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

Chapter 936 River Crossing Crisis

When the Lagrange name appeared, everyone knew that the imperial lineage still existed! The blood of the Emperor still flowed in the world!

"Your Excellency, look ahead! The situation may not be as bad as you think!" Caslo smiled at the group. He could roughly guess the change in Marquis Al-Tegran Franz's attitude, after all, the Franz family was loyal to the royal family, or more precisely, to the Lagran name! As a branch of the royal family, Roland was not an unacceptable figure in Marquis Al-Tegran Franz's eyes.

After all, although the Franz family wasn't born in Roland, they dedicated their lives to building roads all the way to Rome! The royal family was their foundation of security! Unlike those nobles with real fiefdoms or power, the title of a hereditary court marquis, while prestigious, lacked the resilience of a powerful baron! And for a border baron, the difference was even greater! The Morland family, as powerful border barons, even without the emperor's favor, still possessed formidable military power! The Franz family, however, was destined for extinction without the royal family… This was also the reason for Marquis Al-Tegran Franz's change of attitude; after all, no one in the Lagrange family disliked the Franz family!

“I think you’ve convinced me!” Marquis Al-Tegran-Franz smiled kindly at Caslow, already secretly plotting how to get some useful information.

"Your Highness, if you have no objections, you may lead the troops on their way! If we're lucky, you should reach the Red River in about seven sunsets!" Caslo calculated and told Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso that although they could choose to detour through the plains between Lonely Mountain and Iron Hills, that would be a considerable detour! A force of nearly 70,000 civilians couldn't withstand such a journey!

"Alright, let's set off now!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso breathed a sigh of relief. He wasn't a power-hungry person. As one of the Grand Dukes of the Empire, he had long since established his own country and experienced what it was like to be a king. He truly had no desire for the throne. Now that the king was in charge, Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso felt much more at ease. At least one country was willing to back him up. This feeling of not having to think too much was simply wonderful!

……

“…That’s all, Your Majesty!” Weiss bowed to Roland somewhat awkwardly.

"Why are you acting like this? Caslo might think I'm being harsh with you! Raise your head, stand up straight, be more friendly!" Roland's lips curled into a smile. Although as a transmigrator he had no place to practice his political maneuvering skills, had he been studying five thousand years of history of struggle for nothing? Roland valued maintaining relationships with his important ministers and trusted subordinates. Although he knew the system made these people loyal, they weren't machines, and the relationships needed to be carefully maintained! Don't be fooled by Yun Feng's constant complaints that Roland treated him like a beast of burden; he was actually quite pleased! The king's closeness and reliance on him, coupled with the favor of granting him the authority to govern a region, meant that calling Roland a beast was just empty talk. After all, as the kingdom's prime minister and a duke, he couldn't very well dig up his own grave, could he?

"Hehe, it's just that you look much more dignified..." Weiss thought for a moment and then said this.

"Majesty? Heh!" Roland's lips curled into a smile. He could finally be considered to have a bit of a kingly aura! Back when he first entered the Middle-earth and established Swiftflow City, he was like a prince in a dragon robe who didn't look like a crown prince. Although Roland was still not a mature politician, fortunately, Roland had an advantage that other nobles did not have—leaving professional matters to professionals!

"Go and rest. Keep busy these next few days and keep track of their location! We'll provide backup for them!" Roland nodded to Weiss.

"Forgive my bluntness, Your Majesty, but the ice has melted, and it will be difficult for the kingdom to cross the Red River with 70,000 people!" Duke Joelsteria, who had been listening quietly to Weiss, immediately stood up and said solemnly.

The Swift Hands family has cultivated the Swift River for thousands of years! They know this river too well! Crossing it in winter is easy, crossing it in summer is easy! But crossing it in spring and autumn is the most difficult! During this time when the ice and snow have not yet melted, the ice jams are more terrifying than war magic! No matter how strong human strength is, it still has to bow down to the power of nature! Even if you are a peak sixth-tier professional!

"I know, so you'll have to figure this out!" Roland tossed the burden over to him. What's the point of keeping a bunch of you if the king has to worry about everything?

“It’s probably too late to mobilize manpower to build wooden boats now…” Adolf Heinrich’s eyelids twitched as he looked at Maple Forest Orchid, who seemed hesitant to speak, fearing that the last Dragon Knight Commander of the Empire might say something thoughtless. Fortunately, he had already shut him up. “That’s true, but perhaps we can use other methods!” Duke Joelsteria shook his head. If Roland really didn’t care about casualties and risked his life to make the people cross the river, then there were ways. Simple wooden boats tied together with ropes could at least ensure the safety of most of the population. However, having learned about Roland’s character, Duke Joelsteria was certain that King Roland would not issue such an order. After all, Roland hadn’t yet gone mad and shouted things like, “Sacrifice is the cornerstone of the empire! Life is the currency of the emperor!”

Roland's people-oriented approach was the first impression he gave the Duke of Giorstedia. As the strongest partner of the Swift Hand and the Emperor, catering to their preferences was a traditional skill of the Imperial Twins! With the experience and ability of the Imperial Twins, they naturally didn't need to learn from the Franz family and grovel to the royal family to climb to Rome. Where they were—was Rome itself!

"Let's just freeze part of the river with magic... simpler and easier!" After pondering for a long time, Duke Joelsteria finally blurted out this sentence. It wasn't that the "Swift Hand" spell was stingy, nor was it that Duke Joelsteria was mediocre or incompetent; it was simply that the tragic Roland Dynasty's resources didn't allow Duke Joelsteria to show off his skills. He also wanted to directly teleport everyone over with a group teleportation spell! He even wanted to open a spatial jump portal to connect the two banks, but the kingdom was simply dirt poor...

“Ice type…” Adolf Heinrich consciously took a step back; only he knew the extent of the damage contained in that small movement.

“I didn’t expect anything from you…” Duke Giorstedia rolled his eyes at Adolf Heinrich and then continued.

“Maple Forest Ice Orchid and Lady Lilith can do it!” Duke Joelsteria nodded affirmatively to Roland.

"Excuse me... my wife Benyuan is still recovering from her injuries..." Maple Forest Orchid, Lilith's husband, weakly raised one hand and said.

"It's nothing, just frozen ordinary river water, no big deal!" Duke Joelsteria shook his head.

"Let's just suffer at the McDougal's house for a while!" Duke Joelsteria patted Maple Forest Orchid on the shoulder to comfort her.

"..." At this moment, Fenglin Youlan, who had been caught fleecing, felt as if the sky had fallen!

“Then it’s settled. Youlan, go and tell your sister to come back and make preparations. As for your wife, let her do what she can! If it really doesn’t work, we can use the Dragon Knights to airlift her little by little!” Roland said considerately. Roland understood Lilith’s original injury, so he didn’t insist.

(End of this chapter)