Chapter 31

The flame from the explosion quickly spread to the nearby orcs. The seemingly dim purple flame had exceedingly high temperature. Any contact with the flame instantly burned the orcs to ashes, and then the ashes burned to nothingness. No word other than terrifying could be used to describe the flame. The good thing was there weren’t that much of them that dropped from the Taijitu. The spread stopped at the two hundred meters mark and they consumed all the orcs within the radius. The full power of the cauldron would definitely turn the land in a thousand to several thousand radius into a barren. It was the reason Luo YingLong said he could not utilize the full power of the skill. It was too powerful.

Zheng lay on the ground. His body was burnt and black. Any normal person would have died from such injury. The burn covered over 95% of the body, including one of his eyes. He was more similar to a charcoal than he was human, basically at the brink of death.

Yet, under this state, drastic changes were happening underneath the burned skin. The DNA optimized through this battle became the blueprints, using the Qi and blood energy as the source of energy, the DNA of the dragon a supplement, and the ancient DNA within him as the center, his flesh rapidly reconstructed. Zheng was still awake. He knew that this body would only appear while he entered the fourth stage. The amount of energy required by the body was enormous. He could not sustain the consumption indefinitely unless he were to reach the fifth stage.

(Not dead… I managed to live.) Zheng let out a sigh of relief. Exceptional pain was still attacking his whole body but he immediately recalled what happened. Luo YingLong was attacked the moment before he was going to be burned to death. That attack broke through his barrier. The state of his death was also unique. His body quickly disintergrated to particles. Zheng had only seen such death once… Zero’s unique ability, Mystic Eyes of Death Perception!

The Gauss Sniper Rifle could completely annihilate anything, no matter what magical items they had or how strong the person was, as long as you grasped the line of death. The loud gunshot was also the sound of the Gauss Rifle.

(So it was Zero… Where is he? Why is he here at this time? Could it be… Xuan?) Zheng’s thoughts naturally came to this conclusion. He wasn’t sure but if there was someone who could accomplish this, it must be Xuan! And it was only Xuan that would let his own teammate be a bait while he planned everything behind their backs.

(No matter what, it’s safe now. Zero shouldn’t have any problem if he doesn’t use the Mystic Eyes continuously. Luo YingLong is dead so there’s only a woman left. She probably won’t dare to show herself. The sniper rifle isn’t a joke.) Zheng breathed out then suddenly several arrows nearly hit him before he realized them. That gave him a good scare that it hurt. He forgot where he was in. This was a battlefield. Even without team Celestial, the orcs were not nice characters. He had the ability to kill them, or at least leave at will if he still had the strength but the situation was rather negative. He was lying on the road between the orc army and the city wall. Death was inevitable since he couldn’t move a finger.

(Real? I’d rather die to Xiuzhen than to the orcs… The Xiuzhen attacks are truly powerful…) Zheng watched as the orcs approached. Those arrows were a test to see if Zheng had any strength left. The orcs approached him cautiously seeing that he remained lying there. The gunshot didn’t sound again. Zero must have been knocked unconscious by the Mystic Eyes. Only ten meters left between the orcs and Zheng.

(How ironic to die like a joke… So death still comes.) Zheng was over five hundred meters from the city wall. Not far, but the troops were barely holding their defense, not to mention having the ability to come save him. Zheng closed his eyes in resign. Just then, the bright sound of bugles came from the distant and grabbed the orc army’s attention. They abandoned the charred human and ran outward.

A war horse ran into sight from the horizon. Riding on its back was a middle aged man in full armor. He frowned upon seeing the countless orc army. There were still eighty thousand orcs left after sieging for such a long time and getting killed by Zheng and Luo YingLong’s magical item.

The middle aged man took a deep breath then raised his arm. Numerous riders charged up from behind. These were elite riders. They wore heavy armors and carried spears. Even the war horses were equipped with barding, exposing only their eyes. The riders spanned a section of the horizon, their numbers uncountable.

“Éomer! Take your eored down the left side. Gamling, follow the King’s banner down the center. Grimbold, take your company right, after you pass the wall. Forth, and fear no darkness!” The man was Theoden, king of Rohan. He shouted to the marshalls then turned to the riders at his back.

“Arise! Arise! Riders of Théoden! Spears shall be shaken, shields shall be splintered! A sword-day! A red day, ere the sun rises!” The riders raised their spears with his words. Theoden drew his sword then charged. “”Ride now, ride now, ride! Ride for ruin and the world’s ending!”

“Death! Death! Death!” He repeated. The riders roared after him, their blood boiling. Theoden shouted. “Forð Eorlingas!” He led the riders in a charge toward the orc army.

The scene of the riders charging was astonishing. The clops of the horses gradually reached sync. The charge gave off such a staggering aura despite having only five thousand riders. Some orcs watched with unease.

Half-orcs had no where near the strong bodies of the Uruk-hai and couldn’t use the long lances. They held out their spears against the charge. Their archers rained arrows.

Yet, normal arrows were deflected from the heavy armor of the riders. Only the Explosive Shots were powerful enough to knock them off their horses. However, these were few in numbers. The charge was speedy. By the time a few hundreds fell, they had reached within ten meters of the orc army.

The orcs felt as though a steel wall pushed its way toward them. The riders stepped over their first line of defense. The subsequent riders almost instantly crushed the fallen orcs into a paste. No living beings could stop the riders from charging. The trolls could stop a horse at the most but the impact would knocked them away several meters then they got run over by the following riders. Despite having only five thousands, the riders were like the point of a knife. They easily sliced into the gigantic orc army. The orc army began to collapse under the charge. Thirty thousand had been killed in the charge!

Theoden was exceptionally valiant. The glow of his battle Qi never faded. All the half orcs, orcs, and trolls fell to pieces as he rammed into them. His spear pierced numerous foes. The riders centered around Theoden and charged toward the heart of the orc army.

Just when everyone thought victory was immenent, the ground trembled violently. Everyone heard a strange bugle call. Ten seconds later, massive beings walked into the battlefield from the side. These were elephants dozens of meters in height, much larger than elephants of the real world. There were approximately a hundred of them. Their numbers were much higher than portrayed in the movie.

Zheng didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. He thought he might perhaps survive this battle but then the Oliphaunts came. And unfortunately, he was in the way of the Oliphaunts. A hundred of them meant there was almost no chance of missing him. The Oliphaunts walked slow but only relative to their size. Their actual movement speed was similar to that of the riders. Zheng saw one Oliphaunt heading his way. In a few more steps, he would become one with the ground…

Boom! A huge boulder hurled onto the Oliphaunt. It didn’t knock the Oliphaunt onto the ground but still struck it off its course. Zheng looked through the corner of his eyes. Hundreds of Ents ten meters in height were coming out from the woods.

These shocking changes were coming one after another. It seemed as though every type of army was going to make their appearance in this battle. Accompanying the entrance of the Ents were tens of boulders lopped in the air similar to those from the catapults. The boulders crashed into the Oliphaunts. Ten of them immediately struck to the ground.

Riding on top each Oliphaunt were ten humanoids. They recognized the threat of the Ents and turned the Oliphaunts to the Ents. The Ents responded by charging out of the woods toward the Oliphaunts.

The beings from both sides were massive. The Oliphaunts were several dozen meters in height and the Ents ten meters. It might seem the Ents were no match but their numbers tripled that of the Oliphaunts. Their bodies far exceeded the toughness of humans. The massive beings collided into each other after a short dash.

The earth trembled as if an earthquake took place. Ten Ents in the front line were swept away but then thirty more Ents grabbed several Oliphaunts and attempted to flip them over. Species with arms were more agile than those without, at least in the case of close range battles.

The fall of the Oliphaunts stirred up another round of trembling. Zheng had given up in watching the battle of monsters. Whether it be the Oliphaunts or Ents, they would all bring death to him if any were to land on him. It was rather sad that someone who unlocked to the fourth stage, who was at the top of the ladder in the movie worlds lay on the ground in such bad luck, seemingly losing his last breath any second.

“Ho. Is this Zheng? How pitiful do you look… Perhaps you have always been accompanied by bad luck.” A voice suddenly sounded along with footsteps of several people.

Zheng opened his remaining eye abruptly. It was team Africa standing in front of him. Neos was seemingly staring at him with a faint smile, which made Zheng’s heart skipped a beat.

(Right, the rings are still on my finger… The flame burned my clothes but the rings are still intact… Team Africa. No one will know that they did it if they kill me without making a fuss now. And team China will be out of an important member.) Zheng stared at Neos.

Neos brought out a chocolate bar then spoke while he ate. “Richard, pick him up. We are entering the city. Victory for this battle is set. The chaotic battle might spread to us if we stay. We will speak after we are inside the city… What I owe you, I pay you back.” Neos turned to Minas Tirith.

(Fuck. Make it clear that you are saving someone instead of showing the face of a murderer. That scared me…)

Shortly after the group climbed up to the wall, a green wave rushed into the battlefield. The orc army and the powerful Oliphaunts were thin as a piece of paper in front of the green army. This was the Army of the Dead. Their speed was extremely fast. Their bodies were illusionary aside from their blades. They moved, ignoring gravity. For a while, the battlefield turned into a green sea. The victor of this battle… was men!

Winning the siege at Minas Tirith did not mean winning another battle. Far away from Minas Tirith, inside the dark gate of Mordor, explosions occurred one after another. Boulders and rocks fell to the ground with each explosion. Several huge explosions later, the mountain broke apart into a landslide, which attracted the attention of Sauron and the orc army.

“SongTian! How many more varieties of Sword Aura do you have left? Sword of Wind, Sword of Earth, Sword of Fire, Sword of Water. Where is that strongest Sword of Gold? Show me!” ZhuiKong shouted with excitement. His body became blurry. It seemed as though he became a ribbon of light that dashed at SongTian. All the boulders on his way broke apart into dust. He left a ploughed trail on the ground.

SongTian looked in a worse condition than ZhuiKong. However, his actions had not slowed down. He stabbed the plain looking sword into the ground. As the ribbon of light dashed toward him, he drew out the sword in lightning speed.

“Earthen hurricane!” The sword came out of the ground, pulling rocks and soil along it. A mini hurricane began to form as the sword whirled in the air. The hurricane absorbed the rocks and dirt.

The ribbon of light collided with the hurricane, resulting in a violent explosion. Shockwaves spread out and the mountain began another landslide just as before.

By the time the shockwaves and dust settled, SongTian and ZhuiKong looked to the hill not far away. Hundreds of people were running toward them. When these people came closer, they noticed these weren’t humans but uncanny creatures. Along with the creatures were Xuan and members of team China.

ZhuiKong smiled at Xuan. “Our business has been clear. What are you looking for me for? Oh, have I forgotten to tell you the cost of interrupting my fight… is extremely high.”

Xuan adjusted his glasses. “O, don’t mind us. You can continue with the fight. I am only going to kill Adam.” He raised his head slightly and looked over to Adam, standing on another hill to the back of SongTian. A Caucasian woman stood beside him. The two of them were speaking to each other.

SongTian was focused on ZhuiKong until Xuan said these words. He turned to Xuan abruptly. His eyes filled with killing intent.

At the same time, HaoTian stepped in front of Xuan and shrugged at SongTian. “I am sorry. I also don’t want to be your enemy. How about you don’t attack me since we knew each other? Wah…”

SongTian slashed his sword from the distance. An invisible air blade sliced a trail on the ground. However, it ended in a dull sound of impact when it reached a few meters within HaoTian. A mysterious visible wave appeared in front of him and blocked the air blade.

ZhuiKong seized the opportunity and flashed toward SongTian. When he returned to his position, he gained a cut on his chest that was deep enough to see his bones. However, his hand was holding an arm. SongTian lost one of his arms. Fortunately, it wasn’t the arm that he used to hold his sword.

“The fun’s spoiled. I wanted to have a good fight with you but it doesn’t seem possible now. You actually dared to move your attention away in a fight with me… Next time. If team Celestial doesn’t get wiped, I will fight you next time.” He threw the arm to his back then leaped off the mountain. His words then came through to the others.

The Nemesis behind Xuan had already readied their bows. The bows were crafted from wood. The bows used by Uruk-hai were too small for the Uruk-hai Nemesis who had heights of several meters. They needed three meter long bows to utilize their potential. A hundred of the Nemesis stacked two arrows on their bows. It was the beginning motion of the Explosive Shot.

ZhuiKong left quickly after seeing this. He didn’t fear any fight with his speed and combat strength and no one had the ability to keep him here. SongTian didn’t hold back with his air blade. It had the power of slicing through mountain but HaoTian blocked it with an invisible ability. ZhuiKong on the other hand didn’t necessarily have more powerful attacks as his assassinations were technique based. He wasn’t certain he could break through the invisible wall in three seconds, while the hundred Explosives shots could kill him for certain in the same time frame.

“So, let team Celestial end in a wipe.” Xuan did not show any courtesy. He didn’t even look at ZhuiKong leaving. With a swing of his arm, the Nemesis drew their arrows to full. SongTian, who was only a hundred meters away, was exposed under the power of the Explosive Shots.

SongTian gave a snort. As he raised his sword, Adam stood up and yelled. “Stop it, Xuan. I admit you won this round… Let’s end it like this. We will stay here quietly until the end of this movie. What do you say?”

Xuan looked at him and the woman behind. “Not possible. Judging by the information I collected previously, are more dangerous than team Devil. Everyone else from team Celestial can live, but you must die. This is indisputable. In order to prevent your team from reviving you, the best course of action is to wipe team your team. There is no settlement to have.”

Adam looked to HaoTian. He quickly shrugged. “Adam, there’s nothing I can do. Don’t look at me like this. Don’t worry. I believe I will soon… I understand Xuan’s personality more than you do. My death is certain no matter what. I merely live a little longer than you. Haha…”

HaoTian was an optimist. It seemed like he wasn’t worried about dying soon. Adam suddenly said. “Fine then. Let’s all die together. The continental oscillator has been planted. The switch is in my heart. Come kill me, Xuan.”

Xuan frowned. He gave a serious look at Adam.

Adam received it unperturbed and also spoke in a serious manner. “There aren’t actually that much hatred between us. We are only worried by the other person’s development. You worry about team Celestial under my lead and so am I on team China? Furthermore, you have an individual with phenomenal potential just like our Cultivator, Luo YingLong. All in all, we are only worried. There’s no need to come to an end where one side must die. Our true enemies are supposed to be team Devil, who have overwhelming power over our teams.”

Xuan did not reply. He drew out his two Gauss pistols, then slid them back into his sleeves. He repeated the motion several times before he muttered. “Fine. I will let you go. But I need the energy stones you have with you. Don’t tell me there aren’t any. The phone Luo YingLong threw away isn’t in the exchange system. It should be a sci-fi technology built using a design exchanged from God. The phone contained several energy stones. Of course, I can also assume you don’t have energy stones. In that case, I will kill the two people by your side. Kill yourself if you will, we will die with you.”

Adam lifted a ring from his finger after hearing Xuan spoke. “A Na Ring. Your leader should be able to use it. There are some other items aside from energy stones. The total value is approximately a rank S reward.”

The two of them knew the other’s thoughts partially. They were both concerned and tried to put the stress on the other party when in fact, neither person wanted to die. Adam didn’t. Xuan as of now didn’t. Team China possessed the advantage. And as long as Adam’s own life wasn’t threatened, he wouldn’t commit suicide even if team China were to kill the other two members. However, this broke the balance Xuan had in mind…

There was another person in this world. Zhao ZuiKong wasn’t a merciful person. If he guessed it correct, ZhuiKong was now heading to that direction with the goal… “Keeping them might serve as a turning point.”

Without hesitation, Xuan commanded a Nemesis to walk up and take the ring. He threw the ring to HaoTian. At the same time, everyone from team China heard four consecutive notifications. The newbies were killed. The killer could only be ZhuiKong who just left.

Zheng’s heart skipped a beat as he heard the notifications. They won the battle at Minas Tirith but the clean up and rescues would take more time than the battle. Zheng was among the critically injured. There was not one piece of him still intact. The Charms of the Three Pure Ones weren’t showing their effect. It seemed like such severe injuries could only be treated in God’s Dimension.

Lan found Zero with psyche scan. YingKong then carried Zero, who was unconscious, back from the peak of a mountain. Zero woke after receiving Qi from Zheng. That was when Zheng finally learned Xuan was still alive and what he was doing all along.

“Didn’t die… Don’t worry, he will soon. I am going to beat the shit out of him once we return to God’s Dimension… Or I will straight up murder him. What do you think?” Zheng laughed. He gripped his fist.

Before Zheng finished speaking, they heard the notifications. Four consecutive deaths seized their voice.

Heng jumped off from the floor and yelled. “Four. Four people. Xuan, Kampa, WangXia, Gando. Could it be them?”

Zheng took a deep breath and said. “Not necessarily. It might be the newbies. Xuan has a group of Nemesis with him.”

Heng hesitated. “But isn’t HaoTian the one controlling the Nemesis? What if he freed himself from Xuan’s control. Wouldn’t that be terrible?”

Zheng glared at him. Dude wouldn’t pick something nice to say instead of unfortunate guesses, like Xuan and the other veterans were already killed. Heng noticed he was being pessimistic. He gave awkward laugh then lowered his head.

Zero remained calm. He pulled out a metallic plate from his pocket. The others saw him opened the plate then closed his eyes without making any noise.

A while later, he opened his eyes. “It’s fine. They are alive. It seemed the newbies got attacked. He said they will be waiting for us at Mordor.”

The rest of the group let out a sigh of relief. Zheng then said in a fierce tone. “Fuck, these guys make people worried. The next time I see them… The next time I see them…” Zheng sighed heavily and didn’t continue.

The battle finally concluded. After the rescues were over, Aragorn led the Army of the Dead to the top of Minas Tirith. Denethor sat on his knees intimidated. Everyone witness his power in the battle. The Army of the Dead signified Aragorn as the last heir of Gondor. He ousted Denethor from the position of steward. He then gave his first order to assemble the army and launch an attack at Mordor.

Unfortunately, the nearly invincible Army of the Dead did not follow. The dead dissipated into the wind. If they had this army. no amount of Mordor troops could rival them, not even Sauron himself.

“The final battle… at Mordor is in two days. Gather rations and infantries stationed at other places. With the addition of the Rohan riders, we will have an army of fifteen thousand. This is the time to attack Mordor!”

Inside the throne room at the top level of Minas Tirith, Aragorn discussed the upcoming strategy with others. Gimli asked. “How many troops does Mordor have remaining? A hundred thousand of their army had been buried here. We should be able to take down Mordor easily.”

Aragorn and Gandalf met eyes then gave a bitter smile. Gandalf caught their attention. “Ahem. Mordor still has… uh, an army of approximately twenty thousand. That was a conservative estimate. The half-orcs has strong reproductive capacity. I can’t estimate how big of an army he has amassed. He did not participate in the siege, which means there’s a bigger army with him. He only just retrieved the One Ring. As the One Ring’s power grows, the three Elven Rings will lose their power. His expedition to conquer the continent will begin once he recovered to his peak.”

Gimli lowered his head and muttered. “You mean this is our only chance?”

Aragorn confirmed Gandalf. “Yes. Our troops and horses are tired but we must defeat Sauron before he recovers his full power then destroy the One Ring. King of Rohan, does your army require resupplies? Their weapons must have been damaged in the battle.”

Theoden nodded. “Wait for the counts before resupplying. Two days are enough rest for the troops.”

Seeing as the mood took a downturn, Gandalf said. “Don’t feel despair. The Ents agreed to accompany us to the gate of Mordor. They could not enter the burning regions of Mordor but they could smash the gate with boulders, easing our entrance. They can gather their life force to provide our troops with a protective barrier. Our chance of victory is much greater. Sadly, Zheng suffered critical injuries. You would have been the best person to take on Sauron.”

The rest of the movie characters nodded. They were well aware of Zheng’s strength after fighting together for so long. Gandalf also witnessed his fight against Luo YingLong.

Zheng thought of another thing. His whole body was wrapped in bandage, which made him look like a mummy. It was difficult for him to make any movement. He did the only thing he could, nod at Gandalf and said. “Gather all the force of the Ents at one point? If they can summon… Gandalf, can you take me to the Ents after the council is over?”

Gandalf looked at him confused but nodded.

They recalled the battle and discussed it in details. People walked out from the throne room when evening came. The two kings stayed to have a conversation in private. Gandalf pushed Zheng down the city (Zheng was sitting on a crude wheelchair built by Heng. It was extremely ugly.) Soon, the two exited the city and headed to the woods.

The Ents naturally couldn’t enter the city. Disregarding their size, the Ents didn’t like stones much. They favored woods, humidity, soil, and rivers.

“Can you try to channel energy into my body? I will take control of this energy. Please don’t worry.” Zheng entered the fourth stage. At the same time, he took out the Bracelet of Anubis.