Chapter 12: Storms and Giants

"Full speed ahead! We've left them for a day!" Roland urged, his voice tinged with urgency.

"Sir, don't worry too much. They don't have horses; we're much faster than them," Carlos tried to comfort Roland.

But as everyone turned to look at Carlos, the reality dawned on him. Good grief, they were a group of 200 heavily armed infantrymen rushing with spears and shields on their backs.

"Yes! Forget I said anything," Carlos added sheepishly.

The infantrymen provided to Roland by the system were fast-trained, strong-bodied, and had exceptional stamina. Long-distance raids were their forte, but outrunning cavalry was a different story.

Carlos felt slightly offended by the realization.

A rumble of thunder echoed through the sky, and silver streaks of lightning coiled above.

"It's going to rain heavily!" Renault said solemnly.

"Perhaps everyone needs to take a break from the rain," Roland suggested, looking up at the darkening sky.

Suddenly, a huge boulder fell from the sky, landing not far from Roland and his group. Everyone quickly raised their shields to protect themselves from the splattering gravel.

"Someone attacked! Be alert!" Kaslow was the first to react.

"Look up there!" Roland pointed to the valley next to them, his face paling.

"The mountain giants!"

"Run!" Reynold shouted.

Everyone immediately wished for more legs as they sprinted out of the valley with all their might.

"What's going on? How can there be mountain giants here? Weren't they supposed to be extinct?" Carlos said, the rain mixing with the dust and turning into muddy water on his body.

"Who knows! It's outrageous!" Reynold exclaimed.

"Are mountain giants from the evil camp or the lawful camp?" Roland asked, trying to make sense of it all.

"They're neutral! Those savages only seek peace. Logically, they should've been extinct since the First Era!" Reynold replied, puzzled.

"Maybe they're survivors," Carlos suggested, glancing warily at the chaotic valley behind them.

"Were they just playing on the hillside?" Roland asked curiously.

"Yeah, those barbarians love throwing rocks in thunderstorms. We're really lucky..." Reynold sighed.

Wait! Roland thought, were these the giants who threw rocks in *The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey*? They seemed at least 50 meters tall, their actions capable of destroying the world... How terrifying. Reflecting on their close encounter, Roland broke into a cold sweat.

"Sir, we can't move forward..." Reynold frowned.

"It's really too dangerous. Don't worry, I won't put the lives of my people at risk. The Lagrand Empire is still waiting for my revival. After all, I'm the last Lagrand lord." Roland nodded, affirming Reynold's concerns.

"Let everyone rest and stay vigilant. We're in the Misty Mountains now, and the orcs could attack at any time!" Roland ordered.

"Yes, my lord!" Reynold turned and left.

Carlos set up the tent quickly, ushering Roland inside to prevent him from getting cold in the rain.

"My lord, how should we proceed tomorrow?" Carlos asked.

"Tomorrow, we'll check if the stone giants have left. If they're still playing there, we'll have to take a detour. We can't fight them," Roland replied, his head aching at the thought.

Lying on his bed, Roland couldn't sleep. This world seemed different from the original book, the movie, and the game. Maybe because there were no players, Middle Earth and the original book's worldview had mixed, creating a unique world.

"God, have pity on me. Don't let anything go wrong in the Battle of the Five Armies," Roland prayed.

He felt that his involvement had increased the number of orcs chasing them. Perhaps the enemy's forces in the Battle of the Five Armies would be more powerful than expected.

"Maybe because I changed history, I touched an important timeline," Roland pondered.

"It has to be changed. Since history cannot be reversed, it must be altered! I will arrive on the battlefield as a reinforcement! Let this war become a Battle of the Six Armies," Roland decided firmly.

"If I had known, I wouldn't have left Rivendell in the middle of the night. It was so comfortable there, with the beautiful elf ladies," Roland said angrily.

He regretted not staying longer in Rivendell, not experiencing its customs, or forming any bonds with the elf women.

"Alas! It's a pity! It's a pity!" Roland regretted deeply. Now, he felt no connection to Thorin and his company. He just wanted reliable allies and a little profit... Besides, Dáin Ironfoot was an honest man and would make a good king of the mountain like in history. Bard the Bowman was also a good ally, and Lake-town, after his reforms, had some war potential.

Roland planned to first build a city in the Rapids River Basin to lay the foundation of the Lagrand Kingdom. This should earn him a wave of system rewards. Roland swayed at the thought of system rewards.

"Time is running out... It is estimated that less than 1,000 people can be saved before the war," Roland said with some regret after calculating.

"If not thousands, then another 100 rapid-flow infantry. Anyway, give me 300 people for the rapid-flow battle formation," Roland muttered to the system in his ring.

…

At the same time...

"Gandalf! Quickly think of a way!" Thorin and his company, who were trapped in the pine trees by the Wargs, looked at Gandalf anxiously.

An obscure incantation echoed, and a six-pointed star formation appeared in front of Gandalf.

"Go!" Gandalf opened his eyes, waved his staff, and dozens of fireballs the size of human heads flew out of the hexagram, turning the land of more than 1,000 square meters in front of him and the orcs and wolves on it into scorched earth.

"Good job, Gandalf!" Everyone cheered, the high-level spell Meteor Shower boosting their morale.

"Uh, gentlemen, I think we can wait to cheer... It seems the orcs in front don't want us to be too happy..." Bilbo stammered.

"Oh! Forging above!"

"My God..."

Under the starry sky, the black orc wolf cavalry surrounded them, led by the pale orc Azog!

"Impossible!" Thorin was stunned.

"This one is mine! Kill all the others!" Azog roared.

"Fire Seal!" Gandalf initiated the human confusion tactic from history—firing pine cones.

Everyone lit the pine cones and threw them toward Azog and the orcs.

"Roar!" Azog roared angrily as the Wargs, blocked by the flames, hesitated to advance.

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