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

Chapter 70 The Short-Armed Roland Army
"So fast?" Roland exclaimed in surprise as he looked at the towering stone temple in front of him. Radil's efficiency was too high. He had completed the Archer Temple, which covered an area of ​​nearly a thousand square meters, in just one day.

"Hehe, Your Highness, I also used a trick. The city guards were a great help." Radil chuckled and stroked his beard. This Archer's Temple was not like the city walls. Radil did not use magic-inscribed stone bricks to build the main structure. He only used building materials engraved with magical patterns in the key and effective places. The rest of the unimportant parts were all made of ordinary bricks that Radil could easily create a lot of. This temple was almost entirely built by the guards of Lagrange City. Radil only provided the necessary materials and the key core.

"So, does this Archer's Temple now possess the power of its legacy?" Roland glanced at the simply decorated temple, which couldn't even compare to the initial awakening temple in the game.

“Oh? Of course! Although it’s a bit simple, it doesn’t hinder its effectiveness.” Radil explained, as if sensing Roland’s doubt.

"Order all the Battanian archers to assemble!" Roland said to the knights accompanying him.

"Yes, Your Highness!" A knight bowed, pounded his chest, and turned to leave.

……

"Greetings, Your Highness!" The Battanian archers bowed in unison.

"Rise. This is the Archer's Heritage Temple. I hope you can quickly master the inherited skills, as this concerns the survival of Swiftstream City," Roland said calmly to the Battanian archers before him.

"Go in." Roland waved his hand.

The Battanian archers exchanged glances before finally stepping forward in unison, intending to enter the shabby archer's temple to receive their inheritance.

"Wait! Six of you can't all awaken at once here." Radil stopped the archers who were about to swarm in.

"Hmm? There's a limit to the number of people?" In Roland's memory, almost all the major inheritance temples allowed as many players as could enter, as long as you had money...

“Of course, Your Highness, this temple was hastily built. A real temple requires many precious materials to build... This temple can only receive inheritance at the six eye points of the six-pointed star array under the inheritance statue. This place is too rudimentary…” Radil explained.

Roland immediately understood. It was a miracle that the hastily constructed building hadn't become an illegal structure. Apart from the inheritance statue and the six-pointed star array beneath it, everything inside was made of ordinary stone materials. There were no magical materials for communicating battle energy, no magical arrays to help concentrate the mind and gather energy, and even the number of people who could inherit the power each time was limited.

“And we don’t have any professional mentors to pass on our skills…” Radil said with a bitter expression, revealing the most crucial problem. This meant that there was no one to guide these archers in passing on their skills, and they had to figure everything out on their own.

"Hmm... it is a bit troublesome." Roland scratched his head. You see, mentors are indispensable in the temple. Each temple of inheritance will have at least one professional who has mastered the inherited skills of the temple. This way, they can help the professional who receives the inheritance to quickly comprehend it. These are all things that Roland lacks.

As the six Battanian archers, seated cross-legged atop the hexagram array, released their battle aura to connect with the array beneath them, the life-sized archer inheritance statues instantly glowed with a soft light. Rings of light surged within the temple, but because the temple itself was substandard and offered little benefit to the inheritance of support-oriented professions, the light only reached the edge of the hexagram before dissipating into specks of light.

Half an hour later...

"You all wait here. After they finish their inheritance, have them come find me. Lord Radil, let's go and rest first." Roland glanced at the six archers who hadn't moved yet in the temple and twitched his lips helplessly. Sure enough, without an inheritance mentor, they were really unreliable. This time span was a bit too far. "Yes, Your Highness," the archers replied respectfully.

"My lord!" Caslo called out from afar.

Roland's heart sank when he saw Caslo rushing over. Could it be the orcs? The orcs from the north and south had been on their way for days.

"What's wrong?" Roland still held onto hope that the orcs wouldn't start a war right now, as the Battanian archers were still learning new skills.

"The orcs in the north have suddenly accelerated their southward march today, abandoning their previous slow and sluggish pace, and are trying to cross the Lonely Mountain to attack Irubor. The dwarven ram cavalry have already begun to intercept their vanguard," Caslo said with a bitter expression. The orcs were ultimately unwilling to let them drag on until spring.

"Fine, let's start the war then. If we deal with them in the winter, our people can work in peace in the spring! Get the soldiers ready to fight at any time!" Roland said with a murderous look on his face.

……

"The orc army is here?" Verway sat comfortably in his chair, a warm cup of coffee in his hand.

"Yes! You're supposed to be a noble elf, so pay attention to your image..." Looking at the elven king Roland, who was lounging like Ge You, he felt ashamed. This completely changed the image of elves as noble, elegant, and mysterious in his eyes! He would believe you if you told him this guy was a retired old man.

"So what do you plan to do?" Verway asked dismissively. Instead, he was more concerned about how Roland planned to deal with the orcs, since the lives of the grassland elves were now tied to the fate of Swiftstream City!
“Defend the city! Swiftstream City is our greatest asset! I would never abandon the city walls and engage in open battle with the orcs unless absolutely necessary!” Roland blurted out without thinking.

“Hmm, it’s a good idea when everyone else can hold their ground, but the battlefield for knights isn’t on the city walls!” Verway said meaningfully. When other lords can defend their cities, defending the city is definitely the best option, but Verway doubted whether they could hold it. After all, the walls of River Valley and Los Saint-Neill were far less secure than the walls of Swiftstream and Irubel.

"There's nothing we can do. We have too few ranged units. Even with your elven rangers and archers, it's still far from enough. The knights can only patch up the gaps on the city walls," Roland sighed.

“There are still 135 elven soldiers left; some were killed in the last attack,” Verway said somberly.

"Then you'll need to protect yourselves this time. Our ranged units are scarce, and every one lost will create a gap in our defenses!" Roland clearly remembered that there were 149 elven rangers last time. Although the main casualties during the Battle of Lagrange Plains were conscripted light infantry, some elves were still killed by orcs who broke through the defenses.

"I will inform them and tell them to prioritize their own survival." Verway also understood the seriousness of the situation. After careful consideration, he realized that, based on his observation, the only truly effective ranged attackers in Swiftstream City were the 100 Battanian archers. Although the other soldiers could also draw their bows, without any shooting skill bonuses, their ranged attack power was simply too weak.

"It seems we need to find a way to increase the number and variety of ranged units in the future," Roland thought to himself. Although there were many soldiers in Swiftstream City, there were still too few units that could kill enemies from a distance. Almost all of them were melee combat units, and melee combat meant inevitable sacrifices.

"Damn it! So I really do have short arms!" Roland thought for a moment and felt very annoyed.

(End of this chapter)