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

Chapter 758 Interception
"The human kingdom's army has been mobilized!" The falconer in the rear received the intelligence from the falconer in the front. He casually fed his falcon a dried fish and released it. He then tied the intelligence to his falcon's leg and released it as well.

And so, once the goblin knights' iron hooves awakened the scouts scattered along the way, the news of the kingdom's advance into the Lagrange Plains could no longer be concealed, and a rain of trained eagles surged toward the Rune region.

……

“Hoo hoo hoo~ What do those Western humans want to do? Do they think they can be our enemies?” A chieftain of the chariot tribe stood up.

"Those bastards dare to march on us? It seems the blood of the King of Gondor did not make them behave!" A chieftain of the Eastern Barbarians threw down his wine cup in fury.

"If they choose war, then let them have war! Bless us, Lord of the Dark Lord!" As loyal servants of Sauron, the Eastern Chariot People have always been the vanguard of Sauron's efforts to maintain balance in the North, and they have been present in every Northern War throughout history! The powerful Chariot People have even caused the King of Gondor to die on the battlefield! The warm Rune region, coupled with the abundant water resources of the Rune Sea, makes the Rune region very suitable for human reproduction, and the Eastern People, numbering in the millions, are scattered across this land in the form of tribes.

It's hard to imagine how the allied forces won in the original story! The sheer number of troops the Eastern Yi chariot people could muster once they mobilized for war would be terrifying! Yet in the original story, this valiant Eastern human force was utterly defeated on Lonely Mountain, where only dwarves and remnants of the human army remained… It's a masterpiece of realistic magical realism! It's a complete and utter plot-driven tragedy! Or to put it bluntly, the War of the Ring was full of plot-driven defeats from the very beginning; Sauron lost simply because Tyrell wouldn't let him win!
Roland was unaware that while they were still far from Lagrange City, the chariot people of the Rune region had already received news from the training eagles. Intimidated by the presence of the dragon knights, the training eagles dared not approach Roland's central army camp for reconnaissance. However, seeing that the goblin knight vanguard was indeed without any problems, the tense nerves of the Eastern Barbarians finally snapped after a torrent of thousands of goblin knights swept across the plains!

By the time the news reached the Dongyi Tribal Alliance, it had become a report of the entire Western human kingdoms launching a full-scale war! Tens of thousands of elite troops were advancing directly towards Rune! This miscalculation unsettled all the Dongyi lords, who quickly rallied their people and mobilized their forces, ultimately managing to assemble an army of 100,000 cavalry and infantry in just half a month! Although half of them were auxiliary soldiers with questionable combat capabilities, they still possessed rudimentary equipment, enough at least for meat-grinding and thread-filling purposes!

While the Eastern Barbarians were terrified and rallied their soldiers to prepare to meet Roland's army, Roland was marching at full speed every day to catch up with the Goblin Knights. Having listened to Adolf Heinrich's words, Roland naturally would not treat the Goblin Knights as cannon fodder, so it was only natural to support them from behind!

“At our current speed, we should be able to catch up with the goblin knights when the battle begins!” Caslo reported the information he had seen from the air to Roland.

"Furthermore, Lord Arista asked me to convey to you that the Goblin Knights will not fail your trust! We will tenaciously resist anyone who wants to disrupt the peace of the kingdom!" Caslo, who had returned after flying for two days, rubbed his tired eyes. Although Roland did not intend to recall the Goblin Knights who had already been discovered, Roland still needed to keep an eye on them. Therefore, Roland sent Caslo to keep an eye on his isolated army that he had left out in the field.

"I hope they can stay safe!" Roland didn't expect the goblin knights to wreak havoc; he only hoped they could hold out until the main force joined the war! Because the army was now most likely facing not the hastily assembled rabble of the Eastern Barbarians, but their elite troops!
In fact, Roland and his companions were right! The 10-strong Eastern Yi army was the "highest honor" the Chariot People had bestowed upon Roland, and of course, this surprise was still waiting for him to "unpack"...

"...Chief! His Highness's orders..." A goblin centurion leaned over and whispered to Alistair.

"What orders? I haven't received any! The goblin knights will prove their loyalty to the empire with blood and glory! Long live the empire!" Alistar shouted slogans as if he had been brainwashed. The clever Alistar had already inquired about what Lagrange City meant to the kingdom—no, to the empire! You must know that the current Kingdom of Lagrange does not have a capital city! Swiftstream City only serves as a fulcrum in the north, exercising its function as the northern center! Therefore, it is not the capital, and it is barely even a secondary capital.

“But His Highness said we shouldn’t confront those barbarians head-on…” another centurion murmured.

“His Highness says so, but of course we cannot allow those barbarians to trespass on the empire’s land at will! That is the face of the king! How can we tarnish the reputation of our benefactor?” Alistar said unhappily.

"Hit them! Hit them hard! These wandering ghosts, the barbaric goblins will nail their coffins shut with their own hands!" Alistar raged, waving his hand fiercely at the chariot people on the other side of the swift river.

Roland's original intention was for Alistar to lead the troops to tie down and weaken the chariot people, but Alistar also had his own considerations. As a vassal of the kingdom, the goblin knights naturally had to demonstrate their value and loyalty! What could be more valuable than reclaiming lost territory and massacring the enemy?
Faced with the choice between containing the enemy and charging into their ranks, Alistar decisively chose the option of both containing and charging into their formation.

"They look like they're about to cross the river!" Alistar said, shading his eyes with his hand as he watched.

“It’s time to test your fighting prowess!” Alistar drew his javelin from his back, tossed the short, powerful spear a few times, and then, satisfied, assumed a throwing stance.

"Children! It's time to give our guests who have come from afar a bath! Hopefully, they have enough blood!" Alistar stood quietly on the riverbank, raising his short spear and aiming at the charioteers on the opposite bank who were still preparing rafts and wooden platforms.

"Prepare the javelins!" Alistar ordered. As a weak goblin clan, the Savage Goblins were already considered the strongest of all goblins. To enhance their mid-range combat capabilities, Roland thoughtfully equipped them with javelins. Now, Alistar was organizing his people to prepare to launch a surprise attack on them while they were crossing the river!

"Splash!" To Alistar's astonishment, a boat packed with soldiers capsized in the swift-flowing river!