Chapter XXVIII. Prelude to War

Courage means to be afraid of death, but still embark on the journey. -- John Wayne

After passing through East Rohan safely, Zhao Mian and the others were finally able to stop and take a breath and relax their tense nerves - all the enemies were thrown away behind their backs, countless cavalry galloped back and forth on the grasslands of Rohan, looking for those enemies who had entered their land, orcs ran for their lives in the sun, and the minions of darkness could not move an inch in this country.

"Looks like we should have arrived. Zhao Mian looked far away, and in front of him was the southern mountain, the top of which was stained with white snow, and there were black traces in it. The grasslands stretch all the way to the foot of the mountains, and finally into the many valleys that are not yet illuminated by the sun, and are hidden in the heart of these lofty mountains. In front of the eyes of these passers-by, this vast grassland spread out like a bay between mountains, and in the distant mountains, Zhao Mian vaguely saw a lone peak standing at the entrance of the valley, like a sentinel sticking to his post. At the foot of that mountain there was a river glittering with silver light, and near the shore, by the dawn he caught a glimpse of a golden light. "Idoras, the city is still as beautiful as the last time I came—but this time it is even more evident, and the land that the peasants have cultivated has grown a great deal of crops, and the winter crops that bear some green marks are like a novelty in this black-brown land, awakening everything that has been frozen by the whole winter. ”

The people rode their horses and marched towards the last obstacle that stood between them and Idoras, a small river. It was the early morning of the day, the sun pierced the darkness, the bright light leaked out from the mountains, and the birds sang in the wilderness, and the sound sounded particularly refreshing at this time. Not far from them, the rushing river flowed all the way to the plain, made a great bend at the foot of the mountain, and flowed eastward into the overgrown bed of the Shumu River. The land was verdant, and beside the dew-stained weeds, the banks of the river were covered with low-hanging willows. In this southern land, the branches of the willow trees have begun to turn red, and you can feel the approach of spring. Beside the willow trees was a crossing trampled by horses' hooves, and the four crossed the stream and embarked on a wide road to higher ground. On that walled hill, the road winds through many high, verdant hills. To the west of these hills, the grass is as white as the first snow, and the small flowers bloom like countless stars.

"Ancestors, may your heroic souls be with me. On horseback, Ellis bowed solemnly to the small white flowered hills, bowed deeply, and put his hands on his chest until the horses under him slowly walked over the hill, and then straightened up again.

"It is the place where many of the kings of the Rohan kingdom rest. The flowers that bloom on it are known as the heart shell flowers in this human kingdom because they bloom all year round and grow in the resting place of the dead. And we call it the eternal flower, and they bloom on the tomb of the former king of the Rohan kingdom, as if the will of the former king has always been circulating in this country. Aragorn said this, and bowed slightly to the tomb on the other side as a sign of respect. Others were silent and paid their respects with the etiquette of their own race.

"There are seven on the left side of the road and nine on the right. Zhao Mian raised his head, he looked at the hill carefully, and said with some emotion, "Sixteen kings of this ancient kingdom have died one after another, and their exploits may have been forgotten, but their heroic souls still guard this land - until this land is completely despaired. ”

"It has indeed been a very long time since the Golden Palace was built. Aragorn said.

"In our dark forest, the maple leaves have turned red five hundred times," said Legolas, "and it seems to us only for a moment." ”

"But for a short-lived human being, 500 years is not a small number. Zhao Mian said, looking at the city wall in the distance, and Idoras showed his figure before his eyes as he did last time, "I have seen many humans who are trying to extend their lives, and the unknown of death frightens them - but none of them have been able to maintain their original will after three hundred years of blind life, and their souls and consciousness have been worn away for a long time, while their bodies are still strong. ”

As they talked, the group had crossed the silent mounds and followed the winding path to the top of the hill, where they finally reached the windswept walls and the gates of Idoras.

"Stop, tell us who you are!" "Next to the gate, some soldiers stood guard - compared to the last time Zhao Mian came here, these soldiers were obviously more determined, it was the soldier who came out of it last time, he raised his head and looked around at everyone, and then looked at Ellis, who was obviously his own people, "Hussar companions, where did you come from with these guests?"

"Sarn Gepour, brother. Ellis said, stepping over to the crowd and then turning over and dismounting, "I'm part of the 6th Regiment of the 3rd Hussar Division, and my commander told me to come over and report on the latest situation. ”

"As for us, this isn't the first time we've met, friend. Zhao Mian turned over and dismounted, walked out of the crowd, took off his helmet, wiped the dew on his face with his hands, and then looked at the soldier guarding the door and said, "I also visited here more than a month ago, but outsiders were not welcome to enter at that time. ”

"Outsiders are not welcome to enter now, with the exception of you and your friends, Your Excellency Zhao Mian. The other side nodded to Zhao Mian and turned the spear in his hand with some restraint, "My King Xiyodon anticipates that you will come to Idoras again, and he has instructed each of our soldiers guarding this place to go directly to the council chamber of the palace to meet him if he sees you—for all this time, my king has been in the council chamber to deal with information from various places. He waved his hand back, and the soldiers behind him stood up and made way for him.

"Hey, I'm curious to know what you did during the time you weren't with us. "You see, you got a dragon out of nowhere, you escaped from the gatekeepers of the deep pool, and you found us alone along the way—and now, you're still running into this country and doing something in that time!"

"You've told me everything I've been through that time, Jin Li. Zhao Mian reached out and put the helmet in his hand into the space bag, then grabbed Sam on the horseback behind him and put him on the ground from the horse, "But if you want to know the details, we might as well wait until we meet with Xiyouton." Sipping on a mellow ale, sitting in a comfy chair, and talking slowly -- you know, it always takes some time to mobilize troops. ”

(I've had a nervous breakdown lately...... Lack of sleep...... I took the time to write this article.,It's estimated that there will be a break in the next period of time.,Please forgive me.。 In addition, I would like to mention here that the concept of Europeans is different from ours, and in the wars described later, you may think that there are very few battles between tens of thousands of people, but for Europeans, the ratio of their numbers to us in the war is about 20 to 1, that is, for them, 10,000 is equal to our 200,000 people, so please convert yourself. ）