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

Chapter 888 The Sudden Appearance of the Undead!
While Roland was still worried that these two hot potatoes would die in his house, the intelligence system of Swiftstream City sent back another message...

"Hiss! These two are actually eating?" Roland was so shocked his teeth ached. Wasn't Aragorn supposed to be traveling? Had he wandered into a ditch? How come he's eating? Judging from their tracks around Rapidstream, are they planning to eat their way from the west end of the city to the east end?

“Um…then we…” Darian Nightblade was a bit at a loss. After all, the two of them were hiding in the city of Rushmore like turtles and wouldn’t move. This left the Shadow Guards under Darian Nightblade’s command helpless. They couldn’t very well go down and drag Aragorn and Legolas out themselves.

"Hiss! I miscalculated! These two are really tough!" Roland clicked his tongue. He had imagined countless ways to meet Aragorn, but the one thing he never thought would stop him from meeting the only Gondorian king was the food of Rushmore.

"But to be fair, the food in Swiftstream City is really good! Although Lagrange City has received guidance from our army chefs, their cooking skills are still indescribable!" Darian Nightblade thought about what kind of pig swill he used to eat. Before Roland promoted and popularized stir-frying, the Lagrange people's meals were no different from those of ordinary Middle-earth people: frying, grilling, stewing, boiling, and deep-frying! Apart from salt and spices, there were no other ways to enhance the flavor, and the dishes they made were indescribable.

"It's better than you guys eating roast meat with pepper, isn't it?" Roland rolled his eyes, recalling the first time he saw what a so-called banquet of the nobles here was like... a plate of snow salt and a plate of pepper, roast meat dipped in it, bread dipped in it... instantly reminding Roland of the bizarre eating habits of medieval Western nobles! Fortunately, Roland vaguely remembered some simple dishes, such as scrambled eggs and tiger-skin tofu, but his first attempt at cooking almost caused a fight among the servants in the castle. The taste was unimaginable for modern people!
"By the Dragon God! I swear anyone who eats like that from now on is a heretic! I personally authorize His Majesty Archbishop Charles Prous of the Temple to attack!" Darion Nightblade chuckled, unable to help but laugh at the thought of Charles Prous holding a holy book in one hand and a warhammer in the other, shouting for peace while stepping on brains, and calling for the Dragon God's protection of mankind while casually sending people to meet the Dragon God.

"You seem to have gone a bit too far!" Roland's lips twitched. What deep-seated grudge could possibly lead someone to send in a charlatan? It's a good thing the madmen from the Temple Inquisition aren't here! Otherwise, under Charlie Pros's leadership, these people could have really stormed the Black Gate with high morale!

“Really?” Darian Nightblade scratched his chin.

"Forget about them, just keep an eye on them and make sure they don't die right outside my door, or it'll be bad luck!" Roland said disdainfully. He had already altered the course of history; it would have been much more interesting if he had "optimized" Aragorn's life before the War of the Ring! History would have been completely distorted, if not colorful! So Roland's goal was clear: just don't let Lagrange die! Besides, according to historical inertia, it was unlikely they would run into trouble elsewhere. After all, Aragorn and Legolas were members of the main characters, and the world's will shouldn't allow them to die here!

What? You're saying there's still danger within the great King Roland's territory? It turns out Roland only controls that narrow strip of land along the north bank of the Swift River! The rest of the land isn't safe! Finding a dragon on this plain is a bit of an exaggeration, but Roland wouldn't be surprised at all if some flying dragons or earth dragons popped up! Otherwise, where do you think the kingdom's forces are tied up? Please! They're facing an enemy to the east! The enemy isn't just the ubiquitous orcs, but also worrisome magical beasts and all sorts of other bizarre creatures!

"Oh, right! Didn't they say there were undead appearing on Swiftstream Avenue? Send someone to check it out! Don't turn Swiftstream Avenue into a Death Avenue!" Roland said with a gloomy expression. After all, undead were indeed unpleasant, and since the kingdom didn't have any necromancers, these uncontrollable things were unstable factors for Roland. As a human, he pitied these restless souls! As king, he had to be responsible for everything in the kingdom!
"Yes, the investigation in Pingnan City has already begun! Lord Lance has already moved his capital to Pingnan City!" Darion Nightblade said respectfully.

“Pingnan City?” Roland tapped on a brick in the city wall a few times and suddenly realized. “Shouldn’t he be in Beidu Fort? How did he end up in Pingnan City? Neither Nyx nor I issued such a transfer order!” Roland exclaimed in surprise.

After all, when the Swift Stream Avenue was under construction, Beidu Fortress, as an important ferry city among the twelve cities of Swift Stream, needed loyal confidants to guard it. Although Lance was in charge of this section of the project, his jurisdiction was always within Beidu Fortress!

“Um… because the governor of Pingnan City died in battle…” Darian Nightblade said awkwardly. The governor (city lord) of Pingnan City was a member of the Vladivostok family of the Hand of Swiftness. Don’t accuse him of nepotism! Duke Joelsteria has shares in the Empire in every sense! Is it illegal to hire two relatives for positions in your own company? Besides, the half-crippled Hand of Swiftness is still the Hand of Swiftness! It’s just that some of his men died; it doesn’t mean his loyalty or abilities have changed!

"Pfft!" Roland, who was already at the top level of composure, thought his endurance was top-notch, but he didn't expect that Darian Nightblade's words would break him down. He thought he would remain calm, but now he was completely unfazed!

"No? The city's governor is dead? Who killed him? Where did it happen? Where is the murderer?" At this moment, Roland, like a philosopher, posed a question that humanity has been searching for all time—Who am I, where did I come from, and where am I going!

"Yes, it was the undead. Pingnan City is a small city after all... Strictly speaking, it's more appropriate to call it a town. There aren't many troops stationed there. After the undead outbreak, the garrison resisted and repelled the undead, but the death energy corrupted many people... The priests couldn't save them all..." Darian Nightblade was somewhat saddened. Because it was located in the inner region, the city in the middle didn't have many professionals. Most of the troops were Swift Infantry as the main force, with a small number of professionals mixed in to hold the line. As a result, the undead that appeared out of nowhere caused the town to suffer heavy losses.

"Investigate! The undead don't appear out of nowhere! Those guys are either guided, or we just stumbled upon a naturally formed giant zombie!" Roland narrowed his eyes. Since the city's garrison was able to repel them, it was clear that these undead weren't very powerful. Otherwise, they would have left Roland with a dead city long ago!
"And why haven't I seen any reports about this incident?" Roland clearly remembered that this thing had never appeared in any of the government or military reports!
"Queen Nyx took over this matter! She sent some knights and dragon knights to handle it. To reduce the workload, it's best not to repeat such decided political affairs!" Darian Nightblade explained why there were no documents on Roland's desk.

"Alright, be careful, and have the hidden guards cooperate as much as possible! Since Nyx has made his move, I don't need to interfere anymore!" Roland said, happy to be free and easy.

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