From Hogwarts to Strixhaven.

Chapter 272 The Demon Lord Appears (1000010000)

Phantom Horse is a very convenient and efficient travel spell, but it has only one minor drawback: once the horse, which is made of shadows and smoke, is attacked, it will simply disintegrate into its constituent parts and cannot withstand any damage, even if the attacker is an unarmed farmer.

Therefore, as soon as Gandalf fell off the horse, Ivy quickly reined in her horse and turned back, ready to drag him away. Although the speed of their mounts was much faster than that of the Ringwraiths, there was actually not much distance between them, not to mention that they had not yet crossed the Anduin River, so they had to be on guard against possible sneak attacks in the dark at all times.

Ivy cast a two-ring levitation spell on Gandalf, allowing him to float up and escape the influence of gravity. Then Ivy took out a piece of hemp rope from the Grimoire of Destruction and wrapped it around Gandalf's waist, so that the gray-robed wizard could be flown into the sky like a kite.

After vaguely seeing the Ringwraiths chasing behind him, Ivy rode on the Golden Horn and set off again. Then he heard Gandalf's cry of pain from behind him: "Ivy! Be careful, my nose seems to be broken!"

Dol Guldur was a fortress built in the Black Forest. Even though the Orc army had cut down many trees to leave a path for the troops to pass through, the route chosen by Ivy and the others was not in the direction of the Orcs' advance. This path was only slightly trimmed to remove bushes and tree roots that might affect their progress, and not all the big trees on the roadside were knocked down.

So when Ivy started running with Gandalf, who had gained the power of levitation, the poor old wizard ran headfirst into a tree trunk.

Ivy knew she was in the wrong, so she didn't say much. She grabbed the hemp rope and tried to pull Gandalf to her side, then instigated Golden Horn to jump to the treetops of the Mirkwood Forest and move forward.

Before the two of them started to act, they saw three knights on white horses running towards them.

The first knight was wearing a golden-red elven armor, and its dazzling luster could be seen clearly even from a long distance.

When they got closer, they saw it was Elrond, Lord of Rivendell. He was holding a longbow and shooting several arrows behind the two of them. Suddenly, the angry voices of the Ringwraiths could be heard in the distance.

"Gandalf!" Elrond asked loudly, "Where did you come from? Why didn't I see you just now? Where is the Ringwraith chasing you?"

Ivy and Gandalf looked at each other, and it took them a while to realize that it was Elrond who shot the phantom horse under Gandalf's crotch.

After being imprisoned in Dol Guldur for so many days, Gandalf's grey robe had become extremely dirty, so it was understandable that Elrond thought it was a black robe. More importantly, the phantom horse under Gandalf's crotch was indeed very similar to the black horse of the Ringwraiths.

"There is no Ringwraith, Lord Elrond," said Avy, smiling. "It was always Gandalf, but he rode a steed I created out of smoke and illusion."

"Saruman, Lady Galadriel!" Gandalf was busy untying the hemp rope around his waist, and at the same time greeted the other two white horse knights behind Elrond, "He's back! Sauron is back!"

Arriving with Elrond were the other two members of the White Council. Saruman was wearing a white robe and holding the scepter at his side. After hearing Gandalf's words, he narrowed his eyes slightly.

In order to find the One Ring lost near the Golden Iris Swamp, Saruman has tried his best to delay the actions of the White Council, but after Galadriel received the message from Ivy to Princess Arwen of the Evening Star through dreams, she still forced him to attack Dol Guldur.

Because of the rampant orcs in the Misty Mountains, Elrond himself did not dare to let Princess Duskstar go on the journey alone. After all, his wife was ambushed by orcs when she went to visit relatives in Lothlorien, and she was poisoned and had to go to Valinor in the Far West to recuperate.

Seeing that the orcs and ogres in the Misty Mountains came down from the mountains and openly moved in the territory of the elves, Elrond personally went to escort his daughter after bidding farewell to the Lonely Mountain Expedition in Rivendell. After Princess Duskstar passed the news of Ivy to her grandmother, he embarked on the journey with Galadriel.

If they hadn't been waiting for Saruman who was leaving Isengard, the two Elf lords would have rescued Gandalf long ago.

The furious voices of the Ringwraiths sounded again: "Very good! The Three Rings of the Elves have gathered together! Today you will present the three rings and your heads to our great master!"

"You don't belong to this world!" Elrond, wearing golden and red elven armor, took the lead and rushed towards the Ringwraiths waving his long sword. "Your filthy magic shadows have seriously polluted this vast forest!"

Saruman's calm eyes swept over Ivy, then over the dirty Gandalf, and he also attacked the Ringwraiths with his staff in hand. The egg-sized gem on the top of his staff lit up white light, and he fiercely repelled the two Ringwraiths that attacked from both sides.

"You look so miserable, Mithrandir." Galadriel, wearing a flowing white silk dress and sitting barefoot on the back of a white horse, smiled at Gandalf.

"Sauron is not an easy guy to deal with. If it weren't for Avi, I would definitely not be alive today." Gandalf raised his sword above his shoulder, strode towards the Ringwraiths, and joined the battle nimbly. He didn't look like a dying old man half an hour ago.

Ivy nodded to Galadriel, kicked her horse's belly and joined the battle.

Because their way was blocked by Ivy's Wall of Light and Fire, which burned several horses, the Ringwraiths actually entered the battle in two groups.

The first group of four had been repelled by three members of the White Council, and now returned to the formation to regroup with the other Ringwraiths.

"Only eight? It seems that Sauron has not yet fully recovered his strength!" Saruman said in a deep voice, "This is our chance!"

"Don't underestimate them, Saruman!" Gandalf hurriedly stopped the act of opening champagne at halftime. "It was Ivy who cut off the connection between a Ringwraith and the Lord of the Rings. Sauron has returned. This is absolutely true. For the sake of all the creatures in Middle-earth, we can't be careless!"

Although this was reasonable, it was extremely harsh in Saruman's ears. Gandalf was just a grey-robed wizard and should have listened to himself who was wearing a white robe. But now, with a powerful enemy at hand, he was actually teaching his superior a lesson.

However, two other colleagues from the White Council were present, so Saruman could not get angry and could only secretly keep a record of Gandalf in his heart.

Ivy raised his hand and chanted a spell, then threw out a golden ball of light with a long tail as the prelude to the second round of battle.

The Ringwraiths, who had already suffered several losses, were ready to dodge when they saw Ivy raise his hand. However, they did not expect that the speed of the light ball was far beyond their imagination. Although they tried their best to dodge, they were almost hit hard.

The brilliant golden light turned into burning flames, burning all the black horses of the Ringwraiths into ashes.

Throwing aside the cloak that was ablaze by the flames behind him, the Witch-king of Angmar, as the leader of the Nazgul, took the lead and let out a roar that did not come from the human world from under his thorny helmet.

Although the horses Elrond and Saruman rode were Elf-born, they were unable to resist the Ringwraiths' haunting voices, and the two horses were frightened and tried to throw their riders off their backs.

As an elf, Elrond was light and nimble. He had no intention of forcing the white horse to continue fighting. He turned over and jumped from the horse's back to the ground, avoiding the attack of a magic cave spear.

"Quiet!" As a white-robed wizard, Saruman's most significant power is his voice, which easily makes people feel trustful. The rolling waves of voice drowned out the howling of the Witch-king of Angmar, and the next moment he calmed the mount under his crotch.

However, Golden Horn was not affected at the beginning, and was now carrying Ivy and charging towards the Ringwraiths.

The two Ringwraiths armed with heavy weapons had the largest attack range. After escaping from the flames brought by the Radiant Fireball, they immediately rushed in front of Ivy, trying to cover the Witch-King of Angmar who was still unable to move.

The golden-horned horse's hooves tapped the ground lightly, and without any warning, it leaped high up, stepping on the helmets of two Ringwraiths and launched an attack on the Witch-king of Angmar.

The four-color elemental light ignited on Ivy's weapon again, and she used arcane power to trigger the ability of [Perfect Smash], and slashed towards the Thorn Crown of the Witch-King of Angmar.

The Witch-king of Angmar, who was attacked unexpectedly, raised his sword to block, but found that Ivy's seemingly powerful blow was just a feint.

The moment the Beast Bite Sword intersected with the Morgul Sword, it changed direction and went straight along the Morgul Sword to the arm of the Witch King of Angmar. From the beginning, Ivy had not forgotten Gandalf's instructions, and this determined sword was aimed at the magic ring on the Witch King's finger.

The Witch King of Angmar naturally noticed this, but he was already in a rush to block and had no strength to change his tactics. He could only hope that his teammates around him would help him to block.

However, Gandalf, who was attacking with his sword in both hands, had already come close, and with one sweep, he knocked the two incorporeal Ringwraiths away. Among the eight Ringwraiths, no one was able to come forward to offer assistance.

Could it be that the Witch-king of Angmar, who dominated the northern kingdoms, would be separated from the Ring of Power that he had worn all his life in this dark forest?

The dark shadow suddenly appeared in the forest, and turned into a flaming figure. The figure wore a crown, and the evil spirit and devilishness exuded from his body made people dare not look directly at him. Just by showing his figure, he frightened Elrond and Saruman, two members of the White Council.

However, under the influence of the Ravenclaw Crown's [Knowledge of the Wise], Ivy was immune to the three abnormal states of charm, panic and shock that affected the mind. Therefore, the Beast Bite Sword had no intention of deviating from the established track and resolutely cut off the right hand of the Witch King of Angmar.

After being separated from the Ring of Power, the Witch King let out another piercing scream and disappeared without a trace.

"Kill him! Take back the Ring of Power!" ordered Sauron while floating in the air.

The powerful dark magic made the other seven Ringwraiths present recover quickly, and they waved their weapons together to attack Ivy who caught the second Ring of Power.

However, at the moment when Ivy held the Ring of Power in his hand, a burst of strong light exploded with a roar. The shock wave and strong light caused damage to the surrounding Ringwraiths, who had no time to dodge, so the virtual Ringwraiths retreated involuntarily.

When they surrounded him again, Ivy and the golden horn under his crotch had disappeared in the encirclement of the Ringwraiths.

The spell Ivy cast at the critical moment was the third-ring Thunder Step. Although Ivy had been riding Golden Horn in her adventures in Middle-earth, Golden Horn was not considered Ivy's animal companion or professional mount in the rules, so Ivy could not make Golden Horn the second target of all spells that target herself like a paladin mount.

Therefore, when performing teleportation spells such as Phantom Step on the back of Golden Horn, Ivy could not teleport with Golden Horn. Fortunately, Ivy had already considered this and specially prepared the three-ring Thunder Step as an emergency plan.

Not only does this spell have a movement range of 90 feet, but it also causes 10d3 thunder damage to all enemies within 10 feet of the previous location. More usefully, it can also carry a willing creature along with it.

Now, this spell that Ivy had carefully selected worked at once. Not only did it help Ivy and Golden Horn escape the encirclement unscathed, but it also brought out the Ring of Power of the Witch-king of Angmar.

"No!" Sauron's shadow roared, and the seven Ringwraiths in front of him fell to their knees as if struck by lightning.

The demonic shadow, like a giant burning eye, erupted with endless flames, igniting the surrounding trees and grass. Even in the dark forest shrouded in dark clouds, it was as bright as day.

"How dare you! The East will fall! The Kingdom of Angmar will rise! The era of the elves is over! You are just a small wizard! How dare you offend the great Dark Lord!" Sauron's roar echoed in the Black Forest for a long time.

Elrond, Gandalf, and Saruman, the three members of the White Council could only barely hold on under Sauron's dark magic and were unable to put up any effective resistance.

The only two who could still move freely were Ivy and Galadriel.

The former removed the disguise of the Ravenclaw crown, and the sapphire reflecting the starlight sparkled under the eagle flapping its wings, protecting the young wizard very well.

The latter walked barefoot on the stale land of the Black Forest, holding high a crystal bottle emitting magnificent light.

Ivy had heard of that bottle. The light that bloomed from it came from the elves' supreme treasure - the Silmaril.

The dark lord Sauron's master, the great dark enemy Morgoth, started a world-sweeping war just because he coveted this treasure. In the end, he was completely defeated by the Valar who came out of Valinor and imprisoned in the void.

The three Silmarils, the treasures coveted by Morgoth, each have their own destination: one is high in the sky, one is at the bottom of the ocean, and the other is in the fire at the core of the world.

The light stored in the crystal bottle by Galadriel came from the Silmaril hanging high in the sky, which is also the brightest white star that can be seen in Middle-earth - the Star of Great Hope.

The light of the Great Star of Hope competes with the Demon Lord Sauron, and the beautiful elf holding the crystal bottle moves forward step by step.

At first, Sauron was able to suppress his urge to retreat, but when Galadriel showed another form.

Soran could no longer bear the scorching light.

In Ivy's vision, as the only elf in Middle-earth who had looked directly at the light of the Two Trees, Galadriel's beauty, which was already beyond the limit, suddenly sublimated to a level that could not be described in any words.

Her own beauty seemed to begin to glow, and echoed with the light from the Great Star of Hope in the crystal bottle in her hand, making her look even taller. This beauty that was beyond the limit even gave people a terrifying creepy feeling.

"You have no right to speak here!" Galadriel had just opened her mouth when the seven Ringwraiths kneeling in front of Sauron lost their forms and disappeared into smoke without a trace.

Galadriel continued to move forward, her voice like thunder, echoing in the Mirkwood: "You are a nameless person!"

Sauron's flaming demon eye began to tremble violently, as if it would collapse in the next second.

"The Faceless Man!"

Dark shadows and flames kept alternating, and Soran, who had no form to begin with, was under tremendous pressure.

"Invisible Man! Go back to the place where you survive!"

Sauron's magic eye suddenly exploded, turning into a beam of fire that fled into the dark clouds and headed southeast.

Everyone knew that it was the dry and barren Mordor.

Seeing that Sauron had left, Galadriel could no longer maintain the appearance of bathing in the glory of the Two Trees, and the crystal bottle in her hand fell to the ground.

Ivy took a step forward and supported her in a few seconds, then took out the Hufflepuff gold cup and put it to her pale lips.

"Drink it, ma'am, it will make you better."

Gandalf also came over and shared his experience: "Ivy's golden cup is very effective. I even suspect that it is holy water from Valinor."

Galadriel no longer hesitated and took graceful sips.

But after two or three sips of water, Galadriel's pale lips regained their color, and she broke away from Ivy's shoulders and stood up on her own.

"Thank you, wizard." Galadriel took a deep breath, "I didn't expect Sauron to recover so quickly. I thought it would take at least another thousand years for him to recover."

"We were all careless, my lady." Elrond picked up Galadriel's crystal bottle from the ground and handed it to the latter. "Dol Guldur will continue to exist for a long time in the future. Sauron's dark magic has taken deep root in this land."

"Ring!" After Sauron left, Saruman shook off his dejection and stretched out his hand to Ivy aggressively, "Give me the ring of the Witch-king of Angmar for safekeeping!"

"Don't even think about it." Ivy rejected without hesitation, "You can't resist Sauron. You can't even move freely in Sauron's dark magic."

"I am the leader of the White Council! I am the first Ishtar to arrive in Middle-earth, and I should be the one to keep the ring!" Saruman raised his voice and deliberately used his ability to persuade others.

　Another ten thousand words...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)