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

Chapter 62 The Swift Legion
"Hmm? I think I have another way to acquire soldiers!" Roland pondered for a moment and finally realized that he actually had a system shop! However, the items there were really expensive... so Roland almost never looked at those items, since he couldn't afford to buy them just by looking.

"Check the store!" Roland quietly instructed the system.

"Whoosh!" A light screen, visible only to Roland, unfolded before his eyes.

"Damn it! These are all good stuff!" Roland couldn't help but shed tears.

"Item 1: Blazing Dragon Rider General: Rank: 5! Quantity: 1. Price: 1 million wealth points."

"Item Two: Light Sage: Quantity: 2. Price: 80 Wealth Points."

"Item 3: Time-Space Annihilation Forbidden Spell Scroll: Rank: Great Forbidden Spell! Usage Limit: 2. Quantity: 1. Price: 1 million wealth points."

……

"Emmm, they're all amazing stuff! But look at me, a penniless guy with only 40 in wealth, what can I possibly buy?" Roland suddenly experienced the feeling of being stumped by a billion dollars.

"Item Twelve: The Half-Crippled Swiftflow Legion! Description: This was originally a full-strength Swiftflow Infantry Legion, but after suffering various natural and man-made disasters, it currently only has 1500 Swiftflow Infantrymen remaining. Discount Price: 30 Wealth Points!"

"What the hell? System, did you plan this all out?! Did you set the price based on my account balance?!" Roland's face turned green instantly, then he did the math carefully...

"Damn! 200 wealth points per soldier! Are you robbing me?" Roland quickly apologized to Peter Gross for not taking good care of him before running back to his tent alone, where he started arguing with the system.

"I remember a professional soldier used to only cost 5 wealth points, right?" Roland vaguely remembered the price back then.

"Take it or leave it! Don't you know about inflation these days?" The system finally delivered its aloof voice.

"You're profiting from the national crisis!" Roland suddenly gained a deeper understanding of the system's shamelessness.

"..." The system acted like a dead dog.

"Damn! I'll buy it!" Roland thought of his fourth-tier commander Marcus, and with a determined heart, he slammed his hand on the table and bought it.

"Whoosh~" The wealth points on the system interface shrank rapidly, and soon only 10 wealth points remained.

"Fine! I'll tolerate it for the sake of these life-saving troops!" Roland sighed. Even if these 1500 men were conscripted light infantry, Roland would still buy them. Roland was desperately short of soldiers! 1500 soldiers were enough for Roland to operate the entire war.

"Marcus should be very happy!" Roland thought to himself. After all, Marcus, the former commander of the Lagrange city defenses, was known as an impregnable fortress. His understanding and command of infantry was simply an art. With this Swift Infantry Legion, he should be able to make the most of his strengths. Roland estimated that it would be impossible to go out and fight the orcs in open field battles. He estimated that the war in the south would mainly consist of urban siege warfare.

Roland got up and went to a corner of the tent, where a simple sand table with Swiftstream City as the center was placed. It clearly showed the terrain, the height of the mountains, and other things that a map could not express. Roland looked at the two cities standing at the mouth of Long Lake and had no confidence in the war that was to come.

“I have found all the allies I could find and gathered all the soldiers I could muster. We can’t win this battle…” Roland rubbed his temples. “My lord! Sir Peter has left.” Caslo lifted the curtain and entered.

"Yes, we still need him over there." Roland waved his hand dismissively.

"My lord, I didn't expect you to have forbidden spell scrolls! Why didn't you use them at the beginning? I just saw Lord Radil sitting at home with a dark face, muttering to himself." Caslo asked curiously, then, remembering Radil's bewildered expression and how he had met the wrong person, he burst out laughing.

"Uh, that thing has been sitting at the bottom of my drawer for too long. I only found it this time. I had forgotten about it when I first arrived," Roland quickly tried to cover it up.

“Hmm, that’s true. After all, there are quite a lot of things passed down from generation to generation, and they’re not easy to find.” Caslo automatically imagined the scene.

"..." Roland's mouth twitched as he listened. Inheritance, huh?! It was all given to him by that heartless system; it was enough to make him cry! Roland even got Durex condoms from his daily check-ins... What use are these condoms to me? Still uneasy! Still melancholy... (Ahem! Wrong channel.)
"By the way, are you feeling better?" Roland asked with concern. After all, Caslo, a third-tier Grand Knight, had fought head-on with a fifth-tier War General. If it weren't for Valve's power surge under Manicati's influence, Roland, the dragon knight, wouldn't be in this situation. Everyone would probably be standing in front of his tombstone with wreaths, mourning him deeply.

"It's nothing! I just need a day of rest, it's just a minor injury!" Caslo said nonchalantly.

Roland was filled with envy. As expected of someone who had signed a contract with the dragons, their recovery ability was just like that of the dragons.

"King Roland! Huh? Caslo? You're here too?" Verway peeked in from outside the tent and was very surprised to see Caslo. Had his injury healed so quickly?
"Yes, Lord Valverde, my injury is nothing serious." Caslo showed respect, for he was not only a Rank 6 expert, but more importantly, a future Elf King!
"What is it, Your Excellency Verve?" Roland still addressed him as Your Excellency, since Verve had not yet established a kingdom and could not be addressed as King.

"I came to see you! And to thank you for your help," Verway said gratefully. If it weren't for the elven holy sword Manicati that Roland gave him, he would have been dead this time.

"It's alright, didn't you save Caslo's life too?" Roland didn't care at all. Manica was just an ornament in his hand, but he really didn't expect that this thing could actually give birth to an Elf King! As expected of the Fiery Sword among the Elf Holy Swords, it actually forcibly transformed the wielder's attributes and strengthened its rank.

“But I still want to thank you.” Verway bowed deeply.

"You're welcome. Helping you is also my way of helping ourselves." Roland waved his hand.

"By the way, what are you planning to do after you come down?" Roland was quite curious about the whereabouts of the grassland elves. After all, Verway was already a sixth-tier professional, and there was nowhere to protect them. Moreover, the grassland population was sparse, so they could easily avoid the orcs. Whether they crossed the Misty Mountains to the west or went north to the Gray Mountains, Verway was now capable of leading them down the mountain! This was the deterrent power of a sixth-tier professional.

"If you want to take your people away, the orcs won't stop you." Seeing that Verway was silent, Roland spoke up. In the past, the grassland elves were weak, so Roland had to recruit some of them. Now, the grassland elves had undergone a complete transformation. Their numbers were small, and Verway could take good care of them. Even if Azog and Polg were brain-dead, they wouldn't use their own men to create a quasi-elf king. That wasn't just a matter of being mentally challenged...

"I intend to stay and help you!" After a long silence, Verway finally spoke. The grassland elves were not an ungrateful race; on the contrary, they were quick to repay kindness and vengeance, and their sexy, fierce, and straightforward nature set them apart from ordinary elves.

“Then welcome! If this battle ends and we are both still alive… I will watch you be crowned the King of the Grasslands Elf King.” Roland looked up at him and smiled sincerely. The friendship between kings is simple, isn’t it?

Second update! Please vote for me! I haven't had the motivation to write these past few days without votes.

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(End of this chapter)