Chapter 645
Father and Son
Chapter 645 Father and Son
"My dear child, I heard you're injured. Come quickly and let your father take a look..."
In the Great Hall of Gondor, Regent Denethor received his eldest son, who had returned home.
On Boromir's side, after resting along the way, he had removed the bandages from his body. Having changed into clean clothes, he had regained his former heroic appearance.
"Thank you for your concern, Father. I'm all better now." Seeing the affection in his father's eyes, Boromir was also moved and stepped up the stairs, kneeling before his father.
“I have heard of your bravery. You are truly worthy of being my son, having upheld the honor of the Denether family. I am proud of you!” Denether gently stroked his eldest son’s head, praising his courage.
A moment later, the father's expression turned serious. He looked down at his second son and demanded, "Faramir, you led troops to the border without orders. Do you know your crime?"
The lion may be old, but its power remains.
Deneiser's sudden questioning caused the atmosphere in the hall to freeze instantly.
This change in attitude caught Gandalf and Aragorn, these outsiders, off guard.
However, Faramiel seemed to be used to his father's differential treatment, explaining with a somber expression, "I went to the border to welcome back..."
“Shut up, I don’t want to hear your excuses.” Denethor rudely interrupted his second son, saying with a hint of anger, “Disobeying orders is disobeying orders. If everyone were like you, how would I govern Gondor?”
"Therefore, I will severely punish you for your mistake. Do you accept it or not?"
Now, even outsiders like Gandalf could sense the difference in how Denethor treated his two sons.
Pippin and Merry, two hobbit children who had witnessed Faramir's heroic slaying of the Orcs, felt even more sorry for each other.
Fearless of anything, they were about to speak up for Faramiel.
However, Faramiel, who knew his father's character, knew that even if someone pleaded for him, it wouldn't change anything in this situation.
It might even anger his own father.
So, after gently shaking his head at the two hobbit children, he knelt before his father, bowed his head, and said, "I am willing to accept the punishment."
In Deneser's eyes, his eldest son, who was sunny, handsome, tall and strong, looked a lot like himself when he was young.
His second son, who loved reading and was a deep thinker, made him somewhat wary, but he didn't dislike him.
Because of this mindset, he gradually came to regard his second son as an "enemy".
She even wanted to make her second son an "enemy" of her eldest son by treating him differently.
Perhaps he himself did not realize that his purpose in doing so was to incite conflict between his two sons in order to consolidate his power in Gondor.
As the saying goes, "The most ruthless place is the imperial family," and power can indeed drive people mad.
Meanwhile, Dineser, sitting atop the steps, had been observing his second son's reaction. Seeing the boy's increasingly gloomy expression with his head down, he rebuked him, "Don't you like leading troops into battle? We need someone to guard the area outside the city, so why don't you go there?"
Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor, lies just outside the border with Mordor.
By sending his second son out of the city, Denether undoubtedly intended to kill the other man.
With such a tragic human tragedy unfolding before his eyes, Gandalf could no longer remain silent and spoke up, reminding him, "Your Excellency Regent, would you please reconsider? The current situation is not suitable for sending troops out of the city."
It is known that the Demon Lord Sauron still has a large army of Orcs under his command, and the Orcs who will be deployed in the next war are likely to be those who are much stronger than the Orcs.
Faced with the Orc army, the best course of action for Gondor is to concentrate its forces and rely on the high walls of Minas Tirith for defense. Sending troops out of the city to engage the Orcs in open battle would be unwise.
"Gandalf the wizard, do you want to interfere in the affairs of Gondor?" Denethor was already wary of wizards with mysterious powers, especially since his eldest son had almost lost his life while participating in the Fellowship of the Ring.
All of this can be blamed on Gandalf.
Furthermore, the presence of a Gondorian royal descendant in the Fellowship of the Ring made Denethor even more displeased with Gandalf's Fellowship.
He had been intentionally ignoring the Fellowship of the Ring, and now that they had come forward on their own, the Regent had undoubtedly found an excuse.
So, with a cold face, he continued, "Given your unreasonable behavior, Gondor does not welcome you."
After saying that, he acted as if he wanted to see the guest off.
"We're in the wrong, I think you're the one who's in the wrong..."
"That's right, Faramir clearly killed so many orcs, you're obviously biased..."
"..."
A wise man can be deceived by his principles. When Gandalf was rendered speechless by the Regent's rebuttal, Pippin and Merry, who had long disliked the Regent, immediately stepped forward.
They began to criticize the other party's arrogance and favoritism.
"Where's the guard? Get them out of here!"
Denethor simply waved his hand dismissively at the two hobbit children's accusations, as if shooing away flies.
Immediately, a fully armed royal guard stepped forward and "invited" Pippin and the others, along with Aragorn, out.
“Father…” Seeing that Aragorn had also been driven out, Boromir, who knew the other’s identity, was about to plead for him.
"What, are you going to disobey me too?" Denetse looked calmly at his eldest son.
“No, I dare not…” Although he was not subjected to violence, Boromir, intimidated by the power his father had built up over the years, could only give Aragorn and the others an apologetic look.
……
"I'm so angry! That damn regent is so biased..."
"And Boromir, we're clearly comrades, you're even his brother, yet he didn't say a word for us when we were kicked out..."
"..."
After being driven out of the main hall, Pippin and Merri, feeling unhappy, once again surrounded Faramir and began to complain.
Yes, Faramir was also kicked out at the same time.
"Hmm~"
Seeing that the two little ones were getting increasingly agitated, Gandalf couldn't help but cough lightly. He reminded Pippin and Merry that the two people they were complaining about were Faramir's father and his brother.
“I can see that my brother is also caught in a bind.” Faramir, who had grown accustomed to all of this, did not blame his brother. He then looked at Gandalf and the others and said, “I’m sorry, I may not be able to help you this time.”
Having been banished from the city himself, Faramir naturally couldn't help the Fellowship of the Ring with their plans.
“You really want to leave the city? That dog… the Regent hasn’t even sent you any soldiers.” After the wizard’s reminder, Pippin finally learned a little manners.
However, it is clear that there are not many.
"Where justice lies, I will complete the task entrusted to me by my father." Faramiel nodded solemnly and then walked towards his residence.
Just as Boromir was intimidated by his father's power, Faramir, despite knowing that leaving the city would be dangerous, still decided to carry out the task assigned by his father.
"I'm so angry! That so-called regent clearly knows nothing..." Pippin, feeling choked up as he watched Faramir leave, once again voiced his indignation on Faramir's behalf.
"What do we do next? We can't just watch Faramir go to his death, can we?" The brief encounter left Aragorn with a rather good impression of Faramir.
Therefore, we cannot stand by and watch such an excellent soldier go to his death.
Legolas and Jinpi shared similar thoughts, so they both turned their attention to the wizard who would make the decision.
"Since His Excellency the Regent has requested it, perhaps we should also go outside the city to take a look..."
After obtaining everyone's consent, Gandalf led his men to follow in Faramir's footsteps.
More than half an hour later, after gathering his private army, Faramir led the hundred-man cavalry unit toward the city gate.
Given Faramir's good reputation in Gondor.
Along the way, Gondorians would spontaneously come to see Faramir off.
“Perhaps the Regent is mistaken. His second son is no less capable than his eldest son…” Looking at the harmonious scene between the army and the people, Aragorn couldn’t help but feel some resentment towards the Regent.
Even though both of his sons are so outstanding, he still shows such favoritism.
……
"Reporting to the lord, a large orc army has arrived outside Lonely Mountain. Thranduil of the elves and King Bain of Vale are ready to meet the enemy and await your command." On this day, a messenger hurriedly arrived at the Lonely Mountain palace.
"They're finally here?" Mike rose from his magnificent throne, stretched, and said to the two girls beside him, "Come on, let's go see them!"
More than half a month has passed since Mike returned to Lonely Mountain to take charge. During this time, he has been spending his days idly enjoying himself with two increasingly beautiful girls.
However, with him in charge, the three forces within the Lonely Mountain area still managed to unite as one.
They were waiting for the arrival of the Orc army at any moment.
"How is the situation?" When Mike brought the two girls to the border of Lonely Mountain, Thranduil of the elves and King Bain of Vale had already made their battle preparations.
"The enemy that has come this time is not very strong, roughly estimated at only three thousand, including over a hundred orcs and various mutant trolls..." King Thranduil said, "Give the order! With this number, my elven warriors can easily crush them!"
The Elf King, who still needs to lead his people on a great migration after the battle, is already eager to try again because he is in a hurry.
That intense fighting spirit is rarely seen among the elves.
"The surrounding civilians have been safely evacuated. Meanwhile, the warriors of the River Valley are ready for battle." King Bain of the River Valley then requested permission to go into battle.
"Only this many people have come? Lord Sauron is looking down on us!" Mike thought to himself with disdain for the Lord, then commanded, "However, since those orcs dared to come to Lonely Mountain, they're not leaving. Thranduil, Bain, and Sophia, immediately take your warriors and go into battle!"
"This time, let's strive to fight another decisive battle. Let Sauron, the Demon Lord, know the consequences of underestimating us."
These small-scale battles no longer interested Mike, so he handed over command of the Lonely Mountain Guard to Sophia, who was equally eager to try.
Having eaten the golden apple, Sofia's strength has increased significantly, making it easy for her to lead an army on her own.
"Yes, sir!" x3
As the horns sounded, the three factions on Lonely Mountain, led by Thranduil and others, advanced methodically into the wilderness beyond the mountain.
Now, let's talk about the orc army.
With Mike in charge, Lonely Mountain had long been a forbidden area for the orcs.
Sauron, the Demon Lord, would naturally not send his elite troops here to die. Therefore, the orc army that came this time was not only small in number, but also mostly consisted of old, weak, sick, and disabled cannon fodder.
Sauron, the Dark Lord, did this for one purpose only: to use cannon fodder to hold off the forces on Lonely Mountain, thus buying Mordor some time to attack Gondor.
One side is used as cannon fodder, while the other side deploys all its elite troops.
Once the two sides made contact, the battle quickly turned into a one-sided affair.
Clad in uniform yellow armor and skilled in archery, the elven warriors, this time abandoning their usual fighting style, drew their longswords and charged to the front lines of the war under the leadership of the Elven King Thranduil.
With his elven longsword, he instantly routed the demoralized orc army.
Behind them, the Lonely Mountain Guard, equipped with black armor forged by dwarves and armed with small and medium-sized repeating crossbows, followed closely, led by the half-elf Sophia, and used the convenience of the repeating crossbows to reap the lives of the fleeing orcs.
The yellow and black armor intertwined quickly overwhelmed the orc army clad in tattered leather armor.
As a result, the River Valley faction, which was a step behind, almost didn't even encounter any opponents.
And so, the battle began quickly and ended just as quickly.
Mike had just taken a nap when the Elven King Thranduil returned with his elven warriors who had completed their mission.
"Now that this matter is settled, let's part ways. I hope we'll meet again someday."
The victory in the war did not dispel the sorrow of the elves who were far from their homeland. After bidding farewell to Mike, Thranduil led the elves away from the battlefield.
Next, they would have to embark on a long sea voyage to settle in Middle-earth.
"What's wrong? Missing your family?" Mike asked Alvin, who was standing beside him.
Perhaps moved by the scene, the Noldor princess also showed a trace of sadness as she watched Thranduil and the other elves leave.
"No~" Alwin looked back at Mike with deep affection and shook his head slightly.
Family or love, she had already made her choice.
Fortunately, the man before me is indeed a great hero worthy of my trust.
At least, that's what the elf princess thought.
"Don't worry, once things settle down, I'll take you to Middle-earth to visit King Elrond and the others." Mike pulled the sensible elf princess into his arms.
Moreover, he didn't lie to the other party. Once he was strong enough, Mike would one day go to Middle-earth to broaden his horizons and also meet the powerful creator god Ilúvatar.
"Thank you, I'm very happy to hear that." Alwin smiled happily and then secretly pecked Mike on the cheek.
After a while, Sophia and Bain, who had finished off the orcs, returned with their respective teams.
Sofia's face still showed excitement as she personally commanded a battle of this scale for the first time.
As for Baien, who only drank a sip of soup throughout the entire war, he looked somewhat depressed.
"Congratulations! You executed this annihilation battle brilliantly!"
Regardless of the process, this battle once again demonstrated the strength of the Lonely Mountain forces, so Mike immediately offered his blessings to the two commanders.
Just then, a huge column of smoke suddenly rose from the south.
Judging from the distance, it appears that someone lit the beacon tower within Gondor.
……
(End of this chapter)