Chapter 46: Dawn's Promise

"Dawn? Morningstar Flower? What a strange off-season plant," Rynar mumbled, causing Reynard to shake his head helplessly. 

He couldn't help but wonder what kind of place this was, filled with such bizarre seasonal plants.

"Yeah, it looks like this is the general area, but we'll need the Morningstar Flower to tell us the direction to the entrance of the barrier," Rynar said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

The Morningstar Flower thrives in symbiosis with trees, mimicking their branches perfectly. 

They grow leaves and branches identical to their host trees, making them nearly invisible until autumn. 

They bloom at dawn, absorbing the last rays of starlight from the autumn days. They can be used to concoct various magical potions, but their blooming period is short; although they open at dawn every day in autumn, they only last for half an hour at most.

"Let's wait. We don't have much time, so I hope we can find them in one go; otherwise, we'll have to wait until the day after tomorrow," Rynar said, rubbing his tired forehead.

"Ah~ Your Majesty, forgive my disrespect," Reynard said, stifling a yawn and scratching his nose awkwardly.

"It's fine; I'm tired too... these Star Spirits really have too much time on their hands," Rynar complained.

"System check-in!" Rynar thought to himself; it was well past midnight, and he was eligible to check in.

"Check-in successful. Congratulations, host, you have obtained 100 Dunwenian Swordsmen."

Rynar, who had been without any expectations, was momentarily taken aback. 

An actual reward? 

And it was a class of knights! He couldn't help but chuckle, feeling that having reinforcements was better than relying on his own troops.

Speaking of Dunwenian Swordsmen, they were quite interesting. Dunwenia is located on the western shore of the Sea of Rhûn, where charioteers now reside. 

The people there are mostly allied with Mordor, often clashing with Gondor. 

This situation only ceased after the Zaltarion Empire successfully occupied the Rhûn region, but it was still the Third Age, and the Zaltarion Empire was nowhere in sight... 

However, this didn't stop Rynar from praising the Dunwenian Heavy Swordsman.

Swordsmen were ranked as follows: Apprentice Swordsman, Swordsman, Elite Swordsman, Ranger Swordsman, Guard Swordsman, and Champion. 

They primarily fight with swords and shields, renowned for their formidable defensive capabilities, though their mobility is relatively poor. 

However, once they advance to Ranger Swordsman, their agility becomes comparable to that of rangers.

Dunwenian Swordsmen are also referred to as Rhûn Swordsmen. They are the most cost-effective Swordsmen recruitable in the Rhûn region. 

They are loyal, brave, and well-equipped, excelling in many areas, except for ranged combat. 

Of course, the Dunwenian Swordsmen produced in Dunwenia can be considered the cream of the crop.

They are among the few armies on Middle-earth capable of directly withstanding the charge of a knightly order (in the game, they are often the only class of soldiers players can recruit to counter knights).

Dunwenian Swordsmen wear a combination of beast hide armor and mithril chain mail, topped with steel infantry plate armor. 

Insanely, they even wear a layer of linen armor underneath, along with a wide cloak on their backs… 

It can be said they are decked out in five layers of armor. 

Their steel tower shield greatly enhances their frontal defense, and the attached magical patterns grant them significant magical resistance. 

Their most trusted weapon is a 1.5-meter-long Star Silver Greatsword, while a mithril shortsword sheathed at their thigh serves as their last line of defense.

Beyond that, they have no other weapons, sacrificing ranged attacks and mobility to exaggerate their close-combat defense to an absurd level.

A hundred Dunwenian Swordsmen can form a Dunwenian Circular Formation, creating a circular shield wall with tower shields. 

The remaining shields are positioned overhead to protect against arrows and falling magic. 

The gaps between the overlapping shields allow them to easily thrust their longswords forward. 

When they drive their tower shields into the ground, unless the attackers are significantly higher in level, even knights of the same rank cannot break through their defensive formation.

'What is this? Are you planning to use the Dunwenian Swordsmen to form a shield wall and sell them off during the battle against the orcs? Seems like that could actually work…' Rynar pondered silently. 

After all, given the Dunwenian Swordsmen' dual offensive and defensive capabilities, Azog might truly be helpless against them.

'Forget it; if Azog decides to take matters into his own hands, it would be in vain,' Rynar shook his head, dismissing these absurd thoughts from his mind. 

He should focus on how to properly fight against the orcs instead; that seemed much more realistic.

"Your Majesty! Is that a Morningstar Flower?" Reynard suddenly called out to Rynar.

Rynar looked up, realizing the sky was starting to brighten with the glow of dawn… 

An icy blue flower quietly bloomed on a branch, the starlight from the sky cascading down like a gentle stream onto the flower.

"That's it! It's the one!" Rynar scrambled up the tree and began examining the Morningstar Flower closely.

"Did you find anything, Your Majesty?" Reynard asked, having stared at it for a while without noticing anything unusual.

"Actually, I did. Look at where the flower's stamen is pointing," Rynar asked.

"West?" Reynard replied uncertainly.

"I think it's west too. Let's head west and see if there are any more Morningstar Flowers," Rynar leaped down from the treetop.

…

"There's one here!"

"Let's check it out!"

"West."

"Then keep heading west."

…

"Wait! There's one here!" Rynar called out to Reynard.

"My lord! The stamen is pointing east!" Reynard exclaimed excitedly, finally finding a flower with a different orientation.

"Quick! Look around for anything with a hexagram pattern," Rynar was getting excited too; despite not having slept all night, he felt energetic now.

"Okay!"

…

"There's no path here!" Reynard said in confusion. The forest suddenly thickened ahead, with thorny shrubs filling every gap between the tree trunks. 

He pulled out his sword, capable of cutting through dragon scales, and swung it forcefully at the trees in front of him.

"Thud!" A strong force rebounded from the sword in Reynard's hand, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the hilt.

"Are you kidding me? My sword can't even cut through trees? Wait! This is a barrier!" 

Initially thinking he couldn't handle the sword, Reynard soon realized he had fallen victim to a hidden barrier.

"Your Majesty! There's a barrier here!" Reynard shouted without caring who would notice them.

"Where?" Rynar rushed over at the sound.

"Exactly here! We should circle around the barrier and look for a hexagram formation," Rynar confirmed, touching the transparent barrier in front of him.

"Okay."

Rynar drew his sword and cut down a nearby tree to mark their location, then he and Reynard began to circle around the barrier.

After nearly half an hour of walking, they finally found a hexagram formation half-buried in the ground in a grassy area.

The entire hexagram formation was carved from a massive stone slab. 

From Rynar's memory, there were quite a few exit points for the Star Spirits' barriers, and this should be one of them. 

He hoped it would work; otherwise, they would have to search for other stone slabs.

"Do you know Elvish?" Rynar suddenly asked.

"Uh… yes," Reynard replied. After all, the illustrious Lord Reynard surely knew Elvish; he had led many elves before (in the game).

"Good! Then it's settled!" Rynar suddenly remembered that this needed to be activated in Elvish.

"The forest cries in flames, the people tremble in darkness. The king who harnesses the power of the stars shall descend from the shadows.

Disperse the fog of night, depart, solitary wanderer. Bearing the sacred heart of redemption, the Land of Shimmering Stars shall forever shine!" Rynar recited softly.

"Say it in Elvish," Rynar instructed.

"What?" Reynard looked bewildered. Was his king just spouting nonsense?

"Quickly! That's the activation incantation!" Rynar rolled his eyes, ignoring Reynard's dumbfounded expression.

"Oh, right!" Reynard quickly complied, passionately translating Rynar's words into Elvish.

Suddenly, the previously dull hexagram began to shimmer with a soft starry light, enchanting like the night sky, as the Land of Shimmering Stars opened its arms to the world.

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