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

Chapter 865 Chasing the Giants
"I'm always the one robbing others! This is the first time I've been robbed!" Ismir trembled with anger. As a Romanian who was always a pest, he had been robbing orc camps and monster lairs for years. This was the first time he had been chased and robbed by someone else.

"Alright, that's enough! Haven't you learned your lesson yet?" Ymir complained.

If it weren't for Ismir's greed in late autumn, they wouldn't be in this situation. Because of the winter, Ismir hoped to make a good profit before the heavy snow blocked the roads, and hunting and gathering became the main source of income for Windhelm!
The tender mushrooms of the Dark Forest have become the new darlings of the Lagrang Kingdom's dining tables! Especially after Roland shamelessly "invented" hot pot, the mushrooms of the Dark Forest have become delicacies in everyone's eyes! Thanks to mushroom picking, Windhelm City has miraculously maintained a balance in its food supply! Bags of dried mushrooms were exchanged for boatloads of grain, and although the staple food of ordinary residents of Windhelm City is mainly potatoes, they have achieved a state of sustenance!

In addition, Ismir's men have almost become hunting party soldiers. Low-level magical beasts and wild animals with high meat yields in the Dark Forest are their prey. With these, Baron Ismir has managed to maintain the normal operation of his territory and even has time to upgrade his industries and expand his city defenses!
As winter approached this year, Ismir and his companions unexpectedly encountered a group of cyclops, a legendary creature that greatly shocked them! They had seen living dragons, but never a living cyclops! However, nature is savage, and these cyclops launched an attack on Ismir and his group. Thanks to their superior mobility, Ismir and his party managed to return unharmed, but they never expected that the giant hunters could track them down based on their tracks!

The outer perimeter of Windhelm was suddenly ransacked. In addition to the financial and livestock losses, what pained Ismir was that many of his people had been killed or wounded.

This led to the battle described above. Driven by revenge, Ismir assembled a fairly large army and requested reinforcements from Lulong Fortress. Believing victory was assured, Ismir planned to end it all before winter! However, the Cyclops's formidable fighting power dealt everyone a heavy blow!
"They're too resilient!" Nogai, the fourth-tier dragon knight instructor, said with a bitter expression. The breath of a dragon is naturally incomparable to that of a giant dragon, and by the same token, their magic is even more primitive, and they basically don't know much dragon language magic.

"You've worked hard!" Ismir hurriedly stepped forward and said with concern. If it weren't for the help of these dragon riders, they probably wouldn't have been able to retreat so easily today.

"How did you get involved with these things?" Nogai asked the two helplessly. Strange creatures that ordinary people rarely see appeared in groups around Ismir's territory. Nogai didn't know whether to say they were lucky or unlucky.

"Is it possible that we didn't provoke them, but rather they provoked us?" Ismir said speechlessly. Not everyone gets to encounter a roaming, foraging Cyclopes!
……

"Huh? Cyclops? Ismir was utterly defeated by Cyclops? Isn't that normal?" Roland muttered as soon as he realized what was going on.

After all, the Cyclops' powerful combat strength is no less than that of those high-level magical beasts! With their thick skin and strong fighting ability, and their ability to command, even an entire legion would hesitate to attack them when they come in groups!
"Giant catchers? There are such things? Should we not notify the dragon knights of Swiftstream City to take them out? Are we just going to leave them around for the New Year?" Roland raised an eyebrow as he looked at Ismir's report (a request for reinforcements). Giant catchers were quite intelligent, and with their ability to use slingshots, they were even more dangerous than ordinary cyclops! Ismir had already experienced this firsthand! Those head-sized stones rained down, and all the casualties in his troops were caused by the giant catchers!
Roland was well aware of the danger these things posed. Compared to muscle-bound brutes who only knew how to swing sticks, these muscle-bound brutes with brains were far more deadly and dangerous! Roland didn't want to plant mines on his own doorstep; with the giant catchers appearing, they had to be annihilated!
“We have lost track of them!” Adolf Heinrich said with some regret.

"How could that be? That's a five-meter-tall Cyclops! Not a five-centimeter-tall ant! How could such a huge target be lost?" Roland seemed to have heard the biggest joke in the world, and he laughed in anger! "Our dragon riders were scattered by those giant catchers! Doss arrived too late and didn't catch the Cyclops' tails!" Adolf Heinrich explained.

"..." Well, Roland wasn't surprised now. With a dragon's physique, a Cyclops' giant catcher might actually be able to kill one with a slingshot! Don't overestimate the dragon knights' defense; remember, Lagrange is just a kingdom! It's not even the size of an empire! Those dragons clad in chainmail and leather armor would easily be overwhelmed by a barrage of weapons! Being hit head-on by a stone thrown by a Cyclops' giant catcher is no different from crashing into a city wall at high speed!
"Tell them to hurry up and search! Of course, I don't care if Ismir isn't in a hurry! After all, those things can't swim over, right?" Roland waved his hand and instructed. The residents of the Windhelm region who were truly anxious now didn't actually have much impact on the Kingdom of Lagrange! It was hard to imagine how clumsy these huge creatures were in the water; they would be lucky if they didn't drown!
“I feel it’s more reliable to let them come to us on their own!” Adolf Heinrich suggested.

“After all, winter is coming, and those cyclops will have to eat their own reserves! And I don’t believe that cyclops would not be interested in Baron Ismir’s city!” Adolf Heinrich explained. Compared to digging for grass roots in the forest to eat their reserves, Windhelm, located on the banks of the Swift River, can be said to be peaceful and comfortable. The abundant resources there will definitely attract hungry cyclops!
“That makes sense! Just order Ajax and Doss to stay in Windhelm! I mean, until this matter is over!” Roland shrugged and decided to follow Adolf Heinrich’s advice. After all, those who died in the offensive were not his vassals, but still subjects of the kingdom!
……

"Hahaha! His Majesty's relief supplies have arrived! Ymir! Take a few guards and go to provide disaster relief!" Ismir looked at the galleons docking at the pier and immediately guessed the cargo inside.

“Quite self-aware, Your Excellency!” Dos Anthony said, leaning against the mast.

"Tsk! It seems that more than just grain has been delivered! Greetings, Your Excellencies!" Ismir greeted the approaching figure with a respectful bow.

“No need for such formalities, Your Excellency! We are here on His Majesty’s orders to quell the crisis!” Ajax smiled amicably.

“By the Dragon God! Thank you so much! The onslaught of those Cyclopes has already created refugees for us. If we don’t stop them soon, Windhelm may soon be gone!” Ismir expressed his concerns.

"That's precisely why His Majesty sent us here. Compared to flying dragons, giant dragons have a natural advantage in pursuit!" Dos Anthony said as he delivered boxes of goods onto the dock.

"Hurry up, after unloading the cargo, tell the workers not to leave, but to leave with us after we're done!" Ajax urged, concerned for the boatmen's safety.