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Chapter 1082 Battlefield Scavengers

The cold wind before dawn blew across the city wall like a knife. Zhao Wuji wrapped his bloodstained cloak tightly and watched the civilians carry the bodies down the city wall. Most of the dead had faces frozen in the last bit of fear, and some were even younger than the soldiers he had talked to last night.

"New recruit, come and help." A bearded officer kicked his boots. "You are the only one left in the third squad. Now you are under my command."

Zhao Wuji followed silently and found that they were assigned to clean up the battlefield near the west gate. In the morning mist, broken weapons and shattered shields were scattered all over the ground, and several crows were pecking at the eyeballs of an orc corpse.

[Collectable items detected: Gondor Longsword (slightly curled blade) worth 3 gold, Orc Scimitar (complete) worth 1.5 gold] The system's prompt sounded in his mind, and at the same time, several items in his field of vision emitted a faint golden light.

"System, can I really take these? Will it violate the rules?"

[Confirmed: This item is not a key plot item and no close-up shot appears in the original movie, so it is legal to collect.]

Zhao Wuji squatted down and quickly stuffed an Orc scimitar into his trouser leg while pretending to tie his shoelaces. The rough runes on the handle of the knife hurt his calves, but what made him even more uncomfortable was the empty eye sockets of the human soldier next to him - the owner of the scimitar might be this young man.

"Hurry up! This section of the city wall must be cleared before lunch!" the officer's roar came.

Zhao Wuji quickened his pace, collecting all kinds of "valuable" war garbage according to the system prompts. When he lifted up a broken shield, he suddenly met a pair of cloudy eyes - it was a seriously injured orc soldier, with arrow wounds all over his green skin, holding the battle axe with his last strength.

"Be careful!" He jumped back instinctively.

The orc made a gurgling sound in his throat, and the axe fell to the ground weakly. Zhao Wuji then noticed that there was a huge wound in its abdomen, and its intestines had flowed out of the armor.

[Suggestion: The bronze necklace carried by the orc is a non-plot item, estimated value 8 gold]

Zhao Wuji's stomach twitched. But thinking of the one million goal, he still trembled and stretched out his hand. When his fingertips touched the orc's sticky skin, the creature suddenly jumped up and bit his wrist guard!

"Ah!" He jerked his hand away, but the orc was already dead, his dirty teeth still embedded in the leather.

[Mild infection risk, it is recommended to use the herbs next to the third corpse under the city wall]

Zhao Wuji followed the system's instructions to find the purple herb, crushed it and applied it to the wound. The moment the herb touched his skin, a cool feeling replaced the fiery pain.

"You're quite good at finding things." A hoarse voice came from behind.

Zhao Wuji turned around and saw a one-eyed old soldier staring at the herb in his hand. "That's Asilas grass. Ordinary soldiers can't recognize it."

"I learned a little from the ranger when I was a kid." Zhao Wuji made it up and noticed the bronze medal of the logistics unit hanging around the old soldier's waist.

The old soldier narrowed his one eye and said, "I'm Olsen. I see you're collecting junk. Are you interested in making some extra money?" He kicked a pile of rusty armor at his feet and said, "The Regent requires that all guards' armor must be as bright as new during the inspection tomorrow, but rust is too difficult to deal with."

Zhao Wuji's eyes lit up. He had learned about the maintenance of ancient armor in the history club when he was in college. "If you make a paste with white vinegar and salt, and polish it with wool cloth--"

"Wait a minute," Olsen suddenly grabbed his wrist, "Are you serious?"

Half an hour later, Zhao Wuji stood in the logistics tent with a row of breastplates in front of him. The rust remover he prepared using modern methods amazed the craftsmen around him.

"Boy, where did you learn this formula?" Olsen asked, touching one of the breastplates that had regained its luster.

"Secret recipe from the East." Zhao Wuji was vague, wiping another piece of armor with his hands. The system displayed in the corner of his vision: [Current Task: Clean 20 Sets of Armor, Reward: 50 Gold]

When the sun rose to noon, Zhao Wuji had finished processing fifteen sets of armor. His fingers were cut by the metal edges in several places, but as the gold coin balance continued to increase, the pain seemed to become bearable.

[Warning! Key plot character approaching] The system suddenly popped up a red prompt.

The tent curtain was opened, and a tall figure in a green cloak walked in. Zhao Wuji's breathing stopped instantly - Boromir, the eldest son of Gondor's regent, was also a character he knew was destined to be sacrificed.

"Olson, is my brother's sword ready?" Boromir's voice was deeper and more powerful than in the movie. "It will be ready soon, my lord." Olson hurriedly held out a gorgeously decorated sword.

When Boromir took the sword, Zhao Wuji noticed that half of his right ring finger was missing, a detail that was not shown in the movie. When the warrior turned to leave, Zhao Wuji suddenly remembered his ending in the movie: he was shot by three arrows to death in order to protect Merry and Pippin.

"Wait!" the word blurted out.

Boromir looked back in surprise.

[Serious violation! Stop immediately!] The system alarm sounded in Zhao Wuji's head, and then a sharp pain shot up from his spine to the top of his head, as if someone had stabbed his skull with a red-hot iron rod.

"Ah!" He fell to his knees, his muscles convulsing uncontrollably.

"Are you all right?" Boromir squatted down and held his shoulders.

Zhao Wuji shook his head desperately, cold sweat soaking his back. When the pain subsided a little, he managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Your cloak button is loose, sir."

Boromir was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the silver buckle that was indeed loose. "Thanks for the reminder, soldier." He patted Zhao Wuji on the shoulder in a friendly manner, then strode away.

[Level 1 punishment completed] The system coldly reminded, [Again, any words or actions that attempt to change the direction of the plot will be punished]

Zhao Wuji slumped on the ground, gasping for breath. Olsen handed him a glass of beer: "Is this your first time meeting an important person? Have a drink, it will calm your nerves."

The wine tasted sour and bitter, but it did stop him from shaking. In the evening, when Zhao Wuji finished the last set of armor, Olsen stuffed a heavy small cloth bag into his hand.

"It's the agreed reward. Also," the old man lowered his voice, "if you can get more special formulas, you can come to the East District warehouse to find me."

Zhao Wuji weighed his purse, and the system immediately displayed: [Received 50 gold coins, current balance 65]. He was about to thank him when a horn suddenly sounded outside.

"The elf reinforcements have arrived!" someone shouted.

Zhao Wuji followed the crowd out of the tent. Under the setting sun, a team of silver-armored knights were passing through the city gate, led by the golden-haired Legolas. The elves' armor was like flowing metal in the afterglow of the setting sun, so beautiful that it seemed extraordinary.

"Look at their arrows!" exclaimed a soldier nearby.

Zhao Wuji narrowed his eyes and saw that the arrows in the quivers behind each elf were shining with a strange silver light. When Legolas leaned over from his horse to talk to the captain of the guard, an arrow slipped from the quiver and silently stabbed into the soil.

[Discover high-value items: Elf-made arrows (complete), estimated at 25 gold/arrow] The system prompts, [Note: This item must be obtained within the scope allowed by the plot]

Zhao Wuji's heartbeat quickened. He pretended to be calm as he approached the arrow, but was immediately forced back by the sharp gaze of an elf guard.

"Human, don't touch things that don't belong to you." The elves' common language has a strange rhythm.

Zhao Wuji lowered his head and stepped back, but he had already firmly memorized the location where the arrow fell. After returning to his residence, he added a new page to his notebook, titled "Elf Equipment Record", and drew a detailed picture of the elf quiver structure he observed today, and marked:

"The arrows shot will fall between the third arrow tower and the moat on the west side of the city wall and can be collected after the battle."

In the dead of night, Zhao Wuji counted the coins in his purse. The crisp sound of metal colliding made him temporarily forget the fear of the day. Outside the window, the moonlight shone on the spires of the White City, and the cry of unknown birds came from afar.

"Sixty-five gold coins," he muttered to himself, "nine hundred and ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and thirty-five."

[System prompt: The Battle of the Pelannor Plains will officially begin tomorrow. It is recommended to collect the following high-value items first: The Lost Horn of the Rohan Cavalry (50 gold), the Golden Armlet of the Harad Leader (200 gold)]

Zhao Wuji closed his notebook and blew out the candle. In the darkness, he seemed to hear the neighing of war horses and the echoing of horns.