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

Chapter 660 The Wandering Mage
Lion's Territory, Lion's Fortress.

"Tsk! Has King Roland lost his mind?" Apophis Breo casually tossed aside the intelligence report in his hand, which detailed various recent events within the kingdom, such as Ismir becoming a newly promoted lord. However, compared to this, the following matter was more challenging to Apophis Breo's brain capacity: Since when could lords go out and explore? With the current size of the kingdom... can it be compared to the lords of the Empire era? They are two completely different species!

Apophis Breo feared that he would soon receive news that the newly promoted Lord Ismir had died in battle in his own frontier territory. Roland would be in serious trouble then, as the death of a newly promoted nobleman would attract considerable attention and could potentially damage the royal family's credibility. Apophis Breo naturally saw the potential downsides.

"Perhaps the king has his own reasons?" Olaf rubbed his nose.

“What’s the point of considering this? What can a newly promoted lord do? How many militiamen does he have under his command?” Apophis Breo scoffed.

"I need to remind Roland, we can't let this guy die so easily!" Apophis Breo frowned. As a descendant of an old noble family and a high-ranking noble, he naturally had to protect the interests of the high-ranking nobles. In essence, the dukes and the king and emperor were on the same side.

“I will!” Olaf nodded.

"How has the territory been lately?" Apophis Breo asked. He spent his days overseeing the reinforcement of the fortress on the western front of King's Landing, so he naturally didn't have much time to manage other matters. Olaf was thus forced into the role of steward. Although Olaf was only a half-baked steward, Apophis Breo had enough patience and time to let him learn from his mistakes. Olaf stumbled through the job of stewarding the territory, making a series of minor errors rather than major ones.

"Thankfully, the number of refugees has increased significantly! Not only have remnants of the Empire joined us, but also many refugees from the North! The population has now surpassed six thousand!" Olaf rubbed his temples wearily. Apophis Breo had a blast fighting orcs on the border, while he himself had gone mad from sitting in Lion's Keep...

Due to its geographical location, the Kingdom of Lagrange, under Roland's direct control, cannot receive the original refugees from the North. The Kingdom of Akvia in the west and the River Valley State in the north both block the refugees' path to join them. In addition, Roland prefers system-generated refugees and has never actively recruited native refugees from the North. However, Apophis Breo's Lion Territory spans the Misty Mountains. Apart from a few system-generated refugees, the majority are human refugees from the North. When these homeless humans go to the territory of the Beorn, they are first intercepted by Apophis Breo. They can only develop by relying on the territory of Apophis Breo, the native northerner.

"Yes, pay attention to land allocation. That land is the lifeblood of the common people. There can't be any problems with this, or people will die!" Apophis Breo said calmly, but Olaf could hear the undeniable authority in his calm voice.

"Don't worry, I'm keeping a close eye on things! I'm heading back to the East if there's nothing else; there's a ton of mess to deal with there!" Olaf said helplessly. He used to think King Roland was a hands-off boss who treated Yunfeng like a beast of burden, but now it was his turn to be the beast of burden...

"You've worked hard!" Apophis Breo nodded. Although he and Roland were both the type of people who didn't want to be involved, there was one good thing about the imperial nobles: they would feed the horses they worked for. The nobles wouldn't mistreat their subordinates who had helped them rise to power. For example, although Yun Feng worked like a slave all day, he was guaranteed a dukedom in the future. Apophis Breo certainly wasn't mistreating Olaf; in his heart, he had reserved a count's position for Olaf.

"Hmm...right! Your Highness, you need to go back to Lion's Castle!" Olaf suddenly seemed to remember something, took a few steps, and then turned back.

"What?" Apophis Breo's eyes narrowed. He was itching, his fists were itching. Olaf wouldn't have demolished Lion's Fortress for him, would he...? His heart pounded with anxiety.
“There is a remnant of the Empire, a fourth-tier wandering mage, who I am currently keeping as a guest in Lion's Keep. If you hurry, you might be able to recruit him!” Olaf said slowly.

"..." Apophis Breo leaped up and rushed out of the tent with lightning speed, even using the skills Sprint and Charge. Olaf smirked. Ha! A nobleman! Because there's a low probability of encountering a professional among the refugees, and an extremely low probability of encountering a high-level professional, Apophis Breo was lucky enough to encounter a fourth-tier wandering mage this time. Even Roland would treat such a talent as an honored guest! For a territory where spellcasting units are still practically nonexistent, the attraction is undeniable!

……

"Greetings, Your Excellency Duke Apophis Breo! I am Radu, a fourth-tier wood-type mage. It is an honor to be a guest in your territory!" Radu was wearing a simple mage robe that looked very worn out. It was probably just an ordinary piece of equipment. After all, what good equipment could a wandering mage have?

"Greetings, Lord Radu. What are your thoughts on Lion's Territory?" Apophis Breo asked Radu for his opinion on Lion's Territory.

"Ah! Not bad, it's thriving." Radu nodded.

"Then, would you be interested in taking up a post in Lion's Territory? You should know that Lion's Territory has no mages. If you are willing to accept the offerings of the King's Landing family, then you will be my chief mage!" Apophis Breo said directly and sincerely. After all, given his status, there was no need for him to beat around the bush or resort to trickery (yes! I'm talking to you! Ismir! Who are you looking at?). It's best to be straightforward when others are working for you. If they are willing to stay, Apophis Breo welcomes them with open arms; if not, he won't force them. After all, the King's Landing family has its own pride and a rich foundation. It's not like they're lacking another fourth-tier mage. If you really push Apophis Breo too far, he might as well resort to forbidden spells and clash with you!

"May I ask about the treatment?" Radu smiled somewhat awkwardly, after all, he was just a poor wandering mage. Unlike mages who received system rewards or signed in daily, wandering mages started with very poor equipment, which could be seen from his tattered mage robe. Compared to Radil, who was also a fourth-tier mage, the difference in equipment was too obvious.

"The treatment is naturally easy to discuss, such as a reasonable salary and equipment that matches your status. This is the sincerity of the King's Family and the obligation to its retainers! Of course, if you want to obtain these, you also need to show your loyalty to the family!" Apophis Breo said in a serious tone.

"I am willing to serve Your Highness!" After only a few seconds of thought, Radu bowed down without hesitation and placed his hand on his chest in an elegant mage's salute.

"I accept your allegiance as the head of the King's Landing family!" Apophis Breo tapped his shoulders with his sword. Like Roland, he was not used to the formalities of the nobility, and his oath of allegiance was very simple.

“Welcome to the fortress, sir. To be honest, I was just worried about not having a mage to guard it!” Apophis Breo sighed.

"What difficulties does Your Highness face?" Radu quickly put himself in the role and asked.

“The fortresses west of King’s Landing are frequently infiltrated, and I need someone with magical detection abilities to oversee them!” Apophis Breo said truthfully.

First update.