Within the territory of the Rohan Kingdom, the terrain here is mainly grassland and plains mixed with strange rocks, which are very suitable for cavalry to gallop freely. This is also the main grazing area for the herdsmen of Rohan. Of course, in normal times, in addition to grazing cattle and horses, the herdsmen In addition to sheep and other livestock, a small amount of grains are also grown.
This is still a border area, and has not reached the sage land of Rohan with rich pastures and numerous rivers. It seems that there is no human habitation for thousands of miles, and there is no gathering place.
If in the past, few forces other than the Rohan Kingdom dared to come here to run wild, after all, the border cavalry of Rohan would often patrol this area in normal times. If those evil Beings or other forces, whether orcs or others, will subconsciously stay away from the territory of these Rohan people as long as they do not want to face a group of terrifying knights coming and going like the wind on the grassland.
But today, there is a large group of orcs here, estimated to be at least a hundred people, marching brazenly in broad daylight. These orcs, they all have steel helmets and armor, and are holding ferocious iron blades or steel bows. They formed several sparse formations and kept running fast as if they were tireless! And on the backs of two of the orcs, there seemed to be two small hobbit prisoners tied to them? !
Now they have begun to penetrate deep into the border of Rohan, but they have not encountered the Rohan cavalry that patrolled the border in the past. They don't know what the situation is like in the Rohan Kingdom now?
Suddenly, the leader of the orcs who was running with the team suddenly stopped. At the same time, he clenched his fist to signal to his subordinates behind him, ordering them to stop behind him and start to guard the surroundings.
It had a white handprint on its face, and its nose was twitching constantly, as if it smelled an unusual smell around it...
"You are too slow, my master can't wait any longer!"
Then, a group of orcs who were half a head shorter than the orcs emerged from behind a pile of rocks. The leader, the orc leader with animal fangs on his neck, impatiently asked The orc leader roared.
"Now he wants those dwarves from the Shire!"
Orcs may have prosopagnosia, and can only distinguish the difference between elves and humans, but not the differences between human species! Therefore, they all call anyone shorter than the tall humans a dwarf, regardless of whether he is a real dwarf or a hobbit from the Shire.
This is just like humans who can't tell the difference between Modo Orcs, Wushan Orcs, Goblins and Gundaba Orcs. Although they can all be collectively called half-orcs, they are not actually the same group.
"Hmph! I don't remember doing anything for you orc maggots!"
The leader of the strong orcs looked disdainfully at the orcs blocking his way, then smiled and snorted.
Obviously, the master of this strong orc and the master of these half-orcs are not the same person, and they are not under the jurisdiction of the Demon King Sauron!
It can be seen from this: Saruman seems to be on guard against the devil Sauron. He obviously also knows the hard truth of political power coming from the barrel of a gun. Therefore, the leadership of the strong orcs is firmly controlled by him with magic. He held it in his own hands and made these orcs listen only to him, Saruman.
"Ouch..."
Hearing that this strong orc, a newly hybridized bastard, dared to speak to him like this, the orc leader immediately became angry!
Then, while its expression became more ferocious, it also let out bursts of angry whimpers from its throat, and slightly tightened the arc-shaped bone blade in its hand, tending to pounce on it if it disagreed with it.
"Lord Saruman will have his captives, and we will deliver them ourselves!"
After once again looking disdainfully at these half-orcs who were not as tall as him and not as strong as him, the orc man sneered and looked away. He did not think that the other party had the courage to fight with him.
They are strong against orcs and are only loyal to the most powerful white-robed wizard Saruman!
Not the master of Sauron that these half-orcs are talking about! Therefore, it will never hand over the captives that it and others have managed to capture to these half-orc fools!
"Crack..."
After first letting out two roars of unknown meaning in a provocative manner, the half-orc weighed his thoughts and compared the physiques and numbers of both sides, and finally did not dare to attack the powerful orc without authorization.
In its view, these powerful orc hybrids are now more numerous and larger, and Li Qiye is even bigger. If they really fight, the orcs on their side will surely suffer? Therefore, it can only give in temporarily.
"Merry..."
"Merry? Wake up!"
When the orcs stopped for a brief repair, Pippin, who was tied to the back of a strong orc, finally had time to care about the condition of his partner Merry on the other side.
He saw that Merry was moaning feebly on the back of the strong orc, with blood still flowing from his forehead. He seemed to be in a bad state?
"My friend is sick, he needs some water! Please, give him some water..."
Seeing that Merry was still moaning with his mouth half open, Pippin finally couldn't stand it anymore, so he quickly pleaded loudly to one of the orcs who seemed to be drinking water.
"Oh? Are you sick?"
At this time, the leader of the strong orcs who had finished negotiating with the group of orcs in front finally came over. When he heard Pippin's words, he pointed at Merry in Pippin's mouth with a grin and ordered:
"Come on! Give him some medicine, boys!"
Then, another orc suddenly came over with a water bag. After grabbing the Hobbit Merry's head and opening his mouth, he turned the water bag upside down and poured out the water inside. Pour hard into Merry's mouth.
"Look! He looks better now, doesn't he?!"
At this time, Pippin was surprised to find that the stuff in the opponent's water bag was actually not water at all, let alone medicine! But some yellowish-reddish blood tissue fluid that precipitates after being left for a long time? !
What he didn't know was, were these liquids from ordinary animals? Or a human creature?
"Ha ha!"
"Hahaha!"
Seeing that the hobbit who had been drunk with blood finally began to cough loudly and seemed much better than before, the large group of strong orcs followed their leader and laughed loudly.
"Stop! Let him go!"
Pippin was anxious. If this liquid, which was obviously not a good thing, was poured down, even if Merry was fine, something would become a big problem, right?
"Hahaha! What? Can't you drink anymore?!"
After filling up half a bag of blood, the beast reluctantly stopped, leaving the hobbit Merry coughing and moaning softly.
"Stop! Please don't touch him again!"
Pippin finally understood now that the two of them were prisoners of these cruel orcs, and it was already remarkable that these strong orcs didn't eat them on the spot. They really couldn't be too demanding.
"Do you also want to drink some? Otherwise, just shut your mouth!"
After pointing at the talkative hobbit with his gloved fingers made of unknown leather and giving a warning, the orc leader turned angrily and continued to walk towards the front of the team.
The two hobbits ran comfortably on their backs for three days and three nights, and they were still not satisfied? If their master, Saruman, hadn't told them that they needed these hobbits alive, it would have eaten both of them and returned with their heads for business!
"What's going on? Do you smell something?!"
As soon as he walked to the front of the team, the leader asked a strong orc with a particularly developed nose.
At this time, this shows the brilliance of the white-robed wizard Saruman's biological transformation project: while he used magic to transform ordinary orcs, he also did not forget to specially transform a small group of orcs with particularly sensitive noses, allowing them to Does his army serve as a humanoid self-propelled radar or scout?
"It's human!"
This orc with extra-large nostrils just smelled the scent of humans...
Obviously, it seems that humans have discovered them now and are getting closer? Because it smelled the strange smell mixed with the other person's sweat from the air.
"Maybe it's the same group from before, they followed..."
"Go! Full speed ahead!!"
The orc leader yelled in annoyance, and then waved his hands to let his men start running again.
Although, it didn't know whether it was Rohan's cavalry that was chasing after it, or the small group of powerful humans, dwarves and elves that were ambushed by them in the woods before? But no matter what, you can't go wrong by speeding up your march, leaving here as soon as possible, and escaping back to their lair, Essinger!
…
Ranger Aragorn was lying on a rock and listening carefully. Rangers like them who have been traveling in the wild all year round have more or less practiced the skills of tracking prey and searching for enemies.
Especially Aragorn, an old ranger who has lived for more than eighty years. He has already perfected the ability to identify locations by listening to sounds!
He just heard the dull footsteps of the strong orcs from the rock formations and from the slight vibrations coming from the earth! The other party has taken action again, and is it still speeding up?
It seems that the other party may have discovered the three of them who have been following them?
"Hurry up!"
Then, Aragorn stood up from the rock and urged Legolas and Gimli behind him.
Now that the orcs have begun to speed up, the three of them must also speed up at the same time. Otherwise, every time they delay, the two hobbits, Merry and Pippin, will be in more danger!
"Hurry, Gimli!"
Carrying a bow and arrow, the elf prince Legolas, who remembered to look cool even when running, stood on a rock. After saying something to the dwarf Gimli behind him without blushing and out of breath, he jumped up and hurriedly He caught up with the ranger Aragorn who was leading the way.
Things like rushing are too easy for the elves who have already maxed out their agility! Moreover, he even had time to enjoy that elf delicacy while on the road - elf cookie lambas?
Therefore, Legolas still has plenty of physical strength. Apart from being a little mentally exhausted due to being unable to sleep for a long time, he does not feel much discomfort! If this was not a plain, but in a dense forest, maybe he could be faster?
"Hoo! Hoo!"
Panting heavily, Gimli held his long-handled battle ax with both hands, so tired that his eyes almost turned white...
"I ran for three days and three nights..."
"I didn't eat...I didn't rest...there were only rocks and rocks around, and there was no trace at all!"
After taking a few breaths and complaining as usual, Jin Li sighed, gritted his teeth, took his short steps again, and began to immerse himself in the road, seizing the time to catch up with the two long-legged people in front of him. guy.
He was now at least dozens of yards behind. If he didn't catch up quickly, he would probably be completely left behind.
"..."
Under the desperate pursuit of the three of them, after a short while, they arrived at the pile of rocks in the small canyon where the orcs and orcs had previously met.
Then, Aragorn, who was good at tracking, quickly discovered something belonging to the two hobbits in the footprints on the ground: a crushed elf cloak pin?
"A Lorien pin never falls for no reason..."
Looking at the elf leaf-shaped pin in his hand that had been stepped on and deformed, Aragorn knew that they were not far from the enemy now. Looking at the freshness of these footprints, it was only half a day away at most?
And, more importantly, the three of them are not chasing in the wrong direction. The group of orcs who kidnapped two Hobbits is right ahead!
"Maybe they're still alive?"
Legolas came over and took a look at the pin, and then guessed aloud.
Since things like pins belonging to the Hobbit only appeared here, not before, it really means that those strong orcs should not have killed Pippin and Merry, otherwise, their belongings or clothing should be They should have been scattered everywhere!
"These footprints are still very fresh. They should be less than a day away. Let's go faster..."
Now that he had caught the opponent's tail, Aragorn didn't want to waste any more time, so he stood up and continued on his way.
Now, the three of them are very tired, but he also knows that the orcs must be more tired than them! After all, they could still find time to eat a few mouthfuls of Rambas, this magical dry food that contains the strong vitality of Aman. Those strong beasts did not have this kind of treatment.
"Ah! Wait for me..."
When Aragorn started running again, a round thing rolled down on a hillside behind him. That was actually... the dwarf Gimli?
"Hurry! Gimli! We're almost upon them!"
"..."
"We dwarves are not good at traveling long distances!"
"We dwarves are all born sprinters... Of course, we don't have to be able to compete with you guys with long legs!"
Jin Li has always complained about the long-distance attack. For him, the disadvantage is too great!
"I saw them... northwest, they should be planning to go to Isengard?"
After running up a high hill, Legolas soon saw a very conspicuous piece of dust on the northwest horizon. They floated in the air for a long time!
Obviously, it must be the floating dust trampled by the orcs during their large-scale and rapid march in the hot environment. Now, after three days of non-stop pursuit, they finally saw each other for the first time. figure.
————
"Hey! I say, old man Gandalf!"
"What are we doing here? This forest looks eerie, damp, and dirty. I don't like it here!"
After giving the Balrog a good beating at the peak of Mist Mountain and letting Tibbers use his fists to teach it how to be a qualified pet, Annie forcibly sealed it and stuffed it into her personal within dimensional space.
Compared to the ultra-high-standard treatment that his little bear can follow him all the time, the new Balrog is much more miserable...
If Annie hadn't summoned it, it might have slept in the dimensional space forever, never mind being able to come out to relax or stretch its muscles.
"There's nothing interesting in this forest! It's so boring!"
Originally, after taking care of the Balrog and rescuing the half-beaten Gandalf, Anne planned to teleport directly back to continue playing her war games. However, when she saw Gandalf summoning several fun giant eagles, she felt a little curious about the big birds that could support people in flying, so she followed him shamelessly again.
Annie herself actually has a bigger, fiercer and more beautiful Fire Eagle, but it's just not in this world. However, she was still a little curious about the giant eagle like the one summoned by Gandalf. If she felt that she could barely sit down and give it a try, of course she would not let it go.
In the following time, they went to the golden forest and got a lot of fun and delicious things. Then, under the eyes of the beautiful elf aunt, they came to the Fangorn Forest. .
"Annie..."
"Okay, actually I don't like it very much, but we have to try and see if we can convince the ancient tree shepherds here..."
Gandalf, who still looked a little embarrassed on his face, was now wearing a white robe, which was given to him by the beautiful elf aunt in the Golden Forest, the queen named Galadriel!
Now, he was walking slowly under the shade of a giant tree that was damp and dark, with almost no sunlight. At the same time, he was chatting with the little girl behind him who insisted on following him everywhere. road.
When he learned from the elves of Lothlórien that Fredo and his expedition had been dispersed by the Orcs, Gandalf was very sad at first. The Lord of the Rings Expedition, which he led, had only just left. Just half the journey?
But when he learned that Frodo and Sam had crossed the Anduin River alone and planned to continue to Mordor, and Aragorn and the others seemed to be chasing the orcs who had captured the hobbits, Gan Dolph thought about it and decided that he couldn't wait around all day long, so he decided to come to Fangorn Forest to try his luck.
He wanted to see if he could convince those powerful tree herders to resist Saruman of Isengard? If those big guys join in, maybe it will be easier to defeat Saruman then, right?
"Treeman?"
Tree Man Anne can understand it, but it seems that Anne has never seen a tree shepherd before...
Then, feeling a little amused, she quickly raised her head and looked around, trying to see the clues of the so-called tree shepherds from the surrounding big trees.
"Where are they now? Are they the big trees around them?"
Anne herself could see that the big trees around her must have been growing for thousands of years!
Their crowns are so high and so dense that even the sun cannot shine through! Over time, in this forest, except for these tall, strong, thick and large tree trunks, the rotten fallen leaves, and the green moss that likes a dark and humid environment, no other flowers and plants can grow here. It grows so that the surrounding area looks bare except for those gray-brown tree trunks.
However, Anne did not find those so-called tree people. Although the trees she saw had strong vitality, they were still far from the tree people that old man Gandalf said could move and have ancient wisdom. A little bit different?
A tree shepherd or something like that shouldn't look like this, right?
In Anne's own imagination, could the tree shepherds in this world be the kind of weirdos with several heads, green hair, and bark-like skin? Maybe they can also jump between big trees? Just like a big monkey?
"No, these are just ordinary trees, not tree people..."
"Treants, also called tree shepherds, are one of the oldest and most mysterious races in our Middle-earth world! They are said to have been born at the same time as the dwarves, but they walked across the continent earlier than the dwarves."
As a Maia, Gandalf began to recall the past events of that year. Some things, due to the passage of time, he himself could not remember clearly.
"They...were born after Vila Yavana requested Manvi, the King of Gods."
"The purpose is to protect those ancient trees in Middle-earth! Although they have not appeared in the sight of mortals for many years, I believe that here, in this ancient Fangorn Forest, there must still be There are many who survive!”
Using his wand as a crutch, Gandalf staggered around while turning his head to search.
"However, when they sleep, they are usually similar to ordinary big trees. Therefore, we need to be patient and search carefully, and we also need to be careful..."
"But there is good news, because I know that there are at least hundreds of tree herders living here in Fangorn Forest. Therefore, our chances of finding them are actually quite high?"
Now Gandalf didn't know how to summon the tree people, so besides searching slowly and slowly walking through the Fangorn Forest, he actually had no good way.
"Look for it slowly?! Gandalf, are you crazy?!"
"Look, there are so many spicy trees here! How are you going to find them? Do you still want to find them one by one?!"
Listening to the meaning of the old man Gandalf's words, and knowing that he actually wanted to search tree by tree in this huge Fangorn Forest like a needle in a haystack, Anne immediately exploded.
She would never do such a stupid thing with this old man!
There are ancient trees everywhere in this Fangorn Forest. For such a large ancient forest, there must be at least hundreds of thousands or even millions of large ancient trees, right?
If he really searched for them one by one like him, when would he find them? !
"Well……"
"Actually, that's what I was thinking just now... Otherwise, Annie, do you have any good ideas?"
After sighing, Gandalf held his wand and turned to look at the little girl with an unhappy expression on her face.
Gandalf himself was actually a little embarrassed about his stupid method of finding a needle in a haystack. It seemed that this method was really stupid! But other than that, he had no better way.
Those tree shepherds are not very good-tempered. If he makes a loud noise to wake them up casually, it will easily backfire. After all, now he wants to win over the other party to help him fight.
At most, he can only try his luck in places where trees are suitable for growing, and the land is moist and has more water? Since the tree people have the character "tree", Gandalf thinks that they will also like the kind of place that is suitable for the growth of trees, with fertile land and sufficient water, right?
Otherwise, what else can be done? If the tree people stayed still, closed their eyes and made no sound, he really wouldn't be able to recognize them easily.
"Hmph! I won't be as stupid as you to find them!"
Complaints are complaints, but when Anne squinted her eyes and looked at the towering trees around her that seemed to have the same vitality, she actually had no good solution.
In her sight, these ancient trees looked strangely shaped, and they all looked like sleeping tree men? Or it doesn’t look like anything at all?
"Hey, Gandalf...you just said that those tree men's job is to protect this ancient Fangorn Forest?"
Rolling her eyes, after her little bear came up with a bad idea, Annie quickly figured out how to make the tree people appear on their own.
"This... it seems like this. Have you thought of any good ideas?"
Of course, tree shepherds are there to protect trees. Why do you still need to ask about such a simple thing?
Therefore, Gandalf didn't quite understand what the little girl wanted to do, but when he saw the cunning expression on her face, he felt slightly uneasy.
This little witch must be planning some far-fetched idea again!
"Aha! Of course I have thought of a good idea!"
After saying that, little Annie directly grabbed a red fireball in her hand, then looked at the surrounding trees with a strange smile and said:
"If I burn this forest now, those tree gates will definitely come out, right?"
While smiling strangely, Annie slowly let the fireball in her hand grow bigger. It seemed that she really had the urge to burn down the small piece of Fangorn Forest nearby?
"Please do not!!!"
Without even thinking about it, Gandalf quickly turned back and took two steps forward, reaching out to persuade the little girl.
"Annie... We are here to help the tree people, not to make enemies... Please, please don't do something like this to make the tree people angry..."
Gandalf also knew a little bit about the temperament of those ancient tree shepherds.
After all, he has seen a lot of tree people in Middle-earth for so many years, and the tree people in this Fangorn forest are familiar to him?
If this little girl really used the method of burning trees to attract them, then Gandalf believes that what he wants to do will definitely not be discussed! Those angry tree people will definitely attack the two of them crazily until the two people who set the fire are driven out of Fangorn Forest?
"But, I think this method is pretty good!"
Annie wrinkled her cute brows and was a little undecided.
On one side was the old man Gandalf who begged him not to set fire, and on the other side was Tibbs the bear who was still privately encouraging him to burn the forest and scare the tree people out to play. She felt very embarrassed about this... …
Is this going to burn? Or should I continue to burn...
"What's the big deal? After we lure out tree people like them, we quickly put out the fire, and then deny that it was actually someone else who did it?"
It seems like this is pretty good?
As long as he refuses to admit it, I'm sure those tree people won't be able to do anything about it, right?
Anyway, Anne herself would definitely not go looking for it tree by tree as the old man Gandalf said. It would be really stupid to do that! In comparison, it is more reliable to directly burn the forest to lure them out to put out the fire.
As long as she wasn't seen on the spot, she believed that those tree people's wooden heads definitely didn't have so many twists and turns. How dare they not believe it? !
"That's right, that... uh..."
When Gandalf suddenly wanted to say something, he suddenly stopped speaking.
Then, he awkwardly looked up at the sky in front of him, and then looked down at the little girl who was eager to try to burn the forest to lure out the tree people and then deny it, and sighed deeply.
"Little witch...I heard what you just said..."
Suddenly, an old and slow voice sounded behind Annie.
When little Annie turned around in surprise, she found that the big tree she had seen before actually opened a pair of huge eyes, and also connected its two foot-like roots from the moisture. Pulled out from the earth crowded with green moss?
This one is really a tree man? It's so amazing, she didn't even notice him just now.
"Extinguish the evil fire magic in your hand immediately...and leave our forest as soon as possible...otherwise...I will definitely crush you..."
After glancing at the embarrassed white-robed wizard Gandalf in the distance, Treebeard once again stared at the little witch in front of and below him, holding a fireball in his hand that made him feel disgusted.
Treebeard has already felt that the energy intensity in the fireball in the opponent's hand is very strong, which makes it feel very uncomfortable. It feels that their Fangorn Forest is threatened...
Once this dangerous spell explodes in Fangorn Forest, a large area of ancient forest may be burned down easily if one bad move occurs!
Therefore, this is something that their tree shepherd family will never tolerate, absolutely not!
"Wow! You actually dare to threaten me? Just step on it and try it!"
After looking up at this tall tree man, Annie sneered angrily. What she hated most was when other people threatened her with their size.
"You should step on it and try it! If I don't burn down this entire forest by then, then I won't be called Annie!"
After making the fireball in her hand become bigger and brighter, Annie stared coldly at the tree man who had the courage to threaten her, if they had such a thing as courage.
Don't think that it's big because it's big. This big, stupid guy is no different from the ones in the world of Azeroth. Isn't it so big? Don't their wooden brains know that their fire magic is specifically designed to restrain plants?
Now you are so rebellious, you actually dare to threaten to crush yourself? Give it a hundred courage and give it a try!
"etc!"
Gandalf became anxious after seeing the tendency of a big man and a small man to fight each other if they disagreed with each other.
"Annie, and Treebeard, please don't be impulsive. This is actually a misunderstanding, really a misunderstanding! Treebeard, please believe me!"
Then, he hurriedly ran over, stretched out his hands and stood in the middle of the two sides, trying to stop the little girl Annie, who was playing with fire to death, and the shepherd Treebeard, who was angry at the sight of fire. Calm down for now.
When Gandalf came here today, he came to Fangorn Forest. He really wanted to discuss important matters with the tree people, but he was definitely not here to be enemies with the tree people!
