Seeking Aid

"System check-in!" Roland began his daily routine check-in.

"Give me something useful!" Roland truly had no energy left to complain about the pile of random junk the system kept giving him—magic primers, a golden statue of himself...

"Check-in successful! Congratulations, Host, you have obtained 100 Lagrange City Guards."

"A real drop?" Roland said in surprise, but this time he did not choose to summon the unit. The reason was too embarrassing to say aloud... He did not have enough stored food to feed another hundred mouths. Flowing City had been doing fairly well through fishing and hunting, but he could not forget its trait of attracting refugees. Its population was growing little by little every day. Unless it was necessary, Roland truly did not want to support another hundred people...

As their name implied, the Lagrange City Guards were the guards of Lagrange City. This army was made entirely of Novice Warriors cast out from elite units, men with no hope of advancing further. They were mainly responsible for defense and public order within Lagrange City. But if anyone looked down on them merely because they were a second-line force, they would certainly regret it... If they had to be described in one phrase, it would be this: they were soldiers one could always rely on. As melee units, their abilities were terrifyingly well-rounded. Their status as Professional Soldiers granted them powerful physiques and remarkable carrying capacity. Combined with Lagrange infantry's fine steel plate armor, leather under-armor, and linen outer garments, they could withstand all kinds of intense attacks. Their half-body fine steel shields could block wide-ranging assaults, while their three-meter steel spears made their attacks fierce without sacrificing agility. Fine steel longswords supplemented their close-combat weapons. The Lagrange hand crossbows slung at their waists allowed them to strike enemy troops within a hundred meters, and the five fine steel javelins in their packs could freely slaughter all kinds of lightly armored troops within fifty meters.

"My lord, the horses are ready." Caslo walked straight in. There had not yet been time to repair the damaged wooden door.

"Alright, let's go!" Roland glanced at the small pile of gems in his system storage, wondering whether they could be exchanged for enough supplies. He should have taken more. Roland had focused only on collecting Gold Coins and overlooked the gems within the mountain of gold. Thinking of it, he could not help sighing. What a miscalculation!

"Hyah!" Accompanied by ten Knights, Roland and Caslo set out northward.

Roland had not wanted to take the Knights with him. Another man meant another source of strength, and Caslo alone would have been enough to handle any trouble. Yet everyone had strongly opposed him in unanimous agreement. Roland was now the King of Lagrange; how pathetic would a King without even any Squires be? It would not merely disgrace King Roland, but the entire kingdom. In the end, after much persuasion from Roland, they agreed to let him take only ten men. Roland was not one for showing off, but he was still deeply envious of a certain show-off King from the Woodland Realm who traveled with thousands of Professional Soldiers. After all, everyone hoped to return home in glory; few wanted to walk through the night in fine clothes.

Passing the Long Lake, which had already begun to freeze, Roland rubbed his hands together. In the distant lake, the ruins of Lake-town remained clearly visible. Roland clenched his fist and swore that he would rebuild the place someday. Caslo, meanwhile, seemed eager to go in and search for treasure again. After all, during their last visit, he had found quite a bit of easily stored dried food and various tools.

In the distance, the towering Erebor rose majestically. Roland's group arrived at River Valley City at the foot of the mountain. By then, the city's weeds and ruined houses had been roughly cleared away. Bard was leading everyone in the bustling reconstruction effort, while only a few guards stood watch on the damaged walls.

"Halt!" The only soldier at the city gate raised his spear and stopped Roland.

"Huh? Are you King Roland?" The soldier had clearly recognized Roland's banner.

"Yes, I came to see Bard." Roland smiled.

"Then please wait a moment. I need to report your arrival." Although the soldier was familiar with Roland, he still remembered his duty.

"Alright, then I'll trouble you." Roland did not mind the soldier's breach of etiquette.

Before long, the soldier came jogging back out, with a figure close behind him.

"Bard!" Roland greeted him with a smile.

"Hey, Roland! It's great to see you." Bard embraced Roland.

"Why have you come back?" Bard asked curiously. By all rights, Roland should have been building his territory alongside his people. Why had he suddenly returned to Erebor?

"I've run into a huge problem..." Roland complained.

"What happened? Did you encounter an Orc army?" The smile froze on Bard's face. He glanced at the Knights behind Roland and found only ten of them, along with the Wyvern Knight who had displayed overwhelming prowess during the Battle of Erebor. His heart immediately sank. What kind of Orc force could swallow a professional soldier army of more than a hundred Knights and archers? Even if it was not as numerous as the Orcs in the Battle of Erebor, it could not be far off. Wasn't even the Wyvern Knight fleeing in defeat?

"What are you thinking? It's not Orcs!" Seeing Bard's expression grow darker and darker, Roland immediately realized that the man was frightening himself...

"Huh? Not Orcs? Then what trouble could you possibly have run into?" Bard asked, puzzled.

"Famine and cold..." Roland said, word by word.

"..." Bard opened his mouth, but in the end, he was powerless to help. The people of Lake-town had already been exploited by their mayor, and after Smaug destroyed Lake-town, their lives had only become even more difficult. If the Woodland Elves had not offered aid, Bard's own situation would likely not have been much better.

"So I came to find the Dwarves of Erebor, hoping to buy some tools and food," Roland slowly explained his plan.

The two equally impoverished Kings looked at each other for a long time before finally letting out a sigh. Life was too hard...

After bidding Bard farewell, Roland hurried toward Erebor without stopping. Before long, tall Dwarf statues appeared before him. A group of Dwarves was skillfully using tools to hoist stone blocks of various shapes. They appeared to be repairing the city gate.

"Hey, Balin!" Roland called with a smile. Balin was indeed the easiest Dwarf from the expedition to recognize; his snow-white beard and hair made him exceptionally distinctive.

"Oh! King Roland!" Balin bowed in greeting. The Dwarves held the human lord who had led his army into battle at their darkest hour and saved the entire Dwarf kingdom in the highest esteem.

"How are things here?" Roland asked cheerfully.

"Wonderful! It feels like home... Oh! Greetings, knight Caslo!" Balin recognized the Wyvern Knight who had slaughtered enemies in every direction that day.

"Greetings, Lord Balin." Caslo remained as humble as ever.

"Is there anything I can help you with?" Balin looked toward Roland.

"Of course. Our people are desperately short of food and tools!" Roland anxiously explained that the people who had come to seek refuge under him lacked both clothing and food.

"Hmm! That is indeed a serious problem. I'll take you to see the king at once." Balin also realized the gravity of the situation. Roland had come seeking aid. Having watched Roland and the others depart back then, Balin naturally knew that Roland had not possessed many supplies. Balin could also understand what Roland meant about his people returning. After all, many Dwarves wandering across the land had received word that Thorin had reclaimed Erebor, and great numbers of them were moving with their families, preparing to return to their homeland.