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

Chapter 644 Guardians of Nature

"This is..." When the family sword and shield soldiers opened their eyes at dawn and looked around in shock at the battle aura flames that were unconsciously emanating from their hands, they were all shocked. They had actually become noble professionals? But they clearly did not have the talent of professionals.

"Awake?" A gentle voice suddenly rang out; it was Ismir, who was already dressed.

"My lord, this..." The soldiers were somewhat agitated. The battle aura that had inexplicably appeared in their bodies made them extremely fearful, afraid that it was some kind of curse or skill.

"Don't even think about it. This is a secret of the Ismir family. As my retainers, I have granted you power, and you must repay me with loyalty!" Ismir didn't say much more, only telling the swordsmen not to inquire about things they shouldn't.

"It's the master!" Everyone's hearts tightened and they all fell silent, after all, they had never heard of such a power created by a professional.

"But sir, we don't know how to control this power..." The soldiers blinked and hesitated for a few seconds before finally speaking weakly.

"..." Ismir scratched his head, after all, he couldn't explain his current state. When he accidentally obtained the Breath of Nature, he inadvertently triggered its energy, which gave him druidic powers. Unlike other druids who transformed into various magical beasts to fight, he became a niche nature druid! This was a druid who wielded the forces of nature; he could command the powers of water, fire, wood, earth, wind, thunder, light, and shadow with ease! He became an unconventional druid...

(Although most druids are classified as spellcasters, they often transform into various magical beasts to fight, and a significant proportion of them engage in melee combat. Therefore, druids usually hold the same position as warriors in the army!)

Unfortunately, Ismir doesn't have a system. If he did, he would see that the soldiers' panels have been completely revamped!

……

"Nature Guardian (Swordsman Branch)?" Roland had been keeping an eye on Ismir's movements on the system, and sure enough, the new unit that suddenly appeared on the system panel caught Roland's eye at a glance.

"It seems to be the power of the divine fragments!" Roland checked the system log and clearly saw that last night the name of this group of nature guardians was still Family Sword and Shield Soldiers, then they gained the blessing of the Goddess of Nature, and were baptized by divine power to become a brand new profession.

Roland was not surprised at all. After all, even a fragment of a divine spark, something so prestigious, possessed a power that was unmatched by anything else! In fact, according to the system's classification, divine spark fragments were also mythical items!

"Unfortunately, it lacks follow-up strength..." Roland shook his head. The system panel showed that the fragment of the Goddess of Nature's divine essence had entered the energy recovery period, which, in layman's terms, meant it was time to reload.

This thing is a treasure and a legacy for a minor nobleman, but for Roland it's just a useless trifle. The cost-effectiveness of waiting 100 to 200 days to exchange for 10 first-tier professionals is really poor when considering the kingdom level.

……

"Huh? My lord, you want me to teach them skills?" Haro, the only first-tier apprentice swordsman in the group, was astonished as he looked at the ten near-first-tier swordsmen whose battle aura was leaking out.

"Is there a problem?" Ismir asked seriously. After all, he was a magic user while these sword and shield soldiers were warrior Rolands, and their power systems were different, so it was impossible for Ismir to teach them.

"The question is, where did you find these top-tier individuals? Were they just awakened and then used as cannon fodder?" Haro was utterly speechless. They couldn't even control their battle aura, let alone their skills. In Haro's eyes, these people were just ordinary soldiers with slightly stronger physiques. (You guessed it, these people were just regular soldiers last night...)
"Ahem, shall I teach you?" Ismir asked humbly.

“No!” Haro said coldly.

"Huh?" Ismir was stunned. Did I use my Breath of Nature for nothing?
"We need to teach them how to control their battle aura first, at least so it doesn't run rampant across their bodies!" Haro glanced at the soldiers whose bodies were writhing with green battle aura flames and felt utterly exhausted. "Then I'll trouble you... Everyone, let's stop and rest for a bit!" Seeing that the sun had already climbed high in the sky, Ismir took the opportunity to let everyone rest.

Exhausted from their journey, the group immediately set up tents and a sunshade, leading their horses under it. Some set up iron pots to cook meat porridge, while Haro and his ten nature guardians diligently studied how to control their powers.

……

"How are things? Hello? Are they much better now?" Ismir looked at the sword and shield soldiers and found that their bodies no longer inexplicably emitted battle aura flames, which meant that they could at least control their battle aura. The next step was to learn skills!

"After a few days of consolidation, they can start learning skills. But let me make it clear, I only have some basic skills to teach them. Luckily, they can learn swordsman skills!" Haro warned Ismir in advance, telling him not to think about any secret techniques. He only had some blocking and heavy slashing skills to learn. After all, he was just a first-tier apprentice swordsman, so he shouldn't have too many illusions.

"That's good. Thank you for your help. You won't be treated unfairly after the territory is expanded!" Ismir promised. After all, you have to feed a horse if you want it to run. Otherwise, who would work for you for free?

As expected, Haro clenched his fist and nodded vigorously after hearing this. Ismir saw this and was very satisfied. He figured Haro wouldn't hold back and would teach these soldiers diligently.

"By the way, sir, what should we call these soldiers? We can't keep calling them family sword and shield soldiers, can we?" Haro asked.

“From today onwards, you shall be called…Guardians of Nature!” Ismir lowered his head, and he felt the name leap into his mind, so he said it subconsciously.

"Yes, sir!" The nature guardians nodded in agreement.

"We should be able to reach Lulong Fortress by tonight! That's the southernmost region of the kingdom right now. Once we get there, we'll have to cross the river!" Ismir looked at the map with some melancholy. Once they crossed the Swift River... the kingdom's help would vanish like the wind, and they would have to rely on themselves.

"Let's all get some rest tonight and tomorrow! We'll cross the river again the day after tomorrow!" Ismir thought for a moment and decided to give everyone a day to recover.

"Yes, sir!" The pioneer team naturally had no objections. After all, it was better to rest for an extra day and be in better shape for pioneering than to go exhausted!

"Then let's continue on our way..."

……

"Is that Baron Ismir down below?" Luke Leopold, stationed at the north gate of Lulong Fortress, shouted from the city wall.

"It is I! I am the Pioneer Lord, personally appointed by His Highness! The founder of the Ismir family!" Ismir shouted.

"Creak~" Soon the north gate of Lulong Fortress was opened, and Luke Leopold personally led his troops to meet them.

“Lord Ismir, greetings! The King has informed us of your imminent arrival, but I need to see the pioneering order to confirm your identity again!” Luke Leopold said dutifully.

“Of course, this is your job and responsibility!” Ismir immediately pulled out his pioneering token. Don’t underestimate this person just because he is an ordinary person without a title. Lance had introduced Ismir to the situation of the kingdom’s high-ranking officials. He had no doubt that this person would pioneer the Leopold family with his brother in the future.