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

Chapter 1000 King Akvia

“My dear Marquis Al-Tegran Franz, you'd better pray that I return victorious! Otherwise, you're in big trouble!” Roland teased, patting him on the shoulder.

"..." Marquis Al-Tegran Franz gritted his teeth. Are all members of your royal family dogs? Can't you change your expression without batting an eye?

"Your Majesty!" Roland's most loyal henchman, Caslo, was riding his dragon atop the castle. Upon seeing Roland, he nodded and then pulled on the reins to take off.

"The army marches forth!" Omsk stood before the knights, spear in hand, while the silent Rock Hero Mogus leaned on his lance, saying nothing.

"Forward! Knights of the Bauhinia Cross!" Looking at the perfectly arrayed knights before him, a strange flame surged within Ravian! This was the Knights of the Bauhinia Cross! His lifelong dream of restoring glory!
"Forward! The Fourteenth Knights!" Mogus didn't shout as loudly as Ravian; instead, he spoke calmly, his composure being his finest quality!
"Forward! Expeditionary Legion!" Roland, mounted on horseback, gazed at the steel torrent before him, his heart pounding with excitement. Years ago, he had fewer than a hundred soldiers and a handful of generals! He had followed the dwarves down a dark path! He had recklessly plunged into the meat grinder of Lonely Mountain, but fortune always favors the brave! He had succeeded! He had led the Lagranges to establish themselves in this land, and a great kingdom had risen again in the North! Roland stood at the city gate, gazing into the distance… This was the land he had conquered! His eyes, filled with emotion and satisfaction, were fixed on this steel torrent…

This is the most elite infantry and cavalry of the North! Under Roland's command, the Kingdom of Lagrang has, for the first time ever, fielded an all-professional force! Not a single ordinary soldier. It's not that Roland is arrogant; rather, it's a display of his wisdom and compassion. The sparsely populated Kingdom of Lagrang cannot afford to waste lives on bottomless battlefields. Roland would rather deploy elite troops than use cannon fodder to drown, at least not during an offensive! In Roland's plan, ordinary soldiers and cavalry should be used to fill gaps in the lines and form a second line of defense, not to engage in the same kind of bloody slaughter as the elite professional army… At least Roland cannot afford to send hundreds of thousands of Swift Infantry to fill gaps like the Empire does…

It is said that the Swift Infantry are the tears of the Lagrange Empire, but Roland does not want such tears to flow in his own kingdom. It is not that Roland loves his soldiers like his own children, but his upbringing and conscience make him unable to face the scene of every family wearing mourning clothes.

……

"What a magnificent military might!" King White Wing exclaimed sincerely as he looked at the soldiers crossing the river in galleons. He was incredibly envious of these elite soldiers.

"Your Highness, please stop daydreaming!" His general, Maple Leaf Purple, sighed. The entire Kingdom of Akvia couldn't even muster a few knight squads, and you're already eyeing a knightly order?

"Nonsense! What kind of talk is that! Dreams! You'll have them eventually if you work hard!" King Whitewing shook his head and denied it. They now had a fixed territory, and he had overruled all objections to transform the original nomadic tribe into an agricultural kingdom. From being homeless to cultivating the land, the kingdom became more stable, and Whitewing's control over the kingdom grew stronger day by day. By learning from the Kingdom of Lagrang and his own conclusions, Whitewing successfully ensured that the people under his rule lived in peace and prosperity, and the population increased significantly.

While enjoying the protection of the Kingdom of Lagrang, Akvia's security was surprisingly better than Lagrang's due to Lagrang's military intimidation and the guerrilla reconnaissance of the elven rangers! After all, orcs weren't fools and wouldn't recklessly charge into the border between two kingdoms! Akvia's security allowed Whitewing to drastically reform his army. He disbanded the original Kadan light cavalry, retaining only the royal guard and professional troops, while the rest were put into production, to be conscripted as guerrilla light cavalry in times of war!
"Hello! My friend! Roland!" Bai Yi smiled kindly at Roland, who had stepped onto the west bank of the swift-flowing river.

"Hello! My brother! White Wing!" Roland didn't put on airs and strode over, the two of them gripping each other's hands tightly. "I heard you crazy guy disbanded your army? How do you plan to go to war? With some old farmer carrying a pitchfork?" Roland teased, punching White Wing's plate armor in the chest.

"It's too safe to be near you. Maintaining such a large, demobilized army is such a waste!" Bai Yi replied calmly, though he showed no embarrassment or shame at being a bully.

"Aren't you afraid the orcs will come and ambush you?" Roland's eyelid twitched. You're really bold! Relying on the militia to fill the gap? Aren't you afraid of collapsing the line yourself?
“They won’t have a chance. We’re constantly logging forests here, and our guerrilla cavalry aren’t idle either. Even with our semi-agricultural, semi-warfare situation, we can still find time to wipe out the wandering orcs! As for organized orcs…” White Wing glanced at Roland, a hint of barely suppressed laughter on his face.

"...You're just calling our dragon riders, aren't you!" Roland was exasperated. The Whitewing Kingdom wasn't immune to orc raids. Even after the large-scale pacification of the North, some defiant orc tribes still attempted to plunder the Kingdom of Akvia on a large scale, only to be sent back to the Beast God's home by Ajax's dragonfire...

"Hey! Friend! We're your allies, one big family!" Bai Yi chuckled, laughing heartily.

"Just make sure you know what's going on! Just don't mess things up! This expedition will tie down a large portion of our military forces! There might be gaps in our defenses here! Have you made any arrangements?" Roland said with a dark face. He had transferred two knight orders and thousands of elite professionals, which had shrunk the vast security zone of the Kingdom of Lagrang. This wouldn't have a big impact on the Kingdom of Lagrang, but it was bad news for the Kingdom of Akvia, which was just across the river!
"It's alright, I've already relocated the people inland. They'll gather around the capital, and I've collected enough fuel to help them get through the cold winter!" Bai Yi shook his head. It's just a matter of shrinking the defensive line, right? He can shrink it too! Anyway, all the crops in the fields have been harvested! The grain has now entered the capital's granaries, which has put everyone's minds at ease.

"Where's the shelter? Are you going to leave them exposed to the wind in the winter?" Roland frowned. After all, he saw that there weren't enough wooden houses to house the civilians, and it was too late to plan for construction now...

"Don't forget we used to be a nomadic tribe! We haven't lost our tents!" White Wing grinned. As a nomadic people, they hadn't lost their skills. As northern nomads who followed pastures and hunting grounds, being homeless was the norm for them, so this problem was nothing to them.

“Alright, assemble the troops and we’re heading to the Woodland Kingdom! The dwarves and the Vale army will meet us there!” Roland nodded to Whitewing.

“Alright! My troops will assemble quickly!” White Wing replied, then gestured to Maple Leaf Purple beside him.

"Have the troops all crossed the river? Have them assemble! They need a rest before they prepare to march!" Roland ordered Omske.