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

Chapter 498: Is the 100 million wealth points issue resolved?
“I understand! But the problem now is that we can’t find the source of this thing! How can I solve a plague without a source?” Roland had a headache.

"No source? That's impossible!" Renault shook his head decisively. Without a source, the plague would not be born. The plague and the curse need a source to take effect. Once the source is solved, the rest are like rootless duckweed, which are easy to eliminate.

"The truth is, we just can't find it..." Roland shook his head, waved his hand, and sighed.

"...Have you mobilized people to search?" Renault asked.

"Do you think we have enough manpower?" Roland's eyes widened. How could someone with a 37-degree mouth utter such a cold sentence? Finding that thing doesn't require manpower? Not only does it require manpower, but specific professions are also needed to sense it. In the entire Swiftstream City, probably only spellcasters, dragon knights, and paladins can sense that thing... The problem is, if Roland had that many manpower, would he still be worried? Even if the source couldn't be found, a sufficient number of priests could completely purify and heal all the infected, and could completely withstand the power of the plague or curse source until it dissipates, then directly break through by force!

"..." Renault's nose twitched, but he just looked at Roland without saying anything.

"I'll go take a look." Renault sighed, his eyes full of helplessness. With his divine attributes, he could certainly search for the source of the plague, since divine power had an innate ability to sense that thing.

……

"Your Excellency Omsk, what do you think?" Renault asked Omsk after paying his respects to Roland.

“The situation is not good. In fact, the two dragon riders have already searched repeatedly... but even with the dragons’ powerful mental strength, they can’t find it…” Omsk shook his head and said pessimistically.

"Such excellent concealment?" A look of seriousness appeared in Renault's eyes.

“Yes, all we can confirm now is that it’s a plague… no, we can’t even confirm whether it’s a plague or a curse,” Omsk said, both amused and exasperated.

"I'm starting to suspect it might be a permanent plague curse." Renault's brows were furrowed into a tight knot. This plague was so troublesome that Renault even suspected it was a forbidden curse created by those necromancers.

"Forbidden spell? No way, the fluctuations of a forbidden spell are very obvious!" Omsk shook his head. As a sixth-tier hero, he could easily sense the terrifying fluctuations of a forbidden spell.

“Even a curse wouldn’t be possible. The causal fluctuations caused by a forbidden curse are very obvious in space, just like dropping a stone into a calm pond. Even if I don’t sense it, Yunfeng will notice it!” Omske patted Renault on the shoulder.

“Relax, knight, things aren’t nearly as bad as they seem!” Omsk reassured him.

"In fact, it's already pretty bad. I reckon King Roland is probably about to cry." Renault gave a wry smile. He was already this anxious, so Roland must be even more worried. After all, as the king, he was under much more pressure than they were.

“King Roland’s affairs are not our concern. Prince Nyx will help King Roland. Our priority now is to find a way to control the situation in the city,” Omske said with some worry.

“Could we stay with the elves…” Renault tentatively asked. “Don’t even think about it. If we don’t take care of Vale soon, it’ll become a ghost town. I reckon Thranduil will personally lead a team to Vale.” Omske shook his head. Compared to Stream City, Vale was the real problem; people were already dying there.

"Wait, what did the Kingdom of Akvia on the other side say? What about the White Wing King..." Renault then realized that no one seemed to have mentioned the White Wing King.

“They’re in a better situation, after all, there are fewer of them, and they also have a shaman, who is a professional in the field,” Omske said to Renault.

"How many people are there in the Kingdom of Akvia now?" Renault's heart skipped a beat. He was stationed at Lulong Fortress every day and didn't know much about the situation of his neighbor.

"There are probably four or five thousand people. I have to say, those men from the North are really impressive. They crossed mountains and valleys to go deep into the North to find those scattered tribes and incorporate them into the Kingdom of Akvia. I think that thing should be called a tribal alliance rather than a kingdom." Omske curled his lips. After all, each tribe has a king, so the Kingdom of Akvia basically has about a dozen kings of all sizes. However, because of the White Wing King's strength, the chieftains who were incorporated into the Kingdom of Akvia did not do anything stupid.

"That's perfectly normal. They've only just transitioned from a tribe to a kingdom; it takes time. The power struggle between the king and the nobles has only just begun. They haven't even figured out the rules and games of the nobility yet!" Renault chuckled nonchalantly. Those paper-thin tribal chiefs should be thankful they weren't under the rule of the Kingdom of Lagrang; otherwise, the kingdom's nobles might have sold them out and made them help count the money...

“Yes…” Omsk nodded in deep understanding. After all, the Lagranges would definitely look down on those primitive tribal alliances. They were already done with the old ways. Wasn’t it better to have the Empire granting principalities? Wasn’t it better to go out and plunder money, food, and territory with the Emperor? What was Clash of Clans 1.0? The Lagranges were, after all, the version of the Empire Conquest 3.0.

"We've gone off on a tangent! Is it possible that the Kingdom of Akvia could come and help?" Renault asked hopefully.

"It's not serious there; the shamans easily brought it under control. However, they probably can't help us much, since things here take a long time." Omske shrugged. In fact, people in Swiftstream City are being healed every moment, and then others are being infected... The priests' mana bars have been empty countless times.

"Damn! This is the first time I've realized that having too many people can be a hassle!" Renault's eye twitched.

……

"System! Stop playing dead! If you keep pretending, the Kingdom of Lagrang will be finished! Think of something! Damn it! Why didn't I get the priest's inheritance system in the first place?!" Roland was now filled with regret. The knight's inheritance was all show and no substance! The entire kingdom couldn't even mobilize a few knights. If it were the priest's inheritance system, Roland could have trained at least a hundred priests by now. After all, the threshold for becoming a priest is very low (at least lower than a knight, since what's the value of a healer?).
"Please resolve this yourself, host." This time, the system didn't pretend to be dead, but Roland would have preferred it to continue pretending.

"Solve it my foot! I'll risk my life to solve it?" Roland almost laughed in exasperation. Solve everything himself? Doesn't this chosen one of the system have any dignity? (System: Ha! Shameless!)

"Do you wish to spend 100 million wealth points to purchase the forbidden divine spell - Holy Dawn Cleansing?" This time, the system actually popped up a window.

"Pah!" Roland's first glance was, "Holy crap! A forbidden divine spell of purification and healing!" His second glance was, "Holy crap! That's damn expensive!" His third glance was, "Holy crap! I only have 50 wealth points. Sorry to bother you, goodbye."

"Host, please work hard to earn money and restore the glory of the Lagrange Empire as soon as possible!" The system then muted itself.

"..." Roland stared at the glaring row of zeros and fell silent. He finally understood why the armor-piercing bow was called The Last Whisper. It was so damn silent and so defensive!
(End of this chapter)