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

Chapter 998 The Occupied Zone!
"Are they really that brave?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso turned to look at his second-in-command, Oakrian Ryukin, with a look of speechlessness and disdain. The fact that these lightly armored cavalry dared to charge forward and "test the grass" with their faces was really making Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso unable to hold back.

“A distinguished guest of the Imperial Inquisition!” Oakrian Ryukin said succinctly.

"By the time they arrive, it'll be too late!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso scoffed. What other explanation was there for being riddled with holes within the country's borders?

“It seems we’ve been discovered!” Oakrian Ryukin nudged Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso’s arm.

"Hmm?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso frowned. These good-for-nothings actually have this ability? They can even track them down.

"Oh no! The hoofprints have given us away!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso suddenly froze, then slapped his forehead. He should have taken a few more steps. The two straight lines of hoofprints below led to the top of the hill. Even a fool would have come to take a look!

“They’ve surrounded us! Should we run?” Oakrian Ryukin asked, biting his nails.

"Why are you running? We're not guilty! We even rescued two children for them!" Grand Duke Ocrean Yaso pointed to the two children eating candy behind them. Clearly, the brother and sister were also clever little ones. The two of them, dressed in gleaming golden armor and riding fully armed warhorses, made the already precocious children even more docile. They were no longer crying or making a fuss.

“Even so, do people believe that? What if they become our bandits?” Oakrian Ryukin retorted.

“Very good! Sixth-tier sword saint bandits? Don’t even mention seeing them or hearing about them! Why would two sixth-tiers massacre a village? Do you think I’m after their empty granary or their scattered copper coins? Did two sixth-tiers take a fancy to those bloated and rough village women? Or did I want to kidnap two children?” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso pointed at the two little brats and said awkwardly.

“That makes sense!” Oakrian Liujin nodded quickly. Even a fool would know it was impossible. If someone actually did that, this profession would probably never be able to hold its head high again and would be recorded in history until the end of time!

……

"Whoa! Who are you?" Soon a knight in chainmail led a squad of cavalry to surround them from both sides. Then they saw a fully armed warhorse lying on the grass and two heavily armed men and two "add-ons" by the campfire.

“The village below was raided by orcs. These two children are the only two survivors. We'll put out the fire for you. You're welcome, no need to thank us!” Oakrian Ryukin said calmly after seeing that Grand Duke Oakrian Yasso remained silent.

"Please come with us, gentlemen. This still needs investigation! If there are no problems, we will not make things difficult for you!" The knight could not tell the two men's strength, but their equipment carried the aura and light of magic. The knight did not act arrogantly, but simply invited the two men to investigate.

“No need!” Archduke Oakrian Yaso clapped his hands and stood up from the campfire.

"Is this enough?" The battle aura of a sixth-tier professional surged forth, a powerful aura and sharp wind elements swirling around Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso's body. When Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso, revered as the Dragon Lord, revealed the aura of a superior, even a grand duke like Apophis Breo, aside from Roland, had to step aside! Because he was a true imperial grand duke! He had witnessed the empire's final glory! That kind of charisma was something no one else possessed!

"Six... Your Majesty!" The knight immediately knelt down! The moment the sixth-rank aura appeared, he became the leader of the surrender! Even if it wasn't this guy who did it, he would still say it was the orc. Putting aside everything else, he knew that if this sixth-rank guy wanted to, he could make them all disappear here silently!
"Where are you from? What is this place?" Oakrian Ryukin's body also ignited with sixth-order battle flames.

"Thump!" Under the intense pressure of being watched by two sixth-rank knights, the knight knelt down with a thud. The cavalry behind him, seeing their leader kneel down, also wisely dropped their weapons and knelt down as well.

“Your Majesty, this…this is Eminmuy! The border of the Kingdom of Rohan…” the knight stammered. “Hmm?” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso unfolded the map Roland had given him, and after gesturing and whispering with Oakrian Ryukin for a while, they finally confirmed that this was indeed the Ward region on the map.

“The intelligence was wrong…” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso rubbed his temples.

"Alright, it's not easy to gather intelligence from so far away! As long as it's generally okay!" Oakrian Ryukin said in a low voice.

“That’s true, after all, we’re here to gather intelligence as well…” Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso said, both amused and exasperated.

"Where are your nobles? The border villages have been destroyed for so long and only a few people have arrived?" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso pointed to the knight and the cavalry behind him.

"There's really nothing I can do about it!" the knight said with a wry smile.

"We arrived here after receiving news of the village attack. Some herders saw the fire burning here, so we came to conduct armed reconnaissance..." The knight lowered his head.

"???" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso frowned.

"Wait a minute? You mean you're abandoning this village? Giving up before even engaging in battle?" Okrian Ryukin was utterly shocked. Any soldier in the Imperial border garrison who dared to give such an order would be dead! Using a border village as bait and a buffer? Okrian Ryukin thought, "I'd eat a man alive!"

“…Defying the heavens!” Archduke Oakrian Yaso finally uttered this sentence after looking at it for a long time.

"Sigh..." The knight glanced at the two of them, then lowered his head sadly and began to recount his story...

Historically, towards the end of the Third Age, Sauron rose to power again, and eastern Rohan was frequently harassed by the Orks, whose horses were often killed or stolen. At that time, Éomer, Lord of Audeburg and the first Marshal of Rohan, was responsible for defending the eastern border. He often acted rashly in a fit of rage, pursuing the Orks with only a small force. In the year 3002 of the Third Age, Éomer pursued a small group of Orks to the border of the Aminmuy Hills, where he was ambushed and killed by a large Ork army. Afterwards, the eastern border of Rohan fell into disarray. Furthermore, Rohan was a semi-nomadic, semi-agricultural kingdom, with frequent migrations of its border inhabitants. Therefore, the scattered border villages were not properly guarded, instead serving as early warning points. Éomer's death further exacerbated the chaos in the east. Although his son Éomer inherited the title of Third Marshal of Rohan, the decadence and corruption of the nobles within his territory continued to affect the stability of his rule. In addition, he resided in Audeburg, which was quite far from the border.

Although Rohan has not completely abandoned East Mark, signs of this have begun to emerge, with large numbers of people migrating inland and the east gradually becoming desolate.

"Hiss..." Grand Duke Oakrian Yasso and Oakrian Ryukin quickly turned their heads to communicate, while the knights and cavalry behind them closed their eyes and covered their ears as if they were not there, afraid of hearing something they should not hear and being silenced.

"Damn it! Something terrible has happened! King Roland has ruined me!" Grand Duke Oakrian Yaso's lips twitched.

“Rohan actually abandoned such a large area of ​​land! Holy crap! Oh my god! I knew there was no way orcs were running rampant... Turns out we were in enemy territory!” Oakrian Ryukin exclaimed in shock.

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