It was less than a minute after they started running when they could see a faint golden glow ahead. The elves in The Lord of the Rings exerted a soft glow in darkness which gave them a sense of mysterious beauty. This was also the best method of identifying the elves. When many elves gathered together, this beautiful glow looked more striking.
As soon as they saw the glow, a chilling air struck them from behind. This air blew up scattered leaves on the ground. They could hear the whinny of horses and instantly felt things were going terrible. The Ringwraiths were too fast. Were these death knights already here?
“Don’t worry. The Ringwraiths are still a few minutes away.” Lan yelled as she ran. “I can’t see it with psyche scan but I can see the withering plants. The traces of withering are approaching. Hurry!”
The group sped up even more as they heard. Ten seconds later, they saw the elves. This group of elves had approximately three hundred. They looked at these forty people with surprise. They elves also born fighters. A hundred of them immediately drew their arrows. The three teams stopped in place and didn’t dare to move.
Zheng shouted. “Corrupted creatures are chasing after us. Aren’t the elves a race of the good? Help us fight off the enemies!”
Noises broke out among the elves. They could see the elves were split into two parties. One believed they should help Zheng’s group while the other didn’t want to get involved. As they argued, the sense of chill was approaching.
“Halt! Have you forgotten the destination of our journey?” A man walked out from the elves.
He had blonde long hair, a fair face, and a pair of pointy ears. The elves quieted down following his shout. He walked a few steps toward the three teams and said. “My apologies, stranger. We are destined to be forgotten. We no longer hold any relation to this world as we are about to leave Middle Earth. We are merely passersby whether this world is evil or kind. I apologize that we are unable to help you.”
“They are the Ringwraiths chasing after us! Our ancestors had fought alongside you in the Last Alliance. Please help their descendents. We are allies!” Someone behind Zheng yelled. It was a newbie from team Africa, a young man in his mid twenties dressed in a suit. Zheng recalled he introduced himself as a lawyer. No wonder he had his way with words.
The elves fell into silence. The leader of their group sighed quietly. ‘Ally’ was a holy word to the elves. And the name Ringwraiths also struck their hearts. They could still remember the war due to their immortality. Never had they thought the Ringwraiths that had disappeared for so many years suddenly reappeared. This message made the elves feel suspicious.
“It is indeed the Ringwraiths. There are eight evil creatures approaching us rapidly. That evil force belonged to the force of death unique to the Ringwraiths.” The elves’s leader closed his eyes and faced toward the group’s direction. After a while, he muttered.
“You have the One Ring!” He opened his eyes abruptly.
Zheng stepped forward and said. “Yes. We are escorting the One Ring to Rivendell but we were found by the Ringwraiths soon after we left the Shire. We don’t have the power to protect these four Hobbits. That’s why we need your help. We just need you to delay the Ringwraiths for a period of time while we head to Brandywine River as fast as possible. The Ringwraiths can’t cross the river. Then we will head to Bree.”
The elves’s leader sighed. He looked at the Hobbits then turned around to his group. “Let the humans know we never abandon our allies. Never have and never will!” He shouted then picked up a bow from a maid. It was a green bow made of wood.
Zheng took several deep breaths then shouted to the three teams. “The newbies escape into the forest behind the elves. We will come back to get you after we reach Brandywine River. Don’t try run and move in groups. Xuan, Yinkong, that Druid, Richard and ChengXiao, head to the river when you see the Ringwraiths get stopped by us. Get the Hobbits on the ferry and wait for us. I will have Lan support you through Soul Link! The rest of the veterans attack! Try to kill all the Ringwraiths!”
Neos and Gungnir looked at each other. They both laughed coldly but didn’t say anything. They followed Zheng’s order and stood in their positions. The newbies had witnessed the attacks of the Ringwraith and quickly ran toward the forest. In under twenty seconds, they were nowhere to be seen.
The elves didn’t say anything about it. They had over a hundred archers with two meter long bows. The elves were slender and tall. They averaged 1.8 meters and some were even 1.9 meters tall. Their height supplemented the long bows to give their arrows more power. They were ready to fight by the time Zheng finished assigning the tasks. A third of the elves backed into the forest. These were the non combat elves. The fighters had a quiver hanging by their waist, which could not be described with the word gentle.
“Ready!” The elves’s leader yelled.
Zheng and the others sensed the chill growing colder. As the elves’s leader yelled ‘fire’, a Ringwraith charged out from a tree.
This Ringwraith also rode a black skeleton horse. The horse was a size bigger than the previous one and faster. Its eyes weren’t shining in a red light but rather they were flames. The Ringwraith’s equipments also seem more powerful. He carried a black shield in addition to the two handed sword.
The elves fired a hundred arrows that glowed in a green light. However, the arrows only resulted in clanks as they hit the shield then quickly get corroded by the black mist. These arrows couldn’t stop the Ringwraith even a bit.
The Ringwraith first appeared 300 meters away from the groups, then it crossed 100 meters by the time the arrows hit. At this time, a silver and a green arrow fired toward the Ringwraith’s head. However, it reacted instantly and the arrows hit the shield.
Zheng and the girl archer fired their arrows. They were both using +3 enchanted arrows but their different bows gave the arrows different glows. These two arrows were much more powerful than the elves’s.
The elves’s leader quickly glanced at the two players. He drew his bow with two arrows in his hand. The bow came into a full moon. As the Ringwraith crossed another hundred meters, he released the arrows one after the other. The second arrow hit the tail of the first and accelerated the first arrow in a mini explosion. A green light hit that thick shield. Pah! The shield exploded.
The girl archer watched with her eyes wide open. She stared at the wooden bow then back at her own bow in disbelief. While she was shocked, Heng also brought out two arrows and drew his bow to a full moon. He wasn’t using the Sirius bow anymore but he was so concentrated at this moment. There was not even a hint of fear in his eyes.
A second explosive shot was fired. Heng’s skill surpassed that of the elves’s leader. The power of the explosive shot with the addition of the magical bow and enchanted arrows made the arrow’s trail nearly invisible to the human eyes. At almost the same instant, the arrow pierced the Ringwraith’s head then the head exploded.
Zheng sighed. It had been so long since he last witnessed Heng’s technique. The power of this shot could shock and awe their enemies. The other two teams stared at Heng in shock. These were the veterans remaining and they were able to see what happened with the two arrows.
The elves’s leader reacted similarly then he yelled. “Stay alert! The Ringwraiths grow stronger with the death of each one. There are seven more. They will only keep growing stronger!”
The players were shocked again to hear that. Everyone felt bitter. This was like a message announcing their despair. The Ringwraiths were already so difficult to overcome in their normal form. Just then, another Ringwraith charged out from that same withered tree. He was even faster than the previous one. Then three more Ringwraiths came out after him. All four Ringwraiths carried thick large shields. They didn’t charge recklessly but advanced by moving among the trees with their anti-gravity attribute. The elves couldn’t focus their aim.
“It’s time to fight! Everyone bring out all you have or none of us can make it out alive!” Zheng shouted. He raised Tiger’s Soul and slashed at a tree.
The rest of the players also began destroying the trees in front of them. The Ringwraiths could ignore gravity so complex terrains would only add to their strength. Which would make them impossible to defeat.
The elves frowned but with such powerful enemies ahead, they couldn’t say anything about it. By the time the players cleared an eight meter area around them, the first Ringwraith had approached. He was running on top of falling leaves then his sword slashed at Zheng’s head.
Zheng was the strongest in close combat among the three teams. He raised Tiger’s Soul to block. Dong! The force pushed him a few inches into the ground but the Ringwraith was knocked up a few meters into the air. Zheng didn’t pause. He leaped and slashed at the Ringwraith’s left body. It cut off the Ringwraith’s arm and shield.
At the same time, Zheng shouted. “Xuan, I will leave them to you! Bring them away!”