Chapter 28-1
This scene was a true depiction of war. Only twenty to thirty thousand of the orc army in the front could touch the city wall, but the catapults could attack from the distance. Boulders rained down on Minas Tirith.
Zheng couldn’t fully defend such a situation. The city was simply too big to defend even though its sides stood against the mountain. It was different from the rectangular shapes the cities in ancient China had where only the front would get attacked and it was different from the small fortress that was Helm’s Deep. This was a true city with over ten floors in height and spanned hundreds of meters across. How could he take care of every place by himself?
(If I unlocked the fourth stage, I can simply charged into the orc army…) Zheng and Gandalf stood in a middle level and looked down at the battlefield. They could get a clear view at any change happening below. Multiple times, Zheng wanted to assist when large boulders flew at the wall but Gandalf stopped him.
“Hold. The Ringwraith has come… The final Ringwraith possesses immense power. I don’t know why Sauron isn’t here but the Ringwraith alone will bring about heavy casualties. You are our strongest fighter in close combat. You must stop the Ringwraith.” Gandalf said in a serious tone.
(It’s not on the Ringwraith. Three people are watching from the mountain. Two men and a woman. One of them is probably Luo YingLong. Don’t recognize the other two but they should be members of team Celestial. How arrogant. They don’t care that our psyche force user would detect them, or is it because they are strong enough to disregard my fourth stage?) Zheng didn’t want to enter the fourth stage to avoid losing his true self. However, the fourth stage was also is pride. It put him within the top of the ladder in this realm. His strength could at least enter him into top five.
Yet, was this enough to rival the final Ringwraith and the three people from team Celestial?
Boulders were raining down in decreasing intervals. Many troops died on the wall. Cracks and chips appeared on the wall. Despite that, the orcs still couldn’t break through due to its height.
“We have only three thousand troops left. The local forces in the city are still scattered. Denethor is a fool. He doesn’t know what he’s facing!” Gandalf cursed.
Zheng shrugged with a bitter smile on his face. This city was going to fall if things proceed at the same direction. He noticed troops from both sides with a higher rank could use battle Qi. There were also few that could use Explosive Shot. When had this powerful technique become so cheap to obtain? The numbers that could use the technique were few but they were mostly in the orc army. Even with a only a hundred Explosive Shots, Zheng wouldn’t dare to take them head on.
“We can’t wait and watch here! Gandalf, I am heading down to help the defense. We don’t know when the Rohan riders will come. The city can’t fall until then!”
He had no time to worry about the three people from team Celestial. He gave Lan a few advices and urged Gandalf to protect her. Then he mounted the Nightmare and ran down to the wall.
The city was built leaning on the mountain. The roads spiraled upward inside the city. It would take quite a bit of time to move through but the anti-gravity attribute of the Nightmare made the run swift. Zheng was standing on the city wall within just ten seconds.
Tat. Tat. Tat. As soon as he arrived, numerous arrows hit his body. Zheng didn’t hesitate as he gave the lead rope a pull. The nightmare leaped off the wall and with a thump, it smashed onto the half orcs and orcs below.
Zheng was well aware of the immense power of the Explosive Shot. It was beyond the defensive capacity of his light blade barrier. So instead of trying to defend or dodge them, he chose to charge right into the enemies. Attacks with normal battle Qi couldn’t penetrate his barrier and they wouldn’t be able to hit him with Explosive Shot in such a chaotic situation. It was like a tiger ran into a flock of sheep!
He slashed across as soon as the Nightmare landed, cutting all orcs and half orcs within a ten meter radius in front of him to halves. The light blade from Tiger’s Soul wasn’t a joke. Any half orc and orc without protection from battle Qi didn’t avoid getting slashed.
(These half orcs and orcs are quite a bit weaker than the Uruk-hai. A much lower portion of them can use battle Qi and Explosive Shot. Some of them are even physically weaker than human troops. The only thing scary about them is their number. A hundred thousand… I don’t even know how long it will take to kill them if they just stand there and wait for me to come.) Various thoughts crossed his mind but they did not slow him down from charging ahead. He didn’t know how many half orcs and orcs he killed. Even the trolls fall at one slash from the light blade. They had great strength but lacked battle Qi. Zheng charged left and right within the army. The orc army near the city wall seemed to be losing their formation.
The three people on the mountain showed signs of interfering seeing this scene but Luo YingLong stopped the other two. He was extremely cool headed unlike how he should have been. He stared at Zheng and said. “It’s still too early. His strength is unfathomable. Even if he’s not as strong as the demon, he’s still the original. Let him spend more energy. The Ringwraith is also going to come. We will finish him off after they wear each other out!”
Zheng had been paying attention to these three people. Lan monitored everything around them with psyche scan the whole time. He would know if anything unusual appeared. That was why he didn’t worry too much charging around in the battlefield. He was trying to buy as much time as he could.
Before the orc army near the wall broke apart, a screeching sound came through from above the clouds. The sound pierced into the depth of their souls. The pain felt like a blade dragging on their ears. The majority of troops on the wall covered their ears with their hands and many began to run. The arrows raining down from the wall stopped. The orc army also found their strength. It was like the screeching sound had no effect on them.
“The Ringwraith! It’s the Ringwraith!”
The troops cried. Zheng saw it through psyche scan. A warrior in black heavy armor sat on a dragon-like creature that was meters long. This was a dragon with two wings from western fantasies. Though it was smaller than the fire breathing dragon they faced in the previous world. In just the blink of an eye, the dragon flew through the clouds and came straight to the city.
Events began to deviate from the movie plot from this point. Gandalf’s chanting echoed throughout the city. And with his voice, a translucent barrier appeared in front of the dragon. Thump! The dragon smashed into the barrier then it began to fall.
Zheng stared with his eyes and mouth wide open. This scene was not a part of the movie. Gandalf was more of a staff wielding warrior than he was a wizard in the movie. He never showed any powerful magic. Zheng never expected him to drop the Ringwraith in just one hit.
While Zheng was thinking, the wall where the dragon fell onto exploded. A group of troops were sent flying outward. There was no chance of them making it back alive. At the center, the Ringwraith stood up, intact. It carried a longsword with a dark glow in one hand and a morning star on the other. It smashed the morning star at a nearby house. The house and the one next to it shattered. Pulverized lime flew in the air. The whole area collapsed.
(That power is terrifying!) Zheng’s heart clenched. He had the Nightmare charge back to the wall without a second of thinking. The Ringwraith’s strength wasn’t at the level of Destruction but it was not far away. If he didn’t stop the Ringwraith, it would destroy the whole city before the orc army broke through the gate.
“Lan! Those people from team Celestial will attack soon! Don’t leave Gandalf! I can’t attend to your safety anymore!” Zheng said to Lan via Soul Link. The Nightmare ran up along the wall. He was less than a hundred meters away from the Ringwraith.