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

Chapter 650 The Shadow of Blood Mist

This last reinforcement, composed of old nobles, family servants, and the Senate guard, arrived at the northern part of the Swiftstream Fortress at its most dangerous moment, successfully helping the fortress maintain the stalemate. This bought precious time for Governor Renault to send reinforcements from the north, since it takes time for a large army to set out and the teleportation array could not transport hundreds of thousands of people.

But how long could a reinforcement force composed of elderly nobles and their attendants hold out? Their answer was two days…

Two days after the last reinforcements arrived at Swiftflow Fortress, the last old noble knight fell in a pool of blood. Swiftflow Fortress had essentially fallen. Apart from the main castle in the core area, where some defenders were still fighting desperately, there were no Imperial soldiers left. These elderly nobles may have been despicable, cunning, and ruthless, but they had indeed upheld the honor of nobility and obeyed the declaration to protect the Empire and its people!

"Awooo!" The orcish trolls roared madly. This was their victory. For the first time in thousands of years, they had besieged Lagrange. Now, as long as they captured the core area of ​​the fortress and destroyed the teleportation array, they could cross the river and attack Lagrange without any worries.

"Whoosh~" On the blood-mist-shrouded fortress, the dark passageway seemed to harbor ferocious beasts that would devour anyone, exuding a chilling aura.

"Awooo!" A group of impatient orcs rushed into the passage, eager to conquer it and feast on human blood.

"Whoosh!" A sword aura as sharp as a bolt of lightning suddenly flashed past, and the orcs who were close to the passage stared wide-eyed as they fell to the ground, their limbs severed, struggling and dying.

Heavy footsteps echoed from the depths of the dark passage, causing the orcs who had been eager to try to stop and stare in disbelief at their kin struggling on the ground. What was inside?
The unknown is the most terrifying thing.

A tall figure slowly walked out of the passage. The orcs stared in horror at the "iron tower" that was about two and a half meters tall. Instantly, the long-forgotten memories in their hearts, the oppression and fear brought to them by the human soldiers in this attire in the past two days, were stronger than those of other sixth-level human professionals in this fortress!
The man who came was a Senator Guard soldier who was ordered to guard this passage alone. These half-giants, who had some Utumno giant blood, were blood mist makers and battlefield meat grinders in the Battle of Stream Fortress. With every move they made, dozens of orcs died. The psychological pressure they put on the orc army was immense.

These half-giants from the cold north were muscular and tall. Although they were not as imposing as real giants, they were still towering figures in the Lagrange Empire!

These half-giants, who originally had extremely poor resistance to magic, would never have been favored by the Imperial army. However, due to the famous Imperial event—the Blood Mist Incident—these melee meat grinders successfully came into the Senate's sights.

Speaking of the Blood Mist Incident, one cannot help but mention the Jin Dan family, which was as famous as the Sword and Shield family in the history of the empire. Because their family emblem was the Blood Mist Blade, they were also known as the Blood Blade family. This family had a notorious reputation. Originally, they were a border earl family and were considered a respected member of the high-ranking nobles in the empire. However, during their expansion, they illegally seized territory, resulting in the emergence of an earldom in the eastern part of the empire that was comparable in size to a duchy. Normally, nobles would turn a blind eye to this, but they were too domineering and exploited their subjects, so someone went to the capital to complain.

It's important to understand that in addition to the Upper House, which consists of 500 noble seats, the Imperial Senate also has a Lower House, which consists of 2500 commoner seats. These seats are evenly distributed among the noble territories of the imperial cities. Essentially, it's a product of compromise between the imperial nobles and commoners. The commoners and nobles mediate each other's demands in the Senate to achieve the stability of the empire. The problem lies in the fact that the Bloodblade family has extremely poor popularity among the commoners. The Lower House almost unanimously approved the resolution to thoroughly investigate the area of ​​their territory. The result of this resolution is that the Bloodblade family not only has to give up those illegal territories, but also has to be held accountable by the empire and have their original fiefdom reduced. How could the proud Bloodblade family accept this?

So what to do? The last patriarch of the Bloodblade family made a decision that went against his ancestors' wishes! A bloodbath in the House of Commons. After all, the Senate was just a place where people argued and fought, and it was common for them to cause trouble. Noble old men fought with commoner old men every day. For the sake of avoiding trouble, the Senate had no military force other than a handful of servants and guards. This gave the Bloodblade family an opportunity. After all, once the people in the House of Commons were all dead, they were all dead. Did the nobles in the Upper House really want to fight against their own people for some commoners they saw every day?
The Bloodblade family, with only a small number of elite soldiers, stormed in and began a massacre while the Senate members were arguing amongst themselves. The House of Commons was inundated with heads. Not only the commoners in the House of Commons, but even the nobles in the House of Lords were stunned and at a loss. After all, no matter how much people hate each other, you can't actually fight each other!
How fast can a hundred-man squad of professional soldiers kill 2500 civilians, most of whom are ordinary people? They can't even mow down grass as fast as they can!

The upper-house nobles, regaining their senses, were instantly enraged. Wasn't this an insult to the nobility? Your nobles, who are supposed to protect the common people, were slaughtering them in the Senate? The upper-house nobles felt a chill run down their spines. If this matter wasn't resolved today, the reputation of the entire imperial nobility would be ruined! After all, the blame could only be placed on the nobles present.

The nobles of the House of Lords rallied and fought back against the elite soldiers. The stunned commoners of the House of Commons, however, reacted quickly and rallied their entourages to resist. A seasoned border lord's elite hundred-man suicide squad was not easily countered. The senators were routed. At a critical moment, the entourage of a member of the House of Commons arrived on the battlefield. These two Northern half-giants, clad in simple leather armor and wielding battle axes, successfully held off the suicide soldiers with the help of the others, thanks to their high resistance to battle aura and their thick hides. Then the city guards arrived…

Just imagine how powerful the reconnaissance capabilities of five hundred noble families combined would be! Add to that the Empire's intelligence network, and wow! Your Bloodblade family is playing some pretty tricks! You dare to attack the Senate today? Will your assassins be at the Emperor's bedside tomorrow?
The enraged emperor declared Count Bloodblade a traitor, listing his entire family as traitors. The entire empire mobilized to prepare for his campaign, but before the army could even assemble, the Bloodblade family was wiped out—everyone except the married women was killed…

The bewildered emperor received the battle report and, lo and behold, burst out laughing! He could only shrug and admit he was courting disaster. Which class of nobles held the most real power and had the closest ties to the commoners? The barons, of course! After all, barons were at the lower rungs of the nobility, and their large population was scattered throughout the empire. Unlike higher-ranking nobles, their descendants couldn't inherit fiefdoms; aside from the heir who inherited the baron's domain, the rest of their offspring were commoners. This was why barons were considered the noblest commoners! How could a large family of commoners not side with the commoners?