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

Chapter 635 Drafting the Conferment of Titles
With the addition of the Mordland family's population, Roland felt more confident about the kingdom's development. However, a glance at his own troop numbers instantly dashed his hopes. Maintaining 9000 Swift Infantry was no small feat; on a local battlefield, they would be an overwhelming force. Of course, in the face of a large-scale attack, they wouldn't be much more resilient than a sheet of paper… The expenses of tens of thousands of troops, plus the subsidies the kingdom would need for the new residents, were enough to bankrupt Yunfeng eight hundred times over. The strain on Roland's wallet had reached a new level. Roland couldn't help but glance at the resources in his system space. Perhaps, maybe, he could manage…

Soon, with everyone's combined efforts, the government orders were issued one by one, and the people were about to migrate to Palembang in batches to contribute to its prosperity.

"Hiss..." At night, Roland happened to walk up the city wall and look out of the city. He found that the south side of the city was brightly lit, with bonfires burning outside and tents huddled together around them. This was because the city of Jiliu could not quickly absorb the influx of people, so they had to let them live in tents outside the city for the time being.

"Huh?" Roland squinted and examined the area closely, suddenly noticing that only the Swift Legion brought by the Mordland family was stationed outside the city to provide security for the people.

"Someone! Bring Marcus here!" Roland said coldly.

"It's Your Highness!" The guards behind him dared not delay and hurriedly ran to find Lord Marcus, the city defense officer, who was nowhere to be found.

……

"Your Highness, you were looking for me?" Marcus came running up, panting. Dressed in military uniform, he had obviously just been on patrol somewhere. As the historical commander of Lagrange, Marcus was clearly top-notch in terms of loyalty and ability.

"..." Roland looked at the exhausted Marcus and swallowed back the words of reproach that were about to come out of his mouth. After all, it would be impolite to scold him for patrolling in armor late at night.

"What's the situation down there? Is no one managing this camp of tens of thousands of people?" Roland frowned and gestured for Marcus to look down. In this camp of tens of thousands of people, there were only a hundred or so Swift Infantry patrolling and on guard. Their defenses were barely enough to be described as sieve-like, and better than nothing.

“This…” Marcus’s eye twitched. Oh no, he’d completely forgotten about that! (Residents outside the city: Fine, fine! We’re not human, are we?!)
“I reckon the patrols below were all spontaneously organized by this legion!” Roland said irritably.

"Yes, yes, it was my oversight..." Marcus said in a low voice. Although there was no danger since this was near Swiftstream City, what if something happened? Marcus was already sweating profusely.

"You know, so hurry up and go!" Roland pointed and shouted.

Marcus immediately dashed out, clearly to prepare the defenses below. After all, wild beasts and magical creatures roaming the wilderness would inevitably rush into human territory. These swift infantry might be able to easily stop attacks from ordinary beasts, but if they encountered magical creatures... they had no other way or choice but to prove their loyalty to their lord and kingdom with their lives and blood.

……

"You're back?" Nyx hurriedly greeted Roland, who took off his cloak to shield him from the wind and asked with concern.

"Yes, I went for a walk. Luckily I did, otherwise something might have happened!" Roland said with lingering fear.

"What's wrong?" Nyx asked, patting the cloak he had put away and hanging it on the rack. What kind of hidden dangers could there be in Swiftstream City?
"The people brought by the Mordland family were left unattended outside the city. Their only defense force was a hundred or so Swift Infantrymen..." Roland covered his face as he spoke. Putting aside everything else, if a high-level magical beast came, at least a thousand people would die outside today.

“…” Nyx’s eye twitched slightly, clearly shocked by their abstract operation. “I’ve already asked Marcus to arrange the manpower. If necessary, the defense of the city can be put aside, but the safety of the people outside the city must be guaranteed!” Roland added immediately.

"That's good. It's never too late to correct a mistake before it becomes a big one. But compared to that, I think you should be more concerned about the situation in Palembang!" Nyx gently handed Roland a glass of honey water while massaging his shoulders.

"Oh? What's wrong with Palembang again!" Roland was instantly overwhelmed with worry. Could it be that Palembang was in trouble again?

“Palembang is fine, but the group that pioneered Palembang is another matter…” Nyx slowly shook his head as he looked at Roland, who had a puzzled expression. It seemed that Roland really didn’t take it to heart!

"???" Roland.

"You haven't forgotten what you promised those pioneers, have you?" Nyx glanced at Roland with exasperation. If the king lost his credibility, it would be a terrible thing. After all, the last person to do this was the one who swore an oath by pointing at Luoshui, and in the end, his entire family was disgraced, and Luoshui was disgraced as well.

"Oh, oh, oh! Rewards, right? No problem! Where is the list?" Roland immediately recalled.

"No need! By the time you arrive, it'll be too late to cook it!" Nyx said haughtily, turning his head away.

“I’ve come up with a rough draft. Take a look and see if there’s anything that needs to be added or changed!” Nyx handed a piece of paper to Roland.

Roland unfolded it and took a look.

Ismir, male, 23 years old... Three-star adventurer, third-tier druid!
Merits: Slaying the first-tier Water Mist Frog of the aquatic magical beast race, slaying two mid-level magical beasts, the Exploding Face Baboon, slaying one mid-level magical beast, the White Dew Toad, slaying over three hundred wandering orcs, constructing the giant port, maintaining public order...

Proposed conferment of a title: Lord.

"Just one?" Roland looked up in confusion. In his mind, there should have been at least several people receiving the honor.

“Not one is enough! When something is too common, it won’t be appreciated. Do you know how difficult it is for a commoner to rise to the level of nobility? I originally thought there would be at most one knight!” Nyx shook his head with a sigh.

Although Nyx wasn't a heartless nobleman, she still consciously upheld the nobility. After all, not just anyone could become a noble; she naturally needed to carefully vet them. Originally, she only intended to offer a knighthood, but considering this was Roland's first time recruiting talent, she reluctantly went all out. This was only because Ismir's personal strength had reached the third-tier professional level, and Nyx decided to go easy on him. Otherwise, according to imperial custom, this level of pioneering work would usually only result in a few knighthoods and some monetary rewards. After all, they weren't a noble pioneering team; although it was harsh, it was very realistic.

"Hmm!" Roland nodded thoughtfully. It was indeed not appropriate to bestow lavish rewards. After all, the kingdom's foundation was what it was, and there were still a group of noble families craving food. Roland naturally didn't have much political resources to pour out to the common people. Of course, even so, in Middle-earth, the common people of any country would be grateful. After all, Roland had opened such a door, although it was small, but in the eyes of the common people of Middle-earth who had no hope of advancement, it was undoubtedly the incarnation of a god!
"Then so be it!" Roland nodded indifferently. After all, it was just a difference of one lord's rank, which would only cost a few hundred more gold coins a month. Since it wasn't a hereditary noble title and didn't involve fiefdoms or anything, the whole process was incredibly simple. So Roland let Nyx make the decision.

Nix quickly affixed their seals, signifying that the document of bestowal was now in effect and legally valid!