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

Chapter 481 From the Wilderness
"Roar!" The phantom figures roared like lions, and the terrifying aura stirred up the fallen leaves on the ground, making them fly everywhere.

"Whoosh!" The blazing battle aura danced wildly, and the phantoms formed by the fire-elemental battle aura swept across the battlefield like horses trampling through enemy lines to everyone's astonishment. Ancient trees as thick as a man's embrace were snapped in half by these phantoms of heroic spirits, and the blazing fire-elemental battle aura, like karmic fire from hell, turned everything it touched into ashes...

"charge!"

"Ironclad Cavalry! Invincible! Charge! Warriors of the Empire! Charge! Charge to the ends of the earth!" Apophis Breo roared hoarsely, his eyes already bloodshot!
"Kill!" The enraged King's Landing knights thrust their lances forward, slaying the Shadow Spiders who were still attacking the Valiant Warriors one by one, their charred, black bodies falling to the ground.

"Boom!" Apophis Breo pulled on the reins, and his warhorse reared up and stomped heavily on the ground, kicking up two shallow craters as dust flew.

"Whoa!" Apophis Breo reined in his horse, and the other knights followed suit.

“These…” Apophis Breo frowned, his eyes filled with astonishment and shock. The phantoms that had followed them in their charge had not yet dissipated, but continued to charge forward relentlessly, terrifyingly destroying everything in their path. The elven path that had originally been paved with stone slabs had turned into a road tens of meters wide, and the phantoms of knights were still carrying lions and charging until they crashed into obstacles and disappeared.

"They are the heroic spirits of our predecessors in the Knights of the Ages!" The Grand Knight's eyes were filled with deep respect.

"They are our ancestors, and they are still using their swords to clear the obstacles in our path!" Olaf murmured, tears streaming down his face.

"Come..." A distant and ethereal voice faintly reached everyone's ears.

"since……"

"quite……"

"shortage……"

"From the wilderness? What is this?" Olaf scratched his head, listening carefully to what the phantoms were saying.

“What do you mean by this, sir…” Olaf turned around and saw that Apophis Breo was already in tears.

……

"My lord... the capital has fallen, and no member of the royal family has survived!" A hero, his body surging with battle aura nearly ten meters high, walked over.

A man nearly two meters tall with long, brilliant golden hair, dressed in heavy platinum armor, stood atop the city wall, gazing silently to the north.

"How are things elsewhere?" The man turned around; the years had left their mark on his face, deep wrinkles standing out starkly against his gloomy expression.

When the man's slightly sorrowful voice rang out, the hero immediately knelt on one knee: "Your Highness, the royal family is finished, the empire has fallen apart... We are meaningless now."

The man looked at the kneeling hero with his head bowed and smiled gently: "Some things have to be done by some people. There are always things that people need to do in this world."

"But rebellion, natural disasters, and enemy invasions have already torn this country apart, and everything we've done is meaningless!" The hero's eyes were filled with tears.

"Sigh..." the man sighed deeply.

“Where can we go? The North is behind me, and the border is in front of me! Hahaha! Where can I go? So what if the empire is lost? So what if the mountains and rivers are destroyed? The North still stands! I am still the Grand Duke of the Empire!” the man said firmly.

"We have nowhere to retreat. The enemy is in front of us, and the civilians are behind us! If I really have to make a choice, I choose to die on the Wall in the North!" the man said calmly. "General, prepare to meet the enemy! As long as this Grand Duke's banner has not fallen, you are still a general of the Empire!" The Grand Duke of King's Landing smiled quietly and patted the hero's shoulder armor.

"Yes, Your Highness!" The hero pounded his chest and bowed.

"Set up defenses! Those orcs from the North won't let this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity slip by!" The Duke of King's Landing sighed.

"I see!"

"Alas, what can I do to save you, Empire?" The Grand Duke of King's Landing leaned against the snow-covered city wall, his eyes filled with desolation and helplessness. In the distance, a black "tide" was slowly moving towards the northern border.

……

"King's Landing is gone! Your Highness!" It was still the same hero, only now he was missing an arm. Covered in blood, he fell before the Grand Duke of King's Landing, gazing at the still upright but somewhat aged figure.

"Five years, we've held out for five years... The Empire is gone, but the Lion of the North remains, hahaha! Those southern nobles laugh at us all day long, calling us a barbaric land!" The Duke of King's Landing laughed, but the smile on his face gradually disappeared.

"But how could they possibly see that this desolate land is the last place where the dragon flag is raised high! Who among them could know that this is the last territory of the empire? We do not owe this empire anything! It is the emperor and the royal family that owe us!" The Duke of Junlin's face was full of ferocity.

"How many members of the family are left?" he asked gently, calming himself down.

"The male descendants of the main line are almost all dead or wounded, leaving only your few grandsons!" Hero said with a touch of sadness as he looked at the Duke's weathered face.

"Ah, is that so? They're all gone! My son, my nephew, my cousin... all my blood relatives are gone..." The Grand Duke slowly sat down, leaning against the city wall.

"Empire, oh Empire, the King's House has fulfilled its oath. We have shed our last drop of blood. Redeem this old man's selfishness just this once..." The Grand Duke looked at the hero as if he had made up his mind.

……

"Your Highness, you must be strong." Standing beside the weathered Grand Duke of King's Landing was no longer the hero, but a young knight.

"I'm sorry, child, I failed to protect your father," the Grand Duke said, his voice choked with emotion.

"No, no, no, it was my father's fault. He allowed the bloodline of King's Landing... to be attacked on its southward journey. I only found the remains of my father and a few princes. Several princes are still missing. Otherwise, I would have sent all the knights..." The young knight made a move to leave.

"Forget it! Let it be the Dragon God's punishment. No man of the King's Landing has ever deserted in the face of battle, not even a child. Let's just say they died for their country!" The Grand Duke stood up, his facial muscles twitching a few times, but he still tried to remain calm.

"Assemble the army! It's time to deal with those scum outside!" The Grand Duke's eyes were filled with murderous intent and determination.

"An offensive? Those are the Northern Orcish allied forces! Your Highness..."

"Let's go all out! Although I can't save the empire, I can take them with me to the grave for the families and the empire that perished in this disaster!" The last Grand Duke of Lagrange had "all for one" written on his forehead.

"We! The Lion Family of King's Landing! From the Wildlands! Let those scum see! How we, the warriors born in the Wildlands, write our sacrifices with blood and flesh! Let them see what the Northern Army is! What it means to punish the wicked and bring peace to the people!" At this moment, the Grand Duke of King's Landing was like an aging lion king, though old and frail, his might was undiminished.

(End of this chapter)