This time, Queen Galadriel returned and contacted the flock of Great Eagles in the middle of the Misty Mountains, preparing to have the group fly to Dol Guldur to rescue Gandalf.
The two young eagle brothers were also reunited with their eagle king father, Thorondor, here.
Just as the group was about to take off on the Great Eagles, Princess Arwen walked up to Mike under the gaze of the Nandor Elves.
"I heard you're very skilled with a bow and longsword. These two weapons are just for you." Princess Arwen took out a longbow and a Nandor Elves treasure sword and handed them to Mike.
Giving a treasure sword to a hero is very much in line with the values of the Elves.
"Thank you." Mike did not refuse the Princess Arwen's kindness, then said, "When I take the Lonely Mountain, I'll give you a beautiful gem."
Although the Elves do not like treasures, they have a special fondness for shiny gems.
Not far away, Queen Galadriel looked at her granddaughter and the human hero with affectionate eyes, exchanged glances with her husband, and both showed a smile full of deep meaning.
The Elves advocate for free love…
Celeborn and Queen Galadriel naturally did not mind their granddaughter falling in love with a human.
Moreover, this human was so outstanding, whether in appearance or resume.
Afterward, under the watchful eyes of the Nandor Elves, the group of four, including the White Wizard, boarded the Great Eagles and rushed towards Dol Guldur.
More than an hour later, the four arrived at their destination.
At the entrance of this dark force stronghold, it was now filled with Orc Warg riders from Mordor.
"Screech—"
With a bird's cry, these Orc Warg units received their first attack.
Thorondor, the King of Great Eagles, led the flock, forming a single-file formation and swooping down. Their talons, like blades, plowed through the ground, instantly throwing the Orcs into disarray.
Next, Celeborn and Galadriel, along with Mike and Saruman, also jumped off the backs of the Great Eagles one after another, each showcasing their strengths against the scattered Orcs.
Here, it is worth mentioning King Celeborn, the King of the Nandor Elves; he, who has always been low-key, is not inferior to his wife, Queen Galadriel, in combat.
Every swing of his sword could take the lives of more than a dozen Orcs.
On the other side, Saruman, the White Wizard, also went all out, and the many Orcs in front of him were no match for him.
Of course, compared to Mike, the efficiency of the other three was only so-so.
Mike, who had summoned more than a dozen Flame Dragons, leisurely and effortlessly eliminated all the Orcs and Wargs at the entrance in no time.
"Well done!" Celeborn, seeing Mike's immense strength, smiled and patted his shoulder in the manner of an elder.
This was considered a formal acknowledgment of Mike.
On the other side, Gandalf, who had arrived at Dol Guldur earlier, encountered Sauron, the main culprit, inside Dol Guldur.
After the Grey Wizard unleashed his full power, he fought the recently resurrected Dark Lord to a standstill.
However, when the nine Ringwraiths under the Dark Lord appeared, Gandalf's situation became precarious.
"Yo, Gandalf. Long time no see—"
Just then, Mike and the others arrived.
As Mike threw out a ball of Power Of Faith to empower him, Gandalf, who was already on the verge of exhaustion, finally retreated from his standoff with the Dark Lord.
"Sauron and his minions have occupied Dol Guldur. For the peace of Middle-earth, we must drive them back to Mordor…" After being guarded in the center by Mike and the other three, Gandalf, catching his breath, stated his discovery.
Of course, in the current situation, he didn't need to explain too much.
"Very good, five against ten, the advantage is with me…" Mike said eagerly, "Then I'll go meet Sauron first."
There were not many in Middle-earth that Mike considered worthy opponents, and Sauron, happened to be one of them.
Last time he let the opponent escape, this time it was a good opportunity to test the opponent's true strength.
"It's you? Human hero…" Sauron recognized Mike.
Although the Sauron in the High Fells of Rhudaur last time was just a phantom, the true Sauron behind him had seen Mike through the Demon's Eye King.
"What, you want to turn me?" Mike saw the expression on Sauron's face, guessed his thoughts, and then said with a smile, "Let alone you only have a fraction of your peak power now, even if you were at your peak, you might not be my opponent. So, save your recruitment talk—"
The strength of Sauron was certainly stronger than Satan, but compared to Ilúvatar, the Creator God in Middle-earth, he was nothing more than an ant.
Mike's goal had always been the Creator God, so the Dark Lord and such were not in his eyes.
"Human, you will pay the price for your ignorance!" Similarly, Sauron was enraged by the disdainful smile on Mike's face.
The sky full of demonic energy instantly turned into sharp blades, slashing down at Mike.
Amidst a thunderous roar, Mike, who had completed a one-click equipment change, wearing Bright Armor and holding the Flame Holy Sword, easily parried Sauron's furious blow.
"What, is that all you've got?"
Then Mike flew up, and the Flame Holy Sword in his hand transformed into the purest holy light, shining upon the Dark Lord.
Instantly, the demonic energy in the sky melted away at a visible speed under the holy light, leaving only Sauron, struggling to resist the holy light's baptism.
"You're even weaker than I thought…"
Mike, feeling no pressure, pouted and summoned the Book of Gospels from within his body.
As the Book of Gospels slowly unfolded, a series of golden runes flew out, attempting to seal Sauron.
"No!"
Feeling the sacred aura from the Book of Gospels and the immense pulling force on his body, the Dark Lord's face showed a look of terror.
Indeed, just as Mike had thought, Sauron might have many tricks, but his true strength was only mediocre.
Then, just before being sealed by the Book of Gospels, Sauron finally gritted his teeth and abandoned all his demonic power, using the method of a cicada shedding its skin to escape.
After transforming into a spirit body like a Ringwraiths, he broke free from the Book of Gospels's control.
Mike, on the other hand, obtained a large mass of the purest demonic energy.
[Demonic Energy * Energy + 200m] x2… [Soul Body (Trait)]… [Dark Magic (Skill)]…
…
"You can't kill me…" The Dark Lord, now in spirit form, showed a triumphant smile.
Without the enhancement of demonic energy, the Dark Lord was naturally no longer suppressed by the Power Of Faith.
Moreover, as long as the One Ring was not destroyed, Sauron could always resurrect and accumulate power again.
What was this? This was a rechargeable battery.
Mike hadn't planned to eliminate Sauron in one go anyway; the opponent posed no threat to him.
Instead, he could continuously collect Power Of Faith by using the pretext of resisting the Dark Lord.
So, Mike then unhurriedly used the Flame Holy Sword to repeatedly kill the Dark Lord in his Ringwraiths state a few times, and then calmly watched him resurrect.
That expression was definitely playing a game of cat and mouse.
Even though Sauron in his Ringwraiths state knew he couldn't die, he had no masochistic tendencies, so he was ready to escape at any time.
"Don't let him run away!"
Queen Galadriel, who was fighting three Ringwraiths, had been keeping an eye on Mike's situation.
When she discovered that Mike could suppress the Dark Lord, the Elven Queen's expression relaxed considerably.
Then, upon realizing that the Dark Lord wanted to escape, Queen Galadriel, after repelling the three Ringwraiths in front of her, came to Mike's side.
"Now is the best time to eliminate the dark forces in Middle-earth!" The Elven Queen explained to Mike, then suddenly looked at the extremely "weak" Dark Lord in his Ringwraiths state.
Then, this Queen of the Nandor Elves tribe began to chant a series of ancient Elvish words that others could not understand.
"By the name of the descendants of the ancient Elves, I swear to banish Sauron to the Void… Banishment…"
As the vow symbolizing the power of rules was established, the Dark Lord in his Ringwraiths state, with an unwilling roar, vanished from Dol Guldur.
No, to be precise, he vanished from Middle-earth.
Whether he could return again depended on his luck, whether he could find an exit in the Void.
And as Sauron was banished to the Void, the nine Ringwraiths he brought with him also turned into black mist and fled from Dol Guldur.
At the same time, the Orc army that had occupied Dol Guldur, seeing the unfavorable situation, also scattered and fled towards Mordor.
"We finally did it…" Gandalf, seeing the dark forces retreat and having once again defended the peace of Middle-earth, showed a relieved smile.
However, he soon discovered that Queen Galadriel, who had banished the Dark Lord, was not doing well at all.
"Your Majesty, Queen Galadriel, are you alright?" Then, Gandalf worriedly approached the Elven Queen, who was being supported by Mike.
"Don't worry, Gandalf… I'm just too tired and need to rest… From now on, the task of driving the dark forces out of Middle-earth will probably have to be left to you…"
The Elven Queen, who had overdrawn all her divine power, did not forget to comfort Gandalf.
"Everyone, just as Queen Galadriel said, the situation in Middle-earth from now on is in your hands." Celeborn also came closer and checked his wife's condition.
Because using the Power of Rules damaged her origin, she would need a long period of quiet recuperation to recover.
It could be hundreds of years, or even longer.
Therefore, Celeborn also needed to guard his wife for a long time to come.
Afterward, with the crisis in Dol Guldur resolved, Mike and his group of four, along with Gandalf, once again rode the Great Eagles back to the Golden Forest.
It was only then that Gandalf, who had been exhausted from the journey, finally couldn't hold on any longer.
"I know you didn't intentionally target the Dwarves before, so when you go to the Lonely Mountain, if circumstances permit, please help me look after Thorin and the others…" Gandalf, who also needed to rest for a while in the Golden Forest, made this request to Mike before he set off again for the Lonely Mountain.
At this point, the Grey Wizard, who believed he had witnessed Mike's true strength, no longer believed that the Dwarves could reclaim the Lonely Mountain.
"Don't worry, if possible, I will show the Dwarves a way to survive." Mike smiled, agreeing to the wizard's request.
Moreover, compared to the Lonely Mountain, which only had treasures, Moria, which had endless mineral resources and was no longer dangerous, was actually the most suitable home for the dwarves.
After all, dwarves were naturally good at mining and forging weapons.
Going to Moria would also be making the best use of their talents.
Then, Mike once again embarked on his journey to the Lonely Mountain, with the Nandor Elves and Princess Arwen seeing him off.
Two days later, Mike, who had crossed the Anduin River, arrived at the Black Forest, the stronghold of the Sindar Elves.
In this twisted forest, Mike also saw the marks left by Sauron.
Because Sauron was only exiled and not completely eliminated, the dark magic energy that had gathered in the Black Forest for years had not completely dissipated.
And a small wave of Giant Spiders that migrated from the Misty Mountains highlands also relied on this magic energy to reproduce and settle in the Black Forest, causing great trouble for the Sindar Elves.
Under these circumstances, Thranduil, the Sindar Elf King, could only send his elves from time to time to hunt the rampant Giant Spiders in the Black Forest.
Mike happened to encounter Tauriel, the female elf who was punished to enter the Black Forest to eliminate Giant Spiders for secretly helping Thorin's group escape, and her admirer, Legolas, the Elf Prince.
"Are you Mike, the human hero who twice repelled Sauron? I heard your archery is good, do you dare to compete?" Elf Prince, the Elf Prince, was only over four hundred years old at this time, and according to the elven calculation, he was still a child.
He hadn't seen much of the world yet, and after hearing about Mike's various legendary experiences, he was somewhat unconvinced.
Of course, it was also possible that the Elf Prince wanted to show off in front of his "goddess" Tauriel to regain her affection.
Yes, after meeting Kili, the Dwarves, Tauriel, the female elf who grew up with Legolas, the Elf Prince, as childhood sweethearts, had "transferred her affection."
It could be said that now was Elf Prince's most frustrated moment.
"Compete in archery? No problem." Mike accepted the Elf Prince's invitation.
At the same time, he also glanced at Tauriel, the female elf beside him.
This female elf living in the Black Forest was actually not from the Sindar Elves, but a very rare Wood Elf.
Perhaps for this reason, Tauriel looked different from other female elves' "slenderness," instead giving people a sense of "strength."
Mike had reason to suspect that the Elf Prince valued the "sense of security" on Tauriel, which was why he was always attracted to her.
After all, rarity makes something precious.
"Good, I happen to be going to destroy a Giant Spiders' nest this time. We'll compete with bows and arrows to see who kills more spiders." Legolas noticed Mike's strange gaze, but being focused on the competition, he didn't think much of it.
As for Tauriel, the Wood Elf beside him, she also found Mike's gaze very strange, carrying a hint of rudeness.
However, even if Mike was more handsome than the Elf Prince, Tauriel, the Wood Elf's aesthetic was not the same as other female elves; she preferred the rugged type of man like Kili, the dwarf.
Therefore, she had no intention of having too much contact with Mike.
So, in this strange atmosphere, the three, along with a small Sindar Elf team behind them, entered the depths of the Black Forest.
"The Giant Spiders' nest is ahead, our competition starts here!" After arriving at a spider nest covered in cobwebs, Legolas took off the longbow from his back and spoke.
As he spoke, his eyes involuntarily looked at Tauriel.
After getting a nod from the female elf, the Elf Prince felt as if his whole body was filled with strength.
Then he gracefully climbed onto the treetops by stepping on branches, and with a few leaps, he reached above the Giant Spiders' nest, his longbow instantly turning into a grim reaper's scythe.
Arrows accurately hit the heads of the Giant Spiders, reaping their lives.
I must say, the Elf Prince's movements in combat were as smooth as an acrobatic performance; regardless of practicality, he was truly handsome.
Just as the Elf Prince was about to continue his performance to win and show off his charm in front of Tauriel, he suddenly heard the sound of an arrow rain from behind.
Turning his head, he saw a golden arrow rain, like a sky full of stars.
These arrows seemed to have eyes, bypassing obstacles and instantly shooting all the Giant Spiders visible in front of them into sieves.
"This…" Legolas's mouth widened in surprise, watching the tragic state of the Giant Spiders being killed by the arrows below.
The young Elf Prince had never seen such a scene; this power was completely unlike what a human should possess.
Moreover, the Elf Prince absolutely refused to admit that this "carpet bombing" style of combat was archery.
This was clearly cheating!!!
"You win!" However, as an Elf Prince, Legolas was not a sore loser.
Although he was unwilling to admit it, Mike did use a bow and arrow to kill more Giant Spiders.
"Sorry, I'm in a hurry, so I was a bit fast." Mike explained that his actions were not intended to embarrass the Elf Prince.
Of course, it could also be seen as him giving Legolas a way out.
"I heard that you, like the Dwarves, are going to the Lonely Mountain." Legolas put away his longbow and came to Mike, saying, "But please allow me to take you to see my father, Thranduil, first. He heard about your legendary experiences and very much wants to meet you."
"In return, I will personally escort you out of the Black Forest afterward."
The Elf Prince, having put away his competitive spirit, was a very easy person to get along with.
Afterward, Mike was also led by him to the Sindar Elves' stronghold, a stone palace that exuded a decaying aura.
Compared to Rivendell and the Golden Forest, the environment here was indeed not very good.
"Welcome, human hero!" Thranduil, wearing a crown of Thorn flowers, warmly received Mike in the great hall.
Although this Sindar Elf King usually had a stern face and seemed unapproachable, he was unexpectedly a righteous and kind elf.
Later, after knowing that his son had made a promise, he also arranged for Legolas to lead a small elf team to specifically escort Mike towards the Lonely Mountain.
At the same time, he also gave Mike a large white deer, symbolizing good luck, as a mount.
"Thanks to you and Queen Galadriel, and others, who together defeated Sauron, the Black Forest border is now much quieter. You know, not long ago, there were many Orc teams harassing us here…" On the way to the Lonely Mountain, Legolas also expressed his gratitude to Mike for bringing peace to the Black Forest.
At the same time, he couldn't help but tell Mike about the thrilling experience he and Tauriel had when they escorted the Dwarves out of the Black Forest not long ago.
It could be seen that this Elf Prince was usually quite "lively."
After more than a day of travel, Mike and his group arrived next to Long Lake Town; crossing here, the Lonely Mountain was on the other side.
"Leave the river crossing to me. Our elves have trade relations with the residents here, so sending you across should be no problem." More than a day was enough for Legolas and Mike to become friends.
Originally, according to the previous promise, he only needed to escort Mike out of the Black Forest.
However, looking at the current situation, the Elf Prince seemed to intend to escort Mike all the way to the final destination, the Lonely Mountain.