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!