The Ultimate Evolution

by Little Merger

I traverse along the pathway of darkness and imagination... Entering the realm born by human imaginations... Challenging Harry Potter’s magic, commanding the great Pirates of the Caribbean. Terminating the Terminator’s strength, tearing apart the Matrix’s Hallucination. Virus is my slave. Endurance my inheritance. Growing and hunting in the boundless universe. Breaking through boun

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The Ultimate Evolution #Chapter 837: City on the Water - Read The Ultimate Evolution Chapter 837: City on the Water Online - All Page - NOVEL NEXT

Chapter 837: City on the Water

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

When Glorfindel was hit by the tentacle, the pain was as unforgettable as the childhood memory of falling face-first onto a rock from a tree!

His vision went black with sudden dizziness and he almost lost his consciousness due to the pain. Fortunately, he had a strong willpower, and he forced himself to use his signature skill: 'Twilight Cross Slash'!

As he vanished and reappeared again in front of the terrifying tentacle, he furiously slashed out. The destructive X-mark once again showed up in the air!

Glorfindel's 'Twilight Cross Slash' used the power of space-time, so anywhere it cut would be severed from the current dimension. It's an unstoppable force that can cut through anything!

But! The tentacle belonged to a formidable creature that can travel between realms purely relying on the fearsome strength of its body. Even the terrifying dimensional vortexes connecting different dimensions could do nothing to it, let alone the temporary dimensional crack created by Glorfindel's skill.

The Elves watched on in surprise as the 'Twilight Cross Slash' emerged, reached its climax, and dispersed back into nothingness after passing through the tentacle, yet the tentacle still towered majestically over the water as if it was ridiculing Glorfindel!

Glorfindel looked at the tentacle in disbelief. He suddenly roared and flashed a few times, throwing out 3 continuous 'Twilight Cross Slashes' which hit the tentacle almost at the same time!

This was Glorfindel's strongest attack!

Unfortunately, it was futile. It didn't matter if he threw out ten, a hundred, or a thousand 'Twilight Cross Slashes', it looked like they would all be futile.

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Glorfindel's heart rapidly sank.

He suddenly realised the source of his unease. It was this creature in front of him whose strength felt as deep as the vast ocean!

At the same time, he also realised how foolish it was to fight this damned creature in water.

Glorfindel has encountered many situations that were more dangerous than this throughout his life, so he abandoned his pride and did what he do best - running away.

Just like when he attacked, he disappeared in a flash. The other Elves on the water fortress held their breath in anticipation of the attack he would launch next. But contrary to their expectation, when he popped up again, he was already more than 500 meters away, escaping like a dog with its tail between its legs!

"Did Lord Glorfindel just…run away?" a young Elvish girl that was rooted to the spot asked hesitantly.

Her voice was as soft as a whisper, but it caused a huge wave among the Elves on the fortress!

They watched in horror as the black tentacle stabbed forward menacingly the moment that Glorfindel once again vanished into thin air.

The tentacle bizarrely vanished just like Glorfindel did. Evidently, the owner of the tentacle had a grasp on dimensional power that was no weaker than Glorfindel's.

A lot of Elves on the fortress found it difficult to breathe. Only now did they recognise that even though Lady Melody's Protector, the human called Seaman, wasn't that strong himself, but the behemoth he summoned under the water was a hundred times stronger than what they imagined!

The strength was overwhelming enough to crush all conspiracies and selfish intentions!

The colossal tentacle's speed was astonishing when it stabbed out, but it was considerably slow in retracting back. All throughout the retracting process, the huge suckers on it kept wriggling and sucking on the energy leaked out by the dimensional rifts. The tentacle was finally pulled back after quite some time. It's tip was curled up.

Grasped in the tentacle was the great Twilight Elf, Glorfindel! His face was full of disbelief as he roared helplessly. His signature golden hair was currently wet and pushed flat against his head, losing its lustre. He cut a pathetic figure.

The water fortress approached Glorfindel under Sheyan's order.

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Sheyan wanted to let all the Elves take a closer look at Glorfindel. The same proud, untouchable Glorfindel who now looked like a beaten dog in the hands of their Holy Beast guardians.

Presented at such a sight, the images of the Ocean-freak of Moria and Paul as strong "Holy Beasts" would undoubtedly be established in their hearts, while the image of Glorfindel would simultaneously take a nosedive! Sheyan wanted to climb up by stepping on Glorfindel's head!

Glorfindel was so humiliated that he would have prefer death. He howled in anger and tried in vain to struggle free while hurling a string of curses at Melody.

Melody didn't care, but Sheyan's expression turned dark. He said with a sneer, "Mr. Glorfindel, I chose to pardon you when you threatened to hang me from a tree. Yet you repaid my generosity by sullying Lady Melody Sunstrider with such filthy words. She may forgive you out of kindness, but as her Protector, I'm not so patient!"

Sheyan waved his hand and Paul's scary giant tentacle tightened a little. Glorfindel's shouts were abruptly stifled. He felt such tremendous pressure on his chest that even breathing became a luxury, let alone shouting. Not long after, his whole body started shaking due to a lack of oxygen.

To make things worse, the suckers on Paul's tentacles sucked hard at that moment. They completely absorbed the rest of the MPs in his body that he had secretly retained, thus totally denying him the opportunity to launch a suicidal attack!

The difference in strength between Glorfindel and Paul weren't actually that wide. However, Glorfindel made a fatal mistake, and that was to fight an aquatic creature in water! Paul's strength directly increased by a rank in water.

In addition to that, being the summoned creature of Davy Jones, Paul was naturally very familiar with dimensional magic.

Glorfindel's dimensional power was child's play in front of Paul. If Glorfindel had used divine arts of nature against Paul, the effect would have been much better.

After displaying Glorfindel's pathetic figure to all the Elves present, Sheyan asked Paul to let Glorfindel down. Glorfindel was delighted to hear the order. He knew that as long as he could free himself from the terrifying tentacle, his chance to escape would significantly increase.

Paul revealed its magnificent body to the Elves upon receiving the order, sending huge waves to the surrounding area. Instead of immediately letting Glorfindel free, it first sprayed Glorfindel's whole body with ink. It didn't look like much to other people, but Paul's ink was definitely not that simple.

Glorfindel instantly screamed in agony. The ink seeped into every orifice on his body as if they had a life of their own, completely paralysing him. Only now did Paul loosen his tentacle to drop Glorfindel onto the deck of the battle fortress. Glorfindel's only reaction was to convulse involuntarily on the deck.

At a wave of Sheyan's hand, a few Elves brought out Paul's favourite delicacy - some cleaned cows - and threw them into the lake. Paul happily ate a few of them before burping in satisfaction. Then, it swung its tentacles to bring back a couple of cows for the injured Ocean-freak of Moria.

The water battle fortress had achieved its objective for the day. Under the lead of the shark whale, it circled around to return whence it came. After crossing the whole lake, they once again arrived at the pine forest where Sheyan and Reef had once traversed. This was the place where Sheyan first found the eggs of the Ocean-freak of Moria, and the valley behind the pine forest was where Reef separated from Sheyan after being hypnotised.

The place looked entirely different now. The pine trees were completely gone; in their place were a kind of giant trees that grow in water called Seaforest Trees. Sheyan and co. found the seeds of these trees from the stock of Rivendell. With their ample supply of energy crystals, it took less than 3 days for the seeds to mature into a magnificent forest on water.

The Seaforest Trees had taken root on the wetland with their trunks at least 5 meters above the water surface. The abundant branches of the Seaforest Trees weaved together with parasitic vines living on the trees to form the platform for the 2nd level of the forest. At the very top of the Seaforest Trees, viewing platforms and residences were inter-connected with vines and vine ladders.

The Seaforest Trees have different heights, so the whole city in the air had an uneven beauty to it.

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Chapter 838: Planning Strategies

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

The favourite daily activity of the Elves of Dawn City was to watch the sunrise from the top of the city. The snowy mountains on the horizon dyed gold by the morning sun formed a magnificent scenery that could hardly be described with words.

As the sun rose to the top and the day got hotter, the Elves would move to the lower layer of Dawn City. Spots of sunlight would penetrate through the branches to illuminate the surrounding. The water lilies and lotuses in the wetlands would provide a fresh fragrance. Various types of fishes swam in the clear water as if they were floating lazily in the air. The beautiful patterns on the pinewoods under the water could also be clearly seen. It was like the view from a dream.

Glorfindel finally recovered from the agony brought by Paul's ink. Right now, his hands and feet were bound by a type of special Elven shackles made from sharp grey thorns that penetrated into his body. With the divine power of Sin'dorei sealing his power, it was close to impossible for him to escape.

Glorfindel had calmed down somewhat. He still held a cold and overbearing attitude because he knew that according to Elvish customs, the Elves were forbidden from openly killing kin. Furthermore, he's not just any Elf. He's one of the sacred Twilight Elves.

The ones escorting Glorfindel weren't Elves but a bunch of strong Dwarven warriors. Sheyan casually strode next to them with his hands behind his back. Melody walked in front of the group surrounded by the Elders who had the highest authority and power. She would occasionally steal a glance at Sheyan and smile sweetly.

When Glorfindel was escorted into the city, he could immediately feel a strange power at work. The power was immense and covered almost half of the entire Dawn City!

Glorfindel was someone who had seen a lot of things. It didn't take long for him to identify the source of the power. At the roots of most Seaforest Trees were egg-like objects that were about half a man in size. They should be the ones causing the rapid development of Dawn City.

One of the reasons that Dawn City and the wetland surrounding it were so full of life was thanks to the valuable materials brought from Rivendell, but the most important reason was actually these objects. They were the eggs of the Ocean-freak of Moria which were placed everywhere in the wetlands to continuously provide life forces to the living things there!

What actually happened was, after Paul conquered the Ocean-freak of Moria, he naturally couldn't accept the eggs that had no relation to him at all. This is a primal instinct for animals, like how an African lion that took over a pride would bite the cubs that weren't of his seed to death.

Sheyan naturally wouldn't let these eggs go to waste. At first, he used the life force from the eggs to cultivate another kind of aquatic plant that was smaller in size. The Dawn City then was designed in the style of a miniature garden. However, after obtaining the wealth of Rivendell, they changed the trees to the gigantic Seaforest Trees, and built the city as a grand forest city.

After walking for close to half an hour on the vine tracks of Dawn City, they reached the valley. The valley had also been turned into a swamp. Travelling through the valley on the vine bridges presented to one a unique scenery.

Sweats started trickling down Glorfindel's forehead. He didn't know why the further in he walked, the more uneasy he felt. The feeling of unease was hard to describe and caused him unexplainable fear. Of course, Glorfindel wouldn't show any weakness and forced himself to maintain a brave front.

They soon arrived at the naturally-formed cave after taking a turn. The cave was too high for the water to reach. It used to be the territory of the Balrog, but the ownership of the cave had now been passed to the Dwarves. The Gimli tribe had sent at least 500 masons to inhabit the place.

The dwarves, being natural masons, had spent no time in making the cave their base. They found the temperature of the place very much to their satisfaction. It was suitable for smithing, and also warmed their beds nicely.

The original lord of the cave, the Balrog, appeared in front of Glorfindel.

It made its appearance in a way that no one could have imagined.

The place where the Ocean-freak of Moria used to incubate her eggs now had a gigantic magic formation. Glorfindel noticed that the formation was formed from a coalition of 7 magic formations, each of them an exquisite piece of work that the Dwarves put significant effort into.

The materials used to build the magic formation were naturally extremely valuable. Some of them looked very familiar to Glorfindel because he had seen them many times in Rivendell's storage.

The Balrog was placed above the magic formation. Its whole body was covered in a black, rock-like shell akin to solidified lava. Multiple cracks formed on the shell to reveal a glimpse of the scary red turbulence within. From afar, it looked like a giant egg.

7 chains were nailed firmly to the stone wall of the cave. The other ends of the chains wrapped around the Balrog to hang it in the air. The chains were extremely thick; each ring on the chains was the size of an adult human. Some strange runes were engraved on the chains and they would emit a faint green glow. Whenever a red light flashed from within the body of the Balrog, it would be evenly absorbed by each chain and would be transmitted away.

Glorfindel finally understood why the climate was as warm as spring when the place was right beneath a snowy peak. They caught the Balrog and absorbed its life force to provide energy to the surrounding land! It would explain the warm water in the swamp and the mysteriously high temperature of the area.

'Wait!' a thought crept into Glorfindel's mind that almost made him stop breathing.

'The Mines of Moria are right next to this area! The ancient Dwarven kingdom moved here because the caves here are rich with minerals, but the appearance of the Balrog caused the mines to be abandoned. Now that the Balrog has been captured, there would be no more threats in the mines, which means the Dwarves can operate the mines again. Doesn't that mean Dawn City already has the foundation to cooperate with the Dwarves?!'

Glorfindel was absolutely right. Every step in Sheyan's plan was linked. He brought over Paul the octopus to conquer Ocean-freak Moria, then ambushed the Balrog with the krakens. With the Balrog captured, he used the rich minerals in the Mines of Moria to attract the Gimli tribe. Under the promise of the massive profit that cooperation would bring, the Gimli tribe gave Dawn City their full support. If it wasn't for that, there was no way Melody and the few followers she had left could build a city of such scale.

The procession moved into a cave next to the one where the Balrog was imprisoned. It was a cave hollowed out by the Dwarves. An eerie glow emanated from within. Sheyan took a look in front and gently told Melody.

"There's something I need to talk with Mr. Glorfindel about. His mouth is too dirty so I need to clean it a little."

Melody nodded obediently and left with 2 of her followers. As soon as she left, Sheyan revealed a cold smile. He waved his hand and the elite Dwarven warriors begun their rough "inspection" of Glorfindel. They completely stripped him of everything on his body. The process was far from gentle.

Glorfindel screamed madly.

"You fool! How dare you insult a Twilight Elf like this!"

The other Elven elders did not look too happy either. But Sheyan ignored them and said.

"You call this an insult? Then what do you call that time when you said you would hang me from a tree? I'm not a generous person. Any time someone threatens me, I will keep it in my heart and will always look for a chance to pay it back."

Since Glorfindel had made thorough preparations for his harassment activity, he should have a lot of valuable items on him. Of course, Sheyan wasn't able to use them, but the Elven elders and the Dwarves seemed very interested in them. Sheyan's face remained cold as he nodded his head slightly at Annenia Cyathea.

Annenia Cyathea was a loyal confidant of Melody's, so he had no trouble at dealing with Glorfindel. He smirked at the helpless Glorfindel and produced a tree branch. He then dipped the branch in his own blood and started drawing strange runes and patterns on Glorfindel's body. The process seemed very tiring for him and he started breathing heavily halfway through drawing on Glorfindel's back.

Sheyan looked at the rest of the Elven elders and told them.

"What we're drawing now is a secret rune passed down by the sacred Sin'dorei for Lady Melody Sunstrider called the Soul Absorbing formation! The process of drawing the formation is very taxing on one's mental power so it's impossible for Elder Annenia Cyathea to complete it by himself. However, he had drawn the outline of the formation, so we now need your help to complete it."

An Elven elder suddenly exclaimed in indignation.

"I refuse to perform such barbaric acts! This is an insult to the great tradition of the Elven race!"

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Chapter 839: Rob

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Whenever someone starts something, there would always be people who follow. Two other elders stepped forward to protest.

Facing these confrontations, Sheyan simply waved his hand and said.

"Have it your way, but Dawn City no longer welcomes you. Please return to Rivendell!"

The 3 Elven elders retorted angrily.

"You do not have the authority to decide that!"

Sheyan simply smiled and replied.

"If you want to hear Lady Melody personally order you away, it's not a big problem. Just wait until I'm done with the matters here. "

The other Elven elders stepped forward one after another to help complete the magic formation on Glorfindel's body. In total, 6 Elven elders took part. By the time the formation was completed, Glorfindel could no longer speak. All he could muster were angry howls in his throat. The runes looked like molten gold as they stuck to his body. They were actually seeping into his skin like tattoo ink!

Annenia Cyathea moved his hand slightly and Glorfindel floated up from the ground. The 6 elders started glowing with a golden radiant. They surrounded Glorfindel and advanced deeper into the caves.

The 3 elders who did not participate wanted to follow along, but after taking a few steps forward, they discovered a light barrier. The glow from the light barrier was dim, but it radiated with an imposing dignity, stopping them in their tracks outside the barrier. However, the barrier showed no effect on Sheyan. He walked through it casually.

One of the elders tried to do the same thing, but as soon as he touched the barrier, he immediately cried out in pain. A burn mark appeared at the part of his body that came into contact with the barrier. He immediately tried to heal himself with natural magic but the burn mark persisted on his skin like a brand.

"God only needs the most loyal servants," a drawn-out voice resounded over from the distance. "Unfortunately, you have disappointed God."

The 3 elders looked at each other. They started to have a bad feeling about this.

The group that proceeded deeper into the tunnel travelled for what felt like a long time, but strangely also felt pretty short. In the end, they stepped foot into a large cavern that had 5 holes on the ceiling. They were undoubtedly deep in the mountains yet bright sunlight shined through each of the holes to illuminate the cavern.

The 5 rays of sunlight represented the 5 Honours of the Sun God - Radiance, Warmth, Brilliance, Dignity and Heat. The rays of sunlight were produced by Sin'dorei to display his Divinity. They would last here forever.

Annenia Cyathea chanted a string of incantations and the 5 rays of sunlight slowly moved until they shined on Glorfindel's limbs and head. As if in response to the sunlight, the magic formation on his body glowed bright!

Glorfindel screamed in agony. He struggled with all his might in the air but to no avail.

Gradually, the brightly lit cavern turned dark. It wasn't that the Divinity of the Sun God had disappeared; it's just that the light energy from the 5 rays of sunlight were completely absorbed by the magic formation and were turned into divine energy. The cavern that lost its light source naturally turned pitch-black.

Suddenly, a few spots of red lights appeared from the walls of the cavern and intertwined in the air. Upon closer inspection, one would see that they were all in the forms of the insignia of Sin'dorei. Then, multiple trails of lights formed in the air and intertwined with each other to form a divine image of Sin'dorei. The whole cavern became a mysterious, large-scale magic formation!

Glorfindel's face was already twisted to a terrifying extent but he did not utter a sound. An extremely dense green glow seeped out from his body and it slowly floated up into the air as if it was being held in the palm of the Sun God. Then, the dense green glow condensed into 6 emerald-green light orbs and floated towards the 6 Elven elders.

"I, Annenia Cyathea, solemnly swear that the honour of the Sun God shall forever shine upon my soul! I shall become the most loyal believer of Sin'dorei!"

The pious voice of Annenia Cyathea echoed loudly in the cavern. Compared to the other 5 Elven elders, he understood more clearly what the ritual meant. Even if this great Elven elder had reservations about Sheyan before, all his doubts disappeared after witnessing the Holy Beast Paul forcefully capturing Glorfindel alive!

"This is the Oath of the Fanatics!" the other Elven elders were completely shocked.

Following the oath of Annenia Cyathea, the emerald-green light orb floating in front him gradually turned a golden colour and seeped into his body. After the light orb was completely absorbed by Annenia Cyathea, his magic power increased tremendously! The shackles that had held him back from becoming stronger for 196 years completely vanished. Annenia Cyathea's might reached a whole new height!

All these happened because the emerald-green light orb that he absorbed contained 10% of Glorfindel's power!

All energy came from the sun. Only the Sun God Sin'dorei could convert any energy into the divine power of the Sun God, then infuse it into the body of His devout fanatics. As someone who pursued power, Annenia Cyathea took the step without hesitation!

The remaining 5 Elven elders were shocked speechless. A portion of Glorfindel's power was definitely tempting, but if they became fanatics, they would have to obey Melody for the rest of their long lives. In addition to that, they will become Glorfindel's mortal enemies! They must think it through carefully!

While the other elders were hesitating, the strengthened Annenia Cyathea suddenly kneeled down and chanted loudly.

"O great Sun God, this believer of yours is willing to worship you with everything he has. Please bestow upon me more power!"

Annenia Cyathea attempt to "sell" himself completely to Sin'dorei resulted in him being showered with more grace by the Sun God. The 5 remaining emerald-green light orbs that were hovering in front of the other elders turned golden. A golden ray shot out from each light orb into Annenia Cyathea's body!

Annenia Cyathea's magic power experienced another wild burst! He was now only a step away from reaching the Heroic rank like Legolas and Galadriel!

The rest of the Elven elders could no longer hold themselves back. They, too, recited the Oath of the Fanatics and absorbed Glorfindel's power in front of them. One of them imitated Annenia Cyathea and offered himself completely, thus absorbing additional power from the other 4 light orbs.

The rest of the elders quickly realised what happened and "sold" themselves one after another. However, the last one to offer himself was rather unfortunate. His light orb only contained 5% of power after the other elders took their share from it. He became the one who drew the short straw.

The biggest winner of the ritual was, without a doubt, Elder Annenia Cyathea. Before this, his power was only below average amongst the Elven elders. But through his decisive actions, he was now the strongest person after Melody, which meant that the position of First Elder was pretty much in the bag.

Sheyan finally heaved a sigh of relief after witnessing the ritual. With this, the ruling council of Dawn City was established. All the members were made up of the Fanatics of Sin'dorei. Thus, even if Melody wasn't that smart, her position would be as stable as Mt. Tai.

More importantly, the 6 elders climbed up the ranks by absorbing Glorfindel's power. There would no longer be any ground for compromises between them and Glorfindel. Sheyan couldn't help revealing a cold smile when he thought of that.

The elders needed to stay at the holy ground to pray and meditate in order to stabilise their newly obtained power, so Sheyan grabbed Glorfindel's hair and dragged him away like he was dragging a garbage bag.

Outside the cave, Sheyan passed Glorfindel into the hands of 2 elite Dwarven warriors. He then returned to the highest point of Dawn City and announced to all the Elves.

"Mr. Glorfindel came here with evil intentions, disrespected our faith and tried to destroy our peaceful lives. However, the merciful Lady Melody Sunstrider has decided to pardon him after showing him the majesty of Sin'dorei. She will let him return to Rivendell to repent for his blasphemy."

None of the Elves expected this. They thought that the best Glorfindel could have hoped for was imprisonment. If Melody wished to, she could even have executed him.

They only believed it when they saw Glorfindel being thrown into a wooden boat and was left to float away. The Elves cheered for Lady Melody Sunstrider's kindness.

Sheyan actually came to this decision after giving it a lot of thoughts. He had limited time in this world after all. The defense of Dawn City was already quite thorough, so it didn't matter whether Glorfindel lived or died. It was even more so now that Glorfindel only had 40% of his power left.

As long as Glorfindel stayed alive, he would remain a formidable enemy to the 6 elders who absorbed his power. Such a huge outside threat would keep them busy from initiating internal power struggles. Of course, others wouldn't understand the game of thrones that Sheyan was playing.

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Chapter 840: The truth behind the matter

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Dawn City was even more beautiful at night.

Fireflies that flew all around the wetland looked like stars that illuminated the night. Bellflowers that glowed like street lamps scattered across the swamp to add to the mysterious atmosphere, shining a gentle light upon the steps of the wetland's inhabitants.

The occasional wind would shake the vines and branches slightly to produce a beautiful sound. The Elves that hadn't retreated to their beds would choose to meet in front of their treehouses to chat. Their laughters would add to the song of the night.

Sheyan was currently in a huge treehouse that was the tallest in Dawn City. It was the residence of Melody. Next to him were Segimli and Elder Annenia Cyathea, while in front of him was a huge magical sandbox that was at least 5 square metres in size.

Annenia Cyathea pointed and the sand started glowing softly. It quickly rearranged itself into an accurate model of the detailed layout of Dawn City.

The sand model showed everything from the wetland, lake and the battle fortress parked on the bank, to the Seaforest Trees behind them, to the Balrog held within the mountains, and to a few newly excavated caves to the side.

Sheyan couldn't help feeling extremely proud as he looked over the giant sand model. The whole Dawn City was built according to Sheyan's plan. To watch it rapidly grow and expand into the scale it showed today was immensely satisfying.

Sheyan had actually started planning for the construction of Dawn City the moment he heard that Melody had a group of Elves following her. It's just that the initial plan was nowhere near as colossal.

The reason he planned to build a city was simple. If Melody wanted to establish her own faction and poach a group of Elves away, she would first need to solve the basic problems of security and accomodation for these Elves. It's the same as courting someone's hand for marriage. If you have a humble abode then you would still have a chance, but if you don't, then good luck.

Paul the Octopus was the X-factor that provided meat to Sheyan's plan. It was actually strong enough to capture the Balrog. Once the Balrog was taken care of, the rich ore veins in the Mines of Moria became Sheyan's negotiation chip. Even if the Gimli tribe rejected his proposal for cooperation, various other Dwarven tribes would queue up for the chance.

And thus the first construction phase of Dawn City was rapidly carried out. Yet it was barely enough to satisfy the basic needs of the Elves that Melody "kidnapped" from Rivendell.

Fortunately, the resources plundered from Rivendell was unnaturally rich, with an abundance of energy crystals. Sheyan didn't even need to do much after that. Following Sheyan's concepts of "Wetlands" and "City in the Air", the Elves started making changes to Dawn City themselves. The magic formation to absorb the Balrog's life force, the Reconciliation Room of the Sun God where Glorfindel was robbed of his power, and the Seaforest Trees were all completed during this phase.

Sheyan was able to witness the terrifying might resulting from the cooperation between Elven magic and Dwarven construction. The appearance of Dawn City changed with every passing day! Each day brought new surprises.

The next phase in the plan of the Elves was to build a new Elven town called Tisdale on the ruins of the orc city nearby. The town would serve 2 purposes.

The first was to let the Elves that grew tired of the wetland environment of the City in the Air to experience life in a snowy forest.

The second was to act as a place to receive guests and make contact with people from other places. There were simply too many secrets within Dawn City, plus the Ring of Air, Vilya wasn't fully under Melody's control yet. They couldn't easily let outsiders into Dawn City.

After experiencing Glorfindel's visit, both the internal stability and security problems of Dawn City had been put under control. Melody's position as the "Queen" of Dawn City was completely unshakeable now. Even after Sheyan left this world, he wouldn't need to worry about rebellions.

If there were anything Sheyan was still worried about, it would be the Balrog.

If he recalled correctly, the Fellowship of the Ring in the story wanted to stay overnight on the bank of the lake, but they were attacked by the Ocean-freak of Moria. In their chaos, they escaped into the Mines of Moria and met with the ambush from the Balrog…

But now, the Ocean-freak of Moria was living a happy life with Paul. A large number of Dwarves and Elves would provide food for these two "Holy Beasts" everyday, so they probably wouldn't have any interest in hunting anymore.

As for the Balrog, it was currently wrapped like a dumpling in captivity, continuously providing warmth to Dawn City and its surrounding area. The heat emitted by a Balrog was so great that anywhere it stayed would naturally turn into lava. The magic formation only restricted its freedom and absorbed the heat dispersed from its body without harming it. Even if Gandalf wanted to duel the Balrog, he would have to ask for permission from Dawn City!

Since they altered the storyline to such an extent, Sheyan couldn't help but feel uneasy. To make matters worse, the Stockholm party definitely caused major changes to the plot as well. The future was now completely unknown. Sheyan felt as if his eyes were blinded by fog.

"My dear friend, I actually came here today to bring you a good news," said Segimli. The little Dwarf was a chatterbox, so he quickly broke the silence when he felt the atmosphere turn heavy.

Sheyan's eyes lit up as he asked.

"What's the good news?"

Segimli happily answered.

"Following the underground rivers, we've opened up a path to the Mines of Moria. Everyone was really excited. From the injuries on the Inokas we've released inside, we deduce that they were attacked by some half orcs and undead creatures. Those creatures shouldn't pose a problem to our warhammers. (Inoka = a kind of lizard reared by the Dwarves. They could be used as mounts underground, or as hunting hounds and scouts.)"

Sheyan nodded.

"I completely believe that they would pose no problems at all for the courageous warriors of the Gimli tribe."

"Not only that, my friend. Despite the order forbidding us from entering, a companion of mine called Bronzebeard couldn't hold himself back and rushed in on an Inoka!" exclaimed Segimli excitedly.

"The important thing is, he came back safely 3 hours ago. Of course, he can't have any beer for 3 days as a punishment by the elders. But he brought back great news. There were 7 major ore veins underground just waiting to be mined! The facilities left by Durin's Folk when they evacuated were still operational, which means that we can start mining immediately. Each ore vein can be mined for a thousand years! Our only pleasant problem now is that we don't have enough hands!"

Segimli was already flinging his hands in excitement as he explained.

"Bronzebeard was sure that the captured Balrog inside Dawn City is the same Balrog inhabiting the mines previously. That means our greatest threat had been nullified! Even though the place had been deserted for a thousand years, he could still see the splendor of what used to be the biggest Dwarven city in existence. There were a total of 8 floors. Each floor possessed a large amount of arched tunnels. The rooms and halls were made of black walls that were as smooth as glass. The bottom floor contained mines, treasuries and prisons! Oh yeah, there were also the legendary Durin's Bridge and the Endless Stair! So cool! I can't wait to step inside!"

Elder Annenia Cyathea smiled and said.

"Moria, or as it was known in the ancient days, Khazad-d?m, was built together by our ?oldor Elves and the great Dwarven race. The great Lord Celebrimbor personally recorded the glorious feat with Mithril. In the present day, under the collaboration of the Sin'dorei Elves and the Gimli Dwarves, Moria will definitely shine again as the number one Dwarven City on the continent."

After giving it some thoughts, Sheyan said grimly.

"Mr. Segimli, I must regretfully inform you that the news you bring are not good news at all. I wish to meet with your uncle and all the elders in your tribe within the next half an hour. There is something I must discuss with them."

Segimli asked in shock.

"It's not good news? If this isn't good news, then what else can you call good news? Fine, fine, I'll go notify them immediately. But I must warn you, my uncle should be enjoying a nice glass of beer with some Dwarven cheese on his lazy chair right now. If you call him over for no good reason, he will be very angry."

Sheyan's words apparently had some weight within the Gimli tribe. Half an hour later, all the important Dwarves in the tribe that could come have gathered.

Sheyan looked at the beardy, honest faces in front of him and cut straight to the point.

"The reason I asked everyone to gather here was to raise a few questions. If you can answer them, then there will be no problems."

The old Gimli suppressed his annoyance and said.

"Ask away."

Sheyan organised his words and said.

"I heard the Gimli tribe had confirmed that there were no more significant threats inside the Mines of Moria, and there are 7 major ore veins inside. My first question is, how does the wealth of the ore veins compare to the rewards of Skifz Asc?d?"

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Chapter 841: Weathertop

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Segimli had an impatient nature so he instantly answered with pride.

"The Mithril content of the Mines of Moria is unlike any other in Middle Earth. The ore veins rewarded on Skifz Asc?d may be rich, but even 10 of them combined cannot compare to a major ore vein in Moria."

Sheyan nodded his head. His second question was very sudden and seemed to have no relation to the first question at all.

"The Gimli tribe should be a pretty big Dwarven tribe, correct? How many Dwarves are there in the tribe?"

Segimli looked even prouder as he exclaimed.

"The size of our tribe ranks at least top 10 among the Dwarves. We number over 10,000."

A Dwarven elder yawned and wiped his eyes as he said.

"If that's all, then I'm going back to sleep. We still need to move tomorrow."

He turned and walked towards the exit. A few Dwarven elders followed his lead prepared to leave. But Sheyan's third question rooted them to the spot.

"Then how many Dwarves are there among Durin's Folk?"

Durin was almost a god-like existence to the Dwarves! The leader of Durin's Folk had always adopted the name of Durin. The current king of the Dwarves of Durin's Folk was Durin VII. Even now, he remained the lord of Erebor and Iron Hills. One can imagine the status of Durin's Folk among the Dwarves. It was akin to the Han among the Chinese, maybe even more prominent!

Segimli hesitated for a moment before he answered.

"Those Dwarves have always been arrogant. Even something as important as Skifz Asc?d was hosted by them. I don't know the exact figure, but there should be hundreds of thousands of them…maybe more."

Sheyan said.

"From what I understand, Khazad-d?m, or Moria as it is known today, has always been the royal capital of Durin's Folk. They persisted here for a long time before the Balrog appeared. The Balrog's abilities were the bane of the Dwarves. Durin's Folk had no choice but to move to Erebor and the Iron Hills after the Balrog killed Durin VI and slayed his son, Náin. Am I right?"

Complete silence fell over the room. Melody who was sleeping on a soft couch suddenly woke up. She rubbed her eyes, looked at the crowd in front of her in confusion, and finally laid down on Sheyan's thigh to continue her sleep.

Everyone there was used to the Twilight Elf, Melody Sunstrider's reliance on her Protector, so they didn't even bat an eye. After a prolonged silence, the old Gimli finally said with difficulty.

"Seaman, my friend, you were completely correct."

Sheyan continued.

"The news of you inhabiting the Mines of Moria will inevitably spread. What do you think Durin's Folk would do after they hear of it? Maybe their king is a magnanimous person and would leave Moria in your hands eh."

Another prolonged silence ensued. Segimli vehemently said.

"If that person is magnanimous, how could our Mithril accessory fail the preliminary elimination?"

Sheyan had revealed a cruel truth in the face of the Dwarves. With only a few words, he had smitten the Dwarves from heaven to hell! They feeling almost made them cough up blood!

Obviously, the only way to prevent retaliation from Durin's Folk was to voluntarily offer Moria to them. But! But! How could the Gimli tribe stomach that?! For the Dwarves, there were only 3 things they cared about in their long lives: beer, mining and smithing.

Old Gimli suddenly stood up and saluted Sheyan.

"Since the Lord Protector pointed out the problem to us, I believe you should have a solution to the problem."

Sheyan smiled and replied.

"Of course. Anyone who wants to inhabit the Mines of Moria has to respect the will of Lady Melody, because if we can capture the Balrog, we can naturally release it. Besides, we have Holy Beasts that can control the flow of water. If we are angered, then we might completely flood the Mines of Moria. As far as I know, no one has the ability to mine underwater yet. "

Old Gimli's eyes lit up at Sheyan's words.

"Our cooperation has always been pleasant. I hope we can continue our relationship. "

Sheyan revealed a difficult smile as he replied.

"The basis for a pleasant cooperation lies in how much both sides are willing to offer. If Durin's Folk are willing to offer more…"

Sheyan looked over at Annenia Cyathea. The Elven elder's jaw had almost dropped to the ground, but he quickly picked it up and supported Sheyan with his own righteous remarks.

"No one can impose their will on the entire Elven population of Dawn City. Even Lady Melody and Lord Protector can only make suggestions. All decisions must go through the elder council and be announced to the public! No one can damage the interests of Dawn City for personal reasons!"

Old Gimli was instantly thrust into helplessness. He obviously knew that Durin's Folk could offer anything that the Gimli tribe can, and more. However, this was the best chance the Gimli tribe had encountered for thousands of years. How could he let this chance slip from his hands? He wouldn't dare let the chance slip.

It was Sheyan's hint that enlightened them.

"This piece of meat is too big for the Gimli tribe to stomach alone. Why not collaborate with a few other Dwarven tribes? There are as many as 7 major ore veins in the mines, and there should be countless minor veins too."

7 days later, without paying any heed to the cost, 6 major Dwarven tribes formed an alliance and teleported themselves over. (As to why the Fellowship of the Ring didn't use teleport formations, it was because the power of the Ring was too great and would interfere with the teleportation. If they had used a teleport formation, they might even be transported to earth due to a malfunction.)

The 6 great tribes totalled over 100,000 Dwarves. They declared themselves the Sunstrider Alliance, and also announced their collaborative agreement with "the mighty and holy Dawn City that captured the evil Balrog". They then settled their whole population into the abandoned Mines of Moria, and renamed it Lesso-d?m (the land of peace).

(T/N note: d?m actually means mansion but whatever)

Durin's Folk might be strong, but under such circumstances, they wouldn't dare make a rash move. They might be large in numbers, but due to the distance, they could only mobilise a force of about 50,000 - 60,000 to Moria. The Sunstrider Alliance had the geographical advantage and wouldn't be expelled easily.

Furthermore, they were extremely wary of the power that Dawn City was hiding. There was no way Dawn City could lie about capturing the Balrog, because they didn't kill it, they captured it. That meant the Dwarves could see the Balrog! Durin's Folk were forced away from the Khazad-d?m of old by the same Balrog, so they fully understood the might required to capture the Balrog alive.

For Sheyan, the reason he chose to cooperate with the Sunstrider Alliance was simple. A divided alliance was easier to control and separate. Even if they wanted to do anything big, they would need a long time to come to an agreement.

More importantly, Sheyan had never given up on acquiring the silver title "One Hand to Cover Heaven'. Melody might be in control of a large faction, but it's difficult for her to live in another world. It's not that she's unwilling. The arachnids have a technology like the wormhole which enabled them to travel through dimensions, but Melody has no such technology.

(T/N note: The details of the title can be found in chapter 435)

A crucial reason Sheyan passed on Durin's Folk was because their area of expertise was in smithing weapons and armours. Under the guidance of Sheyan, the 6 tribes that formed the Sunstrider Alliance were more proficient in making accessories, enchanting, and constructing formations.

The Sunstrider Alliance wasn't just another layer of protection for Dawn City, they were also a strong Research Development team for magic formations!

The weather was fine. White clouds float on a blue sky.

The dry weather was showing its might in this place. The sparse grasses on the ground all showed a deep yellow colour; the sandy soil beneath them fully visible. The leaves of the waxyleaf privets on the roadside were also displaying tints of yellow while their barks showed signs of being trampled by passing horses that tried to climb up the hill.

The hill was actually not that tall. It merely stood out because of the landscape surrounding it. Sheyan unmounted his horse to check the map, and said.

"We should be within the territory of the Arnor Kingdom. This place should be Amon S?l, more commonly known as Weathertop, where the Amon S?l-stone used to be."

"I'm thirsty. I want some water with ice," said a clear voice coquettishly. It was the voice of Melody.

Sheyan sighed and said.

"I shouldn't have let you come. Our trip this time is really dangerous."

Even though he said that, he still fetched a bottle of water from his personal space and passed it to Melody. Melody cheerfully replied.

"If I don't come with you, I don't know when I'll see you again."

Sheyan helplessly said.

"I've already asked the Dwarves to research on teleport formations. They already have the technology to teleport to other dimensions, but the dimensional storm during the teleportation process could heavily-injure even the Ocean-freak of Moria. I don't think it will take long for them to solve this problem. You should have a bit more patience."

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Chapter 842: The aura of the dead

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

"No, I want to be with you," the gentle Melody retorted.

She blushed and lowered her head, unable to meet Sheyan's eyes. But in the end, she still pouted and said with a huff.

"Besides, Sire Vilya has masked my Elvish appearance and aura. It can also return me to Dawn City anytime I wish. What's there to be worried about?"

Melody shouldn't have mentioned this matter because all it did was to aggrieve Sheyan further.

Dawn City was just established and was just entering its developmental phase. The Dwarves and the Elves had only entered into a rough agreement which was still fragile. There were a lot of things that had to be handled. The absence of Melody would cause a lot of difficulties in matters such as receiving visitors and signing agreements.

However, as Sheyan's eyes fell upon the innocent face of Melody with those huge eyes and that sweet smile, he swallowed back the admonishing words that he was about to utter. Honestly, deep down in his heart, he also hoped for Melody's company on this journey.

Under the protection of Vilya, Melody still exuded innocence, but her Elven features had been covered up. Her Elvish aura had also been changed into a human one. That was why Sheyan dared to take her along.

Sheyan didn't dare to bring a strong group of Dwarven warriors and Elven mages to Angmar. Now that Reef and him had killed Elrond, they would need to deal with the dark side for the main storyline quest.

If he brought too many Elves and Dwarves with him, then it might be misunderstood as an attack and they would attract the attention of the Nazg?ls. But if he only brought a few, then as soon as the Elven and Dwarven auras appeared within the territory of the Dark Lord, they would just be assasinated.

Melody's battle strength was currently not that strong. Sheyan had specifically asked her to prioritise unlocking the defensive abilities of the Ring of Air first. She also had to spend a large amount of magic power to coexist with the ring.

Her battle abilities mostly consisted of buffs and healing abilities. Currently, her only method of directly causing damage was with her bow, which means her damage output was not much different from other Elves her age.

But as Sheyan watched her smile, he felt incomparably happy and peaceful. He took her hand in his to give it a kiss, then turned his head away and said.

"How long will it take before we find a place to rest?"

Sheyan directed the question towards the guide of the caravan that they were riding with. With the help of Segimli, they didn't take much effort in finding a caravan heading for the Shire that they could board. From the Shire, they could pay to use the teleport formation to reach a place in Eriador that was only 200 km away from Angmar. From there, it would only take a day of journey to reach their destination: the residence of the Grey Dwarves on the outskirt of Angmar.

Technically speaking, Angmar was also within the territory of the Misty Mountains. If one were to draw a straight line from Angmar to Moria, the distance was not that far. However, to travel in a straight path, they would have to go past the defensive line formed by the orcs and Uruk-hai. They might even meet with big bosses such as Lurtz or the Nazg?ls.

The faction of the Dark Lord was notorious for backstabbing among themselves, so Sheyan didn't expect them to welcome him with open arms just because he had considerable Fate points. So, he chose to take a huge detour. There was no need to gamble with his life just to save some time.

Fortunately, they went the extra mile in completing the mission by killing Elrond, and each member of Ace party obtained 2311 Fate points of the Dark Lord's faction. So on the 20th day of their stay in this world, they were presented with the following options:

A) To reach the destination in time and obtain additional rewards, or

B) To prolong their stay in this world for 10 days without additional rewards.

Sheyan chose option B. Otherwise, he wouldn't have enough time to take this longer, safer route because he spent too much time on the matters of Dawn City.

The caravan guide beamed as he answered Sheyan's question.

"We'll be there soon. Even though the climate around Weathertop is dry, there is a spring to the west of the hill. We normally stop there for rest and to refill our water. There will be at least a day afterwards without another fresh water source."

Melody grew up within the lush greenery of Rivendell and had never seen a barren place like the Weather Hills. The curious new environment coupled with the presence of her loved one at her side put her in a good mood. She couldn't help asking.

"This isn't a desert. Why is there no fresh water?"

The guide had a weather-beaten face carved full of wrinkles. He smiled as he answered.

"That's because the land and water around here were all cursed by the devils. Even if there is water, it will taste so sour and bitter that even the horses and cows wouldn't drink them. Only the area around Weathertop has fresh water because it was a place that used to be protected by the gods, even though the gods had abandoned the place due to prolonged war."

As they chatted, the caravan climbed along the road that whirled around Weathertop.

The horses and cows in the caravan were carrying heavy goods. Some of them showed signs of slipping as they climbed up slowly. The leader of the caravan was worried that the burden on the beasts might be too heavy, so he ordered his team to unload half the goods and left some people there to stand guard. He planned to take 2 trips.

Sheyan's group of 4 followed the first group to the peak. The weather was sunny so the view was clear from Weathertop. They pointed out to Franklin the tall tower that the Hobbits built in Buckland. It was once the symbol of the Shire.

(T/N note: As far as I know, there are no tall landmarks in Buckland besides the High Hay but that's what the author wrote, so we're gonna roll with it.)

Weathertop looked steep, but it's peak was actually a plateau, as if the hill was cut across. The plateau looked like a pocket-sized plain.

Everyone heaved a sigh of relief when they arrived at the top. The guide brought them across the ancient ruins and continued trekking west through the grassy camp road. There lied the only fresh water spring within a few hundred miles.

Even though the sun was strong, the wind here carried a chill that pierced into their bones. Coupled with the sight of the abandoned ruins and forts, it made one think of the cruelty and sadness of the world.

Melody suddenly pulled on Sheyan's sleeve and whispered to him.

"This place emits a strange aura. I suspect there are ghosts here."

Even though the guide repeatedly insisted that the trade route was very safe, Sheyan didn't believe him. It was exactly here that Gandalf the Gray was attacked by the Nazg?ls and a large number of spirits. Even the old man could only run away.

Melody was an Elf borne from the breath of nature, plus she was the owner of the Ring of Air. The strength of her sense of perception couldn't be questioned. Sheyan nodded after hearing her. He didn't plan to disturb the caravan with this news. He merely raised his awareness and prepared himself for anything unexpected.

They soon reached the spring. It was obvious that the spring was regularly visited. The paths to the spring were trampled into roads. A few straw sheds and a clearing lied to the side of the spring.

The goods were unloaded from the horses and cows. The animals were left to rest on the ground and to graze on the dry grasses.

It was the turn of the caravan workers to get busy. After unloading the goods, they had to fetch water for the beasts. Then, they had to mix some salt into the grasses to feed to the animals. After the animals recovered their strength, the workers had to bring them back to the abandoned goods and escort the rest of the goods over. Only after putting the beasts to rest could the workers themselves rest.

Sheyan took the opportunity to approach the old guide to ask where they would spend the night. The guide gave his "VIP guest" a strange look as if he was trying to read Sheyan's intention, before he answered uncertainly.

"Normally, the caravan would spend the night here if we arrive in the afternoon."

Sheyan appeared to have something on his mind as he enquired.

"Have you heard of anything strange occuring around the area?"

The old guide searched his memory before he answered.

"I didn't hear of any strange news of the place around here, but I've heard stories of corpses constantly popping up at the crossing of the Marui river which we passed earlier. Why, is there a problem?"

Sheyan nodded his head but he didn't tell the guide what Melody sensed. He lacked concrete proof after all. It's not like Sheyan could say that his girlfriend was a Twilight Elf wearing the Ring of Air and she could sense something was wrong…

Of course, Sheyan could choose to leave with his group. But Goots, the owner of the Caravan, was a friend of the Gimli tribe and treated Sheyan and his group well throughout the journey. Sheyan also heard that he was someone of high standing in the Chamber of Commerce, so he could sometimes get his hands on some good stuff. Sheyan couldn't just leave the caravan to its fate.

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Chapter 843: The appearance of the Nazg?l

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Sheyan took a look around with Melody. The old guide followed along and would occasionally point out spots where famous historical battles had occured. Sheyan was shocked to discover that as many as 4 kings had fallen at a place as small as Weathertop. It was also a place both the Middle Earth alliance and the Dark Lord faction have been clashing over for several hundred years! Numerous warriors met their death in this land. No wonder there were evil spirits here.

Once the caravan's animals rested after tiring themselves out, they would need 2-3 hours to completely recover their stamina. If they didn't, and they were forcefully put to work again, they would face a major risk of getting injured. That was why any caravan that reached Weathertop after 12 o'clock at noon would usually stay here for the night. It would already be 3-4 o'clock in the afternoon after the beasts regain their strength. They wouldn't be able to travel much further this day.

Suddenly, a worker from the caravan rushed over and shouted in alarm.

"This is bad! Our pack horses went wild and ran away!"

The old guide was horrified and immediately rushed back. Under such circumstances, there was no way Sheyan and his gang could continue their sight-seeing tour, so they hurried back as well. They discovered the resting place of the packing horses in a complete mess. The piled goods had been trampled over into disarray. A horrifying trail of blood was left on the ground.

They asked around and found out that the trail of blood was left by a worker who tried to pacify one of the raging horses. He pulled on its reins, only to be dragged for 7-8 meters before he hit a boulder. His injury may be fatal.

The pack horses had been tamed for a long time. They had always displayed a mild temperament so it was strange for them to go berserk all of a sudden. The boss of the caravan, Goots, was at the foot of Weathertop looking after the other half of the caravan goods, so it was left to the old guide to take charge. The situation was chaotic. Some of the workers went after the horses, some stayed back to look after the injured, some tidied up the goods…

Sheyan felt that there was no way the pack horses would go wild for no reason. He contemplated for a while and placed his suspicions on the food consumed by the horses. The straws and salts were brought by the caravan themselves so they should have no problems. Sheyan took a look at the spring. The water looked cool and clear, and didn't seem to be poisoned. More importantly, the people drank the water too but they were all fine.

That means… Sheyan strode over to the resting spots of the packhorses. The workers taking care of the horses had led them to a slope on the side because the grasses there were relatively more abundant. Melody walked over together with Sheyan. As soon as she got near, she told Sheyan that the place made her feel very uncomfortable; even the plants on the ground seemed to contain a certain madness.

Sheyan's brows furrowed when he inspected the spot grazed by the packhorses. He found the soil to be fresh. He immediately took an iron shovel and dug hard at the spot. Under Sheyan's furious digging, a hole quickly emerged on the ground to reveal a pale, half-rotting hand!

The other caravan workers ran over with horrified expressions. In total, Sheyan dug up 16 corpses! Half of these corpses hadn't even started rotting yet. The caravan workers easily identified them as members of other caravans. They had feasted with them and flirted with the barmaids together only a few months ago!

A feeling of immense horror spread among the spectating caravan members. But right then, the old guide approached the corpses with a solemn look and inspected the bodies with not a care for the horrible stench they emitted. After a while, he spoke.

"They all have cuts on their bodies, but they have the same cause of death - poison! The poison in the bodies seeped into the soil, and into the grass growing on the soil. When the horses grazed on this grass, it caused them to go berserk."

The words of the old guide at least calmed the caravan members down. They approached slowly and saw for themselves that the faces of the corpses were indeed tinged with black, and their expressions showed they struggled in pain when they died. It really did look like a death from poisoning.

There were many dangers facing the caravans on Middle Earth. The members of the caravans were elites in both courage and ability. What they were afraid of was the mysterious forces that they couldn't defend against. When they found out that the corpses merely died from poisoning, they naturally regained their courage.

Sheyan remained silent at the side as if in agreement with the old guide's opinion. At that moment, someone brought the raging pack horses back. The rest of the caravan workers went over to help. However, the old guide walked over to Sheyan with his brows furrowed and spoke to Sheyan as if he had something heavy on his heart.

"Thank you."

The guide was evidently thanking Sheyan for not exposing some of the untruthfulness in his words. Sheyan exhaled a deep breath, and said.

"If we don't leave immediately, we will meet with great peril."

The old guide's face was pale. He wasn't lying when he said that the people they dug up had died from poisoning, but how did they get poisoned? Normally, it would either be because they consumed the poison, or the weapons that cut them were coated with poison. Unfortunately those were not the cause of their poisoning. The real cause was because they breathed in poisonous gas!

If Sheyan remembered correctly, it should be the special ability of the Nazg?ls, the 'Black Breath'. According to the records kept by the Elves, The Nazg?ls' arsenal of deadly armaments was not confined to physical means. They were surrounded by a general aura of terror which can spread fear in the hearts of living creatures (except for some extremely strong ones), and their breath (called the Black Breath) could be toxic to those hapless enough to come near them.

Those that have been touched by the Black Breath will fall into an state of helplessness and experience endless nightmare and hallucination. It could even cause death. Only a type of herb called athelas could fight the symptom.

It seemed like the attack on Gandalf the Grey at Weathertop was not a coincidence. The Dark Lord might have once again set his sight on this strategic location and had begun to move his pieces. He probably wanted to hide an army of undead here to strike at Rhudaur, Cardolan and The Shire at crucial moments!

Goots had received news and rushed back. When he heard what they had to say, he said decisively.

"What are we waiting for, then? Leave all the goods behind, we will set off at once! Our Dwarven friends have tasked us with taking care of you, so your safety is our top priority."

Sheyan couldn't help but have a high evaluation of Goots in his heart. Merchants have always operated for profit, but Goots was able to decisively abandon all his merchandise. His action may even bankrupt him but he showed no hesitation. Sheyan nodded his head and said.

"Then let us depart at once. However, there is a problem. All your packhorses might have been found, but they are probably in a berserk state. We can't ride them anymore."

"We will put them all to death!" said Goots with a wave of his hand. "Then, we will leave at once."

Four hours later.

All of them were gasping for breath in exhaustion.

In a mere 4 hours, the lightened caravan had reached a place that was at least 50 km from Weathertop. All the caravan members could feel the mysterious atmosphere in Weathertop, so they showed no objection to the order of their boss to abandon all merchandises so that they can travel faster.

Darkness fell. They were all extremely tired. Even though the caravan team was used to hardship in their travels, but they truly pushed themselves to the limit this time to run so far away in such short period. They found a place to take shelter from the wind, raised a bonfire and gulped down their dinner. Goots was also eating his share with huge mouthfuls and drinking heartily, but it couldn't mask his sorrow.

It was to be expected. It's impossible to remain indifferent as a person watched his career crumble in the blink of an eye.

However, after they have rested for about an hour, Melody's pretty face broke into a frown. She grabbed onto Sheyan and told him in a serious tone.

"I can feel a strong evil presence slowly getting close to us."

Sheyan smiled at her and said.

"Don't worry, I'm here by your side."

Melody cheerfully kissed him and said.

"I've waited for a long time to fight alongside you."

As she said that, she forked out her staff and chanted some natural spells. Of course, the chanting was only for show. She was a Twilight Elf in possession of Vilya, and her spells were of the support type. Therefore, all her spells could be instant-cast. However, she was playing the role of a human mage, so she must put on an act.

"Bull's Strength."

"Barkskin."

"Haste."

A series of group buffs were received by every person present, accompanied by flashes of green lights. However, only Reef and Sheyan were qualified to receive the Twilight Elf's blessings.

After that, Melody completed her performance by taking out a scroll. The scroll was actually nonfunctional. She chanted a short incantation before tearing the scroll up. 2 rays of light burst forth from her hand towards two big trees in front of them.

The two trees shook themselves, then stood up. Their branches bunched up together to shape themselves into tier-2 legendary Ents. These Ents were summoned puppets with a time limit. Their strength were naturally far below battle Ents like Ferrell.

Right at this moment, clear sound of hooves resounded from the distance. The hooves were obviously stepping on the ground, but they somehow sounded as if they were crushing human bones.

After that, a large skeleton army appeared from the darkness! Behind the army was a tall, horrifying silhouette that was riding on a Nightmare!

The Nazg?l that had chased Sheyan's group throughout the night finally caught up to them!

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Chapter 844: A strange recruitment

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

All the caravan members obtained buffs that they never had in previous fights. However, they still reacted the same way all human warriors would when they saw the old-style weapons and broken armours of the skeletons - their morale hit rock bottom. Unless, of course, the undead army was there to aid them.

Fortunately for them, ignorance is bliss. They didn't recognise the real terror - the Nazg?l hidden at the back. Even those who saw the Nazg?l thought of him as merely a common undead knight.

After Melody once again waved her staff to cast 'Fear Ward' on everyone on their side, her MP was completely spent. However, Melody did not sit down to meditate like most mages would, but did something that surprised everyone; she kept the magic staff, and took out an ordinary looking longbow! She then pulled the longbow tight.

This was the core reason for her slow progress with Vilya.

Even though she was also a Twilight Elf in her past life, she was a strong Twilight Elf archer… while Vilya was a ring made for mages through and through. Therefore, after wearing the Ring of Air, Melody's progress in magic started from scratch and was pretty slow.

Sheyan and Reef stepped out to the front to stand alongside the summoned Ents. Sheyan shouted at the caravan members behind him.

"You cowards! Raise your axes! Your hammers! Your sticks! Raise anything that you can use as a weapon. If you wish to race against the skeletons in the dark, then feel free!"

The caravan owner, Goots, displayed tremendous courage. He was the first to step up with his two-handed hammer. Following that, there were some who ran away, but they were few in numbers. Most people stayed because they had witnessed Melody's power, and because of the security provided by the two Ents.

The skeleton army charged over like a raging tide. When they clashed against the defensive line on Sheyan's side, it felt like a tidal wave splashing against the walls of a dam. Sheyan's defensive line was forced back by a few metres.

The fragile looking skeleton warriors proved to be unexpectedly troublesome for Sheyan to deal with. A hack of his '7 West' could only break a few bones off a skeleton soldier. If the strike landed on the backbone, it might not even break.

After a while, Sheyan found that the blunt back of his sabre was more useful than its sharp edge…

Meanwhile, Reef was faring much better. His 'Cardiac Shattering Roar' could inflict full AOE damage on the undead creatures. A few skeletons in his vicinity had already sustained heavy damage beforehand. Their soul energy was depleted and the hellfire in their eyes dimmed. Reef's 'Cardiac Shattering Roar' was like a roaring wind that reduced them into piles of bones.

The 2 summoned Ents also went on a rampage inside the crowd of skeletons. The damage they sustained from the blades of the skeletons were simply negligible, while their huge bodies went could charge around violently like tanks within the skeleton sea. They don't even need to use their long hanging tendrils to attack; they simply needed to move around to tank the attacks from the skeletons. There was no shortage of skeletons that died from their stomping.

However, the one who killed the most was someone none of them expected - Melody!

Logically speaking, the hard bones and empty frame of the skeletons should prove to be a nightmare for archers. The power of arrows would dip by at least 90%. But with the ordinary-looking bow in her hands, Melody displayed a shocking might.

As she pulled on the bowstring, an incomprehensible charm would mature in the darkness. When the bowstring was drawn taut like the beautiful curves of a woman, the dark-looking bow showed an unexplainable elegance.

Her arrows naturally had perfect accuracy. Also, when the sharp arrowhead was about to come into contact with the skull of the skeleton, it would radiate with a bright, mesmerizing glow as if it was dipped in the red radiance of sunset, looking like a cigarette tip within the dark. The skeletons that were hit by her arrows would emit smoke and struggle on the ground with their limbs flailing wildly, before breaking down into piles of bones.

What perplexed Sheyan was, that each skeleton warrior eliminated by their side would provide 1-3 Fate points of the Dark Lord faction! Even though this battle started in confusion, they managed to obtain a pretty good haul. For example, a 4 Intelligence bone bracelet that dropped just now. He directly gave it to Franklin.

The army of about 50 skeleton warriors were quickly eliminated. Broken bones and broken armour scattered across the ground. The caravan team had also sustained 4 casualties. All of them died because they fought with their usual fighting habit; they treated the skeletons the same as other living creatures with flesh and blood, and moved on to another target after they stabbed a skeleton in the chest. Naturally, they were stabbed in the back in turn.

The defeat of his vanguard team did not bring forth any special reactions from the Nazg?l at the back. He still sat imposingly on his Nightmare and simply gestured with his hand. Some whimpering noises could suddenly be heard from the ground. A large, pale, rotting hand abruptly broke through the surface of the ground, then supported its body to crawl out of the kingdom of the dead. It stepped into this world, bringing with it fear and a terrible stench.

"So the 2nd wave will consist of zombies?" thought Sheyan as he exchanged a look with Reef. He then asked Franklin to produce a doppelganger of Reef and placed it right at the very front. The move proved to be a wise one. There were less than 20 zombies summoned, but their formidability shocked both Sheyan and Reef. Besides being a bit slow, the other stats of the zombies were almost comparable to the Uruk-hai.

They managed to endure the 2nd wave with extreme difficulty. The loss on their side was huge. Both Ents were torn to shreds by the bites and claws of the zombies, while the caravan team lost more than half of their members. Even the old guide perished in this wave of attack. Franklin had spent all his spiritual power. Only Melody had the strength to carry on.

After Sheyan chopped the head off the last zombie standing, the Nazg?l finally moved his Nightmare mount and sauntered over slowly. Under the dim moonlight, an emotionless voice drifted over from behind his rusty faceguard.

"You have gained the honour to die by my hands, humans."

His voice sounded like the friction between rusty chains, sending chills into their bodies.

"You have displayed respectable might and have gained the right to make a choice. Now, tell me. Will you become a loyal servant of Dwar, Lord of Shantell Castle, the 3rd Earl of Waw, believer of the Shadow God, and loyal servant to Lord Sauron; or suffer eternal torture from a cruel death?"

Sheyan eyes suddenly turned bright as he spoke into the party channel.

"Is he trying to recruit us? From what I know, Nazg?ls aren't this friendly."

Franklin asked.

"Why can I sense the aura of natural power behind the Nazg?l?"

Melody pointed her finger at the Nazg?l called Dwar. The Nazg?l immediately released a groan in pain and his body visibly turned ghostly for a split second. Lumps of green light could be seen from within his abdomen, right leg and chest. His nightmare mount looked to be in an even worse condition. The lump of green light in its organ was as big as a soccer ball! A large amount of black miasma obstinately surrounded the green glows.

Sheyan eyes displayed a glint when he saw this scene. He said.

"Aha! This Nazg?l was hurt by either Galadriel or Legolas! Maybe his underlings were all killed too. He definitely hasn't recovered from his heavy injury, that's why he wishes to recruit us. What are we waiting for then?"

Sheyan inhaled deeply. The nightmare imprint on his chest radiated to signal his awakened state. He activated 'Hornrage' and charged over! Sheyan currently had a staggering amount of 3000 HP. Coupled with his 'Endurance' ability, he could take more daring measures compared to before!

He crashed into the Nightmare mount of the Nazg?l, prompting the mount to release a miserable neigh! The natural power within the injury on its body was inflicted by the formidable Galadriel with the power of Nenya, the Ring of Water. The Nazg?l, Dwar, was unwilling to receive the attack so he used the mount to shield himself. The Nightmare only appeared impressive, but was actually greatly weakened!

Before Reef could rush over to help, Melody had already provided support. She shot 3 arrows simultaneously with her bow; the red glimmer on the arrowheads truly blinding. More importantly, with the help of the memory from her past life, the 3 arrows flew at a frightening speed! They released sharp howls as they tore through the air.

High speed naturally meant high damage.

If a 3 year-old held a bullet and knocked it on the head of a man, the man would at most feel a bit of pain. It would be a miracle if he sustained a concussion from that hit. But if the bullet had the same velocity as a bullet fired from a gun, forget surviving, he would be fortunate to die with his brain intact!

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Chapter 845: Fierce battle

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

After those 3 arrows left Melody's bow, they oddly descended and sped away close to the ground like electric sparks. They were almost too much for the eyes to take in!

The sight caused the red glint behind Dwar's faceguard to glimmer. He reached behind with his rusty gauntlet and grabbed the hilt of the greatsword on his back.

The series of action in brandishing his sword gave off a clear, steady, powerful and reliable feel. It was as if a sword instructor was giving a demonstration to his students.

The moment his greatsword was unsheathed, it hacked away 2 out of the 3 arrows shot by Melody!

The speed of his sword was enough to distort one's senses.

A terrifying black flame enveloped the greatsword. As soon as Melody's arrows come into contact with the black flame, they melted with a hiss like they were made of snow. However, after chopping down 2 arrows, the downward trajectory of the slashing greatsword was stopped by Sheyan's '7 West'!

There were no sharp clangs that one would expect when metallic weapons collide. There were no shrill screaming noises either. It was a silent collision with a few dim sparks.

When Sheyan decided to block the Nazg?l's greatsword, he was already prepared to be blown away and receive a heavy damage. However, even though the force transmitted through his hands felt really heavy, it wasn't something he couldn't withstand! He was only forced back a few steps from the block. Right as he was feeling stunned, he discovered that the black flame had travelled through his blade all the way to his hands, before burning once and extinguishing itself.

The penetrating pain made Sheyan groan. Both his palms were burned scarlet-red. But thanks to his parrying, Melody's "surviving" arrow was able to lodge itself deep inside the body of the Nightmare mount.

After the arrow drew a spurt of black-coloured blood, the red shine on its tip seeped into the Nightmare and touched the green glow of natural power inside the Nightmare's body!

The scene made one think of a lit cigarette being thrown into a barrel full of oil…

The Nightmare mount was momentarily stunned. The next moment, it suddenly cracked and exploded into dozens of fleshy chunks! Thick black liquid splashed everywhere, carrying a foul stench with it.

Reef arrived at this moment to unleash his usual 'Shattering Cardiac Roar'. He next tried his luck with the 'Trampling Hooves' ability on his shoes. It actually succeeded! He dropped the Nazg?l to the ground and proceeded to step on him ferociously.

"This Nazg?l has really experienced a severe drop in strength," said a baffled Sheyan in the party channel.

Franklin seemed to have given some thought to this matter. After shooting out an evocated ray at the Nazg?l, he said.

"Actually, the strength stats of the Nazg?l have never been outstanding. Their specialty lied in causing fear. They possess a large amount of black magic and the ability to control undead creatures, in addition to their aura of terror. This Nazg?l is even heavily injured. It's understandable for him not to possess overwhelming strength."

Sheyan naturally wanted to literally kick the Nazg?l while he's down. He immediately rained down a flurry of slashes. The remaining caravan members also rushed over to unleash attacks of their own.

The 3 green glows in the Nazg?l's body were still shining brightly after being stimulated by Melody. Those should be the places where the Nazg?l previously sustained the worst injuries. Just to be safe, Sheyan focused his attacks on the right leg. His plan was simple; cripple the Nazg?l, then with the godly sniping skills of Melody, at the very least they can kite him to death!

Suddenly, the Nazg?l opened his huge, black, mouth wide and emitted a piercing scream.

As the scream reached Sheyan's ears, an image of a fully wrinkled Sheyan waiting for his death appeared in front of his eyes. He felt like someone on the brink of death, ready to depart from the world any moment. That feeling of helplessness made him cry out in hysteria. He ran away holding his head, as if that was the only way he can escape the terrible fate.

However, after taking 5-6 steps, a warmth permeated through his head as if he was basking in a strong afternoon sunlight. He was instantly jolted awake. Only now did Sheyan notice the battle notifications:

[You have been affected by the Nazg?l's 'Cry of Terror'. You will fall into a state of extreme fear. The effect will last for 15 seconds (1 minute for common people) or until you suffer 2 attacks.]

[The fear you emitted was absorbed by Dwar. His HP will be recovered by a certain amount.]

[The Twilight Elf's blessing has been triggered. You escaped from the state of fear.]

"Holy sheet!" Sheyan had a bad feeling and instantly turned back.

The scene he saw was of the Nazg?l standing tall while the caravan members ran around him with their faces distorted in fear. All the caravan members continuously released a black trail of mist that floated out of their body into the Nazg?l's mouth.

In such a short amount of time, the glows of natural power in the Nazg?l's body had been suppressed by 1/5!

Sheyan's eyes flashed with determination. He gritted his teeth and ran to a caravan member, then killed the caravan member with a slash of his blade!

"We have no other choice. The fear provided by these people would become quality nourishment for the Nazg?l. Kill everyone except for Goots. Melody, focus on attacking the Nazg?l, don't lift your hands against the humans!"

Sheyan didn't want Melody's help in eliminating the caravan workers because he didn't want her to directly face such cruel realities. Franklin was situated pretty far away so he wasn't inflicted with the 'Cry of Terror', while Reef also had the Twilight Elf's blessing. Together with Reef, Sheyan killed off the caravan members running around in fear one by one. It didn't take them long to eliminate the defenseless humans.

Dwar didn't expect them to take such extreme measures. He lifted his greatsword with a grunt to launch his attack, but Melody's deadly arrows forced him to defend himself.

The arrows contained the dual aura of the power of nature and sunlight that he hated the most. His Nightmare mount had already demonstrated the consequence of being hit by one. Dwar didn't want to personally taste the might of an arrow if he could help it.

When Sheyan finished "clearing away" the caravan members, Melody was already so tired she could barely lift her longbow. She was only a newly awakened Twilight Elf, and she also needed to maintain the 2 protective spells that Vilya bound on her body: 'Eternal Field' and 'Instantaneous Teleportation'. She had already pushed herself to her limit.

Goots was noticeably stronger than his subordinates. He didn't say anything after escaping his state of fear. He understood that if his subordinates weren't killed, then they will all die here today! He no longer dared to engage in melee attacks against the Nazg?l and instead chose to attack with his own longbow from afar. However, the damage that normal arrows could do to a Nazg?l was expectedly meagre.

When Melody stopped to catch her breath, the Nazg?l's eyes flashed. He took the opportunity to chant an incantation.

"Spread, Fog of Death."

"I shall return your souls to you. I shall grant you immense power. I shall give you a chance for revenge."

"Rise! Rise! You souls who died an unjust death. Use your weapons, your nails, your teeth to cause the enemies injuries they will never forget!"

Dwar plunged his greatsword deep into the ground before forcefully pulling it back out. Puffs of grey fog billowed out from the ground and rapidly enveloped the area. The fog seeped into the noses and mouths of the fresh corpses. The next moment, the corpses climbed up from the ground amidst moaning noises from their throats. They charged towards Sheyan's group with extreme hatred!

Looking at the claws and teeth of these zombies, Sheyan was almost certain that they are at least a few times stronger than the zombies created by T-viruses. He braced himself for battle, when the Nazg?l once again chanted.

"The power of darkness has congregated around the blood and the souls."

"The song of the banshee echoes through the night."

"……"

"……"

Franklin stretched out his palm towards the powerful Nazg?l. A distortion was immediately created within the atmosphere. Franklin casted an evocation type magic called 'Hand of Suffocation' to try and stop Dwar's chanting.

Unfortunately, he did not succeed. Dwar continued chanting while pointing his greatsword towards Franklin. The latter released a groan and staggered back. Blood flowed down his nose; it was the backlash from his failed casting.

Sheyan didn't know what Dwar was trying to cast, but he did know that if he let Dwar finish his chant, the Nazg?l would hold absolute advantage over them for the remainder of the fight. To fall into the enemy's rhythm would only lead to defeat!

Therefore, he decisively yelled.

"Reef, it's time to use that move! Melody, support him!"

Reef inhaled deeply and ran in front of Sheyan. Zombies were closing in all around them. Reef lifted his shield and held it high.

In that instant, the bright light of the sun radiated through the night!

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Chapter 846: Divine Art

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

A ring of indescribable light spread from Reef's shield towards the surrounding, as if it was a liquid that covered up everything. The light brought with it unbearable heat. All the zombies near Sheyan's group burned with a red flame, causing them to scream in pain.

At the same time, Melody threw out a leaf that looked incomparably green.

After the leaf absorbed the sunlight - even if the sunlight only shined for a moment - it rapidly melted into an emerald green orb of light and flew towards Dwar. Dwar kept chanting as he slashed fiercely at the green glow. However, he failed. The orb of light reached his armour and melted into the 3 green glows that were originally in his body, thus enlarging them.

That was a sunlight divine art: 'Leaf of Amplification'. It's terribly unfortunate that it was currently nighttime. Otherwise, Melody could have performed even more divine arts of Sin'Dorei.

The Nazg?l trembled from head to toe. Cracks even appeared in his armour. Despite that, he persisted with his chanting!

As the burning zombies fell one after another, Dwar completed his chant. A mysterious blood-red magic rune appeared in front of him. It rapidly increased in size and floated to about 10 metres in height. The magic rune looked like an evil eye that casted its poisonous gaze on everyone there.

Sheyan immediately received notifications from his nightmare imprint:

[You are being watched by the Bloodmoon Rune!]

[While you are under the gaze of the Bloodmoon Rune, you will receive a damage deep inside your soul every 10 seconds. The damage may cause abnormal statuses such as fear, blind, slow, cursed, etc.]

[Warning: The effect of the Bloodmoon Rune is directly imparted on your soul. It will keep following you in an inexplicable way until the Rune loses its effect. If you turn your back to it, each time it inflicts damage on you, there will be a 100% chance of causing 3 seconds of stun.]

[Warning: Your fear will be absorbed by the Nazg?l to recover his HP.]

Without a doubt, the only way they can win under the effect of that dastardly Rune was to finish the fight quickly!

Melody's face turned troubled. She lifted her longbow to attack again. The insanely strong Nazg?l seemed to be really wary of Melody, so he took another measure.

He once again plunged his sword into the ground. When he pulled his sword out, a weird noise could be heard from the ground. It sounded like the cries of vengeful spirits mixed with the sound of ice freezing. The Nazg?l actually used black magic to create a strange wall. The wall was built using the bones of the fallen skeleton warriors as its core, the vines and roots of trees as additional materials, which were mixed in soil that was frozen solid.

It wasn't merely a wall, it was a rampart that was almost half a metre thick and had a surface of over 5 square metres!

With such an obstacle between them, unless Melody could return to the peak strength of her previous life, she could do nothing to the Nazg?l.

The Nazg?l overcame skills with brute force!

Even the world trembled with the rise of the rampart. Being the monster that he was, Dwar pushed the gigantic rampart forward slowly. Sheyan and Reef wasted no time in rushing towards the Nazg?l to stop him. Facing their charge, the Nazg?l continued to resolutely push the rampart with his left hand while hacking his greatsword towards the ground with his right.

Fissures instantly formed on the ground. From the fissures flew numerous pieces of soil that burned with a black flame towards Sheyan and Reef.

Sheyan groaned. He hacked away 2 pieces of flung soil but a third piece that was about the size of a fist hit his chest. The black flame on it burned his body. There was also half a skeleton finger lodged inside the lump of soil that burrowed deep into Sheyan's chest upon contact. The flesh around the bone started to blacken and rot!

Reef, under the protection of his shield, continue advancing forward. Seeing this, the Nazg?l once again hacked towards the ground. Even more flaming lumps of rock and dirt were flung this time. Despite Reef's strength, he was still forced back by the dense hail of soil.

At that moment, the Bloodmoon Rune flickered once. Sheyan instantly felt a sharp pain in his brain and his heart, causing his whole body to feel weak. His legs became devoid of energy. The Bloodmoon Rune's damage had seemingly triggered a speed reduction effect.

It was even worse for Franklin; he was inflicted with fear. He held his head and ran around aimlessly while screaming in terror. His fear formed into a visible black substance that was rapidly absorbed by the wide-open mouth of the Nazg?l.

In this chaotic situation, Melody once again pulled her bow to attack!

Her pupils changed from the normal light blue of the Elves into a silver-white colour. Her emotionless gaze looked down on everything in existence, making one avert one's gaze from her eyes like one would with the bright sun!

"Forward!" rang Melody's clear voice that brimmed with decisiveness and authority!

A large illusion of a female Elf appeared behind Melody. The face of the female Elf was veiled, but just like Melody, her eyes looked as clear as the stream between the white rocks on a mountain!

Then, the arrow on Melody's longbow incinerated into ashes! However, the flame remained. The string of the bow even lit up with the bright light of the sun!

When Reef previously activated the skill 'Scorching Radiance' on his shield, Melody had used a divine art that was only possible with the presence of sunlight: the 'Leaf of Amplification'. No one knew that she had stored some extra sunlight at that instant. Using the stored sunlight, she unleashed another divine art in this crucial moment.

A divine art which used sunlight as the bowstring and scorching flame as the arrow.

'Cleansing Impact'!

The fiery arrow flew forward and crashed fiercely into the mysterious rampart in front of the Nazg?l!

At the moment of contact, the rampart seemingly turned invisible under the glow of sunlight. The fierce fire burrowed through the rampart leaving a small hole in its wake, then hit the Nazg?l hidden behind the rampart. The flame spread all over the Nazg?l's body and lit the Nazg?l ablaze.

The hollow and emotionless voice of the Nazg?l rang out.

"You're…a…Twilight…"

Sheyan took the chance to land a heavy kick on the cracking rampart.

The heavily-damaged rampart couldn't withstand Sheyan's battering. The soil on its surface was blasted away to reveal the intertwining roots and bones within.

Reef hit down hard with his giant claw to completely shatter what remained of the rampart.

Sheyan then took out Ambition, activated 'Rum and Songs', and shot towards Dwar. Just like he expected, the Nazg?l was immune the effects of 'Rum and Songs'. Sheyan's Pestilence Monarch did not do anything against the Nazg?l either due to its low level.

But Sheyan remained decisive. Amidst the cloud of flying dust, he lowered his posture and charged towards the burning Nazg?l like a tiger charging down the mountain to hunt; full of hunger, greed and dominance.

Sheyan grabbed Dwar's right hand tightly to prevent him from casting anymore strange spells with his greatsword. Even though Sheyan was wearing a chainmail glove, a strange feeling still spread onto his hands upon contact with the Nazg?l's flesh. It felt as if his hands were bound by sticky spider webs. The feeling was disgusting and hard to shake off. However, Sheyan displayed a strong determination. Both his hands held on firmly, winning a precious chance for Reef and Melody.

Reef's claw glittered as he unleashed the skill on the claw upon the right foot of the Nazg?l. Sparks flew as the hard claw collided with the Nazg?l's steel armour. It looked as if Reef's claw was blocked by the armour, but upon closer inspection one would find the green glow of natural power within the Nazg?l's right foot to have grown bigger.

The Nazg?l lowered his head and opened his mouth wide in Sheyan's direction. Sheyan instantly felt a huge threat but with the corner of his eyes, he saw Melody once again lift her longbow while loading a strange-looking arrow. So, he gritted his teeth and endured.

A mysterious cold wind blew forth from the Nazg?l's mouth.

The cold wind could be seen with naked eye. As if it was alive, it crept into Sheyan through every orifice on his face. Sheyan instantly felt weak all over. It was followed by a disgusting feeling, as if all his internal organs had rotted and were crawling with maggots! It made him vomit furiously.

Sheyan knew that he was inflicted with the Black Breath of the Nazg?l. That was terrible news to him. The endless list of victims of the Black Breath included such prominent storyline characters as Faramir, éowyn and Merry. The victims would experience severe despair, nightmare and unconsciousness. In serious cases, it may even prove fatal.

The darkness of despair assaulted Sheyan. Right before he lost consciousness, he caught a glimpse of Melody shooting out an extremely long arrow. The arrow accurately lodged itself into the left palm of the Nazg?l. Instantly, the 3 glows of natural power in the Nazg?l congregated towards the arrow like they were attracted to a magnet. Then, a blinding light burst forth!

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Chapter 847: New title

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Sheyan felt numb all over after he regained consciousness. He tried to sit up, but he couldn't feel his limbs at all. No part of his body responded to him, as if every nerve in his body had been destroyed.

He didn't panic. Instead, he shut his eyes and pulled his senses back within himself. He could feel the roots of the Stairway of the Sun coursing through the major arteries and nerves in his body. Once it realised that Sheyan's consciousness had returned, it retracted back its roots. Sheyan's brain instantly regained control of his body.

Simultaneously, Sheyan received notifications from his nightmare imprint.

[The parasite in your body, Stairway of the Sun absorbed away most of the Black Breath which invaded your body.]

[The parasite in your body, Stairway of the Sun will fall into a sleeping state. The estimated duration of the sleep is 24 hours. During this period, your Pestilence Monarch ability will be locked.]

[There is still a small portion of Black Breath left in your body. All your stats are temporarily decreased by 20% until the Black Breath in your body is dispelled.]

"Damn, so unlucky!" complained Sheyan to himself while he tried to stand up with difficulty. He didn't expect the Black Breath to be so malicious. The duration of its debuffing effect was actually semi-permanent. He might actually have to wait until he returned to the nightmare realm to purify the debuff with utility points. It was terrible news for Sheyan.

The sky was still dark. Seems like it would be awhile before the sun rose. Warmth permeated to Sheyan's skin from a bonfire next to him. The comfortable heat provided some comfort to alleviate the remaining feeling of paralysis.

Melody quietly sat cross-legged under a huge tree about 7 meters away from him. She had her eyes closed. Formless threads connected her body to the forest behind her. Everytime she breathed, the forest gently swayed with her. Bits of lights continuously streamed into her body like fireflies before once again dispersing to the environment.

"Boss, you're awake?" Franklin noticed Sheyan's movement and came over to check on him.

Sheyan made a hushing motion as he pointed towards Melody. He didn't want to disturb her training.

"Where's the Nazg?l?"

Franklin answered in a quiet voice.

"He scattered. Our attacking focus at the beginning was a mistake. The Nazg?ls don't care about injuries to their physical bodies. Even the power of nature could only suppress them, but not destroy them. The source of their power lies in the Nine Rings! Their only weaknesses were the rings they wear."

Sheyan abruptly recalled the matter. The current conflict in the Lord of the Rings world began in the Second Age when the talented Noldorin smith, Celebrimbor forged the 3 Elven Rings of Power, the Seven Dwarven Rings, and the Nine Rings for mortal men under the guidance of Sauron.

Unbeknownst to them, Sauron secretly forged the One Ring, a ring that can not only grant the wearer immortality, but also let the wearer rule over all the lesser Rings and enslave the world.

The Nine Rings of the humans were the ones that the One Ring exerted the strongest influence over. Their powerful wearers who pursue strength became the terrifying Ringwraiths after they died. Therefore, the weakness of the Ringwraiths were not their hearts or their brains like other humans, but the Nine Rings on their fingers!

No wonder Melody's last arrow was directed towards the Nazg?l's palm. It was to concentrate the other powers of nature in his body towards that area, in order to destroy him. In fact, even the Dark Lord Sauron was only defeated before this when his finger was chopped off together with the One Ring. Sheyan thus asked Franklin.

"What happened to our friend, Mr. Dwar in the end?"

Franklin shrugged his shoulders and answered.

"Unfortunately, Miss Melody's Ring of Air was not strong enough yet to capture the Ring worn by Dwar. The Ring was recalled back by the One Ring. Dwar's soul imprint on the Ring will allow him to be revived after a certain amount of time. In the meantime, his power will be shared by the remaining Ringwraiths. That means the other Nazg?ls will become stronger during this period of time."

"So we didn't get any keys, chests or loot?"

Asked Sheyan regretfully.

Franklin answered.

"Both Mr. Reef and I received 500 Fate points of the Dark Lord faction. Besides that, we also triggered an advanced title - Dark Conqueror. The requirement was to destroy 9 Ringwraiths. We can choose 1 out of 3 options for the title reward. Finally, we received an unknown item - [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazg?l]."

Initially, Sheyan was baffled as to why they would receive Fate points of the Dark Lord faction when they kill the underlings of the Dark Lord. From what he could see now, he could make a guess. Everyone on the Dark Lord's side were eccentric and had strange personalities. If they were the ones who initiated attack, then self defense by the contestants was fair play. Otherwise, it would be too unfair for people who chose to side with the Dark Lord's faction.

He looked at his notifications to check the detailed explanations for the triggered milestone of Dark Conqueror.

[Dark Conqueror (1/9)]

[Once you have defeated all the Nazg?ls, you shall receive this formidable title. You can choose one reward for the title from the following 3 options.]

A. You will receive the mount of the Nazg?l - a Nightmare. This is an extremely fast mount which has a level 3 Aura of Terror. It would exhibit its usefulness regardless of whether you are in a battlefield, making a tactical retreat, or in pursuit of your enemies. When the Nightmare dies, it will self-revive after a certain amount of time.

B. Your reputation is quite notorious within the Dark side. By paying a certain fee, you can randomly summon either a vampire, a dark knight, or a lich. The rank of the summoned creature of darkness will be 3rd rank the difficulty level of your current world.

C. All your attacks will contain the darkness element. You will inflict an additional 10% of dark damage.

Sheyan noted the explanation stated that as long as one participated in the battle against a Nazg?l, it would count towards the completion of the milestone. It means that he can complete the milestone with the power of storyline characters. The difficulty may not be as high as he initially imagined.

Next, he examined the [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazg?l]. The description given by realm was:

[This is the proof of your participation in the destruction of a Nazg?l.]

It should have the same use as the [Elven Illusion Bone Crystal] that they got after killing Elrond.

Melody had finished her training by then. She walked over and gently inquired.

"How are you feeling?"

Sheyan forced out a smile and answered.

"I'm alright. The Black Breath won't kill me, but my power is inevitably weakened."

Melody then brought over a kettle that was put to boil on the fire. She poured the boiling content into a bowl and offered it to Sheyan. It appeared to be some sort of strange looking medicine that was blackish-green in colour and was very viscous. It kept bubbling even after it left the kettle. Every time a bubble burst, a weird noise which sounded like clapping could be heard.

"Drink this."

Sheyan was dumbstruck. To be honest, he did not want to drink that stuff at all. However, facing Melody's clear, round eyes, he didn't have the heart to refuse. He could only brace himself and gulped down the whole bowl in one go. The medicine actually didn't taste as bad as he thought it would. A warmth spread from his throat all the way to his stomach, then permeated into his limbs, comforting his pain.

Sheyan's reduction in stats dropped to only 10% after consuming the medicine. Melody sighed regretfully.

"Looks like need the Athelas herb to completely remove the negative effects of the Black Breath. Fortunately, the Shire isn't far from here. Hopefully we can procure some Athelas there."

"To get to the Shire, we will need the help of Goots," said Sheyan with a cough.

Melody nodded.

"Goots has lost everything in this trip. We must find a way to compensate him. We can ask the Gimli tribe to provide him with a several loads of goods at base cost."

She turned her gaze towards the kettle used to brew the medicine. It was something that was exchanged from the realm, so the handicraft was more advanced compared to this world. Melody asked.

"I've never seen such an exquisite kettle before. Is this a product from your world?"

Sheyan hugged her with a smile and told her.

"That's right. From where I come from, anyone has the luxury to use a kettle like this."

Melody's clear eyes glimmered with anticipation.

"Such mysterious craftsmanship. I'm really looking forward to seeing your world."

Sheyan kept smiling and said.

"Don't worry, that day will come soon. However, I must warn you that we have a very different way of life compared to the Elves. When you get there things might be fresh and exciting at first, but after a while you may find the leisurely lifestyle of the Elves much more preferable."

At that moment, Goots woke up with a groan. After gulping down some water, he asked.

"Am I still alive? Where's the Nazg?l?"

"We chased him away," explained Sheyan simply. "Mr. Goots, I must apologise for the death of your people…"

Goots closed his eyes and sighed regretfully.

"I can understand the predicament you were in. In fact, I must thank you for saving my life. It was the evil Nazg?l who caused their death, god bless their souls. This is still a dangerous place so I suggest we depart at once. Before the sun sets this afternoon, we should be able to taste the Hobbits' famous smoked intestines with garlic."

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Chapter 848: Coincidence or planned?

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Goots turned out to be a good caravan owner but a mediocre guide.

Following his suggestion, they departed at once. However, after what felt like 3 kilometers, they were still walking around in the endless forest. They would lift their head after a certain distance, hoping to see the starry sky or feel the caress of the wind on their faces, but to no avail. The forest trapped them in a cage of branches and leaves.

Besides the sounds they emitted themselves, they were surrounded by an eternal silence, a long darkness and the absence of life. They have torches, of course, but the light only penetrated as far as 5 meters. Beyond that, they couldn't even see their own fingers. The darkness was awfully eerie.

Sheyan felt something was wrong. Under such a situation, if they were to meet with any danger, they wouldn't be able to react in time. He instantly asked Melody.

"What's happening to us? Something's not right."

Melody shut her eyes, then shook her head slightly.

"The [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazg?l] on you is shrouding us with a dense black aura. I can't feel the flow of nature; only madness, fear and chaos."

It appeared impossible for them to keep travelling, so they decided to stop. A bonfire was once again raised. Not long after that, glimmers of colourful lights appeared around them. The lights were actually multiple pairs of eyes staring at the group.

When they approached the eyes, the eyes would gradually disappear only to reappear in another direction.

Luckily, dawn soon arrived. With the modest light from the early sun, they could finally observe the real identities of the eyes. They belonged to countless grey and black moths, some of them as big as a palm. Some of the patterns on the moths looked like truly frightening smiling faces. The moths flapped their wings to scatter some kind of powder all around them.

Sheyan frowned in thought. It must be noted that the personal space of a contestant is independent from this world and should theoretically isolate any aura from spilling out. It seemed the [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazg?l] was not so simple.

The face-patterned moths couldn't resist the light of dawn and gradually flew away. The clouds on the sky were enveloped in a layer of gold, signifying a fair day ahead. Only now did the group discover that they had been walking in a huge circle for several hours. Their current location was less than 200 meters away from the place where they fought the Nazg?l.

The matter became much simpler now. Goots discerned the direction they should advance in and gradually steered them onto the main road. At noon, they were fortunate enough to encounter a merchant caravan that set off from the Shire. From the caravan they purchased some mounts. About 5 hours later, they successfully arrived at the Shire.

The Shire was inhabited by Hobbits. The Hobbits were about half as tall as the Númenóreans in the north, so they were also called Halflings.

Large patches of plowed farmland could be seen around the Shire, looking like orderly, brightly-coloured carpets.

The spring barleys looked green and should only mature in two months. The green leaves of the onions supported dandelion-like flowers. The North Down Hops would soon be ready to add their fragrance to ales and beers. Purple cabbages were currently being harvested. The carriages ahead carried full loads of pipe-weeds that will be sent into the Shire to be processed into aromatic tobacco leaves.

As they proceeded along the flat gravel road, the number of Hobbits they encountered grew larger. The Hobbits all had stout bodies, red jovial cheeks, curly hair, honest faces, bright eyes and large mouths that were accustomed to smiling and enjoying good food. They were all shorter than a meter, without exception. The sounds of musical instruments could occasionally be heard from amongst them.

Sheyan noticed that the carefree Hobbits' feet were covered with brown curly hair and had leathery soles. That should be the reason why they were able to move so fast.

Quite a number of Hobbits had a long object made from cowhide on their backs. Goots explained that those slings were their weapons. One can imagine the slings to be like the chain balls used in hammer throwing events, except the chain can be severed according to the wielder's will. They possessed significant might and were rumoured to be able to sling egg-sized rocks at a shocking speed.

The Hobbits' residences are in the form of underground holes with only their roofs showing above the surface. Round doors made up the entrances to their houses; that was their preferred style of architecture. As Sheyan and his group travelled further, more round signposts and hobbit-holes crept up. They also met with more Hobbits with some Dwarves, Elves and Númenóreans mixed in. Unrestrained laughter blended with the smell of juniper wine to create a unique atmosphere.

Goots finally heaved a sigh of relief when the famous landmark of the Shire, the Old Windmill, appeared in front of them. It signified that they have finally stepped foot into the Shire. He was obviously still afraid of the Nazg?l keeping chase.

The whole Shire was built on a few hills with soft contours. Its streets were like mountainous paths,winding around those hills. The face of the hills were dug full of hobbit-holes. Wooden accessories decorated the residences with the unique style of the Hobbits. If one were to look from afar at night, the Shire would look like a collection of hills with bright lanterns hung on them. It depicted a scene full of warmth and tranquility.

The four of them chose an inn called the Black Sheep to rest in. The inn had a unique signboard that was charred by smoke. Quite a few mounts were resting outside the inn, indicating its thriving business. After settling matters concerning their accomodation, Goots had to rush off to handle his own business. Having his whole caravan decimated on their return trip was a serious matter after all. His operation was based in the Shire, so he had to go explain himself to his people.

Before Goots left, Sheyan shoved a pouch into his hands. Melody felt terrible for the loss he suffered, so she contributed 8 platinum coins as his compensation. 8 platinum coins were a small fortune worth 8 thousand silver coins. Goots seemed to be in dire financial straits as he accepted the coins without much hesitation.

The four of them were received with a warm reception in the inn. They were assaulted with the blended smell of ham, eggs, freshly baked bread, ale and tobacco while coursing their way through multiple round tables and wooden benches. Finally, they managed to grab an empty table at the corner. While waiting for their food to arrive, Sheyan suddenly heard a loud voice boom out from the neighbouring table.

"I've never seen such a generous person. Truly! I swear upon my smoking pipe. In order to teleport to Eriador as soon as possible, he paid 30 platinum coins! He even gave me a platinum coin as a tip. That's why I can afford to treat all of you to Aunt Suchell's delicious smoked meat today!"

There were a hundred such conversations in the inn every minute. The reason Sheyan was attracted to this particular one was due to the name "Eriador". That happened to be the sole reason he was in the Shire - before he got inflicted with the Black Breath, of course. Now, he also had to find some Athelas here.

Unfortunately, he did not hear anything else worthy of note. Their dinner was soon served. Sheyan didn't let the surly looking waiter leave immediately. Instead, he put 10 silver coins on the table with a smile and said.

"This is a small fee to have you stay and answer a few questions for me. If your answers are satisfactory, I will pay an additional 20 silver coins to show my appreciation."

The beardy waiter looked at Sheyan suspiciously, but still grabbed the coins.

"I only have minutes. Any longer, and "Quenn" Suchell in the kitchen will skin me alive. That's a risk worth at least 10 platinum coins."

Sheyan continued smiling and asked.

"Do you know where I can buy some Athelas?"

The waiter grumbled to himself.

"Damn, what the hell is an Athelas?"

But he was unwilling to let the additional tips slip from his hands as he added.

"Maybe you can wait for another hour? I'll help you ask around."

Sheyan raised his brows.

"I'll be staying here the whole night. 2nd question, and also the last one - is there a merchant selling plants or seeds around this place?"

"You can find many merchants dealing in magical materials in Buckland. The pipe-weed of the Shire is famous for being an indispensable spellcasting material. A lot of sages wish to purchase them. You should be able to find the plant you wish to buy there. Thank you for your coins, sir."

The waiter deftly swept away the coins left by Sheyan on the table. Before he left, he added.

"If this is your first time in our inn, I suggest you spread some butter on your smoked meat. It will taste even better."

Sheyan smiled and nodded. However, the only thing on his mind was the question.

"Who was the person that was in such a hurry to get to Eriador? Is this a mere coincidence, or an ominous sign?"

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Chapter 849: Fragment? Infection source?

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

The Shire had a magnificent night view, but not a lot of people took the time to appreciate it. Most people here prefer to spend their evening in bars and taverns.

That was also the reason why Sheyan kept tossing and turning in his futile attempt to chase after sleep, despite the comfortable bed and warm blanket. The sound of clapping, laughing and Hobbit lutes kept being transmitted from the gap of the wooden floor in his room. Sheyan patiently bore with it until the lute sounds finally ended, but it was soon followed by a series of rhythmic knocking sound as if carpenters were continuously knocking on the tables.

Sheyan suddenly saw his old and blackened door bar shake and move by itself. A few thin branches somehow grew out from the bar. The door bar slowly and respectfully removed itself from its place, as if it was a bodyguard opening the car door for its queen.

The door opened by a crack and in came Melody, along with the fresh and passionate air she brings. Her smell completely submerged Sheyan; her cloudy eyes dreamy and lovely. Sheyan reached out to pull the soft but full figure into his embrace and gave her a deep kiss. His hands showed no restraint in caressing her lovely curves.

Sheyan whispered a few words into Melody's pointed ear, prompting her to lift her head and look at Sheyan those bright eyes of her while she asked.

"Is that really alright?"

Sheyan answered earnestly.

"Of course. I won't mislead you."

"Then why is your smile so weird?" Melody blinked and asked in a confused and naive tone.

"Trust me," said Sheyan. "I'm your protector."

Even though he said that with a serious expression, under current circumstances, he sounded really perverted.

"Come on. Hurry up."

Melody finally gave in to his urging. She grudgingly held her hair back with a blush and moved down…

About 2 hours later, Sheyan lied contentedly on his bed. Meanwhile, Melody was punching him with watery eyes.

"You lied! It really hurt."

Sheyan merely yawned lazily. He had a really high defense, while Elves - even Twilight Elves - had never been famous for their muscles. As long as Melody didn't pick up a weapon, her punches merely felt like a massage. He suddenly frowned as he said.

"Why aren't the people downstairs sleeping yet? They would knock on the tables after playing the lute, then after knocking on tables they would go back to playing the lute. Aren't they tired?"

Melody glared at him and said.

"They're not knocking on tables. That's the cancan dance spread from Anduin. The one performing today is Aunt Marilyn who's famous around here. Of course the crowd would be excited."

When Sheyan heard the words "cancan dance", images of black stockings, long legs, and sexy red lips immediately formed in his mind. However, when Melody said "Aunt Marilyn", he suddenly lost all interest. He sighed and said.

"Let's just sleep early. Wait, how come you didn't close the door when you came in?"

Melody turned back in surprise as she exclaimed.

"No way! I did put the door bar back after performing the natural magic…AH! You liar! I don't want to be the one on the bottom…you're a bad man!"

The next day, Sheyan only stirred awake at noon. If it wasn't for the smell of Aunt Suchell's smoked meat, he wasn't sure what time he would wake up.

When he was getting dressed, Melody jumped slightly in surprise. She extended a hand and touched a wooden cupboard at the side. The cupboard shivered with a green glow and emitted some creaking noises. Suddenly, the bottom drawer of the cupboard shot out to reveal a brown patch inside. The patch looked suspiciously like dried bloodstain.

Green glow kept circling above the brown patch. Suddenly, a black, three-legged, toad-like creature leaped out from between wood shavings. It jumped up and down a few times before growing an odd pair of wings and tried to fly away.

Melody lazily pointed at the demonic creature. A lump of natural energy instantly wrapped around the creature to reduce it to ashes. She sniffed at the air and frowned.

"The wooden cupboard probably absorbed some death aura. The armour fragment on you is truly filled with darkness; even the aura it leaked out could turn anything it can corrupt into creatures of darkness."

Sheyan was shocked but he maintained a composed expression and smiled instead.

"It'll be fine. We'll be rid of this annoyance soon."

They went down to meet up with Reef and Franklin. The duo's constant yawning indicated that they were also victims of the cancan dance last night. Goots had long been waiting for them. The heard that the magical materials merchants in Buckland would open their shops late and close early, so the four of them quickly ordered 4 extra-large portions of smoked beef and buttered black bread before departing.

After tasting some sour catfish soup from a roadside stall, their bellies were completely filled. They hastily hurried to Buckland. Upon arriving, they were delighted to find that a lot of magic item shops showed no signs of closing yet. They were taking advantage of the sunny day to dry some herbs or to charge some magic items.

As the leader of a merchant caravan that traveled upon the dangerous Middle Earth, Goots naturally had dealings with the shop owners here. He took them to a magic shop that appeared very ancient. The name of the shop was Mouldy Bread, in line with the Hobbits' unique aesthetic sense.

The shop was owned by an aged Hobbit called Old Steger. He always maintained a smiling expression on his face. When he saw Goots leading some customers over, he immediately invited them to sit outside under the warm sun like he was receiving close friends and family. His employees brought out some cherry cookies and hot grapefruit tea for the guests. A warm atmosphere was instantly created.

As expected of a veteran merchant. With merely a few tiny actions, he pulled both sides closer.

Goots gestured towards Sheyan and said.

"My friends fought with a very formidable dark creature while they were escorting me back. Even though we were fortunate enough to defeat the dark creature and escape, he was heavily injured in the process. He still hasn't fully recovered."

Old Steger coughed a couple of times before inquiring with a smile.

"Can I take a look?"

Sheyan answered nonchalantly.

"No problem."

Old Steger strode over to observe Sheyan's face. He then went back inside his shop and rummaged around for a long time before bringing out a very old and primitive-looking bowl. A gemshard was engraved at its bottom. Old Steger proceeded to fill the bowl with water.

When Sheyan stared at the clear water inside the bowl, the reflected glow of the gemshard interweaved with sunlight to form a dazzling sight. As per Old Steger's request, Sheyan blew a breath into the water. The clear water gradually turned black as if Sheyan's breath contained a strong pollution.

Old Steger took a deep look at the water before sighing and told Sheyan with a solemn expression.

"It has been many years since I've seen someone as strong as you. You directly took on the Black Breath of a Ringwraith and still look so full of life."

Sheyan's estimation of Old Steger instantly soared. Just from him being able to identify the Black Breath, it was enough to show that Old Steger was no scam! Sheyan humbly said with a smile.

"That was only because the Ringwraith was already injured."

"Injured?" asked Old Steger in doubt. "In this world, who can injure something as strong as a Ringwraith?"

Sheyan sighed.

"Seems like you haven't received news of the 8 Ringwraiths' ambush on the leading figures among the Elves. Lord Elrond of Rivendell has fallen, while the 8 Ringwraiths were heavily injured from the deadly retaliation of the other Elven heroes."

"WHAT!!!!" Old Steger was so shocked by the news that he spilled grapefruit tea on himself. "How is something like that possible!"

Sheyan sighed again and told him.

"The Elves may be great and sacred, but they aren't without desires. The Ringwraiths made use of the cracks between them to launch their offense."

Old Steger was shocked stiff. It took him a while to compose himself before saying.

"We must inform the Shire's administration of this news at once! Fear not, Númenórean warrior, the Black Breath on you isn't heavy and you are also being protected by a natural power. You will heal completely after consuming a magic potion called Boiling Heart. "

Sheyan smiled at Old Steger and said.

"That was why I came here today. Only the Athelas herb can cure me of the Black Breath."

"Hants! Perform the preparation work for the potion immediately. I will be back after a quick trip to the administration office. You better finish the preparation before I come back. I'm in a bad mood today, don't give me an excuse to dish out punishment."

Old Steger was already rushing away while he was bellowing out the order.

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Chapter 850: Fatal crisis

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

The mage apprentice, Hants was truly unlucky. While he was nervously preparing all the materials for the medicine, he found that the Athelas herbs couldn't be prepared according to his teacher's instructions. That's because Hants couldn't find Old Steger's old cat anymore. He suddenly remembered that the old cat had been brought to a village 3 days ago.

Sheyan then asked a question that he would come to regret for a long time.

"Um, Mr. Hants, what does Athelas have to do with a cat?"

Hants solemnly replied.

"Athelas isn't really a rare herb. In fact, it can be found around the Shire. However, if we want to lift the Black Breath, we would need to use its seeds. Now, Athelas seeds are much rarer. They are highly poisonous so we normally use them to produce poison. This poison is very popular among hunters."

"I still don't understand what that has to do with a cat?" Sheyan continued with his enquiry.

"Please be patient while I explain, sir…Because the Athelas seed is poisonous, we must be very careful with its preparation. We must first remove the poisonous outer layer of the seed. Even if a tiny bit of the poisonous layer is left, it would severely affect the potency of the medicine. Therefore, we must let a cat swallow the seed first because its gastric acid can perfectly remove the seed's outer layer. Then, we have to extract the seed from the cat's body before its gastric acid can penetrate into the inner part of the seed."

Melody asked nervously.

"Doesn't that mean we have to kill the poor cat?"

"Oh, we're not that cruel. If we kill the cat then mice will run wild in our shop. More importantly, the composition of the cat's gastric juice will change following its death, which will destroy the seed. We only need to feed the cat some medicine that would irritate its stomach to let it vomit out or dispense out the processed seed as waste. Which route the seed takes to come out will depend on the cat's mood."

Sheyan's expression had turned extremely ugly by this point. On the other hand, Reef brimmed with schadenfreude as he smashed any false hope Sheyan may harbor.

"Excellent, Mr. Hants. I must applaud you for your vast knowledge! I have a question for you, just one - is the medicine prepared with the processed Athelas seed a consumable medicine or an applied ointment?"

The apprentice then gave an interesting answer.

"If the Black Breath affected the outside of the victims body, then applying the medicine on the skin would show better result. But if the Black Breath lied inside the body, then the medicine has to be consumed."

Old Steger only came back after 2 hours. His mood seemingly hadn't changed for the better after talking to the administrators. The poor apprentice experienced another wave of shouting.

With the price of 2 platinum coins, Old Steger found a mountain goat to "process" the Athelas seeds. Sheyan used the excuse of taking a look at other magic shops to escape the scene.

The potion produced was an extremely disgusting thick substance that was yellow-blackish in colour. The wisps of smoke escaping from the potion had a brownish-yellow colour to it. The smoke would obstinately circulate in the air for a long time without dispersing.

Old Steger vigorously stirred the potion until it no longer produced any smoke, then passed the potion to Sheyan. Sheyan could only shut his eyes tight and "drank" it. Rather than drinking the potion, it's more accurate to say Sheyan forced it into his stomach. He held his composure for 10 minutes before screaming miserably and retching out every last drop of the potion.

As if his disgusting vomit had a life of its own, it congealed into multiple bug-like creatures. The bugs jumped actively like they each possessed a soul. Old Steger was ready for this. He had prepared a wooden pail beforehand filled with privet leaves and oriental sweetgum flowers soaked in water. The creepy creatures hissed inside the water and dissipated into thin air.

Sheyan leaned on a chair and took in large gulps of breath. He only managed to compose himself after a long while. Even then, he looked like he had just recovered from from a severe illness. The good news was that the stubborn debuff on his body was finally removed. The treatment method of the old Hobbit was a bit disgusting but at least it was effective.

Franklin looked around in the shop and purchased some useful potions including some cold resistance potions, evocation strengthening potions, fountain of magic potions, etc. They were rather expensive, but Franklin didn't seem to be short on platinum coins. He even passed 3 potion bottles to Reef and Sheyan.

The first was an infrared vision potion. Upon consumption, one would possess a strong night vision comparable to a wild animal. The previous battle with the Ringwraith in the dark probably left a deep impression on Franklin.

The second potion was called [The Obstinacy of the Dwarves]. The main component of the potion was supposedly the beard of a Dwarf. It contained a mysterious power that would significantly improve the balance of the user. The user would find it hard to fall down even if their legs were attacked.

The last potion was something that was specifically brewed to combat against the power of darkness. It had a strange name called [Darkness Sponge]. Upon consumption, it would harden one's skin to absorb 50% of damage from dark energy. The duration of the potion was 24 hours, or until 1000 points of dark damage had been absorbed.

Sheyan and co. did not linger for long after their shopping spree. They headed directly to the Shire's teleport formation. As expected, the teleport formation was a money-swallowing device. It charged an astronomical fee of 100 platinum coins, each. There was even a footnote in the operational rules that stated: materials must be provided by the users themselves.

Fortunately for Sheyan, the doors of the Dwarven mining warehouses were kept open for him. Thus, he did not lack the materials required for the teleportation. The high quality gemstones from Moria guaranteed a smooth operation of the teleport formation. Even the waiting duration for the teleportation process was shortened by a few minutes.

Eriador presented a contrasting sight to the gentle and beautiful Shire.

If the Shire was like a smiling, innocent girl, then Eriador would be like a muscular man in animal skin, bellowing fiercely with his upper body bare!

This was a rough place. Even the air seemed to be screaming, and reeked of blood.

Only such a rough and brutal place could remain so close to the Dark Lord's territory. It provided endless valuable resources to the entire Middle Earth.

The ruler of this place was Lord Silon, who maintained the rarely seen slavery governing system on his land. Only such a tyrannical ruling method could maintain order in such a place. As Sheyan's group travelled along a road built from a kind of red stones unique to this area, they saw many things that couldn't be seen elsewhere.

For example, the patrol squad they encountered. The captain was a fully-armoured human, but following behind him were 10 enslaved half-orcs. These half-orc slaves were caught when they were young and were brought up here. They had bloodshot eyes, wore quality armours, and were equipped with axes and shields. If the squad were to meet with any danger, the captain would whip them, and the half-orcs would charge towards the enemy like pedigree hunting hounds.

From Sheyan's estimation, a fully-armoured half-orc should have almost the same battle capabilities as an Uruk-hai. At least, that would be the case in individual fights.

Despite having such a heavy atmosphere, Eriador had a point in common with the Shire. As long as one had the money, one could obtain what one desires.

It would take a while to reach the Dwarven outpost in the outskirts of Angmar. In addition, the land they pass through from now on would be as barren as the Gobi desert. They would need some local camels as to use as mounts. In fact, they needed 3 camels each. Not only could the camels act as transports, they could also provide food and water in an emergency.

There was also something else they direly needed:

A guide.

They had to travel through the Gobi desert with no GPS, no compass, no aeroplane and no mobile phone. Furthermore, their destination was Angmar, which could be said to be the nest of demons. Getting lost was a scary prospect.

The only requirement for obtaining a good guide was enough money, which luckily they do not lack. But while they were waiting, Sheyan heard some whispers.

"Another batch that wants to look for the outpost of the Gray Dwarves?"

"A total of 5 caravans have already sent supplies of salt and ales to the Gray Dwarves this year. What else can they get from that bunch of stingy Dwarves?"

"But it's weird. It's been a while since the group of outsiders led by Samomo departed. They should have returned by now. I didn't hear of any sandstorms occuring lately. "

"That doesn't matter. Even a world-destroying sandstorm is nothing to Samomo."

For some reason, Sheyan's heart felt heavier after he heard this conversation. He shook his head to clear his thoughts. The only things he could do now were to choose the best camels and offer more money to their guide to make haste.

Therefore, after merely 30 hours, they arrived at the Dwarven outpost at the cost of 10 camels dying from exhaustion.

This was a strange, wind-eroded place. The wind blew through a large number of mushroom-shaped rocks, bringing with it the damp, dark breath from Angmar which contained the acrid stench of blood and rotten bodies.

In front of Sheyan was the bloody mess of a large-scale massacre!!!!

The target of his main mission, the Gray Dwarves residing on the outskirts of Angmar, were all killed!!!!

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Chapter 851: Another option

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Low grey skies, swirling clouds, rough, huge boulders, and lush sea buckthorns.

Those were the unique features of the Dwarven outpost.

The Gray Dwarves may be called Dwarves, but they were very different from actual Dwarves. The Dwarves, Gray Dwarves and Hobbits in the Lord of the Rings world were all shorter than a meter, but their differences were very distinct. They were a bit similar to the Dwarves, Goblins and Gnomes in WoW.

The most distinct feature of the Gray Dwarves were their large ears, their messy hair, and their evil smile. Because they lived in such a desolate land, even the faces of younger Gray Dwarves were full of wrinkles. Their flesh and blood contained a terrible stench, while their souls were distorted and in tatters. They had no use to creatures of darkness. That was also the reason why they could survive here and do business with the creatures of darkness.

Sheyan walked around the base of the Gray Dwarves with a cold look on his face. The rancid smell of decay indicated that quite some time had passed since the massacre. It was clear that the Gray Dwarves had attempted to fight back, but from the look of fear and confusion on the faces of the corpses, their resistance wasn't very effective.

Sheyan found some strange injuries from grabbing, freezing and piercing attacks on the ankles and backs of some of the corpses. Besides that, there were also some injuries caused by explosions and shrapnels. Franklin cast an 'Evoke Detection' spell. He informed Sheyan that there was a very chaotic fluctuation of mana in the area.

Sheyan noticed that the area around the outpost showed an odd but strong vitality. Plants started sprouting here and there. What was strange was that the plants did not grow on the spots where the bodies lied. In theory, those spots should provide richer nutrients. Instead, the plants grew in some irregular places.

"I know who did this," said Sheyan faintly as he stood up.

"It was that guy from the Stockholm Party, Drubal! Only his advanced ability of 'Misty Jailhouse' can entrap all these Gray Dwarves and kill all of them without letting a single one escape! I'm guessing that the thing I extorted from him is extremely valuable. That's why he would come here and do something like this that served no purpose except to vent his anger."

Reef frowned as he asked.

"But how did he know this is place is our objective?"

Sheyan calmly said.

"You forgot one thing. There were many contestants who entered this world together with us and received the same mission. With the overwhelming might that the Stockholm Party displayed, it wouldn't be hard for them to find out."

Franklin abruptly sucked in a deep breath and asked nervously.

"Could he have…laid down some traps here to ambush us?"

Sheyan shook his head and said.

"The chances are low. He probably paid an additional price to continue staying in this world in order to come here, but he should be long gone by now. More importantly, he knows that even if he tries to ambush me, he has no confidence in killing me. He may be the one killed instead."

Reef kept frowning as he asked.

"So what do we do now?"

Sheyan gave it some thought before he replied.

"Call the guide over. Let's ask him if there are any more Gray Dwarven outposts around this area."

Franklin shouted for the guide a few times but there was no answer. They started getting nervous. After all, there was still a minute possibility of the Stockholm Party lying in ambush.

They searched around and finally found the guide next to a Gray Dwarven underground cave. He actually was killed by the Stockholm Party. A trigger-type magic ice trap froze him into an ice sculpture. The guide was still half kneeling on the ground with a greedy smile on his face.

The ice trap was placed on the body of the guide who brought Drubal's group here. Sheyan's exceptional memory told him that the guide's name was Samomo. The delighted look on his face showed that he died a very sudden and unexpected death. A few rubies on his chest gleamed amongst the wind of the Gobi desert. Sheyan's guide also held a ruby in his hand.

Even an idiot could tell what happened. Sheyan's guide went on a search for his colleague's body, either out of comraderie or for other reasons. He found the body and also found the glimmering rubies on it. Once he touched a ruby, an ice trap was triggered.

The trap seemed simple but the real trap lied in the greed of humans. It completely severed all possibility of Sheyan finding the next Gray Dwarven outpost with the help of their guide. Even after leaving this world, Drubal could still so accurately manipulate their situation. He really was an extremely calculative person.

Sheyan's party only had 2 days left in this world. 48 hours was obviously not enough to return to Eriador to hire another guide. It seemed like they only have one choice left, and that was to use the remaining 48 hours to search around the area and see if they can stumble upon another Gray Dwarven outpost by chance.

Since the scope of the choices left to them was so limited, who's to say Drubal wouldn't lay another trap for them? Don't forget that the Stockholm Party was very influential in the world of the Lord of the Rings, so much so that they could even stir the Ringwraiths into actions.

"We'll go back," Sheyan announced calmly.

They were shocked to hear Sheyan's decision.

"Go back where?"

Sheyan emotionlessly said.

"Eriador, of course."

Reef exclaimed in disbelief.

"But we won't make it back here in time."

Sheyan instead answered emotionlessly.

"We're not coming back here. In fact, we can't stay here any longer. We must leave at once! Every step of Drubal's plan is interconnected. Did you guys notice? Most of the corpses exhibited bite marks. Once it turned dark, there might be a terrifying creature coming here for food!"

Franklin instead laughed and said.

"Our Main Mission has no punishment for failure anyway. The default punishment was only to force us back to the realm. I feel like we've already gained an absurd amount from this trip. So what if we miss out on some rewards from the realm."

Franklin was telling the truth. He felt that his biggest gain from this world was to become a member of this party called Ace. Truthfully, with Franklin's ability, it's not hard for him to join a major party. But this is a Silver party! To join this party was like winning the lottery.

Sheyan's lips curled into a weird smile as he said.

"It's too early to declare that we will fail the mission for sure. We're not at the end of the road yet. Back at the teleport formation, I saw the name of another destination. I feel like we can try our luck there. I don't think Drubal could stretch his hands so far away."

They once again rushed back to Eriador. They paid no heed to the cost as all their remaining mounts were worked to death due to exhaustion. As a result, they managed to squeeze out 16 remaining hours from their precious 48 hours.

When they arrived at the teleport formation and asked to use it, they were refused.

The reason was simple. The guide that they hired, Lubaba, had not returned.

Due to the precedence of Samomo's disappearance, Lubaba's disappearance became a big deal. Even though Sheyan explained that the guide died from an accident during the trip, no one would listen to them. These greedy f*ckers had their eyes on the group's wealth. The cost to send 4 people to Isengard was not a small sum at all.

Melody was unexpectedly the first one to act in this situation.

She pulled her bow at an alarming speed and shot out a couple of really sharp arrows. They pierced into the arms of a tanned, stout fella a distance away and pinned him onto a board behind him.

The man screamed in pain as the bottle he was holding shattered on the ground. Next, he was instantly engulfed in a fierce flame, causing him to wail in agony.

For the group of people to even prepare Molotov cocktails, this must be a planned operation. The one who was pinned to the board revealed a cruel expression as he slashed his blade at the arrows pinning him, then launched himself to the ground. He rolled around a few times before shouting.

"Kill these bandits! They deceived our people to follow them into the Gobi desert, then murdered them. They must be followers of the Dark side."

His provocation caused the other local guides to rush madly towards Sheyan's party. All of them used a kind of thick-spined long blades as their weapons. They would leap forward and chop down to initiate their attack, a move which left no ground for retreat for themselves nor for their opponent.

Sheyan faced the assault of two local guides. He ignored the attack aimed at him as he brandished '7 West' and lodged it deep into the abdomen of the other enemy. Then, he used his strength to tear a long, deep opening in the enemy's abdomen. The guide's internal organs spewed out with a large amount of blood as he cried in pain. The scene was truly gory.

At the same time, the blade of the other local guide slashed down on Sheyan's shoulder. However, it was clamped by Sheyan's muscles and couldn't move another inch!

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Chapter 852: Isengard

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Sheyan didn't even bat an eye when he was struck. He remained as steady as a boulder.

Instead, it was Melody who shouted. She pulled on that ordinary-looking longbow of hers that contained a destructive force. A blinding ray of green light flew out from the bow to force the local guide who injured Sheyan back by a couple of steps. As spots of green light dissipated amidst his scream, a large hole appeared where his palm should be. His white bone eerily protruded out from the wound.

Sheyan decided to add insult to injury. He silently stepped forward and stabbed deep into the local's abdomen. The local wailed in extreme agony as Sheyan used him as a human meatshield.

He was immediately struck by a few throwing axes, which took away his life. A Molotov cocktail shattered on his back to light him up in flame. Only then did Sheyan kick the poor guy away.

At the same time, Reef's silver claw lodged itself into the throat of a local. He exerted strength to push the local back amidst a gory spray of blood. Reef gradually retreated into the building housing the teleport formation as he fought.

The shaman who operated the teleport formation felt that things were going awry and tried to run away. Unfortunately, his sarcastic comments previously had attracted enough aggro to himself. Franklin's staff pointed at him from far away. The shaman instantly felt a violent fluctuation of magic in the air, causing him to stay rooted to the spot like there was a rifle pointing at him. Despite that, his words remained stubborn.

"All you foolish non-believers! How dare you cause trouble in Eriador. If you do not immediately repent for your sins, I will make sure that you will be tied to a horse and be dragged to death!"

Sheyan wiped away the sweat from his forehead - or blood, he couldn't tell - as he retreated back, and coldly said.

"Make him shut his trap."

The patrol team had arrived by now. The local guides rushed over to the patrol team like they found their saviours and complained in an uproar. The captain instantly whipped hard on the bodies of the enslaved half-orc warriors to make them prepare for battle. They did not plan to hear Sheyan's side of the story at all.

Melody was enraged at the treatment they suffered. As the squad captain shouted at the half-orc slaves to charge, she once again lifted her longbow and released an arrow at an alarming speed.

Her face even turned a little pale after the arrow was released.

A glaring green light flashed for an instant!

The captain, who was clad in a full set of heavy armour, froze on the spot with a strange expression. His left hand trembled violently as he tried to touch his throat, but he felt as if he had lost all strength. A very ordinary looking arrow - not even an arrow, it was a branch with some green leaves on it - was stuck to his throat.

The branch looked like it grew out from inside his throat!

Suddenly, the branch exploded into a green mist and dispersed. The next instant, a mist of scarlet blood burst forth from the captain's throat for a few meters. A fist-sized hole appeared on the captain's throat, revealing torn flesh and muscles.

The captain fell rigidly onto the hard ground as his life left him. A large amount of blood flowed out from the major wound on his throat to drench the earth, while the people around him screamed in shock!

Sheyan took this opportunity to approach the shaman operating the teleport formation.

"Adjust the teleport formation for us at once!"

"Shut up, non-believer! Release me at once, or I'll AAAARRRRGHHHHHH…"

Sheyan chopped down one of his ears before he asked coldly.

"Do I need to repeat myself?"

""I will never AAARRRGGGHHHHH"

Two more bloody lumps of flesh appeared on the ground. Upon closer inspection, one would find them to be the nose and the other ear of the shaman.

Sheyan continued.

"I will give you 10 seconds to adjust the teleport formation according to our requirement. 10, 9, …"

"Yes, m-m-my lord-d-d, but I don't have suitable gemstones to provide energy to the formation. Even if I adjust the formation to the correct settings, it would be for naught."

"Leave that for me to worry about. You have five seconds left to do as I say, or prepare to say goodbye to your legs."

"NO!!!! Here! It's all done!"

"You better not play any tricks because you will be the first one to teleport over."

"Wait, I forgot to adjust the knob! And let me just re-enter the coordinates…"

The shaman was completely ignored after that. Franklin casted a 'Mirror Image' spell on Melody to produce a doppelganger before stepping into the teleport formation. Next was Sheyan, then Reef.

Melody went last to guard their backs. After continuously shooting out 3 arrows, she diagonally hooked her longbow on the building behind her, then used the longbow as leverage to leap lightly onto the roof of the building next door, thus avoiding 5 throwing axes aimed towards her. Next, she broke a side window to jump into the hall housing the teleport formation to teleport away. The whole sequence of actions was so smooth it was a work of art.

Before she left, she threw a bottle of potion to the ground just like Sheyan did. However, the potion she threw was a one bought from the magic shop in the Shire called the Parasite Potion. The potion would quickly grow a large amount of parasitic plants within a certain area. The amount of plants would be based on the amount of natural power imbued into it.

An abundance of parasitic plants grew wildly as the potion bottle shattered. Dark green gigantic moss rapidly spread through the hall. The moss produced dark green bubbles the size of basketballs that would trap the feet of anyone who stepped on them. Even the mighty half-orcs could only howl in anger but couldn't pull their legs out. Some of the moss spread to the teleport formation and destroyed some of its mechanisms with their strong vitality.

Melody had infused the purest of natural energy into the potion, so theoretically the parasites could grow for a whole hour. More importantly, the most direct way of dealing with the moss was to use fire, but they were unable to do so for fear of damaging the teleport formation. By the time the inhabitants of Eriador finished dealing with the situation, Sheyan's group had already been gone for more than 15 minutes. The shaman who adjusted the formation for Sheyan was already killed, so they couldn't give chase even if they wanted to.

Melody staggered a little after stepping out of the teleport formation. Turned out her foot had been hurt by a throwing axe from the half-orcs. But when she looked around, she was instantly bewitched by the grand surrounding view.

The teleport formation they came out from was built on the peak of a mountain. A flag of Rohan stood next to the hall housing the formation. Even the Dark Lord Sauron didn't dare look down on the blades of the Númenoreans.

The wind was strong on the peak. Mountain ranges surrounded them every direction they looked. A great river flowed fiercely from west to east.

Mountain peaks surrounded a valley below as if they were bodyguards guarding the valley. In the centre of the valley was a metropolis built in the shape of concentric circles. Dense buildings and straight roads occupied the metropolis. It was a prosperous city bustling with activities.

The tight security displayed in the metropolis qualified it to be called a fortress. But with the irrigation of a river, the lands around the area were green and comfortable. Grassy fields and an abundance of trees surrounded the city.

The key landmark of the metropolis was a tall tower which strangely, had its top split. It was a peculiar looking tower. The tower was originally built when the humans were flattening Isengard in historic times. It was composed of 4 multi-faceted stone pillars grouped together. A small space was left between the pillars. Horn-like sharp protrusions reached out from the top of the tower. The tower was mysterious! Grand! Dignified!

Even among the many towers in Middle Earth, this structure was one of a kind. One would never mistake it for another. This, is the magic tower of Orthanc!

It was built by the smiths of ancient times, but it did not resemble human architecture. Instead, it looked more like a bone structure that was forcefully pulled from the ground. It was an independent stone peak which black surface reflected sunlight. Four pillars were forcefully melded together but the top was left to branch out into separate protrusions that had tips as sharp as the tips of spears, and sides as sharp as the edges of blades. A platform sat between the sharp protrusions. Many strange runes were carved onto its flat surface. A person standing on the platform can overlook the land from a height of almost 500 feet!

Traditionally, only the rulers of the metropolis can stay in Orthanc.

The one living in Orthanc currently was a strong and imposing presence. He was the chief of the White Council, and was also someone familiar to Sheyan. In fact, one could say he was Sheyan's teacher!

Saruman!

One of the most famous fortresses on Middle Earth:-

Isengard!

Chapter 853: Operation Saruman

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Isengard was one of the most important towns in Middle Earth with a strategic geographical location. It was also the provisional capital of Rohan. It's importance was comparable to China's Tianjin, Shanghai and other municipalities.

As early as two decades ago, King Théoden, the king of Rohan, handed over the governance of Isengard to his good friend, Saruman the White. Saruman had kept his true nature well hidden. Only when he had Gandalf imprisoned did he reveal his true character. This should only happen more than half a year later.

(ED: Isengard is in fact a Gondorian fortress, and was never under the governance of any Rohirrim king, it was given to Saruman by the then Steward of Gondor, Beren. The author, like in many instances, has taken liberty to mess with the continuity here.)

After Isengard fell into Saruman's hands, he found one of the Palantíri in the the Orthanc Tower. Because of his indulgence in the Palantír, his long-term use enabled Sauron's will to gradually corrupt and change him.

At the same time, due to his fanatical research in the One Ring, he was also plunged into a mire of desire for power while he was researching forces of darkness. The reason he allied with Sauron was not because he was enslaved like a Ringwraith, but because of his burning ambition!

The real purpose of Saruman, without a doubt, was to take the One Ring for himself and rule the world instead of Sauron.

The reason why Sheyan, who lost the opportunity to complete the main mission, came to Isengard was very simple. He was looking for Saruman!

Presently, Saruman had yet to expose his true colours, so in the eyes of other people, he was still the respected Head of the White Council, the holy White Wizard. At the same time, it must be acknowledged that Isengard was indeed flourishing under the administration of Saruman, and the people under his rule were prosperous and happy.

This means that it wouldn't be too difficult for Sheyan to meet him. Secondly, Saruman wouldn't reveal his true nature at this time; more precisely, it wouldn't be worth it for him to do so for Sheyan. This means that Sheyan was not under a great danger.

As for the risks brought about by previous conflicts, Sheyan had also given it some thought. But only the Uruk-hai Lurtz had faced him in a confrontation. Sheyan did not believe that Saruman would be bold enough to keep Lurtz by his side. Lurtz did not look like a human at all. If he kept someone like Lurtz beside him, Saruman would have lost his reputation long ago.

The cost to teleport from Eriador to Isengard was truly astronomical. Sheyan estimated that they had used up gemstones worth at least tens of thousands of platinum coins, if not more. When the four of them emerged from the transport formation and walked out of the hall, there were tax officers who registered their names and origins courteously. When the officers learned that they were merchants trading in Dwarven jewels, they were taxed an amount that was neither too high nor too low, and were then approved to descend the mountain into Isengard.

Looking at Isengard from above, the feeling it gave was one that was mysterious, grand and sad. However, near the city, although there were still a large number of monuments and ancient texts present to remind visitors of the ancient past of the place, the bustling streets and liveliness of the townsfolk gave this place an indescribable vitality.

The knights patrolling the streets all wore solemn faces while they slowly spurred their horses on. Needless to say, the knights were all tall and strong, but the more important thing was that the horses they rode were all pretty sturdy and muscular. The white breath spouting from their nostrils almost reached one meter in length. While they walked, the sturdy mass of muscles underneath their skin would make an elegant squirming motion, demonstrating a powerful explosiveness.

It can be seen that these patrolling knights had a good relationship with the merchants on the street. They greeted them from time to time. Many merchants even took out food to feed the horses. It was eye-opening to see the horses eat almost anything they were fed with, be it eggs, bread, cereal, hay, bacon…

Melody had spent her entire live in Rivendell before this. She had just experienced the gentle, warm and passionate Shire, then witnessed the cruel and harsh Eriador. Now that she reached the bustling but orderly Isengard, she could not help but be amazed.

As he enjoyed the city's well-organized flow and observed Isengard's vitality and order, Sheyan thought for a while and nodded. He did not do anything else but directly asked someone for the direction to the largest jewelry shop in Isengard.

"Uh, a total of about 4,000 strangers came to Isengard today. 67 strangers arrived through the teleport formation. Among those 67 individuals, there were three people who we need to pay special attention to. We will dispatch 6 groups to keep surveillance tomorrow."

"Wait, why were there only three? I remember there was a group of people who were also quite suspicious. They are a group of four. Two of them seem to be battle-hardened warriors, and one should be a mage. The last one is the girl who look ordinary, but there's a powerful natural force in the longbow that's on her back. It may be a treasure of the Elves."

"We have already investigated this group of people. They stated that their business in Isengard was to trade in jewelries and we have confirmed that was indeed the case. After they entered the city, they visited six jewellers and magical item stores. The gemstones they brought were also high in quality."

"That doesn't clear them of all suspicion. I suspect that their jewels were stolen from Eriador. The place is still in an uproar."

"I know, but a jewel that this group of people brought had caught the attention of Lord Gansdore. It was supposedly a stone with a strange soul imbued in it. Since the chief wizard under Lord Saruman is watching them, there is no need for us to waste precious human resources on them."

"You're right, sir."

The Lord Gansdore mentioned by the spies was currently walking into Orthanc Tower. He respectfully bowed outside the magical laboratory. He showed no reaction to the vague screaming voices occasionally escaping from within. He knew that if he wanted to maintain his position beside Lord Saruman, he must learn to forget things that he should not see nor hear.

Gansdore was not the most powerful of Saruman's subordinates, but he was the most cautious, and the one with the tightest lips. These were the reasons why he could keep his position for a long time.

Gansdore waited for half an hour, but his expression remained respectful. Even the angle of his bow was consistent. After a while, the door of the laboratory opened. A silent attendant stood before him.

"The great Lord Saruman will have his afternoon tea in 10 minutes. You have 1 minute to talk to the lord. "

Gansdore nodded, straightened his back, and walked into a room next to him.

After he opened the door of the room, what appeared in front of him was a corridor. The marble pillars on both sides of the corridor looked like soldiers standing guard. Purple ivy climbed up in every direction to cleverly form a garden. There was even a sun in the sky. The shadows of leaves on the ground were dyed in a blush of bloody red.

From time to time there were servants shuttling through the corridor. Many of them were half-orcs. They were all tall and had dark brown skin. They did not have the kind of unpleasant smell one would expect, but instead had their hair tied up with leather buckles, decorated with some white bone ornaments. The half-orcs all looked numb and expressionless.

At the end of the corridor was another door engraved with words of praises for the gods and the angels. Through the door was Saruman's reception room. This was a comfortable space. The ground was laid with a dark brown shiny bearskin. Stepping on it gave a sensation similar to stepping on soft grass.

The air was filled with the savory aroma of pepper, cinnamon, licorice, and pods. They can effectively help the wizards clear their minds and and recover their magic power. The stained glass around the living room depicted the rise of the Rohan kingdom. The wall lamps were shaped like angels, showering a gentle glow on all sides.

This was the mysterious magic tower personally laid out by Saruman. In this tower, he could experience the comforts enjoyed by kings.

Gansdore knelt on the bear skin and was careful not to look around with his eyes. He constantly maintained an attitude of humility. After a few minutes, an unusually tall wizard with a flowing white beard and long white hair stepped into the room. He was dressed in a spotless white robe and his eyes were deep and sharp like an eagle's. He sat on a luxurious sofa in the very middle of the room, took the mahogany pipe next to the sofa, and lit himself a full serving of tobacco. He took a deep puff and immersed himself in the rich aroma for quite a while before saying.

"Tell me why you have come."

Gansdore simply took out a beautiful purse. The clanking of coins could be heard within. He then crouched on the ground and said.

"There are 3,000 platinum coins in this purse, my lord. This is a fee paid to me by a man claiming to be a jeweller. He only required me to do two things."

"Oh," said Saruman as he spewed a cloud of smoke. He closed his eyes and continued, "I appreciate your loyalty and honesty, but this topic bores me, so I'll shorten the time for this meeting."

Gansdore produced another pouch.

"This is the first thing that the person wanted me to bring you, my lord. He claimed that the jewels inside came from another world - yes, another world, not another country. I made sure to confirm that was what he meant."

Saruman waved his hand and the bag fell off, exposing an egg-size, dark transparent crystal that swiveled slowly in front of his eyes. The crystal was so dark that it appeared eerie.

"Interesting. I hear the fragile soul crying in this crystal. This is indeed not a product of Middle Earth. However, the soul in this soul crystal is too weak. It does not interest me at all. You have fifteen seconds left."

Gansdore nodded.

"That person said that if my lord is not interested in the first item, then please give this box to you. Regardless of what your reaction may be, the platinum coins in the purse are all mine."

"Where's the box?" asked Saruman impatiently.

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Chapter 854: Mediation

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Gansdore looked timidly at Saruman and offered a box. Obviously, he was not optimistic that this thing could move the heart of his lord.

After receiving the box, Saruman's eyes flashed. He caressed the surface of the box with his fingers and wondered:

"The residual aura on this box, why…does it feel so familiar?"

Saruman slowly closed his eyes and traced his fingers across the surface of the box. The back of Saruman's hand had a lot of wrinkles, but his palm had skin that was smooth and delicate. A series of intoxicating and crazy words escaped Saruman's mouth.

"Ah, wait, such familiar dark aura, such frustrated howling and anger… It's like the feeling of that guy called Dwar! But how is he related to this box?"

Saruman immediately opened the box slowly - he seemed to be guarding against possible magical traps - and then he frowned. The box was empty!

This feeling made Saruman very uncomfortable. He felt like a child who saw his favorite candy, but after excitedly peeling off the wrapping paper with a load of expectation, he found that the inside contained a stone.

"What happened?"

Saruman's words were perfectly calm. One could hear neither joy nor sorrows in his words. But Gansdore, who was familiar with his personality, immediately prostrated himself on the ground and stammered.

"My lord! The object inside this box looks very ordinary, but after the box came into my possession, a lot of strange things happening kept happening to me. I really… I really don't dare to bring it here directly! In order to avoid any mishaps happening to you, I only dare to bring this box that was contaminated by its breath."

Saruman asked curiously.

"A lot of weird things happening? Interesting. I'm getting more and more interested in this matter. Order someone to bring it in right away! No, you'll take me to where it is!"

"Right away, my lord," answered Gansdore in fear. He hurried back a few steps, then led Saruman out of the magic tower.

The two men arrived at Gansdore's carriage and immediately saw a guard who had fallen dead on the ground. His eyes were wide open and there was a horrible wound on his throat. It looked as if someone had stabbed in using a red-hot knife.

The situation was also chaotic all around them. A tall horse that was ridden by a security officer had struggled free from its rein. Some of its skin was torn, directly exposing its bulging muscles and blood vessels. Its eyes were as ferocious as a hungry beast as it chewed on the palm of its dead master, spewing flesh and blood everywhere.

Saruman showed no concern for these sights at all. He strode into the carriage and could immediately felt a dense dark aura. At this time, Saruman suddenly moved his head to the side, because the strap he used to tie his hair had turned into a mottled, two-headed snake. The split tongues reaching out of its mouths were black in colour. Saruman pointed his finger at the snake, and it immediately dissolved into black smoke and drifted away.

"So it could infect all objects around it that contained any dark nature…" said Saruman with a bit of admiration. "Gansdore, you did well. You've brought me a great surprise. Where's the fragment? Where did you put it?"

Gansdore awkwardly answered.

"I put away the new box containing the fragment in the carriage drawer, then told the guards to keep their eyes open and pay attention to any abnormality."

At that moment, a guard ran over in horror and shouted.

"My lord, our horse went mad! It attacked Casey, and the skin of the demonic creature laid inside the carriage suddenly grabbed Sherr's neck…"

"Shut your mouth! Just tell me where the box is!" snapped Gansdore sharply.

"During the chaos, a strange looking person boarded the carriage and reached into the drawer. We cut off one of his hands, but he opened the drawer with his other hand and grabbed the box. Before we cut off his other hand, he swallowed the box and then ran away!" Answered the guard in horror.

"Wow, good job, good effort!" remarked Gansdore sarcastically. "Put the city under a state of emergency and lock down the gates!"

"There's no need for that," remarked Saruman calmly. He held out his hand and released a "Detect Evil" spell. Instantly, the route that the Dunlending took to flee appeared in front of their eyes like it was drawn in ink.

"I want to see either the box or your severed head in ten minutes. Remember to clean the box."

The iron-fisted and orderly rule of Saruman in Isengard showed its effectiveness. His will was implemented in five minutes.

The dripping wet [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazgul] was placed in front of Saruman. It was retrieved from the stomach of the unfortunate Dunlending, so it carried a stench no matter how it was washed.

"This fragment…it really does not disappoint me! Gansdore, you fool. The fragment was suppressed by powerful natural energy before this, so it could only keep accumulating energy inside. When it was handed over to you, the power of nature that suppressed it disappeared, and the power of darkness it accumulated erupted, thus causing all these chaos! This really is a perfect piece of metal, a perfect gift!"

"Um, my lord," said Gansdore hesitantly.

Saruman impatiently snapped at him.

"What else do you want. Is the city not chaotic enough yet? Why are you still here? Calm the citizens down as quickly as possible."

Gansdore braved himself and looked at Saruman's face.

"Actually, your series of actions were completely predicted by that person…so forgive my impudence, but I have to pass on his words to you."

"That person??" asked Saruman wildly.

"The gem trader, my lord. The original owner of this piece of fragment." answered Gansdore boldly.

Saruman pondered for a while before enquiring.

"What else did he have to say?"

Gansdore answered in a mysterious tone.

"He said that he has something else that will make you feel even more tempted - and, if I pass on these words, he will pay me an extra two thousand platinum coins. If there is nothing else, then I will take my leave."

Saruman's slender eyes revealed a glimmer.

"This person is really interesting. Very well, go and tell him that because of the surprise he gave me today, I decided to give him a chance. Half an hour later, I will meet with him in the magic tower. I have already received a very nice gift today; I hope he can continue to surprise me."

The work efficiency of Gansdore in implementing Saruman's order was quite high. Sheyan and his team soon came to Saruman's guest room.

Of course, for safety reasons, Sheyan did not bring Melody along. It's difficult to say whether Melody's disguise would be seen through by Saruman as the disguise of the Ring if Air wasn't impregnable after all. Once she was seen through, the consequences would be disastrous!

Currently, there was only one hour or so left in the time limit of the mission. Shenyan believed that since Saruman was so concerned with the armour fragment of the Ringwraith, the [Elven Illusion Bone Crystal] they had should interest Saruman even more.

Even if they fell out with Saruman, with the huge temptation of the [Elven Illusion Bone Crystal, they should be able to delay for an hour. When the mission failed, they would naturally return to the realm. At most, they would suffer a bit of hardship.

They knew that Saruman would not immediately brandish his weapon against them even if they came to a disagreement. That was a behaviour for Lurtz the Uruk-hai. An old fox that had lived for thousands of years like Saruman would first consider 'what benefit would I gain if I kill them…'

When the three stepped into Orthanc Tower, they did not notice any special changes - maybe Saurman was unwilling to allow them to see any special changes. An attendant led them into Saruman's magic laboratory. They finally came face to face with the "evil hero".

Sheyan was surprised to find that the layout seemed to be very familiar. It looked very similar to the interior of the rough mage tower in the orc city of Misty Mountains. The tall, majestic, burly and powerful wizard glanced at them, then calmly asked.

"I heard you wanted to meet me?"

Sheyan stepped out and said with a smile.

"My name is Seaman. I am a believer of the High God. There is a saying among my people - there are no eternal friends and enemies, only eternal profits. Under some special circumstances, we managed to obtain some objects on Middle Earth which are said to be quite precious and mysterious. My friend told me that the Gray Dwarves outside Angmar may be interested in these things, but their offer couldn't satisfy me. So, we came to Isengard in search of a better price for these goods."

"Ah, so you are believers of the High God," Saruman nodded slightly, then gently said. "Please sit down. I must first thank you for gifting me with the armour fragment that was full of an evil and dark aura. You made a wise decision."

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Chapter 855: Negotiation

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Sheyan smiled.

"It seems that you still don't understand what I mean. There is no difference between justice and evil for us believers of the High God. We gave the fragment to you because we believe that we will gain greater benefits from you. As for things such as light and darkness, righteousness and evil, they are all but an illusion. If one were to state it in a more direct term, victory is justice, and failure is evil, because history is always written by the victors."

Saruman gently clapped and smiled.

"Your opinion is wonderful, Mr. Seaman."

From the short conversation up to this moment, Sheyan found that Saruman's reputation was well-deserved indeed. His voice and speech were extremely convincing, and his rhetoric was strong. People who were not determined enough would find their minds shaken when they hear him speak. In addition to that, his voice contained a sense of spring blessings. It was no wonder that Saruman could keep his identity so well-hidden after becoming Sauron's secret ally, and only exposed himself when he imprisoned Gandalf.

Sheyan also felt at ease by now, because his guess was indeed not wrong - the one he was facing was an old sly fox - and it looked like he was also very greedy, so at least he wouldn't do something ridiculous like instantly ordering his underlings to kill the three of them. That was to say, the worst case scenario for them was just to fail the main storyline mission.

Therefore, his confidence soared. He then added.

"The great Lord Saruman must know that the High God is known for His strictness and omnipotence, so if we can't get a satisfactory price here, then our consequences will be quite severe…"

Saruman laughed and told them passionately.

"Of course I have enough wealth to satisfy you, but the point is, I still don't know what you are selling."

Sheyan smiled and said.

"I guess my lord must know of a shocking event that happened recently - the eight great Ringwraiths grouped up to attack the leaders of the Elven tribe."

Saruman's expression turned heavy.

"Yes, my friendship with the elves has lasted for thousands of years. This kind of despicable behavior has of course caused me serious concern."

"The fight was fierce, and both parties suffered heavy losses. According to the intelligence we gathered, at least the Ringwraith Dwar was almost destroyed - the second gift I presented to you was proof of that. But the Elven tribe had also permanently lost an important figure." said Sheyan gravely.

Saruman was moved.

"Who?"

Fang Senyan stared into his eyes and said very seriously:

"The Lord of Rivendell, the holder of the Ring of Air - Lord Elrond."

"That's impossible!" Saruman cracked the handle of his chair that he was grabbing. His white beard and white hair all fluttered up. At that moment, he exposed an overbearing aura akin to a lion looking down on all existences!

"As a believer of the High God, lying is a heavy sin," said Sheyan indifferently. "More importantly, the merchandise I am offering this time has a lot to do with Lord Elrond."

"How could Elrond fall? Was he not protected by the Ring of Air?" Saruman was still in disbelief.

"We don't know the exact details either," Sheyan immediately lied.

"The ones present on the scene at that time was another group of believers of the High God. The only thing I care about right now is how much the great Lord Saruman can pay us for the goods we bring."

Saruman closed his eyes, apparently to digest the impact this news had caused him, and then very seriously said.

"I must first look at what you brought in."

"The essence Mr. Elrond left behind after his death…three of them in total," said Sheyan as he pulled out the crystal belonging to him from his private storage space.

When Saruman saw the crystal, he was visibly moved! He grabbed the [Elven Illusion Bone Crystal] from Sheyan's hand, and closed his eyes while he stroked it. One can feel the powerful magic on Saruman's fingers. Space seemed to be distorted around the crystal!

"An Illusion Bone Crystal! It really is an Illusion Bone Crystal! This is an Illusion Bone Crystal that recorded the life experiences of Elrond!! With a bit of time and luck, I can obtain Elrond's power!"

After Sheyan saw Saruman's reaction, he casually said.

"Mr. Saruman, because you haven't paid for it yet nor have you shown any tendency to pay, please be careful when you inspect the goods…"

Saruman suddenly lifted his head. The look on his face at that moment was one of brutality mixed with ridicule. The voice he emitted was extremely cold.

"Lurtz! These three are your dinner! There are still such crystals on the other two, so search for them and hand them over to me before you do your thing."

The door of the laboratory suddenly burst open, and the familiar face of the Uruk-hai Lurtz appeared in front of Sheyan. He licked his lips with his scarlet tongue and coldly told Sheyan.

"You weakling. We meet again. I could already sniff your unique smell the moment you walked into the Mage Tower. You can rest assured that my stomach will be the best grave you can find."

Sheyan sighed.

"Mr. Saruman, you seem to have forgotten one thing."

Saruman stared at him in disdain. At this time, Lurtz had already punched the face of Sheyan, flinging him away! But at that instant, the Illusion Bone Crystal in Saruman's hand suddenly disappeared. Saruman was stunned for a moment, then he couldn't help but release a painful roar!

Sheyan, who lay weakly against a wall, suddenly burst into laughter.

"Mr. Saruman, I am a believer of the High God! Maybe you can kill me, but the Elven Illusion Bone Crystal was stored inside my personal space bestowed by the High God! My soul is still connected to it, so trying to take it by force is a huge mistake. You're this close to kissing Elrond's Illusion Bone Crystal goodbye, but lucky for you, it's still not too late to turn back!"

Saruman suddenly froze, but after five seconds he revealed a passionate smile and laughed.

"That was just a joke, my friends! How can you take it so seriously?"

Sheyan touched his swollen face, forced out a mouthful of blood, spat out a few teeth, and gnawed.

"This joke isn't funny at all."

Saruman raised his eyebrows and smiled.

"I apologise for the rude behaviour of my servant."

As he said that, he pointed at Sheyan and applied a healing spell. Only then did Sheyan give him an insincere smile.

"Do you mind if I joke with your servant too?"

Saruman instantly breathed a sigh of relief and said happily.

"Feel free."

Sheyan walked over and instantly kicked Lurtz's groin! Lurtz's face immediately turned green. His simple mind apparently hadn't figured out what was going on. Then Sheyan followed up with a punch to his nose! Lurtz snarled wildly and was about to retaliate, but his action immediately halted when Saruman pointed at him. Saruman's eyes were cold as he said.

"My esteemed guests are just joking with you. What do you think you're doing?"

Sheyan unceremoniously knocked Lurtz down and gave him a hard beating. Although he did not cause any substantial harm to the tough body of the Uruk-hai, it was still extremely humiliating. Lurtz's eyes turned blood red! He gritted his teeth so hard that they made a grating noise, but there was nothing he could do!

Sheyan exhaled a breath of satisfaction and smeared his soles on Mr. Lurtz's face, then clapped his hands.

"My dear Mr. Saruman, I think we can go back to our original discussion now - how much can you pay for these goods? Of course, the price for that piece of Nazgul armour fragment must also be included."

Saruman spread his arms and said.

"Money isn't a problem. State your price. How much platinum coins do you want?"

Sheyan suddenly laughed.

"Mr. Saruman, we don't lack platinum coins."

"So it's Mithril you want?" asked Saruman.

Sheyan continued to shake his head.

"Let me tell you about my personal wish. Mr. Saruman, I am ashamed to admit that I once encountered a note by accident. The note recorded your experience in producing Uruk-hais. I feel that this note had helped me a lot, but there are still a lot of things that I don't understand, so I hope you can help me make great strides in this area… As for confidentiality, you can rest assured. As you can see, I've been acquainted with Mr. Lurtz for a long time, but there had never been any bad rumours circulating about you.

Saruman's face sank.

"I must first see what you learned!"

Sheyan then showed the "Rank 6 ability: Uruk-hai Genetic Mix (Damaged)" that had not been upgraded for a long time. After Saruman observed for a while, he exclaimed in slight surprise.

"You learned all this by yourself?"

Sheyan sighed.

"Mr. Saruman, have you ever taught me? Who else can teach me this knowledge besides yourself? If I didn't figure things out myself, who else could I have relied on?"

Saruman apparently did not expect Sheyan to propose such a condition. He thought for a moment before replying.

"I can help you improve this ability, but your friends' demands can't be too high."

It seemed that Sheyan would need to take a share from Reef's and Franklin's rewards to complete his request. However, the three were all in the same team now so they naturally have nothing to say to that. At that moment, Saruman called Gansdore over and asked him to fulfill the requests of both Reef and Franklin. He planned to waste no time in taking Sheyan to his orc laboratory.

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Chapter 856: Black Artmix Technique lvl max!

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

At the same time that they reached a compromise with Saruman, the three of them received simultaneous notifications from the nightmare imprint.

[You have completed the main mission: Choice]

[You have chosen: Hidden faction, Saruman of Isengard]

[You received a reward of achievement points 2 ]

[You received a reward of utility points 10,000]

[You received a reward of potential points 5]

[You have triggered a hidden main storyline mission: Saruman's Ambition/Isengard's Hidden Dangers]

[You can choose either one of the main storyline missions to complete.]

[Selection deadline: 24 hours]

[In the meantime, you can try to enquire about relevant mission content from relevant plot characters]

After hearing this notification, both Reef and Franklin expressed their joy, especially Franklin who sang praises in the party channel.

"Boss, how did you even think of this?"

Sheyan smiled wryly.

"I was just clutching at straws to be honest. The idea was from the name of the main mission, Choice. It's obvious that this main mission was to let us choose either the Middle Earth side or Sauron's side. After all, the War of the Ring would happen soon. Since we couldn't join Sauron's side, why not try Sauron's ally instead?"

Reef suddenly said.

"If that's the case, then the hidden main storyline mission on the side of the forces of Light could be to join the forces of Rohan, or even the Army of the Dead of the Men of the Mountains."

Sheyan nodded.

"That's highly probable."

Reef suddenly looked towards Franklin and said.

"If Moyi, Shuren, and Yerna are still alive, then this intelligence is worth at least 30,000 utility points."

Franklin thought for a while before replying.

"I can try to contact them."

While the three were communicating in the party channel, Sheyan was brought by Saruman to his biochemical laboratory.

Sheyan very clearly remembered that when they were brought to the previous room, they should have only reached the second floor of the Orthanc Tower. Now, when Saruman led him to the biochemical laboratory, he felt that he had climbed one floor at most. However, after taking a turn at a corridor, he actually saw the radiance of the setting sun and looked down upon the grand view of plains and rivers! At that moment, Sheyan was shocked to find that he had already reached the top of the Orthanc Tower, hundreds of meters high!

This magical experience was really worthy of such a powerful relic magic tower! One's senses and perceptions were thoroughly disorganized without one knowing it, thus distorting the distance in space and time!

The environment in the biochemical laboratory was not as bad as Sheyan imagined. It could barely count as "tidy". Of course, the smell in the air was certainly not that pleasant. Looking at the large piles of cut plants with their fiber tissues dissected out, as well as a variety of brewing utensils, Sheyan suddenly had a sense of traveling back in time to the kitchen of large restaurants in the real world.

Saruman stood before a test bench with his white robe fluttering in the wind. He asked with a malicious expression.

"Are you sure you want to receive my teaching?"

At the same time, the nightmare imprint showed a notification:

[You are about to receive Saruman's teachings. Your action will cost a total of 6,000 Fate points. Since your own Fate points are insufficient, the remaining Fate points will be evenly deducted from the rest of your party members.]

Sheyan was a little surprised and immediately inquired.

"So what use are the [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazgul] and the [Elven Illusion Bone Crystal] that I brought?"

The nightmare imprint's reply was: [They were proofs of your ability. You can use this kind of items to grab the attention of storyline characters and gain more valuable services from them.]

Sheyan immediately understood the meaning of the nightmare imprint. The two objects could not be used as trade goods. They were symbols of status. Only Fate points could be used as trade goods. It was similar to the cafeteria of a large company. If you did not have a work permit of the company, then there was no way to enjoy the discount and the extra dishes they offer…

After Sheyan reconfirmed once again, he was asked by Saruman to mix a few bottles of potions. Thanks to his previous "work experience" in the magic tower of Orc City, Sheyan mixed a few bottles without much difficulty. Not only that, he also made some mantis gene-mixes that he developed himself.

"Oh? So you can actually try to use insects?"

While he observed Sheyan's actions, Saruman's eyes were glimmering. To tell the truth, there was no lack of magic assistants around him. However, most of them were only people who follow the instructions. Very few of them could provide him with new ideas.

Saruman mused for a moment and suddenly waved at a half-orc who very respectful walked over. Sheyan glanced at the half-orc and was instantly stunned. There was a thick layer of grey scales on the cheeks of this half-orc, and all the skin he exposed was stiff and dead, with spots of back and grey. His skin cracked as if it was a riverbed exposed to a fierce sun for seven days, and flakes scattered as he walked.

"He's an example of someone who pursued a higher mixing technique but met with an accident. Are you sure you still want to learn?"

Said Saruman as he looked at Sheyan.

Sheyan thought, as long as he wasn't instantly killed on the spot, so what if he was disfigured? As long as he had a breath remaining, when he returned to the nightmare realm, he would be as good as new. What's there to hesitate about? He immediately agreed.

Saruman said slowly.

"I can teach you the highest rank of mixing skills. If anything unexpected happens, then you can only blame it on luck. One more thing, the negotiation chips you put on the table so far are frankly not enough. Thus, I have a condition."

Sheyan hesitated.

"Let me hear the condition first."

Saruman said.

"Not far from Isengard is the huge Fangorn Forest where the powerful Ents and their leader, Treebeard, live! My relationship with them is currently very good, but sooner or later we will fall out with each other. I happen to know that the leader of the Ents, Treebeard will bear Golden Fruits two days later, and the fruits will take seven days to reach maturity. If the Golden Fruits are taken from him, he will fall into a prolonged weakened state. So when the time comes, even if he wanted to interfere in my business, he wouldn't have the strength."

Sheyan's eyes flashed.

"You want me and my companions to do it?"

Saruman said.

"That's right. I can't let those under my command perform this task, because I currently still maintain a good relationship with Treebeard on the surface. My half-orc legion is not yet ready, not to mention that they are also incompatible with forests. The only fate awaiting them will be annihilation. But if it was you guys, no matter whether you succeed or fail, you would not be traced back to me."

Sheyan's expression was incomparably ugly as he said.

"But my lord, the strength of the Ents led by Treebeard is far beyond Isengard's!"

Other people might not know this, but Sheyan did - it could be argued that Saruman's ambition was destroyed by the interference of Treebeard during the War of the Ring. When Saruman tried to use the Orc army to sweep through the entire Rohan kingdom, it was Treebeard who single-handedly stopped Saruman and ironically confined him inside the tower of Orthanc. From this, one could imagine Treebeard's formidable strength!

Saruman said emotionlessly.

"I'm not asking you to defeat his army. I just wanted you to take away his Golden Fruits. More importantly, you should have a way to get help from a friend with a strong power of nature. Thus, most obstacles and traps of the Ents in Fangorn Forest would pose no problem for you."

When Sheyan heard Saruman say this, his heart jolted but he still forced a smile.

"I…"

Saruman's deep eyes seemed to penetrate into Sheyan's heart.

"The [Armour Fragment of Dwar the Nazgul] that you brought contained at least a third of Dwar's soul imprint. To suppress the aura of darkness on it required an immense natural power. Even I can't do it! Do you still want to try to hide things from me?"

Sheyan pondered for a moment, then squinted his eyes as he said.

"Then…Mr. Saruman, for such a dangerous mission, you must first upgrade my mixing skill!"

Saruman thought for a moment before replying.

"Very well!"

An hour later, Sheyan sat in the reception room at the bottom of the tower of Orthanc, beaming with satisfaction. His mixing ability now looked entirely different! With Saruman's personal guidance, this seemingly incomplete ability had undergone tremendous changes!

[You obtained Saruman's personal guidance]

[Your rank 6 ability : Uruk-Hai Gene Mix (Damaged) is promoted to the rank 7 ability : Black Artmix Technique (lvl max)]

[You can skillfully combine together all kinds materials from wild beasts and insects to make powerful potions]

[The retention period of the potions you produce is increased to one year]

[After drinking the gene-mix potion you produce, the user will gain 8 points in all attributes. In addition, the 'Uruk-hai Gene' may be triggered when the user attacks the enemy, increasing the user's attack speed and movement speed by 5% for ten seconds. The effect of the gene-mix potion lasts for 6 hours.]

[Throwing a gene-mix on the ground will create a beneficial gene cloud. Your allies who step into the gene cloud will gain 6 points in all attributes for a duration of 6 hours. In the gene cloud, you allies will have their movement speed increased by 15%, and their dodge rate increased by 10%. The gene cloud covers an area of 50 square meters for a duration of five minutes.]

[Throwing a curse-mix on the ground will create a powerful shockwave. Enemies hit by the shockwave will be stunned for three seconds. This effect has Authoritative precedence.]

(T/N note: {Ability effect precedence} : No precedence slight precedence Authoritative (Crushing damage belongs to this category) Domain precedence Domain authority)

[At the same time, the curse mix will generate a curse cloud covering 100 square meters. Enemies who touch the cloud will have all attributes decreased by 6 points (this effect may lead to the enemy failing to meet the equipping requirement of certain equipments, thus rendering the equipment obsolete). The movement speed of enemies inside the curse cloud will drop by 40%."]

[When an enemy in the curse cloud receives an attack, there is a chance of triggering 'Saruman's Gaze'. Saruman's phantom will materialise to inflict 50% additional damage on the enemy, and stun the enemy for 1 second."]

These abilities were indeed quite strong, but they were all merely enhanced versions of Sheyan's previous abilities. Saruman's personal guidance wasn't that simple. The ultimate ability, Grow, which surfaced after the Black Artmix Technique reached max level, was the real cream of the crop!

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Chapter 857: Grow

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

[Black Artmix Technique lvl max Ultimate Ability: Grow]

[You are no longer satisfied with limiting your art of mixing to just buffing your allies and weakening your enemies. Under Saruman's guidance, you began to try to create unique lifeforms with your mixing technique!]

[You can extract the essences of living creatures and turn them into potions (ie. the fox gene-mix, bear gene-mix, mantis gene-mix, etc. from before), then combine them with orc genes, plant them in soil, and use black magic to hasten their growth and make them blend with the local environment to form new creatures for you to enslave.]

[The biological blueprint for the creatures produced with 'Grow' is based on half-orcs. The specific ability of a creature is determined by the potion you provided (for example, if you would like to grow a mage then bury a fox gene-mix; if you would like to grow a warrior then bury a bear gene-mix; if you would like to grow an assassin then bury a mantis gene-mix…if you bury randomly then the result will also be random).]

[Each time you use the 'Grow' ability, you can use up to four bottles of mixes at one time. Normally, when you plant two bottles of mixes, two Grown Creatures that are modeled after ordinary Uruk-hais will hatch. When you plant four bottles of mixes, an elite Grown Creature that is modeled after elite Uruk-hais will hatch.]

[You can have at most one elite Grown Creature or two ordinary Grown Creatures. If you grow any more during this period, they will be obsolete.]

[The lifespan of a Grown Creature is seven days. You cannot bring the creature back to your original world.]

[Each time you use 'Grow', it will cost 33% of your maximum MP.]

Sheyan browsed through this series of explanations, and then his eyes stayed on the last reminder.

[The Black Artmix Technique lvl max you currently received is only temporary. If you fail to complete Saruman's request, then your Black Artmix Technique lvl max will drop to lvl 6, and the Grow ability will be taken away.]

[Reminder (additional reminder due to your major rank): Saruman is still not too sure of you, so he actually held back when he taught you. Your Black Artmix Technique lvl max still has something missing. If you complete Saruman's mission, this ability of yours should have further room for improvement.]

At this time, Reef and Franklin both walked down from above. Based on their excitement, they should have gained significant hauls too. Sheyan's inquiry revealed that Franklin's first enhancement was in his 'Mirror Image'. The abilities of the copies created remained the same, but the maximum number of copies he could create was increased from 1 to 2!

Secondly, his Evocation-school spell, 'Magic Ray' had been enhanced and turned into 'Cold Ray'. When it hit an enemy, it would first slow the enemy down, then it would refract to nearby enemies for up to three times. The damage would be halved for each refraction.

Reef directly displayed to Sheyan the description for his most commonly used ability, 'Cardiac Shattering Roar'. It didn't seem like there were any major changes, but at the end of the description, there was an additional line:

[This ability has precedence.]

It was this line that caused Reef to be on cloud nine.

Reef's 'Cardiac Shattering Roar' was actually pretty insane.

An AoE attack with very decent damage, plus some very nasty negative effects. The most important thing was that the ability cost nothing to use, and the cooldown time wasn't too long either.

The only weakness of 'Cardiac Shattering Roar' was that it has no precedence, so the chance of it being resisted was high! Reef had always agonised over this matter, but there was no chance of him forgetting this ability to learn others.

Now, the ability had been strengthened. Although the precedence obtained was only the most basic one, in some difficult worlds, the odds of the ability being resisted at key moments should still be reduced by at least 50%! How could Reef not be happy?

As they further communicated, Sheyan found out that when he triggered the hidden mission with Saruman, Reef and Franklin had also received notifications because they were in the same party.

Thus, the rewards they could choose from were immediately improved again. Reef saw this reward at first glance and chose it without hesitation. Of course, if the mission failed, this exciting reward would probably be withdrawn too.

The trio was about to leave the tower of Orthanc when they saw a figure pop out and disappear in a flash not far from where they were. Although Sheyan only took a quick glance, he could clearly recognise the figure to be Lurtz in disguise.

Lurtz definitely bore ill-intentions in tailing them.

Lurtz's appearance reminded Sheyan of Saruman's previous action of turning hostile without any warning. He thought about it for a bit, and decided to go back to Saruman again.

Saruman was currently immersed in his study of the Elven Illusion Magic Crystal. He initially didn't want to see Sheyan, but Sheyan repeatedly insisted, so he could only reluctantly return to the reception room with a dark expression.

"Seaman! Have you brought back Treebeard's Golden Fruits already?"

"Not yet, my lord," said Sheyan in a calm demeanor.

"How dare you waste my precious time!" Saruman was starting to lose his temper. Both sides knew where the other stood by now, so they showed no pretense and revealed their true nature.

Sheyan shrugged and said regrettably.

"I have just received the latest information from the other believers of the High God. It includes the details of that particular battle. Considering the generosity and kindness you have shown us, I originally wanted to tell you this information for free, but it appears that there was an error in my judgement. My lord does not seem interested in this information at all. Then let me apologise while I tremble in fear.

"Wait ," Saruman asked suspiciously. "That particular battle? Are you talking about…"

"The battle where Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell, fell… Please forgive my impudence, and allow me to retire," Sheyan pressed his hand to his chest and looked deeply embarrassed.

Saruman looked deep into Sheyan's eyes, then sat down on his chair and said in a chilling tone.

"Do not play these tricks with me. Speak! Don't leave out a word!"

Senyan thus spoke, starting from the festival at Rivendell to the series of events afterwards. He clearly described the scheming and intrigues during the ceremony, and finally ended his story with how the Golden Tree summoned by Elrond meet with an avalanche.

Saruman immediately knew that what Sheyan told him was definitely not fabricated, because if it was, it would be impossible for each detail to correspond to one another so perfectly. He had also obtained some information before, and it reasonably matched with Sheyan's story. He pondered for a while before saying.

"And?"

Sheyan smiled.

"That's all the information I have so far, but give me some time and I might just be able to get more comprehensive information from other believers of the High God. I did hear that they've been tracing the whereabouts of Vilya, The Ring of Air……"

Upon hearing the words "Vilya, The Ring of Air", Saruman was no longer able to keep himself calm. He took a deep breath, then stared at Sheyan with his eagle-like eyes and said the following words.

"What do you want?"

Sheyan smiled.

"I don't want anything, my lord. I don't really have relevant information now; otherwise I'm sure I would name a good price. The reason I wish to talk to you this time was to let you understand that if you keep us believers of the High God alive, we can do things for you that you might find inconvenient to do yourself. We can also find out a lot of private information that is not publicly known, and can also bring you a lot of rare special products…"

"But if we die, especially if we die an unnatural death in Isengard, then the only benefit to you is to save on the cost of food for Mr.Lurtz for two, three days at most. My lord, you are a smart person. I'm sure you understand this."

Saruman stood up, his voice emotionless as he said.

"I understand. If you obtain any information about Vilya, the Ring of Air anytime, anywhere, you can come straight to me. I will definitely pay you a good price. Go!"

Not even a minute after Sheyan left, Saruman's roar reverberated throughout the tower of Orthanc.

"I want to see that retard, Lurtz in front of me in one minute. How dare he place his personal vendetta above my interests?!"

After solving the threat that may come from Saruman and Lurtz, the trio rejoined Melody.

To tell the truth, Sheyan felt a bit uneasy with this mission of stealing the Golden Fruits of Treebeard, because they required the help of Melody. He believed that the naive Melody would not refuse him, but the relationship between the Elves and the Ents had always been very good, just like when Sindalor, the old Sacred Oak, provided help for Melody before this. To be honest, Sheyan was a bit worried that this would hurt Melody.

However, after he explained the matter, Melody did not seem to care about this. In her eyes, old Sindalor was old Sindalor while Treebeard was Treebeard. The two had no relations to each other at all.

In the end, Melody glared at Sheyan with those large, clear eyes of hers and asked a rhetorical question that left Sheyan speechless.

"You are a believer of the High God, and Mr. Reef is also a believer of the High God. Does that mean that I will fall in love with Mr. Reef because I fell in love with you?"

(Reef was also left speechless: Hey, why do you use me as an example? What's wrong with falling in love with me…)

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Chapter 858: Cause and effect

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Melody used the powerful ability of Sire Vilya to quietly contact Dawn City. Naturally, she asked old Sindalor about Treebeard. What was strange was that, when old Sindalor heard the word Treebeard, he remained silent no matter what Melody asked.

But after a while, she suddenly beckoned Sheyan over and told him that Mr. Ferrell, the nephew of old Sindalor, had something to ask him.

Sheyan only needed to have Melody in his embrace and to press his finger on to the disguised Ring of Air to communicate with Ferrell. The battle Ent asked oddly.

"Why did you suddenly ask about Treebeard? That's a taboo topic for Uncle Sindalor."

Sheyan curiously asked.

"Why's that?"

Ferrell looked to be in a little dilemma.

"If uncle knew that I revealed his secret, my fate will be dire… ok, ok, don't be angry Lady Melody. I'll tell you honestly. Uh, I must start from the very beginning."

Mr. Ferrell kept his voice down and told them.

"Treebeard is one of the three surviving primary Ents, the other two being Foliage and Treebark. Treebeard is the leader of the Ents and also the Lord of Fangorn Forest. In his long life, he visited the forests of many places, including the Beleriand Forest which later descended into the sea. Sometime during his long years of traveling, he met a very elegant and beautiful lady. Her name was Fimbrethil…"

Melody chimed in at this moment.

"Sire Vilya is not yet able to support such exchanges for a prolonged period of time. Please be concise. This may be quite rude, but what does it have to do with Grandpa Sindalor?"

Mr. Ferrell sighed and presented the whole truth with one concise statement.

"Aunt Fimbrethil was uncle's first love."

"……"

"……"

They were all left speechless. Who could have imagined something so strange to have happened between the two Ents. A love affair!

Mr. Ferrell then added

"Afterwards, Aunt Fimbrethil and Treebeard got into a fight. She ran alone to the end of the Anduin River to plant her saplings. However, Sauron's evil flames encroached upon the area. Aunt Fimbrethil disappeared from then on."

"So that's how it is," murmured Sheyan. "Can give us any advice, Mr. Ferrell? We received intelligence that Treebeard will bear Golden Fruits soon. Our objective is to obtain the fruit."

Ferrell was stumped for a short while. Then, he asked in a shocked tone.

"Treebeard is bearing Golden Fruits?? That's impossible!"

According to Ferrell, bearing Golden Fruits was a sign of change for the Ents. It was a sort of hurdle that they must overcome. During the process of enhancing their purest form of power, they will condense it into Golden Fruits. Under normal circumstances, the produced Golden Fruits will be reabsorbed back by the Ents.

There is also another situation where some very powerful Ents suffered fatal injuries. They will use their final essence to bear Golden Fruits, which would function as a continuation of their lives. It must be noted that the seed of the golden tree used by Elrond belonged to this category, and its quality was far from being comparable to the Golden Fruits in the first category.

When Ferrell heard that Sheyan was going after the Golden Fruits, he was incomparably excited and very firmly requested to join them! Even a blind man could see that he coveted the Golden Fruits… However, it must be noted that Ferrell was a very rare existence among the Ents. He had previously demonstrated his ability of leaving his real body in spiritual form and directly occupying an ordinary tree to turn it into an Ent.

The benefits of his ability were obvious. Even if the occupied tree was destroyed, he would only suffer heavy injury in spirit. However, the drawbacks were also very direct - Ferrell's battle strength would normally be weaker than other Ents his age.

Since Ferrell volunteered himself, Sheyan his companions certainly wouldn't say no to this strong reinforcement. As long as Ferrell was willing to sacrifice a little spiritual power, then he would be able to traverse through forests in spiritual form at an incredible speed (similar to the Wood Release in Naruto). Therefore, Sheyan only needed to wait for less than 20 hours for him to arrive.

While waiting for Ferrell, the party still had something else to take care of. The hidden main storyline mission required them to choose between "Saruman's Ambition/Isengard's Hidden Dangers".

After some investigation, they found that Saruman's Ambition should be linked to the plotline of the Rohan kingdom. If they chose this route, they would have to go to Edoras, the capital of the Rohan, and join forces with another one of Saruman's subordinate, Gríma Wormtongue. They would assassinate his political enemies and remove the obstacles for Saruman to rule over Rohan.

The explanation of Isengard's Hidden Dangers listed out several major forces around Isengard that may be threatening the city. Sheyan's party would have to weaken them. These forces include the water monsters of the Isen River, the Kasamo bandits of Dunland, and the Ents of Fangorn Forest.

Since this was the case, Sheyan's party decisively chose the hidden main storyline mission: Isengard's Hidden Dangers. They immediately received notifications from their respective nightmare imprint.

[You have chosen the hidden main storyline mission: Isengard's Hidden Dangers]

[Difficulty: Unable to provide an evaluation]

[Time limit for completion: 20 days]

[Mission summary: Since you have chosen the hidden faction of Saruman, then you should provide some service for this faction.]

[Mission objective: Within twenty days, weaken the forces that could pose a threat to Isengard and obtain one of the following items: black dorsal fin of water monster / Dunlending golden tooth / shattered Ent heart]

[Mission reminder: The drop rates of the mission items are not that high. You must hurry.]

[If you fail the main storyline mission, you will be immediately sent back to the nightmare realm and 100,000 utility points will be deducted.]

[You have acquired the hidden branch mission: Saruman's Request]

[Difficulty: Unable to provide an evaluation]

[Time limit for completion: 9 days]

[Mission summary: Retrieve Treebeard's Golden Fruits before they fully mature, thus weakening Treebeard.]

[Mission objective: Retrieve the Golden Fruits]

[Mission reminder: Although the Ents love peace and are mild in nature, once they find out your objective, they will most likely turn more ferocious than Ringwraiths.]

[If you fail the branch mission, parts of the relevant abilities that you gained will be taken away.]

Fourteen hours later, Sheyan met with Mr. Ferrell on the scenic Isen River Dam. Melody had long identified a large black maple tree for him to possess. The trunk of the maple tree was upright and strong as if it was carved out of steel, looking full of vitality. Even its branches and leaves displayed a proud persistence.

Mr. Ferrell infiltrated the tree at once. It took him a while to expel the original will of the tree. He shook his new body to let his magic power grow a pair of feet from the roots, and became a large battle Ent.

This time, Mr. Ferrell's battle Ent had a black vine around his neck that looked like a black scarf. Against the enemy, it was a very deadly weapon. Mr. Ferrell could skillfully use this vine to entangle his opponent and then stab in with his sharp, poisonous branches.

With Mr. Ferrell in the lead, they dexterously travelled through the forest that no human had ever walked on before. The Ents were known as the lords of the forest, and it wasn't merely a saying. They met with no obstacles along the way; no ferocious beasts, no crazy insects, no poisonous vines… all of them did not appear in the group's path. After travelling for about five or six hours, the strange group climbed up a ridge. Mr. Ferrell caught a gust wind with his arm and took a deep sniff.

"Let us rest here. There may be a heavy rain soon. Fangorn Forest in right in front of us; it's not a good idea to enter Fangorn Forest in the dark with wind and rain - especially for us who bear not-so-pure intentions."

Senyan's group purchased all sorts of things in Isengard, including some camping tents which were quickly raised. It's worth mentioning that they also obtained five powerful magic arrows from Gansdore.

These five magic arrows mixed with some pyrite iron. The curved carvings on the arrows may seem useless, but if spiritual power was imbued into them, a flow of magic power as hot as magma could be felt. Those who observed the arrows would find their bodies filled with an indescribable heat. When an arrow hit the target, a very violent explosion will occur, and the enemy would be ignited into a blazing fireball.

Obviously, these five magic arrows would be a considerable threat to the Ents who fear fire.

After they settled the issues of camping, the sky had turned dark. Sheyan looked over at the green waves of forest in the distance and could not help muttering to himself.

"So this is the Fangorn Forest of the Ents? It doesn't look like anything special."

Mr. Ferrell walked to his side with heavy steps, and spoke in a low muffled voice.

"You couldn't be more wrong! Take a look at the forest over there, then look at Fangorn Forest. Look carefully!"

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Chapter 859: Blood Ent

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Sheyan looked carefully for quite some time according to Mr. Ferrell's instructions. He suddenly exclaimed.

"There does seem to be some difference. Why does the forest on the other side seem a little abnormal? It looks sparse and the trees look smaller."

Mr. Ferrell said.

"It's not that the forest on the other side seem sparse and shorter. In fact, that forest is the normal one. It's the trees in Fangorn Forest that are abnormal. Because they are cared for by the Ents, each tree can thrive and grow stronger. When an ordinary person step foot into Fangorn Forest, every tree will monitor their actions. Each tree will laugh at them, hinder them, and report this person's situation to the Ents!"

"This has become really tricky," mumbled Sheyan to himself. "But that must mean the Ents attach great importance to these trees, right?"

"Of course," said Mr. Ferrell. "They treat the trees as their own children."

Sheyan's mouth suddenly showed a touch of evil smile.

"This is the second piece of good news I have heard. If that's the case, then this matter has become much easier to handle."

Reef also breathed a sigh of relief.

"Creatures like Ents stay rooted to the earth and grow in the rain. They have no greed, thus they have no weaknesses. But if there is something that they care about, then we will be able to find a weakness."

Mr. Ferrell suddenly said.

"Most of the Ents in Fangorn Forest are peaceful, but if you make them angry, some of the Ents and wild Ents can be very vicious. You must be mentally prepared."

Sheyan raised his eyebrows.

"Wild Ents?"

Melody walked over at that moment and told them.

"Currently, among the Ents, almost all of them follow the ideology of Treebeard. The entire tribal community is also very strong. However, there are always some Ents who have differing ideas so they stay outside the tribe. For the Ents, Fangorn Forest is a place that has a very suitable living condition, so even though these Ents have different ideologies, they still stayed here. They do not obey the orders of Treebeard and act on their own, so they are called wild Ents."

Franklin took a glance at Mr. Ferrell and was about to say something, but he stopped himself.

When Mr. Ferrell saw that, he revealed a bitter smile and told them in that low muffled tone of his.

"Yes, my uncle and I are both wild Ents. My uncle's goal is simple - to surpass Treebeard."

"Is becoming the Sacred Mother Tree of a tribe more suitable for growth, or is staying in Fangorn Forest?" Sheyan suddenly asked a very sharp question.

"This is where the opinions of many Ents differ with Treebeard. In truth, the fastest growth for Ents is of course achieved by become a Sacred Mother Tree, who occupies all the aura of a place alone and is always worshipped and cared for by people. We can find examples of this in history - this was how the World Tree, Teldrassil, was born. But Treebeard's ideology is that Ents should have a way of life that transcends other races."

Said Mr. Ferrell coldly.

After Sheyan listened to Mr. Ferrell, he pondered and said.

"Since there exists some disagreement within the Ent community, we will spend a few days to collect information about the current situation inside Fangorn Forest. I already have a basic plan in mind. Anyway, Fangorn Forest must get chaotic. Only then can we fish in troubled water."

Early the next morning , the group set off again. Under the lead of Mr. Ferrell, they first went to the west side of Fangorn Forest because Mr. Ferrell learned from the information transmitted by the wind and the trees that this is the area where other living creatures, including wild Ents, were relatively active in. Being suspicious people themselves, the chance of them being found out in this area is low.

Fangorn Forest looked completely different from up close than it did from far. When they entered the forest, the chirping of wild pigeons was always in their ears. Everything in the forest was orderly; even the vines grew in an orderly fashion as if they were women's arms tenderly wrapping around the trees.

Every huge tree seemed to be a courteous gentleman, maintaining a perfect distance from the other trees; this distance allowed the trees to reasonably draw nutrients from the ground and share the sunshine without malicious competition.

When the wind blows, the leaves of the big trees would sway, and it seemed like the gaps between the leaves would form strange eyes that watch over their every move.

In this forest, Mr. Ferrell walked with a vigorous gait with Sheyan and the rest on his strong wooden shoulders. Their bodies exuded a faint green glow. This was a spell casted by Melody called 'Natural Breathing', which allowed them to fully blend into nature and keep them from being discovered.

Mr. Ferrell suddenly stopped and pointed to a curvy rattan on the ground, earnestly saying:

"This is a trap set by a wild Ent. Seems like they're dealing with an enemy."

As if to prove his point, Mr. Ferrell stepped on the trap and the a green light flashed. Many sharp spikes with barbs suddenly grew out from the rattan. The rattan wrapped around Mr. Ferrell's stout tree legs like a snake and left some deep marks. If it was an ordinary human that was trapped in the rattan, then no doubt large lumps of fleshes would have been teared away.

At that moment, the leaves around them buzzed. The wind had brought them information from afar. The faint smell of burnt firewood floated into everyone's nostrils, followed by the smell of burnt meat.

In a heartbeat, Mr. Ferrell strode forward in the direction of the odor. He took large steps but he was very careful, not even touching the branches and leaves next to him - or rather, the other plants were actively avoiding Mr. Ferrell.

They soon heard a shrill howling noise in the distance. The voice was full of pain but they could not hear what the victim was saying. After they passed through a brook, Mr. Ferrell slowed down his pace. Through the gaps between the trees, they could see a chaotic situation on a clearing in the forest.

There were tents, fire pits, overturned pots, distorted weapons, and lumps of flesh and blood that were flattened into crepes. It wasn't hard to deduce what happened. A small team entered Fangorn Forest and stayed overnight, then suffered a surprise attack while trying to cook a pot of porridge in the morning. Unfortunately, they were defeated.

The one who defeated them was an Ent.

Mr. Ferrell stared at this Ent, and said in a deep voice.

"I didn't expect Grubb to be a Blood Ent already."

Only after Mr. Ferrell pointed it out did Sheyan and the rest noticed that among the leaves on top of the head of the Ent called Grubb, 3 had already been stained with red, indicating that he had killed at least three hundred beings who were not of the Ent race! His hands were truly stained with blood!

Grubb is burly and strong with visible thorns on his wooden arms. At this time, Grubb was facing the other side. A surviving dwarf and a surviving human were tied up with solid vines and were put to grill on a campfire.

The cooked meat that Sheyan's party smelled before came from this. In fact, Sheyan felt that they smelled no different from the smell of barbecue. The tongue of the flame slowly baked the bodies of the two victims. They look at least half-cooked by now; even their screams were beginning to fade. In contrast, Grubb's deep roar got louder.

"You foolish, greedy vermin! I've already warned you many times to stay away from the sacred forest of Fangorn, but you have never taken my warnings to heart! Now, enjoy the flame. Your souls and your sins shall be purified in the vicious fire!"

Sheyan whispered his enquiry to Mr. Ferrell.

"It seems that this gentleman is your acquaintance?"

Mr. Ferrell bitterly replied.

"It was him who forcefully escorted uncle and I out from the outskirts of Fangorn Forest and warned us not to step foot into Fangorn Forest ever again! He is the youngest grandchild of Treebeard."

"Then why did he attack these travelers?" wondered Franklin.

It was Sheyan who answered.

"Look at that tent."

The tent of these travelers were currently scattered on the ground, revealing a few pieces of fresh wood inside. Sheyan took a deep breath and said.

"Saruman truly is ambitious. He wants to build a giant dam on the Isen River next to Isengard! This would kill three birds with one stone. Firstly, the natural stronghold that is the crossing of the Isen River would become even more dangerous. Once the enemy broke through Isengard's line of defense and cross the river, Saruman could release the water in the dam and sweep the enemies away! It would be an extremely vicious killing move!"

"Secondly, after the construction of the giant dam, the rise in water level near Isengard will make some easily accessible places inaccessible. Saruman's half-orc army would have a good hiding place! More importantly, the rise in water level in the upper reaches after the construction of the giant dam will effectively prevent Rohan's army from driving straight into Isengard!"

"Therefore, Saruman must build that dam. However, the construction of a dam requires the use of a large amount of high-quality wood that is strong, lightweight, and resistant to water corrosion. Only the trees in Fangorn Forest that were cared for by the Ents meet the requirements, so although Saruman appears to have a good relationship with Treebeard on the surface, he is secretly purchasing the wood of Fangorn Forest at a high price in Isengard…"

"These poor people should adventurers tempted by Saruman's high rewards."

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Chapter 860: Tail and Hunt

Translator: Translation Nation Editor: Translation Nation

Faced with this tragic scene, Melody was shocked speechless. She was originally stroking the green and pleasant leaves of a tree but she immediately turned stiff at the sight. Only after a long time did she say.

"Just for cutting down a few trees…how can Mr. Grubb be so cruel?"

Sheyan sighed and explained to her.

"For us, trees are just trees. Yes, they are a very important part of life, but perhaps for Grubb and his tribe, the trees are their children and loved ones. They care for nature because of love, but they also become cruel because of love. A total of 300 people lost their lives to his hands, but perhaps in the eyes of some of the more radical Ents, he is a hero."

Mr. Ferrell remained silent. Sheyan instead said.

"Let's go. Those two are already beyond saving. Now isn't the best time to fight with Grubb. Our objective is to scout, and to obtain the Golden Fruits. We're not here to be saviours."

No one objected Sheyan's words. They began to withdraw slowly without drawing the slightest attention to themselves. After Grubb killed the two adventurers, put out the fire, and buried the tents, he walked a few times around the camp. Suddenly, the vines attached to his body shook a few times. The delicate tendrils pointed towards a direction.

It was the place where Sheyan's group had stopped before!

As Grubb slowly walked over, the tendrils crept up like snakes and finally pointed towards a slightly wilted young leaf that was touched by Melody before. When she saw the Dwarf and the human being roasted alive, she was so shocked that she accidentally broke the young leaf.

Such a small trace that they forgot to hide, was detected by Grubb!

Grubb buried his head and rubbed the leaf with his rough bark face, then slowly murmured emotionlessly.

"Another…group of vermin…trying to…run away."

He stretched out his finger, and on the rough fingertip covered in moss, a small, white flower slowly bloomed.

Immediately afterwards, a Koschevnikov's bee that was commonly seen in this forest flew over. The black-and-white-striped bee perched on the flower at the tip of Grubb's finger, sucked on the honey, then flew up with a buzz and hovered in the air.

Grubb said in a low muffled tone.

"Remember…the scent…of the enemy…then go to Mudbeard. The group…is escaping quickly. Only…the Leaping Ents…can catch up to them! I will rush over…to help…soon."

The bee swooped into the air and sniffed on the leaf, then flew away!

The forest turned quiet again.

After that, Grubb walked over to the clearing. The gap between his legs began to close, and then his roots quickly implanted themselves into the ground. He lifted his hands up high and closed his eyes. At this moment, looked no different to an ordinary tree. With the nourishment of the earth, the scars on the surface of Grubb's body began to slowly heal, and the barks that were destroyed during the fight also slowly grew.

Sheyan's group continued their progression in the forest. The furthered they travelled, the more they were shocked. At the side of Fangorn Forest that was near Isengard, the signs of deforestation began to gradually become more serious, and naturally, the conflicts also grew more fierce.

Under Saruman's request, the core of the dam had to be built with tough tree hearts with enough spiritual energy in them, so that magic can be used to control the dam's opening and closing. Therefore, a lot of trees were actually chopped down in vain. They were abandoned once the adventurers found that the core of the trees lacked enough spiritual energy.

This behavior undoubtedly further angered the Ents.

Some traces of small-scale battles could be easily wiped out, but it's hard to erase the traces of some large-scale battles. For example, fights involving more than 50 people including mages and heavily-armoured guards.

Sheyan stood in front of a completely deformed set of armour. No doubt, the armour wasn't empty. But the armor had been distorted to such a state that it looked like a lump of dough, and dark purple blood dripped out of it. One can imagine the fate of person inside.

Meanwhile, Franklin stood next to a large hole. Not one blade of grass grew around the hole. The upturned soil was scattered messily around the area. The surface looked burnt, and even the plants close to the hole appeared as if they were afraid of something.

"This is the residual left behind by magical obsession. A strong mage self-destructed here."

Melody picked up a piece of wood and carefully inspected it. It looked like a piece of wooden board at first, but if one observed carefully, the "wooden board" was actually a piece torn from an Ent's chest. It was similar to a human's ribs which protected the heart.

Despite the strong vitality of the Ents, such damage was surely fatal. Obviously, under the tenacious resistance of this particular group, the Ents also suffered some casualties.

But the most unbelievable sight only appeared two minutes later. Reef passed under a big tree that had been broken in half. He accidentally kicked something, so he looked down to see what it was. Then, his expression abruptly changed. He dug up the soil beneath his feet to reveal some "fertilizers" buried by the Ents.

It was the corpse of a woman, her body stacked with two young children who looked no more than five or six years old! The heads of the two children were strangely deformed. One head was trampled flat, while the other was rotated 360 degrees! The large heads contrasted with their tiny bodies to present a sad sight!

An incomprehensible anger flared up in everyone's hearts. Sheyan's mouth twitched a few times uncontrollably.

Wars were cruel, but to use the bodies of women and children as fertilizers was too much for them to accept. Although this behaviour was considered justifiable on the Ents' side, but…it still left a bad taste in their mouths. Melody's eyes were full of tears.

However, at this moment, Mr. Ferrell suddenly fell to the ground on one knee. His palm pressed onto the wet soil while the vines around his neck pierced into the ground. He cocked his head in confusion.

"That's odd. Although I couldn't sense anything wrong, why do I suddenly feel uneasy?"

Franklin, after hearing Mr. Ferrell's words, thought for a moment, and immediately cast a Rank 3 Arcane spell - the 'Eye of Stig'.

The Rank 3 Arcane spell essentially summoned a Magic Eye. The magic eyeball could not fight, but it would reveal all hostile creatures.

The front of the 'Eye of Stig' looked like a strange eyeball with a white pupil and black sclera, but the back contained a dense group of tentacle-like flagellums. The flagellums are scarlet in colour and could absorb the energy from alternate dimensions for their own use.

After blinking a couple of times, it suddenly looked west and projected out an image.

A lump of blurry glowing light could be seen moving at a high speed through the forest. After a certain distance, it stopped. The light was actually wrapped around a rather small, relatively speaking, Ent . His whole body was covered with black mottled traces as if he was previously burnt. His motion had a certain softness to it; even his arms were woven from some dry, soft branches.

More importantly, there were five red leaves on his head! One leaf corresponds to a hundred people, so the number of foreign races that died by his hands had exceeded 500!

"He's someone from the Leaping Ent race!" said Mr. Ferrell. "They are the fastest among the Ents because they are born with incredible dimensional ability!"

After listening to Mr. Ferrell's explanation, Sheyan immediately understood how this guy could kill so many people. Obviously, the ability of the Leaping Ents would be amazing in hunting people down! As the 'Eye of Stig' disappeared into thin air with a shrill laugh, Sheyan immediately asked Franklin.

"How long before that guy arrives?"

Franklin replied.

"The 'Eye of Stig' has a maximum scanning radius of two kilometers. Based on the Ent's movement speed, it should only take him dozens of seconds."

Sheyan nodded.

"Looks like we're his target so we can't avoid him. If we're going to fight, then let's make it a quick battle. After all, this is Fangorn Forest, the territory of the Ents. Dragging the fight on is unfavorable for us."

As soon as Sheyan finished speaking, a crashing sound resounded from the forest close to them. The Leaping Ent called Mudbeard emerged from the trees. His eyes instantly fell on Ferrell, making him grind his teeth!

"Look what I found? A pathetic Ent willing to join with the tree slaughterers! But wait! Why do you smell so weird? Why does your trunk show signs of withering?"

Ferrell turned and took a few steps to stand proudly in front of Mudbeard. He calmly said.

"Because this isn't my real body, you frog in a well."

Mudbeard was stunned.

"Nonsense! That's… that's impossible!"

Chapter 861: A tossed stone raises a thousand ripples

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

Ferrell laughed so hard that his branches shook.

"Nothing is impossible for the noble Sacred Oak family! The path I've embarked on is the sacred path that the great World Tree Teldrassil once walked upon! Races aren't important for friends, only strength is eternal!"

Mudbeard immediately understood. He gnashed his teeth and said.

"I understand now. You cursed wild Ent, you damn foreigner! You and the tree slaughterers all deserve death!"

As Mudbeard spoke, he acted as if he was going to pounce at Ferrell, but it was just a feint. When he leaned forward, his left arm suddenly split into three thick vines that stretched rapidly. The vines hurtled towards the bow-carrying Melody and staff-wielding Franklin!

The Ent was an extremely experienced fighter. He immediately identified the two as the weakest in the group. His purpose in doing this was to try to test their strength and, if he could, eliminate the archer and mage to make the ensuing fight easier. He was confident that he could turn these people into fertilizers!

Facing Mudbeard's attacks, Franklin immediately chanted a spell while Melody readied her bow with a cold look. They didn't seem to view Mudbeard's attack as too much of a danger. As the thick vines slithered over like agile snakes, Sheyan and Reef stepped in from the side to shield the other two.

Senyan slammed his blade on a vine but found that most of impact was absorbed. His strike only left a trail of white mark on the vine.

Meanwhile, Reef was bound by the vine together with his shield. The vine tried to throw Reef aside with a twist, but Reef roared angrily and anchored his claw to the ground. He became as immovable as an ancient rock; even Mudbeard couldn't remove him!

Melody's longbow displayed a sudden flash of light!

Mudbeard didn't even have the time to turn his head before a long arrow was nailed to his right chest. The long arrow looked dark and heavy, but if one were to look closely, one would find the surface of the arrow shaft covered in strange runes. It shined with a touch of breathtaking red-hot glow!

The next moment, the long arrow exploded!

In the sunny forests, a sudden large flame burst forth accompanied by the scattering of burning wooden chunks!

There was a basin-sized deep hole where Mudbeard had been shot. The hole penetrated almost all the way to the back of the Ent. Blazing flames ravaged near the pit and rapidly spread onto the whole body. Mudbeard issued a sorrowful cry.

At the same time, Franklin shot a perfectly accurate 'Cold Ray'. The calculative mage was certainly not kind enough to try to put out the fire on the Ent, but aimed the most vulnerable part of Mudbeard's foot instead. Mudbeard's foot immediately froze into ice. The 'Cold Ray' refracted to the trees at the side and disappeared.

Mudbeard's vines released Sheyan and Reef. He realised that the team in front of him was definitely not something he could handle alone. As he was about to activate the unique ability of the Leaping Ents, Mr. Ferrell, who had not lifted his hands so far, pounced.

In the raging fire, Mudbeard the Leaping Ent only had half of his body remaining, so his response was naturally somewhat slower. Mr. Ferrell pounced precisely during the moment when Mudbeard was just about to make a quantum leap. Mr. Ferrell's strong and tough branches clung onto Mudbeard's body and forcefully interrupted his ability.

Two huge bodies collided with each other. Their momentum carried them to the ground amidst scattering pieces of broken wood. The flaming bodies then crashed into a tree beside them, breaking it in half.

Mudbeard the Leaping Ent roared and resisted with no care for the burning flames on his body while Mr. Ferrell focused on defending and keeping Mudbeard tied down. Sheyan and Reef rushed forward and unleashed a mad flurry of strikes on Mudbeard's leg. After the leg was frozen by Franklin, it became hard and brittle, and had lost its strong elasticity.

At the same time, Franklin waved his staff and aimed his 'Cold Ray' towards the joints of Mudbeard that were not in flames. When they were launching their attacks, the ferocious howls of the Uruk-hais could be heard from time to time. The sound signified the frequent triggering of the effect of Sheyan's gene-mix.

Amidst their endless attacks, the resistance of Mudbeard gradually grew weaker, and he finally became completely rigid. The flame on his body was like a roaring beast, pouncing on him with full power and spitting out long flaming tongues to greedily devour its wooden food.

The power of the flame arrow was beyond everyone's imagination. Obviously, the five flame arrows they brought were definitely no ordinary items. The fire that the arrow created was frighteningly persistent and fierce. They might actually have been personally made by Saruman himself.

When the dead Ent burned, the yellow-brown smoke that escaped grew thicker. Both Sheyan and Reef coughed while they retreated. The body of Mudbeard issued some exploding sounds amidst the flames. A large number of light spots flew out from the smoke and gathered together as if they were planning to move into the forest.

At that moment, the necklace on Sheyan's neck heated up and he immediately received notifications from the nightmare imprint.

[A soul power that can be devoured is detected. Would you like to proceed with the plundering?]

To unlock the last attribute of Sheyan's dark gold necklace, he must plunder three powerful souls as offerings under the effect of the necklace's active ability. Sheyan had been wondering how he could plunder souls. He had no clue at all before this. It turned out that the necklace would choose the right time itself. Of course Sheyan wouldn't pass up the chance.

Once the ability was activated, he immediately saw a dark golden ray shooting out from the necklace to cover the spots of light that scattered out from Mudbeard's body. However, those light spots quickly gathered to form a strange symbol and struggled with all their might while trying their best to fly deep into the forest.

Sheyan yelled and suddenly threw a bottle curse-mix on the ground. The shockwave produced by his curse-mix nowadays was not the same as before; it even looked a bit like nuclear explosion. First, a mushroom cloud of smoke would burst forth. When the smoke appeared, it would exert a strong attraction force on the surrounding creatures. Then, the terrifying shockwave would rapidly spread in all directions!

The shockwave could actually cause damage when it hit the symbols formed by the light spots. Even Saruman's phantom appeared (from triggering 'Saruman's Gaze'). It lifted its staff to summon a ray of lightning to strike at Mudbeard's soul spots!

"A stunning effect with authoritative precedence is indeed not the same!" Sheyan couldn't help but think proudly.

After it was attacked, the mysterious symbol finally dispersed back into spots of soul lights. They were completely absorbed by Sheyan's dark gold necklace.

However, Mudbeard did not drop a key when he died. The flames burning Mudbeard's body kept raging higher. Mr. Ferrell sensed that several Ents were quickly approaching, so after they made an effort to hide their traces and smell, the group disappeared into the forest again.

Less than five minutes after they left, the tall and burly Grubb strode into the location of the fight. He immediately saw the remains of Mudbeard burning in flame, which stunned him.

The fire assaulted him. Green smoke began to appear on the Grubb's bark. Although intense heat kept being transmitted over through the air and the earth, Grubb did not have the slightest intention of avoiding it. Ping pong-sized tears rushed out from his brown eyes and his low muffled voice reverberated in his chest, making him look especially sad!

"This is my fault, Mudbeard! I shouldn't have asked you to trail that group of people. I shouldn't have stopped to heal myself!"

The Ent's cry was solid, but it contained strong sadness, questioning, and guilt!

At that moment, a long-branched Ent jumped out from the trees and yanked Grubb away from the fire. He stepped on the sporadic fire on Grubb's body to put it out.

"Grubb, this isn't your fault. It's all the fault of the tree slaughterers! We have always live peacefully in Fangorn Forest. Why do they have to come kill our friends take away our children?"

A thorny Ent who had just arrived also chimed in seriously.

"That's right. Mudbeard wasn't the first to fall in our battle against these damn tree slaughterers, nor will he be the last. The only thing we can do is to use more brutal means to treat those despicable tree slaughterers! Grubb, you should hurry to where the old ancestor is to soothe Mudbeard's soul, then find a good sapling for him to hibernate in. After a few hundred years, we can see him again."

Grubb's tears rushed down his face with unprecedented grief.

"I can't sense Mudbeard's soul!!!! And I know that his soul has disappeared from within Fangorn Forest! The enemies he faced were so powerful that they could even plunder his soul. It was my fault! I was the one who asked him to fight with these enemies!"

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Chapter 862: Internal conflict

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

More and more Ents appeared to join in the discussion.

Currently, the war with the tree killers in the forest of Fangorn had lasted for nearly four to five years, but the deaths of Ents were rare. In most cases, the Ents that were killed were battle Ents on the frontline.

The Leaping Ents, who ranked first in speed among the Ents, had never suffered any casualty. Not to mention that, this time, even the Ent's soul was drawn and completely disappeared. The situation was very weird.

But very soon, a stout, Thorny Ent whipped the ground with his branches and shouted.

"Look at what I found! Footprints! The unique footprints of us Ents! This Ent was standing on the opposite side of Mudbeard. Look here, he started to build up force in this position, and then he rushed over to launch a surprise attack, fiercely throwing Mudbeard to the ground. They wrestled in this spot, while those damn tree slaughterers joined in the attack. Our worst fear has finally come true. The wild Ents and tree slaughterers have joined forces!"

The discovery of this Thorny Ent immediately attracted the other Ents to look, and they agreed with his conclusion - because it was the truth! Confirming this matter was one thing, deciding what they should do was another. The simple-minded Ents put forth a lot of proposals, but none of them were accepted. This matter may seem simple, but it was actually fairly complicated. If it was not handled properly, it might even shake the foundation of the entire Fangorn Forest.

There were quite a number of wild Ents in Fangorn Forest. With only one set of footprints, it was naturally difficult to find murderer.

The relationship between the wild Ents and the Ents of the Treebeard tribe were originally tense to begin with. It wouldn't be a problem normally, but now, if the wild Ents were forced too hard, most of them might join forces with the tree slaughterers. That would not be worth it at all!

"Can't we track them?" an Ent suddenly raised the question. "Grubb, didn't you manage to track the group before?"

Grubb shook his head slowly.

"That was because the other party was not prepared. This time, they used a very advanced natural spell to blend into the forest, and there is a very powerful Ent accompanying them. There's nothing I can do."

But what happened next totally caught the Ents unprepared.

In the afternoon, another Thorny Ent was killed. The Thorny Ent was murdered when he was attacking another logging camp. In the camp, there were Hobbits, Dwarves, humans, and the Spimi people from the north.

Most of the members of the camp were here under the temptation of money, but the Spimi was here purely for revenge!

His younger brother managed to bring back two trees from here before. His luck bagged him a lot of money. He then spent all his money on treating his elder brother's illness. After his money was used up, he could only take the risk of coming back here.

The younger brother was unfortunately not favoured by lady luck the second time. He was turned into fertilizer by the Ents half a year ago. After the elder brother heard about this, he stopped his treatment and came over. His crazy and suicidal attacks heavily wounded the Ent. Then…someone took advantage of the situation to finish the Ent.

Currently, the proportion of adventurers who flocked to the forest of Fangorn for the purpose of revenge had gradually reached almost 20%. This percentage would only increase with time. It was probably another reason why Saruman paid lucrative prices for the wood of the trees of Fangorn Forest - to let the greedy adventurers gradually weaken the strength of the Treebeard tribe.

There is no doubt that after killing the Thorny Ent, the people in the camp immediately withdrew. The angry Ents gave chase, but during the course of the chase, another Leaping Ent suffered an ambush. Although he was not dead, he was gravely wounded. It would take decades for him to heal.

He at least provided very clear information on his assaulters. Among those who attacked him, there was indeed a wild Ent. The wild Ent should be from the type of trees with large trunks, and his characteristics were described in details. The injured Ent also informed them that there was an archer and a mage among the group of assauters.

The following morning, the Ents of Fangorn Forest devoutly prayed to nature, hoping that the forest would protect them, and for yesterday's nightmare to pass. They would rather temporarily give up on the tree slaughterers and instead laid out an elaborate trap to lure out the wicked team who kept ambushing them from the shadows.

However, as if the team was aware of the Ents' intention, they completely disappeared from their radar.

The patience of the Ents was slowly being worn down, because they know that with every passing minute, there would be trees being chopped down by those greedy tree slaughterers.

The Ents persisted until noon, only to find some dark smoke suddenly rising in the distance. The smoke contained a faint, indescribable smell. For humans and humanoid races, it smelled no different from burning wood, but the Ents could clearly tell that it was the smell of the corpse of their kind when it was burned!

They rushed over and witnessed the tragic scene. Two Ents were killed. One of them was even ignited. No trace was left of the murderers. What made these Ents heave a sigh of relief was that the two who died were not their companions, but two wild Ents.

The Thorny Ent called Thickthorn who was the first to arrive at the scene began to examine the bodies of the dead wild Ents. For some reason, it was very hard to identify the cause of the death of the wild Ents. Thickthorn had laid in ambush for the whole morning, so he was understandably feeling impatient. To make his investigation more convenient, he rudely and violently pried open the chests of the dead Ents to check for arrows.

Because the Ents of the Treebeard tribe had always maintained a contemptuous attitude toward the wild Ents - more importantly, there was also a wild Ent in the mysterious group - so when Thickthorn examined the bodies, he was very casual and very rude.

Grubb, the direct descendant of Treebeard, was also on scene. Thickthorn's action didn't sit right with him. He was about to say something, but recalled that Thickthorn's friend was gravely hurt yesterday due to a wild Ent. He could understand Thickthorn's feelings so, in the end, he decided to keep quiet.

Grubb considered the feelings of his own tribe member, but forgot one very important thing: he did not consider the feelings of the rest of the wild Ents! Not all the wild Ents act by themselves. They all felt a connection with each other to begin with because they were all expelled by the Treebeard tribe due to differences in ideology.

Therefore, when the wild Ents who also detected the smell arrived at the scene, what they saw was the Treebeard Ents who always acted all "high and mighty" surrounding their own kind, while the dead Ents had their chests torn open into pieces!

One could imagine how the wild Ents felt! Their emotions surged and anger ignited within them. They began sending signals to inform their friends and loved ones.

Under such circumstances, Grubb stepped up and tried his best to explain the behaviour and motive of his tribesmate. He was about to succeed in quelling the anger of the wild Ents when a little shrub Ent suddenly stood out and roared angrily.

"Murderers!!"

As he yelled, he rushed towards Thickthorn who had the worst temper!

Thickthorn, being the one who inspected the corpse, received the most hatred. He was already frustrated to begin with, and now he even had his face repeatedly slammed by the vines of the little shrub Ent. He immediately broke out in fury and gave the little Ent a good spanking!

But after he was done with the spanking, he saw the shrub Ent lying awkwardly on the ground. He was actually dead!!!!

A fuse was lit. The spectating of wild Ents could bear it no longer. They rushed in raging and madly howling. A great conflict that had been brewing for a long time had finally erupted. Internal conflict between the Ents was no longer avoidable!

With conflict came casualties and hatred.

Blood and anger had begun to flow in the deep crack between the wild Ents and the Ents of the Treebeard tribe!

Usually, Treebeard could step out and rely on his high prestige to quell the bloody dispute. But right now, Treebeard was undergoing the critical stage of guarding his Golden Fruits. Therefore, the turmoil further deteriorated, and the conflict spread rapidly throughout the whole Fangorn Forest.

The forest, which was not peaceful to begin with, became a place where three different forces attacked each other. It was a complete mess!

Needless to say, this was a show directed by Sheyan.

The little shrub Ent who played the role of a fuse in the conflict was naturally Mr. Ferrell's masterpiece. If he did not care about fighting ability, he could choose a different tree every day to latch on to, thus turning it into an Ent.

The real cause of death for Ent that was killed, was due to Mr. Ferrell's spirit leaving the body and had nothing to do with the violent yet unfortunate Thickthorn.

On the morning of the fourth day, Sheyan stood in a camping ground and gazed into the Forest of Fangorn not far away. The sun shined on his face which showed a look of indifference. Reef walked over to his side, and said worryingly.

"Boss, the Forest of Fangorn is in a complete mess now, but… I still think your plan is too risky."

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Chapter 863: Preparation

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

Faced with Reef's questioning, Sheyan shook his head slightly and said.

"As the saying goes- nothing ventured, nothing gained. I've devised many plans for our mission, but this is a matter that even someone like Saruman finds difficult. Do you expect it to be easy for us? The more I think about it, the more I feel that those schemes that I devised have very low chances of success. Even if we do succeed by luck, I'm afraid that half of us would be dead! That's not the result I want."

"I feel that this is the only reliable plan. If I don't take this risk, then we might not even be able to meet Treebeard. But if we execute according to my current plan, even if we don't obtain the Golden Fruits, at least we will know his location!"

"What's more important is that with my plan, at most, I will be the only casualty. I will only be weakened if we use the Unmodeled Amniotank. We can preserve most of the strength in the team. After Zi joins us, we can still survive in the realm. We won't lose everything like the Illume Union."

Reef hastily said.

"But boss, you…"

Sheyan answered with a smile.

"Have some confidence in me. Ask Melody to come here."

Melody came over and silently blessed him with a variety of divine arts. Sheyan's body was fully covered in a thick natural aura, looking extremely pure and full of vitality.

Suddenly, Melody embraced Sheyan from behind. She hugged Sheyan so tight that the two lumps of softness on her chest made his heart beat wildly. The Elven girl cried.

"I don't want you to go. It's too dangerous!"

Sheyan let her hold him while he told her with a smile.

"Foolish girl. There are things a man must do no matter how dangerous they are… because the High God is a cruel bastard."

Melody moved in front of Sheyan and looked at him with teary eyes. Her expression would make any man heartbroken.

"If anything were to happen to you, then… what about me?"

Sheyan smiled.

"Nothing will happen to me. I know that you're not that happy with the things we've done in Fangorn Forest. I've made things difficult for you."

Melody sobbed and replied.

"Don't say that. As long as you're happy, I'm happy. Back when I was a nobody, you saved me from the hands of the Uruk-hai and asked for nothing in return. Now, what I'm most looking forward to is not to be the queen of Dawn City, but to go to your world and live with you."

The two embraced each other for a while under the sun… After a long time, Sheyan turned his head to look at the large pile of kerosene in the distance. This was something that Reef and Franklin brought from Isengard overnight. Sheyan grabbed the slender waist of Melody and gave her a deep kiss.

"I have to go. There are still a lot of holes in my plan. I still have to do a lot of things to reduce the risk of this operation as much as possible. Wish me luck."

The turmoil in the forest of Fangorn continued. As the number of casualties piled up, the place became more fiercely enveloped in hatred. The situation would only get worse.

More crucially, Saruman actually raised the purchasing price of the timbers again. This piece of good news undoubtedly drove the adventurers into a frenzy. As the conflict between the wild Ents and the Ents of the Treebeard tribe rapidly spread, more and more adventurers managed to successfully cut down quality woods from Fangorn Forest and obtained a fortune.

The news spread like a plague. People have always been willing to die for money. Adventurers continuously streamed into Isengard through the teleport formation despite the high teleportation fee. It even stimulated Isengard's business and made it bustling.

On the sixth day, Sheyan's arrangements were all in place. He had adjusted his condition to its peak. At noon, a total of 11 different fires burst out in Fangorn Forest!!

Kerosene was buried beforehand in all the places where the fires broke out. Once those places caught fire, it was hard to extinguish them. Eleven different fires swelled and spread rapidly. Eleven trails of smoke appeared like huge exclamation marks across the blue sky!

There was no doubt that forests fear fire the most, and it stood to reason that the Treebeard tribe Ents who witnessed this should immediately go all out to save the fire. They must extinguish the flame before it could grow into a disaster.

However, the conflict between the Treebeard tribe and the wild Ents had stretched their manpower thin. The sudden influx of adventurers also caused them a lot of problems. Most of the Ents actually ignored the threat and continued to fight, driven by hatred as they were. Only Grubb, being the grandchild of Treebeard, could see further. He worriedly addressed his tribemates who were immersed in vengeance and angrily roared.

"We can settle our accounts with the wild Ents any time, but if we let the fire spread, the whole Fangorn Forest will end in catastrophe! What the hell are you guys thinking?"

Grubb's angry howling shook some of his tribemates awake, but it was all Grubb could do. His control over the more radical Ents in his tribe had dropped sharply these days. He could only mobilise one-third the amount of Ents compared to usual.

"Everything will be fine once Lord Treebeard comes out from his seclusion."

That was the only thought that sustained Grubb's will to persist.

After all, there was less than 30 hours left before the Golden Fruits fully matured. After being purified by the forces of the nature, the strong pure power would be absorbed back by Treebeard. He would be able to break through and become a formidable existence on the same level as the World Tree, Teldrassil.

With this thought keeping him going, Grubb made every effort to rush to the nearest fire scene. However, when he arrived at the scene, he was surprised to find the fire already under control. He move closer and was even more shocked.

The one who was saving the trees that the Ents treated as their family, was a human!

Sheyan felt the arrival of the Ent from the slight turbulence on the ground.

But he didn't expect the Ent who came to be Grubb! As one of the leading figures among the Ents in the forest of Fangorn, this guy was a rare Ent with brains. At the same time, he also carried the identity of a direct descendent of Treebeard.

The situation carried both advantages and disadvantages for Sheyan. The downside was that was that it would be a lot harder to deceive Grubb, but if Sheyan manage to do it, then Grubb's bloodline would be very helpful for the next step in Sheyan's plan.

As the burly, strong and vicious Ent walked out of the jungle, Sheyan turned around and exclaimed in surprise.

"Hey, big guy, if you don't want this forest to turn into an oven, then come help!"

While Sheyan spoke, he secretly activated a temporary spell. With a wave of his sleeve, a pale green torrent of light fell on the flames in front of him and immediately suppressed the fire. Grubb grabbed a huge tree and slammed on the fire to put it out, but kept some distance between himself and Sheyan. He asked warily.

"Who…are you? Why is…a human…here?"

Sheyan naturally answered.

"I'm a messenger of Lord Elrond, the Lord of Rivendell, Twilight Elf, and the holder of Vilya, the Ring of Air. I came to Fangorn Forest to ask for help from Lord Treebeard!"

Grubb watched Sheyan closely, but Sheyan's body was enveloped in a thick aura of nature - a disguise elaborately produced by the collaboration of Melody and the Ring of Air, both strong entities. Obviously, Grubb did not have enough wisdom to detect any flaws in the disguise.

More importantly, not many people knew of Elrond's fate. It was an era without mobile phones or internet connection. That was why Sheyan could bluff his way through.

"Human…I…cannot trust you…so easily," Grubb let his guard down slightly and approached Sheyan, but still showed a strong distrust.

Sheyan smiled and took out an item that originally belonged to Elrond - the Evergreen Leaf of the Sacred Oak. This item was picked from Teldrassil and it was an inheritance from Elrond's mother. It would serve as a nice token of identification.

More importantly, for all the Ents, Teldrassil could be considered a totem, an idol, a figure to be admired. Even though the Treebeard tribe walked a different path, they were also full of awe and admiration for him. .

This argument might be difficult to understand and may seem outrageous, but it could be explained with a very simple analogy - Confucian scholars in ancient China studied the Four Books and Five Classics, but it did not prevent them from reading the Book of Dao and worshipping Laozi.

(T/N note 1: Four Books and Five Classics - https/en./wiki/Four_Books_and_Five_Classics)

(T/N note 2: the Book of Dao - https/en./wiki/Tao_Te_Ching)

Ents were extremely sensitive to the leaves of the World Tree. They would feel a praise and trembling directly from the soul!

Grubb knew at first glance that the leaf Sheyan brought was definitely real. More importantly, after he sensed the aura on that leaf, he actually gained a lot of inspiration. It was as if he was groping blindly before this, only to find the way ahead getting narrower.

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Chapter 864: Lose control

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

Yet now, he was shown that not only can he take different approaches, he could do it easily, naturally. How could it not move Grubb's heart?

Senyan smiled and clasped his hands together as he stored the leaf back in his personal space. Not even the slightest bit of aura leaked out. This was just an ability given to all contestants, but it made Grubb feel awe amidst his reluctance to see the leaf go.

By now, Grubb had pretty much accepted Sheyan's identity. He was about to speak when he saw a flash of light in the distance among the branches. Simultaneously, he also sensed a strong fluctuation of magic power. Grubb's alertness rose back to the extreme and he roared.

"How dare you lie to me!"

Sheyan, who was extinguishing the fire, turned around confused.

"What?"

A cold ray of light shot straight out among the leaves. Grubb immediately discovered that this spell was not directed at himself, but was at the messenger in front of him! He immediately regretted his earlier action. However, this messenger also seemed to be quite strong. After receiving the enemy's attack, he merely shivered for a short while before smashing the frozen surface on his body and counter-attacking with a shout.

Grubb naturally rushed over to help him, but at that moment, Grubb saw the messenger turn back, spread open his arms and pounced on him!

He became extremely wary. He could not help but instinctively retaliate with a fist!

Even though the messenger directly took his fist and spat out blood, he persistently clung to Grubb's waist and pushed the three-metres tall Ent down to the ground. The next second, a steel arrow flew over right above Grubb's face. The shine on the steel arrow was very striking. When Grubb looked at it, he instinctively felt an extreme danger.

The steel arrow bored into a tree after it missed its target and immediately exploded. A huge fire spread out over an area of more than ten square metres. The sight gave Grubb chills and caused the rough bark on his body to tremble. He knew that was a powerful enchanted arrow. If he had been shot by this arrow, even if he could escape death, the consequences would be dire!

He was feeling terribly guilty towards Sheyan. He climbed back up with a roar and prepared to charge towards the one who shot the arrow. It wasn't in the habit of the Ents to take things lying down.

He did not expect that the hidden enemy could once again shoot a similar enchanted arrow at an astonishing speed. Grubb knew he couldn't avoid the arrow. He could only grit his teeth and try to block the arrow with his two thick arms. But right at that moment, the messenger leapt up and, with his body enveloped in an extremely dense power of nature, caught the arrow!

Grubb was pleasantly surprised, but the messenger unexpectedly turned around and laughed bitterly as he said.

"Just my luck. I triggered it after all…"

Immediately after that, the arrow exploded once again. A blazing flame erupted in front of Grubb, trying to devour everything it touched!

"No!"

Our dear Mr. Grubb, full of feelings of gratitude and guilt, roared in that low tone of his.

When Melody, who shot the arrows, and Franklin saw this, they looked at each other and nodded slightly. Franklin created a mirror image of Melody to mislead the enemy, and the two quietly left.

"Wow, so refreshing."

That was Sheyan's first thought when he regained consciousness.

The power of that enchanted arrow was not enough to heavily injure Sheyan. However, he still fell unconscious. The nightmare imprint could provide this kind of self-harming services at a price.

Sheyan was willing to pay the fee because he believed that his performance had to be flawless. Many meticulously prepared plans ultimately failed due to flaws in the details.

He soon realised that he was lying in a large groove on a rock. The groove looked similar to a large bathtub. A water-like liquid constantly flowed in it, but unlike water, the liquid had a beautiful colour akin to mercury. Its surface would occasionally shine with 5-coloured rainbows.

Sheyan also discovered that the Stairway of the Sun in his body seemed unusually active. It had spread its roots along his blood vessels to get as close to the surface of his skin as possible in order to better absorb the liquid.

"Mr. Messenger, are you awake? How are you feeling right now?" asked Grubb who was sitting on a rock to the side upon seeing Sheyan move.

Sheyan looked at the surrounding environment. The place he was in seemed like a canyon. Trees that tower above the clouds abound, but the sunlight of the evening could still scattered through the gaps between branches and leaves, so the environment did not appear too dark nor too damp. Flowers and green grass grouped together orderly and there is a sense of vitality.

"Ouch, I feel as if my head was smashed by a hammer. It's still ringing inside," Sheyan covered his head with a painful expression. "Freaking hell. But that doesn't matter. Is the fire extinguished?"

Seeing Sheyan's concern for the forest right after he woke up, the only trace of suspicion left in Grubb dissipated.

"The fire fortunately did not spread. However, I couldn't catch those damn ambushers! I would have hung them to death on trees! They're not even qualified to become fertilizers!"

Sheyan heaved a sigh of relief, but he heard Grubb said worryingly.

"Although the fire was extinguished in our location, but in the end, there were still three places where the fire could not be controlled. The fire is already raging and sweeping through the northwest area of Fangorn Forest. If we can't contain it to the south side of the Stream of Leaf, then the whole Fangorn Forest may be destroyed! Honorable messenger, since you are awake now, then allow me to leave. Besides the Ents that are too old to move, everyone in my tribe has gone over to extinguish the fire. I have to do my part to protect Fangorn Forest too!"

Sheyan appeared stunned for a moment before he muttered.

"Is the fire that fierce?? When I first saw it, I thought it was just an accidental forest fire. How long was I out for?"

"Three hours, my friend. I have to go. It's now the most critical time for Lord Treebeard. He won't be able to meet with you until tomorrow, at the very earliest. You should stay here to recover. Your injuries are not that light."

Grubb eagerly took big steps to leave. Sheyan could see that he was indeed very anxious. What's more important was that he completely trusted Sheyan and left Sheyan alone in the base of the Treebeard tribe. But, well, it might be because the Ents possessed nothing valuable at all - they didn't have the habit of collecting sparkling things.

As for the Golden Fruits, well, Grubb did not take that into consideration at all. To him, Treebeard was his God, an omnipotent existence!

Senyan closed his eyes and calmly recalled his meticulous plan. It appeared that the first half of the plan was undoubtedly very successful. He had cleverly infiltrated the core base of the Treebeard tribe, and the fire had drawn away almost every Ent who could still move.

Everything was playing out according to his script. It was perfection.

"Then for the next step…" Sheyan, who was lying on the stone slab, closed his eyes and began to improvise on his previous plan. When he was devising the second half of his plan before this, the amount of information he had was really pitiful! There were a lot of holes in his scheme. He had to make use of this period of healing to gradually perfect his plan.

At this time, the ground slightly shook. Sheyan opened his eyes and saw a familiar-looking Ent appearing from behind a big tree. He was a Leaping Ent who was so gravely injured that he looked to be on his last legs.

The reason Sheyan felt the Ent was familiar was because the Ent's injury was caused under his order. The only reason this guy was still alive was because Sheyan wanted to use him to pass on the following message to the Treebeard tribe:

The one who attacked him was an archer, a mage, and a wild Ent of the larger trees variety.

The Leaping Ent called Ironthorn limped over slowly. When he saw Sheyan he immediately exclaimed in a weird tone.

"Oh my God, Grubb's brain must be filled with fungus, hedgehog mushrooms and moss! He let a disgusting human soak in our precious earth liquid!"

Sheyan calmly retorted.

"Not all humans do bad things, sir. I have to say that your view is too prejudiced."

Truthfully, even among the Treebeard tribe, opinions on humans differ. Some think that there are both good and bad humans (just like how some Vietnamese would want to kill American soldiers but they will welcome American investors with open arms), while some of them absolutely refuse to interact with humans. Obviously, Ironthorn belonged to the latter category.

"I dislike humans, and I dislike humans who babble even more. If it wasn't for Grubb, I would have turned you into a fertilizer right here, right now!"

Mr. Ironthorn waved his uninjured arm furiously, but his action pulled on his wound, causing him to grit his teeth in pain for quite a while.

Sheyan couldn't be bothered with him, but he suddenly recalled something and asked.

"What's an earth liquid?"

Ironthorn openly ridiculed Sheyan's ignorance before satisfying his curiosity. In the world of the Lord of the Rings, earth liquid was something akin to magma. In Middle Earth, some places below the earth's crust have low temperature, and would produce earth liquid. This is a rare and unique medicine. It contained a great amount of spiritual energy and had wonderful effects on plants.

The reason why Treebeard settled here in Fangorn Forest was because there was a natural earth liquid pool deep in the valley of Fangorn Forest. Every year, earth liquid would surface from time to time. This substance was very helpful for the cultivation of the Ents. This was also the reason why Treebeard believed that the path he took could ultimately surpass Teldrassil.

Sheyan was still thinking of ways to shake Ironthron off when Ironthorn suddenly pointed at Sheyan in horror like he had just saw a ghost and yelled.

"You…You! You!"

Even though he was a severely wounded Ent, Ironthorn was still an Ent who had lived for almost a thousand years. What kind of things hadn't he seen? What kind of strange things hadn't he experienced?

Yet, right now, he was acting like a human child and screaming like a woman!!!

What exactly did this guy see to make him so scared, and what happened to Sheyan's body?

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Chapter 865: Treebeard's true body

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

Sheyan was currently lying in the depression on the big stone. His whole body was immersed in the precious earth liquid. For humans, this substance could merely play the role of treating burns, acting as an antibiotic, and providing nutrients. All in all, not that useful, but for elemental creatures like the Ents, it was extremely beneficial.

(ED: Seems pretty useful to me……)

The volume of the pulsating, precious earth liquid was shrinking by the seconds right under Ironthorn's nose! More than half of it was absorbed in such a short period, as if there was an invisible big mouth desperately swallowing the liquid!

From the looks of it, the rapid decline in water level showed no signs of stopping. The earth liquid was going to be sucked dry!

It must be noted that even though the earth liquid was something extremely beneficial to the Ents, it was also a terrible thing to take in too much at a time. Just like how the 100-year ginseng was a beneficial supplement, but if you take two whole pounds at once, you're going to have a bad time.

Normally, the Ents wouldn't dare to drink this stuff directly. They could only absorb the earth liquid slowly with their roots. If they were to drink a few mouthfuls, it would cause them to take root on the ground, lose their own will, and transform into a towering tree.Ironthorn would need at least a couple of years to fully consume the amount of earth liquid that Sheyan was soaking in.

But this shocking feat was happening right in front of his eyes. This human completely absorbed the earth liquid in less than 20 seconds!

What was even more amazing was that the human himself appeared to be at a loss and had no idea what's happening.

Suddenly, a great fear overwhelmed Ironthron. The fear was very tyrannical, as if it was a rude and barbaric man ripping off his psychological defense and stuffing himself into Ironthron's heart!

The instinctive reaction of Ironthorn was to flee, but he soon realised that his broken body was no longer under his control!

The next moment, Ironthorn and Sheyan were frightened/surprised to see five extremely long and dark tendrils protruding out from Sheyan's fingertips. The tendrils looked like the roots of plants, but they also possessed the dexterity of animal tentacles. The wriggled like snakes in the air and leaped fiercely across a distance of five or six meters to lightly wrapped themselves around Ironthorn's neck, then stabbed into him without much effort!

Ironthorn immediately turned stiff as life deserted his body at an incredible speed. The gigantic, heavy body of the Ent crashed into the ground and collapsed into a pile of decaying wooden chunks. It seemed like they would be covered in moss in a few days, then assimilate back to the earth.

Sheyan was also shocked to see this. The black tendrils quickly retracted, and then retreated into his own body. There was no notification in the battle record. If it wasn't for the disappearance of the earth liquid in the rock and the corpse of Ironthorn in front of him, Sheyan would really think that nothing had happened.

But when Sheyan looked inside his body, he found that the solar 'Stairway of the Sun' had turned pure black, and all its tendrils had shrunk back. It had completely fallen into a dormant state. The 'Pestilence Monarch' ability had also greyed out, which indicated that it can't be used.

Elemental creatures like Ents were immune to diseases anyway, so for Sheyan this ability wasn't important right now. This ability was not a part of his plan.

There was a saying that plans could never keep up with changes. Sheyan was originally still thinking of looking for a way to meet Treebeard first, then improvise from there.

But he had become the biggest suspect in the death of Ironthorn. If he was discovered by any Ent, there was no doubt that his "one day tour of the Treebeard tribe" would come to an abrupt end.

Sheyan had no way back now and could only venture into the depths of the valley. He came prepared. He tore a magic scroll and buffed himself with a Rank 2 divine art - 'Aura of Nature' - which allowed one to completely blend into nature. He gritted his teeth and quickly sneaked into the depths of the valley.

The further he traveled into the valley, the more lush the vegetation became. Even the flowers that should not bloom at this time were in full bloom. The soil on the ground was quite moist. When he stepped on it, he would quietly sink halfway down. The moisture in the dirt did not seem to be water, but fertile oil.

If there was aerial photography in this era, then an aerial photograph of the forest of Fangorn would reveal that the vegetation of this forest was far more lush than that of the surrounding forests. The central area of ??the forest of Fangorn was even more full of vitality, as if a mountain suddenly rose up in the center of the forest! In reality, the mountain did not exist. It was entirely composed of thriving vegetation!

The valley gradually sloped downwards. Sheyan continued to travel for a kilometer or so along a road that was formed from being stepped on by the Ents. Even though he called it a road, it was actually just a path that was not blocked by tall trees.

He could see that the Ents had not visited Treebeard for a long time. The road had grown full of bushes and shrubs and they showed no sign of being trampled on. The height of these obstacles only reached the shin of the Ents and would not impede their movement at all. For Sheyan, however, they reached his waist and severely affected his speed.

The road finally came to an end. Sheyan found himself in front of a small basin-shaped valley. The road entering the valley inclined downwards, so the upper edge of the basin was actually level with the ground.

Unlike the exuberant vitality outside, the valley was totally devoid of vegetation. Huge roots meandered all over the place. Even the brown rocks in the walls on the edge of the basin were teeming with roots. It gave the illusion of the roots plundering the earth.

After Sheyan saw such a sight, his heart was filled with a deep awe!

His gaze moved up following the massive roots and finally met their source - an impressive ancient tree that was low but huge.

The trunk of the ancient tree was only five or six meters tall at most, but it was inflated like an oversized wine barrel. The diameter of its chest was at least twenty, maybe even thirty meters. At first glance, it looked a bit similar to the baobab trees on the grasslands of Africa in the real world.

The ancient tree had only branches with no leaves. Its branches were matte green in colour, with formed a sharp contrast with its ancient tree bark.

This tree was the only thing occupying the entire basin!

A stout ancient tree that was hard to describe with words!

In the direction facing Sheyan, there was a huge depression in the trunk in the shape of the "天" character. An Ent rested steadfastly against the depression.

The form of this Ent was no different from most other Ents - burly, strong, gigantic and rough!

The only difference he had with other Ents was that the branches and leaves on his heads had become grey, and aerial roots had grown on his hands and feet. The aerial roots looked like horse manes that swayed in the wind.

A meter in front of this Ent were seven seeds that floated in the air. Each seed was about the size of a ping pong ball. The surface of the seeds had some very mysterious patterns. At first glance they seemed like a golden walnuts. The golden light they exuded looked just like smelted gold, hot and flowing.

Obviously, this was Treebeard!

And those were the Golden Fruits Saruman so desired!!

Sheyan fell into a dilemma.

It's no wonder that even someone as strong as Saruman found it difficult to procure the Golden Fruits.

In the wide basin, with the exception of bare rocks, there were only the terrifying roots. Which means that if he wanted to get the Golden Fruits, he had to go through a distance of 50 meters. Even if he did obtain the fruits in one piece, there was no doubt that he would be facing ferocious attacks from Treebeard and the ancient tree that was his true body. Sheyan did not think that those thick roots scattered throughout the basin were there for decoration.

"What should I do?" Sheyan's first thought was to attack with fire. But what was there in the basin that could be burned? Not to mention that as soon as a fire broke out here, the Ents would definitely rush here immediately. Even if he had the Golden Fruits, he won't be able to escape.

"Can I try persuading him?" thought Senyan, but he immediately rejected this unrealistic idea.

He overclocked his brain and thought of a dozen plans, but he ended up rejecting all of them.

Sheyan, who was crouching in the grass, suddenly felt something was wrong. He looked carefully and discovered two black tendrils on the tips of his right middle finger and index finger. The tendrils kept getting longer, and then snaked forward!

The 'Stairway of the Sun' that was originally lying dormant in Sheyan's body had woken up without Sheyan knowing it. It frantically shifted the energy in Sheyan's body and sucked them all onto the two black tendrils!

The two tendrils did not extend towards the same direction. One of them slowly sneaked in the ground to subtly move among the rocks towards the nearest thick root. It silently plunged into the root, then stayed motionless.

The other black tendril continued to extend like a blood vessel, then slowly but firmly slithered towards the floating Golden Fruits.

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Chapter 866: Success

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

Sheyan had no way to stop the action of the 'Stairway of the Sun'! To be honest, even if he could, he wouldn't, because he could think of no better way.

So he could only wait and see!

Suddenly, Sheyan felt a burst of giddiness as his vision rippled. The basin remained the same and so did everything else, but the black tendril that had tried to snake to the Golden Fruits had disappeared.

He blinked a few times in shock, but then found that the black tendril still existed and had continued to grow stubbornly towards the Golden Fruits! It displayed the bravery of a suicide fighter!

"What…is going on?" Sheyan shook his head, but when he looked again, the tendril was once again gone. The alternating illusion and reality caused a bold assumption to form in his mind. After all, Sheyan had always been a sharp one.

"Perhaps the 'Stairway of the Sun' is slowly releasing a hallucinogenic substance after stabbing into the root? The hallucinogenic substance is absorbed by the mother tree that Treebeard is perching on, then transmitted over to Treebeard, causing Treebeard to hallucinate?"

As soon as this thought formed, Sheyan immediately felt that his guess was probably correct.

Treebeard's strength was certainly far inferior compared to Sauron's. He should be in the same league with Legolas, Gandalf, and Saruman in the Lord of the Rings world. Of course, even though they're in the same league, there were still differences in strength between them. For example, among the first-rate generals in the Three Kingdoms, Zhao Zilong was clearly stronger than Xiahou Dun and Xiahou Yuan.

Treebeard's strength should belong to the peak among this tier.

While the 'Stairway of the Sun', being the ultimate creature of the hidden world, should be no weaker than Treebeard.

More importantly, Treebeard was currently "in labour" while bearing the Golden Fruits, so his strength was significantly reduced. Also, the attack by the 'Stairway of the Sun' was a sneak attack. With all these factors combined, it was highly probable for the illusion produced by the 'Stairway of the Sun' to deceive Treebeard.

Sheyan didn't even dare to breathe. His eyes stayed fixed to the progress of the black tendril. Drops of sweat slipped off his forehead and his hair, dripping on to the soil beneath him.

He watched as the black tendrils grew tenaciously and finally arrived in front of the Golden Fruits. They did not rush in, but instead explored tentatively around the area.

Sheyan felt weak all over. He took a deep breath and immediately activated 'Gloryheal'. He was afraid that the leaf of the World Tree might alarm Treebeard or he would have used the Rejuvenation spell on it too.

After recovering some energy, Sheyan's vision suddenly turned blurry once again. He could see a layer of turbulent darkness enveloping the Golden Fruits. The darkness had a boundless depth to it, and it seemed that when he laid eyes on it, there was a painful feeling of grinding and scraping.

Under the contrast of the dark background, it could be seen that despite the golden light on the surface of the Golden Fruits shining radiantly, there were still some green patterns which indicated that the fruits had yet to fully mature. Obviously, the tendril extended from the Stairway of the Sun was wary of the hidden darkness and dare not dive into it. Treebeard seemed to be using this darkness to train the essence of his power to make it purer!

"Since he's using this darkness to train his strength rather than to destroy, it's likely that the burst power of the darkness will not be very strong. It was meant to grind his essence bit by bit," such thought flashed in Sheyan's mind.

"I still have an 'Honorary Recovery Dosage' left. I have enough HP. The 'Stairway of the Sun' can risk it!"

As if it sensed Sheyan's thought, the black tendril stopped probing around in the air. It fiercely pierced into the turbulent darkness like a sharp needle.

As soon as it penetrated the darkness, Sheyan immediately felt an immense pain, as if every cell in his body was being crushed. His vision turned dark and his mouth bled as he bit into himself.

The black tendril of the 'Stairway of the Sun' penetrated into a Golden Fruit. The power in the fruit, which looked like smelted gold, found a channel to vent out from and rushed into the tendril.

Treebeard inexplicably remained motionless despite all this happening. He was apparently still being deceived by the illusion created by the 'Stairway of the Sun'.

They had passed the phase that worried Sheyan the most. The worst outcome would have been Treebeard detecting his presence when the tendril pierced the Golden Fruit, then flattened him with a laugh…

When the Stairway of the Sun began to absorb the power of the Golden Fruit, it no longer consumed the vitality of Sheyan. The colour of its body shifted constantly. It sometimes turned into the common green shades of plant, and sometimes into a strange black colour.

A thought crossed Sheyan's mind. The venom of the nemesis of the 'Stairway of the Sun', the Ouroboros was coincidentally also this shade of black. The 'Stairway of the Sun' in his body happened to have been poisoned by the venom of the Ouroboros. Would something unexpected happen? Was the soul of the Ouroboros going to transmigrate here and be reborn?

Very soon, the energy of a Golden Fruit was completely absorbed. However, it seemed like the 'Stairway of the Sun' was not yet satisfied. It penetrated into another Golden Fruit.

Sheyan waited patiently. To be fair, the absorption rate of the 'Stairway of the Sun' was already quite fast. It took less than 20 seconds to suck a Golden Fruit dry, but the short waiting period felt as long 20 years to Sheyan!

After absorbing the power of four Golden Fruits, the 'Stairway of the Sun' finally looked like it was done feasting. Sheyan hadn't forgotten that he had to bring a Golden Fruit back to complete his mission. Furthermore, there was no doubt that this Treebeard fella would be his mortal enemy from now on. Weakening him was definitely not a bad idea. He tried to order the 'Stairway of the Sun' to plunder the three remaining Golden Fruits.

The tendril of the 'Stairway of the Sun' lightly wrapped up the three remaining Golden Fruits like a rope wrapping up three eggs, and slowly retracted back. Sheyan felt something wrong at this time, but he couldn't tell what it was. He felt that something had changed, but he didn't have the time to think too much about it. After all, his pressure was at its greatest at this moment. The Golden Fruit had yet to reach his personal space. Although Treebeard was still resting with his eyes closed, who knew if he would suddenly wake up?

Fortunately, nothing overly dramatic happened at the last moment. Sheyan managed to lay his hands on the Gold Fruits. on He really wanted to absorb one like the 'Stairway of the Sun'n did, but no matter how he fiddled with it, it remained a mere quest item…That was to be expected. If Sheyan could get rid of Treebeard, then he should be qualified to consume the Golden Fruit.

Looking at the two black tendrils of the 'Stairway of the Sun' slowly retracting into his own body Sheyan felt quite strange.

Everyone made mistakes. Sheyan suddenly realised something important. He urgently inquired.

"If the 'Stairway of the Sun' stops injecting hallucinogenic substances into the root, how long will the illusion last?"

The reply soon came back.

[3 minutes.]

Sheyan froze, but only for two or three seconds. He screamed in his heart and used all his abilities and medicines that can increase his movement speed. He carefully crawled backwards for a few dozen metres, then ran for his life.

Before Sheyan could even reach the place where he killed Ironthorn, he already felt a terrifying pressure behind him!

That pressure was akin to an exploding nuclear bomb. It was filled with an endless anger. When the anger was directed towards Sheyan, it was so strong that it made him stumble!

What kind of concept was that?

Senyan realised that he may have underestimated the monster called Treebeard. If it wasn't for the Stairway of the Sun in his own body being an even crazier monster, there was no way Treebeard could be deceived by an illusion.

Although the Golden Fruits had already been thrown into Sheyan's personal space, it still took no time for Treebeard's anger to lock onto Sheyan!

It wasn't because Treebeard's perceptive sense was so strong that it could cross dimensions, but because the 'Stairway of the Sun' had absorbed the energy of four Golden Fruits…It was caught with its hands in the cookie jar!

The only hope for Sheyan now was to bet on Treebeard not being a Leaping Ent… As long as he wasn't, it didn't matter how strong he was, he would still be an Ent. A king among beggars would still be a beggar. Slow movement and fear of fire would still be his inherent weaknesses.

Sheyan bet correctly. The Leaping Ents were a new species of Ents. Similar to parkour, you can't expect a 70 year-old man to practice this sport.

However, Sheyan still underestimated the strength of Treebeard. It must be noted that this is the forest of Fangorn, the lair that had been controlled by Treebeard for thousands of years. It was a place that even someone as mighty as Sauron couldn't lay hands on!

Almost as soon as Treebeard locked on to Sheyan, several trees in front of Sheyan roared and pulled out their roots from the ground. These trees did not have the "talent" to become Ents, but under Treebeard's will, they were temporarily given life. The only purpose of their lives was to shred this human into pieces!!

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Chapter 867: Crazy curse

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

With the birth of the Ents, Treebeard's overwhelming anger was once again directed towards Sheyan.

Although Sheyan had already experienced its impact before, he still couldn't control his body under the immense willpower behind the anger. He felt like a person who encountered a powerful wave while swimming in the sea. He could only leave it to fate and let his body drift into the depth of the sea.

He immediately lost his balance and was blown away. The Ents next to him swooped in. Their thick arms that were woven from tough branches smashed fiercely towards Sheyan, totally covering up the sun!

Just hearing the bumping sound the branches made when they hit the ground could send fear into one's heart!

These Ents had no wisdom because they were only temporarily given life, but they were not afraid of death. Every attack was launched with full force. It was precisely this that made them terrifying opponents. They simply do not care if they suffer any harm themselves.

In order to hit Sheyan as quickly as possible, an Ent who was far away in the distance actually ripped off his left arm and violently threw it at Sheyan with his right.

Such crazy attacks were testament to the extreme hatred Treebeard bore towards Sheyan.

Sheyan fell to the ground as he received brutal attacks from all sides. In the blink of an eye, he was already bruising and bleeding all over. He grabbed his head with his hand and curled his body. He knew that if things continued this way, he would be beaten to death, so he showed no hesitation in smashing a bottle of curse-mix to the ground. A shockwave rippled outwards and stunned the Ents in place.

Sheyan flipped up. Some blood seeped out from the cracks between his fingers that were covering his mouth. He stumbled forward and subtly adjusted his direction.

The moment the Ents recovered, they immediately continued their assault on Sheyan as they roared out some indistinguishable words. Two of the Ents swung their long arms and struck Sheyan's back. The other three simply tore off their limbs and violently threw them at Sheyan.

Sheyan was once again assaulted by the joint attack from five Ents!

The explosive force of the simultaneous attacks caused Sheyan to spit out a burst of blood from his mouth. Fortunately, Sheyan had taken the 'Honorary Recovery Dosage', otherwise he would have inevitably entered a state of near death.

The moment he was heavily damaged, Sheyan bellowed loudly like an injured beast. This was all in his plan!

Following the momentum from the hits he took, he flew forward for nearly two hundred meters in an instant. Right when he was about to fall, he seized on a vine from a tree next to him and swung for 20 more meters. He rolled to soften his fall, then disappeared into the dense forest.

With such a long distance between them, the five giant summoned Ents were left in their place. Sheyan seemed to have gotten rid of Treebeard's pursuit. He continued to rush along the road, when an indescribable hurricane suddenly blew through the forest of Fangorn. The cries of the branches and leaves transformed into Treebeard's angry roar.

"I, Treebeard, the devout servant of Ilúvatar, the trekker of the land, the Shepherd of the Trees, the guardian of Fangorn Forest, command you; find that damn thief!"

The trees in the entire Fangorn Forest trembled and shook their leaves in anger. Sheyan saw the trees around him shake their branches, and a large amount of fresh fallen leaves blew over. They simultaneously issued a shrill cry.

"He's here! He's here!"

Sheyan knew he definitely couldn't touch the fallen leaves, so he drastically changed his direction. But, well, he was in a forest after all. No matter how hard he dodged, there was no way he wouldn't be touched by a fallen leaf.

He tried his best and escaped for more than ten meters before he was finally touched by a leaf. The giant tree where the leaf fell from immediately snapped in the middle and collapsed. While it was still falling, it was already withering. Then, it wilted, darkened, and turned into dust before it even landed.

At that moment, Treebeard shouted again.

"I see you, despicable thief, shameful sinner! Your soul shall be marked with an eternal imprint of shame, you shall always be the enemy of the forest!"

The trees all around Sheyan suddenly collapsed. At least one hundred of them all crumbled into ashes if they had been incinerated by flames. But from their bodies rose little green lights that congregated together to form a strange symbol. The symbol flew towards Sheyan's face.

Sheyan certainly wouldn't let it do as it liked. He frantically turned his head and rolled away, but the symbol also turned in the air. It ignored the blocks of Sheyan's arms as it imprinted itself on Sheyan's face.

Sheyan did not feel any pain, but half his face went completely numb.

Then something even more bizarre happened. The branches of all the walnut trees in Fangorn Forest twisted and extended simultaneously towards Sheyan's current position! They even changed direction following the movement of Sheyan. It must be noted that Treebeard's true body was also a walnut tree!

"My children, I bestow upon you the strength of life with my name of the Shepherd of the Trees. Wake up, wake up!"

Treebeard was currently still in the valley, but he had visibly turned older. More than half of the huge roots of the giant tree he inhabited had withered, and they could only occupy a quarter of the basin. Treebeard's loud chanting made his aging appearance even more pronounced. Withering leaves fell from his branches.

When Treebeard's chant was completed, 3 trees changed rapidly within 3 kilometers of Sheyan. Their barks began to peel off, their branches drawn, and mottled black spots appeared on their bodies. They had turned into Ents.

Treebeard started his next chant.

"The sweet rain in heaven, the wind in the air, please protect my people, please bestow them with the power and title of the Leaping Ents!"

What Treebeard summoned this time were unexpectedly descendants with the potential to become Leaping Ents! They were particularly capable in pursuit, and there were three of them against one of Sheyan. This time, Sheyan was in a real pinch!

Sheyan immediately knew that he was in trouble. As soon as he heard the words Leaping Ents, he knew that his only chance was to defeat the three of them separately before they could congregate! But unless Party Ace gathered and had the help of Melody, Sheyan had no such burst of power.

When he was still hesitating, a Leaping Ent broke through the dense forest and charged at Sheyan amidst a swift twirling of branches and leaves. The three Leaping Ents that appeared were also slaves forced into maturity by Treebeard, so they were also the kind that attacked without a care for their own wellbeing!

Sheyan felt the numbness on his face slowly spread. If it spread to the brain or the heart, it may just be life-threatening. He couldn't concentrate on his fight, so he was kicked by Leaping Ent and was sent tumbling a few times. Before he could even stand up, he was already grabbed by his neck and was slammed to the ground. Then, the Ent lifted his giant knee which was wrapped in rugged bark, and rammed it towards Sheyan's chest, hard.

"Sheet…Am I going to die here? One Leaping Ent is already terrifying enough! Will I still have a chance to live when the other two arrive?"

During this critical moment, Sheyan felt the Stairway of the Sun in his body squirm. The Leaping Ent's knee could threaten the true body of the Stairway of the Sun, so it instinctively protected itself!

The Stairway of the Sun extended a major tendril in a flash. The major tendril split itself at an unbelievable speed to cover the veins and nerves in Sheyan's left hand. It instantly took over control of the arm, and then it extended the arm towards the Leaping Ent in front!

An indescribably strange black ball of light shot out from Sheyan's left palm. The colour of the ball of light was exactly the same as the colour of the venom of the Ouroboros. Even more horrifying was the image of the Stairway of the Sun that appeared behind him. A tendril snaked over and entwined itself all around the body of the Leaping Ent!

After his face was hit by the strange black ball of light, the Leaping Ent emitted a shrill scream. He sounded as though his soul was trembling painfully. Sheyan took the opportunity to avoid his knee with a roll. He then took in large gulps of breaths.

When he looked back at the Leaping Ent, he noticed that there were purple-black spots on the surface of his body, and even the verdant foliage on his head had started decaying!

The part of his face that was eroded by the ball of light began to rot quickly, exposing the white core inside. Rotten pieces of bark kept falling as if there were a hundred invisible insects burrowing into him. The damage of this blow was truly terrifying. It was no weaker than an enchanted explosive arrow!

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Chapter 868: Poison Monarch!

Translator: Sean888888 Editor: TheAlliance

Even though the first hit was effective, Sheyan felt more and more flustered because the 'Enemy of the Forest' imprint on his face had crept deeper into him. The numbness felt more and more intense. If his brain was numbed too, then he would die!

Right at that moment, the 'Stairway of the Sun' once again trembled. It controlled Sheyan's left hand and once again gathered the terrifying black ball of light. The black ball of light twisted into a snake and pressed towards the numb part of Sheyan's face!

A sizzling noise was produced upon contact, almost as if a piece of raw meat was thrown into a frying pan. The horrible black ball of light turned into hundreds of tiny black electric currents and pierced deep into Sheyan's skin like small daggers.

A large amount of pustules abruptly broke out on his numb face. They kept bursting open, turning half of Sheyan's face into a piece of red boiling meat and even exposing the bone inside! The sight was appalling. Yellow pus gushes out with his blood, spreading a revolting stench.

What's even more strange was that, following the invasion of the black electric currents, Sheyan could hear shrill screams filled with grievances emanating from his face. A horrifying illusion appeared in his vision, as if there was a hand tearing his face violently.

As the black electric currents brought the corrosion deeper into Sheyan's skin, bits of green lights were forced out. The green lights were enshrouded by the black currents, and they were then exterminated in the air.

After the last bit of green light in Sheyan's face was forced out, Treebeard, who was standing still in the central basin of the forest of Fangorn, trembled slightly. One of his eyes suddenly burst into little spots of green lights, but the green lights immediately turned black!

Treebeard screamed loudly. Amidst his scream, the towering trees around him pulled up their roots and strode towards him. They stretched out their branches and embraced Treebeard tightly. Slowly, a colossal Ent consisting of at least a hundred giant trees formed. His height was towering at over several hundred meters. His stature gave him a domineering presence, and one could feel a boundless anger in him! !

Sheyan wasn't feeling that good himself. He looked like a devil. Half his face was undamaged, but the other half was a bloody mess of flesh and bone. However, he felt no pain. It seemed that all his nerves were paralyzed.

The continuous changes in the 'Stairway of the Sun' was a cause for concern for Sheyan. He recalled the strange feeling from before, so he immediately inquired about the 'Pestilence Monarch' ability. The result shocked him.

[The Stairway of the Sun in your body has gained enough energy to evolve. The plant form is in a deep sleep. The animal form has been activated. Your Pestilence Monarch ability is sealed. You gained a new ability: 'Poison Monarch'!]

[After obtaining sufficient external energy, the animal form of the Stairway of the Sun has matured. This is a strange ability mutated from the combination of the animal form of the Stairway of the Sun the poison of Ouroboros.]

[Ability grade: unknown]

[Because the Stairway of the Sun is still living symbiotically in your body, you still have most of the abilities of the previous Pestilence Monarch, except for the ability to infect the enemy with diseases. Therefore, when the Poison Monarch is in effect, you cannot activate the Pestilence Aura.]

[You gained a new ability: Beast of Corrosion]

[This is a very terrible ability. It will cultivate the toxins secreted from the Stairway of the Sun in your body with your own flesh and blood. After analyzing the weaknesses of the enemy, it will target those weaknesses in its attack, thus causing devastating damage to the enemy.]

[Total damage = (50 ~ 300) (15% of the enemy's maximum HP {this will not exceed 10,000 points}) (2% of the user's maximum HP)]

[No one is immune to the damage from the Beast of Corrosion. The attack will cause true damage.]

[Because the Beast of Corrosion ability targets the enemy's weaknesses, the first time it attacks an enemy, explosive hit rate will increase by 50% and its power will invade the enemy's body. But the enemy's gene will adapt to this ability, so the next time the enemy was hit with the Beast of Corrosion, explosive hit rate will decrease by 20%.]

[Each time the enemy is attacked by the Beast of Corrosion, its power will invade the enemy's body, causing terrifying negative effects. The negative effect inflicted is related to the enemy's race.]

[There is normally no way to upgrade the Beast of Corrosion ability.]

[The power of the Beast of Corrosion is related to your Pestilence Monarch ability. The more types of diseases you control, the more powerful the Beast of Corrosion will be, and the more negative effects will be inflicted upon the enemy. It may also disable certain abilities of the enemy.]

[Every time you activate the Beast of Corrosion, you must first use your own HP to feed it. 80 ~ 800 points will be randomly deducted from your HP (This deduction ignores defense and may cause death. For Sheyan, the deducted HP will range from 40 ~ 760 points). The Beast of Corrosion needs time to analyze the composition of the enemy, so if the enemy is a storyline creature, there will be a cooldown time of 1 minute.] (The two Beast of Corrosions before were released by the Stairway of the Sun, not Sheyan.)

[All contestants are strengthened by the nightmare realm, so the process of analyzing the composition of a contestant will be extended to 10 minutes. Therefore, if you attack a contestant with the Beast of Corrosion, the cooldown will be 10 minutes.]

[All contestants are strengthened by the nightmare realm, so the current Beast of Corrosion is unable to analyze their weaknesses. The increase in explosive hit rate will not take effect on contestants.]

[Hint: The only weakness of the Beast of Corrosion is that it is a venomous creature of a strange lifeform. Its movement is slow, so it depends entirely on the user's arm strength to throw it towards the enemy. Therefore, if the distance between the user and the enemy is too far away, then it would be easy for the enemy to dodge it.]

[Hint: Both the Beast of Corrosion and the Pestilence Monarch are derived from the Stairway of the Sun, so they have the same precedence.]

The series of notifications left a sinister smile on Sheyan's face. Coupled with his current rotten face, it was quite a horrifying sight.

"Looks like I didn't risk myself for nothing this time!"

Sheyan guessed that the 'Beast of Corrosion' ability should be refined and develop more skills as his 'Pestilence Monarch' ability obtained more types of diseases, akin to Zi's 'Force Collision - Wall', 'Force Needle Explosion', etc. Although this damn ability was powerful, the cost to use it was also frightening. A deduction of 80 to 800 points of HP… If he was unlucky, it could cost him his life! Most contestants right now probably didn't even have 800 points of HP! Even with Sheyan's insane amount of HP, he couldn't afford to use it carelessly!

Sheyan recalled the ability of 'Pestilence Monarch'. In a large-scale battle, the 'Pestilence Aura' was much more useful than the 'Beast of Corrosion'. He hurriedly inquired, and the response he got was that the plant form of the 'Stairway of the Sun' was asleep and was evolving. After the evolution was completed, it was possible to switch between the plant form and the animal form with his thought. Of course, he would probably have to pay a certain price.

While Sheyan was distracted, the struggling Leaping Ent emitted a muffled scream of pain, then smashed at Sheyan with his hand. Sheyan rolled away in time as the grasses and leaves on the ground were sent flying.

The Leaping Ent was in a terrible condition. His body had been fully breached by the terribly invasive ability of the 'Beast of Corrosion'. A putrid gel-like substance dripped from his mouth and a ring of black mold appeared on his branches. When he took a step forward, the branches and leaves that made up his feet crumbled due to decay!

Sheyan fled without hesitation. He had been running away in the forest the whole time, so he didn't know that Treebeard had turned into a wooden Transformer out of anger to chase him down and kill him. However, the pressure emitted by Treebeard was truly oppressive.

The Leaping Ent launched his quantum leap ability to chase after Sheyan, but he only ran for a few steps before he hit his head on a tree. He knocked the unfortunate tree down and also crashed into the ground himself. The Leaping Ent struggled madly with a loud roar. If Sheyan wanted to kill it, it would really take a lot of effort, but it's a lot easier if Sheyan just wanted to run away.

There is another advantageous factor for Sheyan in his attempt to escape. The enemy wouldn't be able to find him so easily because the 'Enemy of the Forest' imprint left by Treebeard on his face had almost been destroyed by the 'Stairway of the Sun' using the 'Beast of Corrosion'. Even if there was some residue of the imprint left, but it should be much more difficult to detect. Besides, Treebeard was also a spent force right now; it was impossible for him to leave another 'Enemy of the Forest' imprint on Sheyan.

After running for about 500 meters, Sheyan glimpsed a silhouette flashed by in the wood on his side. Although he had acquired a powerful new ability, he was still frightened. A single 'Beast of Corrosion' definitely would not make up for the gigantic gap in strength between him and Treebeard! Therefore, although Sheyan was running forward at full speed, he immediately forced himself to the side. It proved an ingenious decision because from the direction of the silhouette flew a thick wooden javelin that scraped past Sheyan's chest and lodged itself two meters deep into the ground!

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