Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth.

Chapter 203 The Ringwraiths Reappear
Dui was somewhat curious about the Ring of Power that Saruman had crafted.

He was worried that the ring, like the One Ring, might corrupt people or cause other problems, so he dared not touch it directly.

Without his staff and the Ring of Power, Saruman was like a tiger without teeth and claws, greatly reduced in danger.

Duy wanted to kill Saruman outright, but Gandalf, Galadriel, and Elrond were clearly unwilling to do so.

They had been comrades-in-arms for thousands of years and held a certain affection for Saruman. Although Saruman chose to fall and collude with Sauron, they hoped that Saruman could turn back, abandon darkness and embrace light, and return to the ranks of those fighting against Sauron.

Of course, there is an even more important issue: Saruman was the only one of the five wizards who voluntarily came to Middle-earth to help the free people fight against Sauron and the forces of darkness. He made a great contribution to Middle-earth and held a pivotal position there.

Gandalf believed that they had no right to decide Saruman's life or death; Saruman needed to be tried, and then the Vera would decide his fate.

Dui did not insist on this, but to prevent Saruman from escaping, he still suggested putting Saruman under heavy restraints to prevent him from having any chance to break free.

This time, Gandalf, Elrond, and Galadriel did not object. Even though Saruman had lost his staff and the Ring of Power, he was still a powerful wizard and should not be underestimated.

Elrond then cast a spell to send Saruman from the river to the riverbank, and together with Gandalf and Galadriel, used the power of the Three Rings of the Elves to create three impenetrable magical cages, trapping Saruman inside.

Throughout this process, Saruman remained dejected and silent, offering no resistance whatsoever.

The group then prepared to take Saruman back to Eisengard.

But at that moment, Galadriel's expression turned serious, and her gaze sharpened as she looked toward the far east.

Meanwhile, Gandalf, Elrond, and Saruman in the magical cage all looked eastward.

Dui followed the gaze of the crowd and saw that the Far East was shrouded in dark clouds, like a huge black curtain, which was rapidly spreading in their direction.

"Be on guard!" Gandalf drew his sword with a serious and vigilant expression.

Elrond, also wielding an elven sword, stood protectively beside Galadriel, his gaze grave.

The dark clouds spread rapidly, approaching them menacingly, and soon reached the other side of the river.

Beneath the dark clouds were nine ferocious black flying beasts, smaller than the dragon, their bodies shrouded in black mist, exuding a terrifying and intimidating aura.

At first glance, Dui thought they were dragons, but upon closer inspection, he realized they were different from dragons. These flying beasts looked more like pterosaurs, with their huge black wings resembling the membranes of bats.

They are a powerful and evil creature bred by the demon king Sauron—the Fallen Flying Beasts.

Riding atop the fallen flying beasts were the Nine Ringwraiths, clad in dark armor, their auras growing even stronger, wielding the Mogul Blade, exuding an aura of malevolence.

Just as they were trying to fly across the Ent River and approach Dui and the others.

Galadriel raised her hand and released a dazzling light, blocking out the dark clouds in the sky. The Nine Ringwraiths and the Fallen Beasts were also forced to stop. Fearing the light, the Fallen Beasts became restless and let out shrill cries as they circled in the sky.

For a time, the Ent River served as the dividing line, making it half night and half day.

Galadriel's expression was majestic, her body radiating light, and her voice boomed like thunder: "Nazgol, servant of Sauron, this is not your territory, go back to your Darklands!"

The nine Ringwraiths were clearly wary of Galadriel, but seemed to have something to rely on, and were reluctant to retreat, instead standing facing each other across the river.

From within the hollow, dark helmet of the Ringwraith King of Angmar, an ancient, curse-like voice emanated: "We only want the White Wizard; hand him over to us."

"Don't even think about it!" Gandalf sneered, riding on his flying broom, holding a sword in one hand and a staff in the other.

"With me here, you won't be able to cross this river!"

The Witch-King of Angmar let out a mocking laugh, his voice echoing from hell: "Grey-robed wizard, you cannot stop us! (Dark Ancient Language)"

"Is that so? I'd like to see what your basis is." Elrond's expression was cold and stern. As he chanted a spell, the Ent River surged and then suddenly rose, forming a tall wall of water that blocked the way.

Dui also summoned his guardian spirit, which attacked the Ringwraiths directly.

The owl guardian extended its sharp claws and grabbed at the Ringwraiths. Its bright and holy nature made the Ringwraiths feel fear and panic for a moment.

But as the Witch-king of Angmar, the leader of the Ringwraiths, raised his left hand and released pure dark magic, which coalesced into a giant black bat, it engaged in battle with the Patronus of Dui.

The black bat looked like a dark version of the guardian deity of Dui, filled with pure evil and dark will, standing in opposition to the guardian deity's light and holiness.

Dui was somewhat surprised. Was this a copy of his Guardian Deity magic? Had he created a Dark Guardian Deity?

Gandalf, however, keenly noticed the situation with the Ringwraiths. He looked at their fingers and pointed out, "They are all wearing the Rings of Power!"

Upon hearing Gandalf's words, the group noticed that each Ringwraith wore a gold ring on their hand, inlaid with gemstones that emitted a faint, eerie glow.

The group then realized why these Ringwraiths had become more powerful; it turned out they were wearing the Ring of Power.

Those are the Nine Rings of Man from the Rings of Power forged by Keller Brippen.

Sauron, using the alias Anata, the Gift-Giver, deceived the elves with his handsome appearance and extensive knowledge, and taught them the art of forging magical rings.

Under Sauron's guidance, Celebrimbor forged the Nine Rings for men and the Seven Rings for dwarves, and also forged the Three Rings for elves on his own.

Both the Nine Rings of Man and the Seven Rings of Dwarves were imbued with a corrupting and evil power by Sauron. The nine human kings who received the Nine Rings were corrupted by Sauron's power and became Ringwraiths. Later, because Sauron had completely controlled the Ringwraiths' souls and no longer needed them to wear the rings to maintain control, he took them back.

Unexpectedly, they have now been redistributed to the Ringwraiths.

While the Nine Commandments of Man are not as powerful as the Three Commandments of Elven, they are still powerful commandments.

After the Ringwraiths wore the rings, their power more than doubled.

Just then, an evil spiritual force emanated from Elrond's personal spatial pocket. Elrond was struck as if by a heavy blow, his expression changed, and he immediately threw the spatial pocket away.

That pocket was a gift from Dui to Elrond, used to conveniently store things.

The next second, the spatial pocket seemed to be destroyed from the inside, instantly torn apart by the space, and everything inside was spat out, including Saruman's True Knowledge Crystal.

The True Knowledge Crystal rolled down in front of everyone. Inside the crystal sphere was a huge red vertical eye, radiating a terrifying and corrupt spiritual will.

It's Sauron! Everyone's expression tightened, and they retreated in fear.

"We meet again, elves and wizards!" Sauron's magical eyes swept over the crowd, then lingered on Dui for a moment. His voice was far more dangerous and seductive than Saruman's.

"What good will it do you to be my enemy? Elves, your time is coming to an end, and you will be replaced by humans. The golden forests of Lorien will wither, the valleys will decay, and the elves will fade away on this land, eventually disappearing without a trace. No one will remember you. Is this what you want?"
"I don't need your cooperation, elves. You only need to observe, and the age of the elves will never end. You can still live in peace and prosperity in your own territories, and perhaps even recreate the glory of the elves of the past!"

Sauron tempted Galadriel and Elrond.

Galadriel and Elrond remained steadfast, their resolve unshaken by Sauron's enchanting words.

Galadriel stared at the Eye of Sauron within the crystal sphere, her voice cold yet resolute: "Sauron, servant of Morgoth, your words, however tempting, are nothing but poison laced with honey; you cannot deceive anyone!"

As she spoke, she walked towards the True Knowledge Crystal, radiating a holy light. In particular, her long, gold and silver hair released the brilliance of the Twin Sacred Trees, and her eyes shone like stars as she clashed with Soren across the crystal.

The Eye of Sauron, blinded by the holy light emanating from Galadriel, vanished from the Crystal of Knowledge with resentment.

Galadriel's light dimmed, and she swayed wearily.

Clearly, she paid a considerable price in her recent battle with Soren from afar.

“Madam!” Elrond asked with some concern.

Galadriel smiled and shook her head, indicating that she was alright.

Then, with a determined expression, he picked up the True Knowledge Crystal from the ground and sealed it with his own power to prevent Sauron from reappearing.

Just as everyone was distracted, the ground suddenly began to shake.

Before anyone could react, a huge mouth full of enormous teeth emerged from the ground beneath their feet and lunged at them.

It's a ground worm!

Moreover, it was an enormous earthworm.

Dui's expression changed, and he quickly used several Phantom Transformations to escape with Galadriel and Elrond.

Gandalf, riding on his flying broomstick, also soared upwards, dodging the earthworm's attack.

As for the dragon Smaug and the eagle Saurondo, they reacted quickly and took to the sky.

Only Saruman, who couldn't be taken away in time, fell directly into the mouth of the earthworm.

After swallowing Saruman whole, the earthworm burrowed back into the ground, leaving behind only a huge, abyss-like opening.

Looking at the cave entrance, Du Yi and his companions felt heavy-hearted.

Unexpectedly, Sauron used a feint to distract them, first using the nine Ringwraiths in the sky to divert some of their attention, and then personally appearing in the Crystal of Knowledge, making them feel as if they were facing a formidable enemy.

The result was that the earthworms quietly came to their feet and rescued Saruman.

Dui and his group naturally did not assume that Saruman was dead simply because the earthworm had swallowed him.

After all, Sauron traveled thousands of miles to send Ringwraiths and earthworms, just to kill Saruman.

They wanted to chase after them, but deep underground, that was the domain of earthworms. The underground caves might have already collapsed, making it much more difficult to catch up.
They could only watch helplessly as Saruman was carried away by the earthworms.

The Nine Ringwraiths in the sky, having completed their mission, did not linger any longer. Riding their fallen flying beasts, they turned and flew eastward toward Mordor.

Seeing this, Dui and the others did not pursue them, as it was not worthwhile.

As long as Sauron doesn't die, these Ringwraiths can be resurrected no matter how many times they are killed, making it a complete waste of effort.

The dark clouds in the sky receded as the Ringwraiths left, restoring light to the earth.

(End of this chapter)