Chapter 10: Orc metropolis
Translated by: Chua
Edited by: TN and Elkassar
The shriek was abrupt, vanishing as fast as it came; as though it had been cut off from the throat. Sheyan’s heart shivered instantly upon hearing it, instantly pushing off the alluring and curvy elf maiden up. Another shriek echoed in!
Elves were hailed as the children of nature. Once they concealed themselves inside the forest, even an expert hunter would find it hard to deal with. But in a short span of 3 seconds, the alerting elf scout had died. Only a well planned out and brutal ambush could result in such devastating agility!!!!
In the next second, orcs and uruk-hais swarmed into the little camp like a tidal wave,
An utterly malicious ambush.
This ambush was swift, venomous, and sharp; like a perceptive dagger abruptly penetrating in!
The ambushers were comprised of orcs, uruk-hais and another uruk-hai leader.
Sheyan noticed; apart from having a physically larger build, a mystery man clothed in a black mantle stood beside the uruk-hai leader. The man was hunchbacked, wearing a mysterious wizard robe, his hand holding onto a crooked staff. Elder Chauwin was sufficiently formidable, yet he was completely suppressed by this mysterious wizard. If the magic arts of an elder elf could be described as resplendent like starlight, then the magic arts of this mystery man was like the eternal night, boundless and choking!
Upon seeing this mystery man, Sheyan instantly knew his journey in Middle-earth had come to an end……others probably had no clue, but to Sheyan who had read the uruk-hai diary, he had ascertained this scene. During the degradation of Saruman, he had been putting on a false pretence of a righteous white robed wizard; even holding the appointment of chairman of the Council of the Wise. To maintain his righteous disguise, Saruman was unable to expose himself.
Hence, as a divine servant, Saruman utilized his powerful magic and research, creating several doppelgangers for himself using alchemy and witchcraft. He fragmented his soul and imbued them into his several identities, representing him to traverse the Middle-earth. This strategy was no doubt effective; if not for his ambitions growing too huge, Saruman wouldn’t even have exposed his identity.
At present, this crooked mystery man in front of Sheyan, was a representative of Saruman. Although it held only a minor portion of Saruman’s might, it definitely wasn’t something the present Sheyan could resist against.
Against the elves, the orcs and uruk-hais who were being supervised fearlessly charged in.To these savage creatures who were being controlled, death wasn’t a burden but a freedom. Even though the Rivendell elves were exceptionally valiant fighting inside a forest; even though Elder Chauwin in his rage caste several nature type magic which transformed 5 orcs into rotten wood, but he was immediately countered by Saruman’s representative. With a wave of Saruman’s staff, a strange paralytic wave swept through him, as he slumped to the ground paralysed.
Within a short time of half a cigarette, the elves were completely routed. Yet strangely, these vicious by nature orcs and uruk-hais, after achieving total supremacy, did not touch the remaining survivors. They merely bounded up these captives.
Sheyan continued to feign being severely injured, pretending his shattered sternum prevented him from walking. The orcs proactively carried him on their backs. Alicia had a long bleeding cut would across her arm, and the orcs even proactively treated her; they seemed particularly concerned about the lives of their captives.
Ultimately, Sheyan heaved a sigh of relief, he was already prepared to return to the realm. He obviously knew this abnormal development of events, was just a deadlier danger hiding beneath the false security! But to him, being able to drag on for another minute, he would gladly do so; besides, he had the upper hand of returning to the realm anytime. Of course if presented the opportunity, he naturally wished to assist these elves from escaping the grips of the evil one. As he eavesdropped on the orcs and the uruk-hais, he could faintly hear them addressing their own organization as the – ‘Slave Seizing squad’.
Slowly, they were being dragged towards the north. During their journey, they converged with other identical Slave Seizing squads; the captives came in various shapes and sizes, there were even orcs and uruk-hais!
The orcs were probably rogue orcs, and the uruk-hais probably those that had lost control. Their genetic makeup was probably flawed, causing them to break free and flee while carrying on mission. In order to keep them a secret, Saruman ordered the recapture of such uruk-hais, or even killed these failed products.
Just like that rapist uruk-hai previously, was one of those that had lost control. Its flawed genetic makeup had already greatly weakened it; that was how it died of blood loss even after only one sneaky thrust by Sheyan.
As time sped by, Melody and the other maiden elfs were surprised they hadn’t been raped. They had already mentally prepared themselves for suicide, but instead they were being treated extremely well.
After travelling for two days, the temperature had started to plunge rapidly. Every captive was given an animal hide coat, some orcs even rummaged through the leftover meals of the captives. If not for the strict surveillance, one would mistaken them to be invited guests. But very soon, the cruel reality shattered the farce of this false image.
A heavily wounded elf could no longer trudge forward due to exhaustion, his condition kept worsening. After he breathed his last breath, the voracious orcs ravaged through his body. The head of this unlucky elf was decapitated and offered to the uruk-hai leader. The uruk-hai leader elated drank the brains of this elf, like what humans would do to a coconut…….
The journey went on for 2 and a half days, before they finally arrived at the snowy peak of a world of ice and snow. This was the deepest pole of the Misty Mountains. To everyone’s amazement, right smack in this treacherously cold environment; the uruk-hais who normally loved travelling in small groups had actually established a massive coalition here, it could even be described as a metropolis. Countless amounts of caves had been dug out; from afar, the entire mountain range was covered with black spots. It looked just like a devilish honeycomb; enormous, surreal and brimming with unprecedented dangers.
“My god!!” Elder Cauwin gaped in appall. “This must be the fabled chasm of the Misty Mountains! Legend has it that death awaits those who enter. Looking at it now, it must be the origin of these orcs and uruk-hais!”
Right in the nucleus of this coalition metropolis, stood an average sized wizard tower. The tower emitted a devilish aura, the black doors of the tower seemed to be the devil’s eyes, in front of it stood that mystery wizard. Currently, he had removed his black mantle and face mask, revealing his face to the crowd.
Every single captive would have to pass through under his supervision. The profound wrinkless crisscrossed across the wizard’s face, his eyes turbid; as though his life had been snuffed out long ago. Yet his genuine power continued to ripple around his surroundings; just sweeping a gaze at him caused the captives to feel a throbbing pain cutting against them!
His might could only be described with one word – Unfathomable! But sometimes, ignorance is a bliss. At present to Sheyan, an unfathomable sea had no intrinsic difference to a shallow bathtub. The same logic as how the outcome would be similar if someone jumps from a 50 metres tall cliff compared to a 500 metres cliff. Probably because of his lackadaisical expression, Sheyan attracted the attention of the wizard. The wizard glared over, without moving his shrivelled lips, yet an aged old voice suddenly sounded of his abdomen.
“Eh? You actually possess a tiny fate glow on you ??”
(Due to legend +1)
Sheyan shrugged his shoulders, replying bluntly.
“Should I feel honored or afraid from what you’ve said?”
The wizard horrendously released a hoarse laughter.
“To someone like me who has created such perfection like the uruk-hais, you are worth nothing!”
The wizard then gazed towards Alicia, asking suspiciously.
“Woman, why do you have such a loathing aura on you?”
He reached out his dried, bird claw looking fingers, covering Alicia’s head. Suddenly, Alicia started spasming violently, under the watchful view of the multitude, the woman’s clothes rapidly disintegrated into ashes; revealing bit by bit her bare body. Astonishingly, her body’s surface was covered in scars, old scars. It looked like she had suffered ruthless torture in the past.
The wizard shot out an essence glow through his eyes, scanning Alicia’s body. The penetrative rays reached deeply, forcefully exposing her blood vessels to protrude from her body, lines of cyan colored vein lines appeared. When the wizard examined her left arm, the pitiful woman released a mournful shrill. “Crack!” Her arm instantly exploded, blood and flesh scattering out, a sparkling and translucent six-sided crystal ice object floated up towards the sky.
With a gesture, the crystal ice halted instantaneously in mid air. He then casually tossed out a bottle of deep-black potion out, the liquid forming into a thick black fog enshrouding it. After a few seconds when the fog finally dispersed, there was nothing left in the air.