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

Chapter 883 The King of Empty Promises Returns

“I understand! Then you should train a batch of reserve dragon knights according to the standards of dragon knights! The kingdom’s knightly order does not need to be expanded at present! You can take all those trainee knights under your command and teach them first!” Roland nodded and said to Nogai.

While more knightly orders are always better for the kingdom, the cost of a single official member is very high. Under Roland's current strategy of biding his time, there's no need to expand ordinary knightly orders. Two orders are already sufficient to suppress any ambitions. Given the kingdom's current situation, quality is more important than quantity! Roland hopes to build a true air cavalry order before the War of the Ring, rather than adding another order for battlefield assaults. After all, a knightly charge won't be able to breach the Black Gate!
While Roland's command wasn't exactly artistic, his 5000 years of experience as a "shy, farming child" taught him that three-dimensional warfare was far more threatening than two-dimensional warfare! Roland happened to possess an advantage in aerial knights. In Middle-earth, where only Sauron had a certain level of aerial prowess, no one could better leverage air superiority than Roland! Moreover, Roland's dragon riders weren't used as mere "filler" units. As the most mobile and powerful single-unit pyramid-sized army, dragon riders consistently served as firefighters and top-tier spearheads; in lower-level situations, aerial knights were needed to fill in and repair the gaps!
“Yes, Your Majesty!” Nogai nodded.

“Let’s raise these griffins for now! We’ll tame them after they’ve been fed and tamed!” Roland glanced at the wary griffins and chuckled.

Don't assume that magical beasts are mindless animals or bloodthirsty beasts! As mentioned before, their intelligence is not low, especially that of high-level magical beasts, whose intelligence is comparable to that of humans. These magical beasts also know how to be pragmatic! Except for those super magical beasts that are difficult to subdue by force, these magical beasts can be tamed through a combination of kindness and severity!

"Hmm, it'll probably take a year and a half to tame them!" Joelster estimated the time. After all, it takes time for these magical beasts and humans to become familiar with each other. There's a saying: Orcs will never be slaves unless they're provided with food and lodging! Roland not only provides food and lodging, but most importantly, Roland is kind! (Referring to the presence of 8 giant dragons!)

Roland, brimming with martial virtue, didn't care whether the griffins would submit or not. After all, griffins also knew how to make choices; they could distinguish between obediently cooperating with the kingdom for food and drink and engaging in close combat with the dragons! It's true that humans don't speak animal language, but mental power and dragon language are valuable assets!

"Just stay put, and you and your people will be fine!" Roland's mental power erupted in the griffin chieftain's mind. The griffin chieftain narrowed his eyes and looked at Roland with a mixture of fear and anger.

He was afraid because Roland had a strong golden dragon aura, and he was angry because he had witnessed Roland capture all his people!

"Interesting!" Roland found it amusing to look at the griffin king, whose eyes revealed an indomitable spirit. However, with the dragon suppressing them, he figured they wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.

"The task of taming those griffins is entrusted to you! Do a good job! The kingdom needs your strength!" Roland patted Nogay on the shoulder to encourage him, while also dangling a carrot in front of him. As a well-trained slave who had been manipulated since childhood on Earth, Roland was very good at this trick. Compared to capitalists in China, the noble lords of Middle-earth were the epitome of truth, goodness, and beauty! So this little bit of money is nothing but a token of respect!
"Yes, Your Majesty! You will see a flock of healthy griffins and a squad of qualified reserve air knights!" Nogai puffed out his chest, looking every bit the loyal friend, unaware that Caslo, lost in thought, almost burst out laughing. He and Roland were too familiar; he himself had risen to power on Roland's coattails, and in fact, most people had...

"What are you laughing at?" Roland looked at Caslo, who was trying not to laugh, with a puzzled expression. From his perspective, Caslo's sudden laughter seemed a bit crazy!
"Nothing, I just thought of something funny!" Caslo looked at Roland, trying to suppress his laughter. He really wanted to tell Roland that although Roland looked a little embarrassed when he failed to show off, he was really beautiful when he made empty promises.

"Alright, if you have nothing to do, go back and spend more time with Ajax! You won't see her for a long time after we leave!" Roland waved to Caslow, then sighed as if he remembered something.

"Alright, if there's nothing else, let's adjourn the meeting! Sir Nogai, I hope you will uphold the virtues of a knight! I await your good news in Lagrange City!" Roland added another bowl of chicken soup, said goodbye to the others, and then slipped away.

……

"Finished?" Nyx wiped the water droplets from her hands, clearly having just finished cooking. "You cooked this? Aren't there chefs? You could have just had them cook!" Roland looked at Nyx's slightly reddened hands with concern.

"It's warm! I'm a water mage, I'm not going to get frozen!" Nyx followed Roland's gaze, then gave Roland a light tap with a wry smile.

“There’s no need for that. My queen, the queen of the Kingdom of Lagrange, doesn’t need to cook herself.” Roland gently patted her hand.

"Don't you always complain that the cooks' food doesn't suit your taste? You always complain that the royal chefs are feeding you pig swill?" Nyx chuckled. Indeed, for someone from the Great Foodie Empire, the food here was torture. Perhaps the only food that Roland considered normal was the food prepared by the skilled halflings (Hobbits).

"Sigh..." Roland sighed, feeling helpless. The scene of that terrible cooking almost poisoning him was still vivid in his mind. Roland still had a psychological trauma from it. When those royal chefs really let their creativity run wild, their results were comparable to the power of his third brother's cooking!

Looking at the fried tofu and other dishes made by Nyx on the plate, Roland couldn't help but wonder why the nobles of Middle-earth liked to hire halflings as chefs. It was really because the food of other races was too meager. After Roland brought the method of making tofu, the people of Lagrange regarded tofu, tofu pudding and the derivative tofu skin as delicacies!
"Soy products? So many?" Roland raised his eyelids and casually stuffed a piece of fried tofu into his mouth.

“Of course! The bean products you invented are now a rare delicacy in the North! Merchants from other kingdoms come to buy them and can't keep up with the demand! I love eating them the most!” Nyx happily shared the food with a fork and knife.

Roland hadn't really believed the rumors about bean products being exported to other kingdoms before, but after seeing Nyx serving him plate after plate of bean products, he was completely convinced. He knew the people of Middle-earth suffered, but he never imagined it was this bad... To live on such terrible food and still become the ruler of the world must be incredibly resilient and have an iron stomach!
"Are you... leaving tomorrow?" After seeing that Roland had almost finished eating, Nyx tugged at Roland's sleeve weakly.

"..." Roland remained silent for a moment.

“Come with me this time! Leave Swiftstream City to Duke Joelster and the others!” Roland whispered as he held Nyx in his arms.

“I’m worried! I’ll lead the people to relocate and come find you after the Swift Stream Avenue is repaired next year!” Nyx’s eyes sparkled as she looked intently into Roland’s eyes.

"Ugh!" With a muffled groan, Nyx was laid down on the bed by Roland, her mouth gagged...

(End of this chapter)