Hogwarts wizards who signed in to Middle-earth.

Chapter 249 The Invasion of Mordor
Gondor and Mordor are mainly separated by the Shadow Mountains, while the Isilion region on the west side of the mountains serves as a buffer zone between Gondor and Mordor.

Isilien is bordered by the Anduin River to the west, the Shadow Mountains to the east, the Dead Marsh to the north, and the Boros River to the south. It is one of Gondor's fiefdoms.

It was once a beautiful and prosperous region of Gondor, known as the "Garden of Gondor," and Minas Yshil was an important city of Isilion, controlling the passage into Mordor.

However, as Gondor gradually declined, the region of Isilion was long plagued by the forces of Mordor and gradually fell into ruin. Minas Isill was even occupied by Mordor and became Minas Morgul.

For nearly a century, Minas Mogul Fortress has remained firmly under defense. Apart from the occasional Orc squad that leaves the fortress to roam the Isilien region, no large-scale wars have taken place.

But on this day, the Orc army in Minas Mogul Fortress came out in full force.

Even at the Chilis-Ugo Pass where Minas Morgul is located, a continuous stream of dark armies are pouring in from Mordor through the pass, across the Shadow Mountains, and towards Isilien.

This Orc army also included the Orc squad that Dui had encountered when he came to collect the silk of the giant spider Hilob.

When Dui disguised himself as an Orc and went to Hilob's lair and never returned, a group of Orcs at the watchtower assumed that he had been devoured by Hilob. After a fierce competition, a slightly stronger Orc was finally chosen as the new captain.

Before the new Orc captain could enjoy his power for even a few days, he received orders to join the Orc army in attacking Gondor.

The end result was that this Orc squad, like other cannon fodder, died silently in the war between Mordor and Gondor.

That said, if Mordor's army wanted to invade Gondor, the first thing they had to do was cross the river.

The only place to cross the river is the Osgilias Bridge.

Osgiliath was the early capital of Gondor, situated on the Anduin River, spanning both banks and connected by the Great Cho, which divided it into the East City and the West City at its two ends.

This Great Cho has changed hands several times between Gondor and Mordor. Now, the East District has been abandoned by Gondor, and the West District is being held by Gondor.

Since Gandalf arrived in Gondor and explained the threat of Sauron and Mordor to the Regent of Gondor, Gondor has sent more troops to guard the western district of Osgiliath to prevent an invasion by Mordor.

Although Gondor took border defense with Mordor seriously, they assumed that things would remain peaceful because there had been no large-scale war for a long time.

Until this day, tens of thousands of Orc troops swept through the Isilien region and gathered in the East District on the other side of the river, crossing the bridge to launch an attack on the West District.

The Gondorian defenders, as if waking from a dream, immediately began to defend and quickly sent a message to the capital for reinforcements.

The Oc army rushed across the bridge to the West District gate on the other side, set up ladders, and attempted to climb the city walls and storm the West District.

The Gondorian garrison kept the city gates shut, stood on the towers and shot down the Orks below with arrows, and knocked down the siege ladders.

For a time, the sounds of fighting and screams filled the air.

Because the Gondorian garrison held the advantage of terrain, and many Orcs were killed or wounded, falling off the bridge and into the Anduin River below.

The Orc army's several charges were repelled by the Gondorian defenders on the city walls.

But before the Gondorian defenders could even catch their breath, at a command, the attacking Orks retreated.

As the Gondorian garrison waited anxiously, they saw several enormous trolls, carrying several huge black iron balls, rush towards the city gate amidst a dense rain of arrows, and pile the black iron balls at the gate.

Each of these iron balls had a burning wire on it, making a constant hissing sound.

If Dui were there, he would have recognized it as gunpowder at a glance.

It is clear that Saruman taught the gunpowder technology to Mordor, thus enabling the creation of these explosives.

The Gondorian garrison had never seen such a thing before, but their instinctive unease led them to try to stop the trolls.

But ogres have thick skin and tough flesh, so ordinary arrows are like a tickle to them.

Soon, accompanied by a deafening explosion, the Gondorian defenders on the city wall felt the ground shake violently.

The sturdy city gate was blown open, and the Gondorian defenders behind it suffered countless casualties in an instant.

The Orc army immediately let out a ferocious cheer and launched another charge, brandishing their weapons and storming into the city gates.

Within the western district, the Gondorian garrison and the Orcish army were locked in fierce combat.

The Gondorian defenders fought valiantly, but were forced to retreat repeatedly under the relentless onslaught of the Orcish army that poured across Great Cho into the city.

The Xicheng District is in danger of falling at any moment; the situation is critical.

Upon seeing this, the commander defending the city made a decisive decision, ordering that the attack by the Orks be repelled at all costs, and then the bridge be destroyed.

Led by their commander, the Gondorian defenders charged forward with high morale, cutting down any Orks blocking their path. They then rushed out of the city and fought the Orks on the bridge.

Amidst the fighting and screams, Orcs and human soldiers fell into the river below the bridge, where they were swallowed by the turbulent current.

But things didn't go as Gondor hoped. The Gondorian general leading the charge was struck by an arrow from Ork, and he and his horse plunged into the torrent below the bridge. The Gondorian defenders also failed to destroy the bridge's key supporting structure and stop the enemy's advance.

With the loss of their commander, the Gondorian garrison suffered a sharp drop in morale and was routed by the Orcish army, rendering them incapable of effective resistance.

After a day and a night of fighting, the western district of Osgilias was finally captured by the Orcs.

At this point, the Anduin River, a natural barrier, posed no further obstacle to Mordor's army.

The Mordor army, which occupied Osgilias, could easily march straight into the Pelennor Plains west of the Anduin River and then directly threaten the safety of Minas Tirith, the capital of Gondor.

News of the fall of Osgilias was swiftly relayed back to the Gondorian capital by messengers.

The Regent of Gondor was greatly alarmed. He ordered all forces to defend Minas Tirith while sending messengers to light beacon fires in the north, requesting aid from Rohan.

The beacon towers of Gondor were built on the outer hills on the north and south sides of the White Mountains. There were seven in total. After the beacon near Minas Tirith was lit, the remaining beacons spread and burned westward in turn, with yellow smoke rising straight into the sky and visible even from a great distance.

In Edoras, the capital of Rohan, King Sengir saw the yellow smoke and beacon fires rising over the white mountains.

But at this point, he had no time to spare for Gondor's aid.

Because Rohan was also under attack, a massive army of tens of thousands of Orcs emerged from the Black Gate in northwest Mordor, mingling with the Eastern Barbarian army, and marched towards Rohan in a mighty force.

King Sengir of Rohan was caught in a dilemma. On the one hand, according to the agreement, if Gondor were in trouble and lit a beacon to call for help, Rohan would send troops to its aid.

But now Rohan is also facing threats and is too busy to help itself, so how can it provide assistance?

Ultimately, the King of Rohan had no choice but to send a thousand cavalrymen to Gondor to offer assistance and explain the situation.

Then they quickly mobilized troops from all over the country to jointly resist the invasion of Mordor.

"Your Majesty, we have a wizard neighbor to the west, and he has Black Barbarians under his command. Could we ask him for help?" the new chief advisor suggested to King Senger.

King Senger recalled the starlight phenomenon that had lasted for more than two months, as well as the spy for Saruman that Duir had exposed, and he was deeply impressed by Duir, the mysterious and powerful black-robed wizard.

He nodded. "I will write a letter myself and send it to Eisengard as quickly as possible. If we can get the help of this dragon lord, Rohan's crisis might be resolved."

He quickly picked up a pen and wrote a sincere letter, then the messenger rode his fastest horse and galloped towards Eisengard.

Eisengard, Osanktane.

Dui and Gandalf learned of the invasion of Gondor even before the King of Rohan.

Because the Regent of Gondor possessed a Minas Tirith crystal, while Gandalf possessed Saruman's Crystal of Knowledge.

So the Regent of Gondor contacted Gandalf directly through the crystal in his possession, informing him of the fall of Osgilias and the perilous situation of Minas Tirith.

Upon hearing this news, both Dui and Gandalf frowned.

Dui didn't remember this happening in the original timeline. He remembered that Mordor would launch a major attack on Gondor during the War of the Ring, so why was it happening earlier now?

This unexpected turn of events left Dui feeling strange and vaguely uneasy.

Gandalf, on the other hand, was simply worried. He looked serious, puffing on his pipe, and filled with doubt.

"What exactly happened? Sauron's strength shouldn't have recovered yet, so why is he suddenly in such a hurry to attack Gondor?"

Unable to understand, Gandalf took one last drag of his cigarette and then stood up.

He said apologetically to Duy, "I'm sorry, Duy, I'm afraid I can't be your representative for the time being to formally request Arwen from the Valley of the Dead! I have to rush to Gondor right now. We absolutely cannot let Minas Tirith fall, otherwise the entire Middle-earth will be in grave danger!"

Dui wasn't surprised by this; he shook his head.
"There's no need to feel sorry. There's no rush to go to the Valley of the Dead. Besides, Gondor is in danger right now, and Lord Elrond is probably concerned about it too. It's not the right time to propose marriage. It's better to wait until you return before going to the Valley of the Dead."

Gandalf smiled. "Very well, once the crisis in Gondor is resolved, I will personally go to the Valley and help you win the heart of your beloved as soon as possible!"

Duy then asked, "Gondor is in grave danger. Gandalf, are you sure you can go alone? Do you need my help?"

Gandalf shook his head. “I’m going to Gondor mainly to inspire the people of Gondor to have courage and hope against the darkness, and to organize the Gondorian army to fight against the army of Mordor, so I can go alone.”

"Furthermore, I'm worried that Saruman might take advantage of Mordor's invasion of Gondor to try and reclaim Isengard, so I need you to stay here and prevent Saruman from attacking!"

Hearing Gandalf's words, Dui didn't insist any further. After all, Gandalf was right. Based on their understanding of Saruman, when they joined forces to pursue him, Saruman was rescued back to Mordor like a stray dog.

There's no reason why Saruman wouldn't have made a move when Mordor's army marched on Gondor.

(End of this chapter)