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

Chapter 1023 Elnino Ranger Legion! (Data available)
"Spider monsters! Good news: they're not high level! At most, they're mid-level monsters! Bad news: these things live in groups!" An officer rode up to Lavian's side and said.

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!" Soft squeaking sounds echoed through the forest. As various colored battle aura blades flew, branches and thick tree trunks fell one after another. The randomly falling tree trunks were more frightening than the spider webs of magical beasts!
"Mount up! Mount up! Withdraw!" Ravian roared the order. After all, knights are good at using others as speed bumps in open areas, not as hunters in the woods.

"Neigh!" A warhorse let out a mournful cry. Everyone looked and saw a dark shadow sweep across the treetops. Several strands of spider silk descended from the sky and wrapped directly around a warhorse carrying heavy armor. However, the warhorse, which weighed over a ton, was not something that a magical beast could easily pull. It was enough for the knights next to it to react.

"Thank you!" The knight, who had almost lost his warhorse, repeatedly expressed his gratitude as he watched the knight beside him cut the spider silk with his sword.

"You're too kind! This thing can't be moved... Ouch!" Before the words were finished, the knight who had just spoken disappeared from his horse and quickly flew into the sky.

"?" The knight who had thanked him turned around and found the saddle empty.

"Guerrilla knights, shoot those scum! Stop using the Battle Qi Flame Blade external skill! The falling tree will kill our brothers!" Ravian didn't care about holding back anymore; if this dragged on any longer, they would really lose men!
"Gather together! Activate your buffs! Let the light of glory shine!" After Lavian leaped up the tree trunk, the other officers quickly took over command. The knights' Glory buffs could share the damage from attacks, making it no different from facing a sixth-tier defense against a mid-level magical beast!

"Pfft!" The Cross Bauhinia Knights were, after all, a hodgepodge of knights. Roland deliberately piled all sorts of random people here; it was a tactic, and also a test. After all, he was secretly pleased to have a knightly order given away for free. Regardless of their flaws, they were all genuine knights! Therefore, Ravian could even find some guerrilla knights from the East among them…

That's right, they're guerrilla knights... Lightweight knights who have abandoned their heavy tank form. The lances they equip are more symbolic than practical; their main weapons are knightly swords and heavy bows! Paired with armor-piercing javelins, they are masters of kiting on the battlefield. In fact, these guerrilla knights are the only ones capable of launching an effective counterattack!
"Thump!" A giant spider with eight trembling legs fell down and landed in the middle of the crowd, with a thick arrow stuck in its chest and abdomen. Clearly, the guerrilla knight had done a great job!

"Swoosh!" The knight beside him thrust his spear down, and with a spray of fluid, the giant spider twitched a few times and then lay still!

“Shadow Giant Spider! A killer in the woods! Beware, this thing is poisonous!” the officer said.

……

With a "whoosh," Ravian, using his battle aura to glide briefly, dodged a spider silk that was shot down and casually cut it off. He then cut another spider silk that was hanging from a knight with another sword. He embedded one hand in a tree and held his sword in the other as he looked around and searched in the forest!

"Shadow Giant Spider! Damn it!" Upon seeing the figure crawling rapidly through the treetops, Ravian felt the fear of underestimating his enemy and advancing recklessly for the first time, and the pressure made his breathing quicken.

"Retreat!" Ravian shouted from the tree, as the knights below were gathering to retreat.

"Pfft! Ah~" Knights were constantly being lifted up and then rescued by their teammates. The Spider and the Cross Bauhinia Knights seemed to be playing a game of tacit understanding, with the two sides going back and forth in a lively manner.

"Oh no! Glory is useless!" the knights below cried out in panic. The spider silk ignored the mutual protection of the Glory shield and dragged the knights out directly from it!
"Fire! Retreat at a steady pace!" Ravian jumped off his horse, mounted his horse, and took over the command.

"General, what should we do?" the officer asked Ravian with some fear.

"Calm down! You are soldiers of the kingdom! Knights of the Duchy's Knights! Look at yourselves! Have you forgotten that the Shield of Glory cannot withstand this kind of harmless control?" Ravian roared. If glory were omnipotent, everyone would become a knight. This kind of harmless control was the simplest way to counter the Knights, but few could actually do it, so the knights were somewhat bewildered by the sudden encounter! What's even more absurd is that because there was no damage, even the shield scroll couldn't be activated! So the Knights could only play a strange "tug-of-war" with the countless spider monsters above them while retreating in an orderly fashion!

……

"This isn't a complete waste!" Roland stared at the system panel in front of him. Because he rarely commanded remotely and was on the front lines, Roland hardly had time to look at the combat panel. But just as he was taking a break, he saw that the page belonging to Ravian on the combat panel was a deep, purplish red! The warning indicator was flashing so brightly it was blinding!
Roland checked the panel records and saw that his Cross Bauhinia Knights had just been ambushed by a swarm of Shadow Spiders… Ha! Roland, the “Emperor,” almost laughed in exasperation! Those trash monsters that were slaughtered by Caslo and Kaldo in the old forest back then, who didn’t even dare to raise their heads to look at the Lagrange banner, are now eating the good stuff? After all these years, they dare to eat at the knights’ buffet?

However, Roland also knew that it was probably because Lavian had charged too aggressively, creating distance between himself and the vanguard elven ranger. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been ambushed by the swarm of shadow spiders! Roland was both understanding and speechless about this. He understood Lavian's desire to achieve results, but he was speechless because this guy really treated the Dark Forest as a speed bump for the Knights.
"Sigh! I have to use another trump card!" Roland said with a wry smile as he selected the system page and then found his own territory page.

territory:

Capital: Lagrange!
Swiftstream City, Lulong Fortress, Palembang, North Crossing Fortress, Dragon Cliff Fortress. Commanders: Caslo (Tier 6 Dragon Knight Commander), Renault (Tier 6 Holy Hero), Radil (Tier 5 War Mage), Adile (Tier 6 Hero), Yunfeng (Tier 6 Sage), Omske (Tier 6 Hero), Lavian (Tier 4 Knight Commander), Holin (Tier 4 Knight Commander), Luke Leopold, Merk Leopold, Ajax Antony (Tier 5 Dragon Knight General), Lafit Antony (Tier 3 Grand Knight), Valin Angus (Tier 3 Warrior), Dos Antony (Tier 4 Dragon Knight), Yu Mordran (Tier 4 Knight Commander) , Verweil (Tier 6 Hunter), Adolf Heinrich (Tier 6 Sage), Darion Nightblade (Tier 6 Creed Assassin), Weiss (Tier 3 Dragon Knight), Alistar (Tier 3 Goblin Knight), Marcus (Tier 4 Knight Commander), Lance (Tier 3 Warrior), Maple Forest Orchid (Tier 6 Dragon Knight Commander), Maple Forest Ice Orchid (Tier 6 Hero), Charlie Pros (Tier 6 Priest), Mogus (Tier 6 Hero), Lilith (Tier 6 Sage), Nogai (Tier 4 Wyvern Knight), Al Tegrand Franz (Tier 4 Mage).

Vassal: Apophis Breo (Tier 4 Knight), Ismir (Tier 3 Druid), Okrian Yasuo (Tier 6 Hero!)

Special personnel: Ivy (fourth-tier war priest), Grand Duke Nyx: Nyx ​​(fifth-tier dragon mage), Nina Bonn (third-tier archmage), Ruhr (third-tier warrior), Joelsteria (third-tier knight), Vladivostok (second-tier knight), Maple Forest Xilan (second-tier dragon knight), Maple Forest Shulan (second-tier dragon knight).

Troop strength: over 2.

Holy Knights Order: 100 members (second-tier knights plus a small number of third-tier grand knight officers)
Royal Knights of Rome: 100 (Second-Tier Knights)

The Fourteenth Legion of the Empire: 100 members (the Integral Knights are mainly second-tier knights).

Lagrange City Guards: 4000 (Tier 2)

Battanian Shooters: 6000 (Tier 2)

Dovenian Heavy Swordsmen: 1000 (Tier 2)

El Niño Rangers: 200. (Tier 2)

Lordaeron Rangers: 300. (Tier 2)

Lagrange Royal Guard: 500 (Tier 3)

Lagrange Royal Crossbowmen: 300 (Tier 3)

Swiftflow Legion: 14000 Swiftflow Infantry

Priests: Tier 2 Priest Guild *1 (50 members) Tier 3 Priest Squad *1 (10 members)
Mages: 1 squad of the Royal Forbidden Spells Mage of Lagrange (5 Tier 3 Fire Mages, 5 Tier 3 Wind Mages), 30 mages of all levels (including Tier 1 to Tier 3 mages).
Cross-Bauhinia Knights: 100 members (a knightly order mainly composed of second-tier knights, with a chaotic and complex membership!)

Crusader Legion: 100 cuirassiers, 100 Crusader crossbowmen, 300 Crusader hoplites

Woodland Warriors: 500 (Tier 2 Warriors)

Griffin Knights: 4 (Tier 2)

Two-legged wyvern riders: 20 (10 Tier 2, 10 Tier 1 trainees)
Grassland Elves: 200 (Tier 2)

Goblin Knights: 1000 (a mix of Tier 1 and Tier 2)
Total Kingdom Population: 65+ (Trainable Civilians: 14+)
Honor points: 5.

Main Quest: Establishment of the Twelve Cities of the Swiftstream! (Top-Tier Legion *1), The Road to Imperial Revival (Control ten towns, reward: Mage Tower *1, any Mage Legacy *1!)
Overall Assessment: A thriving kingdom, its surroundings have been pacified and stabilized. The resilient people of Lagrange still tenaciously defend this ancient land, and their king has reclaimed the old capital! Vast tracts of land have been recovered! The kingdom urgently needs numerous cities to consolidate its territory!
Note: The Kingdom of Lagrange firmly holds sway over the North through its military hegemony, and its noble expansionist territories have successfully penetrated various parts of the North. The shadow of darkness in the North has been suppressed to the extreme under the king's brilliance! The king, brimming with martial virtue, seems eager to accomplish something that will go down in history—for example? Opening up trade routes between East and West?
"Select the location for the Cross Bauhinia Knights and deploy the Elnino Ranger Legion!" Roland chose the trump card he had saved from the previous sign-in session!
Elnino Ranger Legion: Contains 300 experienced Tier 2 Elnino Rangers! Under favorable conditions and with sufficient preparation, they can slay a dragon at a minimal cost! Can be deployed around faction units!

"Sigh! One of the few good things I got from signing in..." Roland used it with a sigh. He had originally planned to use it as a trump card to play some micro-management and send a divine attack on the enemy!
This is a long chapter of 3000 words. The author will try to maintain a stable update schedule. Thank you all for your monthly tickets and rewards!