Roland trudged back to Rapid City, the weight of his recent victory against the Water Watcher pressing heavily on his mind. The brown bread in his hand felt as hard and unyielding as the winter itself, each bite a reminder of the difficulties that plagued his small territory. The memory of the fishnets and the Galen boat, both smashed to pieces in the battle, made his heart sink. He stared at the unappetizing bread, his appetite as cold as the season.
"It's too difficult for me..." Roland muttered, his voice tinged with exhaustion as he opened the system's territory page.
The image of Rapid City hovered before him, a disheartening sight. As he focused his consciousness on the page, a stream of information flowed into his mind:
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**Rapid City:**
- **Area:** One kilometer in radius.
- **Construction Units:** Dilapidated lord's castle, 82 crumbling dwellings, 18 weak dwellings, dilapidated stone walls (under repair), stone wells, smithy.
- **Troops:** 303
- **Population:** 104 (Trainable civilians: 31)
- **Evaluation:** The lonely king leads the remnants of his people back to their homeland. This relic, barely sheltered from the wind and rain, offers little comfort. The darkness still threatens the new king. With no productive capacity except for fishing, the military might be the town's only strength. Note: The town lacks war potential, and a single defeat could spell doom.
- **Ability:** As the only territory of the Lagrang Kingdom in Middle-earth, it will attract remnants of Lagrang. The system will guide a wave of wandering civilians to arrive each day, hoping the lord can provide for them.
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Roland sighed heavily. "Outrageous!" he exclaimed, dismissing the system screen with a wave of his hand. After so much effort, his population remained pitifully low at 104, with only 31 men fit for service. Worse still, the town had no production capacity beyond fishing. The lava forging furnace was impressive, but without an alchemist, it was of little use. And the dwarves in the Blacksmithing Mountain could forge far better weapons than his own smiths.
Winter made everything more challenging. Roland couldn't risk sending his people out to expand the city or hunt for food—orc attacks were too great a threat. For now, his people were little more than mouths to feed, their only contribution being the construction of the city's defenses.
As he passed by the blacksmith shop, Roland spotted Ren, hard at work on the magic power forging furnace. The sight of a finely crafted steel longsword brought a measure of relief. At least the soldiers' equipment was being repaired, though the situation with the knights was more dire. Their leather armor, once a crucial layer of protection, was now in tatters. The knights, once formidable in their triple-layered armor, were reduced to just two layers of steel, with the leather linings worn beyond use.
"This is nothing like the game," Roland thought bitterly. In the game, equipment durability could be restored with a bit of gold. But here, everything had to be replaced. He finally understood why knights were so powerful, yet so few—no one could afford to maintain them. After the intense Battle of Lonely Mountain, his knights were in worse shape than ever, their strength greatly diminished by the loss of equipment.
"God, give me infantry... I'll be honest! I won't play knights in the future..." Roland sighed, feeling the weight of his responsibilities.
He knew he needed to build a leather workshop, a strategic necessity for producing new armor. Home-tanned leather simply wouldn't cut it. But for now, he decided to visit the system's mall, hoping to find something useful.
He scrolled through the options, dismissing most of them out of hand.
"City Guard? No need."
"Lagrand Knight... Get out! I can't afford it."
"A high-level fire staff? What do I need it for?"
Then, something caught his eye: "Divine weapon! Ring of Glory!"
Roland's heart skipped a beat. The Ring of Glory was a legendary item, one of the Nine Holy Rings of the Knights, and its power was the stuff of myths. It had the ability to enhance the knights' skills, making them even more formidable.
The Nine Holy Rings were the antithesis of the Nine Magical Rings worn by the Nazgul. Each ring represented a knightly virtue, from Glory to Sacrifice, and granted extraordinary abilities. The Ring of Glory, in particular, could amplify the power of the entire knightly order under its command.
But the price—500,000 wealth—made him hesitate. "So cheap?" he thought, then quickly realized why. The Ring of Glory, while powerful, was only useful in specific circumstances, unlike the more versatile Ring of Sacrifice or the Ring of Fraternity.
Still, Roland knew the potential it held. "Woooooo... I went back to the night before liberation and bought it," he mumbled, feeling the sting of his decision as his wealth shrank by more than half.
With a deep breath, he slid the ring onto his right index finger. The burden of leadership was heavy, but with the Ring of Glory, he hoped to tip the scales in his favor.