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

Chapter 448 Communication
"By the way! You have to give me an explanation!" Roland said, staring at Renault with a serious expression.

"What explanation?" Renault gulped down a glass of water, completely unconcerned.

"How did Apophis Breo manage to build an army right under your nose?" Roland asked calmly.

"Bang!" The water glass in Renault's hand fell to the ground with a thud.

"What?" Renault's eyes twitched. He was truly clueless. How could he, who was always so busy, pay attention to the petty actions of a nobleman who was always thinking about making a name for himself and restoring his glory?

"You don't know? That kid Apophis Breo has brought out a full 200 Valiant Warriors for us at Lulong Fortress..." Roland shrugged.

"Damn it..." Renault broke out in a cold sweat. Valiant Warriors... what a huge investment! This is a special unit of the King's Landing, which means Apophis Breo must have been training these soldiers for quite some time.

"Where does he recruit and train people?" Renault almost cursed, his eyes filled with shock.

Roland had the same question back then, and he even questioned the system. However, the system's answer was that the system characters would remain loyal to Roland, and the system would not issue any warnings unless there was a threat to the king's safety. In other words, the system already knew that Apophis Breo had such an army.

“Yun Feng investigated back then and found that this army had been recruiting before his return, but he had been hiding it all along.” Roland shook his head.

"Then it has nothing to do with me!" Renault breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't possibly have been negligent before coming to Stream City.

"I regret to inform you... this army was formed at Lulong Fortress, and you can't escape responsibility for this oversight!" Roland looked at Renault with pity. Although he didn't pursue the issue of Apophis Breo having a private army, it didn't mean he wouldn't hold Renault accountable.

"Pfft!" Renault nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. That damned brat! He'd practically screwed himself over...

"Congratulations, General Renault. Under your rule, Lulong Fortress has been turned into a sieve." Roland teased. Renault was clearly strict on the outside but lenient on the inside. If Apophis Breo wasn't a system character, and if this young man had some ambition... setting up a trap for Renault and smashing a cup as a signal would probably be enough to kill this kid.

"Your Highness..." Renault lowered his head, somewhat ashamed.

“Alright… this is the last time. You not only need to pay attention to the situation of the Orcs of Dolgoth, but also to the situation inside the fortress. We cannot rule out the possibility that someone has been corrupted by Ringwraiths or dark magic,” Roland said seriously.

This Middle-earth is a Middle-earth world, unlike the low-magic Middle-earth depicted in novels and movies. The power of wizards is far greater than just Gandalf casting spells on pine cones. Terrifying forbidden spells truly echo across this land, and magic that manipulates hearts and souls is not uncommon.

"Yes." Renault nodded heavily.

"I'll let it slide this time because you brought back urgently needed food, but if you make the same mistake again, you can jump off the Lulong Fortress!" Roland threatened.

"Don't worry, it won't happen. I just didn't expect this to happen." Renault shook his head seriously.

"By the way, Your Highness, what are you planning to do with that bastard Apophis Breon?" Renault asked through gritted teeth.

"Arrangements? Why arrange them?" Roland chuckled. "He'll do what he does best!" Roland's smile was sinister.

"His greatest strength?" Renault was taken aback. His greatest strength? What was Apophis Breo's greatest strength? In terms of military skills, he was just so-so!

But soon Renault seemed to understand something. A strange glint flashed in his eyes as he looked at Roland with a scrutinizing gaze that sent chills down Roland's spine, making the hairs on his body stand on end.

"You really are... Where do you plan to send him?" Renault had already understood Roland's plan; wasn't this just making the nobles work for free?

"Old Pass!" Roland nodded.

"..." Renault gave Roland a deep look. Well! Your Lagrange family has always had a scheming gene in its bones, hasn't it? This move was truly masterful.

"What's wrong? If he wants to enjoy the glory of nobility, then he must fulfill his due obligations!" Roland said calmly.

"Maybe..." Renault remained noncommittal. Was that an obligation? That was exploitation! Once the King's Landing family guarded the old pass, unless they were all wiped out, the pride of the King's Landing Lion family would mean they wouldn't give up an inch of land. The large tracts of land that were developed later were quite safe; it was just a matter of who could pick up the scraps.

“Don’t think of me in a dark light. The area I’ve given him is quite vast…” Roland explained his division of the King’s Landing family to Renault.

"You're such a philanthropist!" Renault looked at Roland with a strange expression. He realized he had spoken too soon and had completely wronged the great and wise King Roland. Judging by the size of the land, Renault could only marvel at the generosity of the investment. Apophis Breo had really gotten a great deal. The land was large enough to develop two duchies.

"The premise is that he can hold that place. I granted it to him, but the orcs didn't," Roland said calmly. Although he had granted land to the nobles, the orcs didn't care about such things. How much they could get depended on their own abilities. In any case, Roland didn't plan to send troops to help. At most, he would send a dragon rider to keep watch and prevent the Ringwraiths from causing trouble if they went crazy.

"This land is his!" Renault took a deep breath. Perhaps Apophis Breo's offensive ability wasn't great, but his defensive strength was something Renault had witnessed. He possessed everything a standard military noble should have; it could be said that he was "equipped" with all the necessary "factory settings."

“Without the Ringwraiths intervening, he can easily seal off the old pass with his current strength; the terrain there is very favorable to the defenders!” Reno explained.

"I hope so, but population is also a problem for him." Roland gazed calmly out the window.

"By the Dragon God... you won't even provide him with civilians... how is he supposed to recruit soldiers?" Renault could only admit that he had been too presumptuous. King Roland was still the same stingy King Roland, unchanged. Sure enough, his previous generosity was all an act.

“Swiftstream City doesn’t even have enough people of its own, why would I risk my life for it? There are so many human settlements near the Misty Mountains, why doesn’t he go and recruit some of them?” Roland said matter-of-factly.

"..." Renault just wanted to say, robbery is robbery, why talk about recruiting... and being so literary, except this robbery was more thorough, they even kidnapped the people.

Renault's expression quickly became subtle again. Damn it! Isn't this what nobles are born into? All nobles know this stuff without being taught; it's a skill that's in their blood. If they're allowed to use it freely, they'll be unstoppable.
Renault had already mourned for those human settlements. Being targeted was bad enough, but being targeted by human nobles was even worse. Being targeted by Lagrange nobles was worse than being targeted by human nobles. And what was truly tragic was that the nobles targeting them were none other than the Lion Kings of the Landing... It was too abstract.

(End of this chapter)