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

Chapter 696 Ismir personally leads the team
"Are you crazy? You actually went deep into the jungle?" Ismir's eyes widened as he stared in horror at the goblin knights dragging deer carcasses and carrying pheasants. Obviously, wild deer couldn't possibly be near Windhelm, as human habitation would drive away any approaching wild beasts, so they could only have gone deep into the jungle.

"My lord, we've been chasing these excellent prey for a long time!" The leading goblin knight was clearly not focused on venturing deeper into the jungle; instead, he kept emphasizing to Ismir how plump and delicious their catch was...

"You've worked hard. Give these to the women and you can go and rest!" Ymir said sincerely to the goblin knights, patting them on the shoulder and offering a few words of encouragement. The goblin knights smiled, dropped their prey, and ran to their tents. Soon, the sound of rushing water as they washed up could be heard...

“They…” Ismir was still a little confused, pointing at the goblin knights who had walked away, unsure of what to say.

“They mean well, we don’t have much fresh food left!” Ymir reminded Ismir.

“If we don’t find a way to increase our food supply, your food reserves simply won’t be enough!” Ymir pointed out incisively.

"I was just afraid something would happen to them..." Ismir said, blushing slightly, having realized his mistake. He had actually been foolish enough to question the soldiers who had gone out hunting.
“They are barbarian goblin knights! They have lived in the jungle since they were young! You must believe them!” Ymir shook her head.

"Is the food shortage really that serious?" Ismir frowned. They were managing to get by not long ago, so how did the food shortage suddenly skyrocket?

"This is very serious! Don't forget we have ten more knights! Even the lowest-ranking goblin knights are still knights! Their food consumption is much higher than that of ordinary people! Besides, they also have magical beast mounts!" Ymir shrugged. Although the boars could survive by eating grass roots, they weren't pledging allegiance to you so their mounts would eat grass roots! So the appetites of these ten boars were enough to make Ismir's heart pound!
Fortunately, Roland didn't employ those goblin knights long-term, or he would be bald by now! The kingdom's knights and warhorses already consumed a huge amount of food, and there were still a lot of warhorses in his system space that he hadn't taken out yet. If he had to feed these thousands of magical beasts as well... Roland estimated that the kingdom would go bankrupt in less than two months!

Ismir only thought about the appetite of those piranhas and silently calculated the size of his truckloads of supplies, and suddenly a sense of urgency arose.

“Then we should save some money!” Ismir said seriously. After all, he had used all his gold coins to hire these goblin knights. Lord Ismir, who didn’t have much money left, naturally couldn’t afford to buy food from the kingdom to deal with the famine. He could only rely on his own ability to cut costs and increase revenue.

“I have already sealed away all that flour and rice! Now our daily diet consists of dried fish and dried meat with wild vegetables!” Ymir said calmly. He had inherited the knowledge of his ancestors and knew the importance of storing food, so he had already started doing so without waiting for Ismir's instructions. Unless there are special circumstances, bread and other staple foods should disappear from their tables before the autumn harvest next year.

"Don't let everyone go hungry..." Ismir shook his head and didn't say much. Although he left some food for emergencies, he couldn't let his people starve, or he would be putting the cart before the horse.

"Don't worry, it won't happen. I've already arranged for able-bodied men to go fishing, women and children to gather berries and wild vegetables nearby, and goblin knights to go deep into the jungle to hunt!" Ymir explained his plan to Ismir.

"Letting the goblin knights hunt is out of the question. Venturing deep into the jungle is too dangerous. Although they are knights, their skills are not comprehensive!" Ismir shook his head and refused. He had carefully studied the combat capabilities of these goblin knights, and the result could only be described as underwhelming. Unless there were enough of them, they were really not very useful. Right now, they could only fight against ordinary cavalry, and they were not qualified to charge into battle against real death knights and human riders. "I remember that goblins seem to be very good at catching field mice and rabbits. The gentle riverbanks along the Swift River are full of field mouse burrows and rabbit holes. We can let them catch these little creatures. It's not dangerous and it's efficient!" Ismir thought for a moment and said to Ymir.

“That works…” Ymir thought about it carefully and realized that this method was indeed feasible. Although catching field mice and rabbits was not as profitable as hunting large prey such as wild boars and deer, it was much more efficient! As long as they caught enough, it would be enough to feed the people of Windhelm.

"It's a pity that clothes made from field mouse and rabbit skins aren't as warm as those made from deer skin..." Ymir smacked his lips regretfully. Windhelm Town was short of all kinds of supplies. Although Ismir had brought a lot of cloth, those thin cloth clothes were still not enough to keep out the winter cold, so the territory still needed fur coats to prepare for winter.

"It's good enough to have something!" Ismir was quite easygoing. He rolled his eyes and said helplessly, "We're already doing well enough to get by!"

……

"What? Your Highness is going to teach the goblin knights knight skills?" Ismir asked in shock, looking at the griffin knight who came from Lulong Fortress. This griffin knight came specifically to inform Ismir to send goblin knights to learn skills, because in the kingdom, apart from Roland and the barbarian goblins who had signed employment contracts, Ismir was the only one who had hired goblin knights, so it was natural to inform him.

"Great!" Ismir exclaimed excitedly. He had long been annoyed by the goblin knights' meager skill pool, and now that he had the opportunity to fill it up, it would be a huge boost to their combat power! It was also good news for Windhelm Town! Only when the goblin knights, the high-end combat force of the territory, became stronger would Ismir have more confidence to expand!
After Ismir informed the goblin knights, they unsurprisingly began to sing and dance excitedly. They had long envied the human knights for their comprehensive skill system! Now that they too had the chance to experience the most sacred knightly skills, they were naturally incredibly excited!
……

"So what are you grinning about? We've sealed off that food, so without the goblin knights' hunting party, we'll soon be running out of food!" Ymir poked Ismir, who was still grinning foolishly after watching the goblin knights cross the river, and said with a helpless headache.

"..." Ismir then realized that this seemed to be the case; the warehouse couldn't last long without any inventory coming in.

“I’ll lead a hunt!” Ismir said firmly, after all, he was a druid, the most suitable person to enter the jungle!

"Do you need me to come along?" Ymir asked.

“Forget it, your aura and presence are too terrifying and obvious. Those beasts have high perception, and you will only scare them away!” Ismir thought for a moment and shook his head. If Ymir went there, he would be like a light bulb with the signboard of a top predator shining brightly. No beast would fail to notice him, and his appearance would scare away even the most timid wild deer and other creatures.