Chapter 6: Bree
After a fierce battle, the remaining half-orcs scrambled back into the woods. Seeing this, Rynar decisively called off the pursuit, regrouped his knights, and prepared to continue their journey.
"Encounter battle: completed. Reward: 1 Zaltarion Royal Guard Paladin. Can be summoned at any time."
"Holy moly!" Rynar exclaimed, nearly blurting out the name of some mysterious plant in his excitement.
The Zaltarion Royal Guard Paladin was one of the most powerful units in the Middle-earth game. However, it was still the Third Age; in the game, these paladins only appeared in the Fifth Age.
Their numbers were so rare that only dragon knights and other super classes came close.
Even if they managed to muster a knightly order, they had never reached the minimum requirement of a hundred knights—at their peak, they had only about 87.
After the Battle of the River Rush, their numbers dwindled to fewer than 50, almost causing their entire organization to break apart. This military unit was renowned for its attributes—holiness!
The entire regiment consisted of genuine Paladins, unlike the Church's Knights who masqueraded as Holy Knights.
Moreover, the quality of the knights was exceptionally high; most of them were at least elite knights, and a significant portion were even paladin leaders.
The commander, Larius, was a holy hero.
Now, Rynar found himself with Royal Paladins at his disposal. He was so moved he almost cried.
He couldn't shake the suspicion that the system was using his lifespan to gamble for rewards…
Strictly speaking, the number of Paladins was still less than that of dragon knights.
Many lords had dragon knights serving under them when Rynar logged into the game, and dragon knights could even form their own orders (unlike standard knightly orders, dragon knight orders had a cap of 50 members due to their rarity).
Countless players dreamed of recruiting a member of the Royal Guard, but few succeeded…
Desperate to hold back his urge to summon the paladin and witness its might, Rynar pressed on with his troops.
"We're almost to Bree; let's take a break," Rynar said, glancing at the map and addressing Gandalf and Thorin.
"That sounds good; we can stock up on supplies. There won't be many opportunities to do that later," Thorin replied.
"Mr. Baggins! Tonight we can stay in an inn, and you'll get to sleep on a soft bed instead of the hard ground," Rynar teased as he rode up to Bilbo, who was on a pony.
"Oh, really? That sounds wonderful! You have no idea how hard the ground is inside a tent!" Bilbo complained.
"Haha, you can thank Gandalf for dragging you out of your cozy hobbit hole," Rynar smiled.
"Oh! What was I thinking? How could I agree to this adventure?" Bilbo grumbled.
"Because you have an adventurous heart!" Gandalf interjected.
"Haha, the wizard is right!" Rynar laughed.
Rynar was now eagerly anticipating the arrival of his Royal Guard Paladin in Bree.
He had just chosen to summon it, and the system had conveniently informed him that the knight would be waiting for him there. Wait, a knight waiting for him in Bree?
"Oh no! It can't be Aragorn! He's the main character of the Lord of the Rings!" Rynar suddenly felt a chill.
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Lost in thought, Rynar soon spotted the outline of Bree.
"Alright, everyone, let's enjoy ourselves!"
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"My lord, Zaltarion Royal Guard Paladin Reynard reporting for duty!" A handsome silver-haired man in his thirties strode up to Rynar with a commanding presence.
Oh no! Oh no! Oh no! Rynar was internally panicking. A Royal Guard Paladin was fantastic, but Reynard? Not so much… He felt like he couldn't handle this knight.
In the game, Reynard was known as "Lord Thunder," and his existence was directly linked to the fall of the Zaltarion Empire and the devastating losses of the Zaltarion Royal Guard.
He practically dominated the entire northern map's storyline and missions.
His leadership triggered the southern march of the orcs, directly leading to the Zaltarion Empire's collapse.
Yet, despite that, people remembered his glory on the battlefield, dubbing him the "Dawn of the North."
"Why did this troublemaking powerhouse end up under my command? Can the system switch him out for someone else?" Rynar internally lamented.
"Welcome, brave paladin! Welcome to our ranks," Rynar managed to force a smile as he greeted the knight.
"Let's hope his troublemaking abilities didn't come with him…
Otherwise, the Battle of Five Armies could turn into a nightmare with extra enemy reinforcements.
That would be quite a scene," Rynar thought about this guy's built-in enemy reinforcement buff.
"Reynard, can you still unleash your Divine Command Aura?" Rynar suddenly recalled the most crucial aspect.
"Of course, my lord! If you need me to, I can activate it right now," Reynard replied respectfully.
"Thank goodness," Rynar sighed in relief.
If the Zaltarion Royal Guard Paladin's Divine Aura had been omitted by the system, he'd have to consider a return policy.
This aura was invaluable, granting all allied units within a certain range increased resistances, stamina, morale, and health, while also infusing their attacks with holy attributes.
As one of the top paladins, Reynard's aura could cover a radius of 500 meters centered around him, benefitting all allies within that range.
In a world like Middle-earth, where group buff spells were scarce, a Divine Aura was a game-changer—if used wisely, it could effectively double combat power.
"Th…Reynard!" Rynar nearly slipped and called him Lord Thunder out of excitement.
"My lord!" Reynard stepped forward.
"Caslow and the Battanian Archers will protect me; you'll lead the knights," Rynar waved his hand, handing command of the knights to Reynard.
After all, this guy had commanded millions of players in the game, so leading a mere hundred knights would be a piece of cake.
Rynar didn't possess any command buffs, and Caslow was a dragon knight with no experience leading ground knights.
Meanwhile, Reynard had an aura ability—he was like a guiding light in the dark.
"Understood, my lord. May the light of Zaltarion shine upon us," Reynard humbly replied.