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

Chapter 856 Hidden Guard
"Dragon Flute!" Maple Forest Orchid solemnly handed Maple Forest Shulan a short flute, engraved with dragon patterns and the maple leaf crest of the McDougal family, clearly indicating that this thing was a family heirloom of the McDougal family. As the token carrying the Dragon Rider Contract, the value of the Dragon Flute was self-evident! Especially today, with the empire already collapsed, this thing can be said to be one less available once it is broken!
"What...what should I do?" Fenglin Shulan asked timidly, after all, this was the first time she had seen such a scene, and it was rare to see a group of high-level people surrounding her to watch the show.

"I'll do it!" After glancing at the dragon rider contract provided by Maple Forest Orchid, he reluctantly accepted Maple Forest Orchid's purple chain and shook his head helplessly. Rather than letting these humans slowly draw the contract according to this thing, it would be better to generate it himself with one click!
……

"Why do I feel that the kingdom's strength hasn't increased?" Doss said calmly, but with a hint of doubt.

"What do you expect from two rookie dragon knights? Are you suggesting they fight the Ringwraiths?" Roland said with a hint of helplessness, his lips pursed. He had finally managed to get Whis out of the way, only to have two more "kindergarten" members added. Who knew how long the training period for these two "babies" would be? Moreover, Roland estimated that he would most likely cripple one of the dragon knights. That's right! He was talking about Maple Forest Xilan! After all, judging from Maple Forest Youlan's appearance, he didn't intend for Maple Forest Xilan to embark on the path of a dragon knight. Chasing Light would most likely remain as the last resort for the McDoug family, meaning that the only dragon knight force the kingdom could potentially add in the future was Maple Forest Shulan!
"That's true! Anyway, I'm here!" Doss's expression was very proud, as if he were the omnipotent and powerful Dragon Emperor.

"Come on! That's for the future! Everyone should keep a low profile now. I don't want to be blocked at the gate by Dragon Island!" Roland said irritably. It would be fine if one wild dragon found out, but it would be a real problem if the whole Dragon Island found out!
Roland didn't want to fight the wild dragons on Dragon Island with the kingdom's current fighting strength. After all, Roland might win the fight, but Lagrang would definitely be the one to destroy the kingdom!
"..." Doss was a little stunned after Roland hit him where it hurt. Then he put on a stern face and stopped talking. Lies don't hurt people, but the truth is the sharpest knife!
……

"The food's pretty good today!" The Gondor soldiers, enjoying their meal, gazed at their dinner with delight. Not only were there large chunks of meat, but also eggs and cheese, and even the bread had been replaced with the rare white bread! The spiced soup tantalized everyone's noses. While the cooks, trained by Roland, couldn't match the masterful skills of Chinese chefs, they were certainly far ahead of their time in Middle-earth. The combined aromas of the food tempted everyone's appetites, and most strikingly, several enormous barrels of wine were piled up to the side of the camp. During their downtime after queuing for their food, the soldiers couldn't help but become curious.

Wow! Huge chunks of venison!

"My God... this is wine?"

"This soup... God! I could swallow my tongue!"

"Has something big happened today?" Assef pulled over a cook from Lagrange City and asked curiously. As a confidant of Denethor II, he considered these things commonplace, but for ordinary soldiers, this was clearly a New Year's celebration! Although Assef wasn't exactly a great general, he at least knew that this extra meal was definitely to celebrate something!
"We must thank His Majesty Maple Forest Orchid for this gift! This is a gift from His Majesty!" The cook glanced at Assef, then raised his voice and looked around before proclaiming loudly.

Attracted by his voice, the soldiers, who had not long ago been farmers, all raised their glasses.

"A salute to Lord Youlan!"

"Bless you, sir!"

"Thank you for your kindness!"

A group of soldiers offered their heartfelt blessings, reminding everyone that Gondor's wealth would ensure a good life for ordinary farmers. When it came to using oxen and horses, the rich and poor were treated equally! Wealth was only for the nobility; the common people could barely make ends meet!
For a group of militiamen who usually ate only black bread and bone broth, this sumptuous dinner was no less than a banquet! Not to mention there was wine too!
"Brother, tell me! What happened? Why are we suddenly celebrating today?" Assef subtly slipped a small piece of gold into the cook's hand, asking with a smile. "The kingdom has another dragon knight born today!" The cook glanced around, his lips barely moving, but the words he uttered struck Assef like a thunderbolt.

"Again...again? Again!" Assef stood frozen in place, completely stunned. The dragon knight they could only dream of, the dragon knight they could never even touch...the Kingdom of Lagrange has given birth to another one.
In a daze, Assef didn't even notice that the cook had gone far away; he was just staring blankly at the sky.

……

"Your Majesty, the news has been spread!" The cook who had just been in front of Assef suddenly appeared in front of Roland, with a small gold nugget that Assef had given him on the table in front of him.

"Just accept what he gave you! Go now! You did a good job!" Roland said softly as he tossed the gold to the person in front of him.

“Darian, the Hidden Guards are quite good. Find a way to spread them throughout the entire territory controlled by the kingdom, and at the same time... try to infiltrate southwards! I need intelligence from the south!” Roland said calmly, tapping the table.

The light behind him distorted, and a figure with a faint golden glow emerged from the sunlight—it was Darian Nightblade!

“Yes, Your Majesty! The Hidden Guard will not disappoint you!” Darian Nightblade nodded, then disappeared back into the light!

"It works well, but there are too few people!" Roland shook his head with some regret, but then chuckled. After all, he still had time; decades would be enough for him to spread his influence throughout the Middle Kingdom!
Roland stumbled upon these hidden guards in the system shop. After paying the price of all his honor points, Roland suddenly gained a basic intelligence force! A dozen Imperial hidden guards with special stealth skills joined Roland's ranks. This gave Roland, who previously had no intelligence resources, the first time he had tentacles to learn about events in Middle-earth, in addition to his own advanced knowledge, even if these tentacles were still very weak.

After handing over command of the Hidden Guard to Darion Nightblade, Roland felt a sense of control for the first time! These assassins, with their exceptional stealth abilities, could conceal their battle auras and blend into the crowd as ordinary people to gather intelligence. Under the Hidden Guard's infiltration, the Gondorian army, which was already like a sieve, was completely under Roland's control. Through the Hidden Guard's channels, Roland was also secretly transmitting various messages, on the one hand strengthening Denethor II's confidence, and on the other hand establishing a stronger psychological advantage for Lagrange in the hearts of the Gondorians from the very beginning.

"What a waste of talent!" Adolf Heinrich said speechlessly. Roland was using the Imperial Guard, a strategic force of the Empire, to play a role in someone else's game... Adolf Heinrich didn't know what Roland was after. As a high-ranking official of the kingdom, he naturally had the right to know about the existence of this force.

"Let's see how it goes first." Roland wasn't bored; he wanted to test the true capabilities of these imperial-era hidden guards. What if they turned out to be like spies sent by the US to their bosses, giving themselves away as soon as they opened their mouths? Wouldn't that be incredibly embarrassing if they were taken elsewhere?