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

Chapter 236 The Living Child—Roland?
"Shit!" Roland casually swung his shield in his left hand, knocking away a crudely made "arrow" from branches and flint.

"You think you're so great, huh!" Annoyed, Roland pulled out a meter-long wooden javelin from his system space. He had it made by some refugees. Considering Roland's pitiful archery skills, a powerful javelin like the Great Knight would be more suitable for him. However, given the non-recyclable nature of javelins (and he was too lazy to recycle them), Roland cleverly opted for a wooden javelin! But this was nothing like the crudely made javelins of the trolls. Roland's javelin was made from carefully selected hardwood, shaped to be thinner at both ends and thicker in the middle. After sharpening both ends, it was carbonized to increase its hardness, and finally carefully polished smooth! It could be said that, apart from the labor involved, it wasn't much worse than an iron javelin, especially at close range.

"Whoosh!" Battle aura enveloped the javelin, and then, with a light flick of Roland's ape arm, it flew out.

"Aww~ Ugh—" After a shrill scream, all that remained was a struggle of panting, clearly indicating that he was taking in more air than exhaling.

"Hey! This javelin throwing skill is really good!" Roland nodded with a smile. It truly lived up to its reputation as one of the few ranged attack skills available to knights. With the skill's enhancement, Roland could clearly sense a line guiding him and his target. As long as he threw the javelin towards that fixed position, there was a high probability of hitting the enemy.

"Your Highness is quite impressive! You learn very quickly!" Omske exclaimed, Roland's talent was indeed remarkable.

What? Roland couldn't throw spears before? He couldn't learn skills without the Knight Temple's skill inheritance? Look at the two beside him: Caslo, a fourth-tier dragon knight! Omske, a sixth-tier light and shadow hero! It can be said that Roland can learn all the basic skills of the knight class through these two; they are essentially the mentors of the Knight Temple who impart skills.

"Hehehe, if it weren't for the goblins constantly giving me practice along the way, I wouldn't be so familiar with it." Roland chuckled. Real combat is the best teacher, and this is where the wooden spear's advantages shine. There's no need to retrieve it; even if the enemy finds it, it's fine. The violent impact and the infusion of battle aura will cause the spear to shatter upon hitting an enemy, not only causing secondary damage but also effectively preventing it from becoming the enemy's transport captain. (At this moment, a certain bald-headed principal looked up: Transport? I'm an expert at that!)
"Kneel down!" A furious shout drew Roland's attention.

"What's wrong with my soldiers?" Roland asked, looking at the goblins who were bound hand and foot with vines and led in front of him.

"Your Highness! These scum just attacked you, and they didn't escape." The Lordaeron ranger was furious. He and the other rangers brought over the goblins they had captured.

"Oh? An attack? That counts too?" Roland recalled that weak and pathetic "arrow" from just now?
“Alright, I’ll interrogate them.” Roland dismounted, feeling that he shouldn’t let his men’s good intentions go to waste. Although Roland thought it would be better to kill them all, out of humanitarian considerations, he decided to give these goblins a chance.

“Perhaps one of you is willing to tell me where you come from? Why did you attack me? Where is your tribe? Hmm?” Roland said to the captured goblins.

"@#*%￥..." Upon hearing Roland's words, a goblin who seemed to be a leader immediately struggled and shouted loudly. Although Roland couldn't understand goblin language, it didn't stop him from recognizing the vulgarity of the insults. Under his lead, a group of goblins began to curse and swear.

A loud "bang!" startled both Caslo and Omske.

A round head flew through a graceful parabola and landed on the ground, only to be kicked away by a soldier. Two fountain-like jets of blood shot up half a meter high from the headless neck, like splattering flowers. Looking at Roland's hand, which was enveloped in battle aura, it wasn't hard to guess that the poor fellow had just had his head slapped off.

(Goblin: Do you know how much damage a big fight does to a goblin? Its head practically flies off!)
“Swearing? Very well! Shut your mouth!” Roland sneered.

The surrounding soldiers immediately gagged the goblins to prevent Roland from being angered by their foul language.

“Sigh… Even a kind and approachable lord like me isn’t accepted by you. You should know that I am King Lagrang, who is known as the friend of the orc royal family and the half-brother of the trolls! Can’t we be more honest and less hurtful?” Roland asked sincerely as he drew his Dragon Slayer Sword.

"It seems you don't want to talk?" Roland's eyes flashed with a cold light.

"Whoosh!" A flash of sword light appeared, and instantly a goblin's legs were severed.

"Waaaaah!" The intense pain caused the poor goblin to struggle wildly, writhing like a maggot in the extreme agony.

"A tough guy! Good! I admire men like you! You deserve a reward!" As a reward, Roland slashed the goblin's head with a single sword strike.

"Hiss~" Kaslow and Omsk exchanged a glance, both seeing fear in each other's eyes!
"And you? Will you talk or not?" Roland placed the blood-stainless Dragonslayer Sword on the shoulder of the next goblin and asked in utmost friendliness.

"Ughhhhh~" The goblin's eyes turned bloodshot with anxiety, and its body began to twist wildly, kicking its legs haphazardly.

"Heh! Naughty! Swish!" Roland chuckled, scolded him, and then dislocated his legs with a backhand.

"Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu"

Seeing that the goblin remained silent, Roland raised an eyebrow. "Hey! All tough nut to crack? I like it! The people I, Roland, admire most in my life are these loyal, unyielding men who would rather die than submit! Reward!"

With two backhand strikes, Roland successfully turned the goblin into a "goblin staff," with blood gushing out from the cuts everywhere as if it were free.

"Ah... I admire you! A true warrior! A true warrior! I never imagined that even weak goblins could have such backbone! I'm so moved! What a great warrior!" Roland exclaimed, never expecting that the goblins he usually despised could have such courage! Aren't they much better than the "bananas," "public intellectuals," and "traitors" of his previous life?

"Since that's the case, I'll send you on your way. I can't do more than this, but I can still give you this honor! You are worthy to die by my sword!" Roland, with a devout heart, cut him in half at the waist.

"...Don't move! Damn it! You missed! What are you doing moving around like that! Look! Look! Did you not hit it right? Hey hey hey! Don't rush, don't rush! Don't move, I'll finish you off! Hey! Stop awkwardly, be careful you don't miss!" Roland stepped forward with a guilty look to finish off the goblin. "Ugh!" A deep roar came from the goblin's throat, and everyone cast strange glances. Could a goblin really make such a powerful sound?
"Uh...sorry...it went astray again, don't move! I will give you the highest honors and make sure you get your head chopped off like a warrior!" Roland looked awkwardly at the goblin whose abdomen he had chopped off at an angle.

At this moment, three-fifths of the goblin's body had already detached from him, but he still stared at Roland with wide, bloodshot eyes.

“…” Caslo.

“…” Omske

The two shivered. They had seen plenty of living saints, but this was the first time they had ever seen a living devil!
"Agh!" A bloodcurdling scream echoed through the forest. Roland stood there, sword in hand, staring helplessly at the goblin he had just slashed across the shoulder. This goblin was demonstrating the tenacity of life; despite such a severe injury, he was still alive.

"Alright, alright! Stop howling! It's just a minor fatal wound, you can bear it!" Roland said, blushing with embarrassment and anger at his own swordsmanship. He turned to look at the next goblin, intending to ignore him.

“?” Caslo.

“?” Omsk.

"A mere fatal wound?" Even Bahrain, who had come to join the commotion, looked as if he had seen a ghost.

The soldiers on guard around fell silent, Bahrain fell silent, Kaslo and Omske fell silent too. Listen to this! Is this even human language?

"Alright! Stop talking! I know you're a warrior too! You won't open your mouth, right? You'll definitely die rather than submit, right?" Roland said decisively, looking at the goblin.

Ignoring the goblin's frantic struggle and eyes filled with terror, Roland slit its throat with his sword, adding a gentle reminder: "It's alright! Take a deep breath, dizziness is normal, it'll be fine in a bit!"

"Pfft!" A mouthful of beer sprayed out of Bahrain's mouth as he watched the commotion.

"Thump!" Caslo slipped and fell to the ground.

Omsk opened his eyes wide in astonishment, as if he had discovered a new continent.

Even the royal guards beside Roland subtly took a step back.

Everyone stared at Roland with strange looks. Good heavens! They'd seen a living Yama before, but this was the first time they'd ever seen a living offspring!
“Your Highness, do you think there’s a possibility—I mean, a possibility! It’s not that they don’t want to talk, but could it be that their mouths have been gagged?” Caslo whispered a reminder.

Roland, who had just bled the last goblin, froze upon hearing this, then mechanically turned his head toward Caslo.

"..." Roland.

"……"Bahrain.

“…” Omsk.

"..." everyone.

A strange silence fell over the crowd as they stared at the goblin convulsing in the cold wind, and then all eyes turned to Roland.

"Damn it! Why are you looking at me? Can't they talk even if their mouths are gagged? Even if they can't talk, can't they write or draw?" Roland jumped up like a cat with its fur standing on end. No, I'm not wrong! The one who's wrong can't be me! Roland thought to himself, it must be these goblins who don't know how to be flexible!
But when everyone's gaze fell upon the corpses, bound hand and foot and unable to move, a deathly silence descended.

"Hey! To be honest... these goblins are still able to move even tied up like that, I have to say their will to survive is really strong!" Balin chuckled dryly.

"..." Caslo and Omske exchanged a glance, understanding each other's thoughts. They took a few meters back in fear, distancing themselves slightly from Roland.

"This is really inhuman..." The three of them, Ori, Oin, and Floyd, came over, took a look, and quickly left, as if there was something unclean here.

(End of this chapter)