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

Chapter 919 Grand Duke of the Empire!

Turning the pages of history, from humans and elves to dwarves and orcs, very few kings died of old age! The scattered power of faith was likely divided among the corresponding deities! After all, faith is so important; no god wouldn't want to be resurrected! Faced with the inevitable end of Ragnarok, it's not impossible that the gods might have devised a contingency plan to resurrect themselves!

"So what can we do, Your Majesty?" Maple Forest Orchid's expression changed. After listening to their conversation, even he, who was slow to react, realized that the kingdom was now caught in the middle of the game! Although no one could be sure whether the gods had really made a backup plan, it was safe to assume that the gods would not sit idly by and wait for their doom. There was no reason for the gods to just wait to die when even they could clearly sense it!

"What can we do? What do you think we can do? It's already difficult enough for the pawns to struggle for survival!" Roland said helplessly. The gods only need faith, but the pawns have to think a lot more!

“Let’s wait and see. Even if the gods really descend, we are powerless to stop them… The inter-race war is an open conspiracy, and there’s no way to stop it!” Roland shook his head.

"..." Maple Forest Orchid was unusually silent for a moment before shaking its head and retreating with Long Xi. After all, anyone would be shocked to learn that they would be playing against a god, and they needed to process this fact.

"Special mission completed! Current progress 100%!" As Asata's last wisp of soul dissipated, the system finally announced the mission's completion, marking 100% progress. No wonder the previous mission was only 90% complete! It turned out that a part of Asata's soul had been waiting for him all along!

"The random reward for the mission has been issued!" The system's voice was devoid of any emotion and was entirely perfunctory.

"No way? You should at least tell me what the reward is!" Roland screamed inwardly, crawling darkly. This stupid system is really addicted to opening blind boxes and playing the lottery! It's giving me a free draw now?

"Identified as a talent-based award!" the system finally said after a long pause.

"Talent type? Another high-level professional?" Roland thought to himself. Well, it's not a bad deal. If he dared to give a task of this level to a professional below the sixth rank, Roland would have exploded with anger at the system!

……

"You two are really something else! How dare you both get close enough to look at such a huge bone dragon?" Lafit Antonidas, riding on his warhorse, looked at Aragorn and Legolas, the woodland elf prince, who were bound hand and foot on either side of him.

"This kid is so ignorant, why are you following his nonsense?" Lafitte Anthony asked, looking at Legolas who was tied up like a dumpling.

"..." Legolas shrugged helplessly.

As for why these two were tied up by Lafitte Antony, it all started earlier. Upon seeing the massive Frost Dragon King before Lulong Fortress, Lafitte Antony didn't impulsively rush into the fortress to help. After all, aerial combat wasn't the Knights' domain. So he decided to continue south to support Pingnan City. Based on his analysis, the Bone Dragon had followed them; surely the other undead wouldn't come carrying skeletons? However, as Lafitte Antony led the Knights to bypass the battlefield, he unexpectedly saw Aragorn and his companion, who were following them, recklessly making their way towards Lulong Fortress…

So the two of them were bound and taken south by Lafitte Antony. After all, King Roland's orders didn't say anyone had to die, and Aragorn couldn't afford to die in his own face, could he? Because of Lafitte Antony, Aragorn successfully missed Roland!

……

Eastern mountain range.

"Your Highness! We have been awakened! Has the Empire been restored?" A swordsman in light armor looked at the leader in front of him.

“Our magical communication link is broken, so I’m afraid the Empire is still in decline…” The leading man shook his head with worry in his eyes. After all, strictly speaking, they were a group of people who used the Empire’s Fire Seed Project to escape into the void and survive. The spacetime magic derived from the Great Forbidden Spell would eventually expire. It was possible that the magic’s effect had ended and pushed them out of the dimensional space again.

"Let's check the location! Let's figure out where we are first!" The man shook his head and didn't think about it anymore. What was important now was how they would survive.

……

"Your Highness, we're still around the eastern mountains! But I haven't seen any Avalon elves. The Kingdom of Avalon has been completely destroyed!" The soldiers who had gone out to scout returned after half a day, frowning as they reported. The surrounding mountains were barren, showing no signs of past elf inhabitants. Although the Kingdom of Avalon was independent, it was essentially still subordinate to the Lagrange Empire. Unlike the Grand Duchy of Lordaeron, which was mostly populated by half-elves, the population of the Kingdom of Avalon was predominantly pure-blooded elves. Unless they were dark elves, almost every elf would fill their living space with natural elements; flowerbeds and parks should be ubiquitous. However, the roving swordsmen hadn't seen any trace of them.

"What was the Kingdom of Avalon like when we entered the Void to slumber?" the man asked, tapping his flowing blond head with a slight headache.

“Your Highness, I remember Avalon was still a kingdom before it was destroyed! After the Great Wall fell, we were separated and could only break out to the north. You even used the knights of the Kingdom of Avalon to launch a counterattack!” A soldier came up to help him recall.

"Heh, then the Kingdom of Avalon is finished! What will the Avalon elves use to stop the orcs after we retreat? Let's call it a day! Tell the soldiers to stop looking for us. Avalon is history!" The man shook his head helplessly.

"Let's count the number of people! Hopefully, the Fire Seed Project will be reliable enough!" The man rubbed his temples. After all, being banished to the void might result in being swept away by spatial turbulence. If they were unlucky, perhaps only one in ten of those they took with them back then would survive!

……

"Your Highness, you're lucky! All 15 family members are safe and sound!" A private soldier from the family approached and whispered.

"What about the other soldiers' families?" The man frowned, showing no joy whatsoever.

“Still counting!”

"Your Highness! Good news! The Imperial Fourteenth Legion is still around!" A swordsman staggered over.

"They just emerged from the dimensional space! It seems they successfully retreated back then!" The swordsman's eyes were filled with joy, after all, this meant they were not alone!

"The Fourteenth Legion? Send their highest commander to see me!" A look of surprise flashed in the man's eyes; having an imperial legion by his side made all the difference in his sense of security!

……

"So... this is the so-called Imperial Fourteenth Legion?" The man's eyelids twitched a few times.

"Excuse my bluntness, Your Highness, but how much fighting strength do you think the legions that fought alongside you from the eastern border of the empire to the northern lands should have left when they exile themselves?" an officer asked with a dark face.

“Um, I don’t mean to question the loyalty of the Imperial soldiers… it’s just that this data is too horrific for me to believe!” The man called the Grand Duke was somewhat pale.

"Your Highness! The Wind Knights are still with us! Thank goodness! Those elite knights haven't been lost in the void!"

"This is really good news!" A hint of relief flashed in the man's eyes. Having a third-tier Fangqi Knights following him at least gave him a trump card for the final battle.

"Your Highness, your 500 double-edged swordsmen are assembled!" The man's retainer swordsman commander bowed.

"Oh! Right, a McDougal family army is still with us!" Suddenly, the swordsman commander remembered that the McDougal family's troops were still with them.