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

Chapter 842 Peeping Gaze

"Then why don't you command your own army?" Roland suddenly asked, puzzled. After all, given Denetor II's background, he was practically destined to be the future regent. Logically, it wouldn't be unreasonable for him to raise a private army from within the family to fulfill his dreams! On the contrary, such a thing would usually receive the support and praise of the family! Ambitious families wouldn't allow their heir to become an incompetent fool!
Giving the heir an army to train is an old tradition among nobles. However, Roland here is referring to the powerful nobles of the empire. But the nobles of Middle-earth should be similar to those of the Lagrange Empire, right?

“Well, this involves some political reasons…” Denesor II glanced at the expressionless Horfa and then shrugged helplessly at Roland.

"Politics? Does Gondor have other heirs?" Roland asked in surprise. After all, in his memory, Ethelion II only had one son, Denethor II. Could there be other sons in this world?
"It has nothing to do with my family, but it is very important to other families..." Denesor II rubbed his temples, sighed helplessly, and gave Roland a knowing look.

Roland, a man steeped in five thousand years of political intrigue, was incredibly astute! He instantly understood Denethor II's predicament from the weariness in his eyes. Given the current state of the Gondorian nobles, surely none of them wouldn't want to seize power for him and claim credit for his rise to power? If Denethor II were to raise an army while Turgon was still alive, a Middle-earth version of the coronation might just unfold!
“Heh, those parasites…” Roland chuckled awkwardly. No wonder the little angry young man ran to the North. He probably had no influence within Gondor. The wise and learned Denethor II was unwilling to be used by those people, since Gondor would ultimately be the one to be harmed!

“Actually, it’s easy to solve. You need an army that is loyal to you, but the situation in Gondor is too sensitive for you to arrange. You can consider that!” Roland said, patting the table and gesturing with his lips.

“The Kingdom of Lagrange has selected you! You can trust us!” Roland spread his hands.

"???" Denesor II was stunned. What the heck?

"Don't you understand? I can leave you a piece of land to train soldiers, and you can take them with you whenever you need them. Of course, if you are willing to pay more, I don't mind having the kingdom's elite troops with combat experience train them. That way, you will have an army with the most complete methods for dealing with orcs in this land!" Roland's words were like poison mixed with honey, making Denethor II want to try it even though he knew it was dangerous.

As for what Denethor II really intended to do with these soldiers, Roland didn't care. Denethor II's early ascension to the throne was a salvation, not a harm, for Gondor, and also a suitable cover for Lagrang. With him leading the charge, Sauron shouldn't be able to charge into Lagrang, right? After all, one threat was far to the north, and the other was close at the door. Roland didn't believe that Sauron would choose the more distant option!

"Hiss..." Denethor II was taken aback at first, then he was drawn in by Roland's words. After all, what passionate young man hadn't dreamed of becoming a hero and saving the people from dire straits? The young Denethor II seemed to already see Gondor's borders riddled with holes in the face of a massive invasion of wandering orcs. At that moment, Denethor II would suddenly appear with a well-trained army, swiftly defeat the orcs, and then pursue them all the way to reclaim Minas Isil!

"Besides, I can also provide you with enchanted equipment!" Roland thumped his chest loudly, he was quite confident in this regard!
Over the years, Yun Feng diligently crafted enchanted equipment in his spare time. Although it was only the simplest, most basic enchanted equipment, the sheer quantity he produced, combined with the standard enchanted equipment he obtained through Roland's system check-ins, allowed the Kingdom of Lagrange to completely upgrade the equipment of its soldiers! The old equipment was sold by Ruhr's caravans to the Vale, Akvia, and the Beorn people, with a small portion even flowing south. Interestingly, while the Gondor nobles weren't particularly fond of investing in their armies, the enchanted equipment shipped south became hot commodities. Initially, Roland was surprised that the Gondor nobles had such clever minds, but it turned out it was simply because this stuff held its value and could even appreciate…

That's right! In this era where armor can be passed down through three generations and the armor itself still exists, a perfectly good enchanted piece of equipment can be used for several generations. These items are also high-level consumables, and for nobles, they are just like gold and silver – hard currency that can retain its value. You can never have too much!

"Enchanted equipment?" Denethor II's heart skipped a beat. He knew that the Kingdom of Lagrange had been sending caravans south to sell enchanted equipment in recent years. He had guessed that the Kingdom of Lagrange was acting as a middleman for the dwarves. However, this trip to the North made Denethor II realize that the Kingdom of Lagrange most likely had a way to produce enchanted equipment themselves! Otherwise, there was no reason why they could equip every soldier they saw with enchanted gear! The price of a complete set would be enough to make an ordinary middle-class commoner bleed!
“Of course, all of them!” Roland said casually, waving his hand as if it were a trivial matter.

"As long as you can recruit a group of farmers, I can have my soldiers train them into a regular army! And equip them with the best weapons! Of course, you'll need to pay me!" Roland said calmly. Using Gondor to wage a Middle-earth version of a proxy war against Mordor wouldn't be bad!
Roland knew that Sauron had returned to Mordor and begun massing his army! However, Sauron's failure to reveal his identity as he had in history made Roland realize that he had changed part of history. In the original story, Sauron had already revealed his identity and appeared in Mordor, and had even stolen the Crystal of True Knowledge!
"..." Roland frowned as he thought about this. He knew very well what the True Knowledge Crystal was for—it was basically a large map cheat... So, wouldn't Lagrange be completely exposed to Mordor right now? As he thought about it, Roland felt annoyed. After all, having inherited the "Chinese rabbit's" habit of hiding things, Roland certainly didn't want to stand naked under Thor's nose like this.

"What's wrong, Your Majesty?" Denethor II, who was still lost in his fantasies and full of ambition, keenly noticed the change in Roland's expression. Seeing that King Roland seemed to be about to change his mind, Denethor II, who had been wavering, instantly became determined to train an army in the North.

"Nothing, I'm worried about the orcs of Mordor," Roland said vaguely. After all, the danger in Mordor wasn't just the orcs; the real tyrant was Sauron behind it all, and Roland naturally couldn't tell Denethor II about Sauron's return.

……

"A chaotic mess... Strange!" Soren held the Crystal of True Knowledge in the Black Tower and looked north. Instantly, he saw the movements of Akvia, the River Valley, and even Lonely Mountain. However, when Soren focused his attention on the Kingdom of Lagrange, a strange scene appeared. The system cities such as Lagrange City, Swiftstream City, and Lulong Fortress were all shrouded in mist. Only Palembang and Dragon Cliff Fortress appeared clearly in front of Soren.

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