Lord of the Rings: Warriors

"Ugh, system, sign in!" Rynar mumbled as he chewed on a piece of bread. 

His grudge against the bizarre menu of this world had even made him forget his daily routine of signing in first thing in the morning.

"Sign-in successful! Congratulations, Host! A random event has been triggered—The Crusade!"

"Pfthhh!" Rynar spat out a mouthful of hot soup in shock, coughing uncontrollably. 

"The Crusade?!" He was so stunned that he almost wanted to point at the system's face and question it directly.

"Bro, this is Middle-earth! Where in Arda did a Crusade suddenly pop up from?! What's next, a grand spectacle of a Holy War featuring Elves and Hobbits leading the charge?!"

"Note: The Crusade refers to a campaign launched by the Zaltarion Empire after it suffered a devastating defeat. 

It was a combined force of civilian soldiers and noble knights. The Empire later regrouped and launched a large-scale military expedition aimed at the eastern regions of Rune, known historically as 'The Crusade'."

For once, the system actually provided an explanation.

Rynar's face darkened. "And how did that 'great' war turn out?" As a hardcore veteran of The Lord of the Rings world, he had absolutely no memory of this so-called Crusade. 

It could only mean one of two things—either it was a catastrophic failure, or it was a catastrophe on an even larger scale.

"Ding! Historical records indicate that the Crusade ended with the capture and execution of Lady Nyx, the Grand Duchess. 

Of the 100,000 Crusaders, only the hundred-strong Order of the Cross Knights managed to retreat. All other soldiers perished."

Hearing this, Rynar's heart skipped a beat.

"Good lord, what a disaster! The Grand Duchess got captured and executed?! The whole 100,000-man army wiped out?!" His thoughts ran wild. 

"Are you sure they were fighting barbarians from the eastern regions of Rune and not a horde of Uruk-hai or elite orc shock troops?!"

"Wait, hold up a second. Lady Nyx? Isn't she from that small frontier duchy on the eastern border of the Zaltarion Empire? The one with only three towns?"

Suddenly, realization dawned on him.

"Ah, I see. If it's soldiers from the Nyx Duchy... then that explains everything." He sighed deeply. 

"They're better known for producing beautiful women, not warriors. War? Yeah, not exactly their strong suit."

No wonder there was never any news about this "Crusade." It was probably over before anyone even noticed. They probably didn't last more than a couple of days before the entire campaign collapsed.

In fact, Rynar's wild guesses weren't far from the truth.

Given the high degree of freedom in the Lord of the Rings world, any large-scale military action, whether initiated by NPCs or players, would normally trigger an epic event—like a Realmwide Call to Arms—which would rally imperial lords and adventurers to join the war. 

And here, a Grand Duchess herself had personally taken up arms to lead the charge. That should have been a historic moment!

But, reality had other plans. The hastily assembled mixed force of peasants and knights proved laughably ineffective. They barely crossed the border before being dealt a devastating preemptive strike.

With their leader, Lady Nyx, captured and executed, the troops were leaderless. On the retreat, they were ambushed, and except for the elite Order of the Cross Knights, no one made it out alive.

It all happened so fast that neither the players nor the system had enough time to react. It was like an unscripted tragicomedy, too grim to be funny and too fast to be epic.

Rynar chuckled bitterly. "The system didn't even have time to publish a mission for this before it was over."

He suddenly recalled something. "Wait… I've seen this before!" His expression turned strange as he remembered a side quest he had casually participated in.

The Nyx Duchy Defense Campaign.

"Ah... so that mission was the aftermath of this whole mess, huh?" Rynar facepalmed in exasperation. 

At the time, his goal was to defend the duchy from invading barbarians, but in the end, even though the barbarian horde was driven off, the Nyx Duchy was still annexed by the Zaltarion Empire.

"Well, duh." Rynar sneered. "With no Grand Duchess and no army left, how were they going to stop anyone from taking over?"

"Note: This Crusade is a revised version of historical events. The number and quality of troops are vastly inferior to the original Crusade."

The system's sudden clarification left Rynar fuming. "Of course it is! As if Nyx's soldiers weren't already incompetent enough, you had to nerf them even more! How is this event even useful to me, huh?!"

He rolled his eyes. "This isn't the same eastern barbarians from centuries ago. They're fighting Easterlings under Sauron's banner. You know, the ones with War Chariots."

"With these guys' track record, I don't even want to imagine how this is going to play out."

Meanwhile, on the battlefield.

"Your Grace, we still have a long way to go," said a knight draped in a cross-shaped purple briar cloak, the symbol of the Nyx Ducal House. 

His presence marked him as one of her loyal household knights.

Lady Nyx rubbed her temples, sighing as she dismounted her horse. "Fine, tell everyone to set up camp for the night. We'll continue tomorrow."

Her commanding tone had a hint of noble elegance, but also the weariness of a 16-year-old girl carrying far too much responsibility.

"Yes, Your Grace. Your kindness will be remembered by all," the knight said, his words full of praise.

Lady Nyx chuckled, her soft, bell-like laughter ringing through the air. Her youthful charm shone through, revealing her true age beneath the armor.

"Alright, go on then," she waved him off, trying to keep up the appearance of dignity.

If Rynar had seen her at that moment, he would have been deeply shaken. He wouldn't have believed that such a pure, lively girl would later meet such a horrifying end.

Captured, humiliated, and tortured to death.

When the Order of the Cross Knights later retrieved her body, they found her bound, stripped, and impaled by a single long spear that entered from her lower back and exited through her mouth. Her body was displayed like a grim warning to all who passed by.

The trauma of this event drove the Order of the Cross Knights into a frenzy of vengeance.

With only 100 knights, they launched an unsanctioned campaign of slaughter, wiping out 16 entire barbarian tribes, killing over 300,000 people. 

The path they carved became infamous as the Scarlet Road, a name still spoken in terror.

"Your Grace! We have a problem!" shouted a scout as he galloped back. "Five miles ahead, we've spotted an Easterling patrol of about ten war chariots. What are your orders?"

Lady Nyx's face paled.

She froze on the spot, her mind racing in panic. 

She had none of Rynar's tactical experience. If someone had asked her to manage a household or run an estate, she would have aced it. But leading soldiers into battle? She was utterly lost.

Her eyes darted around at the faces of her soldiers—faces filled with hope. Her knights were steady, resolute, and brave, but they were watching her for orders.

She clenched her fists.

"Can we take them all down?" she asked softly.

"Yes, Your Grace!" said one of the knights, his eyes burning with resolve. "We are the Knights of the Crossed Briar. Your honor is our faith, and we will defend it to the death!"

The 24 knights drew their swords, their voices a low, unified growl of determination.

Lady Nyx gazed at them for a moment, her hesitation fading.

"Then leave none alive," she declared.

"As you command!"

[Author's Note: For those wondering how Lady Nyx got captured despite being with knights, here's the explanation: Unlike Rynar, who is himself a knight, Lady Nyx was a noble lord, not a fighter. 

The Order of the Cross could protect her from threats—but only if she was with them. If caught off guard or separated, even the strongest knights couldn't stop a disaster.

The fate of Lady Nyx was tragic, and it explains the scarlet rage that followed.]

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