyin was a little taken aback.

He thinks that the current rifled rifles and cannons are enough! If the power is not enough, you can expand the caliber and barrel length at any time, so as to increase the power and range? Other than that, he really couldn't think of any improvement that would be more advanced.

"Hmm... Probably the kind that can fire thousands of rounds per minute?"

After thinking about the Vulcan cannon she had come into contact with in the first New York world she traveled through, Annie said a little uncertainly.

If she remembers correctly, a machine gun like a revolving barrel Vulcan seems to have thousands of bullets per minute, right?

"Thousands of rounds per minute? This is absolutely impossible!!!"

Groyin cried out in shock on the spot. He really couldn't imagine, how could there be such a high-firing musket? No matter how hard you try, the ammunition can't be loaded so fast, right? With today's rifles, firing a few rounds a minute is already amazing!

And if there is such a terrifying weapon with thousands of rounds per minute, he feels that he only needs to be alone and bring enough ammunition to completely push Mordor and blow up Sauron's one. Barradota? !

"Hmph! You ignorant guy! I have others who are more powerful than that, and there are many more!"

After glancing at the yelling bearded old dwarf beside her, little Anne patted the pony under her, and led the dozens of musketeers who were still here and the team pushing the cannon Gunners, start walking down the hill towards the city.

Now, that Reynas has already entered the city, and quickly completed control of the city's head area and surrendered those soldiers from the original Stad Town! Now, it's time for them to go in and see the new city she captured.

————

"Hey! Pippin, are we going to stay here forever now? I don't like this big gloomy cave at all!"

"Not only is the air turbid, but there is also a strong rancid smell..."

In the mines of Moria, the little hobbits Merry and Pippin got together again, looking at Gandalf above who was sitting alone smoking a pipe from time to time and muttered in a low voice.

Although hobbits are also a kind of cave-dwelling creatures, they also like to dig holes or make comfortable houses like cave dwellings, but they absolutely don't like to stay in such deep and dark caves where they can't see the sun for a long time. It will make them feel very depressed and uneasy!

After all, they hobbits are a normal race that likes to enjoy life and activities in the sun.

"Hush..."

"Keep your voice down, Merry, let me tell you: that Gandalf above must have lost his way! Besides, we are likely to be trapped here forever, and we will never be able to get out!"

Before, at the top of the mountain at the Red Horn Pass, after they discovered the large group of black crows that the white-robed wizard Saruman used to monitor the pass area, they knew that their whereabouts had been exposed, so they had to follow Gandalf's opinion, trying to go by Calahorras, intending to force his way through the world of biting cold and ice, over the mountain of the Misty Mountains, which towers into the clouds and is covered with snow all the year round!

Then, Saruman, a white-robed wizard who was thousands of miles away, taught them a cruel fact with a long-range lightning bolt that pierced his soul! That is: Never try to climb a dangerous snow mountain full of snow under the nose of a wizard!

Therefore, Gandalf, who failed to cast spells in the end and was forced to be helpless, had to lead his team again when he saw that the hobbits could not adapt to the severe cold climate and were almost frozen to death after being buried by an avalanche once. Going back the same way, I planned to follow what the dwarf Gimli said before, and go to the Moria mine pit of the other party's uncle Balin!

However, it is a pity that Gandalf managed to crack the gate of the dwarves under Frodo's reminder and successfully escaped the one in the lake outside the gate. However, after the big octopus that can survive in freshwater lakes, they found a very surprising thing: in the mines of Moria, there is no cousin of Gimli, let alone the big cup of ale that was promised before. , soup or a big roast?

Here, there will always be the corpses of those dwarves and half-orcs in the foggy mountain! And the other party's decayed and tattered armor, rusty weapons and arrows! Right now, the Moria Mine is a silent grave on the mountainside! It seems that these original dwarves have been dead for countless years?

Later, when they had to go deep into the mine and planned to venture through the Misty Mountains from the mine, they discovered a more terrible fact, that is: they have lost their way in this huge mine now!

Up to now, they have climbed the mountain again and returned the same way. It has been more than 20 days since they left Rivendell...

"I think so too. Gandalf must have lost his way! He is probably thinking about it now!"

"Yes, you may also know that old men like them are particularly prone to forgetting things!"

"..."

"We may really not be able to get out...unless, we go back the same way?"

"No way... I don't think any of us can beat the monster octopus outside the gate. I never thought that it has so many tentacles? And it grows so big!"

"Then what do you say? There doesn't seem to be anything to eat or drink here! Besides, we don't have much in our bags!"

The hobbits, Pippin and Merry, were still mumbling and discussing in low tones.

Although their voices were already very low, in this empty and quiet Moria mine, their voices were still clearly heard by everyone...

It's just that those other people who have the same worries as the two of them now, and have their own concerns, are not in the mood to take care of them for the time being?

And Gandalf himself, who was being muttered, is currently busy with his own thinking and memories. He wants to find a way out as soon as possible, and he is also in no mood to talk to the two little hobbits.

"?!"

Suddenly, Frodo, who was in a daze, suddenly noticed that there seemed to be a small and vigorous figure crawling on the wall of the mine below? The other party's big and bright eyes are staring at him, and they seem to have malicious intentions?

But because the distance was too far and the light was dim, he couldn't see clearly what it was.

"Gandalf, there seems to be something down there!"

After discovering the situation, he immediately ran to Gandalf's side and reported his discovery in a low voice.

"That's Gollum..."

Gandalf replied a little casually, still trying to remember the path in Moria.

Those bloody, greedy dwarves, they dug the Moria mines so hard! Many things that hadn't been dug up before were all changed beyond recognition by the other party. Not only did they add many paths, but there were even countless door openings and cabins. It was like a maze, and it really made him recall Wake up, where is the way out that he was familiar with many years ago?

"Gulu?"

Frodo was a little puzzled. Looking at Gandalf, he seemed to know about it? Moreover, he still doesn't seem to want to pay attention to the thing that is following them from afar?

"In fact, he has been with us for three full days...from the time we walked down the snow mountain and prepared to enter the mines of Moria..."

As for the Gollum who has been following them all the time, refusing to leave, Gandalf and others have already discovered it, but they don't want to pay attention to it.

After all, that kind of poor existence distorted by the Lord of the Rings actually doesn't pose much threat to them. Except for hobbits, if it dares to approach, anyone here can easily Subdue the opponent.

"Gulu? Hasn't it been caught long ago? Could it be... It escaped again?"

Frodo was rather curious about this matter.

Because, in Shire, when he was at the Brocken Cave, he remembered very clearly that what Gandalf had told him, that Gollum, who knew the whereabouts of the Lord of the Rings, had been given to him by the minions of Mordor at that time. Got it!

"Escape? No..."

"It is very likely that it was released on purpose! The Lord of the Rings brought it here again, and it will never be able to shake off its desire for the Lord of the Rings... For the Lord of the Rings, it loves and hates it just like itself?"

Gandalf murmured while smoking his pipe.

"Smeagol's life is actually a tragedy! It has been destroyed by the Lord of the Rings..."

"Before the Lord of the Rings found it, and before it was crazy about the Lord of the Rings, he was actually... Forget it, I'll stop talking about it..."

Having said that, after looking at Frodo who is now holding the Lord of the Rings, Gandalf didn't know what he thought of, so he stopped quickly.

Then, Gandalf did not continue to talk to Frodo, but sighed softly to himself.

In fact, Gandalf not only knows Gollum's past, but also knows why Gollum was released at this time! Sauron or Saruman, they just want to use it to monitor the exact location of the Supreme Lord of the Rings? In this Middle-earth world, there is probably nothing more useful than a humanoid self-propelled radar like Gulu...

"What a pity Bilbo didn't kill him then!"

Frodo suddenly uttered such a threatening remark that Gandalf quickly stopped remembering and turned his head around again.

"What a pity? Didn't kill it?"

"Frodo...you know, it was pity for life that prevented Bilbo from killing him..."

"Some people who live on in this world should have died a long time ago! And some people who deserved to die have passed away early..."

"Can you bring them back to life? Frodo..."

The last thing Gandalf wanted to see happened.

It seems that the Lord of the Rings is having some very bad influence on Frodo? How could this innocent hobbit actually say such murderous words? In this way, Frodo does not seem to have a strong enough willpower like his uncle Bilbo?

You know, Bilbo Baggins held the Lord of the Rings for so long, for several decades, and it was only in his later years that he was gradually affected by the Lord of the Rings? But at least he can control it by himself, and he also took the initiative to leave the Lord of the Rings!

But now Frodo was...

"Remember, Frodo: don't judge the lives of others so lightly! Even the wisest man can't see through this... My instinct tells me that even this Gollum is still It has a mission of its own..."

"Whether it is righteous or evil... What Bilbo has done may have affected the fate of many people..."

Glancing at the bottom, the Gollum who was climbing on a mining noose, and then looking at the Frodo in front of him, the two of them are actually very similar! Aren't Frodo and Gollum also people whose fate has been influenced by Bilbo Baggins?

"But... when I was in Rivendell, Your Excellency Witch Anne told me... When you deal with bad guys, you should burn them... Isn't it?"

After slowly sitting beside Gandalf, Frodo asked doubtfully.

During the time when Rivendell was recuperating from his injuries, he had a lot of dealings with that little girl. He even took the initiative to give her the Supreme Lord of the Rings hanging around his neck several times! Then, Frodo saw with astonishment: that little girl, she was the only one he had ever seen who was not affected by the Lord of the Rings! This alone can make him very admirable.

In Frodo's mind, that little girl, Anne, must be a very powerful wizard, even stronger than Gandalf, right? Therefore, at some point, he would secretly remember the little girl's words that popped up from time to time and were a little bit far-fetched.

For example: the best enemy is a dead enemy? What's mine is mine, and everything I fancy should be mine? And then there is: the villain deserves to be burned in flames! Whoever dares to provoke me, I'll beat him up? and so on, and many, many more...

Anyway, Frodo thought, there was some truth in some of the words!

"Annie?!"

"Well... Frodo! I am here to warn you: if you want to be on good terms with that little girl, I will never object! But please remember one thing: never try to imitate that little girl, let alone Don't trust her words casually! Especially, if you yourself are not a powerful wizard like her!"

While he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that it was not the Lord of the Rings that affected Frodo's thoughts, Gandalf hurriedly corrected him.

He didn't want Frodo, the innocent hobbit, to be led astray by that nasty little girl! Look at her, what kind of dross has she been pouring into Frodo? Those ideas are wrong and unacceptable!

"Okay, I know……"

"But actually, Gandalf, I really hope that the Lord of the Rings never came into my hands, and that none of this ever happened..."

Imagine the thrilling things along the way, since he obtained the Lord of the Rings, not only was he hunted down by the ring spirits, but he was almost stabbed to death by a sword at the abandoned watch tower at the top of Fengyun Hill? Then, when they started their expedition, they experienced being watched by crows, struck by lightning by wizards, and caused an avalanche that nearly buried them alive?

And now, when he walked into this mine, not only was he caught by a big octopus at the door and almost eaten, but he even went straight to get lost? !

So, when so many things came to mind at once, when Frodo saw that there had been more exciting things in that time than all the exciting things he had seen in all his fifty years of life put together, and After wandering on the edge of life and death almost every time, he Liu really felt a little discouraged and didn't want to go on like this anymore...

"Well, in fact, everyone who encounters difficulties will think like you! But, Frodo, please don't be overwhelmed by such a little difficulty in front of you! Sometimes, none of us can avoid our own destiny , but at least we can choose how to overcome it!"

Seeing that Frodo, the ring-bearer, looked a little discouraged, Gandalf hurriedly encouraged him.

"Frodo, you have to believe: In this world, apart from those evil forces, there are some more magical existences! For example: Bilbo, he is destined to get the Lord of the Rings, and you...are also destined to experience Everything you are going through now! Do you understand? You have to face it, not run away!"

Looking at Frodo in silence, he could only sigh secretly. There are some things that Gandalf really can't say too much, and he can't reveal too much, and he can only stop here now.

"Aha! I think, I finally know which way we should go, and this must be it!"

After appeasing Frodo, suddenly, Gandalf stood up with a cheer, and she finally figured out which direction to go! So, after using the gem on the head of the wand to emit a soft white light again, he called out to everyone and told them to follow him quickly.

They had lingered long enough in the dangerous mines of Moria, and they had to get out clean without actually touching something dangerous.

"Do you remember the way out, Gandalf?"

Pippin, who followed behind, hurriedly asked, he really wanted to leave this oppressive dark world as soon as possible, he didn't want to stay in a place where there was no sunlight and no time, and he didn't want to stay longer!

"No! I didn't!"

"It's just that the air on this road doesn't seem to be as bad as in other directions! My friend told me one thing: sometimes, it's always right to follow your own nose..."