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

Chapter 691 Caught in the act

"Long-term contracts are 10 gold coins per person, and the contract ends when they are too old to fight. No compensation is required for those who die in battle! Short-term contracts are calculated based on the number of battles fought, ranging from 1 to 5 gold coins per battle depending on the difficulty. A compensation of 5 gold coins is required for those who die in battle. Um... also, I would be very grateful if you could share some of your spoils with them!" Alistar explained with a weak smile.

"The price is reasonable, but you need me to designate the territory where you will settle your people. Your army cannot leave the territory on a large scale without my order! Can you accept that?" Roland laid out the unpleasant truth upfront.

“Of course, Your Highness!” Alistar knew he didn’t have much of a choice, and the Savage Goblins never picked and chose their locations. They only needed a piece of wasteland to raise the Tutto pigs. Those Tutto pigs would dig in the ground and eat insects, roots, and grass, just like the Savage Goblins. Both were very easy to raise.

“Alright! Come and take a look here!” Roland said to Alistar, pointing to the map.

"..." Alistar stared speechlessly at the table, which was a little shorter than him. Even standing on tiptoe, he could barely see the general outline...

"Sorry." Roland immediately pulled over a chair.

“Thank you for your help,” Alistar said sincerely, then climbed into the chair and sat down, his whole body suddenly sinking down again…

"..." Roland.

“…Alistar.”

Finally, Alistar stood on the chair and saw the whole map. Actually, the sand table on one side would have been clearer, but it wasn't as convenient to view as this one.

"The kingdom will soon be heading south along the swift river. We will be conquering various regions along the way, so your encampment will be temporarily set up in the wasteland south of Lulong Fortress. If you need any materials, the kingdom will provide them to you, and will also guarantee you a certain level of food supply. As for hiring..." Roland said.

“Because your tribe’s population is constantly increasing, I originally wanted to hire the whole tribe, but I don’t think you would do that. So I’ll hire them on a short-term basis, on a per-battle basis. How about you have a high degree of autonomy the rest of the time?” Roland tapped the table lightly.

“Perfectly reasonable!” Alistar agreed to Roland’s terms after a quick thought.

Roland smiled as he watched the goblins take the bait. This was a win-win situation, meaning Roland had won twice! Not only had he found a job to help the blacksmiths practice, but he had also gained the loyalty of this tribe. The equipment of these goblin knights would be enough for the blacksmiths to practice on.

……

"Looks like the talks went well?" Nyx chuckled as she met the radiant Roland. She had also learned from others that a group of barbarian goblins had joined their ranks. Although it was only a mercenary relationship, at least they had a subordinate race, which at least enhanced their national prestige! (What are centaurs and grassland elves? Those two tribes might not even be able to muster a force of 300 people. Compared to the barbarian goblins' thousands of boar riders, they are far inferior in terms of prestige.)
"Yes, we now have a qualified mercenary force. We no longer need to send our ordinary soldiers to the front lines of the meat grinder!" Roland nodded and smiled. Although the barbarian goblins would suffer heavy casualties while fighting for the kingdom, it was none of Roland's concern. After all, he was paid money and compensation, plus some free food and land—the treatment was quite good. They weren't even taxed! This treatment was even better than that of Apophis Breo! Apophis Breo, as the patriarch of the King's Landing family, was required to pay taxes to the state on behalf of the King's Landing family's territory. However, due to the special circumstances of the various frontier territories and the fact that frontier territories enjoyed a three-year tax exemption, Roland could only collect taxes in his directly controlled areas…

Alright, so here's another problem! Roland also implemented a tax exemption policy within the kingdom to encourage land reclamation, so... the Kingdom of Lagrange currently has very little tax revenue. Even the most lucrative tax, commercial tax, is barely collected. No one taxes businesses from Swiftstream City to the River Valley Kingdom; they can't possibly tax River Valley merchants coming to Swiftstream City, can they? In any case, the entire noble class of the Kingdom of Lagrange is unwilling to lose face. Therefore, with no hope of profiting from lower levels of government, Roland can only continue selling high-end magical items to replenish the national treasury, which is where our great sage Yunfeng comes in! Alright, everything forms a perfect closed loop, achieving a world where only Yunfeng is injured.

After a brief, low-key conversation with Nyx, Roland left the castle with Darian Nightblade, intending to go outside for a stroll. Nyx, on the other hand, chose to remain inside the castle to teach the servants proper royal etiquette. Nyx firmly believed that this would be useful when entertaining nobles from other kingdoms in the future. If there were any embarrassing moments with the etiquette, it would be a disgrace to Roland, and Nyx naturally wouldn't allow that to happen. After seeing Roland off, Nyx also trotted off to gather the servants for a briefing.

……

"Your Highness, where are we going?" Darian Nightblade's legs suddenly went weak as soon as he saw Roland leave the castle, so he quickly asked.

"What? I have to report to you where I go?" Roland looked surprised, incredulous, and bewildered. After all, he accepted Nyx's control; she was just a henpecked husband, nothing to worry about! He also accepted Yun Feng and the others' control, since he couldn't beat them either if they ganged up on him. Rather than tormenting himself, he'd rather avoid their nagging and wait for the right moment to give birth to a prince. He figured those ministers wouldn't object to him running around anymore.

"No... I'm just scared..." Darian Nightblade scratched his head awkwardly. He was genuinely afraid that Roland would pull another trick and he would end up being caught and "tortured" by Nyx again.

"Sigh... coward! Come with me, let's go out of the city for a few days and see the wasteland south of Lulong Fortress. Hopefully, the barbarian goblins will like it there!" Roland shook his head with pity as he looked at Darian Nightblade. What a coward! He was scared by Nyx and that's it. I can still subdue Nyx without hesitation...

"Where are you going?" A clear, melodious voice, like that of a lark, rang out.

Roland was momentarily stunned, but still subconsciously shouted: "To the southern wilderness..." However, Roland could not see that Darian Nightblade had already begun to experience Parkinson's tremors.

"What's wrong again? Did you have a seizure?" Roland looked at Darian Nightblade with a puzzled expression, while Nightblade winked at Roland, telling him to pray for the best.

“Don’t worry, we’ll be back soon. You pack the essentials!” Roland instructed Darian Nightblade, tugging at him as he spoke.

"Stunned? Depressed? What, there's a Medusa in Rapids City? Did she petrify you? I have to go find her!" Roland pretended to look for Medusa, but then glanced back and saw Eternity...

“Go on! Come on, show us your talent!” Nyx said gently.

Upon hearing this, Roland broke out in a cold sweat. Who would have thought that Nyx would actually appear in the stables? Dragon God! We're doomed!
"Ahem! I don't have any talents, but Darian Nightblade is a great singer and dancer. How about he performs?" Roland said humbly.

"No, show me your kingly demeanor from just now and demonstrate how you plan to leave," Nyx said, still smiling broadly.

(End of this chapter)