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

Chapter 65 Heavy City Defense Crossbow

"Caslo! How's the situation in the north?" Roland asked Caslo, who had just returned from reconnaissance.

"The orcs have set up camp a hundred miles north of Irube City, and it looks like a semi-permanent camp," Caslo said.

"They've set up camp?" Roland asked in surprise.

“Yes! I don’t know the exact number, but it’s definitely over ten thousand. And this time, the orcs are well-equipped. Compared to them, the orcs of the wasteland are nothing. Oh! Sir, we should get some wine.” Caslo grabbed a cup, took a sip of water, then smacked his lips, complaining about how bland the water was.

"Hahaha! After we deal with these orcs, I'll treat you to a good drink." Roland laughed heartily at Caslo's antics.

"Alright, let's get down to business. I think these orcs are from the northern wastelands..." Roland pondered carefully on the sand table for a long time before finally speaking.

"Why?" Caslo picked up a grilled fish and started eating it.

"You're really not being polite!" Roland said helplessly, looking at the hand reaching for his plate.

"I haven't eaten all day."

“Alright, let’s talk about these orcs. Their decision to set up camp is very strange,” Roland said.

“What’s so strange about that? They’re tired, so naturally they need to set up camp and rest,” Caslow said.

“No, no, no, you said their camp is semi-permanent, so why would they build a semi-permanent camp?” Roland countered.

"Sir, you mean...they're waiting for reinforcements?" Caslo's eyes widened.

“Of course, this time the orcs intend to wipe us out in one fell swoop. Los Sannier has already been discovered by Azog, and Swiftstream City has only been hidden until now because it is separated from us by the Swiftstream River. They must have already learned of the Wasteland Orcs' defeat, so they will not attack unless they are absolutely certain of victory,” Roland analyzed.

“So this group of orcs must be from the northern wasteland region. They are waiting for the orcs from Dogordo and Gombada Fortress to attack together,” Roland sneered.

"What should we do? Should we tell them this?" Caslo also became anxious.

“What’s the point of telling them?” Roland countered.

“…” Caslo was speechless.

"The orcs are playing dirty tricks, and we can only react passively. Instead of worrying about these things, we should focus on training our soldiers," Roland said calmly.

"Alright, you can eat slowly. I'm going to check on how Lance's work is going." Roland stood up and walked out of the tent.

……

"Is this the finished product?" Roland looked at the heavy crossbow in front of him with curiosity, from left to right.

"That's right, Your Highness! This is a heavy-duty city defense crossbow!" Lance proudly introduced the deadly weapon in front of him.

"Heavy-duty city defense crossbow! The crossbow arm is 5 meters long, firing a 3-meter standard crossbow, with an effective range of 2000 meters. Of course, if the crossbow runs out, it can also be used to fire a standard Lagrange spear." Lance said to Roland with satisfaction as he looked at the finished product in front of him.

"Lagrange spears? With that?" Roland exclaimed in surprise.

“Yes, its crossbow bolts are designed based on the standard Lagrange spear,” Lance said matter-of-factly. This thing was designed with the incorporation of soldiers’ weapons in mind.

The creation of this deadly weapon was due to Roland obtaining twelve dragon tendon crossbow strings through a daily check-in. These things are made from dragon tendons, and the entire production process takes several years. Smaug's dragon tendons will also be secretly crafted into crossbow strings in the future.

"How many can you build?" Roland patted the heavy crossbow and turned to ask.

“12! Your Highness, you know we only have 12 qualified crossbow strings. The other untreated dragon tendons are unusable.” Lance said regretfully. “That’s true, I was greedy…sigh~” Roland was still dreaming of filling the walls of Swiftstream with these things, but now it seems that a maximum of 3 sets can be placed on one wall.

"Finish them all as soon as possible. Set up three on each city wall. War is not far away," Roland instructed.

"Yes, Your Highness." Lance nodded. The situation was urgent, and Swiftstream City urgently needed these defensive facilities to strengthen its defenses.

"Huh? Isn't that a heavy city defense crossbow? When did we get such a good thing?" Renault had just returned from patrol when he saw the menacing heavy crossbow.

“Lance and his team just made it today,” Roland said.

“Not bad, not bad! With this, we have more tactics. However, if I may be disrespectful, Your Highness, how many city defense crossbows do we have?” Marcus emerged from behind Renault, having just finished his training for the day.

“A maximum of 12 units, and we'll need the orcs to give us time to manufacture them.” Lance straightened his collar and stepped forward.

“Well, it’s a large machine, so it’s okay if it’s slow,” Marcus said understandingly.

"Hehehe, with this thing, high-level orc professionals will be in danger." Marcus's lips curled into a strange smile.

"What are you thinking about?" Roland asked curiously.

“Hehehe~” Marcus turned his gaze toward Radil’s residence.

"Wow... you're planning to play with enchanted crossbows?" Langston immediately understood his intentions.

"Tell me about it," Roland said, his interest piqued.

"Your Highness, it seems you'll have to contribute some dragon blood." Lance covered his face, not wanting to see Marcus's pathetic appearance.

"Oh?" Roland asked, puzzled.

"Using dragon blood to temper steel? To forge an enchanted crossbow?" The well-informed Renault quickly realized.

"Isn't this too wasteful?" Caslo's eyes widened. Although Smaug had a lot of dragon blood, using it to quench steel was too wasteful. The best use of dragon blood was to use alchemists to fuse it into various rare metals or materials to create magical materials containing dragon magic. Directly quenching it was too wasteful.

“But we don’t have any alchemists, so we can only use the quenching method to make magical materials so that Lord Radil can inscribe magical runes and create enchanted crossbows.” Marcus spread his hands with a wronged expression. Although it was a waste to do this, there was no other way. Otherwise, without magical materials, Radil would not be able to conjure enchanted equipment out of thin air.

"Don't we have a lava forge?" Roland exclaimed in surprise, knowing that the lava forge was specifically designed to manufacture magical equipment.

“Your Highness, we are not dwarves, and we don’t have any rare metals, unless we melt down our own weapons,” Renault said, throwing cold water on our enthusiasm.

"..." Roland.

"With a major battle imminent, we urgently need to improve our strength. I think this sacrifice is acceptable. After all, only by protecting Swiftstream City can we have the right to say that we have restored the glory of the Empire!" Marcus said slowly.

Everyone was speechless for a moment. Although the simple and brutal use of dragon blood was heartbreaking, if they couldn't even protect their only territory, then no amount of wealth would be worthless.

“You are right!” Roland affirmed, more concerned with whether the crown on his head was secure than with the gain or loss of wealth.

“Go for it, I’ll support you wholeheartedly,” Roland encouraged Marcus.

Updated! Please vote! I'll resume two updates a week.



(End of this chapter)