I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 161 Talion (His finger injury has healed)
The leading ranger, Dunedan, was taken aback. He touched his stubble-covered chin, and the rangers around him all looked at him.

Tanes clearly understood that this person was the "Talion" he was looking for.

So he waved to the other person in a friendly manner and called out, "Judging from the reactions of the people around you, you must be Talion, the one I'm looking for?"

The middle-aged ranger nodded helplessly, gesturing for the surrounding rangers to put down their weapons, but his tone remained somewhat wary as he said, "You guessed right, I am indeed the Talion you are looking for, and I did indeed travel with my companions to the distant Golden Tree territory to pay my respects to its lord. How can you prove that you are the lord of the Golden Tree?"

Tanes replied with a smile, "That's easy."

After he finished speaking, he held a staff in his hand and waved it gently. The [Starlight] spell appeared above Tanes's head, and the azure light illuminated an area within a dozen meters around him.

"How about it? If you want to see an even more lethal spell, I can cast one for you."

Tanes called out casually to the Dunedan rangers who were looking on with surprise.

Upon hearing this, Talion quickly replied, "That's enough. Your magic alone is enough to prove your identity as a wizard. Even if you're not the lord of the Golden Tree, we should still treat you with respect. Besides, no one else will swagger into this godforsaken place except for guests who come specifically to see us."

Then he looked at the rangers beside him and ordered, "You few continue patrolling outside. I'll take the guests back to the city wall."

"Yes, Lord Talion." The rangers nodded and dispersed.

Then Tanes rode up and casually asked, "On the city wall?"

Talion nodded slightly, spreading his arms to show Tanes the desolate plain. He gave a wry smile and explained, “Yes, this environment is unsuitable for building houses. Even if we did, we'd be constantly harassed by the Orks. So those towering black walls are the only suitable place for us to rest. Please follow me, esteemed guest. My son greatly admires you after hearing your story.”

Tanes turned and exchanged a glance with Melina, but instead of dismounting, he rode on Torret's back and followed behind Talion.

As they climbed the Black Wall, both Tanes and Melina noticed that shouts of battle could be heard coming from other parts of the wall.

Talion noticed the expressions on the two men's faces and explained, "Lord Tanes, you should know the situation here at the Black Gate. We are attacked by the Orks every day, and sometimes their lackeys and spies who have sided with Sauron lead the Orks in their attacks. However, compared to the plains, the city walls can easily withstand the attacks of these scum."

Tanes asked thoughtfully, "Even so, your lives will definitely be affected, right? So, when you visited me in the Golden Tree Territory, were you trying to resolve the problem of these Orks' attacks?"

Talion shook his head slightly: "No, as long as the Dark Lord Sauron lives, his lackeys will never stop this endless attack. The reason I visited the Golden Tree is simply because I heard that your place is very peaceful, and I want to find a safe haven for my family and some of my people who do not wish to fight."

He smiled nonchalantly: "After fighting the Orks for so many years, to be honest, I'm a bit tired. But if no one is here to stop them, they'll rush out and disrupt the peace outside, which is something I don't want to see. But my family shouldn't suffer here with me, so I took some time to visit the Golden Tree to find out the real situation there."

Melina asked, "Are you the only ones defending here? If I remember correctly, Gondor is quite close to here, isn't it? Didn't they send any soldiers to help you?"

Talion hesitated for a moment before replying, “Gondor…the area they have to defend is far larger than the Black Gate, and they’re already struggling to defend their own forces. They’re already providing us with food and weapons for free; we can’t ask for more from them.”

Just as Talion was explaining the current situation of the Black Gate to Tanes and Melina, a group of rangers with wounds that had been simply bandaged walked over from the front.

"Lord Talion."

The weary rangers nodded in salute to Talion, who frowned at the wounded and asked, "Why are you all wounded by arrows? Were there many Orks attacking today?" The leading ranger captain sighed and replied, "Yes, today's attack was even fiercer than yesterday's. Most of the Orks this time were archers, and we inevitably got hit by stray arrows on the city walls."

He then forced a smile and said, "But Talion, don't worry, we've taken care of all the Orks."

Upon hearing this news, Talion frowned and said softly, "Go to the clinic with the brothers quickly. Remember to check the wounds for poisoning. There are still plenty of royal leaf grass and other herbs, so don't be stingy."

The captain of the Rangers nodded and beckoned his team members to follow.

Talion frowned even more deeply as he looked at the team, which was now significantly smaller than before.

Tanes and Melina did not interrupt, but simply nodded slightly to the rangers who were looking over, and then continued to follow behind Talion.

Talion did not continue the previous topic, but silently led Tanes and Melina forward.

Melina whispered in Tanes's ear, "It seems the situation here is much more serious than we thought."

Tanes nodded slightly, hesitated for a moment, and then asked Talion, "Talion, do you always live in such a high-intensity combat environment?"

Talion was clearly lost in thought, and it took two or three questions from Tanes for him to react before he looked at Tanes apologetically: "Ah, sorry, I was just daydreaming. As for your question, if things had always been this stressful here, we wouldn't have been able to settle here in the first place."

Tanes, curious, pressed on, "When did this situation begin?"

Talion also looked confused and replied, "About a month or two ago, the Orks inside the Black Gate suddenly became agitated and started attacking more frequently."

One or two months ago?
Tanes's expression turned strange, as if that was the time when he and Thorin killed Azog and occupied Lonely Mountain.

Could it be that the situation at Lonely Mountain caused changes at Black Gate?
Talion then continued, "The scouts also discovered that Sauron's strongest Ringwraiths had also flown back to Mordor, though two of them were missing."

Well, it really is related to the changes on Gushan Island.

Just as Tanes was about to say something, a child's innocent voice reached his ears with delight.

"Father!"

Immediately afterwards, a younger ranger who looked somewhat like Talion appeared before them and excitedly jogged over.

It was only then that Talion's son noticed two unfamiliar people following behind his father, making him immediately realize that his father was leading guests on a tour of the place.

He said somewhat awkwardly, "Uh, did I disturb you?"

Tanes smiled and shook his head: "No, we were just strolling around with your father."

Talion:
(End of this chapter)