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

Chapter 294 Solid as a Rock
Renault seemed to have a very long dream that night...

He dreamt that he became the governor of the North, commanding hundreds of thousands of troops. Then the empire was on the verge of collapse, and he was ordered to rescue it... His army suffered heavy casualties, and he vaguely saw a blond general wearing a cloak stained with blood amidst the flames of war...

"Huff, huff, huff!" Renault suddenly rolled over and sat up, cold sweat pouring down his face, his eyes filled with fear and disbelief.

"Sir?" a guard whispered, poking his head in.

"Step back! I'm fine!" Renault waved his hand, his eyes showing a mixture of helplessness and contemplation.

"Yes!" The guard clasped his hands in a salute and prepared to leave.

"Wait! What time is it now?" Renault rubbed his head.

“Sir, there are still two hours until sunrise. Why don’t you get some more sleep?” the guard said, looking at the exhausted Renault.

"No need, I'll go check it out! By the way, did those damned orcs cause any trouble in the middle of the night?" Renault rubbed his sleepy eyes.

“No, not at all! But they’ve been cutting down trees all night to build siege weapons! I bet they’re planning something big today!” Apophis Breo said as he walked in and looked at Renault.

"I just went to check, and the situation is not bad. Our men can hold on. It's just a matter of when we can wear these orcs down!" Apophis Breo sighed helplessly. When neither side can do anything to the other, the contest of willpower becomes very important.

"Is there enough food in the fortress?" Renault asked, as if suddenly remembering something.

“It’s not a problem to have enough to eat for a year or two! The problem is the water! There’s only one well in the city! And the water output is limited!” Apophis Breo said to Renault.

"No problem! Just tell everyone to conserve water!" Renault laughed heartily. What kind of problem is this? This isn't a problem at all! At worst, everyone can wash less for a while, or eat more dry food and less liquid food! Enough drinking water is enough. As for quality of life? This dilapidated city is about to collapse, who cares about quality of life!

"General Renault, do you think the Grand Duke will send reinforcements..." Apophis Breo said worriedly. The reason why the orcs are not launching a full-scale attack is precisely because they haven't figured out the situation of Lulong Fortress yet. After all, they didn't have this thing for a while! On the other hand, they still have a sense of awe towards the city-states along the Swift River. After all, a certain dragon warrior almost wiped out the Borge army with a forbidden spell!

"I hope the Grand Guild will heed my advice..." Renault sighed helplessly. If reinforcements were to arrive, he hoped they wouldn't be sent by Grand Duke Nyx, but by Prince Roland. After all, Roland had brought not only powerful heavy infantry but also dragon riders and sixth-tier heroes!
"Judging by the time... His Highness should be back soon!" Renault thought of Roland's promise to them, and calculated that Roland should be back soon.

"Yes! If His Highness returns, would these worthless scoundrels dare to swagger in front of us?" Apophis Breo scoffed at the distant orc camp, a chaotic mess spread out haphazardly in the jungle, as if knowing that Renault's forces were insufficient, they spread out without restraint.

"Damn it! If I had a knightly order! Oh! Dragon God! I would definitely go out and send them to meet you!" Renault's veins throbbed. The orcs' suicidal behavior deeply provoked him. He knew that if he really had a knightly order, most of the orcs below would be killed or wounded!
“Give up! You don’t have it!” Apophis Breo patted Renault on the shoulder, ruthlessly shattering his illusions.

“Oh! Thank you!” Renault said through gritted teeth to Apophis Breo.

In the dawn's light, the Lulong Fortress under the rule of the Kingdom of Lagrang stood as solid as a rock, its ancient resilience steadfast on this land. The purplish-black walls were stained with the blood of orcs, as if from another world, orcs still suffered heavy losses at the foot of this fortress!
……

Graton Plain, Deno Village!
"My God! Is this place really this dilapidated?" Roland's eyes widened. This was more than just dilapidated; it was practically a ruin!

Roland's eyes twitched as he gazed at the village that Lance had described as dilapidated and decaying. The village walls... well, let's just call them mounds of earth for now...

"Can this defend against orcs?" Roland turned to look at his generals, his thirst for knowledge evident even to Sauron.

"Um...it should be enough to keep out wild beasts!" Caslo said, his head bowed, feeling guilty even as he said it. "Omske is knocking!" Roland shook his head.

"Ahem! This is His Highness King Roland of the Kingdom of Lagrange! We wish to stay here for the night. I, the King, swear in the name of the monarch that he will pay for our stay and will not disturb our lives!" Omske shouted, gathering his fighting spirit.

"Good heavens! That army is here again?"

"what should we do?"

"Quickly...quickly go find the village chief!"

The two ugly and disheveled militiamen guarding the "city" were already trembling with fear. With Roland's four hundred men, they could easily sweep through the area.

“Um… Welcome, Your Majesty! I am Jin Dan, the village chief of Denuo Village. It is an honor! Is there anything I can do for you, Your Highness?” Jin Dan bowed, took off his hat, tied it into a flower shape, and bowed to Roland.

"Service is out of the question! We're just looking for a place to sleep for the night and we'll leave tomorrow! Do you have a problem with that?" Roland said casually, playing with the Dragon Slayer Sword as he sat on horseback.

"This...of course! Of course not! Please!" Looking at the heavily armored soldiers outside, Village Chief Golden Egg hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from his brow. "Do you think I'd dare object?" he thought. "The kingdom that flies this flag must be incredibly powerful." Looking at the Lagrange Dragon Flag, Golden Egg sighed. "These fully armed soldiers must be incredibly expensive! Even though my entire village only has five heavy infantrymen, this is the strongest military force in the village and the only one not officially employed! Most importantly, these soldiers were assembled using the money paid by that nobleman named Lance last time!"

“Something’s wrong with this village! Its size is too strange!” Roland whispered to Caslo as they walked down the road.

"Judging from what they call city walls, this must have been a small town before! The current city walls must be what was left after the original city walls weathered away!" Ajax looked around, and everywhere there were traces of time.

"It's a miracle there's even a village in this wretched place of the North!" Omske shook his head at Roland. With orcs attacking everywhere, it was a miracle there was even a village here.

"Hmm! Heavy infantry?" Caslo exclaimed in surprise as he spotted a group of heavy infantry walking along the road.

"Tsk tsk tsk! This wretched place can support heavy infantry?" Ajax exclaimed in amazement.

"This armor looks a bit like the dwarven style?" Omsk rubbed his chin.

“I’m more curious about where their armor came from!” Roland’s gaze sharpened; clearly, this desolate place didn’t have the ability to produce it on its own.

"Ah? Hehe~ Please excuse my poor performance, everyone. He's our only professional soldier here..." Jin Dan quickly said with a smile.

"Let me ask you something, where did these armors come from?" Roland asked seriously. He wouldn't mistake these standard dwarven-style armors! Although they weren't as impressive as the armor under his command, they were top-notch for a small, scattered force!
"This..." Golden Egg broke out in a cold sweat. He couldn't help but curse the traveling merchants in his heart. Could there be something wrong with this batch of armor? No wonder they shortchanged him a few silver coins back then!

“Speak freely, this armor is not ours!” Omsk said, seemingly sensing the village chief’s fear.

"Oh, it was brought by a group of itinerant merchants. These merchants roam the various corners of the Central Plains all their lives, making money by reselling goods!" Golden Egg breathed a sigh of relief and said without hesitation.

(End of this chapter)