The Reluctant King

Okay, while these 500 conscript light infantry are a bit weak, they're at least qualified recruits. If I have to shed tears equipping them myself, it's still better than nothing. Roland really wanted to disband this mob of militia; keeping them around is just a waste of food! Wait? Food!

"Damn it! This is like feeding 500 extra mouths for free?" Roland's eyes widened as he finally understood what a useless unit the system had given him! These light infantry are useless even for defending the city. You can't expect unarmored infantry with only one-handed swords to defend a city, can you? Using them as construction workers would be too wasteful! They're a typical case of being tasteless but a shame to discard!

"Sigh..." Roland sighed helplessly, slumping dejectedly at the base of the wall. No one knew how desperate the future Emperor of Lagrange was today.

"Your Majesty..." Reno was about to speak when Roland waved him to stop.

"Go on... Are we short on food or clothing?" Roland asked weakly, looking up.

"Uh... Your Majesty... we're short on both..." Reno said cautiously.

"Mm, I understand!" Roland grunted. His head throbbed. It seemed he'd have to go pester his little buddy Thorin again.

Roland and Caslo set off north with the 500 conscript light infantry. Along the way, the conscript light infantry's performance could be said to have lowered Roland's perception of imperial soldiers to a new low.

Can you imagine? A dozen or so wild Orcs wielding wooden clubs were actually chasing 500 conscript light infantry. These fleeing light infantry even scattered the accompanying knights, truly opening Caslo and Roland's eyes.

Holding a bloody Orc head, Roland stood before the light infantry with a frosty expression, angrily throwing the head on the ground and roaring, "Is this the army of the Empire? Is this your honor?"

"I can understand you! Without fine equipment and good training, you can say your combat effectiveness is poor. But I never expected you to be this bad!" Roland continued to roar angrily.

"500 men! Chased by sixteen Orcs with wooden clubs! And dozens of you were injured by wooden clubs? Are the things hanging from your waists firewood?" Roland was going mad.

After venting his anger, Roland directly turned his horse and galloped towards the Lonely Mountain, leaving the useless light infantry far behind.

"Keep up, my lord!" Caslo frowned and quickly told the ten accompanying knights to follow Roland, preventing any accidents, while he stayed behind to escort the light infantry to Erebor.

Caslo sat on his warhorse, gazing at the dense mass of conscript light infantry. His eyes swept over their terrified gazes, their worn-out clothes, and the single-handed swords that offered little protection, before he muttered, "Which idiot actually armed these civilians! Can these guys even go to battle? Letting them fight is practically a crime!"

"Thorin, I need your help!" Roland got straight to the point upon meeting Thorin Oakenshield.

"..." Thorin's heart trembled involuntarily as he looked at Roland's serious expression. After being extorted by Roland last time, Thorin had felt heartbroken for a long time and hadn't recovered yet.

"What's wrong? Did the Orcs attack?" Thorin asked tentatively.

"No, it's about our wandering people returning," Roland frowned.

"What's wrong? Not enough food and clothing? Dain of the Iron Hills just sent a lot, saying it was prepared for our kinsmen in the Blue Mountains, but they haven't arrived yet. If you urgently need it, you can take these supplies, as you need them more." Thorin, whose curse had been lifted, was still very warm and friendly.

"No! You have to see this!" Roland pulled Thorin to the outside of a large hall. Standing at the entrance, Thorin clearly saw a group of ragged humans devouring roasted meat and bread, along with Dwarven rum. Judging by their ravenous appearance, they seemed to have been starving for a long time.

"By my beard! Did you move your entire household to Erebor?" Thorin exclaimed, looking at the dense crowd feasting. Anyone who didn't know better would think Roland had moved his home in.

"No, these are the newly returned Lagrange light infantry..." Roland's face turned red. It was too embarrassing! This group looked like they hadn't eaten in eight lifetimes, stuffing food into their mouths frantically.

"By my beard! They're soldiers? This is a crime!" Thorin's focus was clearly different from Roland's. Thorin looked at the ragged conscript light infantry with great surprise. These guys, apart from their broken swords, showed no other characteristics of soldiers!

"Roland, you didn't seriously conscript these civilians as soldiers, did you?" Thorin suddenly turned his head, as if seeing Roland for the first time.

"No, in fact, they are soldiers, just conscripted militia..." Roland didn't dare to call them light infantry anymore, only militia, because these conscript light infantry were truly too light!

"So?" Thorin seemed to have guessed something.

"Use your specialty and get them some equipment. It doesn't need to be too good; their physique isn't enough to support heavy armor," Roland stated, believing no one was better at forging than Dwarves.

"Come on, tell me what you need. As long as you can name it, I can provide it in terms of ironware!" Thorin proudly patted his chest and led Roland into the Dwarven armory.

"Take whatever you like! See what they need? Take whatever catches your eye, consider it a gift from me! My friend!" Thorin said generously.

Roland was envious. This was the legendary 'truly has a mine at home'? Besides the Dwarves, no other force could casually equip 500 people with full sets of gear.

"Thank you so much!" Roland couldn't help but thank Thorin. The early investment was worth it. What was the most precious thing in this war-torn Middle-earth? Weapons! A force that controlled a large amount of weapons and equipment could raise a large army at any time. Although the quality wasn't guaranteed, it was very advantageous for defending cities.

"Uh... right, Dwarven weapons and armor are a bit small for them. I'll have Balin and the others measure their sizes and modify them," Thorin said, slapping his forehead as he remembered the height difference between the two races.

"Thank you then," Roland nodded.

"Do you have any recommendations, Thorin?" Roland felt that this Dwarf King, born for war, must understand the needs of his subordinates better than he did.

"What is your definition of them?" Thorin asked, looking up seriously.

"Defense, I suppose. After all, with their quality and skill... it's too difficult for them to charge into Orc formations!" Roland said bitterly. These conscript light infantry truly embodied uselessness and cannon fodder to the extreme...

"Alright, my recommendation is to use three-meter-long Dwarven spears for their weapons. This will give them enough space to keep a distance from the Orcs!" Thorin thought for a moment and recommended spears, as spears have a very low skill floor and don't require much technique.

"Okay, that's a good suggestion," Roland agreed, as spears and lances were indeed excellent weapons. The five-meter-long anti-cavalry pikes of the Swift River Infantry had left a deep impression on Roland.

"As for armor... actually, for their positioning, thick leather armor would be most suitable, allowing them to be more flexible when defending. Unfortunately, we don't produce much leather armor here. How about fine iron chainmail?" Thorin thought and finally came up with chainmail that wouldn't hinder flexibility while ensuring defense.

"Good," Roland nodded.

"For shields, let's use iron kite shields," Thorin didn't have many recommendations for shields and opted for the common kite shields. It was impossible to have these people carry tower shields; they wouldn't be able to handle them.

"What kind of self-defense weapon do you want? Longsword, hand axe, or warhammer?" Thorin asked.

"A battle axe, as it's easy to use." Roland originally wanted to choose a longsword, but considering their performance, he decided a simple and crude hand axe would be much more practical.

"Alright! Is that all?" Thorin looked up at Roland, asking if he had anything else to add.

"Do Dwarves produce bows and arrows?" Roland suddenly blurted out.

"Oh! By my beard! Although Dwarven archers aren't as famous as Elf archers, they aren't that insignificant! While Dwarven bows and arrows can't compare to Elven ones, they are equally reliable!" Thorin's eyes widened, quite taken aback by Roland.

"One bow per person," Roland thought. After all, archery could be practiced. Since they had nothing to do in winter, they could train their archery. He didn't expect them to reach the level of Erlino Rangers or Bannaria Archers, but if they had the accuracy of Lagrange City Guards, Roland would be satisfied.

"All right, add another 100,000 arrows! It's all just old stock anyway, you'll need them!" Thorin said with a half-joking tone.

"Kili! Prepare food for 500 people for 6 months!" Thorin called down to Kili, who was passing through the hall.

"Hey! Kili! Taulier?" Roland exclaimed in surprise, seeing an Elf in the Dwarf city. It seemed the ill-fated couple from their past lives had successfully found their way to each other.

"Hey! King Roland! So good to see you! Why don't you come have a few drinks with us?" Kili invited warmly.

"No, I won't disturb you. I wish you both happiness!" Roland said, winking at the pair.

One update every day during the New Year period. If I have time, there will be two. Thank you all for your support. If you see this, please cast your recommendation votes, thank you.