The words were simple enough, but implementation would be quite difficult.
"Levi, I still don't know how you plan to do this," Alatar said. "You can't conjure a dragon out of thin air to fight for you, can you?"
"Not yet."
"What?"
"Nothing, I meant I have some other methods."
Looking at Levi suspiciously, Alatar collected his staff fragments with a cloth while saying:
"Though if help is needed, my bow and sword are still serviceable."
Halbarad said from the side: "And me. My bow, sword, and dagger can serve you too."
Alatar glanced at him.
Did you really need to mention that extra dagger?
"Just help me control this place of Khand, especially that 'clear-headed' king."
"That's easy."
Alatar finished collecting the staff fragments: "He and I are quite familiar. When he wakes, I'll have a good talk with him about recent events."
Persuasion and conversation were a wizard's forte.
"What if he doesn't want to talk with you?"
"You know I'm handy with a sword."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you."
Levi nodded with confidence.
Setting aside everything else, this fellow had been in Middle-earth for thousands of years. Even without magic, his skills were formidable. Comparable to the most warlike elves.
"Are there any mines here?"
"I've never been to this area." Halbarad shook his head.
"Some, but not too many."
Alatar said: "North of the city there's a small mine pit, but the metal output isn't ideal. There are always some associated impurities."
"Impurities?"
"Yes, impurities. Though not entirely useless. The Easterlings' new weapon 'fire bombs' are made from these impurities. They used this to directly organize a bomber brigade."
"I've seen those bombers before. Actually, I was researching this new weapon before going to the Easterlings, but progress was always slow."
"Wait, the impurities you mentioned. Do they burn easily, and do the powders explode?"
"Eh, how do you know?"
Alatar complained: "There's so much of that stuff that even temporarily opened warehouses can't contain it. If it didn't have other uses and seem to have development potential, sometimes I'd really want to throw it all away."
"Don't throw it away. Give it to me."
"How much do you want?"
Levi approached, extending his hand:
"I want it all."
North of Khand was wilderness, and beyond the wilderness lay Easterling territory.
To the south, crossing the river that encircled Khand was a great desert.
Desert meant lots of sand. Lots and lots of it.
So much it could never be exhausted by digging.
In recent days, desert merchants coming to Khand brought a terrifying legend: at the desert's edge near this land, a massive worm seemed to have awakened. It lived by devouring sand and earth, and upon awakening, dug out a huge, wide, bottomless pit.
Every passing nomad or traveling merchant was terrified, breaking into cold sweats despite the heat.
"How big a worm would that have to be!"
"Enormous, bigger than any creature I've seen."
Near the mine's storage warehouse, Levi continuously opened and closed chests, taking out materials for crafting work.
"Well, setting aside outside rumors, are you sure it's appropriate to put this stuff here?"
Halbarad looked at the torches on the walls, then at the dangerous items in Levi's hands, memories from years ago surfacing.
That cavalry squad of over a hundred warg riders had been destroyed by this stuff.
These red, strange blocks that could ignite with the slightest spark.
"It's fine, they won't explode."
"Alright... how much of this stuff have you made?"
"A lot, very much."
Levi crafted another stack of TNT: "Who would have thought this place had so much sulfur and saltpeter, and they treated it as impurities. When I was at Roadside Fort, I wished I could dig up impurities every day."
With sulfur and saltpeter, gunpowder could be synthesized. Though the principles and ratios weren't clear, it didn't matter. The crafting table would handle everything.
"How's the situation with Alatar?"
While working, Levi asked casually.
"He and that king get along very harmoniously, so he says, though I haven't seen where that king is."
"Regardless, as long as the situation is stable."
"Even if only temporarily."
Clang!
Metallic collision sounds came from the next room.
Halbarad looked alertly toward the sound, but Levi waved his hand indicating no concern.
"What's that?"
"Some small props that might be useful in a few days."
Small props?
He curiously went around to look.
He saw dwarven smelting arrays arranged in what was obviously a temporarily excavated square space. Stones were melting in the furnaces, with iron buckets at the outlets collecting the orange-red liquid flowing out.
Lava.
"Alright, that's about enough."
At some point, Levi suddenly stood up, rubbed his hands, knocked down the crafting table, then took out a large pile of TNT from chests until his backpack was full.
"Time for the next phase of work."
In front of Khand's royal city was a large flat area full of sand and earth, with the occasional cactus.
But this didn't matter.
This day, an order came from the king's hall: all people were forbidden from leaving the city for one day.
Countless nobles and the king's relatives came forward asking for reasons, but all were rebuffed without answers.
This didn't cause much of a stir. It was only one day after all. Some merchants guessed it might be to pursue some fugitive. Such things, while uncommon, weren't unprecedented.
Everyone went about their business as usual.
When the city gate restriction lifted the next day, people stepped outside.
"Is it just me, or was this land always this flat?"
Looking at the terrain that seemed much more level than before, residents felt somewhat uneasy.
Peaceful days continued for three more days.
During this period everything developed normally, with residents living as usual.
"Levi!" Early one morning, Alatar came rushing over urgently, almost shouting. "They're here! That army. They're not far from the royal city. You can see them directly!
"The city gates have been emergency-closed. Khand's soldiers and guard captains are quite agitated. They're seeking the king's opinion on whether to surrender or fight.
"I must warn you, from current appearances, most people choose surrender."
"What about the King of Khand's opinion?" Levi asked.
"He has no opinion," Alatar replied vaguely. "But that will change soon. When the army reaches the city walls, the magic in my words will fade, and then he won't trust me anymore."
Magic voice...
Levi looked at Alatar with a half-smile.
Gandalf had once said Saruman's words carried magic power that could make people unconsciously feel convinced. This cognitive change could sometimes affect someone for life, unless that person was stimulated or had extremely strong will.
He called this ability 'magic voice.'
All wizards should know how to use such magic voice. Some liked to abuse it, using magic voice at every word, while others disliked deceiving people this way, only bringing it out to control situations during arguments.
Now it seemed the Blue Wizard also knew some magic voice. The kind that could change people's cognition.
"Then let him fully awaken."
Hum.
As these words were spoken, horn sounds rang out before the city.
Alatar and Halbarad climbed the city walls to see dense masses of orcs and Easterling golden armies below.
With beasts and steel-armored Olog-hai as vanguard, orcs and Uruks as main assault forces, plus large numbers of Easterling cavalry and bombers in the rear.
Several siege ladders and multiple catapults stood ready on the leveled ground.
An Uruk rode a warg out from the formation, coming right up to the city walls.
Just as he prepared to make one final surrender demand, suddenly the city gates opened wide.
A figure walked out from within.
"Maggot, ready to surrender?"
The Uruk immediately spoke crudely.
On the city wall, Halbarad drew his longbow but was held back by Alatar.
"Surrender?" Levi looked at the dense army on the distant flat ground, then at the surrender envoy who'd ridden out on a warg. "Regarding what you mentioned, I have some new perspectives. Now I'll give you a chance. Surrender and withdraw, and perhaps you can live a few more days. If you choose to fight, only destruction awaits you."
The Uruk who came to demand surrender fell silent for a moment.
"Hahahaha!"
Moments later, laughter rang out.
"Even stupider than those stinking orcs!"
He went back.
Not long after the surrender envoy rejoined the army formation, horn sounds rang out again.
"Attack!"
Thus the army moved forward.
Clang!
The city gates closed.
Levi still stood at the gate entrance, watching the advancing army without moving.
Halbarad gripped his ancient sword tightly, unable to help asking the wizard beside him: "Are we just going to watch like this?"
"Do you think you can help?"
Alatar was also sweating profusely.
"I hope those red blocks he buried underground can work. To make those things, the entire mine's impurity storage warehouse was emptied."
Click.
When the army advanced to within several hundred meters of the city walls, an orc suddenly looked down puzzledly to see a flat wooden board under its foot that had made a 'crack' sound when stepped on.
That was a wooden pressure plate.
This plate's only function was to activate things below or nearby.
Hiss.
A strange sound came from underground, but compared to the army's movement, this sound was far too small and was quickly drowned out by footsteps.
No one paid attention.
Until several seconds later.
BOOM!
The first TNT activated and exploded on the spot. Before the charging orcs could turn around to look, explosions also occurred under their feet. Once this momentum started, it couldn't be stopped. Like something contagious, crater after crater appeared in the ground. White explosions and impacts plowed the entire battlefield from left to right, east to west. Whether orcs, beasts, steel-armored Olog-hai, or the Easterling army further back, all were affected without exception.
Simultaneously, flowing lava emerged from underground with the explosions. As soon as it appeared, it began spreading in all directions, burning the orcs above and dyeing the entire area red.
Dense explosion sounds continued to ring out. The open ground outside the city was filled with screams as commanders and squad leaders in the military formation shouted themselves hoarse ordering subordinates to retreat, but most voices were now drowned out by explosions and couldn't carry.
An army that could have directly challenged the White City if deployed to the Pelennor Fields. Before even engaging in battle, nearly half its forces were lost, and these losses continued to increase.
In an instant, whether Mordor or Easterling forces, all fell into chaos with no thought of advancing.
Explosions, lava, foul odors, scattered giant beast and orc corpses littering the ground, whimpering wargs, and cavalry horses. All of it seemed like hell itself.
At this moment, the Easterling army was immensely grateful that their assembly had been delayed by various accidents, forcing them to follow behind the Mordor army that had departed first.
Cavalry fell from severely frightened horses, desperately crawling toward the distance.
When he looked back, he saw a black figure standing quietly before that distant city gate.
All this was his handiwork.
That figure was thus deeply imprinted in everyone's pupils, becoming an inescapable nightmare for all.
"Stand up!"
The sky suddenly darkened as a voice like wailing or howling wind swept across the battlefield, bringing with it heavy shadows that pressed on hearts, firmly suppressing the soldiers' terror.
Levi looked toward where the voice originated to see a black horse galloping toward this place. The figure atop alternated between transparent and solid. Explosions and impacts couldn't affect him at all, and flowing lava on the ground was lightly leaped over.
[Nazgûl Lieutenant · Khamûl]
This powerful Nazgûl, who had been hiding in the shadows from the beginning, finally couldn't restrain himself. Without appearing, even with the Great Eye's will as support, this heavily damaged army would probably collapse completely and might all perish here.
Whoa.
The black horse suddenly stopped, the shadowy figure atop dissipating like wind, then suddenly spanning a hundred meters to condense directly before Levi.
Khamûl wielded his Morgul-blade, striking with phantom-like speed at the human before him. Levi was already prepared, directly clashing swords with him.
Clang!
A crisp collision rang out with sparks flying.
While in deadlock, Khamûl suddenly made his form ethereal along with his Morgul-blade, intending to penetrate the armor and directly damage the flesh within.
Levi's mouth curved upward. Rather than retreating or defending, he directly took advantage of this opening to charge up Armor Break.
Amber-colored bright runes manifested on his body, directly blocking the ethereal Morgul-blade outside.
Almost simultaneously, the moment Khamûl's form solidified and he swung his Morgul-blade, Nemesis struck out fiercely, piercing the black cloak and directly hitting the spirit within.
Whoosh!
Flames shot skyward as Khamûl screamed and disappeared, even dropping his weapon.
Runic shields, fire aspect. One defensive, one offensive, both specifically designed to counter Nazgûl and dark powers.
"Ahhhh!"
An extremely sharp shriek rang out. Everyone who heard this sound fell into terror. Many soldiers on the city walls directly covered their heads and collapsed to the ground, some coughing uncontrollably with difficult breathing as if seriously ill.
Not just on the walls. Residents within the city were also affected, fleeing in panic while holding their heads.
In the great hall, the king suddenly started, shame and anger erupting at this moment.
This was an indiscriminate large-scale area attack.
[Poison: 5s]
Swoosh.
At some point, the Morgul-blade dropped on the ground and disappeared. When it reappeared, a tattered black phantom held it.
Runic shields activated, negating the poison affecting Levi. A gulp of milk quickly cleared this contamination.
If this were two years ago, a [Fear] buff might have appeared on the status bar, but now...
Not afraid. Just not afraid.
Though Levi wasn't afraid, not everyone was fearless.
Halbarad clutched his chest, half-kneeling on the ground, breathing deeply.
The fear brought by the Nazgûl. Like being in a lucid dream where consciousness was clear but the body couldn't respond, as if trapped in a cage imprisoning the mind.
"Summon courage!"
Alatar helped him up, voice deep and powerful.
"I'm fine!"
Halbarad struggled to stand, staring fixedly at the Nazgûl with undying hatred in his eyes.
"This time I wasn't frightened... and never will be again..."
Whoosh.
Seeing terror propagation had failed, mainly failing to affect the great enemy before him, Khamûl immediately tried to disappear and temporarily retreat.
Levi pursued, but no matter how swift his movements, he was still an instant too slow.
However, he wasn't the only one fighting here.
Seeing Khamûl's form about to disappear, Alatar raised his long sword high above his head, suddenly emanating a ring of light around his body.
He shouted:
"Let all shadows manifest here!"
Thus, the dark shadow had nowhere to retreat.
BOOM!
Nemesis solidly struck something. With one sword strike, firelight surged wildly as Khamûl wailed in agony, rolling on the ground. Before long, the armor serving as worldly anchor fell to the ground while the cloak turned to ash.
High attack but fragile. That described Nazgûl perfectly.
Of course, if it were only this, it would be fine. The truly troublesome aspect of the Nazgûl was that as long as Sauron existed, they could revive infinitely.
"He's returned to Mordor."
Alatar panted heavily, lowering his long sword.
Not having a staff was quite uncomfortable.
Levi went forward to pick up Khamûl's dropped Morgul-blade, examining it in his hands.
But this action appeared to the orc and Easterling army behind as picking up their commander's remains and displaying them as spoils of war.
"The Eastern Shadow, Nazgûl Lieutenant, Black Easterling Khamûl," famous since the Second Age, had been defeated by a human on the battlefield for the first time today.
With their commander defeated and the army heavily damaged, Mordor and Easterling soldiers had no heart to continue fighting, even facing only one person.
The Easterling commander led the retreat. Not from fear of that person at the city gate, but worry about what other ambushes might await continued advance. At least the area directly in front of the royal city was unassailable. Even if fighting continued, they'd have to take detours in other directions.
The Easterling commander thought much; orcs thought considerably less.
When Khamûl, the second most powerful among the Nazgûl, was defeated, the dominating shadows he had imposed also dissipated. Now when orcs looked at Levi and his sword, their eyes felt like they were being pricked by needles. The sharpness was overwhelming.
Beasts and Olog-hai knew no fear, but having experienced bombardment, even survivors were mostly wounded and appeared somewhat cowed.
"Useless, all useless!"
The leading Uruk was furious, but when his gaze met that person's, even seeing him take a step in this direction, he shuddered like the orcs and quickly retreated several steps.
"Excellent! We may have avoided a war while successfully weakening the Great Enemy's power."
"Aren't you surprised, Halba..."
Stab.
Alatar was speaking when suddenly a sharp long sword pierced from behind through to his chest, bright with blood.
!!
Noticing the anomaly, Halbarad quickly turned around to see a tall Khandish man in magnificent armor angrily withdrawing his sword and kicking Alatar off the high wall.
A heavy thudding sound rang out below.
"You damned heart-deceiving wizard!"
The King of Khand had completed his revenge.
Or had he?
Levi quickly ran over, first prying open Alatar's mouth and pouring in a regeneration potion, then stuffing a golden apple in vigorously.
This time it wasn't fake. This guy really lost health.
"Just eat it quickly."
"Mmph..."
Alatar rolled his eyes, struggling constantly.
About to choke to death!
"How dare you!"
Halbarad suddenly drew his sword. His companion had been pierced by a blade right beside him without his notice.
Fury erupted from the Ranger's eyes, clashing with the King of Khand's gaze.
"Heh, anger."
The king shook blood from his sword, declaring loudly: "Could your anger compare to mine?"
"I was controlled and manipulated like a little worm without any dignity... I didn't even know when the army advanced to the city gates."
"Living so basely as a king, even revenge draws rebuke!"
Halbarad was momentarily speechless, his anger diminishing considerably.
Not because he agreed with this king's words, but because he discovered Alatar seemed fine.
After all, Levi was here.
"Cough cough..."
Below the wall, Alatar wiped his mouth and stood back up, clutching his chest. He shouted: "King of Khand! Without me, how could your country be as prosperous as it is today? Setting aside national development, even regarding yourself—without my arrival years ago, you would have been killed by your own brother long ago."
"Silence!"
The king was extraordinarily angry.
"You should accept reality, child," Alatar said flatly. "Among all your siblings, in terms of willpower, you were the worst. Otherwise you wouldn't have fallen to this state or been propped up."
"Shut up!"
No longer caring about Halbarad beside him, the king rushed down from the city wall and out the gate to give Alatar another strike.
Thud!
Moments later, this outwardly strong but inwardly weak burly king was knocked down by Levi and lost all strength to lift his sword.
When Levi raised his sword, Alatar suddenly stood before him.
"Enough, Levi. Consider it my request."
"..."
"Fine, your private affairs. I won't interfere too much."
"Enough have fallen under my sword. I don't need one more."
Alatar bowed slightly, while behind him the king clenched his fists in silent fury.
Thud!
"Hm?"
Several people suddenly turned toward another direction.
Behind the royal city, southern Khand.
Thud!
War drums sounded, horns bellowed, and earth continuously trembled.
The three exchanged glances. Ignoring the self-pitying king on the ground and the scattered armies before the city, they hurried toward the rear of the royal city.
Massive war elephants, various siege engines, large numbers of soldiers, plus mysterious Nazgûl leading in front with generals behind...
"Haradrim!"
Alatar's heart tightened.
"The third army... why?"
"Do you still have those explosive red blocks?"
"None left. Used them all."
Levi spread his hands.
"Then what do we do?"
Out of the frying pan... into the fire.
"My intelligence contained no trace of this army. Without any warning, they appeared as if suddenly deciding to come."
"Probably coming for me."
Levi pointed at himself.
"You?"
"I actually always wanted to ask. I didn't really hit you earlier, right?"
"Correct. What you repelled was never me, but the Great Enemy's shadow."
"...He saw you."
"He saw me."
"So he had to send more people."
For Levi, he didn't fear many enemies or few friends. Just enemies arriving suddenly when he wasn't in his territory, had no resources, and had insufficient time to prepare.
"So what?"
Under both men's gaze, Levi walked out the south city gate, drew his long sword, and faced the army directly.
The three leading Nazgûl broke from formation and rushed forward, suddenly dissipating at a distance.
Alatar raised his long sword high in the rear and shouted again: "Show yourselves!"
Thus three figures manifested beside Levi as three Morgul-blades struck at him.
Clang!
His long sword blocked one blade while Levi pulled out a wooden shield to block the second with a clang.
The third attack. A barrow-blade intercepted and repelled it.
The Nazgûl shrieked without affecting Levi or those beside him.
"I said I would no longer be influenced by fear."
"Time for revenge..."
Halbarad raised his head high, staring at the Nazgûl engaging him.
Elsewhere, Alatar finished casting his spell, breathing deeply with some effort, then raised his sword to face a Nazgûl.
Boom!
The next second, flames rose as Levi stepped on Nazgûl armor, pulling Nemesis from within.
Then, grasping the Morgul-blade piercing his chest, he held the other Nazgûl's hand and fiercely turned to hack off his helmet.
His momentum was so fierce even Alatar was stunned.
Nazgûl were both strong and weak. Their specific strength depended on whether their opponent harbored fear.
When someone held no trace of fear, Nazgûl black magic would completely fail. To such a person, they were merely somewhat strong warriors.
"Yahhh!"
Halbarad struck forcefully, igniting the Nazgûl before him, then pressed forward with another sword strike to finish it.
All three Nazgûl eliminated.
"Truly remarkable."
Alatar couldn't help but praise.
"Any of these Nazgûl sent out individually could crush mortal armies, because mortal weapons cannot threaten them at all. Only waiting for slaughter in terror."
"However..."
He looked at the barrow-blade in Halbarad's hand. Blessed relics from ancient kingdoms.
Without such special weapons, ordinary attacks couldn't touch Nazgûl at all.
But effective weapons were one aspect; this Dúnadan's courage was another level entirely.
As for the other person...
Better not look.
Nazgûl remains scattered in the wind.
Losing the shadows and protection the Nazgûl cast over hearts, the Haradrim army seemed somewhat bewildered, though this bewilderment lasted only an instant before being swept away by commanders' shouts.
Nazgûl morale bonuses were just insurance. Their absence didn't mean immediate army collapse.
Those who could kill Nazgûl were certainly powerful, but present were all battle-tested warriors. With overwhelming numerical advantage, what was there to fear?
This feeling lasted until that black-armored warrior actively attacked.
Swoosh.
An ender pearl crossed vast distance, landing precisely at the general's feet. The moment it completed teleportation upon landing, Levi immediately struck upward, launching the Haradrim general and his horse into the air.
Surrounding soldiers suddenly startled, discovering an enemy in their midst.
But it was too late.
Whether horse or man, when flames burned on their bodies, their fate was sealed.
"How dare you!"
Caught off guard, the Haradrim general fell quite abruptly. With no time to mourn, his deputy immediately assumed command. At his signal, surrounding soldiers immediately scattered while a war elephant trampled earth, rushing over, raising those massive front legs to crush downward through the air.
BOOM!
Runic shields shattered, triggering the belt's emergency mechanism. A powerful impact burst forth, directly overturning even the war elephant while surrounding soldiers were knocked far away.
Slash. Nemesis penetrated the elephant's thick hide, cutting from head to tail. Brilliant and spectacular flames ignited the fallen elephant along with the collapsed tower full of archers and spearmen atop it.
Levi withdrew his sword, still clean without a trace of blood.
He walked out from the flames.
"Great Eye..."
"Demon, monster..."
"Monster!"
"Silence!"
The Haradrim army's deputy commander immediately silenced the shouting, though he couldn't help retreating.
What was that?
The invincible mammoth war elephant was actually hacked to death by one person with a sword?
And in such an incomprehensible manner...
Nazgûl could single-handedly challenge entire armies, but this person could single-handedly challenge multiple Nazgûl.
Levi stepped forward; the deputy commander immediately shouted: "Kill! Kill him!"
Soldiers fearfully charged at an existence they couldn't understand, with somewhat pale and powerless urging behind them.
At the end of the Second Age, when those human and elf alliance armies charged at Sauron, did they feel this way too?
"No, each of them knew what they were doing and possessed mortal determination and courage, while you are merely deceived, driven to the battlefield by base ones to achieve his unspeakable goals."
"Damned thing, I absolutely won't allow you to insult our god!"
Seeming to understand Levi's implication, the surrounding Haradrim soldiers were extraordinarily angry. So angry that even fear from the unknown before them dissipated.
They swarmed forward.
...
Eastern historians recorded: An unrecognizable warrior came to the East. He destroyed Mordor and Easterling armies, slew the Eastern Shadow Khamûl beneath Khand's royal city walls, and then killed all subsequent supporting Nazgûl. Haradrim elephants and armies tried to block his advance. Obviously, they also failed.
Finally, all armies gathered here withdrew. No one knows where that warrior ultimately went or how he departed.
Oh, and he also defeated the King of Khand.