The 284th Chapter Rohan War (3)

"Their tracks left the field...into Fangorn Woods..."

On the battlefield near the edge of Fangorn Forest, where the Rohan cavalry burned the corpses of orcs and half-orcs, Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas were following the messy footprints on the ground, looking for what they wanted to find. Hobbits, and then they found out that those two little hobbits ran into Fangorn Forest in the chaos?

"Fagon Forest..."

"Are they crazy? How dare they run into this kind of place?!"

Carrying his long-handled battle axe, after knowing that Pippin and Merry probably ran into this ghostly place called Fangorn Forest, he looked at the strange and ancient twisted trees not far away. The giant tree, Jin Li couldn't help but exclaimed.

In the past, Jinli had heard a lot of rumors about this place. It is said that many daredevils or reckless men who were not afraid of death entered this forest, and then they never came out again...

You know, the Fangorn Forest has a very long history, and there are many ancient legends that are not known to ordinary people.

In fact, as early as the first era and the second era, the Fangorn Forest used to spread throughout the entire Iriador and Karanahon regions. It can be said that it was the largest forest in the entire Middle-earth world before. ,none of them!

It's a pity that, except for the existing Fangorn Forest, many other places were destroyed by wanton felling by the Númenorans who landed in Middle-earth and founded the country during the wars of the previous two eras. !

Then, when the Demon Lord Sauron fought with the Númenorans and the Elves, he destroyed a considerable part again...

So, now, the only thing left is the Fangorn Forest in the northwestern corner of Arhat's territory, south of the Misty Mountains! Here is the territory of Treebeard and the oldest tree shepherds, and it is also the last habitat of tree people...

It is precisely because of this that the treants who think they have been persecuted do not welcome any intelligent creatures to enter their territory! Whether elves, humans, dwarves, orcs or even hobbits? Anyway, as long as they entered Fangorn Forest and were discovered by them, none of them could come out alive!

In the eyes of tree shepherds who love trees and nature, as long as they can use metal tools and cut down trees, they are all their enemies! Of course, if they felled forests in other places, they would definitely not be able to control them, but if they felled the Fangorn Forest to their death, the end would definitely not be very good.

"Aragorn, what should we do?"

Legolas looked at Aragorn and asked,

He doesn't know what to do now.

Even Legolas, who was an elf prince of the Mirkwood and dealt with forests all day long, would not be willing to break into Fangorn Forest casually! The elves of the long-lived race know the rigidity and stubbornness of those tree people better than anyone else. They almost have the same attitude towards all intelligent races, even the Silvan elves are no exception!

Of course, it is said that they have a good friendship with the Rose Lolin elf of the Golden Forest? But this is just a rumor, and Legolas is not too clear.

But judging from Queen Galadriel's ability, and the distance between the Golden Forest and Fangorn Forest is not far away, the other party should be able to establish a good relationship with the Treants. This rumor should be true. Anyway, the Golden Forest The lady is also a perfect and ancient elf.

"Let's go in! We must find the two hobbits!"

After thinking about it, Aragorn still made a decision.

They will never leave those two hobbits! Anyway, I have been chasing for so long now, I shouldn't give up at this time!

Moreover, if you count the time, the two hobbits, Pippin and Merry, should have entered the forest last night, and now, only one night has passed. If their luck is good, maybe they really Can you find each other again?

"Let's go! We'd better be careful!"

After finishing speaking, Aragorn tightened his gear and took the lead to walk into the dark and ancient Fangorn Forest.

————

In the northwest of Middle-earth, on the southeast of the mountains of Lake Everdine in Annuminas, and south of the great plain of Fornoster, Queen Ofina of the United Kingdom of Alicia is wearing a golden armor and riding Her tall white unicorn mount was standing under a huge white vulture flag with a red background and a golden edge, and she was staring sharply at the auxiliary militiamen who were cleaning the battlefield.

Here, here on this flat plain, yesterday evening, she personally led the newly formed First Army of the United Kingdom of Alicia, a total of 1,000 musketeers who had not been trained for a long time and more than 500 soldiers. The people's auxiliary militia fought here and defeated the coalition forces of more than 3,000 infantry and cavalry from the Iliad Free Council of Annuminas and Fornoster in one fell swoop!

It took a lot of time for the two sides to line up for this battle, but when the fight really started, what was beyond the expectations of the Freedom Council was that in just one round, the musketeers of the United Kingdom of Alicia fought with Thunder Unable to cover their ears, they defeated the coalition forces they thought were very powerful in an instant!

From Queen Ofina's point of view, this battle is actually not too suspenseful!

She had already guessed that under the volley of those terrifying Minie rifles, no mortal could resist that kind of metal bullet, not even the plate armored cavalry and infantry of the Freedom Council!

Although the opponent was very heroic and tenacious at the beginning! However, the opponent didn't even get close to the 100-yard area in front of their Alicia United King's regiment formation, and they were defeated by the volley of guns and scattered...

After last night's battle, the First Army of the United Kingdom stayed in this open area, which was convenient for the Musketeers to defend, and began to set up camp. It was not until the dawn of the morning that the auxiliary militiamen were sent to clean up those areas. A messy battlefield.

"Her Majesty!"

"The results of the battle have been preliminarily counted. We won an epic victory last night! This will definitely be recorded in the annals of Middle-earth!"

Just when Ofina was looking at the battlefield full of enemy corpses, her eyes flickering and she didn't know what to think, a female officer dressed as a ranger was riding a horse, carrying a short-barreled rifle for cavalry on her back, and asked She galloped over here.

Then, the other party reined in the horse and stopped not far in front of Ofina's unicorn with an excited face, and reported loudly.

With 1,500 people against the enemy's powerful coalition force of more than 3,000, it is estimated that less than 600 people actually went into battle? Then, not only were they able to easily defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, but their own side had almost no casualties. What is it if this is not an epic victory? !

"In the battle yesterday evening, according to the calculation of the corpses left on the battlefield, we killed a total of 632 enemies and captured 417 people!"

While reporting excitedly, the female officer raised the parchment in her hand.

"So far, no one has died on our side! It's just that... two musketeers did not operate their rifles according to the standard procedure, so they were injured in their eyes. I'm afraid they are no longer suitable for continuing to participate in the battle..."

Speaking of this, the female officer felt a little ashamed. The two who did not operate the rifles according to the rules happened to be her subordinates. Not only were they blinded in one eye, but the other musketeers had an inexplicable fear of muskets, and even became a little timid when reloading.

In fact, she thinks, don't those people know how to think with their own brains?

Those two idiots, they dared to tear open the fixed charge package and stuff it into the barrel when there were still sparks in the barrel? And still use your eyes to look over? Those detonated gunpowder, if you don't blow them up, who else can it blow up? !

Fortunately, they didn't reload, otherwise, they might have two corpses whose heads were shot by their own weapons now!

"In other words, they have at least one thousand to two thousand soldiers who fled back to Annuminas and Fornoster?"

Seeing her soldiers cleaning up the corpses of those enemies and burying them, Ofina asked thoughtfully. They fought a crushing battle yesterday evening, so it wasn't too surprising that she expected so many enemies to escape.

"Yes, Her Majesty!"

"According to reports from our 'lark' Musketeers: Most of the defeated enemies fled back to Fornoster along the road to the north, while Annuminas in the northwest, due to the rugged mountain road, went there Not many escaped."

"There are still some that simply collapsed into the surrounding villages. We don't have enough troops to hunt them down right now!"

Regarding these matters, this female officer who is the queen's guard knows quite well.

Most of the musketeers who set off overnight and fell behind the enemy's rout have returned. They brought back a lot of news about the enemy. It is said that they also captured a lot of prisoners along the way?

"Go! Find some enemy officers among the prisoners. I need them to help me bring two letters to Annuminas and Fornoster!"

After finishing speaking, Ofina took out two handwritten letters placed in bamboo tubes from the satchel of her mount, and handed them directly to the female officer.

"Find a few reliable captives, give them a few horses, and let them tell the council nobles in the city: As long as they hand over their troops and surrender in Kaesong, I can promise that they will continue to keep their Wealth and land!"

For the sake of unnecessary trouble, Ofina didn't want to do too many murders here in the former homeland of the Arno Kingdom.

Now, the newly-appointed commander of the Second Army by Reynas in the south has reached Tabard on the south bank of the Swan River and started contacting and fighting with those Dunland savages! Therefore, she must not continue to waste time here. She needs to go to the south as soon as possible to attack Isinger's forces. This is the top priority that her master Annie has given.

"But, Your Majesty..."

"We have the chance to win now. We have muskets, and we have even more powerful cannons! Isn't it too generous to give them this kind of treatment? We can use cannons to blow down their city gates and occupy the north." The two important towns of..."

"It's impossible for them to resist our offensive! Maybe, when we reach the city, they will collapse by themselves?"

Hearing that Her Majesty Queen Ofina wanted to give those people the right to keep wealth and land, the female officer was a little anxious.

The reason why they risked their lives to join this United Kingdom of Alicia was not for land and money?

And the victorious war is the guarantee for them to obtain these things! She believed that as long as they conquered the opponent's city and accumulated enough military exploits, they could gain fiefdoms, titles, a lot of money, etc.!

Then, in the future, they will be able to live the luxurious life of the aristocrats that they only dared to think about before?

"Okay, no need to say more!"

"Kelly, you should know that our focus is not on the north, but on the south! Do you understand?!"

Looking at her female guard, Ofina shook her head amusedly.

What she has to think about is how to rule this place well, instead of turning this place into a mess and destroying those dissidents, that will only push their Alicia United Kingdom to the opposite of everyone! Therefore, when necessary, it is feasible to use some soft policies.

As long as that council is willing to hand over power and troops and keep the North safe, what if she lets them continue to enjoy the decadent aristocratic life?

"Essinger's strength is gradually increasing, and now even the Dunlanders have joined them. I believe that the Rohans will not last long..."

"Once Isengard eliminates Rohan and attacks the Kingdom of Gondor with Mordor, we will be in a very passive position in the future! Our kingdom's background is not enough, and some things, even with money, are useless." There is a solution!"

"Okay, just follow my order just now, and you go and execute it!"

After thinking about it, Ou Feina waved her hand and asked the female officer to accept her own letter, and then went to carry out her order.

She hoped that within five days, the turmoil in the north could be completely quelled, and after ensuring that there would be no major problems in the rear, she would recruit the opponent's army, and then make early preparations to go south to Rohan!

In fact, in Ofina's own plan, not only Anuminas and Fornoster, but also places like Shire, Argond, and Sarenford, she also planned to deal with it in this way.

As long as those local lords are willing to hand over the army and accept the leadership of the United Kingdom of Alicia, then she can promise to keep their wealth, land, even titles and governance rights within a certain period of time!

"..."

After taking another look at the bloody and messy battlefield, Ofina frowned, and patted the unicorn under her crotch lightly, telling it to turn around and return to the barracks behind.

She was not at all surprised by the result of this battle. After all, a group of cold-armed cavalry and infantry faced off against a group of musketeers, even if it was a group of musketeers who had not been trained for the first time. , but there is a difference of several generations!

In fact, since the so-called envoy of the Iliad Freedom Council taunted her in Bray's castle a few days ago, she has been ready to go to war!

Those arrogant nobles may still be immersed in the past glory of the so-called Arno Kingdom. They really think that the world is still the same as before?

Even without the appearance of their Alicia United Kingdom, once the war in the south is won or lost, no matter who the winner is, it is already doomed to wait for the outcome of these little lords in the north!

Thinking back at that time, the messenger, he dared to ask him to hand over the mine collar and pay compensation, Ou Feina almost didn't laugh out loud at that time!

"If you don't hurry up, the battle situation in the south is probably going to be one-sided..."

Now, in Ofina's view, Essinger and Mordor in the south have already taken an absolute advantage. In addition, the barbarian Haradrin and the Rune tribe in the south have joined the Mordor Alliance. At that time, they will definitely She is attacking Gondor, so she is not optimistic about the situation in the south. Gondor's defeat is only a matter of time!

So, now she wants a prisoner to bring her letter of persuasion to the free parliament of the other party. She doesn't want to stay in the north for too long. After the north is stabilized, she will take the legion directly to the south and return to Mine to replenish troops. After getting supplies, go directly to Isengard, to Rohan!

————

"Wow! What a big squirrel!"

At this time, in Fangorn Forest, little Anne was eating happily with the two hobbits Merry and Pippin, beating a pile of nuts that she did not know where she got.

Then, after a while, at some point, a chubby squirrel the size of a kitten jumped down from the tree, barking non-stop at the three people who were eating dried fruit. He is still jumping up and down, seems to be very anxious?

"Look! Merry, what does it seem to want to say to me?"

Pippin looked at it for a while, and felt that this squirrel seemed to be very human. Maybe he had something to say to the three of them?

"Huh? I guess, it should want to join us?"

Merry and Pippin had a different opinion. He felt that the squirrel must have seen them eat and wanted to join in. Maybe it's because there are very few living people in Fangorn Forest, so it's not afraid of people?

"What a cute squirrel... I wonder if it will be delicious if it is cooked?"

Little Annie's eyes flickered, and after looking at the small pile of nuts on the ground that she had almost eaten up, and then at that naive, fat and fat squirrel, she suddenly said these words.

Then, when the squirrel sensed the little girl's malice, it was so frightened that its fur all blew up. Then, it ran over there as fast as it could to the girl who was talking softly with Gandalf. on top of the fallen Treebeard Treebeard and hid.

She actually knew why the squirrel was in a hurry, so she really wanted to eat the squirrel as soon as possible, to destroy the corpse!

"It was just saying... you little girl... ate the nuts it hid..."

After calming down the little squirrel hiding behind the canopy of his head, Treebeard glanced at the wicked little witch over there.

"You're talking nonsense! I didn't steal its food!"

"How does it prove that these nuts belong to it? It doesn't have its name written on it, why should I not be allowed to eat it?"

Anyway, she has already eaten it up now, so Annie will never admit that she just found this thing in a dry tree hole and brought it along!

Besides, there were no squirrels in the tree hole just now, so how did she know whether these dried fruits and nuts fell in from the branches by themselves? Therefore, Anne felt that it must be that squirrel who wanted to frame herself!

It's a pity that it wasn't found in the tree hole just now, otherwise, Annie must have been eating roast squirrels by now! Nuts or something, there is no oil or water, dry and unpalatable!

"..."

Well, now, everyone probably knows what's going on...

"Huh? Three more people have entered the forest!"

Just when he was about to say something, or lure the chubby squirrel down to catch Annie who was roasting and eating, he suddenly turned his head and looked in one direction.

"Gandalf! Those three friends of your family are here to find you!"

After perceiving the other party's breath and knowing who it might be, Annie yelled angrily at the old man Gandalf who seemed to have finished talking with the old tree man in the distance.

"My family's... good friend? What does that mean?"

Gandalf couldn't understand the little girl's words, Kei? friend? What the hell does this mean?

"Oh... that's what people on Earth say, meaning they are very close friends with you! That's right, that's it!"

After staring at the tree man's head for a while, and finding that the fat squirrel refused to come down easily, Annie had no choice but to give up her plan to eat the roasted squirrel.

"Best friend? Well... who could it be?!"

Gandalf was a little baffled. He always felt that the little girl didn't seem to be telling the truth, but he didn't know what was wrong.

"It's that old uncle who plays with long swords, the son of old man Ge's family, and that little boy who likes to play with bows and arrows!"

In fact, in Little Annie's opinion, those three people are all elderly uncles!

Whether it's the human, the dwarf, or the little white-faced elf, the youngest of them is dozens of years old! What is it if it's not an uncle?

"Uh... I think, I probably know who it is..."

After being stunned for a while, Gandalf realized who the three people Anne was talking about were. Then he turned his head to look at the two idle hobbits, Pippin and Merry, and said:

"Pipin, and Merry . . . you stay in Fangorn Forest for the time being."

"Treebeard has promised me just now, it is willing to protect you for a while! Don't worry, please believe me, with Treebeard and them here, you will be safe here!"

What Gandalf is going to do next may be a bit dangerous, so he doesn't plan to take these two hobbits who are in the way for the time being.

...

Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas have now gone deep into the Fangorn Forest. They are following the footprints of the Hobbits and the Orcs, and they have been advancing into the depths of the forest.

"Bah! These are the blood of orcs..."

Gimli the dwarf found a few drops of the dark brown goo on some leaves, and when he dipped his hands in his mouth and tasted it, he spit it out again.

Obviously, this is the blood of orcs! Because he is very familiar with the fishy and smelly nausea that rushes straight to his forehead from the taste buds. It is a half-orc, and he will never admit it!

"We may have to speed up again... There are three orcs chasing Pippin and Merry into this forest! We must save them before they are caught again!"

After seeing the clear footprints and other traces on the ground, Aragorn said anxiously.

Thanks to the special environment of this forest, the traces left by the hobbits and orcs walking here are very obvious, and the three of them can ensure that they will not easily lose them!

"Come on, those orcs are here!"

Suddenly, Legolas, who was scouting ahead, yelled at the two behind him, and then, Gimli and Aragorn quickly drew their weapons and rushed over.

"..."

"You didn't tell us they were dead!"

Gimli thought there was a battle at first, but when he ran to Legolas and saw that it was indeed a half-orc whose head had been smashed open, he couldn't help but muttered to him angrily.

"But I didn't say they were alive?"

After Legolas was complained, he could only reply dumbfounded.

"This... was its head smashed by some blunt object? Its broken skull was deeply embedded in its brain... This shows that the attackers were very powerful, and it shouldn't be Pippin and Melina. Two hobbits did it, they don't have the strength!"

After squatting down and pulling the head of the half-orc whose brain had been smashed with a branch, Aragorn quickly came to his own conclusion.

"We have to be careful. Besides hobbits and orcs, there should be other people here..."

After standing up slowly, Aragorn pressed the long sword on his waist with his hand, and he was ready to fight at any time.

"Oh! Come and see! Here, there is another charred...orc?!"

At this time, Jinli with a loud voice suddenly noticed a thin figure lying on the side of the tree trunk. The other person's body was curled up and twisted, and it was almost burned into a ball of coke.

However, from the outline of the opponent's head, he could barely recognize it. This was undoubtedly a half-orc!

"..."

Seeing this situation, Aragorn and Legolas looked at each other, and then gasped!

Because, they know, there is nothing but magic to burn an orc alive like this! Then, thinking about the half-orc whose head was smashed before, it is not difficult to deduce: the other party should be a wizard? !

However, what they don't know is, who is this wizard?

"Oh... guys, you better watch this again!"

At this time, Jin Li, who went around to check on the other side of the tree, cried out again.

Because, he made a new discovery: In a large pit like a sunken footprint, there was a flat half-orc corpse that had been trampled out of shape? The opponent's body sank deeply into the ground, his head and torso were crushed and burst, and the black blood directly stained a large area of ​​moss...

What kind of existence is this that can step on such a big pit?

Moreover, the footprint alone is so big, so how big should its body be? In this ancient Fangorn forest, what kind of existence is there?

"..."

"These footprints are strange... I've never seen a creature with such footprints..."

After pondering for a while, Aragorn still shook his head. Even though he himself is an old ranger with decades of experience, he still can't tell what race or those who can leave such huge footprints. biology?

"Whatever it is, I suppose, we'd better pray right away that we don't touch it?"

Jin Li hated meeting those big monsters the most! For example, the troll they encountered in the mines of Moria almost wiped them out! And the monster that left this footprint now seems to be much bigger than those terrifying trolls?

"The forests are old...they are full of memories, and anger..."

"The ancient trees are talking to each other..."

At this time, Legolas began to listen intently, and after a while, he soon heard some important information from the abnormal noises when the trees swayed.

"These ancient trees, they are saying...the white-robed wizard is coming?!"

After speaking, Legolas quickly winked at the two companions, telling them to be careful.

"..."

When Jin Li and Aragorn heard this, they paused for a moment and quickly became vigilant in place. Then, they all sensed the sound of someone's approaching footsteps behind them? !

A wizard who can set fireballs to burn half-orcs, plus what Legolas heard just now, it seems that the conversation between the ancient trees before, the white-robed wizard they talked about, must be Are you referring to the white robe wizard Saruman?

Therefore, when Jin Li secretly grasped the small ax at his waist, Aragorn also slowly put his hand on his side, where there was his dagger that could be used as a flying knife.

"Seal his mouth immediately, and don't let him chant spells!"

Then, Aragorn whispered to the two companions who were also tense around him.

Now, he finally knew why there was a half-orc who was burned into charcoal. It turned out that it was the white-robed wizard Saruman who appeared here in Fangorn Forest?

If you think about it carefully, the only one who can appear here at this time should be Saruman!

After all, Isengard is right next to Fangorn Forest, and isn't it normal for that kind of old and strange evil wizard to come to Fangorn Forest when he has nothing to do?

It's just that, so desperately, Merry and Pippin, the two unlucky hobbits who just escaped from the hands of the orc, seemed to be captured by the other party again? Then, the three of them also directly bumped into each other's hands?

"Remember, move fast..."

After finishing speaking, Aragorn took a deep breath, and after realizing that his companion was also ready, he suddenly turned around and shook his hand vigorously, with a "choke", he didn't even need to look, just let the handle The dagger shot directly towards the enemy's position he sensed!

At the same time, the dwarf Jin Li also roared, and threw the hatchet he was carrying with all his strength at the figure in white clothes!

At this time, Legolas was not far behind. One of his sharpest long arrows also made a sharp piercing sound, and then shot straight towards the opponent's head...

Now at this time, they turned around and they could probably see clearly that the figure of the other party under the reflection of the light magic probably looked like white clothes and a white cane. wrong!

Boom!

It's a pity that the hand ax that Jin Li threw with all his strength seemed to have chopped off some shield-like existence, and was shattered and bounced away on the spot! And Aragorn's dagger was thrown aside by the other party with a light stick? As for the long arrow that Legolas shot towards the opponent's head, it was hit by some kind of magic, and then it was directly shattered into a ball of powder in the air, without the slightest threat...

But when Aragorn was about to rush forward and cut people with his long sword, his weapon suddenly became red and hot, which forced him to discard his beloved weapon.

It's over, it's over...

Aragorn sighed in his heart, and the attacks that the three of them burst out in an instant were all cracked by the other party one by one. Then, he probably knew that in the face of such a powerful existence, the three of them must be There won't be any more chances!

"Ha! It's a pity, this old man Gandalf was obviously injured, but you didn't manage to kill him? It's really useless!"

Suddenly, a little girl's voice came from above the heads of the three of them.

"The bearded dwarf, your hatchet should hit his lower body directly, because his shield is hemispherical, and it only protects his upper body!"

"As for the little boy of the elf, you should have shot three shots in a row just now. In that case, the old man Gandalf will definitely get hit by two arrows, because his protective arrows are too weak, and he can only shoot them every time. Protect yourself from an arrow!"

When the three of Aragorn covered each other with their hands because of the dazzling white light, the little girl's voice that made them feel very familiar continued to talk on their own.

"Uh... is it Your Excellency Annie?"

Hearing the familiar voice of the little girl, Aragorn said in surprise on the spot.

He is very familiar with that little witch named Anne! After all, when they were in Rivendell, that mischievous little guy made a lot of trouble for himself?

"Okay, old man Gandalf, you better stop pretending, your light art is very dazzling!"

Anne didn't care about the three friends below at all. She didn't answer Aragorn's words, but just snorted dissatisfiedly at the humanoid light bulb-like Gandalf.

"He is Gandalf? Not Saruman? How is that possible?!"

After looking up and seeing a little girl sitting cross-legged on a high tree branch and eating nuts, the three of Aragon looked in front of them in amazement, and looked at the white-robed man who had just been attacked by them. figure.

How could it be Gandalf? Didn't Gandalf fall into the bottomless abyss with the Balrog in order to cover their retreat when he was in the mines of Moria? !

"Cough...well, I said Annie, can't you keep quiet? I just want to give them a surprise..."

Shaking his head, Gandalf had given up any hope for the little girl's nature.

He felt that this little girl must be a little girl who was abused by her family. Her eccentric personality is completely different from other little girls in Middle-earth!

"Also, Annie, do you really want me to have an accident that much? Give the three of them some advice?!"

Gandalf, whose identity was revealed twice, could only sigh, and slowly dissipated the light spell on his body, allowing the three shocked Aragorn to clearly see his appearance.

Originally, he wanted to play with these three old friends slowly, so that their expressions could be enriched?

"That's for sure, think about it: If you accidentally pretended to be too much and were beaten to death by your own people, wouldn't that be super fun?!"

...

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