Nyx was enjoying Roland's lifting service with great pleasure. Standing on the ground, Nyx stretched out her hands with a look of joy, waiting for Roland, who was riding on the horse, to carry her onto the horse.
"Come here, my little princess!" Roland exerted force with his arms and immediately took Nyx into his arms lightly. A strong masculine breath came to her face. Nyx snuggled gently in Roland's arms and breathed in the scent of sunshine freely.
"Okay, my Prince Charming, shall we set off?" Nyx gracefully raised her swan-like neck.
"Of course! Let's go!" Roland laughed and rushed out with his horse's belly. The soft sunlight sprinkled on Roland and Nyx, as if covering them with a layer of golden coat. People walking on the road stopped and saluted the two newlyweds. The eyes of the people were filled with blessings and joy.
"Look at this picturesque landscape! Look at these people and farmland! This is the landscape I built for you!" Roland said to Nyx with a high-spirited look, waving his whip.
"Puchi!" Nyx, who had never experienced the era of information explosion, was instantly amused by Roland's childish love words and burst into laughter. The love in his eyes could not be concealed at all.
"This is the country and the people I want to protect. This is the smile I want to protect, your smile!" Roland, who has been single since birth, seemed to have come to his senses at this moment, and all kinds of cheesy love words came out of his mouth.
"Well, I love you too, honey...but can we just watch the road..." Nyx said shyly.
"Ouch!" A great king raised his head and kissed the beauty in his arms madly, and was horrified to find that the warhorse under his crotch had left the path that was originally trampled out by the soldiers to the Tuput Forest and ran away to who knows where.
"Whoa~" Roland pulled his warhorse and gently took out his shield to block in front of Nyx. This subconscious action immediately made the young girl feel amorous.
Roland, who knew the death of Balin, King of Moria, was very careful to protect himself and those around him, especially in unfamiliar places. Even an orc could kill a careless hero with a poisoned arrow! So Roland subconsciously protected the defenseless Nyx.
"Knight! Find the way back! Lead us to the right path!" Roland ordered. This time he learned his lesson. Life taught him to bow his head. The noble king still lost to... getting lost?
"Okay, it's okay!" Nix looked at the angry Roland and gently poked his angry face.
"I'm sorry, it's my fault. I shouldn't have put you in danger, my love!" Roland looked at the beauty in his arms affectionately.
All the knights around turned their heads away and looked around with wandering eyes as if nothing had happened.
"Hehe, hurry up! Don't cause any trouble for me! If I don't see delicious food at noon! Humph!" Nix pretended to be angry and raised her pink fist.
…
"Welcome, Your Highness! On behalf of all the people of Tuput, I welcome you, and as the host of this place, I hope you can give me a chance to show your hospitality." Bader pounded his chest and bowed.
"Wow! They're so strong!" Nyx exclaimed in a low voice. After all, in Nyx's eyes, these two-meter-tall centaurs were like giants, especially their terrifyingly explosive muscles. Because they have no organs, their bodies are made entirely of solid muscle, which gives centaurs their extraordinary physical strength. They are the best soldiers!
"Of course! Your Excellency, Baron, I believe you will give us a pleasant trip." Roland smiled and stated his purpose. That's right! I'm here for a vacation! Roland almost said that.
"Of course, no problem. Although there is no unique scenery here, the unique forest experience and the Centaur cuisine will definitely give you and His Highness the Grand Duke an unforgettable memory." Bader also became much more tactful. It seems that after dealing with humans, the upright and xenophobic Centaurs have become more artistic in their speech.
"Niya! Please entertain the two princes for me!" Balder shouted into the forest.
"Excuse me, Your Highness. I need to go hunt some game for you." Balder nodded to Roland, then set off with the hunting team, carrying a huge longbow.
"Dragon God! Look at their muscles! They are natural knights! The best cavalry!"
"Except for the Dragon Knights... no other knight can compare to them!"
The accompanying knights whispered, discussing their opinions on the centaurs. After all, no matter how skilled they were at oneness or concentricity, how could they be as effective as their own bodies? They were pristine! Furthermore, the centaurs possessed innate skills comparable to the glory of a knight, so at the same level and in the same numbers, human knights could never match the centaurs. Unfortunately, centaurs were few and far between. This tribe of a few hundred was already considered a giant among the centaurs. Most centaurs wandered Middle-earth in families or clans.
"Your Highnesses, please follow me." The Centaur respectfully extended his hand to lead the way for Roland and the others.
After passing through the tree-lined avenue, the area finally opened up. A fortress had suddenly emerged from the relatively spacious clearing in the forest. The previously simple camp had vanished, replaced by a five-meter-high wooden wall. It looked as if the logs had been hammered into the ground by the centaurs, then braided with ropes and covered with mud, grass, and other materials. It looked like a good defense, but there weren't many centaurs training and guarding the area. It seemed the centaurs were also facing a population shortage. The young and strong had all gone hunting, leaving only the women, elderly, and children to farm and raise livestock in the forest. Roland looked around the town after entering and saw no more than ten centaurs...
"Forget it, the landlord has no surplus food!" Roland originally planned to satisfy his kingly desires and summon his troops to join him in the expedition to Moria, but after seeing the Centaurs... forget it. It was already difficult for them to feed themselves, and Roland probably wouldn't be able to collect enough taxes now!
However, Roland had made a huge mistake. Although the Centaurs were poor, their strong physiques were enough to fight against the monsters! Centaurs had plenty of magic crystals, hard currency that was more valuable than gold coins.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness. My husband is out hunting with the hunting team and may not be able to come back today. Please forgive his rudeness. He was just forced to do so to make a living for his tribe. It was definitely not intentional." Seeing that dinner time was approaching and the Centaur Lord still hadn't made any movement, his wife Niya hurried in to apologize to Roland.
"It doesn't matter. We all live on bread and milk!" Roland could understand the burden on Balder's shoulders.
"Thank you for your forgiveness. Can I prepare lunch for you?" Niya asked gratefully.
"Well, thank you for your trouble. By the way, keep everything simple! No need to make it too complicated!" Roland said considerately. He found that the Centaurs didn't have an easy life either.