The Ultimate Evolution
chapter-1419-30041322

Reality was cruel.

That was how the Minas Tirith contestants were feeling right now. To whittle down the enemy with human wave tactic sounded very simple, but when the tactic was executed, they noticed a problem with the plan – a really big problem.

Who would charge first?

The first person to charge would not only become the focus of enemy attacks – the people inside were trapped beasts, so they would surely attack with wild abandon – but the person would also be blocking the door and thus blocking off the firing lines of most of the long range attackers behind him, so he could only expect limited support from his allies.

If three people were to rush up together, there would be even less angles for long range support. They were not incorporeal; bullets and arrows could not fly into the hall through their bodies.

More crucially, if the person leading the charge was not strong enough, he would just be killed right away, feeding the enemy contribution points. But those who were strong enough would never volunteer for this kind of high risk, low reward, cannon-fodder-like job.

So, the only effective attacks they had on the hall were AoE ranged attacks such as grenades and explosives, but not only were these attacks easily intercepted mid-air by Zi's 'Force.Collision-Wall', they were often detonated by Aziz's timely shots the moment they were thrown. Even if they managed to reach the enemies, they would just be blocked by Reef and Skull who were tanking at the front.

The two were formidable MTs in their own rights, and in the Source of Darkness hall, they were also blessed by Sauron's power, so their HP had increased by 200%, their attack and defence had increased by 30%, and all long-range damages they received were decreased by 40%. In addition, the 'Wind of Darkness' recovery effect would constantly heal them, and attacks from contestants would also be weakened further by 40%. Therefore, this level of this attacks could hardly scratch them.

The Minas Tirith contestants now had two choices for this problem.

The first choice was to use their redeemed troops to forcefully break into the hall regardless of the cost. All the contestants who were still alive at this point had plenty of contribution points in their hands. If they actually put their minds to it and use all their contribution points on the standard armoured swordsmen of Minas Tirith, they could probably redeem a few thousand troops, and if they send those swordsmen to rush the hall all at once, the dark side contestants would die from exhaustion even if they did not die under a sword.

The second choice was to gain the help of powerful storyline characters! Let storyline characters like Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas lead the charge. If the enemy could not stop these storyline characters, they would lose the choke point at the door. It was obvious what would happen after that.

The third choice…. That 's right, there was actually a third choice! It was something that even Party Ace did not think of!

Similar to how Sheyan would sometimes be helped by his Realm, the leaders of the opposite side, Knight, Bill and Lafarge could also ask for help from their Realms!

Noah Realm C was powerful. It was like the Financial Bureau and the Personnel Bureau among the government's departments, possessing a great amount of power. The staff of these departments usually walked with their noses high.

The other Realms were like the Farming Bureau, Water Affairs Bureau, Forestry Bureau and other less important departments. Individually, they may not be as powerful as Noah Realm C, but when they joined hands, the roles they covered were more comprehensive than Noah Realm C and encompassed a much larger area.

Soon, notifications which broke the deadlock was sent to the minds of every contestant.

[ The formidable power of the Source of Darkness hall needs to be maintained by the power of devotion of Sauron's believers. There are now less than 1000 Sauron believers in the vicinity of the Source of Darkness hall, so the hall can only maintain its power by relying on the supply of divine power from Sauron. The power has to be transmitted from far away, so it is unable to support the hall for much longer. ]

[ Specifically, in six hours, the Source of Darkness hall will no longer be able to maintain its state of being "indestructible as long as there is a warrior inside" - which means that it can then be destroyed. Even if the hall is undamaged, Sauron's power which sustains the Source of Darkness hall will run out in twelve hours, and the hall will collapse by itself. ]

[ Special Note: This Law is also effective on the White Tower in Minas Tirith. ]

The special note at the end was clearly a superficial attempt at fairness.

These notifications were like a noose being put around the neck of the dark side contestants trapped in the Source of Darkness hall! But the Minas Tirith contestants could completely ignore the noose around their own neck, at least for the time being. Under the current situation, how could the dark side contestants threaten the White Tower? Maybe in their next life!

Despite the dark side contestants' anger, there was nothing they could do about it. After all, the enemy were just reasonably using the rules to their advantage. Their own Realm had sometimes manipulated the rules too.

For example, when Sheyan successfully upgraded his 'Dimensional Door' thanks to Noah Realm C's intervention.

And the fact that the dark side contestants were generally stronger than the Minas Tirith contestants individually.

And there was also a rule which stated that the dark side contestants were not allowed to move more than 20 kilometres away from the camp without Gothmog's permission, or they would be punished.

How far did Sheyan travel?

Pelargir was nearly 200 kilometres downstream of Minas Tirith. The punishment Sheyan received for his violation of the rule was only 20,000 utility points.

The punishment Gothmog dished out must be randomly chosen from a certain range, with a clear upper limit and lower limit. The punishment of 20,000 utility points definitely could not be regarded as severe, because those who ran away from the battlefield were called deserters. The punishment for deserters in any army was execution. Could Sheyan have escaped with just a slap on the wrist without the Realm's intervention?

Therefore, it was fair in a way. It was just that the Minas Tirith contestants were manipulating the rules more brilliantly, with great foresight and precision.

But if Knight could see the smirk on Sheyan's face right now, he would surely become extremely wary!

What's more, some of those trapped in the Source of Darkness hall were not as anxious and disheartened as Knight expected! They were even chatting enthusiastically….

"Sure enough, those bastards did it."

"That was really unexpected."

"What a brilliant move. They seized the initiative from a passive position...."

"Brilliant, truly brilliant...."

　　***

Logically speaking, since Knight and the Minas Tirith contestants had influences over the higher ups on their side and could control their side's general policy, they could just sit back and relax for the next twelve hours and wait for the enemy's tortoise shell to unravel by itself. They could then easily annihilate the people inside and return after gaining much profit.

However, unforeseen circumstances would always occur. There would always be things that strayed from the predetermined plan. When the tired Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas were catching their breath, they saw the remains of the little Hobbits, and found out about the tragedy that had befallen Éomer and Éowyn, the siblings from Rohan....

The emotional trio were furious! They picked their weapons back up and vowed to seek justice for their friends! Those monsters! Those abominables! Every second they let those animals remain breathing was a great sin!

The trio sprinted to the Source of Darkness hall, a bunch of elite troops following behind them. This time, things were getting serious, because the one leading the charge was the returning king, Aragorn! The sword Andúril in his grasp emitted a solemn and furious silvery glow!

This would be the biggest test so far for those trapped inside the Source of Darkness hall. If they let Aragorn breach the hall, everyone was finished, so they must stop him at all costs!

The first round of assault already resulted in an extremely precarious situation for the dark side contestants. Skull took a heavy blow and was beaten into the state of near death. Five people in the hall lost their lives.

The second round of assault was forcefully halted by Reef, but three people in the hall were still killed. Among Party Ace, Sanzi and Zi were injured to the point of losing their ability to fight. They actually should have died as well, but fortunately, Party Ace had been prepared for an emergency. All of them had consumed 'The Magma of Mount Doom (Ice-Cold Version)' just in case.

In other words, Sanzi and Zi were now frozen in the state of near death. As long as the others were still alive, they would not die. At the same time, they would continuously recover under the powerful magic in the hall as long as they remained stationary and did not attack or use any abilities. But as soon as they did, the effect would disappear, and it would not take effect again.

The third round of assault was only halted thanks to Aldaris. He had transformed into his powerful Archon form to stop the enemy's charge, at a great price. He, too, had fallen into a state of near death. It was a truly fierce fight. Apart from Party Ace, only Skull and his four trusted subordinates remained.

Skull was a pretty decisive person. The moment he was trapped in this place, he immediately redeemed 'The Magma of Mount Doom (Ice-Cold Version)' for himself and his subordinates, telling them that if they were to die, they would die together! Thanks to that, him and his men burst out with great power.

Among the three legendary figures leading the attack, the biggest threat was not Aragorn, but Legolas, the Elven prince. His fearful marksmanship had terrifying range and power. Reef could still defend against Aragorn and Gimli by relying on the strong buffs provided by the Source of Darkness hall, but he could not stop Legolas' terrifying arrows. Of those who were killed and fell into a state of near death, more than half were the work of Legolas.

The legendary trio had achieved commendable results after those three rounds of attacks, but even Legolas, who did not participate in close combat, was exhausted by now. The bravery of the people inside and the crazed fervour with which they resisted were completely out of the trio's expectations. It was as if the people inside vowed to bite off a chunk of their meat even if they had to go down!

Legolas had seen his share of fanatics – almost every Orc was willing to die for Sauron – but these people were different, because after being buffed up by the power of the Source of Darkness hall, they had actually reached a level where they could threaten his life!

As he thought of that, Legolas, whose temple was still tingling, could not help wiping his nose absent-mindedly. The blood there had dried, but the image of the woman launching a direct assault on his mind was still fresh in his memory. The darkness which threatened to overwhelm him and the sharp needle which pierced directly into his brain had left a deep impression on him.

But compared to his companions, Legolas realised that his injuries were not that heavy at all. Aragorn and Gimli were covered in wounds. Their heavy breathing and the grim wounds on their faces were a testament to the intensity of the battles in the hall. Gimli's thighs were still bleeding profusely, so his armour was stained dark red. His eyes were bloodshot, but only he knew if it was from anger or pain.

The contestants inside the hall had shamelessly moved their teammates who were under the protection of 'The Magma of Mount Doom (Ice-Cold Version)' to the entrance as covers. These people were all in a state of near death, but they were protected by both the magma's strong magical effect and Sauron's divine power.

They were covered in a layer of fiery red light. They would die if they were so much as touched, but weirdly, that any attack that struck them would be absorbed by the layer of light! Therefore, they were perfect as covers.

Keep in mind that there was a terrifying sniper, Aziz, inside the hall. Although his gun only went off sporadically, it would often cause great harm to the enemies!

"This group is no more than an arrow at the end of its flight..." Aragorn stared at the Source of Darkness hall with his long, thin eyes. The heaving of his chest gradually calmed down. His gaze was sharp and fierce, like a hawk's. He was indeed a protagonist worthy of the title of a king.

"We need only charge one last time, and their defensive line will collapse!"

"I can make their defensive line collapse by myself! I'll definitely kill more than you, Elf!" remarked Gimli fiercely.

Gimli had made a bet with Legolas to see who could kill more enemies. The Elven prince merely responded with a polite smile. He took out a handkerchief and wiped the stain off the famous Galadhrim longbow in his hand.

If the mottled bloodstains on Legolas were to be ignored, he would look no different from a weary traveler due to his dusty attire. His wore a pale blue silk undershirt with delicate embroideries, soft, greyish-green wool trousers, and a pair of high suede boots. The boots had a strong Elvish motif. They were shaped like overlapping leaves and were decorated with patterns of plants on them. They were not only beautiful, but were probably enchanted with some strong permanents spells as well.

His coat was a double-layer suede coat. The inner layer of the coat was khaki green, and the slightly thicker outer layer was brown. The inner and outer layers were cut into the shapes of petals, so the coat looked like a flower bud. The coat extended below the waist, split open on both sides so as not to hinder the wearer's movement, while its sleeves extended all the way to the elbow.

A long pale green cloak was fastened at his neckline with a silver leaf pin, so when he ran, the cloak would billow in the wind, making him look very dashing.

"If we are to keep attacking, we should make haste. I can sense the astonishing speed of recovery of these summoned outsiders, much faster than ours," Legolas gave a cautious suggestion.

Aragorn nodded. He raised his sword.

The legendary sword, Andúril.

50 elite soldiers gathered under Aragon's command at once.

Aragon said solemnly, "Think of Pippin, think of Merry! Think of Gandalf, who still can't walk! Think of King Théoden, Éowyn and Éomer. They are watching us! Forward! Follow close behind me. We shall cut away this rotten flesh from the surface of the Pelennor Fields!"

As soon as he finished his speech, he dashed towards the entrance of the Source of Darkness hall with his sword in both hands, as courageous as a lion!!

That terrifying momentum; it felt like if the Misty Mountains were blocking his way, he would blast a canyon right through the mountain range!

　　***

"It's time..."

The moment Aragorn started his assault, Sheyan had taken out 'Chris Redfield's Lucky Bracelet' and slowly tied the red rope soaked with the blood of various protagonists to his wrist.

Party Ace had killed many enemy contestants in the war so far and accumulated a lot of achievement points. They had given about 70% of these achievement points to Sheyan. Sheyan thus had more than enough achievement points to learn the 'True Luck' ability!

After a flash of light, Sheyan finally obtained the skill. There was no complex skill tree with different branches. The skill had only one branch, progressing from one level to the next.

The explanation for level 1 of 'True Luck' was very simple. It was divided into two parts.

The first part stated that any proc rate or trigger rate that was beneficial to the contestant (such as explosive strike rate, dodge rate, disease infection probability, etc.) would be increased by 2%, and any proc rate or trigger rate that was detrimental to the contestant (including, but not limited to, explosive strike rate sustained, stunning chance, bleeding chance, etc.) would be reduced by 2%.

The second part of the explanation stated that the ability would cancel out the 'True Luck' ability possessed by hostile storyline characters (including, but not limited to, protagonists). If the storyline character had a higher level of 'True Luck', their ability would be offset, forcefully reduced by one level. Of course, this would also null the 'True Luck' ability on the contestant. This cancelling out effect would only exist between the contestant and the storyline character in question. When other people attacked the storyline character, the storyline character's 'True Luck' ability would still exist, and that was also the case when other people attacked the contestant.

Sheyan smirked sinisterly when he saw this. So this was the strongest aspect of 'True Luck'! Why were the main characters and even some famous storyline characters so hard to kill? Why could they pass through a hail of bullets unharmed? They were strong, yes, but it was mainly thanks to their red-hot fortune, their unbelievable luck, their plot armour!

Without their plot armour, they were no different from pedestrian A. At most, they were just very strong pedestrian A's!

Sheyan now had a shocking amount of achievement points. This was mainly thanks to Aziz, who had contributed at least a third of the achievement points. If Zeus knew about this, he would probably break into tears.

When Aziz was in his party, not only had the sniper never contributed any achievement points, Zeus even had to pay Aziz whenever he needed Aziz's services!

The reason Aziz had such a turnabout in behaviour was, first of all, because Sheyan had much more charisma and ability compared to Zeus.

More importantly, contestants were all rather realistic people. No matter how strong a friendship was, it was never as useful as an increase in pure power!

Even one as strong as Aziz could not help being shocked by the sudden increase in his strength after he joined Party Ace.

Gunmen generally had strong attack power but below average defence. When Aziz joined Party Ace, the increase in his HP and MP, as well as the 'Gloryheal' ability he obtained, had at least doubled his survivability!

What was cohesiveness? This was cohesiveness! Everything else was secondary in the face of such benefits. Furthermore, Sheyan was also a leader worthy of investment and trust. And that was why even one as rebellious and arrogant as Aziz would obey his orders!

Sheyan took no time at all to raise his 'True Luck' ability to max level! Of course, the price he paid was astronomical. He had used up almost all the achievement points he had. But the improvement to the ability was also very obvious.

The bonus to beneficial proc rate and trigger rate had increased to 10%, and the reduction to detrimental ones had also increased to 10%. In other words, he now enjoyed +10% dodge rate, +10% explosive strike rate, +10% blocking chance, +10% parry chance, +10% hit rate, -10% chance of suffering explosive strike, -10% chance of being stunned, etc. etc.... Such a horrifying bonus was truly unbelievable!

As for the second part, the ability could now completely strip away a main character's plot armour in battle!

　　***

Aragorn was seeing red. The unique, terrifying power of the Númenórean royal family coursed through his limbs, driving his fatigued body forward. The pride of the Dúnedain filled his heart. He could feel his blood boiling in his veins. The sacred sword, Andúril, hummed excitedly as it slashed down on the enemy in front of it, declaring its desire for blood!

There was no loud clang, no sparks. Andúril was retracted as soon as it touched the dark gold shield. However, there was an intermittent groan in the air, like the sound of strings that were drawn so taut that they were on the verge of breaking.

It was the dying moan of the equipment soul of the shield!

In the end, the dark gold shield was no match for the legendary sword! There was only one grade separating the two, but the gap was a gaping chasm, unimaginably deep! The dark gold 'Grasp of Pharaoh Welkhahor' shield had reached its limit, and had been damaged beyond repair!

An illusion of a huge scorpion surfaced from the shield. It painfully raised its claws and tail, then scattered into tiny spots of light.

With the death of the equipment soul, the shield was immediately downgraded into a silver storyline equipment. Cracks started appearing on its surface, and it was even showing signs of downgrading further into a black-grade equipment!

Aragorn was actually really impressed with this dark warrior in front of him. Although the warrior was a summoned outsider, his performance was worthy of being described as indomitable. No matter how critical the situation was, he could always deal with the crisis calmly, blocking the attacks that rained down on him and his allies like he was a towering mountain!

Without this shield warrior, the temple that exuded the power of darkness would have already been breached during the first assault!

Even with his shield destroyed, the dark warrior was still calm and steady, parrying attacks like an unyielding rock in a storm. However, in the eyes of Aragon and Gimli, there were now various openings in his defence.

A muffled groan escaped from Aragorn's mouth. Enduring a stab by another burly dark warrior, he sent his own sword forward, piercing through the chest of the shield warrior in front of him!

The terrifying power contained in the sacred sword Andúril burst forth continuously. The shield warrior grabbed the sword with both hands, but could not stop himself from falling to his knees! His life seemed to have come to an end!!

However, a soft golden light suddenly radiated from his body, forming an indestructible barrier of light around him. Even the sacred sword Andúril was bounced away!

That shocked Aragorn for a short instance. But a short instance was often fatal in a fight! Eleven illusions dashed out of the hall and surrounded Aragorn from every direction. Grim-looking red glow extended more than a foot long from the tip of the blades held by the illusions. All eleven illusions charged at Aragorn with astonishing speed, stabbing their blade into him!!

Eleven dazzling rays of light lunged towards Aragorn at the same time, like a blossoming monstrous flower!

It was Ronnie's killer move, 'Phantom Ghost Flash'!

At the same time, Aziz was sent flying by Gimli's axe, but while blood gushed out of his mouth, he rotated his body in the air and took aim. The muzzle of his legendary gun glimmered with a dangerous glow. A silver bullet shot out and penetrated into Aragon's chest, and a circle of bloody mist burst forth!

Aragorn staggered a few steps back and knelt on the ground, his face pale, but he soon stood back up. Although his body was covered in injuries, his hands were still holding onto his sword, and he was still as steady as a rock!

"...I've done my best, boss!"

"This goddamn protagonist is a monster! Only four of my eleven phantoms managed to hit him!"

"Be careful..."

"I've done what you asked of me. Now it's your turn to prove yourself!"

　　***

At the same time, Knight, who was watching from a distance away, heaved a long breath. "We've won," he stated in an affirmative tone.

"That's right, we've won." Not just Knight, the people around him also felt the same way, but the relief that was so thick in Knight's voice was noticeably absent in theirs. They could all see that only two contestants in the Source of Darkness hall could still move, and the most difficult person to deal with, Reef, was already in a state of near death!

The pillar which supported them had broken down. They would naturally fall like a collapsing mountain soon!

On the contrary, the Big Three of the Fellowship of the Ring, albeit covered in injuries, could still fight. The ones that had fallen were only the elite troops around them. Thus, there was now a great disparity between the combat strength of both sides.

"But why do I still feel so uneasy?!" The closer his side was to obtaining victory, the heavier the feeling in Knight's heart. There must be something he had missed!

That's it! It was Reef! Although Reef had fallen into a state of near death and was now being protected by a layer of power, his condition was obviously different from the other contestants that had consumed 'The Magma of Mount Doom (Ice-Cold Version)'!

Vastly different!

The barrier protecting Reef was a layer of eggshell-shaped golden shield, while the contestants that had consumed 'The Magma of Mount Doom (Ice-Cold Version)' had a layer of fiery-red light on the surface of their body.

This means that the effect of 'The Magma of Mount Doom (Ice-Cold Version)' was not triggered on Reef. This means that the rest of Party Ace still could not be harmed! This means that another mysterious, powerful force was protecting Reef!

Where did this force come from?

The only one missing from Party Ace was the guy called Seaman. Where was he right now?

These two questions sprang up in Knight's mind.

Knight felt like he had suddenly been doused with cold water, falling from paradise to hell in an instant. Originally, because of the absence of the Blu-ray Party and the Maritime Alliance, he felt that one more contestant going missing would not make much of a difference. But right now, Knight suddenly realised that he might have made the most deadly mistake in his life! If that guy had been hiding all this while, how high must his prestige and combat strength be for the arrogant and rebellious Party Ace to fully support his actions?

"Be careful!" Knight instantly lost his cool and let out a heartrending scream, completely disregarding the fact that this would shatter the mysterious, cold image he had always maintained!

Unfortunately, his scream came a moment too late. Because he was lost in thought a moment ago, he did not notice that more than 80% of the people around him had started sneezing, coughing, and getting a runny nose! The terrible SARS virus had been incubating in these people for nearly an hour and had fully familiarised itself with their immune system. Now that the virus was finally breaking out, it was unstoppable.

Among the coughs and sneezes, a swordsman who had been lurking in the dense crowd of onlookers suddenly released forth a horrifying presence!!

The swordsman was wearing tattered leather armor. His cloak was stained with blood. The sword at his waist was obviously worn-out. The bow on his back was old. Before this, he looked no different from any of the Minas Tirith guards participating in this war, so no one had paid him any attention.

But now! The leather armour he was wearing burst apart. There was a layer of golden light on the surface of his body, the same as the one on Reef. He was now wearing a blood red armour which had a glow that seemed almost tangible and was unbelievably sharp. Those who got close to the armour would be suffocated by the strong, terrible smell of blood oozing from it. All the swordsmen standing near the man distanced themselves from him covering their noses, then fell to the ground and threw up!

What's more, a strange illusion that was more than ten metres high had suddenly appeared behind the swordsman. It was an illusion of a huge tree that had no leaves. Its blood-red, tentacle-like branches flailed around wildly!

The bones of the man's entire body crackled loudly. First, his right hand deformed, but it then bizarrely returned to normal. Then, it was his left hand, left foot, and right foot. These were obvious signs of a Temperer, whose body were beginning to evolve into the most suitable form for the Temperer's combat style. However, in the end, the swordsman's transformation did not occur in his limbs, but in between his eyebrows!

Under the fierce buffing and stabilising effect of the Major General Blood Armour, Sheyan had surpassed the unstable period of a new Temperer and directly advanced to the peak of a Temperer. In between his eyebrows, a mysterious third eye with an indescribably deep pupil had appeared!!

Sheyan was in the midst of the enemy army, so at the moment, even though the SARS virus was in full swing, he was still hit by dozens of attacks from every side. These attacks were accompanied by a large number of debuffing effects like weakening and slowing, but the feedbacks the attackers received were cruel.

[ The enemy is immune to the negative condition! ]

[ The enemy is immune to this type of attack! ]

'Peerless'!

The moment Sheyan revealed himself, he had activated 'Peerless' without any hesitation!

'Peerless', which would only last for five minutes but would make him unspeakably terrifying during those five minutes!

[ When 'Peerless' is in effect, any damage done by an enemy on the wearer will be forcibly reduced by 20%, and any damage done by a contestant will be forcibly reduced by 30%. ]

[ When 'Peerless' is in effect, the wearer's mind will be in a state of hyperactivity and high concentration. The wearer will be immune to all negative conditions and will ignore all pain. Rigidity will also increase by 200 points, so any pushing force and rebounding force acting on the wearer will almost be completely disregarded. ]

[ When 'Peerless' is in effect, the wearer's movement speed will increase by 20% and attack speed will increase by 50%. ]

[ When 'Peerless' is in effect, each time the wearer's attack strikes the enemy, there will be a 20% chance of instantly triggering an additional attack. This additional attack cannot be evaded, blocked or parried. In addition, this additional attack has a 5% bonus in explosive strike rate. ]

Like a bolt of blood-red lightning, the man dashed straight towards the Source of Darkness hall, leaving a trail of horrifying explosions in his wake. In this instant, Sheyan's blood-red pupil was focused on a single person.

The returning king... Aragorn!

'I have been patiently lying in wait up to this point...'

'My teammates have bathed in blood, holding on until the very last moment...'

'I have meticulously planned, even going so far as to put the life of myself and the whole party on the line...'

'I have done all this for you!'

'The Dúnadan, heir of Isildur, Strider, son of Arathorn, Chieftain of the Dúnedain, the future king of Gondor, the wielder of the sacred sword Andúril!! The king with the protagonist's luck -- Aragon!'

'You are my prey! The Source of Darkness hall shall be your burial ground!!'

As the figure in the distance rushed straight towards him with unstoppable momentum like a blood red comet, Aragorn remained exceptionally calm.

He was exhausted, and the wound on his chest was still bleeding profusely.

But having experienced countless fights, Aragorn had long understood the fact that those who panicked in battle die faster. However, this did not prevent Aragorn from realising that he had fallen into a trap.

Yet the corner of his lips curled into a contemptuous smile!

"So what?" he shouted.

"In my hand, I have Andúril that even the Dark Lord himself fear, for it was reforged from the Narsil which cut off his finger! Next to me, I have the strongest warrior among the Dwarves and the Elves, entrusting our lives to each other! Around me, I have thousands of troops! What kind of trap can harm me?"

Aragorn's voice bellowed like a raging torrent, shocking everyone. He then roared as he raised the fearsome Andúril high and swung it down on the enemy charging at him!

At the same time, the Elven prince Legolas raised his bow at the sprinting man and unleashed the precious arrows that he had kept as prized possessions for a long time!

The Arrows of the Woodland Realm!!

Even a creature as tenacious as an Oliphaunt could only withstand three Arrows of the Woodland Realm before falling dead!

No matter how strong this man was, could he compare to the Oliphaunts in terms of tenacity?

But what happened next made Legolas' pupils widen in shock. The man actually took all three of his arrows like they were nothing. The three Arrows of the Woodland Realm swayed on his shoulders as he continued dashing forward without breaking stride. His speed had not decreased in the slightest.

Then, the man who was like a blood red comet raised his right hand. In it was a lump of substance which wriggled like mercury. It quickly took the shape of an ordinary-looking longsword and swung up, meeting Aragorn's sword! The moment the swords met, sharp red patterns could almost be seen flashing in the air!!

The soldiers in the surroundings cried out in pain. Blood was flowing out of their ears. No sound could seemingly be heard when the two swords collided, but the soundwave it produced had caused severe injuries to the people around.

When Andúril came into contact with the common-looking sword, it actually moaned furiously but helplessly!

The one who received the greatest shock was Aragorn. The moment the two swords collided, an indescribable sense of lost and fear gripped his heart, as if the most precious thing that had been accompanying him ever since he was born was suddenly gone.

Sheyan's 'True Luck' was starting to show its effect, offsetting the plot armour lingering around Aragon!!

"Is a legendary weapon strong? What a coincidence! I have one too! Is plot armour powerful? Well, I'm your biggest nemesis!"

Noticing the shock which flashed across Aragorn's eyes, Sheyan immediately seized the opportunity!

Evil Sword Apophis instantly melted and changed shape, turning into a pair of silvery white gloves that wrapped around Sheyan's hands. Sheyan grabbed Aragorn's wrist and flung him deep into the Source of Darkness hall. Right after that, Sheyan followed after him with 'Hornrage', pursuing him without any hesitation!

At that moment, Gimli the Dwarf finally arrived. He fully displayed the disadvantage of having short legs, and in addition, he was injured in the thigh. He was about to chase after Sheyan with a roar, but a green glass tube abruptly fell at his feet and shattered, and a green fog suddenly engulfed everything around him.

Then, the only entrance to the Source of Darkness hall was suddenly blocked by a large lump of something sticky and wriggling! It was Sheyan's dark gold leech! It must be noted that the leech would also be buffed by Sauron's power in the Source of Darkness hall, meaning its HP would increase by 200%, its attack power and defence would increase by 30%, and the long-range damage it received would decrease by 40%! Like a perfect cork, it skillfully separated Aragon from his reinforcements!!

When Lafarge saw the ordinary-looking sword from far away, he was instantly stunned. Only now did he recover from his daze with a jolt, like he had suddenly snapped awake from a nightmare.

He shouted in horror, "That's...that's the Evil Sword! Evil Sword Apophis!!!"