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

Chapter 920 Duke Oakrian Yaso!

“McDoug? What do my relatives have to do with us?” The man, referred to as the Grand Duke, tapped his head.

“Your Highness Grand Duke Oakrian! If you are of sound mind, you should remember! When we broke out to the north, the McDougal family's army was with us…” The soldier next to him looked somewhat bewildered.

"Aww! I remember now! They were with the Imperial Fourteenth Legion!" Archduke Oakrian nodded repeatedly.

“Your Highness, you are now the supreme commander! The legion commander has been sacrificed, and now we need to obey your orders!” An officer from the Imperial Fourteenth Legion stepped forward.

As an imperial legion stationed in the eastern border, the Fourteenth Legion bears the heavy responsibility of defending the eastern frontier! However, when the enemy appeared from behind, the people of the Fourteenth Legion knew that the empire was in great turmoil. After the failure of the southern expedition, the Fourteenth Legion could only shelter everyone they could gather around them and break through to the north with the remnants of the Gale Yaso family, the Grand Duke of the Eastern Border. Along the way, they overcame countless obstacles and successfully reached the eastern mountains. Fortunately, the Kingdom of Avalon had not yet fallen, so they decided to regroup and wait for a further southward march. However, the enemy that followed successfully broke through the defenses of the remnants of the Fourteenth Legion, cutting them off from the Kingdom of Avalon's position. Disheartened, the Gale Yaso family and the Fourteenth Legion successively launched the Fire Seed Project, exiling themselves into the void...

"Hello, Your Highness Oakrian Yasuo! It's a pleasure to see you again!" A cold voice interrupted Oakrian Yasuo's thoughts, and he looked up in the direction of the voice.

“You are…” Oakrian Yasuo’s eyes narrowed. The person in front of him was wearing a full set of standard Royal Cavalry plate armor. This familiar yet unfamiliar attire made Oakrian pause in surprise.

"Royal Northern Army Cavalry! Sixth Standard Guard!" The newcomer lifted his helmet, revealing a weathered face.

"Greetings, veteran!" Oakrian thumped his chest in a salute, his eyes filled with respect. The Northern Knights, one of the Royal Knights, deserved Oakrian's salute. These Royal Knights, who were active on the borders and in the heart of the battlefields year after year, had spread the emperor's glory and death across the wilderness!

"No need for pleasantries, Your Highness. This is not a place to linger! Besides, we are currently leaderless! You need to make plans as soon as possible!" said the veteran from the Northern Army's Imperial Cavalry, speaking swiftly and decisively.

"You're the only Northern Cavalry left? How did you end up in the Eastern Frontier?" Oakrian asked in confusion. Northern Cavalry! The Northern Cavalry! You could tell from the name that they were from the North! How could there be Northern soldiers in his Eastern Frontier forces?

"I already said, the Sixth Flag Team is still here! I don't know where the other nine Flag Teams are! We were scattered!" The veteran sighed.

"???" Oakrian was completely bewildered. The Northern Army had scattered and fled to the East? That didn't make sense! Shouldn't the Northern Cavalry, as a branch of the Royal Knights, have returned to Lagrange City after being scattered? Why were they heading east?

"We were responsible for escorting the McDougal family, helping them transport a certain treasure!" the veteran shook his head and sighed.

“The McDoug family? It’s them again? Where are the people you were escorting?” Oakrian looked around.

“Dead…” the veteran shrugged.

"Dead? Not dead? You..." Oakrian's lips twitched, and he didn't know what to say for a moment. Auv! Is your royal badge fake?

“That’s normal! The Northern Army’s cavalry were scattered! If they hadn’t been scattered, would he have died?” The veteran also looked at it as if it were the most natural thing in the world, with an expression that said it should be this way. “…” Okrian opened his mouth, but in the end, he didn’t say anything. At this moment, he only felt the inadequacy of words. If the Northern Army’s cavalry were scattered, the people being escorted would naturally be dead!

"This is what we were escorting. The original owner has already sacrificed himself on the battlefield, so we can only entrust it to you!" The old soldier sighed and took out a silver ring from his pocket, handing it to Okrian. After all, they had no other target, so they could only give the mission items to the Gale family, who were related to the McDougal family.

“Okay…” Oakrian sighed and took the so-called goods.

“…Damn it!” He clenched his fist after just one glance at Oakrian, a look of shock flashing in his eyes.

“Veteran! Is this what they asked you to escort?” Oakrian’s voice was off-key.

"No! This is His Majesty's decree!" The veteran shook his head. If the McDougal family could mobilize the Imperial Guard, they'd be craving more than they can chew! Are they craving purple eggs?

"I see... Alright, I'll pass it on if I encounter anyone from their family in the future!" Okrian nodded. It seemed the Northern Guard didn't know exactly what they were escorting, but the Emperor was certainly taking it seriously! It was fortunate that the Northern Guard was chosen to escort it, otherwise, whether it would even get there was uncertain!

“The last time we heard that the McDougal family was in the East, we came here…” sighed a veteran of the Northern Army’s Forbidden Cavalry.

“It’s a pity, veteran. They did have a private army that broke through with us, but the family members were not among them…” said the private army officer from the Gale family.

"That's such a shame..." the veteran shook his head.

"..." Okrian wasn't listening to what they were saying at the moment. Instead, he was deep in thought. After all, the weight of holding a divine artifact in his hand was indeed not light. At the same time, Okrian also cursed Maple Forest Orchid, who had been dead for who knows how many years!

"This bastard just left a divine artifact out there? Why didn't that idiot take it with him when he died in the north? Who am I supposed to give this thing to?" Okrian's palms felt like they were burning with pent-up energy, sweat pouring down his face! After all, what he held in his hands was the ancestral armor artifact of the McDougal family! This thing was incredibly heavy!

"Maple Forest Orchid, you bastard! Lieutenant! Look at the rotten fish and shrimp that the McDougal family has following us!" Oakrian cursed Maple Forest Orchid under his breath before speaking.

……

"Damn it! I'm the lousy fish!" Okrian slapped himself across the face. The army that the McDougal family had brought with him during the breakout was quite impressive, including a half-crippled Maple Forest Knights and a full-strength hundred-man War Mage Corps!

Although Okrian Yasso commands a full-strength Order of Square Banner Knights, don't forget his titles are Grand Duke and Elector! Having only one order of knights is already quite pathetic! As a former Grand Duke of the frontier, he used to have to cover his face to avoid being seen by other frontier nobles when he went out like this!

"The Imperial Fourteenth Legion still has this kind of strength?" The statistics of the Imperial Fourteenth Legion shocked Grand Duke Okrian Yaso. Don't forget that the Fourteenth Legion had been tortured all the way with him! It was truly unexpected that they could still muster a hundred-man knight order after fighting all this time!

“My Dragon God! By the Emperor! My eyes! What is this? The Northern Army's Forbidden Riders are one thing! The Northern Brotherhood Knights? Huh? The Southern Guardian Knights? No! Where did the Western Guardian Knights come from in the Fourteenth Legion?! Are you holding a knightly convention here? The Knights of Free Will? And what about cultists?! Ah!” Okrian Yaso's hand, gripping the parchment, trembled violently. He hadn't expected the hastily assembled knightly order to be so complex, even including members of the Knights of Free Will, which the Empire considered a cult…

Thank you to the owner of Maple Forest Orchid for the custom-made gift for our family. Thank you for your support!

(End of this chapter)