The Lord of the Rings: Lords of Middle-earth.

Chapter 117 Goblins
"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Countless hoes swung rapidly, scattering dirt with the wind. The weather was still chilly in early spring, but it couldn't dampen the fiery enthusiasm of the Lagrange people. The men wielded hoes to cultivate the fields, while the women drove oxen to plow or crush clods of earth.

"Ah~" Roland closed his eyes, breathing in the earthy air with rapture, his thoughts instantly drawn back to the past...

“It’s a pity… we can’t go back.” Roland murmured, his eyes filled with loneliness and helplessness.

"What's wrong, sir?" Caslo, who was following Roland, noticed that Roland was in a very low mood and asked in confusion.

"It's alright!" Roland quickly put aside his thoughts and casually ruffled the Smurf who was lying on the saddle looking utterly hopeless.

"Woo woo~" Who would have thought that the noble elven dragon would whimper like a defeated dog?

"Damn it!" Roland, hearing the groan coming from his crotch and seeing the shocked civilians of Swiftstream City staring at him not far away, felt as if mud had fallen onto his crotch...

"Woo-woo—" The sound stopped abruptly as a powerful hand gripped the dragon's collar, sealing its fate.

"If you keep yelling like that, I'll make you wash the dishes tonight!" Roland threatened calmly.

Roland secretly breathed a sigh of relief after sensing the Smurfs had calmed down. That sound was just too eerie! People further away might have thought they were being sexually assaulted...

"Send the order! Command the civilians to rest where they are! Prepare to cook!" Roland looked at the warm sun high in the sky in early spring and turned to Lance, who was waiting behind him.

"Yes, Your Highness!" Lance replied and left.

……

Amidst the clattering of pots and pans and the cacophony of shouts, Roland was nearly driven mad by the noise. He quickly led a small squad of knights away from the crowd before finally catching his breath. If he had stayed any longer, his ears would have been ruined...

"Your Highness? What are you doing here?" Renault, who was patrolling the perimeter with his soldiers, immediately recognized Roland, who was wearing a collared main armor. He quickly dismounted and jogged over to greet him.

"Don't even mention it! Everyone's yelling at the top of their lungs. If we stay inside any longer, we'll lose our hearing!" Roland said, annoyed. He hadn't expected these people to be so noisy. It's just a meal, why are they making such a fuss like it's New Year's?

"System! Check my territory!" With nothing else to do, Roland decided to check his territory's rating in the system.

Swiftstream City:
Area: One kilometer in radius.

Building units: 1 ruined lord's castle, 200 ordinary wooden houses, intermediate magic-inlaid walls, stone well, blacksmith shop, barracks, archer's temple, farmland (under reclamation), tanner's workshop, tavern (liquor is scarce!).

Commanders: Caslo (Tier 3), Renault (Tier 4), Radil (Tier 4), Yunfeng (Tier 6)
Special Personnel: Ivy (Tier 3)
City Defense Officer: Marcus (Tier 4)
Political Officer: Lance (Second Rank)
Troop strength: 2088 people

Holy Knights Order: 100 Tier 2 Knights.

Lagrange City Guards: 100 Tier 2 Warriors

Battanian Shooters: 700 Tier 2 Shooters.

Dovenian Heavy Swordsmen: 100 Tier 2 Swordsmen.

El Niño Ranger: 50 Tier 2 Rangers.

Lordaeron Rangers: 50 Tier 2 Rangers.

Swiftflow Legion: 683 Swiftflow Infantry

Recruit 200 light infantrymen.

Lagrange Heavy Cavalry: 100 heavy cavalrymen; Priests: 5 second-tier priests

Population: 2536 (1037 civilians who can be trained)
Evaluation: The lonely king led his surviving people back to their homeland and built this city with high walls. The city had few inhabitants, but everything was progressing well. Its military was strong enough to defend the city, but it couldn't withstand the emerging darkness alone. The good news was that the city finally welcomed its own garrison commander and administrators. The end of the war brought a glimmer of hope to Lagrange's last remaining territory! Note: The great king decided to revitalize the nation, but time was of the essence.

Abilities: 1. As the only territory of the Kingdom of Lagrange in Middle-earth, she will attract the remnants of Lagrange. The system will guide a wave of wandering Lagrange civilians to her territory every day, hoping that the lord can properly settle them.

2. Allow the recruitment of local civilians to train swift infantry.

Subordinate territory: Tuput Forest!

"Tsk tsk tsk, apart from a significant increase in population, there's been almost no change..." Roland said after examining the place carefully.

"However, the number of Swift Infantry recruits has already exceeded a thousand!" Roland finally discovered an unexpected surprise. It seems that he still needs to take some time to train these civilian men. If needed, they can be quickly converted into Swift Infantry.

“There’s a huge shortage of alcohol!” Roland frowned. You see, the population of Swiftstream City is now close to five thousand. Although there aren’t many alcoholics among them, there are definitely quite a few people who want to relax with a drink in their spare time.

"In the end, it all comes down to the issue of food!" Roland's brows furrowed even more. You see, wine is made from grain. If Roland had enough surplus grain to brew wine, would he be in such a hurry to lead people to clear land?
"We have to think of a way! We can't let the tavern go out of business like this!" The tavern is a place where all kinds of information converge! With the tavern, Roland's control over the territory will be even stronger, so we really can't let this tavern close down.

"It seems we still need to organize caravans to travel and trade in Middle-earth," Roland said helplessly. He hadn't wanted to open trade routes so soon, hoping Lagrange could have more time to develop, but the scarcity of various resources made Roland realize that if they didn't trade to obtain the urgently needed resources, they would definitely perish here... You see, the food supply in Swiftstream City is a major weakness! There's nowhere in the entire north that can support Swiftstream City until the autumn harvest! The only hope, Irubor, has already been "drained" by Roland, and most of Irubor's resources come from the Ironhill Ridge's accumulated reserves over the years! As for the Woodland Kingdom... well, elves don't have many resources to begin with.

"Lance!" Roland called out.

Before long, Lance, dressed in aristocratic attire, arrived beside Roland.

"Your Highness, what are your orders?" Lance asked respectfully.

"Do you think it's okay for me to open trade routes and let them trade?" Roland asked after a long silence.

"Why do you say that, Your Highness?" Lance asked, puzzled. Prioritizing development was a policy that everyone agreed upon at the time. Now that the trade routes are open... Swiftstream City will inevitably be exposed to everyone's eyes! Because the only places that truly meet Roland's trading needs are the Shire region and the Gondor Dynasty. Other places are either too chaotic or occupied by evil. Only these two places can satisfy Roland's large-scale grain trade.

"We can't hold on any longer!" Roland said frankly. In fact, Swiftstream City would be facing a food shortage in no more than half a month.

"Well!"

"My God!"

……

"What happened? Go and see!" Roland, seeing the commotion in the crowd, quickly sent soldiers to find out what was going on.

……

"Goblin!"

"There really are goblins!"

"Is this what goblins are?"

A group of people were gathered around a small, green-skinned dwarf who was only about 1.2 meters tall, discussing the creature. Everyone was certain that it was a goblin! After all, it looked exactly like the one in the legend.

"What's wrong, folks? What happened?" A knight riding a tall horse squeezed through the crowd and asked.

Thank you to all my readers for your recommendation votes, monthly tickets, and donations. It is you who have kept me going amidst the barking of trolls.

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(End of this chapter)