I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 163 Tanes's Method (Sorry for the long wait, my hand injury has fully healed and updates have resumed)
That night.

In the night sky above Black Gate, even moonlight could not penetrate the dark clouds, while countless torches lit up the towering, dark city walls.

The light from these torches illuminated the city walls and deterred the Orks lurking in the darkness from making any rash moves.

"Didn't that human who betrayed his own people say that the guards would shift their defensive focus to the other side tonight? To cooperate with him, I even sent those slaves to their deaths on the other side during the day. But now, the number of guards on the city wall has not decreased, but increased. What's going on?"

A pale-skinned human, dressed in a black robe, questioned the kneeling Orc chieftain in a dangerous tone. He had a pair of red eyes that seemed to burn with blood flames.

Chief Oak, several sizes larger than the human, lay prostrate on the ground in fear, not daring to raise his head, and replied in a trembling voice, "Lord Blackhand, I... I don't know what happened. That damned ranger did tell me that he would open the city gates for us from the inside tonight, but I really don't know anything else..."

"Click——"

"Boom."

Before Chief Ork could finish speaking, his head rolled off with the sound of a blade being drawn, and black blood gushed from his neck, staining the parched earth.

Blackhand didn't glance at Chief Oak's corpse again, but casually pointed to an Oak lying prostrate on the ground behind him: "From today onwards, you will take his place and maintain contact with that human traitor."

"Yes Yes!"

A flicker of excitement crossed the face of the Ok that was pointed at; it was noticeably thin and weak, and not as powerful as the dead Ok chieftain.

If it weren't for Black Hand's words, he would never have become the chief of this Ork tribe in his entire life.

On the city wall, an armory that was originally used to store weapons has been turned into a canteen by the wandering knights who live there.

Meanwhile, in the canteen, the dinner that used to consist of only rice porridge and dried meat has been transformed into a variety of steaming hot delicacies, including but not limited to fresh fruit with plenty of juice, fatty patties, and amber-colored ale with flames shimmering in the glasses.

The rangers, who had worked hard all day defending the city walls, entered the canteen and were all attracted by the sumptuous dinner in front of them.

A middle-aged ranger captain approached a younger ranger captain and clicked his tongue in amazement: "Hiss, what's going on today? That stingy Tarleon is willing to take out so much precious food?"

The young ranger captain looked grave and asked uncertainly, "Is this the start of a very important military operation? Is this our last meal?"

The middle-aged captain of the rangers rolled his eyes: "Who cares if it is or not, let's eat first."

He then called his team members to bravely enter the canteen, where they filled a table and began to feast.

The young ranger captain's team members watched their compatriots feasting and drinking, their fatigue and hunger from the day instantly overwhelming them, and they stared longingly at their captain.

The young captain sighed and waved his hand, "Fine, we'll accept this as our last meal. Let's go in and eat. We haven't smelled any alcohol in half a year. I wonder if this ale has gone sour."

However, when he sat down with his teammates, picked up his glass, and the refreshing, slightly bitter ale went down his throat, his eyes widened.

These ale were not the kind of ale that had become sour from being stored for too long, as the young captain had imagined; instead, they were fresh ale that seemed to have just been chilled in the cellar.

More and more rangers were drawn to the canteen, until the last ranger who had just finished his shift entered the canteen, which was already bustling with activity.

Seeing that it was almost time, Talion also entered the canteen and greeted the happy rangers with a smile.

The wandering knights responded with cheers.

"Talion, why are you being so generous all of a sudden today?"

"Yeah, is it because they need us to do something difficult?"

"Talion, let me raise a glass to you!"

"This fruit is amazing. After eating it, I feel full of energy."

Talion answered them one by one until he reached the center of the dining hall, casually raised a glass full of ale, and said to the rangers in the dining hall, "How do you all think of this dinner?"

"Of course I'd like to eat like this every day. If I could eat this good every day, I could kill a few more Oaks."

"Haha, then I can slaughter four more than you!"

The young ranger from before was near Talion. His face was slightly flushed, and he let out a burp. He asked Talion, "Talion, tell everyone, what exactly happened today?"

The dining hall gradually quieted down. Talion coughed lightly, looked at another door in the dining hall, and said, "Because we have a very important guest today, the food you are eating was actually provided by the guest."

The other wandering knights laughed loudly, "I knew it! Otherwise, how could they possibly make such delicious dishes with all that food that's been piling up in the granary for so long?"

"guest?"

The young swordsman was taken aback, then a look of realization dawned on his face.

When he was relieved of his post not long ago, he heard that two unfamiliar people had come to the Black Gate today.

However, he didn't expect that these two people could be considered important by Talion, which made the ranger captain curious about who they were.

Talion called out towards the door, "Lord Tanes, the Wizard, and Miss Melina, please come in." Wizard?

Upon hearing this word, the cafeteria, which had been filled with the sounds of chewing and swallowing, fell completely silent, and everyone looked in the direction Talion was pointing.

Taniest deliberately changed into the attire of a magic professor from the Academy of Reyalukalia, and held the Kalia Brilliant Stone Staff in his hand, looking every bit like a spellcaster.

Melina's attire remained unchanged, except that she wore the hood of her cloak as before, making it impossible to see her face.

After the two of them entered, Talion's wife and son closed the two doors on either side of the dining hall.

Some seasoned swordsmen in the canteen immediately realized something was wrong. They instinctively put their hands on their sword hilts and squinted, scrutinizing Talion and Tanes.

Influenced by these seasoned veterans, the other rangers gradually sensed the strange atmosphere in the canteen and stopped eating.

Talion said in a loud voice and with a somber expression, "I have to tell you all some unfortunate news. The reason why Orc has been able to attack our defensive areas these past few days is because one of us has betrayed us and become Zoro's lackey."

As soon as he finished speaking, the whole place was in an uproar.

Tanes gently waved his staff, and the suddenly appearing Kalia Radiant Sword behind him silenced all the rangers in the dining hall.

Clearly, they dared not gamble on whether the Kalia Shining Sword was truly sharp.

Talion said in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry, everyone. I've known for a long time that there's a mole among us, but I just haven't been able to identify the target. So, several months ago, I left the Black Gate to seek the help of the wizards, and you all know that."

The rangers who were on good terms exchanged glances and nodded.

Talion was right about that; he did indeed suddenly leave the Black Gate a few months ago without saying a word.

If it weren't for his wife and son still being in Black Gate, everyone would have thought he was going to run away completely.

I never expected that they would seek help from a wizard.

Talion looked at Tanes, their eyes met, and he signaled that it was Tanes's turn to speak.

The rangers only saw Thanes, whose face was completely hidden behind a mask, step forward, and then he mimicked Gandalf's tone from their memories, saying, "Brave warriors, do not worry that I will mistake you for traitors. Each of you is here to protect the peace of Middle-earth, and I will not allow such warriors to be falsely accused. But please also believe in my magic, which can accurately identify who the traitor is."

The young ranger captain looked at Tanes curiously and asked, "You mean, you're going to use witchcraft on us?"

Tanes smiled and said, "I have already used witchcraft on you. The witchcraft is called 'Truth,' and the effect is very simple: whatever I ask, you will answer truthfully. For example, you, tell me your name."

He asked the young ranger captain.

The young ranger captain instinctively said, "My name is Beckett."

After he finished speaking, he realized what he had said, instinctively covered his mouth, and stared wide-eyed at Tanes.

Tanes shrugged. He didn't actually have any spells or prayers to make people tell the truth, but he used a charm that could bewitch people—the Charm Branch.

He turned the enchanting branches into powder and sprinkled it on the food and drinks the rangers had just enjoyed.

While not as effective as using the entire branch directly on a person to turn them into a follower, it still manages to get these wanderers to tell the truth.

Tanes had already tested this with Tarion.

Seeing Beckett's surprised expression, Tanes calmly addressed the rangers in the dining hall, saying loudly, "You've all seen it. Next, I'm going to ask everyone a question. You should know what the question will be... it is..."

Before Tanes could finish speaking, the middle-aged ranger who had been talking to Beckett not long ago suddenly slammed a glass of wine down on his shoulder and kicked over the table, yelling, "Don't be fooled by this wizard! He and Talion are the real traitors in cahoots!"

"call out--"

The Caria Radiant Sword behind Tanes pierced through the wine glass in an instant, and with its remaining force, it pierced through the middle-aged ranger's shoulder, pinning him firmly to the ground, where he continued to let out painful cries.

Melina swiftly approached the captain, tore a piece of tablecloth from the table, stuffed it into his mouth to prevent him from biting his tongue and committing suicide, then picked him up and threw him next to Talion.

The surrounding rangers didn't even realize Melina's actions.

Tanes and Melina's actions instantly calmed the ranger who had initially been on good terms with the captain.

Tanes looked at Talion and shrugged: "Although I would say I found the mole that has been giving you a headache before I even asked, to prevent there from being more than one mole, I will ask everyone here questions as well."

Then Tanes reloaded the Caria Shining Sword on his back and looked at the rangers in the dining hall, asking, "Among you, who has sided with Zoro and betrayed their comrades?"

Magic Professor Hat:

Magic Professor's Robes:

Enchanting Branches:

(End of this chapter)