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

Chapter 1034 Strong walls and clear fields
"When we arrived, the manor was under siege. The knight sent me to deliver the message, and I don't know anything after that..." The herdsman shook his head vigorously, clearly unaware of the subsequent battle.

"May the old man protect them! May they be safe!" Count Lemon made the sign of the cross on his chest. After all, he was afraid of the vicious orcs. However, it also showed that this nobleman was not completely corrupt. Regardless of his skill level, this kind of nobleman who was able to fight was worthy of the support of his people. Compared to those parasites, he was already considered qualified.

"..." Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso and Ocrean Ryukin exchanged a glance and shook their heads tacitly. They were not optimistic about this borderland. This was only because they thought it was a knight with dozens of militiamen. If they knew it was a knight with a few armed herdsmen, they would probably sentence this area to death.

"Does that baron only have a few dozen soldiers?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso still held a sliver of hope. After all, in his understanding, border nobles were warlike and belligerent, and border barons, though seemingly insignificant, were powerful nobles who could actually muster a terrifying army! Their war potential was generally no less than that of powerful earls in the interior.

“Uh, if you’re talking about regular, full-time soldiers, our Baron has about thirty or forty of them. If you’re talking about militia, several villages and herders can muster several hundred!” The herder looked at Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso in his magnificent armor and instinctively shrank back, shrinking several feet in stature.

"Ha ha!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso seemed to be laughing, but in reality, he was completely out of options. "If I'd known your soldiers were those old farmers with pitchforks, I wouldn't have asked!" he thought. A border baron…

“No, is this right? Is this all the troops the Border Baron has to offer?” Oakrian Ryukin asked, looking at Earl Lemon in shock.

"Of course, after all, he's just a baron and doesn't have that much money to support a large army..." Earl Lemon shrugged, as if it were commonplace.

"..." Silence was the only thing that happened between the two today. Grand Duke Oakrian Yasso and Oakrian Ryukin exchanged a glance, both seeing the helplessness and shock in each other's eyes.

“Different countries have different circumstances, please try to understand!” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso patted Oakrian Ryukin on the shoulder and sighed.

"Then what should we do? Should we go and rescue them?" Count Lemon looked up at the two men. Knowing his own limitations, Count Lemon's greatest strength was that he listened to advice.

"What about the commoners in the territory?" Archduke Oakrian Yaso asked the question that concerned him most. Archduke Oakrian Yaso had already sentenced the nobles in the manor to death. After all, when the herdsmen mentioned the word "manor" and mentioned the pitiful number of soldiers, Archduke Oakrian Yaso knew that he was doomed. What difference was there between a few dozen infantrymen fighting against hundreds of wolf riders without a castle?
What? You're saying it's possible they're heavy infantry? Good question! If this guy can really raise a few small squads of heavy infantry, he'll most likely choose to abandon the heavy infantry and raise some light cavalry! After all, on this vast plain, what's a better unit than light cavalry? Grand Duke Okrian Yasor doesn't even need to ask; he can guess with his feet that it'll definitely be some lightly armored spearmen. After all, there's no unit that's faster to develop than spearmen, maybe with some iron-plated leather armor!

“The village next to the manor must have been looted. Other villages and settlements have been notified by us to relocate. They should be able to escape to the north…” the herdsman thought for a moment and said.

"That's good, what a pity for that knight!" Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso nodded knowingly. The supplies near the manor were mostly gone, and the others should be able to escape. It was just a pity for the knight who went to provide support… It's no wonder Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso sighed; the soldiers under Earl Lemon's command were truly an eye-opener. Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso had been too well protected by the Lagrange Empire; stepping outside revealed a harsh reality! Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso thought that an earl would at least have a knightly order, but Earl Lemon had only managed to muster less than 1500 men by gathering almost all of his forces! And among them, there weren't even a hundred professionals! Not to mention the luxury of a knightly order; the entire Earl Lemon's army had only about ten knights at most! This troop strength gave Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso a headache. Although he was called an earl, in Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso's mind, his fighting strength was on par with the border barons of the Empire, and even then, the weakest of them!

The only thing that pleased Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso was that this army of 1500 men was a real army, or at least semi-professional soldiers! There weren't any old farmers carrying pitchforks to make up the numbers; at least each man had basic equipment: a spear, leather armor, and a shield. And what impressed Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso was that, as expected of the Flying Cavalry Kingdom, they could actually muster a thousand-man cavalry force! While their fighting ability couldn't be guaranteed, at least they were intimidating!

"Send the scout cavalry to check the situation! The rest of the troops, speed up the construction! I'm not afraid of those wolf riders raiding the small outposts now, I'm afraid they'll sneak down in the middle of the night and attack Lemon Town!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso shook his head. There was no point in saving the northern baronies. After all, the lords were probably all dead, and the other commoners had already fled. Sending the army there now might leave their hometowns empty, so there was no need for a large army to march north.

"Oh! Okay!" Count Lemon was a little flustered, but he quickly calmed down. After all, he was an old nobleman and had the composure to keep his composure. After the initial panic, he gradually regained his senses.

"Have the scout cavalry take more rations and water, and bring an extra packhorse. Have them gather civilians along the way; we need manpower here!" Oakrian Ryukin understood what Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso meant, and then turned to instruct the waiting generals.

"Yes, sir!" Upon seeing Earl Lemon's nod of approval, the generals readily accepted the order.

"They won't head south, will they?" Count Lemon rubbed his hands nervously.

After ordering his soldiers to take the armed herdsman away to rest, Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso finally had time to study the map. He gestured around on the map a couple of times and got a general idea of ​​what was going on.

"What difference does it make whether we go south or not?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso asked with a smile.

"If your map is correct, then we no longer have any Rohan territory to the north as a barrier! If those orcs want to plunder, they'll definitely head south! If they don't plunder, they'll still have to head south! The only difference is whether they'll encounter us!" Archduke Oakrian Yaso gestured on the map and tapped the parchment. The northern part of Earl Lemon's territory was empty; the villages marked on it had all been moved over, leaving a blank area between the entire territory and the baronies further north!
"Speed ​​up the excavation! The stone walls probably won't make it in time! But the moat might be finished before the water freezes!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso shook his head.

“Let the soldiers and civilians clear the fields; what those orcs have stolen won’t be enough to feed them for a winter!” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso shook his head.

Please give me a reward or monthly ticket.