On December 28, 2018, the Third Age of Middle-earth, on the third day after the departure of the Lord of the Rings Expedition from Rivendell, our all-powerful little Annie and the more than two hundred dwarf goats employed by her The knights soon arrived and were standing in formation outside the closed gate of Bray Town.
You read that right, right here, two months ago, Annie killed the Nazgul black knights in the town who disturbed her sleep! And, until now, her deeds seem to be still circulating in this small town?
And now, she was deeply impressed by the town she saw for the first time when she came to Middle-earth, and she led her dwarf mercenaries back here again!
This is the Bray Town with the Prancing Pony Hotel!
It's just that the people inside don't seem too bad at welcoming the returning little witch? Looking at the strong men on the city wall holding various weapons, as if they were facing a formidable enemy, Anne had a rough idea of what the other party's attitude was.
But she didn't take it too seriously, because this time, she planned to take this town by force as her base. She had to take it no matter what, and it would be best if she could negotiate. If not...then rob it by force. ! !
Anyway, she knew clearly after reading the Chronicles of Middle-earth in Rivendell: Now, the entire northwest of Middle-earth was originally the inherent territory of the original Kingdom of Arnor. But now, the Kingdom of Arno has been destroyed for a long time, and now there are only a group of so-called free people of Iliad and some Dundan or other northern residents left!
It is said that these people are all the lords who are working on their own affairs. They are just a piece of scattered sand, not enough to cause trouble! As for those hobbits...well, those existences that were like scum of war, Anne didn't take them seriously at all.
Therefore, Anne felt that since this is a land without a owner, in order to resist those evil Mordor alliances, to maintain world peace, and to let the people of Middle-earth bathe under her banner of unity and universal love. , it is necessary for her to bring them all into her own new kingdom!
Only by concentrating these human, material and financial resources can she be able to play happily in this world?
"Let's make a deal first, Your Majesty Witch Anne! We dwarves are just hired to work for you, not to fight for you..."
They dwarves are all the best craftsmen, and they are also the best warriors. No one can doubt this!
And if the battle was against orcs, evil Misty Mountain Goblins, or other allied forces of Mordor, Groyin would definitely call on his men to charge in and fight without saying a word!
But it’s different now. This is the human town of Bray, the territory of the free people of Iliad, and the traditional territory of the human Kingdom of Arnor, not the evil allies of Mordor!
"So please don't complain. Today, here in Bray Town, we dwarves will never help you attack this human territory, let alone make enemies of the free people of Iliad for your sake! After all, they They are all citizens of the former Kingdom of Arno. If we fight, it will make our dwarfs’ situation very embarrassing!”
Although this matter has been agreed upon a long time ago, the dwarves will only watch and will not participate in the operation to capture Bray Town!
But when the matter came to an end, Groin, the old dwarf, turned to the little witch next to him who was riding a white pony and emphasized again. No matter how high the reward is, the dwarves are not willing to be dragged into battles or other disputes with the northern human residents by this little witch.
"Big Beard, you are really annoying! I never said I wanted you to help me fight!"
"As long as you are ready to help me produce those weapons tomorrow, you don't have to worry about other things!"
Looking at the thicker and heavier new log door in the distance that was supposed to be remade after being damaged by the Ringwraiths, Anne curled her lips indifferently.
If she felt it was necessary, she might just throw in a few fireballs like that broken wooden door and this small town, and she could easily burn this small Bray town to pieces? Once Anne goes crazy, the terrifying magical destructive power will definitely exceed that of the ancient dragon Smaug, who has more than a hundred heads!
Of course, the humans here did not offend Anne. She would definitely not do such a crazy thing, nor would she bother to do it.
"Then how are you going to take over this town of Bray?"
"Don't blame me for not reminding you: this town is still a big town with a population of nearly 4,000. There are at least several hundred people in those militiamen and temporarily armed men! You are planning to kill them all Light?"
"If you really want to do that, you will definitely not be able to rule here in the end..."
Groyin still felt that this little girl wizard's whimsical desire to directly rule such a large town was a bit too taken for granted.
The nobles or lords inside will definitely not give up their rights easily! And if we use absolute force to force it down and rely entirely on violence to maintain it, it will obviously not last long! As a lord, if you are too violent, all the people in this town will be wiped out in less than ten days and a half!
So he thought it would be better to follow what he suggested when he was on the road: spend money to buy a territory, then build a fortress, and then use favorable conditions to recruit refugees or simply spend money to hire people. In that case, it might be better than attacking directly. How much more reliable is a town?
"There is a better and simpler way! But, hey..."
Annie thought of the other worlds she had been to before. On several occasions, she had directly used contracts to solve the problems. It was simple and hassle-free! Originally, she had thought about going in and directly grabbing the mayor of Bray Town and stamping him, and that would be it.
However, after thinking about it carefully, she felt that in the current Middle-earth world, she could no longer use that trick...
One reason is: she has already made an agreement with that bad old man Gandalf before, that she cannot and will not use magic casually. It has not been long yet, so she cannot break the agreement so quickly!
Another one is: there are a lot of gods in this world! If she continues to casually use this kind of contract to control others, when people think she has violated the rules of the game and become angry and take countermeasures, then the shelf she has worked so hard to build may be gone. Will everything collapse in an instant?
So, this time, she needs to change to a more troublesome method, but it is not very good at attracting people, and it will not violate the game rules of the indigenous gods?
"Hey! I'm not going to tell you this anymore! Ofina? Come on, come up. What happens next is up to you, but don't let me down!"
After saying a few words to the old dwarf Groin beside her, Annie waved directly to a figure who had been waiting at the bottom of the hillside.
Now, it was time for the agent she had spent so much effort to create to take action!
As Anne waved, a man rode a tall and strong white unicorn mount, covered in golden full-body armor, carrying a fine knight's sword on his waist, carrying a huge Dawn Sword and Shield behind his back, and holding a The heroic female knight with a long lance and a flag tied above the lance head slightly drove the magic mount under her crotch, and ran up the hillside directly with heavy steps.
This female knight, named Ofina, was Anne who spent almost half of her magic power, learned from the Xel'Naga's secrets of creating life, and also gave her a magical soul core similar to the Dawn Brain, plus a large A pile of high-energy crystals, a small bag of starlight white gems from Rivendell, several bottles of Elendil's Light, a few leaves of the Double Holy Tree in Rivendell's secret vault, etc., these miscellaneous things were mixed together. After blending together, the magical life was successfully created!
No! It may not be accurate to say that it is a magical life. Perhaps, it can be said that this Ofina is actually a living immortal human being with super magical abilities? Or is it Maia? !
After all, the other party has too many factors from this world, such as those leaves of the Double Holy Tree...
I hope the elves in Rivendell will check their secret vaults after a longer period of time, right?
No matter what, this Ophina is the most outstanding, powerful and perfect magical being that little Annie has ever created! Her own strength is almost equal to that of Maia, the secondary god of Middle-earth, which is the level Gandalf had before his strength was limited!
And this is one of the ways Annie has come up with to deal with the rules of this Middle-earth game!
In Anne's opinion, since the gods are using their agents to stir up troubles in this world, she must not be left behind!
For example, Gandalf, whose original name was Oroin, was a subordinate of Varda, the God of Stars. His purpose in coming to Middle-earth was not only to guide humans not to think about the rebellion of the God of Creation all day long, but also to defeat Sauron?
And the rumored white-robed wizard Saruman is a subordinate of Aulë, the God of Earth. Why he rebelled to Sauron's side again, Anne doesn't know very well! Maybe, that Vala'oli has a good relationship with Morgoth? Otherwise, how could another rebellious subordinate appear after Sauron? This must be intentional, right?
Look, all these beings who are causing trouble in the Middle-earth world are all the lackeys and minions of the gods. Not a single god has ended up shirtless in person!
So, since Anne plans to participate in the war in Middle-earth, she must learn from the gods and cultivate an agent of her own to participate!
But she didn't want to trust outsiders casually, and couldn't give power to others casually, so she had no choice but to create a magical life herself? And what was created was the Ophina in front of her, the unicorn female knight known as the Crimson Princess!
Due to the reason she was favored by Anne, this Ofina not only possesses powerful magic power and various incredible magical skills, but also all her equipment was made and enchanted by Anne herself. It is a complete set that is definitely not inferior to the Lord of the Rings suit. The best dark gold level equipment!
Basically, her fighting power is such that she can get close to Sauron without losing! So, now the various forces in Middle-earth have basically reached a balance. Look, in the evil alliance, there is Chairman Suo, the owner of the Lord of the Rings, and Saruman the White, who is good at pinching people? And in the Allied Kingdom of Justice, there is also Gandalf the Troublemaker and the newly released Crimson Princess Orfina?
This becomes very balanced and perfect, isn't it?
"If I hadn't seen it with my own eyes, I might never have believed that such a perfect and holy existence in front of me could actually be created by magic?"
"This is really, simply incredible..."
As the beautiful and heroic female knight Orfina rode the unicorn up the hillside, the Turin dwarves who were riding low and thick hilly goats quickly made way for each other.
Then, Groin watched with dull eyes as Ophina rushed from his side towards the small city gate of Bray Town.
Until now, Ge Luoyin is still deeply impressed...
Just last night, they, the dwarves, witnessed each other's birth in person on top of the Wind and Cloud Summit!
On that stormy night... on the top of the Amon Sur post, in the huge magic circle carved by the little girl, the other party was like an angel descending to the mortal world, enchanted by the little girl beside him. Created out of thin air...
Groyin had never thought that people could be made out of objects?
"You're such a strange bearded dwarf!"
"Isn't your entire dwarf race created by the god of the earth, Aulë? Also, the humans in Middle-earth, and those little white-faced elves!"
"Didn't Gandalf say that? Even that bad guy in white clothes named Saruman is playing with people in Isengard."
"Those Eru and Valar have created so many lives, so what's so strange about me creating one myself?!"
After taking a look at Ophina running down on the unicorn, Anne actually felt a little distressed herself.
After all, this existence she created cost almost half of her magic power! Even though there are those rare magic treasures, energy crystals and gems, the price paid is indeed a bit high? Therefore, as she was not skilled in business, she could only build this one, and no more would be enough.
"Uh...well, you are right..."
Now, Groin finally knew why Gandalf had always been a little uneasy about this little girl.
Because, this little brat is basically like a god, and he can act as he pleases!
Look, what kind of existence is she comparing with herself? Still like this? Vera? Any of these existences are the lords that the dwarves must kneel down and worship when they see them...
Fortunately, Groin felt that this little girl didn't seem to want to do anything big, but was just having fun and wanted to build a kingdom. It should be... like this, right?
————
"Lord! What should we do now?!"
While the lord of Bray Town was staring at the enemies outside the town to observe the situation, the militia captain from Bray Town came over.
"Many people have recognized it just now. Have you seen it outside? The little girl riding a little white horse in the distance. She was the one who easily killed four Mordors at the Prancing Pony Inn two months ago. The Black Knight’s little witch!”
Finally, when the large group of militiamen standing on the low log-type rammed earth walls of Bray Town were feeling uneasy, another message came out among them that made them even more frightened, that is: the town On the hillside outside, the little human girl riding a white horse turned out to be the little witch who had been to the Prancing Pony Hotel before!
"Lord, please come up with some ideas! That little girl can set fire!"
If they were to fight a group of elite dwarf goat knights, with their hundreds of militiamen and the convenience of city walls, they could continue to resist!
However, if they were to fight a witch who seemed powerful, could set fire, and could summon terrifying flame giant ax warriors, then they would not dare...
After all, during this period of time, the story of the witch fighting the black knight became more and more evil throughout Bray Town! Now that they know that the little girl outside is the terrifying witch two months ago, almost half of the people are discussing that if the situation turns bad, they will put down their weapons and run away home!
Today's human beings in Middle-earth are still very afraid of strong men with extraordinary power! Especially that night two months ago, after several people witnessed with their own eyes the scene in which the witch massacred the black knight!
"You're so anxious! What are you yelling about?"
"Wait and see what they want to do first! Maybe they are just passing by?"
The lord of Bray Town, Lord Mayor Ian Fried, could only roar angrily and then comfort himself at the same time.
He is actually more anxious than anyone else right now!
Because here, this Bray Town and the surrounding areas are his family’s traditional industries! And in this northern human territory where the Kingdom of Arno has long since perished and only a loose Iliad Free Council exists, he is actually the invisible king here in Bray Town!
And now, the menacing group of dwarves and witches outside have obviously come with bad intentions. Now, the one who should be most anxious here is him, the lord of Bray!
"That's weird! What on earth do they want to do?"
Suddenly, the anxious mayor and lord Ian Fried discovered a special situation.
The group opposite seems to be planning to send someone to come forward to negotiate? Moreover, looking at the figure of the other party, it seems that she is still a woman? But what on earth is the horse she rides that is obviously taller than an ordinary horse and has a long horn?
"..."
God... In the world of Middle-earth, there is such a thing? !
When the female knight ran within a stone's throw of the gate of Bray Town, Ian Fried and the other militiamen hiding behind the guardrails of the city wall were surprised to find that the person who ran here turned out to be a A red-haired woman as beautiful as an angel?
With such a delicate face, could she be one of those elves in legend? I'm afraid only those immortal elves can look so different from ordinary people, right? It's a pity that the other party is wearing a crown-like helmet protection, so they can't tell it from the shape of his ears.
tap! tap!
Under the trampling of the unicorn's majestic and powerful four hooves, pieces of grass and sand were rolled out by the hooves that were deeply embedded in the earth. Then, outside the gate of Bray Town, Ofina looked at After one glance at Bray's city gate, he suddenly thrust the lance in his hand deeply into the ground beneath his unicorn.
The vulture flag with red background and gold edge that she tied to the head of the lance began to fly over the land of Middle-earth for the first time.
"Everyone in Bray Town, listen to me!"
After planting the flag, Ofina directly used magic to amplify her voice, and shouted to the militiamen on the top of Bray Town with a pretty face.
"I am the Queen of the United Kingdom of Alicia, the Crimson Princess Orfina! Now, who is your lord? Let him come out and answer me immediately!"
Slightly turning the direction of the unicorn under her crotch, Ofina stood next to the flag of the United Kingdom of Alicia, half sideways, looking at the people on the low wall who were either wearing leather armor or wearing a helmet. Rough human militiamen wearing iron helmets and even chain mail.
The inferior axes, daggers or dung forks they had in their hands were simply unsightly in her opinion! She didn't think soldiers with such equipment would have much combat effectiveness! As for their pitiful number of crossbows, she even felt that it was still a question of whether they could let the arrows fly to her feet, let alone whether they could penetrate her armor!
A group of makeshift militiamen, war scum, and a ragtag group of people? This is Ophina's final evaluation of these Bray Town soldiers, and it can never be higher.
"Hey! Dear Lord! Did you hear that? She is actually looking for you!"
At this time, the militia captain who had been standing next to the lord since just now quickly touched their lord with his elbow. In his opinion, this seems to be a sudden blessing? Look, this beautiful girl riding a unicorn outside is actually the queen of a kingdom?
"..."
"Please forgive my ignorance, Her Majesty the Queen of the United Kingdom of Alicia?"
"I am Ian Fried, the lord of Bray, but I have never heard of the name of your country, and I have never had any contact with you people... Excuse me, are you still here now? What is the purpose of more than a large group of dwarf cavalry blocking the gate of my town of Bray?"
Lord Ian Fried was not fooled by the other party's beautiful face. He was now more concerned about the safety of his own territory and wanted to know the other party's true purpose.
As long as they don't want to attack his Bray Town, then everything can be discussed!
"You are the Lord of Bray? Very good!"
Frowning and taking a moment to look at the middle-aged man standing on the city wall with only half of his body exposed and fairly well-dressed, Ofina nodded secretly.
Judging from the other party's appearance, he may indeed be the person with the highest status among those people. Since the other party said so, it should be correct.
"According to the order of our Lord, we, the Kingdom of Alicia, must capture your town of Bray and the surrounding areas today! Before the evening shift today, the flag of our United Kingdom must be planted on the top of your city!"
"So, in order to avoid unnecessary war, we plan to buy your territory! Now, please make a price!"
Prior to this, the owner Anne had already told Ophina that if she could avoid fighting, it would be better not to fight!
Therefore, Ofina plans to directly use money to buy this small town of three to four thousand people, and then let her Alicia United Kingdom, which exists only in name, rule here, and after training a sufficient number of new troops, In one fell swoop, they swept away the territory of the former Kingdom of Arno in the surrounding northern plains!
Before that, she was still a little worried about this second phase goal. After seeing the level of armament in Bray Town, she no longer had the slightest concern about whether she could sweep the surrounding areas!
Seeing the whole thing at a glance, since the medium-sized Bray town in front of you is only of this level, then obviously the other towns and territories are not enough!
"Buy...buy my territory?!"
Ian Fried was directly frightened by the words of the woman outside who claimed to be the king!
Originally, it was strange to him that a woman could become a king, but now she actually didn't follow the rules at all and wanted to blatantly buy his minefield?
Although, he himself wants to sell, but Ian Fried only has this bray collar. Once he really sells, where do you want him to go? Besides, if you want to buy, the other party can also secretly send someone to discuss it. How can you ask for a price after approaching the city like this?
At this glance, he knew that the other party was obviously not sincere! Or maybe they don’t want to pay too high a price at all?
"I'm sorry, I didn't sell my territory...?"
Before Ian Fried could finish his words, his eyes widened instantly!
Because, he saw that the woman who claimed to be the king actually waved her hand so casually while he was thinking about it, and asked eight dwarf warriors to carry four large boxes from behind? Then, when the dwarves opened the lid of the box, there were actually chunks of thick, golden gold bars inside?
If all this money were gold, it would be more than enough to buy two Bray towns, right? !
"..."
Now, Ian Fried feels that since they are willing to pay so much money, it seems that it is not impossible for them to buy Bray Town?
But can't they, like them, find someone to come and negotiate with them privately? Do you have to display so much gold so blatantly? Even if he is really willing to agree now, it is estimated that he himself may not be able to leave Bray Town alive with so many gold bars, right?
"Now, tell me your decision, Lord Ian Fried of Bray! As long as you agree, these will be yours!"
While speaking, Ofina put one hand on the hilt of her sword. She was already a little impatient.
Moreover, her own master, Anne, has also begun to urge her in private! Therefore, she doesn't plan to waste too much time here. She wants the master who created her to see her value! Since the plan was to capture Bray before dusk, she would never wait until the sun went down!
"terribly sorry……"
After thinking about it seriously, Ian Fried felt that his own life seemed to be more important? Although he also wanted the gold outside, he was afraid that he would lose his life to spend it...
If he has other territories under his name, or more troops loyal to him, then this mine town will be sold. Anyway, he can use this part of the windfall to buy better and more land?
"I can't promise you, my dear Queen of the United Kingdom of Alicia! I think it's better for you to withdraw your troops as soon as possible. Believe me, our Bray Territory has no intention of being your enemy!"
While refusing, Ian Fried quickly persuaded him kindly.
"If you don't mind, I can send an envoy for you to Annuminas in the north or Stade Town in the south? I think they must have extra land they are willing to sell to you! What do you think, my How about this suggestion?”
Then, after thinking about it, he was afraid of irritating these people, so he quickly gave another suggestion that he thought was very reliable: let this group of outsiders go to the forest of Lake Ivandine in the north or the Stade Plain basin in the south. Where to buy territory?
He believed that as long as the other party was willing to give him enough benefits and agency fees, he would spare no effort to buy them enough land at a fair price! The best thing is to give a box of gold outside and give it to yourself as a reward?
choke! !
When Ian Fried was making a good calculation, the sound of a long sword being unsheathed suddenly rang out.
"In the name of my Lord! In the name of light! In the name of fire!"
Seeing that the negotiation had broken down, Ofina directly drew the sword from her waist without even thinking about it.
Then, she directly raised the long sword glowing with red light above her head, and shouted three exciting slogans.
In the next moment, two thick golden light pillars fell from the sky and appeared directly next to her! That kind of intensely stimulating light even made the humans far away on the city wall and the dwarves behind Ofina herself to close their eyes.
"Come out! Angels of Doom! Use your power of light and fire to purify the enemies of our Lord!"
After Ofina's words fell, and when the dazzling golden light dissipated, all the humans and dwarves finally saw that next to Queen Ofina, there were two huge flying objects floating out of thin air. biology?
Behind them, there are actually a pair of white feather wings flapping with a hint of flame power? Moreover, he was also wearing a plate armor battle group, holding a huge cross sword in his right hand, and holding an equally huge shield with a vulture emblem on a red background and gold edges in his left hand? They seem to be the legendary...angels of God? !
"What the hell! How is this possible?!"
She never knew that Ofina, who had just been created by the little witch, could actually have such an outrageous ability. Groin was so shocked that she almost fell off the hilly goat's back.
And the other Turin dwarf goat knights are not much better. Their mounts are making waves of uneasy roars, as if they want to get away from this place quickly?
It turns out that this is one of the ultimate tricks designed specifically for Ofina by Annie: summoning the Angel of Doom!
Actually, those two angels are just embodied energy creatures. They don't last very long, and their combat power is actually very average. Their main function is: they can fly! Will fight! He can also kill people! Of course, the most powerful function is that it can scare people!
If they were to die and land on the ground for a head-to-head duel, they would only be able to challenge a Nazgul on the ground, right?
But others don’t know that!
In the eyes of the current dwarves or the mine-laying militiamen on the city wall: those two angels, who are even bigger than the trolls, are the messengers of the goddess of fire, symbols of miracles! It's the mysterious power summoned by Queen Orfina of the United Kingdom of Alicia with her sword! Just by looking at them, you can tell that they must have unparalleled fighting abilities!
Moreover, by their very existence, they are a living miracle!
"By God..."
Obviously, after seeing the opponent summoning two huge angels, the walls of Bray were filled with bursts of exclamations.
"Lord, please take care, I don't want next month's wages!"
"Also, from today on, you should hire another expert for the position of militia captain! I am now a free ranger again!"
Bang!
The militia captain who was originally standing next to Lord Ian Fried dropped the iron-clad wooden shield in his hand on the spot, and then jumped directly from the low city wall into Bray Town.
Not only losing his shield, he also ran towards the city while vigorously peeling off the heraldic robes that outsiders could recognize as belonging to Bray Town, as well as those bulky chain armors.
Bang!
"Lord! I won't do it either!"
"Me too!"
"Lord, Lord Lord! I have to go back to the hotel to work!"
"I...I have something going on at home. Maybe my wife is going to have a baby?"
"You're still looking for a shitty interface. Let's run away for our lives!"
"Yes, yes! Run! If you fight an angel, you will be punished by God!"
"..."
The power of example is huge, and the deterrence of enemies is even greater!
Therefore, in the next moment, other militiamen or strong men who were awakened by the actions of the militia captain dropped the miscellaneous weapons or bows and arrows in their hands, and then turned around and headed towards their respective homes in the city. Flee for his life.
In fact, we can't blame them. If they were required to fight and defend against those dwarves, they might still persist. However, now we are not only fighting a witch, but also a queen beloved by God who can summon an archangel? Just thinking about it with your buttocks, you know that there is absolutely no chance of winning!
"Hey! Wait for me!"
If we don’t run now, when will we have to wait?
No one is a fool. When they know they will lose, should they wait to be slaughtered? They are just a group of militiamen, and most of them have their families, so it’s not easy for anyone, right?
"..."
When Lord Ian Fried finally reacted, he and a few die-hard knights were the only ones left on the entire wooden rammed earth wall? However, looking at their pale faces and wandering eyes, he also knew that they seemed to be leaving him and running away at any time?
"Lady Witch Anne, are you sure...this is what you call not using magic?"
After the initial shock, the old dwarf Gro Yin finally withdrew his gaze from the two miraculous angels who were still suspended in mid-air. Then, with trembling lips, he struggled to ask about himself. The little witch next to her looked proud.
"I didn't use magic randomly!"
"Look! That wasn't what I used in the first place! Didn't you see clearly just now? It was clearly what Ophina used, not me!"
After Anne reiterated this key point again, she stared back mercilessly.
This old dwarf with a messy beard looked at me with that look of disdain on his face. Did he mean something? ! Does he still want to rely on the magic cast by others? This is really unreasonable!
