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

Chapter 483 A Glance Across a Thousand Years

"Kill!" The ethereal battle cries drifted from the phantoms of the King's Knights. These ghostly phantoms, composed of battle flames, would become as solid as physical objects when they encountered obstacles, destroying everything in their way.

"Waaah..." Apophis Breo bit his lip hard, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. Who would have known that in this cold winter in the far north, there was a man crying like a baby?

"Ancestors! Forefathers!" Apophis Breo's tears fell to the ground as he helplessly howled from his horse, unaware that a knight just as young as him had once wept his eyes out in this same cold winter, the only difference being that he was on horseback, while she was on the Wall...

"Whoosh...whoosh...rushing...to...death..." The most conspicuous phantom in the middle seemed to be touched. Amidst the faint shouts, the phantom wearing a crown and a cloak of flames slowed down without anyone noticing.

The crimson torrent gradually receded into the distance, leaving only a solitary figure who slowly came to a stop. He thoughtfully lowered his raised lance, and as if sensing something, he slowly turned his head...

Apophis Breo opened his tear-filled eyes, just in time to meet the gaze of that figure. The person seemed to smile, then the corner of his mouth twitched slightly: "Reign..."

"Whoosh~" A gust of north wind blew by, and the illusory figure that had been standing still became more and more transparent as its battle energy was depleted. It lowered its head and pointed to its chest, where the crest of the Sovereign Lion family was located, before turning into light dust and dissipating.

"Thump!" Apophis Breo tumbled off his horse. Olaf rushed to help him up, but Apophis Breo pushed him away. Apophis Breo cried and laughed at the same time, stumbling and running towards the place where the figure had just stood.

"Your Highness!" Olaf wanted to go over.

"Swoosh!" A long spear was planted in front of Olaf. The Knight Commander of King's Landing glanced at Apophis Breo's swaying back and shook his head at Olaf.

"Sigh..." Olaf sighed, his eyes filled with helplessness.

……

"The last Grand Duke, is that you? Grand Duke Delanur Breo!" Apophis Breo was in tears. He didn't know what had happened to bring back the spirits of the King's Landing heroes, but he knew that the charging knights and the disappearing figure indicated their identity—the last knights of King's Landing.

"Rest assured, ancestors! For the family! For the glory of the Lion King! I will strive to live on and restore that glory!" Apophis Breo roared in a low voice, clenching his fists. When he raised his head, his scarlet eyes sent chills down everyone's spine.

"Thump!" Apophis Breo stood up, staggered a couple of steps, and suddenly collapsed to the ground. Everyone screamed and rushed to his aid. ...

At this moment, Roland sat in the city of Swiftstream, lost in thought. He stared at the system panel for a long time without saying a word. The reason was that on the page of Apophis Breo, a status of a returning hero was clearly displayed. The branch under his interface - the Knights of the Reign (dilapidated) - had a special combination skill: Reigning Hero.

This status quo made Roland uneasy. Heroic Spirit Protection was a family secret and a last resort for many powerful families in the Lord of the Rings games, as no one knew exactly how many dormant heroic spirits this ancient family had accumulated. However, none of the nobles Roland summoned from the system, including a living Grand Duke (the Grand Duke of Nyx), appeared with this Heroic Spirit Protection status. Yet, Apophis Breo had suddenly and silently displayed a group Heroic Spirit Protection status, which made Roland worry.

After all, what heroic spirit would just casually stroll around for fun? Unless it's a dire situation, no heroic spirit would risk damage to their soul to fight for the guardian. It's not like Apophis Breo is hungry and summons heroic spirits to hunt for him, is it?
"Tap tap tap!" Roland tapped the table rhythmically as he pondered. Although he had said he would let Apophis Breo go and "herd the sheep" without interfering with his actions, Roland couldn't really abandon the child to his fate. Although he was somewhat unworthy of the title, he was still a Grand Duke (you can judge him as a Grand Duke, regardless of his strength, at least the noble crest and the certificate from the House of Nobles don't lie). What made Roland somewhat embarrassed was that the tiny Kingdom of Lagrange actually had three princes. This was the first time that there were more kings than nobles, a truly ridiculous situation. If you really thought about it, even the centaur Baldr was at least a king...

"Summon Caslo to see me! I must find him! It's urgent!" Roland shouted to the guards at the door.

As the sound of the soldiers' armor scraping faded into the distance, Roland felt a little more at ease. He was genuinely afraid that Apophis Breo and his soldiers would soon become dead. Thinking of this, Roland couldn't help but feel a little regretful. He should have known better than to let that reckless man go out. If something really happened, wouldn't Roland have harmed them?

……

"Your Highness! What's wrong?" Caslo's voice interrupted Roland's thoughts. Upon seeing Caslo, Roland immediately smiled (Isn't this my loyal lackey—Caslo?). Who wouldn't like such a loyal, useful, and powerful subordinate? For most enemies, simply closing the door and releasing Caslo would be enough to deal with them.

"I have a bad feeling about this. Go and check along Apophis Breo's route right now, see if they're alright. Oh, and bring plenty of supplies to replenish their numbers. Help them if you can!" Roland was still concerned about this lone expeditionary force. After all, he had also made his way up Lonely Mountain. He knew the hardships of fighting alone against a powerful enemy without supplies or reinforcements. So, having been soaked in the rain, King Roland wanted to do his best to hold an umbrella for this reckless man. As for what would happen to those under the umbrella, Roland could only leave it to fate.

"Huh? Have you not rested well? You're always so suspicious. Why don't you go and rest with the Queen for a while? Your Highness, are you having a fit? How long has it been since Grand Duke Apophis left? Are you still thinking about him?" Caslo laughed when he heard this, even somewhat dismissively thinking that Roland's worries were just his own. But as he laughed, he saw Roland's face turn cold.

"Ahem, actually it's not that funny..."

“You’re right to worry. We should indeed go see them; after all, they are part of the kingdom. Your Highness, I’ll go see them first then. Good day!” Caslo chuckled awkwardly, bowing and scraping to Roland. (Caslo: I didn’t want to go either, but the king’s glaring at me!)
"Go and come back quickly, be careful! The dwarves have discovered that the griffins in the Gray Mountains are acting up. It's not even spring yet, but they're flying around like they're in heat!" Roland seemed to have thought of something infuriating. Caslo grinned, looked at Roland's expression as if he wanted to strangle someone, and decisively slipped away.

(End of this chapter)