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

Chapter 586 The Adventurers' Guild is Established!
"The knights are ready, Your Highness!" Omske said respectfully, pounding his chest.

"Where are the common people?" Roland asked, and then saw a large group of people carrying large and small bags following behind the knights. Many oxcarts and horse-drawn carriages had also gathered together, indicating that these were some of the wealthier commoners.

"Why are there light infantrymen inside?" Roland immediately noticed the light infantrymen with their uneven equipment. Some wore leather armor, while others wore chainmail, and their weapons ranged from short swords to spears. They looked even more shabby than the soldiers of the River Valley Kingdom, which displeased Roland. After all, his kingdom, while not rolling in money, could at least afford normal equipment.

“Yunfeng…” Roland subconsciously started looking for his cattle and horses.

“Ahem, Your Highness, those are all pioneering adventurers…” Omsk coughed and whispered to Roland.

"..." Roland was taken aback. He hadn't expected that the kingdom would have such a group of adventurers so soon.

"Expansion is always accompanied by bloodshed and endless wealth. Many people will fight tooth and nail for a title! Commoners in the city with ability, resources and ambition will be willing to gamble for a future!" Omske said calmly to Roland. After all, this was a way to advance in a class, and the easiest way at that.

“That wilderness has never been developed, people will die there…” Roland said meaningfully. After all, those going to Lulong Fortress were all soldiers. The army was formed to fight danger, so those messy things were not dangerous to the army, but they were obviously not friendly to the civilians who would settle here in the future.

“For adventurers, death is always their companion!” Omsk smiled.

“I hope that their group will be subject to legal constraints and protection,” Roland nodded.

"You're overthinking it. The Adventurers' Guild was established a long time ago!" Omske smiled and casually held up a badge. It was a round shield with a sword and staff crossed on it, clearly an adventurer's badge. Moreover, judging from its golden texture and the ten stars on it, it was obviously of a high level.

"Ten-star adventurers..." Roland's lips twitched. Those things were much rarer than sixth-tier professionals. After all, how many quests would a ten-star adventurer have to accept and successfully complete to raise their level to ten stars? And ten-star quests were generally quite difficult... Wait a minute!
"Where did you come from? And how did you get to ten stars?" Roland finally realized that the Adventurers' Guild had no quest that required Omsk to reach ten stars!

"Ahem, is it possible that this guild was founded by those two old men, Radil and Adile? And I registered under their names?" Omsk glanced at Roland, looking like he was making a fuss over nothing.

"This is rigged!" Roland smirked. Registering with a max-level account? Who could stand that!

"There's nothing I can do. One of them is the guild leader and the other is the vice-leader, so I have to step in to cover for them. Otherwise, we can't issue those high-level missions!" Omske shrugged helplessly.

"..." Roland finally understood. It was mainly to make it easier to issue high-level missions in the future, right? Otherwise, without high-level adventurers to lead them, low-level adventurers wouldn't be able to accept some missions. So, after all this, you're just a tool!

"Is it fun? Can I have one?" Roland suddenly became playful.

"Are you afraid Queen Nyx will kill me?" Omsk glanced at Roland with disdain. Even if you, with your "henpecked" attitude, dare to join the Adventurers' Guild, those two old men, Adile, wouldn't dare to accept you. What if you really go off to take on quests for fun? Do you think they'll let you take them or refuse them?
"Is it really that bad?" Roland shook his head.

"No way? Adventurers live a life of constant danger! Your personal command of an army is enough to make Nyx weep, let alone running off with a bunch of adventurers! Are you planning to lead the kingdom's army on a mission?" Omske scoffed at Roland's words. A king as an adventurer? Don't be ridiculous. The other kingdoms would probably laugh at Lagrang. People who don't know better would think your Adventurers' Guild couldn't find enough people and was using the king to make up the numbers! "Well...that makes sense. I'm speechless!" Roland was dumbfounded.

"Don't think about it anymore, let it develop naturally. The revival of the empire takes time. In the future, the temples will once again stand tall in the empire's territory, and various guilds will spring up like mushrooms after rain. The Adventurers' Guild is just one of them," Omske said gently, as if he could already see that golden age.

“But before that, we should consider how to arrange the settlement!” Omske interrupted Roland’s reverie.

"Let's set off first, we'll discuss things on the way!" Roland gave Omsk a wink, and Omsk immediately understood and began organizing the team to set off. After all, with the elderly and children in tow, it would take half a day to get moving.

……

"So, what's the matter? Have you come up with anything yet?" Omske glanced at the lovey-dovey Caslow and Ajax before turning his gaze to Roland.

"Don't rush, I'm still thinking..." Roland waved his hand impatiently.

"I'm wondering if we should establish this city on the riverbank... After all, we need an inland port city, and we'll definitely need to utilize the shipping on the Swift River in the future!" Roland pondered. Swift River City was clearly not a port city; being some distance from the Swift River, it was destined to only have a port, not become a port city. Its role had always been that of a fulcrum for the northern territories! The residence of the Governor of the North! Roland had arranged Swift River City as the future capital for Renault; the current Lulong Fortress was merely a transitional measure.

“It’s worth considering. After all, Swiftstream City is positioned as a major city, and the waterway hub can’t be located there!” Omsk nodded knowingly.

“I suggest you consider this place!” Omske pointed out a location to Roland from his horse.

"Here?" Roland asked, somewhat puzzled.

“Yes, this is the perfect place! Don’t forget, the entire Dark Forest is no longer entirely our territory!” Omske suddenly said meaningfully.

Roland understood this, since the entire Rovanian region was part of the Empire's territory in the game's history, but now the White Wings' Kingdom of Akvia had appeared on the edge of the Dark Forest.

"Although we are allies, for our own interests, necessary containment is still required! If you don't want a powerful nation to grow stronger around you... restrictions are the best option!" Omske whispered meaningfully to Roland. If it were a dwarf or elven kingdom, Omske wouldn't have reacted so strongly. After all, the dwarves and elves have such pitiful populations; even if they were allowed to develop for a thousand years with their eyes closed, their numbers would remain the same. Their desire for land isn't as urgent. But humans are different. Who knows how many more people will be born in future generations? Population growth inevitably leads to territorial expansion, and the thought of a powerful nation rising up next door sends chills down Omske's spine. The most terrifying thing is that that nation has absolutely no relation to Lagrang—no bloodline connection, no governing law... It's a disaster! The North might just be a constant battleground between humans from now on!
“Therefore, it would be best to confine their territory to the area south of the Dense Forest River, north of the Dark Forest Mountains, east of the Magic River, and west of the Swift River!” Omske drew a circle on the map.

“It’s not that I’m being cynical, but the problem is we don’t know what the future holds. Will the two countries have disputes and wars over territory? That’s why this port city is so important! It can directly support the front lines! Even if we do go to war…” After considering the worst-case scenario, Omske concluded that this location was the bridgehead to contain the Kingdom of Akvia. After all, if they wanted to expand, they could only move south and east. The Eastern Swiftstream City was an insurmountable barrier, and this port city in the south could also send a large army to their border at any time!

(End of this chapter)