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

Chapter 927 Marquis Franz!

"I want to see your Grand Duke! Let me see your Grand Duke!" A commotion arose in the crowd as a man dressed in tattered clothes shouted amidst the soldiers' shoving. Although his clothes were in tatters, it was still clear that they were fine garments made of the best imperial ice silk satin, but they looked rather comical on this disheveled fellow.

"Quiet down! His Highness needs rest! He's been clearing the way for us all day! Don't you know how to be grateful and content? Sit down quietly and don't cause us any trouble!" The soldier glared at the disheveled man, his anger almost burning the trembling man to the ground.

"Damn it! Do you know who you're talking to? Even Oakrian Yasso wouldn't dare point his finger at me like that!" The man jumped up and down, trembling with anger. He waved his arms and started arguing fiercely with the soldier. The civilians nearby, seeing this man acting like a madman, all moved away to watch the spectacle.

"Swoosh! I'm warning you one last time! Don't bother me anymore! We need to get enough rest to ensure everyone's safety, not waste our energy playing house with you here! This is wartime! Impersonating an imperial marquis or noble is a capital offense! I have no intention of harming you, but please respect yourself as a citizen!" The soldier drew an armor-piercing sword and held it in front of him, the warning in his eyes and actions was clear.

"I'll fucking kill you!" The man froze for a second, then bristled as if he'd been electrocuted. Elemental torrents surged through his body, and then a large yellow elemental hand pinned him down.

"Who are you calling an imposter?! Do I need to impersonate a noble?! Waaaaah!" The man, his eyes bloodshot with rage, tightened his elemental grip instantly, causing the swordsman's eyes to bulge out!

"Whoosh!" Just as the swordsman was about to be crushed, a narrow sword light flashed, and the next second the menacing elemental hand disintegrated uncontrollably, and the swordsman fell to the ground, panting heavily.

"Who are you? Why are you attacking the soldiers of the Gale Clan? Are you trying to provoke the Gale Clan?" A somewhat languid voice came from behind the man. Okrian Ryukin appeared behind him with his arms crossed. He hadn't even drawn his sword. To Okrian Ryukin, a sixth-tier sword saint, this man was full of openings! He had at least a hundred ways to kill him with one blow! A hundred ways to deliver a fatal blow!

“Okrian Ryukin? It’s you? These are your family’s private soldiers! Good!” The man felt a chill run down his spine, as if needles were pricking his back, and his neck felt cold as well. But when he saw Okrian Ryukin in front of him, he immediately put on a cold smile.

"I'll kill you today!" With that, the man raised his foot and kicked Oakrian Ryukin.

"Madman!" Oakrian Ryukin didn't make a move; he simply swayed and appeared ten meters away, easily dodging the man's kick.

“This place is not safe for you, Your Excellency. I am not taking action out of fear, but because I hope everyone can work together to bring us back... You should understand that one sword strike is enough for me to kill you!” Okrian Ryukin said in a deep voice. If it weren’t for the need for manpower right now, he would have already attacked with his sword back in the Imperial era.

"Come on! Slash inwards!" The man didn't say much, but simply tossed his messy hair and gestured to Oakrian Ryukin with his neck.

"What's going on? Why is it so lively?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso, who was in the distance, saw that the area was surrounded by layers of spectators and quickly asked what was happening.

"Yasuo! You old bastard! Get over here!" Suddenly, the man's eyes caught sight of Grand Duke Oakrian Yasuo peering into the crowd. He roared, startling Grand Duke Oakrian Yasuo so much that he trembled.

"How dare you!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yasuo pushed through the crowd, a hint of mockery flashing in his eyes. He was just looking for someone to make an example of someone, and now this self-proclaimed saint had jumped out! "Look who I am, grandpa?" the man demanded, lifting a strand of hair from his face.

"Al? Hmm?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso suddenly stopped, then burst into great surprise.

“My friend! You’re alive! My dear…” Archduke Oakrian Yaso opened his arms to embrace the man, but the man grabbed Archduke Oakrian Yaso’s breastplate.

"Come, come! Do you think I'm a nobleman or a bandit?" the man grabbing Archduke Oakrian Yaso said excitedly.

“You’re a nobleman! Marquis Franz, Al-Tegran Franz!” Archduke Oakrian Yaso was startled by the question.

"See that? I am Al-Tegran Franz! The quartermaster of the 14th Legion of the Empire! The combat officer of the 14th Legion! A marquis! Which bastard said I was impersonating a nobleman! Slander! Utter slander! Where is that swordsman? Come out and I challenge you to a duel! I'll stake my family's honor on you!" Al-Tegran Franz, getting more and more agitated, jumped up. Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso quickly stopped his former colleague.

"Calm down, calm down! It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso apologized repeatedly. After all, he hadn't even recognized Marquis Al-Tegran Franz, let alone the other soldiers. For someone dressed like a beggar elder to call himself a marquis, it was already a sign of his soldiers' good manners not to beat him up.

"These are your soldiers? I've wasted my time feeding them! I should have just let them all starve to death on the northern front! Eating my rations while cursing me for pretending to be a nobleman?" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz cursed. After all, before the Gale family banished these sparks to the void, Al-Tegran Franz was in charge of allocating and distributing supplies for the entire Fourteenth Legion and the Gale family.

Throughout the empire, it was common knowledge that the Franz family was synonymous with stinginess. The Franz family were all misers, so the Franz family produced a lot of quartermasters, and no one could embezzle even a penny from them!

Marquis Altegrand Franz was the most outstanding member of his family! The most miserly of misers! The most bureaucratic of bureaucrats! His famous saying: "You can't make much money squeezing the common people dry; you'll make the most money squeezing the bureaucrats!" Thus, the Franz family became the biggest creditor of the lower and middle nobility! They've specialized in lending for over a thousand years! Their wealth is comparable to that of a nation, but the reason they haven't been targeted by the royal family for so many years is because of their unparalleled loyalty—loyalty only to the emperor. Their loyalty is like going to work; they are equally loyal to every emperor. As for the empire? Sorry, we're not familiar with that!

Al was the most capable businessman and logistics manager in the Franz family this generation, and thus successfully ran for and became the family's marquis! (It's hard to believe this family's title is passed down through bloodlines and illegitimate children, but rather through ability to win the support of the family council! Electing the head of the family is a rare anomaly even in the empire! What's most impressive is that it has been passed down peacefully!)

The reason why Marquis Al-Tegran Franz is here is entirely because he was appointed by the Emperor to serve as a military supervisor in charge of logistics for the northeastern defense line; to be precise, he is here to oversee the battle with the Emperor's will!

“Thank God! I thought…” Archduke Oakrian Yaso choked out, pressing his hand on Marquis Al-Tegran Franz’s shoulder.

(End of this chapter)