"Main Quest: He who wears the crown must bear its weight! Build a complete city to live up to your title as king. Required facilities: walls at least 5 meters high, at least 10 defensive buildings! Blacksmith shops, mills, leather workshops, etc., at least 500 soldiers, and at least 5,000 Lagran civilians."
"Holy crap!" Roland was stunned. What the hell was this? Were the requirements for becoming a king so low now? Could a small town become king? It wasn't impossible. After all, Bard had become king in Riverdale, so becoming king himself seemed like a no-brainer. It was just these 5,000 Raglan civilians that made him uncomfortable. This was Middle-earth! Where could he find any Raglan civilians?
"System, what's going on with this civilian?" Roland asked the system tentatively, adhering to the principle of asking the system when in doubt.
"Host, please check the territory page yourself!" The system's cold voice revealed a hint of disdain.
"Territory page?" Roland didn't know that he had unlocked another function.
Roland followed his instructions and opened the territory page. He took a closer look and immediately became furious. Look at this! Is this what people say?
Territory scope: River Rapids City.
It’s okay that the lonely Rapids City appears on the page, after all, I have just started my business, but the following is too much.
River Rapids:
Area: One kilometer in radius.
Building units: 1 dilapidated lord's castle, 100 dilapidated houses, a dilapidated stone wall that has been in disrepair for a long time, and a well that barely produces water.
Troops: 203
Population: 0
Comment: The lonely king leads his remaining people back to their homeland. This ruin, barely enough to provide shelter from the elements, offers them some comfort. Darkness still threatens the new king, but compared to the lifeless town, its formidable military might is perhaps its only commendable feature. Note: There are no civilians in this town!
Abilities: As the only territory of the Kingdom of Lagrang in Middle-earth, it attracts the remnants of Lagrang. The system will guide a wave of wandering Lagrang civilians to arrive every day, hoping that the lord can properly accommodate them.
Allows the recruitment of local civilians to train Flood Infantry.
"Uh..." His initial anger gave way to surprise. Although he'd been utterly chastened by the system's comments, Roland was touched by the ability to attract Lagran civilians. When had a system, even more ruthless than the capitalists, been so generous? After all, the civilians of Swiftwater Town could be converted into Swiftwater infantry at any time, giving Roland a constant source of troops.
"Huh? These are our wandering tribesmen!" The Badanyan archers on guard saw a group of refugees with large and small bags at a glance. Although they were extremely poor, they still held a crudely made Lagrang dragon flag in their team, which enabled the Badanyan archers to quickly determine their identities.
"Damn it! System, can I take back the emotion I felt earlier?" Roland grinned at the group of refugees who were attracted to him.
Not to mention the pitifully small number of people, there were only two adults among the seven people, and the rest were half-grown children. They looked like a family... Roland was frowning and thinking.
"Plop!" A row of people suddenly knelt down, which scared Roland. When he was about to tell them to get up, the male host in the lead spoke.
"Dragon God! It turns out that there are still imperial armies and lords in this world... We... We thought that the lords were all sacrificed! We have been wandering for so long and finally saw the dragon flag of Lagran flying again..." The man choked.
"..." Roland reached out and helped them up. For the first time, he felt the heavy responsibility of being a king.
"You are safe! The imperial army will protect you! You... never have to leave your homeland again." Thousands of words turned into a sigh, and Roland patted their shoulders.
Roland looked at the territory page again and found that the population had increased from 0 to 7.
"It'll take forever for these 5,000 civilians to be released!" Roland complained helplessly.
"Be on guard!" Renault suddenly shouted. Everyone quickly put down the planks and stones in their hands and quickly climbed the wall. The civilian family who had just arrived habitually huddled beside a dilapidated wooden house, shivering. Roland felt distressed watching them. How much suffering must they have endured to be so skilled at hiding in a corner...
"What's wrong, Renault?" Roland jumped onto the stone wall and looked at Roland.
"The war mage is coming! I feel the magic of a fourth-level mage!" Renault said solemnly. Although the war mage could not do anything to Renault, the leader of the Paladins, and Kaslo, the Grand Dragon Knight, the other soldiers and Roland would definitely not be able to withstand the terrifying war magic.
"War Mage?" Roland suddenly thought of the griffin and earth mage he had purchased.
"Don't get too excited. Maybe they're one of ours. After all, more and more survivors of Lagran are returning." Roland pointed to the refugee family that had arrived to cover up the fact that he had purchased the wizard at a high price.
"Maybe you are right, but we still have to be careful. After all, the current Rapid City is still very fragile. A high-level spell can destroy us." Renault still did not let down his guard.
"Respected King Raglan! Radil is at your service!" A loud voice came, and an old man in a khaki robe rode a skinny horse from afar. Although it was a thousand meters away, the voice echoed clearly in everyone's ears.
"Oh! Your Highness, your glory will shine forever, the Lagran Empire will be revived in your hands, and you will be promoted from Your Highness to Your Majesty!" The old man came to the wall solemnly and saluted Roland on the stone wall.
"Welcome, Master Radil! May the glory of the empire shine on you and me forever!" Roland responded with a smile, staring at him curiously.
"Hahaha, Your Highness, these griffin eggs are the old man's gift to you." Radil smiled and took out a cloth bag from the bag on his horse's back. Judging from the horse's reaction, the bag contained a lot of weight.
"Oh! Dragon God! There are actually 5 griffin eggs!" Kaslo jumped down from the wall, excitedly opened the cloth bag and looked at the griffin eggs.
"Come on, Mage Radil, we'll go arrange a place for you to stay. By the way, I'll leave these eggs of Kaslo to you to take care of." Roland walked down the wall and pushed open the door made of branches to invite Radil in.
"Huh? Dragon Knight? Your Highness, you have indeed received the favor of Raglan!" Radil expressed surprise that the Dragon Knight could still see Raglan, and at the same time blessed Roland.
"Hahaha, you're welcome. We still need your help in building this place." Roland complimented. After all, every earth mage is a qualified builder. They can use magic to construct stone bricks engraved with magic patterns to build cities.
"Okay, let's disperse. Let's try to clear this place out as soon as possible. Oh, and arrange a safe and clean house for the civilians who have just arrived." Roland met the refugees' grateful gazes.
"Thank you, sir..." The refugees choked with excitement.
"It's okay. Tomorrow will definitely be better..." Roland chuckled and looked at the turbulent Rapid River.