Chapter 244: In Progress

"At any time, I have never restricted the people of this land from believing in any deity, whether it be Yavanna, the Giver of Fruits who blesses all growing things, or Orome, the great Knight who loves steeds and hounds, trees and forests, or any other being possessed of great power—all are permitted."

"But this absolutely does not include our enemy, Morgoth, who poisons the world!"

"

Allen's words grew louder with each passing sentence, and by the time he reached his final cry, even the briefly echoing peals of thunder could only serve as accompaniment.

At this moment, raindrops shimmering with blue light also began to fall, like a layer of blue mist enveloping everyone present.

"He may have other names—some 'Master of All Things,' some 'Bestower of Freedom'—these are all lies. He has only ever had one true name: the tyrant Melkor. And his most loyal servant, the current Dark Lord, has sown a monstrous lie within my city, planting the seeds of destruction among my people. He may possess incomparable power, but those who worship him will only ever receive pain and destruction, for he ignores promises, lacks honor, and is an evil god who satisfies himself through ruin and annihilation."

As the rain drifted, Allen's voice was initially filled with fury; he was recounting the essence of Morgoth and describing the consequences of worshipping the darkness.

"If you still cherish your current lives, view your families as treasures, and are still willing to follow me toward a better future, then take off the jewelry you wear. They contain extremely malicious Magic, influencing your minds at every moment. I can help you rid yourselves of it, but that is only temporary; the remaining path is one you must walk yourselves."

Afterward, Allen's words were filled with a trace of pity amidst their majesty; he hoped that after shaking off the Magic, the people would be able to recognize their current plight, thereby abandoning the cult and returning to their normal lives.

Moreover, this was only half of what he had to say; if the people were unwilling to abandon the greed in their hearts, then he would need to execute mandatory measures, and that outcome would be too ugly and tragic.

Just as Allen's voice fell, strands of gray mist twisted in the rain like black snake shadows, but instead of dissipating into the air as Allen had predicted, they converged together amidst a gradually clarifying burst of wild laughter.

That laughter was full of evil and contempt, containing a malice that wished to destroy all beauty, forming a sharp contrast with Allen's words; even just hearing the sound, everyone present felt as if they were looking into a boundless, endless darkness.

Soon, the black snake shadows gathered above the people's heads into a mass of extremely thick black smoke, within which red firelight faintly flickered as it churned, and that laughter grew even more rampant, the incomparably hideous sound echoing in the air.

Darkness shrouded the place, and even the light emitted by the Crystal Lamp seemed to dim.

The raindrops with blue light fell more densely, as if striking a sandy beach, punching shallow pits into the black smoke, while the thunder churning in the dark clouds seemed stimulated, growing even brighter.

Suddenly, with a "Crack!", a bolt of lightning struck down directly from the dark clouds, shattering a corner of the black smoke; yet that rampant laughter did not stop, instead taking on a mocking tone, and a harsh, hideous voice rang out, as if someone were scraping a sharp little knife against glass.

At this moment, very few people could understand this language, but Allen understood its meaning.

"Struggle, your end will not change; give up, your hope is already gone."

And the black smoke that had been scattered recovered at this moment, becoming incomparably thick once again, even far exceeding what it was before.

When the black smoke first appeared, Allen's nerves were strained to the limit; the turn of events at this moment was something he had not expected, just like that "lightning" that appeared in the dark clouds, completely exceeding his expectations.

In this state, Allen was not distracted by the enemy's words, but instead focused on what was before him; he did not believe that the black smoke could be endless, because he had just spent a massive amount of Dinar to check Sauron's location, and he was still in Mordor, atop that extremely evil black tower.

At such a vast distance, Allen did not believe Sauron's power could extend to Rhovanion; he was merely a Maia who had suffered heavy wounds, and the Ring that held most of his power was still safely hidden in the Shire; the Dark Lord could not possibly be this powerful.

Allen believed that the current situation must have some trick to it that he was unaware of; according to his understanding of Middle-earth, this did not conform to common sense.

A rumbling of thunder came from the dark clouds, and the lightning flashed once more.

"Thud," "Crack," "Splash."

On a hillside several dozen kilometers away from Fislate, Holimion directed his subordinates to tighten the ropes in their hands once again, and at the end of the ropes was a Battering Ram wrapped in metal at the front.

Following a shout filled with power, the heavy siege weapon was pulled high, followed by a whistling sound, and the cliff wall that had once been urinated on by a squirrel was once again smashed into a pitch-black hole.

After clearing out the unstable elements within the city, Holimion had arrived at Tiehaer's secret base before dark, and Artimenner had already been there for a long time, directing a portion of the craftsmen to assemble siege weapons with great power.

Facing the kind of stone door that was extremely difficult for Dwarves to discover, relying solely on manpower was difficult to open it, so siege weapons were the best choice at present.

Because ever since Allen came to Middle-earth, he had never considered researching things like gunpowder; at the beginning, whenever this thought arose, he would faintly feel that something was wrong—this was not a warning from other beings, but a warning from Allen's own heart.

This warning prevented Allen from researching such creations that could change the landscape of the world.

Initially, Allen had not figured out where this worry came from, only following his inner guidance and not acting rashly to deliberately seek out saltpeter or sulfur, until he saw the "Flashbang" developed by the Dwarves.

That was an extremely inefficient explosive weapon, its shockwave only capable of snapping very thin wood, yet it was very expensive to manufacture, and the materials used were things Allen had never even heard of, and only the Lonely Mountain could produce them.

At the time, this weapon reminded Allen of gunpowder once again; if it were developed, it would definitely be much cheaper and more widespread than what the Dwarves were currently using, and in the battle against Sauron, it could also quickly eliminate those overwhelming, boundless Orcish hordes.

However, this time, Allen immediately understood where that warning came from.

One must know that before Sauron was seduced by Morgoth, he was a Maia who followed Aule, the Smith-god; he was proficient in craftsmanship, had once guided the Elves of Eregion to forge the Rings of Power, and when he served Tar-Palantir in Numenor, he had even taught the Numenoreans many skills and even built engines.

To play with gunpowder in front of Sauron, who was proficient in craftsmanship, was simply an act of courting disaster; even with the memories of his past life, Allen did not believe he could surpass the Dark Lord, who had once forged the One Ring, in the field of weapon research.

This was simply a crazy gamble, and the win rate was infinitely close to zero.

Moreover, those overwhelming Orcish hordes were the best existences to use gunpowder weapons, which even compensated for the disadvantage of these fellows having weak combat power; even the powerful Elves could not withstand the might of firearms head-on.

And commanding those extremely stupid Orcish would lead to many tactics that were impossible to guard against.

Having suddenly understood everything, Allen completely hid the concept of gunpowder in the depths of his heart, and such thoughts never appeared in his mind again.

Following fate properly, this battle was still winnable, at least without needing the Valar to step in to clean up the mess to preserve the children of Eru Iluvatar.

And at this moment, the Siege Ram striking the stone door actually did not pose much pressure on the Twilight Knights.

Their individual strength was very powerful, comparable to weaker Trolls, and they were capable of launching multiple impacts in a short time.

And facing the impact of the Battering Ram, that stone door could not persist for long; after all, it was not made of Mithril, nor did it have any Magic used for protection; its only special feature was that it was extremely hidden and difficult for people to discover.

This point was thoroughly defeated by a puddle of long-lasting urine, and that little squirrel was on the shoulder of a youth, quickly gnawing on a nut, its pair of dark, shiny little eyes watching as the stone door finally fell apart after a "Clang."

Without rest, without orders, the handsome-faced Holimion said nothing, only quickly picking up the Shield on the ground, then casually drawing the Noldor Rune Longsword at his waist, and moved his legs to charge into the cave.

He did not know if the enemy had prepared a retreat, but the commotion just now was huge; as long as the enemy was not deaf, they would certainly know that someone had reached the door.

And the Twilight Knights who put down the ropes drew their weapons one after another to follow their Captain.

The silver-like moonlight only illuminated a tiny bit of the cave, while the rest was thick darkness, as if it had existed since the beginning of the world.

But the Noldor Elves possessed the ability to see in the dark, so Holimion, charging into the cave, discovered a tunnel leading downward in the pitch black at the first opportunity, and he charged down without the slightest hesitation.

With his excellent eyesight, Holimion had long seen the dark clouds drifting over Winterburg; he knew his lord's plan had already begun, and they had to speed up on this side as well.

More than a dozen Twilight Knights ran continuously downward along the uneven stairs, and the air gradually became stifling; except for the sound of metal boots stepping on stone echoing incessantly, everything else was barely audible, and the spiraling downward stairs seemed to have no end.

In such an environment, Holimion did not know how long he had been running—ten minutes? Half an hour? An hour? There was no way to calculate it; he could only feel the restlessness in his heart growing more intense, even having the urge to swing his weapon and hack at the walls.

A flash of fiery red light attracted the Noldor Elf's gaze at this moment, and his pace gradually slowed down, converging with the companions behind him; if there were enemies, then the gate emitting firelight ahead was the best place for an ambush.

There were countless blind spots for vision there, and the enemy could launch an attack from any direction; even the well-equipped and highly skilled Twilight Knights needed the support of a simple military formation to successfully break through the gate.

Three Shields protected the front, three Shields protected the top, and six more Shields protected the left and right respectively; except for the rear, they could generally respond to an enemy surprise attack at the first opportunity.

Therefore, when four or five roughly shaped Black War Hammers came smashing toward the Twilight Knights with a whistling sound, these Elves with extremely rich combat experience tilted the Shields in their hands, directly deflecting the force of the metal hammers and neutralizing the enemy's ambush.

Subsequently, the entire military formation instantly dispersed like an explosion of silver light, and every ray of light that dispersed charged toward several Dwarves; the sound of weapons clashing filled the entire cave in an instant.

The enemies hidden in the cave were several times the number of the Twilight Knights, and in appearance and attire, they were exactly the same as the Dwarves who had ambushed Allen at the Running River not long ago—they were precisely the Dark Dwarf serving Sauron.

They worked day and night here to forge ornaments capable of bewitching the heart, while a massive Black Crystal Ball was placed in the center of the cave, emitting an extremely eerie glow.

If someone were to look closely, a figure clad in black armor seemed to be hidden within it, but its appearance was extremely illusory, possessing no overwhelming pressure, but rather a sensation that caused the emotions in one's heart to amplify infinitely.

Holimion, wearing the Noldor Knight Helmet, had already sensed that he was being affected by unknown Magic, but he had no time to attend to this now; instead, he nimbly dodged a Battering Ram that whistled through the air, and while the enemy was off-balance, he swung his left arm with force to knock the Dwarf attacking him unconscious with his Enchanted Shield.

Subsequently, the gleaming Noldor Rune Longsword was thrust diagonally into the Dwarf's heart, drawing out a spray of blood, and the attacked Dwarf powerlessly released the weapon in his hand, collapsed to the ground, and soon ceased all movement.

Beside him lay two other headless, sturdy bodies.

In a single encounter, Holimion had killed the three Dwarfs blocking his path and charged toward the leader wearing a crown, whose right hand, gripping a golden battle-axe, wore a Gold Ring inlaid with a circle of rubies.

The golden battle-axe whistled as it hacked toward the tall, silver figure, only to be blocked by a Shield engraved with intricate patterns; after a loud "Clang!", a thin silver light darted out from behind the Shield like a bolt of white lightning, stabbing toward the stocky figure, but it was nimbly dodged.

After a brief exchange, both sides pulled apart.

Holimion's left arm trembled slightly; that axe blow just now had been extremely swift and fierce, making it impossible for him to dodge, and the immense force transmitted when the axe struck the Shield had placed great strain on his left arm.

The Dwarf leader opposite him was not faring well either; although he had dodged Holimion's thrust, the sharp blade had still carved a wound into his waist, and blood had already soaked his luxurious clothing.