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

Chapter 922 Duke Yunfeng

“The Fourteenth Legion is a bit…” Archduke Oakrian Yaso pressed his throbbing temples, feeling his head throb with pain!

“Over 130 knights of various kinds, that’s too mixed up…” Grand Duke Okrian Yaso looked at the 14th Legion’s subordinate knights with some trouble. Don’t misunderstand, the “mixed up” here doesn’t mean that the knights’ military discipline is bad, but rather that this solemn knights’ military discipline looks a bit like a beggar’s gang because of its complex composition. After all, it’s hard not to have a headache when you see an army with more than a dozen different styles of armor.

"Let's make do... We still have two thousand Swift Infantry left..." Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso raised his head and carefully observed this tenacious army of spearmen, a hint of respect and sorrow appearing in his eyes. After all, the Swift Infantry legions in the border legions numbered in the dozens! That is to say, the Fourteenth Legion had at least thirty thousand Swift Infantry, but now...

“Dovenian Heavy Swordsman… Oh! Sorry!” Grand Duke Oakrian Yasso suddenly patted his head and muttered to himself, then took out a pen, moistened it with saliva, and began to write and draw something on the parchment.

As his hand fell, the cold wind lifted a corner of the parchment, allowing a glimpse that the line about the Dovenian heavy swordsmen in the Fourteenth Legion's roster had been crossed out entirely...

"You're quite lucky, aren't you? At least the Fourteenth Legion left you with a thousand-strong Battanian archer force, didn't it?" Oakrian Ryukin said with a wry smile.

“If you intend to raise the banner of the Empire, these soldiers will be sufficient…” Oakrian Norman cautiously poked his head out and spoke.

“…Password!” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso kicked him, his face dark. How much do you want to “enter” the palace?! If the throne of the Lagrange Emperor were so easy to sit on, a bunch of electors wouldn't be so unwilling to take it. Electors in other countries scheme and fight for power, while the electors of the Lagrange Empire scheme and fight to put someone else in the position…

"Hiss! These 70,000 people..." Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso stared at the dark mass of "refugees" sitting on the ground, his heart clenching. After the empire's collapse, the people were the ones who suffered the most. These people who followed him were alright, but the rest of the empire's subjects... Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso dared not open his eyes, hoping it was just his imagination! The empire was now safe and sound...

"Your Highness, you're not going to abandon them, are you..." Oakrian Ryukin broke out in a cold sweat after seeing Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso close his eyes. Would his patriarch really grit his teeth and run away with the army?

“…You get out too!” Archduke Oakrian Yaso opened his eyes blankly and gritted his teeth.

……

"Let's feed everyone first! Then... we'll head south!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso gazed in the direction where the capital had once been, a surge of emotion welling up within him. A somber atmosphere enveloped the group, most of them having accepted the fate of their lost homeland.

It wasn't that the Gale Clan didn't want to stop the news from spreading; it was just that the situation was impossible to conceal. Before the soldiers could even comfort the civilians, the soldiers themselves couldn't hold back anymore...

……

"Are you still leaving?" Nyx asked timidly, tugging at Roland's collar.

"Why don't you come with me? The inner city of Lagrange is still under construction, but that won't stop you from coming," Roland said affectionately, playfully pinching Nyx's nose.

“What about Swiftstream City…” A hint of worry and struggle appeared in Nyx’s eyes.

“Give it to Yunfeng!” Roland said without hesitation.

"Pfft!" Nyx couldn't help but cover his mouth and laugh. "If you make Lord Yunfeng stop like this, he'll probably break your legs..." Nyx recalled the image of Yunfeng jumping around, ready to fight Roland to the death. To Yunfeng, Roland was nothing but a skin-peeling king!

"It's alright. As the future prime minister of the kingdom, he needs to shoulder more responsibilities!" Roland said without batting an eye. Clearly, Roland was very comfortable using Yun Feng, and whenever something happened, Roland's first thought was Comrade Yun Feng! In a sense, this could be considered as Yun Feng being favored by the emperor!

"You! All you do is make empty promises! You've been prime minister for so many years, and Yunfeng is still a nobody, working like a slave for you!" Nix said coquettishly, feigning anger.

“Good, good! My dear wife is right! I should give him a status!” Roland felt that what Nyx said made a lot of sense, so he listened to his wife Nyx’s advice wholeheartedly.

……

"What?! The Queen has been kidnapped!!" Yunfeng and Duke Joelsteria's faces turned bright red instantly, as if they had been choked.

"This is outrageous! This is outrageous! Guards! Guards! Assemble the army! Suppress the bandits! Suppress the bandits!" Duke Joelster was from the renowned Vladivostok family, the illustrious Swift Hands family! When had he ever suffered such humiliation? The Queen had been kidnapped? Wasn't this a slap in the face to the Swift Hands? In the past, it would have been the Queen who was kidnapped!

"Didn't the Queen go to see His Majesty? Where is Roland? What kind of person is he?" Yun Feng grabbed Dos Anthony and roared.

"It's Queen Nyx, whom King Roland abducted. He said Nyx went with him..." Dos Anthony continued, catching his breath.

"The password!" Enraged, Yunfeng and Joelster unleashed a barrage of punches on Dragon Knight Dos Anthony, who howled in pain. (A chance encounter with the Kingdom's Twin Pillars in Swiftstream City; their fist techniques are so profound and their strength so monstrous that they cannot defeat them even with their full strength!)

……

"So... Roland went and became a hands-off manager himself, and then dragged Queen Nyx along to become hands-off managers too?" Yun Feng's eyes flashed with a dangerous light, which meant that the password had been exposed!

Duke Joelster, standing to the side, crossed his arms, looking completely unfazed. "Are you kidding me? The Empire's two fists are nothing to you! I've encountered plenty of hands-off emperors! Roland's one less! At least Roland's a decent human being, unlike some emperors who don't care about anything but money and soldiers… At least Roland is self-sufficient in Lagrange City."

"To compensate you, His Majesty has a letter for you..." Dos Anthony was finally able to catch his breath and speak. He took out the letter and disappeared from Yun Feng's sight in a flash.

"Let me see what's going on?" Yun Feng, who had just received Roland's letter offering to make amends, opened the envelope with a mixture of curiosity and relief as she looked at it. Joelster, who was standing nearby, also leaned over to watch the excitement.

"Your Excellency Yunfeng, I'm taking Nyx with me. I entrust everything in Swiftstream City to you and Duke Joelsteria. Considering your dedication and hard work for the kingdom, I hereby bestow upon you the title of Court Duke, hereditary for three generations! I wish you good health, my dear Duke! Oh, and please give my regards to Duke Joelsteria!"

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Duke Giorstedia bowed slightly to the letter.

"Crack..." Joelster turned his head and saw that Yunfeng's face was flushed red, his knuckles were white from clenching his fists, and his teeth were grinding.

"Just like that? Is a duke really that worthless?" Yun Feng gritted his teeth. Even if court nobles are worthless, they still have the prefix "duke"! Whose duke conferment isn't a grand and lavish affair? How come when it comes to my dukedom, it's like a perfunctory task, giving off a cheap, shoddy vibe! (Roland: See, now that I've actually given it to you, you're not happy about it.)

"Ahem, perhaps King Roland doesn't have time to hold such a grand ceremony right now..." Joelster said, his face turning red.

After more than a year, our wise ox and horse have finally earned their noble titles!