"Creaky~" The heavy iron-clad city gate of Jiliu City opened with a bang in the morning light, and the crowd poured out of Jiliu City like fish into the sea.
On the dirt roads in the countryside, people greeted those they met with simple smiles, and were not afraid of the soldiers patrolling around. Everything seemed peaceful and calm.
The crisp sound of horse hooves broke the silence, and at the end of the horizon, a red flag with a golden dragon appeared in everyone's sight.
"Our army!" said a young man, pointing at the flag.
"Has our lost team returned? Or has His Majesty the King returned?" A team of patrolling Swiftstream infantry looked at the majestic flag and asked curiously.
"The king is back! That flag has golden tassels! It's the king's flag!" After a moment, people recognized Roland's unique royal flag.
…
"I'm back! It's still more comfortable to stay in my own territory." Roland rode on horseback and looked at the bustling city of Swiftstream. Compared to the slightly desolate city before, the current Swiftstream has a bit of a lively atmosphere. Farmers traveling between country roads and fields, vendors hawking on the streets, the only tavern that is extremely prosperous...all of these make the city move in a good direction.
"Welcome home, Your Majesty!" Grand Duke Nix, who had been waiting at the city gate with his men, gently lifted the hem of his skirt and bowed slightly to Roland.
"Thank you for coming out to greet me, Your Highness." Roland smiled and dismounted, helping Nyx up.
"How was it? Did the trip go smoothly?" Nyx curiously glanced at the team following Roland.
"It's a draw, but the coalition suffered little loss. However, the orcs managed to hold Dol Guldur. By the way, is everything okay in the city? Nothing major happened, right?" Roland asked.
"As you can see, it's an ordinary life, just as I hoped." Nix nodded calmly towards the outside of the city.
"Hehe~" Roland was amused by Nyx's cute actions.
"Come in. After a long battle, the city has changed a lot. Come in and get familiar with it." Nix made way and invited everyone into the city.
"System, check the territory interface!" Roland quietly instructed the system, and soon the system interface popped up.
River Rapids:
Area: One kilometer in radius.
Construction units: 1 ruined lord's castle, 240 ordinary wooden houses, intermediate magic pattern wall, stone well, blacksmith shop, military camp, archer's temple.
Generals: Kaslo (Level 3), Renault (Level 4), Radil (Level 4), Yunfeng (Level 6), Omsk (Level 6).
Special Personnel: Ivy (Level 3) Grand Duke Nyx: Nyx (Level 2)
City Defense Officer: Marcus (Level 4)
Administrative Officer: Lance (Level 2)
Troops: 2292
Holy Glory Knights: 100 second-level knights.
Lagran City Guards: 100 Tier 2 Warriors
Bataniyan Archers: 700 second-level archers.
Dorwinian Heavy Swordsmen: 100 second-level swordsmen.
El Nino Ranger: 100 second-level rangers.
Lagrande Royal Guards: 200
Flood Legion: 683 Flood Infantrymen
Recruiting light infantry: 200 light infantry.
Lagrande Heavy Cavalry: 100 heavy cavalrymen
Priest: 8 second-level priests
Mage: 1 second-level fire mage
Population: 3024 (Trainable civilians: 1647)
Comment: The lonely king led his remaining people back to their homeland and built this city with tall walls. With the arrival of some residents, the city has become more lively and vibrant. Everything is going in a good direction. The city's military is strong, with many soldiers of appropriate age! The entire city can fully defend itself from even a small-scale attack. Note: The Grand Duke of the Principality of Nyx has fled here, and the entire country is still without a mistress or heir.
Abilities: 1. As the only territory of the Kingdom of Lagrang in Middle-earth, it attracts the remaining Lagrang people. The system will guide a group of wandering Lagrang civilians to arrive every day, hoping that the lord can properly accommodate them.
2. Allow the recruitment of local civilians to train Rapide Infantry.
"Not bad, there are actually 1,647 soldiers of the right age!" Roland was surprised. It seemed that if he continued to expand his military power, he would be able to quickly assemble a new Legion of the Stream!
"Not bad, not bad! At least we can protect ourselves now. Even if the orc army attacks, we can barely struggle!" Roland was very satisfied. He was confident that he could recruit more than 1,600 militiamen. The militiamen could be transformed into qualified torrent infantry after simple training. The terrifying number of torrent infantry in the previous life came from this. The lords could summon the militia for training at any time, and within a week, one iconic torrent legion after another could be sent into the battlefield.
"It seems the city is developing well!" Roland walked through the streets with his horse and looked around. Dried goods such as dried fish were hung on the door frames of the houses. Every resident's face was filled with a happy smile, and people's clothes had become more diverse. What surprised Roland even more was that there were street vendors in the city!
"This is... a caravan from the Valley State?" Roland blurted out in amazement. This could be considered international trade, right? Merchants are indeed always at the forefront of the times. Even a remote city like Rapid City can see caravans from other regions.
"Well, not long after you left, a caravan from the Valley State arrived here. They bought back our furs and game and brought us their handicrafts. For the first time, we had commercial taxes..." Nyx talked freely.
"Well done! Attracting merchants to come here and trade with us is an important way to enhance our national strength." Roland affirmed. It must be said that Nyx was definitely much better at handling internal affairs than Roland, a half-baked one. This made Roland realize how much knowledge a true high-ranking noble possessed.
What Roland saw and heard along the way fully demonstrated Nyx's excellent governing experience. He was worthy of being the lord who once ruled a duchy. Even the Grand Duke of the weakest duchy was still a well-deserved monarch, and his governing ability was definitely no worse than that of a certain Luo male.
“Beep~beep~beep~beep!”
"What's that sound!" Roland suddenly heard the faint sound of a horn coming from afar.
"Enemy attack!" Roland suddenly reacted and urged the people around him. The sound of the horn was different from any force he knew. Roland naturally thought that it was an enemy attack. After all, only the orcs' inferior and messy horns could produce sounds of different tones.
"Go up to the city wall! Blow the horn! Gather the soldiers to prepare to defend the city! Send out all the cavalry to protect the people back to the city!" Roland said quickly, then turned around and ran towards the city wall, leaving behind a group of confused subordinates.
"Hurry, hurry, hurry!" Omsk climbed onto the roof next to him with a tiptoe, and caught up with Roland in a few jumps.
"Your Highness, I will go and command the defense first!" Omsk only left his voice in the air, but he rushed out quickly.
…
"Why don't you blow the war horn?" Roland climbed up to the top of the city wall and quickly grabbed Omsk in front of him and asked.
"Your Highness... take a look for yourself..." Omsk said with some emotion.
On the distant horizon, a tattered red flag flutters in the wind, and a slightly dilapidated redbud flower blooms proudly among the cross patterns...