It really depended how you define a "win". If chasing the enemies out of Lossarnach Vale was a win, then it was no doubt a complete victory.

But Lossarnach Vale was not Minas Tirith. What was the point of chasing the enemies out of Lossarnach Vale?!?!

The fuel for the fire which dyed half the night sky red were the archer towers and watchtowers that the Orcs built, as well as, of course, the lush trees that filled the valley. The dry autumn leaves had no choice but to burn strong when the fire so much as touched them.

In fact, up to the moment Sheyan woke up from his sleep, not one fully-filled wheelbarrow came back from Lossarnach Vale. The raging fire burned throughout the night and was still going strong.

For Party Ace who had five carts of wood and stones, this was great news.

But for Sauron's side, this was a bad omen.

　　***

Fortunately, the two hundred thousand Orc troops that had quickly gathered after dawn broke instilled a strong sense of confidence to the people on their side. The Orc army arranged themselves into four huge legions on the vast Pelennor Fields, tyrannically announcing their domination over the entire plain. Even the morning mist was quickly dissipating, as if in fear of their might. The sun, seemingly unwilling to witness the brutal carnage that was about to occur, hid itself behind the clouds.

The top of the walls of Minas Tirith showed another scene altogether. Some were afraid, some were excited, some were bitter, and some were filled with wonder.

"There's so many of them...." A man was holding a tall, transparent gla.s.s half-filled with red wine. He stared at the breathtaking formation below and sighed with emotion.

However, his sigh was relaxed, like he was watching an elegant dance or listening to a cla.s.sical piece. This kind of mannerism, as if the 200,000-strong Orc army below were no different from a bunch of livestock to him, was absolutely not something an ordinary person would have.

"Don't you think so, MCDH?" asked the man.

A man with a sniper was walking over. His face was calm, like the surface of a quiet lake. Walking next to him was a provocative woman, as hot as a fiery rose.

Could this be fate? The man was someone that Sheyan saved in the last Realm War, the powerful sniper MCDH. However, the allies of the previous war were destined to be enemies this time!

"So many walking contribution points," MCDH replied very simply. "Why can't we start the war earlier, Knight?"

Knight stared at MCDH. He had a pair of deep blue eyes, as deep and blue as the sea and the sky. Everyone who saw him would inevitably be attracted by those deep blue eyes, so much so that they would forget what Knight actually looked like.

Before Knight could reply, the man beside him had already broken out in laughter. The man was bald, burly and had bulging muscles all over his body, yet he was wearing a sky blue mage robe. If Sheyan was here, he would surely be able to recognise this acquaintance of his with a single glance. The man was the matchmaker who introduced him to G-spot - Drubal!

"What's the matter, MCDH? Itching to have a go? Why didn't you come with us last night when we raided Lossarnach Vale? My party leader didn't go too, but just by enchanting our weapons for us, he made more than 200 contribution points."

"A small scale scuffle like that isn't suited for me. My baby here is best used in a large scale war. To tell you the truth, I'm looking forward to the mammoths that the Dark Faction will send. The biochemical bullets I got from the Resident Evil world will finally be of use."

"They've started to move," Knight took a sip of the wine from the gla.s.s and narrowed his eyes. "In an hour...no, half an hour, I'll know if we can win this war."

"We'll definitely win, boss!" said Drubal, "What the other side has to rely on is their powerful Realm, so they have more elite contestants. But, we have greater numbers. Even putting our advantage in quant.i.ty aside, in terms of quality, we still have what the Apostle promised us....

Drubal suddenly shut his mouth and did not finish his words, because he saw Knight staring at him.

It was a stare devoid of any sorrow or joy.

Yet Drubal's face turned uncomfortable, as if a pair of smelly socks had been stuffed into his mouth.

"It's foolish to place your hope on others," said Knight after a while. "Extremely foolis.h.!.+"

"Despite the external factors, we already have a small advantage the moment we enter the Minas Tirith battlefield, because according to the plot, the final winner is Gondor! The two things the Gondorians lacked the most in this battle are troops and material resources. The influx of us contestants into the defending side, far outnumbering those who join the attacking side, happens to make up for Minas Tirith's lack of troops. We can also provide more powerful long-range attacks than the defenders' archers. We even have enough ammunition to destroy all of Middle Earth!!"

Rather than saying them to the others, he looked more like he was retelling them to himself to make sure that there were no mistakes in his judgment!

"Yes, the contestants that joined Sauron's side are indeed elite, but Sauron's side never lacked elite combat forces! They don't remedy an area of need at all! To Sauron, all the contestants combined may not even be as useful as 300 trebuchets!"

"So, even if we go with the conservative estimate and a.s.sume that the roles played by the contestants on both sides cancel each other out, we only need to make sure the war drags on till the end, and victory will still be ours! The advantage of the Orc army is actually very obvious, and that's in the early stages of the war - the first 48 hours of the campaign, to be more precise, before they're raided by 6000 cavalry led by King Theoden of Rohan!"

Knight drank the rest of the red wine in his gla.s.s and closed his eyes, seemingly savouring the mellow sweetness of the liquor. Only after a long time did he speak again, slowly, "Therefore, if those people on the opposite side can't breach the city in 48 hours, they'll never have a chance. That's why I only need to watch them attack for half an hour, and I'll be able to tell... which side will win!"

MCDH was a cautious man. He said, "But we can't ignore the variables. There will always be unforeseen circ.u.mstances in any plan, no matter how well-calculated the plan is."

"Sure, the opponents have cards hidden up their sleeves, but so do we," countered Knight. "If they lay down four of a kind, I'll reply with a royal flush. I don't make conclusions carelessly, and I'll say it again: if they can't breach the city in 48 hours, they'll never breach it. I think some of the people on the other side must realise this too."