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

Chapter 1069 Continuing to Deceive Aragorn

"Hello Lind, we meet again!" Roland smiled amicably at Lind, the fourth-tier ranger in front of him.

"Greetings, King Roland. I am here on King Elon's orders to lead my cavalry to join your ranks," Lind said with a dark expression.

"Welcome to the Expeditionary Force family! But you can rest for a while, the Dúnedan haven't arrived yet." Roland smiled. The allied forces couldn't rush out before the negotiations with the Dúnedan were completed. After all, without guards, the long trade route would be easily sifted through by orcs!

"..." What could Lin De say? Looking at the circle of sixth-tier professionals around him, and how weak and helpless he, a fourth-tier ranger, seemed, he could only nod with a forced smile and then take his leave.

……

"Is the Valley in decline now? How come you can send a fourth-tier elf to be so impressive?" Thorin was somewhat dissatisfied, feeling that the elves were looking down on them. After all, the expeditionary force consisted of either kings or sixth-tier elves, all of whom were powerful figures. What difference was there between sending a fourth-tier elf from Rivendell and insulting them?
“That’s not quite right. After all, he’s King Elrond’s lieutenant, so his status and significance are different. His combat strength doesn’t matter, since we don’t lack high-level professionals. But his symbolic significance is very important… His appearance represents the exercise of the will of Elrond, the Lord of the Valley!” Roland analyzed.

"Hmm, that's alright, better than Thranduil..." Thorin understood Roland's explanation, sat back down, and hummed while holding his wine glass.

"..." Thranduil clenched his fist. If it weren't for the fact that he wanted to eat from the big pot of food in the North, he would have punched him long ago... After all, his son would have to work with these people in the future. Thranduil chose to swallow his anger in order for his son's future success.

"Is your son still hanging out with homeless people?" Roland asked calmly, raising his eyelids.

“Yes, he made some friends among the nomads…” Thranduil said with a wry smile. Parents all over the world worry about their children. He had always had a headache with Legolas. He had always tried to control his son, but his son would always rebel and choose to go against him. After the Battle of Lonely Mountain, he had become more open-minded and began to understand and let go of his son.

“Yes, it’s good for young people to go out and see the world. They can broaden their horizons. The North can’t raise hothouse flowers. You can’t protect him forever!” Roland said.

“Exactly, people can’t live without a heart or a soul!” Thorin chimed in.

"..." Bard, standing to the side, quickly tried to cover his embarrassment by drinking. After all, he had learned about the inside story of the dwarves and the Woodland Kingdom from the Battle of Lonely Mountain, and he felt caught in the middle, feeling like he was in a bind.

"My lord! I'm back!" Suddenly, a tall and imposing figure walked in. It was Caslo. His appearance, which was no less than that of an elf, made everyone almost think that he was an elf from Rivendell. If it weren't for the dragon armor he was wearing, it would be hard for anyone to associate him with the rough men of the North.

"How is it? What was the result?" Roland asked anxiously. As someone who had been influenced by Earth's history of war, Roland had always valued the power of intelligence building. However, because his fists were strong enough in Middle-earth, he could directly send dragon riders to conduct close reconnaissance, which was much more efficient than the reconnaissance of rangers and assassins.

"I haven't seen any orc settlements along the way, but there are scattered orcs everywhere!" Caslo complained.

"Have you seen any other races? I remember there are quite a few trolls, right?" Roland scratched his head.

"Maybe it's because it's daytime? The ogres haven't come out yet?" Caslo said uncertainly. Apart from the enhanced giant ogres, ordinary ogres are afraid of sunlight; sunlight will turn them to ashes...

"Have you seen any caravans?" Roland continued to inquire. "Forget it, it's the middle of nowhere! From here to Fengyun Peak, all you see are bones and wild beasts, and oh yes, orcs roaming everywhere!" Caslo shrugged.

"Nothing else unusual?" Roland touched his nose. Was it really that easy?
"Hmm! Maybe the dragon scared them!" Caslo said noncommittally. After all, the dragon's might could indeed drive away most magical beasts. Compared to the stupid half-orcs and brain-dead ogres, magical beasts were not only intelligent but also clever.

"Then let's wait for the Dunedan people! We need to talk to them!" Roland smiled. After all, if the Dunedan people didn't come to be the suckers, how could Roland join this ruthless family? Roland understood the importance of risk-sharing. After all, the current size of the Lagrang Kingdom didn't allow him to operate enclaves, let alone control such a long stretch of land. It would be a death sentence for Yun Feng. Roland didn't even dare to think about it; he imagined Yun Feng would come charging over with his staff tomorrow!
……

"Huh? It's you?" Roland's eyes widened.

"Huh? King Roland!" The lord of the Dunedan people and Roland stared at each other in disbelief.

Indeed, the person who arrived was none other than Roland's old acquaintance—Aragorn! At the same time, the person behind him tried to shrink into the shadows after seeing Thranduil.

“Legolas?” Thranduil asked.

“Father…” Legolas stepped forward hesitantly and gave Thranduil an elven salute. His eyes twitched involuntarily, as if he wanted to say something but held back.

"Hmm!" Thranduil nodded to him without saying anything more. Seeing that Thranduil did not speak, Legolas quickly hid behind Aragorn, after all, he was still afraid of his father.

"Your Majesty, is there anything I can do for you?" Aragorn asked, patting his chest. Almost instantly, he adopted a very proper posture, showing no trace of the wise and resolute king he would become, but only the figure of a somewhat self-conscious lord of the North.

Gazing at the future High King, Roland's thoughts drifted to the Gondor soldiers still being trained by Maplewood Orchid in the Kingdom of Lagrange. They were one of his backup plans for the future of Gondor. Looking at Aragorn, he knew he didn't want him to inherit the throne of Gondor. Rebuilding Arnor was better; Denethor II was far superior to Aragorn in inheriting Gondor, not only in terms of ability but also in the scale of the kingdom. After all, if Aragorn inherited Gondor, he would instantly become the High King of the West, posing a significant threat to the Lagrange Empire's ambition for Middle-earth dominance. Dismantling the High King's authority became crucial! Fortunately, Denethor II possessed ambition and, more importantly, capability. As for dealing with the internal power struggles? Roland assured them that the invisible hand of Lagrange would protect them; if they disobeyed, the next step would be tangible boots!
“There is one thing: the Lonely Mountain Alliance hopes to open up the Eastern Road and reconnect the Xiaer region with the East!” Roland spread out the map and pointed.

Young Aragorn remained silent, waiting for Roland to continue. Sure enough, Roland soon spoke again.

"The nomads in the North must be living a very hard life, right?" Roland asked.

"Although supplies are a bit scarce, we can still manage..." Aragorn wasn't sure what kind of medicine Roland was going to sell, so he could only say vaguely, since it was common knowledge that the nomads in the North were suffering.

"What a coincidence! I've got a great job for you!" Roland said, patting the map.

"This place is yours to contract out!" Roland said, gesturing with his hand across the Charles Bridge and the Bridge of the End.

"???" Aragorn stretched his head, looked at the map with a blank expression, and then looked at Roland. This is not how the land grabbing is done!