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

Chapter 983 The Goblin Knights Arrive!

"Incredible!" Caslo muttered, then walked out with his head down...

For a moment, it was unclear whether he was referring to Verwy or Roland; more likely, it was both. As the kingdom's best servant and one of Roland's most loyal lackeys (his loyalty to Marquis Al-Tegran Franz was equally touching), Caslo, though complaining, was still true to his word.

……

"Bang!" The door was suddenly kicked open, and before Roland, who was writing and drawing on the paper, could see who it was (by the way, I have to complain about parchment, it's expensive and inconvenient, and it doesn't seem to have any special features except for showing off...), a fiery red figure stood in front of Roland.

"Your Majesty, is this job absolutely dependent on Caslo? His injuries haven't healed yet!" Ajax stormed in angrily, slamming her hands on the table in front of her and roaring at Roland.

"...Calm down, calm down. This is just to let him get out and stretch his muscles. He's bored staying cooped up in Lagrange City all the time. It's good to let him go out and find Verway and the others. There's nothing dangerous or important about it. Don't worry, don't worry!" Roland said in a low voice, covering his face with his hand.

“He’s a dragon knight commander with a strong recovery ability, and wind dragons can run fast. It’s perfect to entrust this matter to him. It saves the manpower of a dragon knight and allows him to be deployed to other places…” Roland explained. After all, there are many places that need manpower, and Roland still needs to carefully calculate the high-end combat power. For this kind of matter that is not dangerous, Roland simply let Caslo, who is still recuperating, do it.

"Alright, if he has something to say, you'd better come up with a reasonable explanation for me!" Ajax said, turning and leaving without waiting for Roland to reply.

"...Tsk tsk tsk! The Anthony family's aura is truly different. As expected of an old noble family, they can even show their disrespect to the king!" Roland clicked his tongue in amazement without getting annoyed. Only Darian Nightblade, who was faintly visible in the light, kept his eyes closed, looking as if he hadn't heard or seen anything.

Roland paid no attention to Darian Nightblade's reaction, who was hiding nearby, and was preoccupied with when he would complete his main quest. After all, building a city that could pass the system's certification was quite difficult, and he would need to work harder to get that reward...

……

"Hurry, hurry, hurry! The kingdom's relief food! Come and get it! Come and get it!" Ismir cheerfully called out to the residents as they lined up to receive food and various daily necessities. Because the war had crippled Windhelm, its finances were severely damaged. The kingdom urgently transferred a batch of supplies from the Stream City's reserves to replenish its supplies. It could be said that apart from the constantly fluctuating food security threshold, the kingdom was well-off in all other aspects! (After all, Roland had received a bunch of miscellaneous items from his daily check-in; he had no shortage of clothing or farm tools!)

"Good heavens! It seems we didn't lose out after all..." Ymir exclaimed, looking at the mountain of clothes, utensils, farm tools, and bags of grain.

“Yes! Apart from the heavy losses of the soldiers…” As he spoke, Ismir’s smile disappeared, and Ymir also keenly realized that he had said the wrong thing, and gave an awkward laugh.

"There are fewer than a hundred survivors in the entire city... It hurts so much!" Ymir thought, her heart bleeding. The deaths of those elite soldiers directly affected the operation of the territory, leaving large gaps in its defenses.

"Greetings, Baron!" A goblin dressed in full knight's plate armor appeared before Ismir.

"Greetings, Knight!" Ismir greeted him with the proper courtesy. Although goblin knights were not considered top-tier troops, their sheer numbers, coupled with the kingdom's superior equipment, gave these fearless goblin knights the ability to stand up to other professionals.

"What brings you here?" Ismir asked curiously. His goblin knights were almost all dead; their loyalty and valiant fighting had resulted in the deaths of all their mounts. So Ismir mercifully released them from their contracts, restoring their status as free mercenaries. After all, sending goblins without mounts to the battlefield was truly reckless. Ismir had hired goblin knights with gold coins, and these knights had already served him to the last moment; there was no need to further burden those goblins who had become infantry…

"Your Majesty is merciful and has re-established two Goblin Knight Orders for you. The goblin mercenaries who have been freed by you are also willing to continue fighting for you, so the tribe has provided them with mounts and equipment so that they can rejoin the ranks!" The leading goblin knight gave a somewhat comical knightly salute, but Ismir did not find it funny at all. Instead, he felt a warmth in his heart.

"Your Majesty is too kind, thank you for your benevolence! Welcome back, my knights!" Ismir first praised Roland, then welcomed the knights, whose arrival now reduced several gaps in Windhelm's defenses. "Have the commoners not returned yet?" The goblin knight looked around and found only a few militiamen clearing the wreckage. Large pits had been dug outside the city, piled high with the corpses of orcs.

“...It’s obvious that civilians shouldn’t be allowed to enter here; a single plague could kill them!” Ymir and Ismir exchanged a glance.

"Need any help, sir? We can lend a hand!" The goblin knight captain said calmly, glancing at the goblins behind him who were fully prepared for battle.

“Of course, we need manpower to clear the ruins, otherwise the people will not be able to return…” Ismir shrugged to indicate the danger of these broken walls and ruins.

"Serving you is our duty, but... why are they wearing armor?" The goblin knight captain pointed at the militiamen who were carrying bricks, puzzled.

"Roar!" A blood-soaked orc suddenly emerged from the ruins. The militiamen who were clearing the rubble drew their longswords without surprise and thrust them at the orc's weapon.

"Uh..." The orc's thin iron armor was no match for Lagrange's exquisite standard steel sword. The orc, stabbed through, convulsed and fell to the ground.

“Well…” Ymir shrugged and smiled awkwardly, her face full of speechlessness. This was why the soldiers wore armor. During the battle, many orcs fled into the ruins of houses to avoid the dragon's breath. The danger of the collapsed ruins during the clearing was far more than just the ruins themselves; the orcs hidden within were the real threat.

"Understood!" The goblin knights exchanged glances and nodded.

……

"Their lords are quite clever!" Haro said thoughtfully, watching the goblin knight pull the broken ruins with the boar.

Because of their short stature, the goblin knights devised a plan: they tied the boars to the ruins with ropes, and then stood by with weapons to drive their mounts. The muscular monster mounts were obviously stronger than the short goblin knights, and with their help, the ruins in the city were cleared at a visible speed.

……

"Ugh~" Ismir gagged.

"Why does it smell? The corpses were clearly burning downwind..." Ismir stared at the roast meat on the plate, his face pale. His stomach was cramping. Finally, he grabbed a piece of bread, took out the plate, and tossed it to the servants, signaling them to divide the roast meat.

"Ugh~"

"Uh, sir, the wind has shifted..." Ymir scratched his head awkwardly.

"By the Dragon God! Ugh~"

(End of this chapter)