"Huh!" Heavy breathing mixed with heavy footsteps came. The earth trembled with the resonance of the footsteps, and scattered pieces of soil jumped up and down on the ground.
A fiery red dragon banner appeared on the horizon, its golden holy dragon emblem gleaming in the sunlight. Rows of neat shield walls appeared before everyone's eyes. Tide infantrymen clad in heavy mail formed neat formations and gathered under the banner. Behind them stood 500 heavily armed foot archers—the Badaniyan Archers! On each flank stood 25 El Nino Rangers, swords and bows in hand. Despite their small number, they were the most formidable killers hidden within. Their title as Dragon Hunters endowed them with the courage to fight any foe to the death! Even these 50 El Nino Rangers, even at a distance, were enough to inflict heavy casualties on the Centaurs.
"Woo woo woo~" Young centaurs and their mothers emerged from the withered woods, followed by a dozen old centaurs, trembling with their weapons raised, as if they were ready to fight to the death with Roland and the others.
Vanerwei stepped forward quickly, and after speaking in an incomprehensible Elvish language, these old, weak, and sick people finally put down their weapons, but the vigilance and anger in their eyes could not be concealed.
"My army is coming!" Roland turned his head to look at the infantrymen who were slowly approaching, and a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth. Even if the Centaurs really wanted to fight again, they would have no chance. The multiple arrow coverage shooting of 700 Badanian archers could make the Centaurs heartbroken to the point of becoming autistic. Moreover, there was also the Ranger El Nino, known as the Dragon Hunter. More importantly, the Rapid Infantrymen with outstanding stagnation power could completely prevent the Centaurs from charging. If a real fight broke out, there would be nothing left but slaughter!
"Your Highness!" Renault rode over, the rhythmic sacred aura on his body showing that he had blessed everyone along the way so that they could come quickly.
"Thank you for your hard work!" Roland nodded affirmatively. Although Renault sometimes had some flaws, he was definitely reliable at critical moments! What's going on with the Northern Governor?
"What did they say, Your Highness?" Renault looked at the centaurs who were confronting the knights and mounted archers.
"It's like this..." Roland quickly told Renault the story of the Centaurs.
"So tragic?" Renault's eyes widened. Wasn't this a typical scapegoat? If it weren't for this encounter, who would have known that the poor Centaurs had sacrificed so much behind the Battle of Lonely Mountain?
"But you know what, it really works!" Renault suddenly smiled mysteriously, licked his lips, and his eyes showed an expression that only Roland could understand.
"Doing this... isn't good..." Roland was a "child" who had received nine years of compulsory education, so honestly, this was a bit unethical...
"Isn't Your Highness tempted? This is a force comparable to 300 knights at the critical moment!" Renault whispered.
"Hey! What are you whispering about? We centaurs will not surrender! Our old and weak can't survive without this place!" Balder said, his neck stiff and his face flushed. He hadn't known this place was occupied by a lord before, and his face flushed with anger at Raglan's "invasion." Now that he knew the owner, his face flushed with shame. But Balder refused to retreat! Without their shelter, only the young and strong could survive in the late winter wilderness. The women, children, and the elderly would surely be left dead everywhere... He had no way to retreat.
"Your Highness, look, they can't survive if they leave here. Why not... do this?" Renault winked, his eyes full of anticipation.
"What are you talking about?" Caslo caught sight of the two men making faces and making small gestures from the corner of his eye, and couldn't help but frown. In such a solemn occasion before the two armies, why did it feel like they were just browsing the market? They were haggling over prices like old ladies buying vegetables.
"How about this?" Roland said with a guilty conscience. It just felt immoral.
"That's definitely the way it should be! A win-win situation!" Renault immediately gave a thumbs up.
"Is it really okay? Like this?" Roland wasn't sure.
"This is the best way!" Renault affirmed.
"Cough cough!" Roland raised his fist under his mouth and coughed lightly a few times, then straightened his clothes.
"Then, Lord Balder, in the name of King Raglan, I grant you this place to live for the winter! Let's temporarily name it Tuput Forest! From now on, you are the lord of this place! Now you can kneel down and pledge allegiance to me! Lord Balder of Tuput!" Roland said in a loud voice.
"What?" Vanerwe's jaw was dislocated instantly. All the elegance of the elves was thrown out of the window. King Roland was going to recruit a group of centaurs!
"This..." Kaslo's eyes twitched. Was his Highness crazy? Everyone knew that Centaurs were among the most xenophobic races in Middle-earth, and even ranked highly. He even dared to target Centaurs... He really had the airs of Emperor Lagrande...
"Tell me! Your! Choice!" Roland looked at Balder with cold eyes.
"Your Majesty, we only hope to stay for a while. We will definitely reward you in the future! There's no need to pledge allegiance..." Balder said stiffly as he looked at the Raglan army, which numbered over a thousand. It's not that he was weak, but he really couldn't defeat them! A whole army of a thousand professionals was something that even the Orc army had to take in with awe!
"Either surrender and be loyal to me! Or leave this place! Or... be buried here!" Roland didn't give him any chance to argue.
"..." Balder's eyes were red, and anger, unwillingness, struggle, helplessness, sadness and other emotions kept flashing in his eyes. Finally...
"Plop!" Balder's two front legs knelt down. He looked at the tribesmen behind him and closed his eyes in pain.
"Bader, the chieftain of the Tuput tribe, is willing to offer my loyalty to you! From now on, I will fight for you! I will respond to your call and orders, and also ask you to shelter me!" Balder said painfully with his eyes closed. For the stubborn Centaur, once they have sworn an oath of allegiance, they will never betray him in their entire life, because their belief in nature makes them extremely simple and loyal.
"I accept your allegiance! I appoint you as the Baron of Tuput! Tuput Forest will be your fiefdom! Your people will be your subjects! In your territory, you will enjoy the rights to collect taxes, recruit troops, manage government affairs, etc. At the same time, you need to abide by the laws of the country and fulfill your obligations! From now on, you will fight side by side with me, you will use the sword and plow in your hand to expand the territory and gain glory! The glory of Lagran will follow you! The Dragon God will protect you and me!" After saying this, Roland tapped Balder's shoulders with the tip of his sword.
"Stand up! Baron Balder!" Roland smiled with satisfaction. This wave of profits was worth it!
"Good fellow..." Kaslo muttered. What a big move Renault and Roland had made! They had fooled the whole clan in a moment!