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

Chapter 417 Incubation
"Tsk! What should we do with this thing?" Roland was shocked. The sudden resurrection of the dragon egg left him both overjoyed and somewhat at a loss!

After all, this isn't a dragon egg that you can hatch with a tap of your finger in a game; this is a life that you've worked so hard to revive!
"This is a real headache..." Roland had a bit of a headache. He had managed to revive this egg with great difficulty, but when it came to hatching eggs, a completely unknown area for him, he was utterly clueless...

……

"Cough!" Lord Lafitte Antony nearly choked to death, his eyes wide as he stared at the dragon egg in front of him. How did this thing come to life?
“This…” Lafitte Anthony said he couldn’t understand.

"How do we hatch it, Lord?" Roland asked expectantly.

“That’s it!” Lafitte Anthony picked up the dragon egg and threw it into the fireplace.

"Holy crap!" Roland lunged forward in one stride.

"Don't get excited, just incubate it like this! Now that its life force has been fully activated, there's no need for those expensive materials, just keep it at a high temperature..." Lafitte Anthony shook his head. The Anthony family were professionals when it came to incubating eggs!
“Uh…” Roland awkwardly withdrew his outstretched hand.

"Keep the temperature. In the past, the family used to roast it with dragon flames, but we don't have that capability now. A fireplace will do. It should be ready in about half a month at most!" Lafitte Anthony sensed the strong life fluctuations inside the dragon egg, which foreshadowed the imminent birth of this great life from thousands of years ago.

"Congratulations in advance, Your Highness, the Golden Holy Dragon Knight!" Lafit Anthony shook his head. The combination of a Holy Knight and a Golden Dragon Knight was unprecedented in history, but Roland had certainly set a precedent.

"Hehehe!" Roland chuckled as he stared at the dragon egg tossed into the fireplace and roasting in the flames. Anyone who didn't know better would have thought Roland was waiting for dinner...

"Try not to go out during this time. Keep a close eye on the hatching of the golden dragon egg. Young dragons are always very dependent on the first person they see. This will be beneficial to your success in riding the dragon in the future, at least increasing your success rate!" Lafit Anthony shook his head. How could being a golden dragon knight be so easy?

Dragons possess inherited memories. As a dragon matures, it automatically inherits a vast amount of draconic heritage. Therefore, it's impossible to trick a dragon into forming a contract with you by claiming you raised it. Dragons, with their own judgment, have their own selection criteria! Furthermore, young dragons are very difficult to contract successfully; it's as if they are born with a strong resistance to contracts…

"Okay!" Roland nodded. Although the road ahead was long, at least he had a dragon to fool... oops! To be honest, he could build a relationship with it! As for that playful elf dragon, Roland didn't even consider it. Only a sissy would contract with such a thing! (Roland clarified that he didn't mean anything by targeting mages...)
……

"Sigh..." Roland stared silently at the dragon egg, lost in thought. Dragons are legendary creatures. At each stage of their growth, they receive inheritance from their bloodline, giving them a fixed developmental path. If they grow up smoothly, each one is a super magical beast, even a cataclysmic being! Even dragons raised from a young age have their own pride. They will be close to their dragon tamers but won't casually form contracts with them! This is why there are many dragon-taming families in the game, but few dragon knights. Many families that maintain a dozen or so young and adult dragons can't produce a single dragon knight; without conquering dragons, they cannot command them! The Anthony family tamed many dragons, and at its peak, could field nearly ten dragon knights, making them the strongest dragon-taming family in the empire! (The royal family is also powerful, but while they don't maintain as many dragons as the Anthony family, they can produce a considerable number of dragon knights, given their numerous branches.)
"Is the dragon about to hatch?" Nyx entered, carrying tea and snacks. She wasn't surprised at all by the dragon egg in the fireplace; after all, the kingdom already had two dragon riders and three dragons, so one more wouldn't be a big deal—the more dragons they kept, the lower the costs would be…

"Hmm!" Roland quietly guarded the dragon egg, his excitement evident in the child's heart. "A golden dragon... it's not easy to conquer!" Nyx said softly.

“Yes! Royal family! Once they enter their growth period, they will awaken the memories and inheritance of their ancestors…” Roland nodded. You can’t become a dragon knight by deceiving people; you can only conquer dragons with your own strength and will!
“I believe you will succeed! If even the most upright and holy paladin cannot become a dragon knight, then no one in this world can become a golden dragon knight!” Nyx comforted him.

Roland's lips twitched. There really wasn't a Golden Dragon Knight! He'd never heard of one in either the game or in real life... He'd only recently seen a real Silver Dragon Knight! And it was dead... It would be strange if anyone rode a dragon from the Golden or Silver races!

If dragons hadn't disappeared from Middle-earth for so many years, Roland wouldn't have even glanced at the golden dragon egg placed in front of him! Thinking of the pitiful Balrog in Osbayar's notes... Roland didn't think his fate after contracting with a member of royalty was much better than that of Balrog.

"Let fate decide..." Roland thought that even if dragons really came knocking, with Aldo, Renoir, and the Smurf, they could hold their own. At least they wouldn't be immediately crushed by the dragons. Saving a golden dragon and giving it a dragon rider wouldn't be too much to ask, right? For the sake of the dragon riders under his command, he could even negotiate with the dragons! After all, most dragons are considered a lawful and good race.

Thinking this way, Roland immediately felt relieved. After all, with a broader perspective and no longer confined to being a Golden Dragon Knight, there were actually many options! Whether it was becoming a Golden Dragon Knight or negotiating with the dragons to get a dragon mount, both were good options. At the very least, he could offer up a Golden Dragon! He didn't expect it to fight alongside him on all fronts, but protecting the kingdom shouldn't be too much to ask for! No matter how you look at it, it's a win-win situation, isn't it?
……

"Your Highness! Lord Apophis Breo has arrived!" A guard entered.

"Tell him to wait for me in the reception room!" Roland nodded and instructed the guards, while he tidied himself up a bit to prepare to meet the future regional governor of the kingdom.

……

"Your Highness!" Apophis Breo quickly bowed.

"Alright! No need for such formalities... Let's skip this superficial work," Roland shook his head and waved his hand to stop them.

"Uh..." Apophis Breo was a little confused. Why was King Roland not playing by the rules?
“I’m aware of the nobles’ little tricks, but you’ve really gone too far this time! I’m not even willing to conscript soldiers…” Roland sighed and shook his head. Population is the key right now!
"I'm sorry, Your Highness... I was too hasty!" Apophis Breo quickly admitted defeat. In fact, few brain-dead nobles were willing to stand up to the king, unless you were powerful enough to make him speak to you like that.

(End of this chapter)