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

Chapter 98 Centaur

"Hmm! As expected of a monster's egg, it's so rich in energy..." Roland wiped his mouth and finished his breakfast. A simple fried egg almost made Roland cry; he hadn't eaten this in a long time.

"Woo woo woo~" The melodious sound of horns drifted from afar, accompanied by creaking and grinding sounds, and all the gates of Swiftstream City slowly opened...

The commoners filed out with various tools, searching for supplies along the way, with Stream City as their center. Some of them headed towards Stream River, carrying fishing nets and pushing carts. They supplied most of the meat products for Stream City. Perhaps due to the abundant fish catch, as the number of commoners in Stream City increased, countless fish and meat products were developed by the creative people of Lagrange, such as fish balls, fish paste and cured meat porridge, and fish floss bread. The fish products of the entire Stream River gave the people of Stream City hope for survival.

"Hmm~" Roland stretched and walked out of the tent.

The once ubiquitous soldiers on the streets had become scarce, with the Swift Infantry suffering heavy casualties. The conscripted light infantry were dispatched by Roland to the plantations and chicken farms along the river. The Knights had gone out to explore with the civilians early in the morning, tasked with protecting them. Battanian archers and Lagrange city guards patrolled the city walls, and only a few groups of Swift Infantry and Dovenian heavy swordsmen could be seen on the streets. This change softened the grim atmosphere of Swift Infantry, adding a touch of life to the city.

"My lord! Good morning!" Caslo, who was waiting outside the tent, rushed forward when he saw Roland come out.

"Good morning, Sir Caslo!" Roland said casually, brushing the snowflakes off his shoulder.

"There are far fewer soldiers on the streets!" Caslo said with a nostalgic look in his eyes.

“The soldiers all have places where they are needed, which is good. Otherwise, they would just be sitting idle in the city!” Roland smiled.

"Sir, perhaps you should renovate your castle sometime?" Caslon gestured with his chin towards the castle that was being used as a warehouse.

"No rush, let's build a few large warehouses first! We can't just throw all the supplies out!" Roland smiled.

"Hehe! Look at my memory, I almost forgot! You've thought things through, sir! You truly are the embodiment of Lagrange's glory!" Caslo showered him with compliments.

"Hehe!" Roland chuckled. This damned sycophant, but why did those words sound so pleasant?

"Your Highness! What are the plans for today?" Renault appeared beside Roland at some point.

"Nothing much to arrange. Just reinforce and renovate all the houses as soon as possible. Our people need warm homes. Also, have Ivy and her priests patrol the city and treat the sick. We don't have any doctors or alchemists to treat them right now, so we can only rely on the priests' light magic." Roland thought for a moment and then gave Reno detailed instructions.

"Isn't this too wasteful..." Renault hesitated, after all, using light magic, which is mainly for saving lives, to treat illnesses was indeed a bit extravagant.

“There’s no other way. Without alchemists to concoct potions, we’ll have to rely on the priests. Let them work hard for a while,” Roland said in an unquestionable tone. He couldn’t possibly let the wise Yun Feng do this kind of work, could he? Concocting various healing potions is usually done by apprentice alchemists; making Yun Feng do it would probably drive him crazy…

Roland and Caslo strolled up the city wall and happened to run into Marcus and Lance, who were on patrol.

"Your Highness!" The two quickly bowed.

"No need for formalities. Lord Lance thanks you for your bravery and fearlessness in this war, leading the Swift Infantry in the front lines! You played a decisive role in the Allied victory! Therefore, I hereby confer upon you the hereditary title of Court Baron! Kneel down!" Roland drew his Dragon Slayer Sword and lightly tapped Lance's shoulders, keeping things simple given the limited resources available.

"I hope you will be loyal to your duties and live up to your responsibilities! The administration of Swiftstream City must not be neglected!" Roland encouraged.

"Thank you for your trust, Your Highness. I will certainly live up to your expectations. Where your will leads, my sword will follow!" Lance said excitedly, kneeling on one knee. Although he was not a baron with a real title, a court baron was still a rare honor. Each had its own advantages. Court nobles were nobles who served the king for a long time. As long as the royal family did not perish, they would almost never fall, not to mention that it was a hereditary title.

“Marcus, you have rendered meritorious service in defending the territory and ensuring the stability of the rear during the war. Now I bestow upon you the title of Lord! Kneel down!” Roland continued.

"Your Highness! Wait!" Marcus quickly interrupted Roland. "What is it?" Roland asked curiously.

"I don't think my contributions are enough to deserve this title..." Marcus said with shame. You see, he had been just a bystander in this battle. He hadn't seen a single orc, let alone a goblin. Marcus had been diligently guarding the city of Swiftstream, constantly on guard against non-existent enemies. It could be said that he had accomplished nothing.

“…In that case, let’s confer titles together later!” Roland comforted Marcus, who looked ashamed. In stark contrast to Marcus, Roland felt that Marcus had actually done a great job this time. He had protected everyone’s last resort. A title was really not much, but since he didn’t want it, they could keep it for now. After all, nobles couldn’t be treated like cabbages; too many would make them worthless.

Looking at Marcus, Roland suddenly thought of Reno. After Roland offered him a reward, that guy turned around and ran away. To quote a certain governor of the North in the game: "Don't let the glory of the nobles blind my holy soul!" (Reno's original words) Roland was so angry at the time that he was crooked and his beard was crooked. Have nobles become so lowly that they are looked down upon?

"You guys go ahead with your work. Caslo and I are just taking a stroll. You don't need to follow us." Roland waved his hand to stop them from following.

……

“Caslo, look how humble Marcus is! When I bestowed a knighthood upon you, you didn’t hesitate for a second and accepted it immediately. Why are you so unhumble?” Roland teased Caslo.

"Heaven have mercy! My lord, I have shed blood for you! I have been loyal to you! You can't do this to me! Do you know how hard it was for me to fight my way here to get a noble title?" Caslo immediately put on a pitiful face and played the victim.

“Hmm, that makes sense. Then we won’t strip him of his title.” Roland said seriously, deliberately keeping a straight face.

"What! Strip me of my title? Are you serious, sir? You're not going to kill me like this! Besides, I feel like I'm still somewhat useful as a dragon knight, right?" Caslo's eyes widened in surprise.

"Yeah, at least he's a Sky Knight. Maybe we should wait until the Griffin Knights are trained before cutting him down?" Roland muttered to himself.

“…” Caslo.

"Report!" A knight came galloping in, interrupting Caslo and Roland's banter.

"What's going on!" Caslo's eyes narrowed and his pupils shrank. He leaped up, grabbed the reins, and forcefully pulled his galloping warhorse back.

"Your Highness! Our people were wounded by an unknown creature while gathering wild vegetables in the forests of the Eastern Lagrange Plain!" the knight hurriedly reported.

"Quantity?" Caslo asked hastily.

“At least dozens!” the knight said hastily.

"Where are the rest of the people?" Roland's expression changed; he was the only one left from the group that went east.

"The other knights are covering the civilians' retreat! Those creatures that attacked us didn't chase us out of the woods!" the knight hurriedly said.

"What about the casualties?" Roland continued to ask.

“No one died, and all the arrows pierced our shoulder blades! They don’t seem to want to kill us, they just want to drive us away!” the knight said after a moment’s thought.

"Centaur?" Roland and Caslo looked at each other and simultaneously voiced their guess.

(End of this chapter)