Fire bombs?
Garrett flipped through the intelligence gathered by Halbarad, and the more he read, the more his face showed unconcealed curiosity. This device looked somewhat similar to the dwarves' flash bombs.
"At least it's something."
With Halbarad's detailed intel and the statistical data Garrett had acquired, the three of them now had a decent understanding of the military forces on the Easterling side.
Among the three of them, the most effective in gathering intelligence was undoubtedly Halbarad.
Although he hadn't managed to intercept any messages or halt the army's advance, he had thoroughly uncovered information from the port cities, details such as which army was heading where, how many troops there were, what types of soldiers, and when they were mobilized, everything was crystal clear.
The troop movements in this region were practically transparent.
"A captain of the King's guard fell in love with a Dorwinion elf and secretly fled by boat, trying to sail across the Sea of Rhûn... Is this kind of intelligence even necessary?"
"You never know when it might prove useful."
That was Halbarad's response.
"Well, regardless, the capital's main army won't be able to mobilize for a while, and their routes have mostly been uncovered."
"I need to get this information back quickly, our allies still don't know about any of this."
"I've actually always been curious."
Garrett asked, "Which allies are you referring to?"
Halbarad recalled the rumors he'd heard in recent days and replied, "They call you people 'traitors' and 'collaborators.'"
It seemed that this army wasn't merely a band of rebels, there was a larger enemy involved. Or perhaps... a larger faction.
"I mentioned it from the beginning," said the man in the blue robe.
"It's just east of Mordor, south of the Easterling territories."
"Khand."
---
The land after the rain gave off a fresh scent, but the yellowing grass signaled how bitterly cold the downpour had been.
The three rode together, arriving at a pass city south of the Easterling lands.
"It's not quite how I remember it."
Alatar looked around the city, sensing a strange and eerie atmosphere.
Pedestrians hurried along the streets, quietly taking care of their business before rushing home.
"What happened here?" he asked, stopping a passerby.
But the person only shook their head and made a gesture for silence.
"This..."
What could be so serious?
"Let me handle this."
Halbarad stepped forward and spoke with the resident.
A moment later...
"A terrifying rumor," he said. "Apparently, a monster that can emerge from nightmares has recently appeared here. Nothing can stop it, not even the Nazgûl can detect its presence."
"They say a messenger from the capital was attacked not long ago. He's still recovering in a sealed, windowless room."
"A monster?" Alatar turned to Garrett.
This pass city happened to fall under Garrett's jurisdiction during their mission.
"Do you have any clues about this rumor?"
"No idea," Garrett said after thinking carefully.
"Maybe the messenger was attacked by something while escaping through a window. I didn't chase after him at the time."
"A shame, if such a bizarre creature really exists, I'd love to give it a taste of my sword."
Who knows, maybe it would drop some new crafting materials.
"I see..."
Alatar thought for a moment, then said, "In my view, strange incidents like this are often linked to the Enemy and his minions. Perhaps it's one of his tricks to secure his own position."
"Makes sense."
"But he probably didn't expect that his little scheme would end up delaying the Easterling army's mobilization."
"No matter how clever you are, mistakes happen."
Without delving too deeply into the strange rumors surrounding the mountain pass, the three of them quickly passed through the area, circled around the opening behind Mordor's mountains, and crossed a stretch of barren wilderness.
Until at last, they arrived at a somewhat desolate place.
"This is the outermost border of Rhûn, Khand," Alatar explained.
"From Khand, if you head further south, you'll reach a desert. Beyond the desert lies Near Harad."
"On the surface, Harad and Khand are still allies, and southern trade caravans often pass through here en route to the Easterling territories."
"And in reality?"
"In reality..." Alatar smiled faintly and lifted his chin.
"You'll find out soon enough."
Khand, a dry borderland carved out by rivers between the wilderness and desert. It was sandy, and the sun was strong.
Though small in overall size, it was relatively prosperous thanks to frequent trade between the northern and southern regions.
"It wasn't always like that."
As they continued on their journey, he explained, "In the early days, Khand had frequent conflicts with both the Easterlings in the north and the Haradrim in the south. Their territory was small, the population sparse, and they were caught between two major peoples, it was a hard life."
"The Wainrider tribes swept southward, driving the Khand people into Harad. In the end, to resist the Wainriders, the Khand were forced to ally with the Haradrim, and the three sides plunged into a brutal war."
"There was no winner in that war, because the Enemy was already in Mordor at the time."
"He sent emissaries to forcibly put an end to the chaos. First, he conquered all three peoples with force. Then he compelled them to worship him for generations."
"That belief took deep root and became impossible to erase."
After giving a brief overview of the situation, Alatar changed the subject and said:
"But even the Enemy can't be everywhere."
"Both the Easterlings to the north of Mordor and the Haradrim to the south are powerful peoples with vast territories and abundant wealth. Even though they're forced to pay large annual tributes to Mordor, they can still remain affluent."
"But not Khand. Their land is too small, and their resources too scarce."
"Of course, the only reason they still exist as an independent nation is actually thanks to the Enemy. If he hadn't forbidden warfare among the three sides, Khand might have long since become a footnote in history, swallowed up by the two larger peoples."
"At first, this decree gave Khand a brief period of peace and development, but it didn't last. As Mordor's appetite for war grew, this nomadic people was forced to hand over increasing amounts of resources and horses each year."
"Mordor doesn't care whether they can afford it or if they're poor. The only thing that matters is when the tribute arrives."
"And yet, despite all this, the Khand people's faith in the Enemy hasn't wavered in the slightest. It's almost... stubborn."
"At the beginning, I came to the East with my companion Pallando and our leader, Saruman."
"We operated here and in the far eastern mountain regions for over a thousand years. Saruman eventually concluded that the peoples here were beyond saving, and returned alone to the western lands of Middle-earth."
"That left just the two of us to keep resisting the Enemy's forces in the East."
"In time, Pallando left as well. He's now working in the southern Harad region."
"Even though both of them left, thankfully, Saruman taught me a spell before he departed, a spell that can free people from the control of the Enemy."
"Oh?"
Garrett, who had been listening from the side, looked at the Blue Wizard with curiosity.
Saruman... kind enough to do that?
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150 = +1 bonus chapter
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100+ Advance chapters!