Two months later, just as all the human kings were setting out for Gondor due to news of Sauron's appearance, Tarnes had completed his plan.
His strategy was actually quite simple. Since the Golden Tree needed personnel while the Black Gate faced seemingly endless Orcs every day, he would transform these Orcs into soul runes that could summon Golden Tree soldiers. The more Orcs killed, the more Golden Tree soldiers there would be, until no more could be summoned.
The only real challenge was the great distance between the Golden Tree and the Black Gate. What Tarnes actually needed to solve was this logistical problem.
And this problem wasn't difficult to resolve. It was the same waygate technology used to quickly transport the Redmane Legion to Lake-town for the Battle of the Mountain.
This was why Tarnes had confidently asked the Gondorian Steward for two months' time. This covered his journey from Gondor back to the Golden Tree, then from the Golden Tree to set up waygate anchor points at the Black Gate.
After ending his meeting with the Steward, when Tarnes helped Melina mount Torrent's back, he assured the still-worried Dirhael that Golden Tree reinforcements would arrive within two months, asking Talion and his men to hold out until then.
Though Dirhael's worried expression didn't fade completely, his brow relaxed somewhat.
Just moments before in the hall, when the Steward had said he could only provide material support, Dirhael's heart had sunk. Though young, he wasn't blind to the real trouble facing the Black Gate. The constant Orc attacks to come, which the rangers' meager numbers simply couldn't defend against.
Dirhael had even begun to wonder whether Gondor simply didn't want to hold the Black Gate, which was why they were letting things slide.
But fortunately, Lord Tarnes had given him reassurance, allowing Dirhael to muster the courage to report the situation to his father.
Therefore, two months later today, when Dirhael saw Tarnes and Melina's figures suddenly appear in the desolate landscape beyond the Black Gate, both Talion and Dirhael breathed sighs of relief.
Perhaps the identity of "wizard" just naturally made men feel at ease.
When Tarnes climbed back onto the Black Gate's towering walls, he immediately noticed the changes over the past two months.
The biggest change was that Talion and the other rangers no longer had the relaxed look they'd worn before. Their faces showed the exhaustion of prolonged combat and the numbness of having to fight the next battle without time to mourn fallen comrades.
Talion himself had wrinkles covering his forehead, and his once-stylish black hair now bore many silver-white strands. His leather armor showed numerous sword scratches and unwashed Orc blood stains.
However, the rangers quickly noticed that after Tarnes and his companion climbed onto the Black Gate, no other figures appeared beyond it, let alone any reinforcing army.
Even birds in the sky were rare. Only the constantly rising and falling windblown sand moved up and down, stumbling about.
Talion noticed that only Melina followed behind Tarnes, and being overwhelmed by Orc attacks, he couldn't help asking, "Lord Tarnes, did only you and Miss Melina come?"
Tarnes took down a very heavy-looking large bundle from his saddle, then dismissed Torrent back to his whistle.
Hearing Talion's words and meeting his hopeful gaze for reinforcements, Tarnes didn't keep him in suspense but directly reassured him. "Stay calm, Talion. Reinforcements will arrive at the Black Gate directly through my magic."
Melina also added calmly, "Lord Talion, Tarnes has never broken his word to friends. Please rest assured on this point. Or do you perhaps think Tarnes would deceive you?"
Tarnes looked at Melina with some surprise, while Talion's face immediately showed an apologetic expression. "That's not what I meant..."
Tarnes quickly waved his hand. "I know, I know. Since you haven't seen me use sorcery before, having such doubts about not seeing an army is understandable. Alright, let's get to business quickly. See what I'm carrying? It can solve the Black Gate's troubles. Is there a somewhat larger space? I'm afraid there won't be room for everyone soon."
Though Talion still wasn't clear what Tarnes planned to do, he found him a relatively open area on the walls.
Tarnes noticed this place showed signs of many people having lived there, though it was now covered with a thin layer of dust, clearly unswept for some time.
"A month ago, this was where a group of rangers trained or rested, but they all died defending the Black Gate these past days. To avoid painful memories and better protect their families, we moved the families to another area on the walls. So feel free to use this space. It won't cause us any trouble," Talion explained, seeing Tarnes's confusion.
Tarnes nodded, then after a moment's thought, gave Talion very serious instructions. "Next, don't tell anyone about anything you see, understand?"
He thought for a moment and deliberately told Talion false information. "This sorcery has a limitation. If too many people know about it, it loses effectiveness. For the sake of your family and the Black Gate's safety, you wouldn't want the sorcery to fail and lose reinforcements, would you?"
Seeing Tarnes so serious, Talion immediately nodded. "Don't worry, I won't speak of anything I see."
Tarnes had originally wanted to continue concealing the waygate technology's existence, but with the waygate on the Black Gate itself, Talion and the other rangers would inevitably learn this secret sooner or later.
Rather than hide it, he might as well tell Talion from the start not to spread it around.
With Melina's help, the stone waygate was soon firmly fixed to the wall's floor. Then Tarnes followed the method Teacher Sellen had taught him, inputting his magic power to successfully activate the waygate.
The moment the waygate activated, stardust-like magic power began surging, and a familiar figure in silver armor stepped through.
It was Bernahl.
Behind him, the waygate's brilliance continued shining as Igon and Millicent appeared in turn, followed by the Royal Capital Leyndell's golden legion. Leyndell Knights in golden armor wielding spears and tower shields appeared one after another.
Then came Leyndell soldiers, each carrying sharp Lordsworn's Straight Swords and sturdy Brass Shields.
From Talion's perspective, Tarnes cast sorcery on that strange stone monument, after which more and more soldiers began appearing, until finally two golden heavy cavalry knights nearly four meters tall on towering warhorses emerged, and only then did the stone monument's light slowly dim.
Two months ago, all the Orc souls Tarnes had collected at the Black Gate had been used upon his return to summon warriors belonging to the Royal Capital Leyndell legion.
Because when it came to defending cities, no army was more skilled than the Leyndell Legion.