"Their footprints left the battlefield... and ran into the Fargon Forest..."

At the battlefield near the edge of the Fagon Forest where the Rohan cavalry burned the corpses of powerful orcs and half-orcs, Aragon, Jinli and Leglas were following the chaotic footprints on the ground, chasing them to find the Hobbits. Then they found that the two little Hobbits actually ran into the Fagon Forest while they took advantage of the chaos?

“Fagong Forest…”

"Are they crazy? How dare they run into such a place?!"

Carrying his long-handled battle axe, Jin Li couldn't help but exclaim after knowing that Piping and Meli might have run into this ghost place called Fagong Forest. Looking at the strange and ancient twisted giant trees not far away in front of him, Jin Li couldn't help but exclaim.

In the past, Jin Li had heard a lot of rumors about this place. It is said that many reckless or unafraid of death had entered this forest, and then, they never came out again...

You should know that the history of this Fagong Forest is very long and there are many ancient legends that are not known to ordinary people.

In fact, as early as the First and Second Eras, this Fagong Forest was spread throughout the entire Ilyah and Kalanahon region. It can be said that it was the largest forest in the entire Middle-earth world before, no one!

Unfortunately, in addition to the existing Fagon Forest, other places were destroyed by the wanton cutting and deforestation of the Numanor people who landed in Middle-earth World in the wars of the previous two epochs!

Then, when the Demon Lord Soren fought with the Numannoirs and the elves, a considerable part of it was destroyed again...

So, now, the only remaining one is the Fagong Forest in the northwest corner of the Arhat Territory south of the Mist Mountains! This is the territory of the oldest tree herders, and it is also the last habitat for the tree people...

It is precisely because of this that the people of the tree who think they have been persecuted do not welcome any intelligent creatures into their territory! Whether it is elves, humans, dwarves, orcs, or hobbits? Anyway, as long as they enter the Fargon forest and are discovered by them, no one can come out alive!

In the eyes of those tree-bearing people who love trees and nature, as long as they can use metal tools and can cut down trees, they will all be their enemies! Of course, if they cut down forests from other places, they will definitely not be able to control them, but if they cut down the Fagong forest for death, the outcome will definitely not be very good.

"Aragorn, what should we do?"

Leglas looked at Aragon and asked, he didn't know what to do now.

Even as the prince of the dark forest elves, Leglas, who deals with the forest all day long, will not be willing to break into this Fagong Forest casually! The elves of the immortal race know the old-fashioned and despicable nature of those tree people. They have the same attitude towards almost all intelligent races, and even the Sylvan elves are not too exceptional!

Of course, it is said that they have a good relationship with the Los Rollin elves of the Golden Forest? But this is just a rumor, and Legras is not very clear about it.

But judging from Queen Kelandriel's ability, and the distance between the Golden Forest and the Fagong Forest is not far, the other party should be able to establish a good relationship with the tree people. This rumor should be true. Anyway, the lady in the Golden Forest is also a perfect and ancient elf.

"We'll go in! We must find those two hobbits!"

After thinking about it, Aragon made a decision.

They would never leave those two Hobbits behind! Anyway, they have been chasing them for so long now, so they shouldn't give up at this time!

Moreover, if we count the time, Piping and Melina Hobbits should have entered the forest last night, and now, it has only been one night. If they are lucky, they might be able to find each other again?

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

After saying that, Aragon tightened his equipment and walked into this dark and ancient Fagon Forest first.

———

To the northwest of Middle-earth, southeast of Lake Ivandin in Anuminus, and south of the Fornost Plain, Queen Ofena of the United Kingdom of Alicia was wearing all over golden armor, riding her tall white unicorn mount, and stopped under a huge red-bottomed white vulture flag with a high standing tall. She was staring sharply at the auxiliary militia who were cleaning the battlefield.

Here, here is the great plain with flat terrain. Yesterday evening, she personally led the newly formed First Legion 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 auxiliary militiamen, to fight here and defeat the mixed coalition of more than 3,000 infantry and cavalry in the Ilyade Free Parliament of the Fonnorth!

It took a lot of time to line up in this battle, but when the battle was really started, what was beyond the expectation of the Free Parliament: in just one round, the musketeers of the United Kingdom of Alicia instantly defeated the coalition they thought were very powerful in an instant!

In the eyes of Queen Ofina, this battle is actually not very suspense!

She had long guessed that under the scattered volley of Minni rifles, no mortal could resist that kind of metal bullet, even the plate-armored cavalry and infantry of the Free Council would not do it!

Although the opponent was brave and tenacious at the beginning! However, the opponent was unable to get close to the 100-yard area in front of the formation of the United Kingdom of Alicia, and was defeated by the platoon and scattered...

After last night's battle, the First Legion of the United Kingdom was stranded in this empty and convenient place for the defense of the musketeers to start camping. It was not until the dawn of the morning that the auxiliary militia were sent to clean up the messy battlefield.

"Her Majesty the Queen!"

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

Just as Ofina looked at the battlefield lying full of enemy bodies, her eyes flashed and she was thinking about something, a female officer riding a horse, carrying a short-rod rifle for cavalry, and dressed as a ranger, galloped towards her.

Then, the other party stopped not far ahead of the Onina unicorn with excitement and reported loudly.

The enemy's powerful coalition forces were fought against 1,500 people, and there were probably less than 600 people who actually entered the battle? Then, not only could they easily defeat the enemy in one fell swoop, but they also had almost no cost of casualties. What is this an epic victory?!

"In the battle yesterday evening, based on the bodies left on the battlefield, we killed a total of 632 enemies and captured 417 people!"

The female officer reported excitedly while raising the parchment on her own hand.

"So far, no one has died! But... there were two musketeers who did not operate the rifle according to the standard procedures, so they were injured in their eyes. I'm afraid they are no longer suitable to continue participating in the battle..."

Speaking of this, the female officer felt a little ashamed. The two who did not operate the rifle according to the rules happened to be her subordinates. Not only were they blinded by the eyes, but other musketeers also felt inexplicably afraid of the muskets, and even became a little timid when loading.

In fact, she felt that those of them would not use their brains to think about it?

Those two idiots, they dared to tear open the fixed charge pack and stuff it into the barrel when there was Mars in the gun chamber? And they looked over with their eyes? Who else could they explode if the ignition gunpowder did not explode them?!

Fortunately, they did not load the bullets, otherwise they might have two corpses that were shot by their weapons now!

"That is, they had at least one thousand to two thousand soldiers fled back to Annuminus and Fornost?"

Seeing her soldiers cleaning the bodies of those enemies and burying them in search of the ground, Ofina asked thoughtfully. They fought a defeat last evening, so it was not too strange that they escaped so many enemies within her expectations.

"Yes, Her Majesty the Queen!"

"According to our larks, the cavalrymen who had lost their enemies fled to the north along the main road, while Annuminas, in the northwest, did not escape there because of the rugged mountain road."

"There are some more people, and they simply scattered into the surrounding villages. We do not have enough troops to search them for them for the time being!"

The female officer, who is the Queen's Guard, knows more clearly about these things.

Most of the musketeers who set out overnight and fell behind the enemy's defeated soldiers have returned. They have brought back a lot of information about the enemy, and it is said that they have also captured a lot of prisoners by the way?

"Go! Find a few enemy officers among the captives, and I need them to help me bring two letters to Annuminus and Fornost!"

After saying that, Ofina took out two handwritten letters placed in a bamboo tube from her mount's shoulder bag and handed them directly to the female officer.

"Find a few reliable prisoners, give them a few horses, and let them tell the nobles of the parliament in the city: as long as they hand over their troops and surrender in the city, I can promise that they will continue to retain their wealth and land!"

For unnecessary trouble, Ofina did not want to do too much murder here in the former homeland of the Arno Kingdom.

Now, the newly appointed Second Legion commander of the South Renas has reached Tabad on the south bank of the Swan River and started to engage in contact with the savages of Denland! Therefore, she must not continue to waste time here. She needs to go to the south as soon as possible to attack Aisinger's power. This is the important task assigned by her master Anne.

"But, Your Majesty..."

"We are sure to win now. We have muskets and we have even more powerful cannons! Isn't it a little more generous to give them such treatment? We can use cannons to directly knock out their city gates and occupy two important towns in the north..."

"They can't stand our offensive! Maybe, when we reach the city, they will collapse on their own?"

The female officer was a little anxious when she heard that Her Majesty Queen Ofina wanted to keep the rights of wealth and land for those people.

Isn’t they the reason they sacrificed their lives to join the United Kingdom of Alicia just for land and money?

The victorious war is their guarantee for obtaining these things! She believes that as long as they capture the other party's city and accumulate enough military merits, they can obtain fiefs, titles, and a lot of money, etc.!

Then, in the future, can you live the luxurious life of the noble-style masters that they only dared to think about before?

"Okay, no need to say more!"

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

Looking at his female guard, Ofina shook her head a little amused.

What she had to consider herself was how to rule the place well, instead of making it a piece of smoke and destroying the dissidents, that would only push their United Kingdom of Alicia to the opposite of everyone! So, when necessary, it would be feasible to use some gentle policies.

What if that parliament is willing to hand over power and army and ensure that there is no chaos in the north, what if she lets them continue to enjoy the decaying noble life?

"Aisinger's strength is gradually increasing. Now even the Denlanders have joined them. I believe that the Rohans will definitely not last long..."

"Once Aisinger eliminates Rohan and attacks Gondor Kingdom with Mordor, our situation will be very passive in the future! Our kingdom is not yet well-founded, and some things can't be solved even with money!"

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

After thinking about it, Ofina waved her hand and asked the female officer to take her handwritten letter, and then went to execute her orders.

She hopes to completely calm the turmoil in the north within five days, and after ensuring that there will be no major problems in the rear, she will recruit the other party's troops, and then prepare to go south to Rohan!

In fact, in Ofina's own plan, not only Annuminus and Fornost, but also She planned to deal with the places like Charles, Agond and Sarenfde.

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

“…”

After taking a look at the bloody and messy battlefield again, Ofina frowned and gently patted the unicorn under her crotch, allowing her to turn around and return to the military camp behind.

She was not surprised at all about the result of this battle. After all, a group of cavalry and infantry with cold weapons faced a group of musketeers, even a group of musketeers who had been initially trained for a while, was normal. The weapons of the two sides were several generations apart!

In fact, since the so-called messenger of the Ilyade Free Council sarcastically mocked her in the castle of Bree, she was ready to start a war!

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

Even if there is no United Kingdom of Alicia, once the war in the south is successful, no matter who the winner is, it is already destined to wait for the end of these little lords in the north!

Thinking about the messenger at that time, he dared to ask him to hand over Bree and pay compensation. At that time, Ofina almost laughed out loud!

"If you don't hurry up, the war situation in the south will probably be one-sided..."

Now in the view of Ofina, Aisinger and Mordor in the south have already had an absolute advantage. In addition, the barbarians of the south, Haradlin and the Lun tribe have joined the Mordor alliance. At that time, they will definitely attack Gondor. Therefore, she is not optimistic about the situation in the south. Gondor's defeat is just a matter of time sooner or later!

So, now she wants a prisoner to take her letter of surrender to the other party's free council, and she doesn't want to stay in the north for too long. After a little settled north, she will lead the legion directly south, return to Bree to replenish his troops and supplies, and go directly to Aisinger and Rohan!

———

"Wow! What a big squirrel!"

At this time, in the Fargon Forest, Little Anne was slamming the pile of nuts she had obtained from where she was eating happily with a stone.

Then, after a while, a chubby big squirrel as big as a kitten jumped down from the tree at some point. He kept squeaking at the three people eating dried fruits, and jumping around, as if he was very anxious?

"Look! Merry, it seems to be trying to say something to me?"

Pi Ping looked at it for a while and felt that the squirrel seemed very humane. Maybe he had something to say to him and the other three?

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

Meli and Piping had different views. He felt that the squirrel should have wanted to join after seeing them eat. Maybe it was because there were few living people in the Fagong Forest, so it was not afraid of people?

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

Little Annie's eyes flashed. She looked at the small pile of nuts on the ground that had almost been eaten up by her. Then, after looking at the cute, fat, squirrel, this sentence suddenly came out.

Then, after the squirrel felt the little girl's malice, he was so scared that he was shocked and his hair exploded. Then, at the fastest speed, it ran to the top of the head of the tree-bearded man who was whispering to Gandalf and hid.

She actually knew why the squirrel was anxious, so she really wanted to eat the other party as soon as possible and destroy the corpse!

"It was just saying...you little girl...snatched the nuts it hides..."

After comforting the little squirrel hiding behind the canopy of his head, the tree beard glanced at the evil little witch over there.

"You're talking nonsense! I didn't steal it!"

"How does it prove that these nuts are its? It doesn't have its name written on it, so why don't I eat it?"

Anyway, she has eaten up all of it now, so Annie will never admit that this thing was discovered and came by her just now in a dry tree hole!

Besides, there were no squirrels in the tree hole just now. How did she know if these dried fruits and nuts fell into the branches themselves? Therefore, Annie felt that it must be the squirrel who wanted to frame her!

It’s a pity that I didn’t find it in the tree hole just now, otherwise Anne must have been eating roasted squirrels now! Nuts, nothing oily or so, it’s so dry and unpalatable!

“…”

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

"Huh? Three more people are coming into the forest!"

Just as he was about to say something, or lure the chubby squirrel just now, he grabbed Anne who had roasted and eaten, and suddenly turned his head and looked in one direction.

"Gandalff! Your three good friends are here to find you!"

After sensing the other person's breath and knowing who it was, Annie yelled at the old man Gandalf who seemed to have finished talking to the old tree man in the distance.

"My...good friend? What does that mean?"

Gandalf is a little unable to understand the little girl's words, Ji, what does this mean?

"Oh...that's what the earthlings say, which means you have a good friend! That's right, that's it!"

After staring at the tree man's head for a while, she found that the fat squirrel refused to come down easily, Annie had to give up her plan to eat the fire-baked squirrel.

"I really want a good friend? Well...who will that be?!"

Gandalf felt a little confused. He always felt that the little girl didn't seem to tell the truth, but she didn't know where the problem was.

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

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

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

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

After a while, Gandalf reacted and knew who the three people Annie said were. Then he turned his head and looked at the two hobbits who were doing nothing over there and said:

"Pipin, and Meli...you should stay in the Fargon Forest during this period."

"Just have promised me just now, and it is willing to protect you for a while! Don't worry, please believe me, if you have trees and beards, you will be very safe here!"

What Gandalf wants to do next may be a bit dangerous, so he does not intend to bring these two hobbits with him for the time being.

...

Aragon, Jinli and Leglas have now penetrated into the Fargon Forest, and they are following the footprints of the Hobbit and the Shichen Orcs, and are moving towards the depths of the forest.

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

Dwarf Jinli found a few drops of dark brown sticky substance on some leaves, and then, after he dipped it in his hands and put it in his mouth and tasted it, he quickly vomited it out again.

It was obvious that this was the blood of the orc! Because, the fishy and smelly disgusting feeling that hit his forehead from his taste buds was very familiar to him. He would never admit his mistakes if he was the orc!

"We may have to speed up again... Three orcs chased Piping and Meli and the others into this forest! We must save them before they are caught again!"

After looking at the clear footprints and other traces on the ground, Aragon said anxiously.

Thanks to the special environment of this forest, the traces left by the Hobbit and the Orcs when walking here are very obvious. The three of them can make sure that they will not easily lose them!

"Come on, those orcs are here!"

Suddenly, Leglas, who was in the front, shouted at the two people behind him, and then Jinli and Aragon quickly pulled out their weapons and rushed over.

“…”

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

Jin Li, who originally thought there was a battle, couldn't help but mutter to the other party in an upset when he ran to Leglas and saw that it was indeed an orc with a head smashed open.

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

After Leglas was complained, he could only reply with a laugh and cry.

"This... was the head smashed by a blunt weapon? Its broken skull was deeply pierced into its brain... This shows that the attacker was very strong, and it shouldn't have been done by Piping and Melin's two Hobbits. They didn't have this strength!"

After squatting down and slid the head of the orc whose brain had been smashed for a while, Aragon quickly came to his own conclusion.

"We have to be careful. Here, besides the Hobbit and the Orc, there should be other people..."

After slowly standing up, Aragon pressed the long sword around his waist with his hand, and he was ready to go into battle at any time.

"Oh! Come and see! Here, there is a burnt... orc?!"

At this time, Jin Li, who was loudly voiced, suddenly noticed a thin figure tilted by the tree trunk. The other party's body was curled up and twisted, almost burning into a ball of coke.

However, he could barely recognize the outline of the other party's head, and he was undoubtedly a half-orc!

“…”

Seeing this, Aragon and Leglas looked at each other and took a breath of air conditioning!

Because, they knew that there was nothing else except magic to burn an orc! Then, if you think about the orc whose head was smashed before, it would be not difficult to infer that the other party should be a wizard?!

But what they didn't know was who this wizard would be?

"Oh... guys, you better come and have a look at this again!"

At this time, Jin Li, who was visiting the other side of the big tree, screamed again.

Because, he made a new discovery: in a large pit with a sunken footprint, there was a flat orc corpse that was deformed by trampling? The other party's body was deeply trapped in the earth, his head and torso were trampled and burst, and the black dirty blood directly dyed a large area of ​​moss...

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

Moreover, just because the footprints are so big, how big should its original body be? What kind of existence is there in this ancient Fagong Forest?

“…”

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

After pondering for a while, Aragon still shook his head. Even though he was an old ranger with decades of experience, he could not tell the difference now. What race or creatures could leave such huge footprints?

"Whatever it is, I think, we'd better pray right away not to let us touch it?"

Jin Li was most disgusted with encountering those large monsters! For example, the she-cannibal I met in the Moria mine, almost killed them! And the monster that left this footprint now seems to be much bigger than those terrifying she-cannibals?

"This forest is very old... they are full of memories and anger..."

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

At this time, Legras began to listen intently. After a while, he soon heard some important information from some abnormal noises when the trees were swinging.

"These ancient trees, are they talking about... the white-robed wizard is here?!"

After saying that, Leglas quickly winked at his two companions and told them to start to be careful.

“…”

When Jinli and Aragon heard this, they paused for a moment and quickly became alert on the spot. Then, they all felt the sound of someone approaching behind them.

A wizard who can set fireballs and burn half-orcs, plus what Leglas just heard, it seems that the conversation between the ancient trees before, the white-robed wizard they mentioned must refer to the white-robed wizard Saruman, right?

So, while Jin Li was secretly holding the small axe around his waist, Aragon slowly placed his hand beside him. Wherever he was a short sword that could be used as a flying knife.

"Cross his mouth as soon as possible and go and don't let him chant the spell!"

Then, Aragon whispered to his two companions who were also tense.

Now, he finally knew why there was a half-orc who was burned to char. It turned out that the white-robed wizard Saruman appeared in the Fargon Forest?

If you think about it carefully, it is also true that Saruman is the only one who can appear here at this time!

After all, Aisinger is next to the Fagon Forest. Isn’t it normal for the evil wizard who is old and still has a weird place to go to the Fagon Forest when he is idle?

However, it was so dying that the two unlucky Hobbits, Meli and Piping, who had just escaped from the palm of the strong orc, seemed to have been captured by the other party again? Then, the three of them also hit the other party directly in the hands?

"Remember, move quickly..."

After saying that, Aragon took a deep breath. After finding that his companion was ready, he suddenly turned around and shook his hand hard, and choked. He didn't have to look at it, and let a short sword shoot directly towards the direction of the enemy he felt!

At the same time, the dwarf Jin Li also roared and threw the short-handed axe he carried with him directly towards the figure in white clothes!

At this time, Leglas was not willing to fall behind. One of his sharpest long arrows also made a sharp sound of breaking through the air, and then shot straight towards the other party's head...

Now, they turned around and saw that the figure of the other party under the reflection of the light magic was probably in white clothes and white sticks, and that must be Saruman, so it would be right to cut him down!

Bang!

Unfortunately, the axe that Jin Li threw out with all his strength seemed to have cut off some shield, and was shattered and bounced away on the spot! And Aragon's short sword was gently picked by the opponent with a stick? As for the long arrow that Leglas shot towards the opponent's head, he didn't know what magic it was hit, and then it broke into a ball of powder in the air, without any threat...

While Aragon was about to rush forward and use his sword to directly chop people, his weapon suddenly became red and hot, forcing him to abandon his beloved weapon.

End, it's over...

Aragorn lamented in his heart, and the attacks that the three of them instantly burst out 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 would definitely not have any chance!

"Ha! What a pity. This old man Gandalf is obviously injured, but you can't beat him to death? It's really useless!"

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

"Big Bearded Dwarf, your hand axe should be thrown directly to his lower body, because his shield is hemispherical, just protecting his upper body!"

"And the elf's little white face, you should have shot three times in a row just now. In that case, the old man Gandalf will definitely be hit by two arrows, because his protective arrow is too useless, and he can only protect one arrow every time!"

When the three Aragons covered their hands with their hands because of the white light on each other's body, the voice of the little girl who made them feel very familiar continued to tell themselves.

"Uh...is it Mr. Anne?"

Hearing the familiar little girl's voice, Aragon spoke in surprise on the spot.

He is very familiar with the little witch named Anne! After all, when they were at Rivendale, that naughty little guy caused him a lot of trouble?

"Okay, Old Man Gandalf, you'd better stop pretending. Your light technique is very dazzling!"

Anne didn't care about the three gay friends below at all. She did not answer Aragon's words, but just snorted coldly at Gandalf, who was like a human-shaped light bulb.

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

After looking up and seeing a little girl sitting cross-legged with nuts and eating, Aragon and the other two looked ahead in surprise, looking at the figure in white robe that they had just been attacked.

How could it be Gandalf? Didn’t Gandalf fall into the bottomless abyss with the Flame Demon in order to protect their retreat while in the Moria Mine?!

"Well...well, I said Annie, can't you just stop talking? I just want to give them a surprise..."

Shaking his head, Gandalf had no hope for the little girl's nature.

He felt that this little girl must be a little girl spoiled by her family. Her eccentric personality was completely different from other little girls in Middle Earth!

"Also, Annie, you really hope something happens to me? Let me give advice from the three of them?!"

Gandalf, who was revealed twice, could only sigh and slowly dissipated the light spell on his body, allowing the shocked Aragon and the other two to clearly see their appearance.

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

"That's for sure, think about it: if you accidentally pretend to be too much and get beaten to death by your own people, wouldn't that be super fun?!"
Chapter completed!