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

Chapter 653 Recruiting Ymir

"Uh!" Ismir's scalp tingled. This guy's hardcore physical hypnosis of the earth dragon completely refreshed his values. He didn't know that the ferocious earth dragon had such a vulnerable side.

"Wait, Lord Ymir!" Ismir said, trying to persuade him to stay.

"Hmm?" Ymir, looking dejected, dragged the tail of the armored earth dragon and slowly walked backward. After hearing Ismir's words, she silently turned around.

"Although the empire has fallen, the flame still burns!" Ismir said solemnly.

"The current king is Roland Lagrand, a descendant of the Romanian royal family! King Roland is dedicated to restoring the glory and territory of the empire! The kingdom needs your help!" Ismir felt that all the wisdom he had ever possessed was used up in this moment. He keenly sensed that the success or failure of his expansion depended on this Senate guard soldier!

"Oh?" Ymir raised her voice, showing interest.

"I am the newly crowned Lord of the Frontier! I hope to use my sword to clear enough land for my plow to cultivate! During this time, I need like-minded pioneers to fight alongside me. Lord Ymir, I would like to formally invite you to join my pioneering team! I will not hesitate to share land and titles with you!" Ismir said solemnly.

“Your Excellency… Pfft!” Ymir suddenly laughed, amused by the earnest lord before him. He knew Ismir was attracted by his martial prowess. He dared not speak for others, but in terms of combat strength, having inherited the full set of equipment of his ancestor's Senate Guard, he could be said to be virtually unmatched in this dense forest. In addition, he himself was a fourth-tier Vanguard Guard (the Guard advancement chain is: Apprentice Guard, Guard, Elite Guard, Vanguard Guard, Imperial Guard, Imperial Guard), and with his ancestor's full set of legendary equipment, he could even hold his own against a sixth-tier enemy (Severus's nine-piece set is epic equipment individually, but legendary equipment when combined as a set).

“You’re right, I do want to do my part for this country again!” Ymir smiled. His idol was his ancestor, who fought alone against an entire army! His unwavering determination to hold his ground and his incomparable resilience were qualities he longed to learn and inherit! When Ismir extended an olive branch at the opportune moment, the half-giant’s simple mind didn’t think much of it and readily agreed.

“I am willing to offer you my loyalty! But I also expect you to swear to uphold the vows of the nobility! To protect the common people, to defend the land, and to be loyal to the nation! If you can do this, I will serve you!” Ymir said, striking his chest.

“Of course! I swear I will keep the promise of the nobles! I will shelter the unarmed civilians! Protect the old, weak, women and children! Defend the land I govern to the death! Be forever loyal to this country!” Ismir said without hesitation, trembling. Who wouldn’t take such a pledge in exchange for such support?

"Serve you, my lord!" Ymir knelt down on one knee before Ismir with great pomp and circumstance. As a result, he was almost as tall as Ismir when he knelt down. Ismir awkwardly raised a longsword, stood on tiptoe, and tapped Ymir's shoulders to complete the contract.

Roland was naturally unaware that the battlefield meat grinder he had been longing for had appeared in the Dark Forest and been successfully intercepted by Ismir, but he soon found out...

"Ding! Serendipitous event achieved! Ymir, a direct descendant of the legendary Senate Guard Captain, has been successfully recruited by your lord Ismir!"

"Me? Pfft!" Roland spat out a mouthful of honey water. Ignoring the astonished Nyx beside him, he immediately opened his eyes wide and summoned the system screen to examine each item one by one. When he confirmed that the Senate Guard, which he had acquired, had been snatched away by Ismir, Roland was so angry that his nose almost crooked.

"What's wrong? Doesn't it taste good?" Nyx asked in surprise. Everyone took the honey water from Roland's hand and took a small sip. They found it sweet and delicious. So why did Roland suddenly spit it out?
"It's nothing, it's not your fault. I just remembered something!" Roland said through gritted teeth, his face dark. "I treated you with the utmost loyalty! And you repay me by stealing my prize?" Roland nearly had a stroke on the spot! Roland's obsession with the Senate Guard! Although Roland currently had no shortage of high-level individual combatants under his command, such as Ajax and Caslow, who were stronger than this Senate Guard, there's a saying: The unattainable ideal is the eternal obsession! And just when his obsession was about to be fulfilled, it was suddenly stolen… Roland was furious!
The simple-minded Ymir was unaware that he had narrowly missed meeting the country's highest ruler. He was still basking in the joy of serving the kingdom's army, oblivious to the fact that he had almost served the king directly...

"Lord, what should we do with this thing? Or should we kill it and eat it? Bathing in dragon blood can strengthen our muscles and bones!" Ymir pressed one hand against the armored earth dragon's mouth, his eyes constantly glancing at its neck. "Woo woo woo!" The armored earth dragon, its mouth held shut, writhed wildly, whimpering. It had already sensed the ill intent in the human's expression.

"Do you think this thing can be tamed?" Eager to use every bit of power to enhance himself, Ismir naturally wouldn't let go of this captured armored earth dragon. His eyes lit up and he kicked the armored earth dragon, which had just been swaggering but was now crawling like a worm.

"Taming? In the Imperial Dragon Knights, these things are just consumables!" Ymir tapped her helmet and said.

"Uh, I forgot, this thing should be quite valuable now!" Ymir thought for a moment and realized that the Empire was gone, so there was no longer a channel to mass-produce armored earth dragons, so this thing should be quite valuable at present.

“Then…” Ismir looked at Ymir with a questioning gaze.

"Of course! Just beat them to submission!" Ymir grinned broadly, revealing her large teeth through her helmet.

"Just you wait and see, sir!" With that, he dragged the armored earth dragon into the depths of the jungle.

"...Won't something bad happen?" Ismir looked at the crowd.

"I think you should pay attention to that dragon..." the group shuddered, exchanged glances, and whispered timidly.

"Nonsense! I'm talking about that dragon!" Ismir said with a dark face. With Ymir's animalistic size and fighting power, even a fool would worry about the armored earth dragon!

"Awooo! Awooo! Awooo!" A mournful dragon roar faintly echoed from the dense forest, gradually turning into a wail...

……

"What the hell? Ismir is lost!" Roland was completely stunned when he saw the magical communication from Lulong Fortress. This bastard has already lured away my Senate Guard and you're telling me he's lost? Who can steal someone else's things after they've already been stolen?
"Is the system up to something again?" Roland roared inwardly.

"..." System, I'm lucky I got caught in the crossfire! You blame me for getting snatched away!
Actually, everything makes sense. Siphus lived in seclusion in the Great Greenwood, which had a beautiful name in the Third Age—the Darkwood. So it's not surprising that the system would show his descendants appearing in the Darkwood. And isn't the only kingdom in the Darkwood the one led by Ismir? If this encounter didn't involve them, it might as well be called a game of hide-and-seek! As for being recruited by Ismir, that's fine too! After all, an encounter doesn't necessarily mean you'll directly pledge allegiance to your king!

Four updates!