In Middle-earth, due to wizards' absolute stance and powerful abilities, they possessed a natural right to join in on events.
Today was no different.
But besides joining in, as long as lords and regional administrators didn't prohibit it, wizards also carried certain command authority within the same faction.
The level of this command authority was linked to reputation.
Take Gandalf, for example. If the White City lost its Steward during wartime with no immediate successor, he could even assume the Steward's command authority on the spot.
After thousands of years of accumulation, wizards now held positions second only to supreme rulers, functionally serving as all-purpose figures who could fill gaps wherever needed.
Oh, except for the Brown Wizard. He was a rather unique pure support-type wizard, not skilled in command or combat.
But he could summon animal friends.
"Everyone listen up; watch mainly the southwestern direction. The orcs will most likely attack from there!"
"You Ranger squads over there, go to the bridge area to gather intelligence and monitor the orcs' march progress. I need their latest news."
At Riverside Keep, Gandalf prepared for the approaching great battle.
Currently, he was Riverside Keep's supreme commander, with Levi's permission.
As for Balin following alongside, this dwarf was among the few knowledgeable and scholarly wise old warriors, also a general-level figure who could serve as an excellent vanguard on the front lines or an excellent commander in the rear.
"Are we just waiting here?"
Balin gazed toward Moria across the river, his thoughts unknown.
"If you want to take some action, there are things I could assign you."
"What?"
"Go to Rivendell and talk with the elves. Call for some reinforcements."
"I might as well charge into Moria myself right now. Besides, didn't Levi say we didn't need to seek aid?"
"Of course, he certainly doesn't need to."
Gandalf pondered: "But if it really comes to a time of need, perhaps he won't even need to seek aid. Nearby allies will come on their own."
When major events occurred, if Levi sought aid, it meant the situation was definitely quite urgent and support must be rushed.
But if Levi didn't seek aid, it meant he might not have time to seek aid. The situation was definitely even more urgent, requiring even faster emergency support.
Splash.
Scalding lava fell block by block. When it reached the bottom level, it was doused by equally fast-falling buckets of water from above, turning to stone.
This was the "emergency wall-building method" residents learned from their lord. Of course, everyone knew this only worked within territories blessed with their lord's magical power. It was useless at a distance.
There were different methods for outside use.
When the high wall was initially cast in a circle, a Ranger previously sent out for reconnaissance returned. He looked very urgent and not as calm and steady as before.
"They'll arrive in two days at the fastest."
This graduated formal Ranger panted: "Also, the previous intelligence wasn't quite accurate. This orc army's numbers are even greater. At least three times more than the forces we can gather short-term."
"At least fifteen thousand, and equipped with large numbers of siege beasts."
"Seemingly a full-scale deployment."
"Also, regarding the 'Nazgûl' you mentioned earlier, we observed at least three here."
"At least?"
"Yes, at least."
"We were discovered. I guarantee our camouflage and concealment had no flaws, but one Nazgûl suddenly shrieked and charged over. He seemed very familiar with our usual hiding spots, or rather, very familiar with our habits."
Mentioning this, the Ranger looked quite shaken.
"Fortunately our horses ran fast and were very resilient. They didn't fall even after being hit by several arrows."
"Otherwise we probably wouldn't have made it back."
The Ranger patted his horse beside him while speaking, feeding it some wheat.
If Levi were here, he would see this horse's health recovering. Before being fed wheat, it actually only had a sliver of health left.
Those few arrows had nearly killed a horse equipped with iron horse armor and over thirty health points.
"Roadside Keep horses are all like this. Fast, unafraid of pain, and unafraid of cold or heat. They can run for long periods eating just a little grass, and even when injured, feeding them wheat helps them recover quickly."
Gandalf shared his experience.
"The only drawback is they're rather wooden-headed. They won't listen unless you mount them or use leading ropes."
"I agree."
Their topic quickly digressed to discussing horse management.
It had to be said, these horses were incredibly convenient. No care needed; just place them somewhere like objects when not needed. No human care is required. When needed, just mount and ride.
"Wait, isn't now not the time to discuss this?"
Balin couldn't relate to their discussion since he rarely rode horses. Dwarves usually rode boars and goats.
And these two species... Levi didn't raise them.
"Oh, you're right. Indeed not the time for this."
Gandalf suddenly snapped back to attention.
It was all Levi's fault. His territory's residents had the same temperament as him. One second they were fighting desperately with lives at stake; the next they could start chatting about daily anecdotes.
Extremely strong topic-derailing ability.
"What we should do now is reinforce defensive measures."
"Exactly right."
The Ranger quite agreed, immediately rolling up his sleeves to join construction work, naturally mixing into the construction team and picking up blocks to build.
Including subsequent returning reconnaissance team members. Seeing their captain working, they all joined in.
Gradually, as Rangers wandering the surrounding wilderness returned, the number of Rangers working on the walls even exceeded the construction team. They had become the main building force.
"Well, they're doing everything."
Balin gazed at the rapidly rising walls, somewhat dazed.
"Seems like there's nowhere that needs help. What should we do now?"
Now Gandalf was also somewhat at a loss.
All serious work had people doing it, and no problems had arisen. This was almost too smooth.
"Things being as they are, let's eat first."
As evening fell, the two went to the temporarily constructed cafeteria to queue for dinner.
Though it was a temporary outpost, supplies were quite abundant. Whatever you wanted to eat was basically available and unlimited, including alcohol. Though due to being in wartime preparation, you couldn't drink much, at most a small sip with the meal.
Tonight was not peaceful. Construction teams worked in shifts rushing the project, making the high walls completely surround the territory. They even completed waterfront engineering along the way, replacing the riverside sand and gravel with solid stone walls.
Waves crashed against them, while the walls stood unmoved.