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

Chapter 211 The Return of Lance

"Your Highness! Lance is back!" Roland, who was still half asleep, was woken up by Caslo's loud voice outside the door. Roland had no doubt that Caslo would have barged in if it weren't for the presence of the women.

"What is he shouting?" Roland asked, turning his head to look at Grand Duchess Nyx in his arms. Grand Duchess Nyx smacked her lips a few times and then turned over, clearly still half asleep.

"Sigh, I'll go take a look!" Roland sighed, put on an overcoat, got up, and went out to check.

“Your Highness…” Caslo was pacing anxiously, waiting for Roland. When he saw Roland come out, he immediately went to greet him.

"Go to hell! What are you howling like a ghost so early in the morning? Are you trying to die?!" Roland then planted a big footprint on him.

"No, Your Highness! It's really urgent! Baron Lance is back!" Caslo said excitedly, showing no anger at all because Roland had kicked him.

"Who? Lance? Who is he?" Roland was still confused and couldn't remember who Lance was. It was a pity that this loyal Lagrange nobleman had worked so hard for his king, only to end up not even leaving an impression on the king.

“This…he…this…” Caslo’s eyes widened and he stammered. Roland’s actions had truly shocked Caslo.

"Lance? Oh! Lance's back! He's finally back!" Roland, who had finally regained some of his senses, managed to recall the poor baron who had led 150 men on a long journey to Gondor to exchange the goblin king Jessie Ava, and was now finally back.

"Where is he? Is he injured? Bring him to me!" Roland asked anxiously, after all, this was one of his few talents in internal affairs! Although there was nothing major happening in Swiftflow City, there were still a lot of trivial matters.

“He just arrived at Lulong Fortress and was stopped by the garrison, but I have already ordered them to let him through!” Caslo explained.

"You flew over to inform them? Why didn't you just bring Lance back?" Roland looked at Caslo curiously, after all, a dragon could easily carry a person. (A dragon wouldn't allow any creature other than its knights to land on its back.)
“Um… For the sake of convenient communication, Your Highness has set up communication arrays in Jiliu City and Lulong Fortress…” Caslo stammered. Roland didn’t even know such a simple common sense… Caslo felt very tired.

"...There's such a thing?" Roland was overjoyed! Is this any different from the old landline phone? It seems that magic completely outclasses technology to a certain extent!
"Then what should I do? Go to Lulong Fortress to greet them?" Roland really didn't understand the etiquette in this regard.

“…You are the king…” Caslo was speechless. What kind of king would personally greet his subordinates? Lance hadn’t performed any extraordinary feat, what merit did he have to be deserving of such a grand welcome? At most, a simple greeting at the gates of Swiftstream City would be a great favor.

“Caslo? Step aside! I’ll take care of welcoming Lance and the others!” Nyx appeared behind the two of them at some point, gently placing her hands on his shoulder and giving a soft command. She was afraid that if Caslo didn’t leave soon, Lance would embarrass himself even more.

"Sigh...you're really not a qualified king!" Nyx chuckled as she looked at Roland, her beautiful eyes full of mischief. Although Roland was a king, in some matters of aristocratic common sense, he was practically no different from a country bumpkin...

"I'm sorry..." Roland's face was flushed.

Damn it! He actually got mocked by a girl? Roland was filled with grief and indignation. Just now, Roland subconsciously used his old way of thinking to solve the problem, completely forgetting that this was Middle-earth and the difference in their social status...

“Come on, Your Highness, you should dress up to welcome your most loyal subjects.” Nyx smiled and gently pushed Roland’s broad back, pressing him against her and leading him into the royal tent.

"...This dress is so flashy..." Roland looked at his magnificent royal robes and dazzling crown in the crystal mirror and pouted. Clearly, Roland, who was not very interested in formalism, was not impressed by these exquisite and delicate things.

"If you say that, Lord Yunfeng might come and chop you up with his sword in a moment..." Nyx covered his mouth and laughed.

"Why is that?" Roland asked, puzzled. How did his perfectly good clothes end up being associated with Yun Feng?

“These are all alchemical equipment! This Lagrange Dragon Robe is an epic-level item! It can at least block one forbidden spell-level attack! As for this crown... it’s not quite that overpowered, but it still provides you with 15 seconds of invincibility!” Nyx explained with a smile.

“They’ve already prepared this for you, but you’ve never had the chance to use it. This is a good opportunity to give you a surprise! It’s a pity you don’t appreciate its value!” Nyx smiled, her eyes crinkling beautifully.

"Amazing!" Roland exclaimed. A sixth-tier sage is truly terrifying! Using those materials that weren't top-tier (Roland had stuffed all sorts of junk gift packs from the system sign-in into Yun Feng's hands), he actually managed to get Yun Feng to craft so many high-level equipment.

"Yes, it's truly your blessing to have someone as capable as Yunfeng assisting you. Do you know how much this set of equipment is worth on the continent? It's beyond the measure of money," Nyx remarked. These life-saving, top-tier equipment items are always priceless. If Roland were to put them up for sale, he believed that kings from various kingdoms would be interested.

"Hmm! Now that you mention it, the clothes and the crown do look much better!" Roland looked at himself in the crystal mirror with satisfaction.

Exquisite golden dragon patterns coiled on the milky white robe. The robe was made of a light and firm material, and Roland couldn't immediately recognize what kind of fabric it was. Roland could tell the material of the crown, which was mostly made of fine gold, but he couldn't tell the gemstones inlaid on it.

"What are you looking at? So narcissistic? Although you are indeed very handsome!" Nyx smiled, gave him a kiss, and then turned his head to look at the mirror.

"I'm wondering what kind of fabric this is. It feels like it's neither gold nor cloth," Roland said gently, holding Nyx's delicate hand.

"It should be some kind of magical alchemical fabric, probably made from the fur of magical beasts," Nyx guessed after rubbing the sleeve of Roland's robe.

"Ask Yunfeng next time you see him," Roland nodded.

"Then, my beautiful and kind Grand Duke Nyx, would you be willing to crown your king?" Roland affectionately kissed Nyx's cheek.

“Of course, I am willing, Your Majesty.” Nyx smiled and carefully placed the crown on Roland’s head. Indeed, clothes make the man! The crown immediately changed his demeanor. A strong sense of royal authority emanated from Roland.

"Let's go have breakfast. Lance and the others should be here soon after we finish." Roland took Nyx's hand and led her outside.

"Okay, whatever you say, I want honey-glazed venison chops today!" Nyx's big eyes lit up with a different kind of light when she mentioned delicious food.

"Greedy cat!" Roland smiled and tapped Nyx's delicate nose.

(End of this chapter)