"Um, system sign-in!" Roland muttered vaguely while chewing bread. His resentment towards the weird dishes made him even ignore the habit of signing in every day.
"Sign-in successful! Congratulations to the host for successfully triggering the random event - the Crusade!"
"Puff!" Roland spat out a mouthful of warm soup. This Crusade trick really impressed him. He almost pointed at the system and asked, "Brother, we're in Middle-earth now, and we're still talking about the Crusade?" Everyone who was brought in could have a grand Crusade, right?
"Note: The Crusaders were an organization formed by civilian soldiers and aristocratic soldiers after the Lagran Empire was severely damaged. After the empire regrouped, they launched a war east of the Rune region, which is known in history as the Crusades!" This time, the system actually gave a rare explanation.
"So what was the outcome of this war..." Roland's face looked grim. Even as a hardcore Lord of the Rings player, he had no impression of this war at all... He thought that either the war was a failure or the entire army was annihilated.
"Ding! Historically, this Crusade ended with the capture and execution of Archduchess Nyx. Except for the Knights of the Cross (one hundred men) who managed to escape, all the other soldiers of the one hundred thousand Crusaders were killed in the battle!" The system's emotionless electronic voice rang out.
Roland's heart trembled. Wow! I'm a real expert! The Grand Duchess was captured and killed? All 100,000 soldiers were killed? Are you sure they are really attacking the barbarians in eastern Lunen and not encountering well-equipped Orcs or Uruk-Horse?
"Wait? Grand Duchess Nix! Isn't this the small principality on the eastern border of the empire? I remember it had only three towns in the entire country..." Roland's face was filled with black lines, but he understood it instantly.
What? The Lagran soldiers were completely wiped out fighting the barbarians? From the Principality of Nyx? That's fine... After all, they're home to a wealth of beautiful women, and fighting and killing isn't exactly Nyx's forte.
"No wonder I've never heard of this news. No wonder I don't know about the story of the Crusades... They might have been wiped out in less than two days. The main brain probably didn't even react to issue the mission, and the story ended..." Roland maliciously speculated about the situation at the time. In fact... he guessed right!
In fact, with the high degree of freedom in Lord of the Rings, a military operation of this magnitude, whether initiated by NPCs or players, could be considered a call to arms, summoning the empire's pioneering lords to assemble for an attack. Furthermore, even a Grand Duke personally rolled up his sleeves and took part. However, this mixed military and civilian Crusaders were far from up to par. Shortly after setting out, they suffered a devastating defeat. The Grand Duchess was captured and killed, and the entire army suffered unprecedented damage. Furthermore, during their retreat, they were leaderless and ambushed. A single member of the Knights was left alive. Forget the players; the system itself likely didn't react. Even a large-scale magical realist show wouldn't dare stage such a scene.
"But I should know about this matter..." Roland's face suddenly turned strange. He remembered a large-scale mission he participated in later - the defense of the Principality of Nyx.
"Damn it, this is the sequel to this!" Roland complained helplessly. After all, the mission at that time was to save the Principality of Nyx from being invaded by barbarians. Unfortunately, the barbarians were driven away in the end, and the Principality of Nyx was annexed. (After all, you're a Grand Duke and your army are gone, so who can refuse a delicious meal right in front of you?)
"This Crusade is a revised version of current history. The number of people and quality are far different from the original Crusade." The system suddenly said.
"Goodness me! The Principality of Nyx is already a worthless bunch, and you're giving it a stab. What good will this event activation do me?" Roland rolled his eyes. His hopes were completely dashed! You have to know that the Crusaders weren't facing those backward Eastern barbarians from over an epoch in history, but the Easterlings, minions of Sauron, the troublemaker in Middle-earth. Just the Charioteers alone would be enough to give them a hard time. Roland couldn't bear to think about the scene ahead; it was too cruel!
…
"Your Highness, we still have a long way to go!" A knight wearing a cloak with a cross bauhinia flower came to the side of Grand Duke Nix. The cross bauhinia flower is the family emblem of the Principality of Nix, indicating that the visitor is her retainer.
"Well, I really want to recover our land soon! Let's stop and set up camp to rest. That's all for today!" Nix rubbed his temples and dismounted from his horse, looking heroic but also exuding a bit of charm.
"Well, Your Highness, your kindness will surely be praised by everyone!" the knight complimented.
"Hehehe~" A string of silver bell-like laughter came, and it was obvious that the young Grand Duchess was laughing so hard at his slightly funny compliment.
"Go, go!" Princess Nyx was in high spirits. She was only sixteen years old, but to restore her kingdom and her people, she had no choice but to take up arms and embark on the Crusade. (In the game's history, she launched the Crusades out of her duty to protect her lord.)
Roland would have been shocked to see the young Archduchess. He could hardly imagine the inhuman torture and humiliation this young and beautiful Archduchess endured after her capture. In fact, when the Knights of the Cross Bauhinia, with the help of various lords, finally defeated the barbarians and recovered their lord's body, they found his naked, bound limbs behind his back, a spear thrust through his anus and exiting, his body lying upright on the spot where the Crusaders had perished! (This torture had a prototype: the medieval impalement.) The Knights of the Cross Bauhinia were heartbroken, and ultimately, they marched eastward alone until their entire army was annihilated. According to later player statistics, this hundred-man knightly order committed a brutal massacre, slaughtering over 300,000 of the seventeen barbarian tribes they encountered along the way. With the exception of the last tribe they overran, the remaining sixteen were utterly annihilated. Their bloody path ripped through the entire East, and the infamous Blood Road was born from their deeds.
"Your Highness! The situation is not good! We have discovered charioteers from the east five miles ahead! There are about a dozen chariots, and they should be patrolling soldiers. What do you think we should do next?" Suddenly, the knight who was scouting in front came back and brought back this troublesome news.
"Ah!" Nix's face turned pale, and she was instantly at a loss. This was a young lady who was even more inexperienced in war than Roland. If you asked her to manage a castle as a young lady, she could definitely do it, but asking her to command an army in a hurry... It was no surprise that she was captured and killed in history, after all, she had no military skills at all.
"..." Nyx looked around nervously, at the countless hopeful faces behind him, and the resolute faces of the knights around him, and finally clenched his fists.
"Are we sure we can keep them all?" Nyx asked softly.
"Of course, Your Highness! We are the knights of the Cross Bauhinia family! Your glory is the belief we will defend to the death!" The only twenty-four Cross Bauhinia Knights in the team drew their swords and shouted.
"Then leave them here!" Nix said lightly.
"Yes, sir!"