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

Chapter 697 Planning for Grain
After a few peaceful days, summer arrived in Middle-earth. Unlike the bustling agricultural scenes in the directly administered regions of the Kingdom of Lagrange, the entire Lion Territory appeared somewhat lifeless. After all, becoming a battlefield for the Forbidden Spell War was a devastating blow to any territory. Elemental turbulence still raged across the battlefield ruins, with wind and fire elementals occasionally bursting forth and disappearing into the void. This was the aftereffect of the Forbidden Spell, which, like nuclear weapons, would continue to affect the area for decades to come…

However, Apophis Breo was fortunate. The kingdom did not stand idly by. Instead, Roland actively sent Yun Feng and Adolf Heinrich, two top spellcasters, to help them clear the remaining elemental turbulence on the battlefield. This task was quite familiar to Yun Feng, since he had cleared the elemental turbulence outside the City of Swiftflow last time.

"You've worked hard, Your Excellencies!" Apophis Breo sincerely patted his chest in greeting. Although the two were acting under orders, they still needed to be properly courteous. Otherwise, if they did nothing but shirk their duties, Apophis Breo would be the one who suffered in the end.

"It's alright, this is our duty, but I was injured back then and couldn't clean these things up!" Adolf Heinrich smiled amicably at Apophis Breo. The backlash from his forced use of Divine Word hadn't fully healed yet, but it no longer affected his ability to use magic. Besides, Lion Territory couldn't afford to delay any longer. They could still catch the tail end of the planting season, but if they didn't clean up these elemental turbulence, Lion Territory would probably have no harvest this year!
"Considering the impact of the war and the orcish trampling... I estimate you can still recover half of the grain!" Yun Feng said to Apophis Breo with a somewhat gloomy expression. In this era, grain is the foundation of a kingdom and a reflection of its vitality. Clearly, the King's Landing family is now in the same predicament as the Kingdom of Lagrange.

"..." Apophis Breo stared at the fallen wheat seedlings and the green stalks torn apart by the elemental turbulence, his face dark. He pursed his lips, not saying a word, but his heart was bleeding!
"The elves of the valley are willing to offer us some assistance, so we won't trouble Your Highness!" Apophis Breo said to Yun Feng quite consciously. After all, he had understood Yun Feng's subtle hint earlier; he was clearly asking if he needed the kingdom's support. The Lion Territory, having experienced turmoil, was indeed in dire need of the kingdom's support, but Apophis Breo considered Roland's resources...

Forget it! Let each mind their own business. Roland is practically begging for food right now, so he's powerless to help. Apophis Breo decided not to cause Roland any more trouble.

"If you need anything, contact the Kingdom immediately. The Kingdom will not abandon its people! The blood of the Lagranges will always be connected!" Yun Feng said, as if reminding someone and making a promise at the same time.

Apophis Breo nodded silently without speaking. Everything was already too much for him to handle, leaving him no energy to think about anything else. The territory needed rebuilding, the fortress needed repairing... Good heavens! Apophis Breo was overwhelmed with worry!

……

"Is the situation at Apophis Breo's place a complete mess?" Roland shook his head and said to Yun Feng.

"Actually, it's better than we expected. The farmland wasn't completely destroyed, and we estimate that about half of it can be salvaged!" Adolf Heinrich shook his teacup, pondered for a moment, and said to Roland.

“…How much supplies does he need? Let’s scrape together what we can to get for him.” Roland said after a moment of silence.

"I mentioned this to him indirectly, and Duke Apophis Breo declined our aid. The elves of the Valley will also provide him with some supplies," Yunfeng shrugged. "That's a bargain for Rivendell! The Lion's Territory is essentially a shield for Rivendell; their support for Apophis Breo is only natural!" Roland sneered. The Lion's Territory had, to a certain extent, shouldered the responsibility of defending Rivendell against the orcs of Mount Gondambad; it would be unreasonable for the elves not to offer any assistance!
"King Elon is quite adept at dealing with people!" Yunfeng chuckled. After all, a thousand-year-old elf is a shrewd man. He knows how to balance the surrounding forces. This time, he directly offered to support Lion Territory, which was exactly what he did. He took out the resources that should have been given to Lion Territory in advance, which not only won him favor with the Kingdom of Lagrange, but also maintained the friendly attitude of the barrier forces towards him. It can be said that he achieved multiple goals at once.

“I was already planning to take the dragon riders and extort money from the Valley Elves if they didn’t say anything!” Roland quickly revealed his true colors, which is why he said it was a bargain for Rivendell. He actually hoped that King Elrond would forget about this matter, so that he would have a reason to question and extort money from them. With the wealth of the elves, helping the entire kingdom get through next year’s autumn harvest would not be a problem.

However, it seems that his plan has failed... He can only ask the people to hoard supplies.

"..." Unlike Adolf Heinrich's bewildered expression, Yun Feng had an expression of knowing full well, as if she had already seen through Roland's intentions.

"Why are you looking at me like that? Why should the common people suffer when you can take advantage of the rich?" Roland said nonchalantly. The more the elves squeezed his people, the fewer times they would have to swing their fishing nets and venture into the wasteland. It would be better for the elves to suffer than for the common people!
"Good heavens..." Yun Feng covered his face, speechless. You wouldn't even need to act like a scoundrel; you'd be playing yourself! The Valley Elves of Rivendell are all in cahoots with you, preparing to fight Sauron, and you've already outsmarted them...

"How about we head to Rivendell? We fought tooth and nail to hold off the orcs at Gombada Fortress, and this isn't enough supplies!" Roland rubbed his chin, already preparing to slaughter the elves. Although the elves had given their opinion, it didn't mean he accepted it! Hmm! Having a mother figure to solve problems is so fast!
"No... the kingdom still has its pride!" Yun Feng quickly grabbed Roland. If Roland really went to Rivendell, the entire Kingdom of Lagrange would lose face throughout the whole of Middle-earth. The Kingdom of Lagrange was famous in Middle-earth for its reputation for fighting against the orc army. If Roland went there, he would become a laughing stock for the king to beg for alms.

"Tsk, what a hassle!" Roland sat down with a disgruntled expression, pondering where to get some food reserves to get through the winter. He knew that the kingdom would have to provide some supplies for the thousands of goblins.

“I think you should use that time to send the dragon riders south to Gondor to buy some grain. They can bring back some spatial equipment and bring it all back. It’s convenient, fast, and efficient! Most importantly, the kingdom doesn’t lack high-end combat power right now, so the departure of some dragon riders won’t affect the deterrent effect of high-end combat power on orcs and ringwraiths!” Adolf Heinrich suddenly said weakly.

"..." Roland and Yunfeng exchanged a glance, their faces flushing red with embarrassment! They had almost forgotten that things were different now. Lagrang had risen up and was no longer a kingdom clinging to power with just a dragon knight and a couple of sixth-tier warriors! Just throwing Adolf Heinrich out was enough to terrify the orcs. Others might not know, but the orcs knew best what had happened outside the Old Pass. At least the orcs of Gambada and Dolgodo didn't dare stand in front of Adolf Heinrich anymore.

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