Just as the orc army surged out of the Lonely Mountain like a tide under Azog's roar, dark, ink-like clouds suddenly churned over Lake-town.
The last few rays of daylight were completely swallowed, and the entire town fell into a viscous gloom, even the ripples on the lake solidifying into a leaden gray.
Bernal's hand, gripping his knight's greatsword, had veins bulging on its back, as he heard the faint, fragmented sounds of something stepping on roof tiles, coming from all directions.
"Light the fires!"
As Bernal instinctively used the Prayers, Erdtree Vow, Igon's roar from the watchtower tore through the deadly silence.
Dozens of torches ignited almost simultaneously, their leaping orange-red flames piercing the gloom, instantly illuminating terrifying silhouettes clinging to the city walls or rooftops.
Spiders the size of carriages hung upside down on the outer walls, their jointed limbs covered in bits of decaying grass. More large spiders poured out like a tide from the darkness where the torchlight could not reach, their compound eyes gleaming with a cold, eerie green under the firelight.
Bernal had just finished his Prayers, and a golden glow surrounded him and the Storm Soldiers around him.
After finishing his Prayers, he immediately issued a command to the Storm Soldiers: "We have guests! Let us, the current masters of Lake-town, give them a proper welcome!"
The large spiders' eight jointed limbs scraped across the roof tiles, emitting a grating sound that set teeth on edge, as their massive bodies agilely lunged at the Storm Soldiers below.
The Storm Soldiers formed a wall with their leather shields, their long spears protruding like thorns from the gaps.
The moment a large spider crashed into a shield, a spear tip from behind pierced its abdomen, and foul-smelling green spider venom splattered onto the leather shield surface, corroding it with wisps of smoke.
Legolas and Tauriel, the two elves, drew their bows like the moon, their footsteps light on the roof tiles, arrow after arrow whistling through the air, piercing the compound eyes of one large spider after another, sending them hissing into the cold lake water beside the houses, stirring up waves.
At the same time, Igon's arrows precisely supported the small-scale battles that had devolved into bitter struggles, saving several Storm Soldiers who had been caught off guard by the large spiders.
Tauriel landed silently beside Bernal, and after shooting down a large spider that was trying to ambush Bernal, she said, "Tell your soldiers to be careful of these large spiders' abdomens; not only do they spin webs there, but their venom is also stored there. Aim for their eyes or mandibles as much as possible; these two places are their weak points."
Bernal loudly relayed Tauriel's words, and the Storm Soldiers who heard Bernal's words shouted to pass the message to more of their comrades battling the large spiders.
Another large spider silently and swiftly climbed the city wall. Tauriel drew her short knife and, like a silver snake slithering, skillfully severed the joints of its spider legs, turning it into a motionless target, lying on the ground, only able to furiously open and close its mouthparts in impotent rage.
"Or you can cut off their legs like this before killing them," Tauriel added.
Bernal raised an eyebrow, sending the tip of his knight's greatsword into the skull of this unfortunate spider-pig, and replied, "It's still more convenient to just chop off their heads directly."
Legolas also landed at this moment, his expression revealing unease. He said, "Tauriel, something feels wrong. These spiders...there must be something strange about them, but I don't know how to describe it."
Tauriel nodded in agreement, looking up at the gloomy sky: "I know exactly what you mean, Legolas, it's those strange black clouds above us. When those large spiders were active in Mirkwood, there was never such a phenomenon."
Bernal frowned deeply: "No, the key point isn't these black clouds overhead, but the guys hiding in the darkness, using these things. I always feel like something, or rather some creature, is hiding in the shadows watching me. That feeling of being watched is persistent and makes me very uncomfortable."
Just as Bernal's words fell, a piercing scream tore through everyone's hearts.
The scream came from the dock. A Storm Soldier's throat was slit by a sharp blade, and a spray of blood mist landed on his companion's terrified face.
Immediately after, the muffled thud of iron boots on the ground surged from all directions of the dock.
Nine shadowy figures emerged in the dark curtain. They were clad in evil, twisted black iron armor, and inhuman screams occasionally came from beneath their hollow visors.
And those Storm Soldiers, facing these nine approaching evil figures, seemed to be under a paralysis spell, then burst into terrified screams, fleeing chaotically in all directions, and were soon pounced upon by the surrounding large spiders, falling to the ground and losing their voices.
Legolas's pupils contracted: "It's the Nazgûl!?"
He immediately drew his bow and shot an arrow at the Ringwraiths.
But the moment the arrow left the string, a Ringwraith raised its hand and crushed the arrow shaft. The broken arrow, thrown back, pierced the chest of a Storm Soldier who had fallen into fear.
Tauriel's expression also became serious as she reminded Bernal next to her: "Be careful of these Ringwraiths, the Nazgûl. They are the Dark Lord's most powerful servants. Mortals cannot touch them. Their breath is highly poisonous, and their screams can induce fear and despair in people's hearts. Those poor soldiers fell into fear and despair because they heard their screams."
Just as Tauriel was telling Bernal about the Ringwraiths, a Ringwraith holding a black longsword appeared and disappeared in the darkness, easily leaping onto the rooftop like a ghost, letting out a scream as it leaped towards a Storm Knight below, its evil sword tip carrying a putrid, cold wind, aimed at the gap in the Storm Knight's neck.
"Clang--"
The deafening clang of metal on metal made people's eardrums ache. The Storm Knight, to this Ringwraith's surprise, not only did not fall into panic but reacted very quickly, turning and parrying with his sword.
The moment the blades met, this Storm Knight clearly saw the enemy's appearance: it was a two-meter-tall, void-wrapped humanoid encased in iron armor, with black mist churning beneath its visor, and the runes etched on the armor's surface seemed to be oozing viscous, dark blood.
"What is that?!"
The Storm Knight skillfully parried the Ringwraith's longsword and then counter-slashed. The sword's edge grazed the Ringwraith's breastplate, but only struck a series of pale sparks from the iron armor.
And the Ringwraith, as if completely unaffected, thrust its blade towards the Storm Knight's heart.
In the nick of time, this Storm Knight, relying on his excellent swordsmanship, spun and parried.
Sparks flew as the swords clashed, and only then did the Storm Knight suddenly realize that the opponent was unharmed, and his previous attack had not caused any substantial damage to the Ringwraith.
He immediately shouted loudly: "Be careful! These strange armors cannot be affected by normal physical attacks!"
Hearing this, Bernal's expression grew serious. He saw eight other dark figures emerge from eaves, alleys, and even piles of corpses, and as they passed, Storm Soldiers fell one after another.
Some Storm Soldiers, who had overcome their fear and despair, pierced the enemy's chest with their weapons, only to find it had no effect, as if hitting an illusion, and they died on the spot.
The panic caused by the Ringwraiths gradually spread among the Storm Soldiers, and only those Storm Knights who were invincible in The Lands Between gritted their teeth, resisting the influence of the Ringwraiths, and desperately held their lines.
Bernal jumped down from the city wall and plunged into the battlefield where a Ringwraith was located, his knight's greatsword blocking the black mace in the Ringwraith's hand, saving a Storm Soldier who had fallen into panic.
Then Bernal quickly knelt on one knee, his other hand, not holding the sword, flashed with golden light, and the Prayers [Erdtree's Blessing] was instantly cast. The golden light shone on Bernal and the surrounding Storm Soldiers, temporarily dispelling the fear and despair in their hearts.
The fleeting golden light stung the Ringwraith's eyes, causing him to instinctively raise his hand to shield his vision.
The surrounding Storm Soldiers, freed from the influence of fear, immediately raised their longswords or spears and thrust them into the Ringwraith's empty head, but it had no effect other than eliciting more ear-piercing screams from the opponent.
Bernal's peripheral vision noticed a Ringwraith floating towards the watchtower where Igon was, and he immediately staggered the Ringwraith in front of him backward with a chop, while shouting loudly: "Igon! Watch out below you, a Ringwraith has gone over there!"
Igon was using the Dragon Communion Incantation's dragon claws to tear apart several large spiders that had climbed his watchtower. Hearing Bernal's words, he suddenly looked down, and the Ringwraith's blade had already reached his face.
He hastily raised his greatbow to block, and the greatbow made of dragon bone was struck with a shallow mark, but fortunately, the bowstring was not affected.
Then Igon lifted his large foot and kicked the Ringwraith flying out of the watchtower, and then, seeing him floating in the air and retreating a few steps as if nothing had happened, he raised his longsword to stab again, muttering: "What the hell is this thing?!"
His kick just now had no leverage; under normal circumstances, it should have broken the opponent's ribs, but on the Ringwraith, it only caused his chest armor to indent a few inches, and his body seemed to have no pain, moving as usual.
While Igon was somewhat disheveled by the Ringwraith's sneak attack on the watchtower, Bernal was having an even worse time.
The Ringwraiths seemed to know Bernal's strength. As he suppressed the first Ringwraith, four other Ringwraiths quickly joined the battle between Bernal and the Ringwraith.
They were summoned by the first Ringwraith's screams because this Ringwraith had just seen the 'sorcery' Bernal cast that dispelled the fear of the surrounding soldiers, and more importantly, the golden light made him feel threatened.
So, this Ringwraith shamelessly called for reinforcements, summoning four more Ringwraiths.
Noticing more Ringwraiths approaching, Bernal immediately shouted to the Storm Knights and Storm Soldiers around him who wanted to help: "You all fall back and deal with those large spiders! Leave this to me!"
Before he finished speaking, his internal alarm bells rang, and he immediately dodged sideways. The canvas awning hanging from a nearby house was torn into rags by the sword wind of a Ringwraith descending from the sky.
The Storm Knights could only reluctantly lead the Storm Soldiers away from here. He knew that ordinary soldiers staying here would only cause trouble for Bernal, and it would be better to go to a place far from the Ringwraiths to eliminate the large spiders.
Bernal rolled again to avoid the flames swept by the second Ringwraith wielding a flaming longsword, while fiercely throwing his knight's greatsword at the third Ringwraith holding a dagger. The sharp knight's greatsword embedded itself into the opponent's armor, temporarily pinning him to the wall behind him.
The fourth one held a heavy iron hammer; his physique was larger than the other Ringwraiths, and even Bernal was a few inches shorter than him.
He saw Bernal throw the knight's greatsword at his companion and immediately let out a piercing roar from his mouth, raising his heavy hammer to smash at the seemingly unarmed Bernal.
Bernal quickly stood up with one hand on the ground, and the world devouring scepter, which suddenly appeared in his hand, slammed heavily into the ground. A red vortex exploded from the tip of the scepter, and the Ringwraith holding the great hammer was pulled off balance by the gravity, his armor letting out a metallic screech of distortion.
Under the pressure of facing five Ringwraiths at once, Bernal also chose to use the world devouring scepter as his weapon.
However, the Battle Skill of the world devouring scepter just now made Bernal's expression even more solemn, because the world devouring scepter in his hand did not give him feedback on the physical strength plundered from the opponent.
In other words, the opponent might not even be a living being.
What a demonic enemy, even when facing those Black Knife Assassins skilled in assassination, Bernal had never felt so troublesome.
And Bernal also found that the scream from the Ringwraith with the great hammer seemed to have attracted another companion, which meant Bernal would soon be facing the siege of six Ringwraiths simultaneously.
The Ringwraiths slowly floated in the air, forming a circle around Bernal, blocking all possible escape routes.
Legolas's roar sounded above the Ringwraiths: "Creatures of Darkness!"
Two arrows, arriving with the sound, accurately pierced the hollow helmet of a Ringwraith, causing this Ringwraith to let out a scream of pain for the first time.
The Elf Prince's silver hair fluttered in the torchlight, but unfortunately, his quiver was already empty, yet Legolas successfully attracted the Ringwraith's attention.
Legolas shouted as he engaged this Ringwraith: "Tauriel!!!"
Tauriel also leaped from the rooftop. Her arrows long since expended, she plunged the silver blade in her hand into the Ringwraith also holding a dagger, the blade digging into the iron armor's seam, causing this Ringwraith to let out a rasping roar like sandpaper.
Tauriel spun and followed up with a flying kick, sending the dagger-wielding Ringwraith flying backward, his iron helmet striking the stone wall and sparking.
Bernal looked at the remaining four Ringwraiths and showed a kind smile: "Excellent, now it's one against four."
Then he raised the world devouring scepter with both hands over his shoulder and actually charged forward, while loudly asking the two elves who had come to support him: "How can these Ringwraiths be killed?!"
Legolas deftly dodged a Ringwraith's attack before replying: "Weapons blessed by the Elves of the First Age can harm them!"
Bernal swept the world devouring scepter, sending two Ringwraiths flying, while being hit hard in the back by the Ringwraith holding the iron hammer, causing him to stagger forward a few steps: "Oh, that's just great! Now where am I supposed to get such a weapon? Can you bless one right here?"
Tauriel was met with a flying kick from the Ringwraith she was fighting, slamming into the wall, landing conveniently near Bernal. Hearing his words, she coughed a few times in pain and said: "There's another way, and that's to directly destroy the armor they're wearing. That can temporarily send them back to their master's side."