The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 136 Going Downstream
"How is it?" Ravian asked Hollin with a grim expression.

"To be honest... the Crusaders are finished. The archers and marksmen have also suffered heavy casualties, but the most critical part is the Crusaders themselves; no more than a thousand are still breathing..." Hollin was deeply distressed. Only after tallying the losses did he understand the terrible price the soldiers of the Principality of Nyx had paid to stop those damned chariots! Of the three thousand Crusaders, less than a thousand could still stand, and the enemy's corpses left on the battlefield numbered only a little over a thousand. And most critically, this was only the first wave of enemies; whether more would pursue them was still unknown...

"Take the wounded, cremate our soldiers' remains, and then retreat quickly!" Ravian issued this order with great difficulty. After all, they no longer had the ability to give their fallen comrades a dignified funeral. In order to prevent their bodies from being desecrated by the enemy, Ravian could only painfully order the cremation of their remains.

"Okay, I understand..." After a moment of silence, Hollin gritted his teeth, turned around, and went to relay the order.

“My lord, the outcome is worse than we imagined!” a knight galloped up to Ravian and said.

"Tell me, I can still hold on!" Ravian said, forcing himself to stay strong.

"The remaining Crusader organization has collapsed. Almost all the officers have been killed in battle, including Commander Lockferre (a third-tier berserker). The highest-ranking officer we can find now is a trainee soldier..."

"This is truly the best news I've heard today!" Ravian said with a self-deprecating laugh, but his eyes held an unprecedented seriousness.

Although the Crusaders were mostly composed of ordinary people, each ten-man squad was led by a professional officer. Three hundred warriors or trainees, commanded by a third-tier berserker, formed the backbone of this army. Facing the enemy, the Crusader officers naturally stood in front of the ordinary soldiers. Therefore, in the first clash, the Crusader officer ranks were practically wiped out; the terrifying impact of that instant took away nearly ninety percent of the Crusader's professional officers… to the point that by the end of the battle, only a handful of Crusader officers remained surviving…

“It’s too tragic… This wrong war must end. We chose the wrong war at the wrong time and in the wrong place…” Ravian sighed.

"We have failed in this eastern expedition..." the knight sighed, his expression dejected.

“Defeat? Heh! I only hope that the surviving soldiers of the Duchy can escape unscathed! Victory or defeat is no longer on my mind!” A bitter smile crept onto Lavian’s face.

"Lord Lavian! The fire is lit, and everything that can be quickly moved from the camp has been packed up!" Hollin returned.

Ironically, the chariots left behind by the charioteers became an important tool for the Principality of Nyx during their crusades to transfer the wounded and supplies...

"Leave this place where we shed blood and tears!" Lavian gazed at the raging fire in the distance, the remains of the sacrificed soldiers of the Principality of Nyx who had been burned alive.

"Retreat!" Hollin growled at the few remaining officers surrounding him.

In an instant, the shrunken army left the place in a noisy manner. Although there were constant groans and curses along the way, their marching speed and discipline remained perfectly intact.

……

"Wow! This ship is huge!" Jessie exclaimed dramatically. At that moment, Lance and his group were waving goodbye to the druid leader Bion at the Carl Rock Ferry and were leading their horses onto the ship in an orderly fashion.

“…” Lance rubbed his temples. Having seen galleons before, he was indifferent to these double-decker wooden ships. To him, any ship that could carry his army downstream was a good ship.

"Stop lamenting! Come with me!" Lance casually picked up Jessie, who was standing on the shore, inspired to start reciting poetry. "Hey! That's very impolite!" Jessie glared at him, puffing out her cheeks.

“Alright, Your Highness, I apologize, but we are indeed very pressed for time right now. If possible, I hope to return before summer! I don’t have much time to waste on this journey!” Lance knew about Roland’s Moria expedition plan, and as one of the most important officials in the Kingdom of Lagrand, Lance was unwilling to miss this opportunity to fight alongside his lord.

“Okay, if that’s the case, then time is indeed not very generous.” Jessie’s expression softened. After all, she needed his help now, and when you’re under someone else’s roof, you have to be humble to some extent.

"Thank you again, Your Excellency Bion! Thank you for your help!" Lance said sincerely. If it weren't for this Druid branch that was still holding the line at the Karl Rock Ferry, Lance would be worried about crossing the river right now.

"Don't mention it, you did pay after all!" Bion joked, tossing the money pouch at his waist.

"Hahaha! Then we'll part ways here, see you in the summer!" Lance waved his hand.

"Oh! Right, you should take these potions with you!" Bion suddenly rushed up, taking several small bottles of blue liquid from the pouch at his waist.

"What's this?" Lance looked at the few simply packaged magic potions and immediately felt a sense of familiarity.

"Haha, this is an exorcism potion I concocted myself! It barely qualifies as a high-level potion, and it should be able to exorcise most mid-level magical beasts!" Bion grinned broadly and smiled憨厚ly.

"Huh?" Lance's eyes widened in disbelief. This druid was no ordinary person! His secondary profession was actually an apothecary! If there were a proper apothecary in Swiftstream City, Lance would be laughing his head off. Although Yunfeng was a wise man, there was still a difference between an alchemist and an apothecary. An alchemist with a wide range of skills could not be as pure as an apothecary and had the special bonuses of their profession. Therefore, under the same circumstances, the potions made by an apothecary were far more effective than those made by an alchemist, who was only a semi-combat profession!

"Thank you for your generous gift! May the Dragon God bless you!" Lance Bion performed a pleasing noble bow, knowing full well that the gold coins he had for renting the ship were probably less than a fraction of the value of the potions in his hand.

"No need to thank me, I just made these myself when I had nothing else to do, don't think they're that expensive! Although you've been traveling by water, it's not 100% safe. These exorcism potions can help you avoid most of the monsters in the water..." Bion said sincerely.

"Thank you!" Lance nodded heavily. After all, if even a water watcher could emerge from that wretched place like the Swift River, it wouldn't be surprising for Lance to find something like this in the wide and long Gray River.

"Alright, lads! Ready? Let's go!" Lance waved his hand, and the boatmen he had hired immediately started operating the sails on the masts, and soon the boats slowly began to move.

"Be vigilant and watch out! Be especially careful of the monsters in the water!" Lance warned.

"Don't worry, my lord!" the rangers of Lordaeron said in unison, after all, as rangers, their outstanding eyesight made them the perfect choice for observers.

"Let's go!" the group exclaimed cheerfully, leaning against the ship's gunwale.

(End of this chapter)