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

Chapter 1113 Is Great Lagrange Dead?
"Ah! It's Black Cloud King!" Roland nodded at Nicholas Black Cloud before him, a meaningful smile spreading across his face. He looked satisfied; after all, this was a sixth-tier fire-type hero! His combat power was guaranteed! Fire-type combat power had always been among the top tier of damage dealers. (Roland won first place in the Xiang Yu cosplay contest! You should all try it!)
"How dare you! Why don't you bow before His Majesty?" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz shouted, nearly startling Sorin, who was watching the commotion.

"Hmm?" Earl Black Cloud looked at the crowd in front of him, somewhat bewildered. Finally, after scanning around, he spotted Roland behind him, who was holding up the dragon flag. Coupled with the Grand Duke's dragon armor Roland was wearing, Earl Black Cloud finally locked onto his target.

"Black Cloud County! Black Cloud Territory, Nicholas Black Cloud, patriarch of the Black Cloud family! Returning with the Twenty-Fourth Knights of the Empire! Paying respects to Your Majesty!" He obediently dismounted and knelt on one knee before Roland's horse, his eyes flashing with piety.

"Rise! King Black Cloud!" Roland nodded and teased.

"You flatter me, Your Majesty... I dare not call myself king before you!" Earl Black Cloud said honestly.

"I have awakened from chaos in response to the call of my ancestors, and once again follow in the footsteps of the Empire!" Earl Black Cloud said, patting his chest.

"The call of our ancestors? Who?" Roland was taken aback. The former emperors of Lagrange?

"Lord Rune, King Rune—Arthur!" Earl Black Cloud said respectfully.

“A branch of the Arthurian dynasty! He is your relative… though a bit distant!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz reminded him.

"A branch of the Arthurian family! Then we're relatives! I am a direct descendant of King Lomanian! No need for formalities, my loyal Earl!" Roland nodded. A branch of the Lagrange royal family is good! Although it's a bit distant, they're all fiercely loyal!
"Your Majesty, where is this?" Earl Black Cloud looked at Roland awkwardly.

"..." Everyone.

"..." Roland.

"Um, I'm curious, how did this Mr. Tin Can lead his troops here?" Thorin asked in shock, staring at the knights before him. "You're a general, how could you lead a knight order astray? Roland, why aren't you killing this thing? Wait? It's a sixth-tier one? Isn't that just pure trash?"
"Cough cough! It's alright, it's alright! I'll handle it!" Roland patted Thorin on the shoulder.

"Let's go! Have your troops catch up with us, we'll talk about it when we get home!" Roland nodded to Earl Black Cloud. He looked at the black cloud-patterned banner fluttering in the Black Cloud Knights and felt a sense of comfort. The kingdom was getting better and better!
……

"Life in these villages must be very hard, right?" Al-Tegran Franz looked at the village where they were staying. To say they were staying was a bit of a stretch of land outside the village, but they were actually just setting up camp. The lords were tremblingly invited into the wooden huts by the villagers.

“Yes! The people living on the upper reaches of the Anduin River are indeed suffering!” Roland nodded.

"We're here now?" Earl Black Cloud frowned as he looked at the map.

"Wait a minute! How did I get here?" He scratched his head, completely baffled.

"Perhaps it's because I am the king that my ancestors brought you to my side!" Roland casually made up an excuse to cover up the matter.

“That’s the only way!” Earl Black Cloud nodded.

"Your Majesty, how is the Empire now?" Earl Black Cloud raised his head, his eyes full of hope.

"Didn't you know that when you joined Project Fireseed?" Roland frowned.

“Ahem, the empire was still thriving in his time!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz murmured. “Are you from the Franz family?” Earl Black Cloud asked, looking at the crest on Marquis Al-Tegran Franz’s chest.

“Yes! The most loyal hounds of the Imperial Family! The Franz family, the court marquises!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz said proudly.

"..." Earl Black Cloud's eyelids twitched, but he didn't refute it. This guy was truly a loyal dog! No way to criticize him!
"Hello!" Earl Black Cloud forced a greeting. Everyone knew the reputation of the Franz family; it was a nightmare for minor nobles! Although Earl Black Cloud once possessed a county, he was essentially still just an earl!

"I've already sent our soldiers to help cut down the trees! We'll use the wooden fence they build as payment for their lodging!" Marquis Al-Tegran Franz reported to Roland.

These scattered villages in the north rely on wooden palisades and trenches as defenses; they can't afford to build walls. The allied forces, numbering several thousand, could build a wooden wall in less than half a day! A single log can be felled and dragged back from the forest by a second-tier professional! That's why magic and battle aura are considered the primary productive forces of the Middle-earth!

“Alright! Do this in every village we encounter from now on! It will give these northern residents some confidence to survive!” Roland nodded.

“I suggest we skip those small villages. We can just take them with us and leave them in the next big village. Towns will slowly develop here on their own! As long as a stable human settlement appears, it will gradually spread out on its own!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz suggested, looking at the map.

“Very good, my strategist! You've convinced me! That's settled! When you pass through Beon territory, remember to remind me to give Bion a heads-up about this. If he does a good job, I don't mind making him the King of the Valley!” Roland nodded.

"Your Majesty! This is not appropriate!" Earl Black Cloud exclaimed.

“You cannot arbitrarily bestow titles upon kings! The empire cannot have too many kings…” Earl Black Cloud said in a low voice.

“Yes, Your Majesty! This land cannot be divided by you! Regardless of who it belonged to before, it is now unclaimed land, and we can claim it as our own in the future!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz gestured on the map. The traditional territory of the Beon people did not include the area covered by the middle reaches of the Anduin River, and the kingdom could claim it as its own!

“Also, Count Black Cloud, it’s a pity there’s no longer an empire! Now it’s the Kingdom of Lagrand!” Marquis Al-Tegran Franz continued.

"Crack!" Count Black Cloud crushed the wooden cup in his hand in an instant.

"My Great Lagrange Empire is dead?" Count Black Cloud stood up and stared in shock at the people sitting there.

"Hehe!" Caslo looked at everyone with a mocking expression, then pointed at Earl Black Cloud, as if to say, "Is this child only finding out now?"
“It has been dead for a long time! We are now the ghosts of restoration!” Omsk nodded.

"Aba aba!" Weiss and Vili munched on their chicken legs, looking completely indifferent, as if it were none of their business.

“Sit down, my count, you’re too excited!” Roland nodded.

"Your Majesty! Our vast empire? Gone?" Earl Black Cloud gestured with his hands.

"You've already started this spark, what do you say?" Roland said with a half-smile.

"..." Earl Black Cloud was stunned. He wasn't stupid! The Fire Seed Project was originally a preparation made by the Empire in anticipation of something going wrong, in order to restore the country in the future. The fact that the plan had been launched meant that the worst outcome had occurred!
"Waaaaah! My empire! Your Majesty! Waaaaah! The Arthurian dynasty is gone! I have failed my ancestors!" The crowd felt a pang of sorrow as they watched the man, who was over a hundred years old and looked middle-aged, kneel on the ground and wail.
　V me 50, deduct 6 to revive King Rune!
　　(End of this chapter)