An interesting scene unfolded in Minas Tirith. The nobles, who had been hiding all this time, re-emerged to throw their weight around, barking orders at the soldiers as if they actually contributed anything. They were doing this to soldiers who were finally catching a moment of breath after fighting desperately for hours.
'Wow, seriously, opportunists exist everywhere, whether in the modern world or here.'
Given the situation, it seemed they wanted to etch their names into history now that this legendary battle was coming to an end. Gandalf wasn't about to just stand by and watch. He began a furious round of staff-thrashing on the trashy nobles.
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Ack! Soldier! Protect me! Stop this mad wizard at once!"
The nobles screamed and pleaded for help, but the soldiers ignored them as if they couldn't hear a thing, either continuing their duties or simply sitting down to rest.
While watching the amusing spectacle, a signal suddenly came through the nanobelt. It wasn't from Frodo, but from Arwen.
'Huh, I wonder what's happening?'
With too many eyes around, I was forced to jump into the air and transform into my dragon form. After flying away quickly, I used teleportation from a secluded area to reach Rivendell. Upon arrival, I was greeted by the sight of Rivendell nearly half-destroyed and engulfed in flames.
I moved quickly toward the source of the signal. It was coming from the northern woods not far from Rivendell, where I saw Elves being chased by two Balrogs.
'These pests!'
I immediately pinned one Balrog down, bit its head, and ripped it off.
Crunch!
Next, I pounced on the Balrog beside it, grabbed its head with my front claw, and applied pressure until it was crushed.
Cackle-crack!
After swiftly suppressing the two monsters, I looked toward the Elves and saw Arwen stepping forward and waving her hand. Fortunately, she appeared unharmed. I shifted back into my human form and approached her.
"I'm glad you're safe."
At my words, Arwen hugged me with tears in her eyes.
"I missed you so much."
I patted her back as she held onto me.
"Where is Elrond?"
"My father was injured while holding off the Balrogs, but thankfully, it's not a serious wound."
"Really? Let me take a look."
I moved to where the Elves were gathered to find Elrond. He was being supported by other Elves, and though he had a slight limp, Arwen was right—the injury didn't look life-threatening.
"What a relief. Things felt truly bleak before you arrived, my son-in-law."
"I'm just glad you're safe."
I immediately treated Elrond's leg with [Heal], then returned to Rivendell with the Elves and used water magic alongside Arwen to extinguish the fires.
"Since they might attack again, it would be best to relocate to the Grey Havens."
Although Rivendell was heavily damaged by the Balrog attack, it was still habitable. However, there was no telling when another strike might occur.
"Hmm… that would be wise."
Accepting my suggestion, Elrond began packing with the other Elves. Arwen and I helped with the preparations.
Afterward, I transformed into my dragon form, took all the Elves, Elrond, and Arwen onto my back, and flew toward the Grey Havens. Since most of the Elves of Rivendell had already departed for Valinor (the Undying Lands), their numbers were small enough that I could carry everyone.
I moved quite fast this time, as I couldn't be sure if Frodo would send an urgent message. I used magic to block the wind so the Elves wouldn't be uncomfortable and pushed my speed to the limit. We flew over the Shire and reached the Grey Havens in just half a day.
Upon arriving, I set up a Dragon's Tower near the harbor and stocked the cold storage with food—enough to last the Elves several months. They had fled in a hurry, and with Rivendell's supplies mostly destroyed, they had only managed to bring a small amount of lembas bread, so they needed the support.
Since Elrond and Arwen had stayed in the Dragon's Tower before, they knew the layout well. They took charge of the Elves, assigning them living quarters and explaining how to use the modern facilities. Of course, staying at the harbor would have been fine, but I judged it better for them to stay in the sturdy, well-stocked tower since there weren't many of them.
Once things were somewhat settled, I sat in the living room with Arwen and Elrond to discuss recent events. It seemed Elrond had already heard about the Battle of Helm's Deep from Aragorn when he delivered Andúril (the sword forged from the shards of Narsil).
"To think Sauron even summoned dragons…"
"I took down all the dragons attacking Minas Tirith, but I don't know if there are more. We also need to be careful, as we don't know how many Balrogs are left."
Elrond sighed and continued.
"Sigh… I shudder to think what would have happened to Middle-earth if you weren't here… This must truly be the will of the gods."
Elrond seemed to believe that all of this was divine providence. In truth, I couldn't bring myself to tell him that Sauron had likely prepared so much precisely because of me.
"Ahem… anyway, I have to head back due to my promise to the wizards. If even the Grey Havens come under attack, do not hesitate to depart for Valinor immediately."
"Understood. Please, take care of yourself."
I handed Arwen another signaling ring and said my goodbyes. I flew away in dragon form, then changed back to human in a secluded spot to teleport to the site where I had fought the Balrogs. I immediately turned the Balrog corpses into shadow soldiers and ordered them to put their heads to the ground. It was the so-called 'headplant' punishment.
"You bastards, you dared to try and touch my wife!?"
Thump! Thump!
I spent an hour venting my anger, kicking the Balrogs' heads and scolding them.
"Do better from now on."
"Kuooh!"
"Good. Get back in."
The Balrogs quickly retreated into the shadows upon my command. I then teleported back to Minas Tirith.
As soon as I arrived, I saw Orcs attacking Minas Tirith once again. From the looks of it, those bastards had sent the Balrogs to attack Rivendell as a deliberate distraction to draw my attention. They must have marched the moment I left Minas Tirith.
'How petty.'
A part of me wanted to incinerate every single one of them right then and there, but doing so would completely derail the original story, and in a worst-case scenario, Eru Ilúvatar might intervene.
While I was contemplating this, the sound of horns suddenly echoed from the northern plains of Minas Tirith. Looking that way, I saw countless soldiers on horseback crossing the horizon. It seemed the reinforcements from Rohan had finally arrived.
The Orcs hurriedly moved their spear units and formed ranks to counter them. At that moment, a man rode out in front of the Rohan army and gave orders to the commanders at the vanguard. It was likely King Théoden. He shouted to his soldiers:
"Eorlingas of Théoden! Spear shall be shaken, shield shall be splintered! A day of great battle, a day of great victory! Eradicate them before the sun rises!"
Following King Théoden's shout, the soldiers of Rohan leveled their spears and prepared to charge. The Orc units adjusted their spears in defense.
"Prepare to charge!! Prepare to charge!!"
King Théoden rode his horse across the front line, tapping his sword against the spears held by his men to bolster their morale.
"Destroy the forces of evil! Death to the enemy!!"
The soldiers echoed their king's cry.
"Death!!!"
"Death!!!"
King Théoden turned his horse to face the front and yelled:
"Heirs of Rohan!"
With that final cry, the horn sounded and King Théoden charged. The Rohan soldiers followed their king with a thunderous roar.
"Charge!!!"
The sight of the massive Rohan army charging and shaking the earth was truly spectacular. It was arguably the most legendary scene from The Lord of the Rings. Seeing it in person brought an indescribable rush of emotion.
"Wow… I'm actually seeing this for real…"
Though the Rohan army was smaller in number than the Orcs, their momentum was overwhelming. Even the Orcs flinched back, pressured by their sheer spirit. The Orcs fired arrows in desperation, but the momentum didn't break for a second.
As the Rohan army swept through the Orc lines, the monsters were washed away like they'd been hit by a tidal wave. After a long struggle, the Orcs lost their will to fight and fled toward Osgiliath.
Rohan's forces pursued the fleeing Orcs, stabbing and slashing them down. To the mounted Rohan soldiers, the Orcs fleeing on foot were nothing more than easy prey.
While they were finishing off the fleeing Orcs, several massive, elephant-like Mûmakil were seen advancing from the direction of Osgiliath. The Mûmakil were the ultimate weapons of the Haradrim, giants standing nearly 15 meters tall. They were large enough to support tower-like wooden structures on their backs, carrying multiple soldiers.
Seeing this, King Théoden regrouped his soldiers. It looked like he was going to charge and try to stop the Mûmakil units just like in the original story.
"That's going to lead to massive casualties..."
I thought it would be better to retreat to Minas Tirith and use the city walls to reduce losses, but King Théoden didn't do that. As soon as the formation was set, they charged the Mûmakil.
The Mûmakil trampled the charging Rohan soldiers, swinging their tusks from side to side. Because of their massive size, every sweep of their tusks sent numerous soldiers flying, causing heavy damage. Furthermore, the Haradrim rained arrows down from the structures on the Mûmakils' backs.
The Rohan soldiers tried to fight back with arrows, but the Mûmakils' skin was so thick that it had little effect. They managed to take down only a few by throwing spears or concentrating attacks on their legs. Just as I expected, the casualties were mounting rapidly.
Thinking the Rohan sacrifice was getting too high, I pulled out my Great Bow to help. However, before I could fire, the gates of Minas Tirith opened. Departing from the original plot, Gandalf led the soldiers out to assist Rohan. It seemed the minimal damage to Minas Tirith had made this possible.
Gandalf raised his staff high and used magic to blast intense light into the eyes of the Mûmakil, blinding them. Startled, one Mûmakil collided with another and collapsed, allowing the Minas Tirith army to take it down with arrows and spears.
Gandalf didn't stop there. He used fire and ice magic to hinder or startle the Mûmakil, making it much easier for the allied soldiers to subdue the beasts. Seeing this, the Minas Tirith soldiers following him fought the Mûmakil with renewed vigor.
Suddenly, the Nazgûl appeared and began targeting Gandalf. In the original, they targeted King Théoden, but they must have judged Gandalf to be the more dangerous threat here, as they swarmed him collectively.
"I should help with this."
I gripped my Great Bow and infused the arrow with mana. Since the Nazgûl were spectral beings, normal attacks wouldn't work on them.
Whish!!
Thwack!!
"Skreeeee!!"
The arrow I fired flew with terrifying speed, striking either a Nazgûl or a Fell Beast and knocking them out of the sky. Realizing they couldn't win, the Nazgûl began to retreat once again.
"Geez, those guys sure are good at running away."
As the Nazgûl fled, a green tide surged from the direction of Osgiliath and crashed into the enemy. It was Aragorn arriving with the Army of the Dead.
Being ghosts, the Army of the Dead fought in a unique way—they almost seemed to drift through the air while attacking the Orcs. The fact that they moved in a singular, overwhelming mass made the sight even more eerie.
I watched for a while and spotted Aragorn's group fighting hard. Seeing Legolas firing explosive arrows, Aragorn wielding his lightning-infused sword, and Gimli cracking Orc skulls with his axe made me feel proud as the one who crafted their weapons.
"This war is over too."
The Battle of the Morannon was still to come, but since I had to go find the ring, I wouldn't see it. This battle was my last.
As the fighting wound down, I checked Frodo's location. He had crossed the Mountains of Shadow, passed the Tower of Cirith Ungol, and was heading north. It looked like it would still take some time for him to reach Mount Doom.
To ensure I could move quickly when Frodo reached Mount Doom, I used stealth to cross the Mountains of Shadow and teleported to Mount Doom (Orodruin). I entered through the door leading to Sammath Naur to scout the interior in advance. Since [Teleportation] required having visited a place before, this was essentially a site survey.
While I was there, I stepped outside to see Barad-dûr, where the Eye of Sauron resided. Barad-dûr was the fortress-tower Sauron had built using the One Ring; if the ring were destroyed, the tower would lose its power and collapse.
I only looked at the tower from a distance; I didn't actually enter. It was likely crawling with Orcs, and I had no interest in going inside.
While scouting Mordor, I discovered a peculiar location. In contrast to the evil surrounding it, there was a patch of land covered in green, so I went to investigate.
'Ah~ so this is Nurn.'
Nurn was a region featuring a large inland sea. Thanks to the moisture from the sea and the volcanic ash from Mount Doom, the soil was extremely fertile. It was the place where slaves were used to farm and produce food to sustain the Orcs and Trolls.
I looked over the farmlands of Nurn. Most of the slaves were humans, with the occasional Elf. They were likely kidnapped from various parts of Middle-earth or were prisoners of war. Interestingly, the human slaves included Easterlings and Haradrim; it seemed that if slaves were in short supply, they even enslaved humans from their own side. Notably, while Orcs were present as overseers, none of them were slaves.
'Sauron's love for Orcs is truly something else...'