I reforged the glory of the magic ring in Middle-earth

Chapter 12 International Shooting Range: Ruins Before the Level
When Tanis came to Neferi Lu and Gandalf, their battle with the Orcs was nearing its end.

The only two remaining orcs tried to escape but were caught up by Neferi Lu. Just as they were about to raise their iron swords to resist, Neferi Lu swung her battle axe wrapped in storm and thunder.

The situation on this battlefield was different from that of the Orcs who "fell asleep" on Tanes' side. It was full of Orc's broken limbs.

The wounds on the bodies of the warg wolves were mostly caused by the chin or abdomen being pierced by the magic of rhodonite buried in the ground.

Nepheli Lu chopped off the head of the last Orc lying unconscious on the ground. After making sure that it would not come back to life, she put her battle axe back to her waist and came to Tanes.

Tanis sent a concerned greeting to Gandalf and Neferi Lu: "Are you hurt?"

When he asked this question, he looked at Gandalf. Compared with the brave and warlike Neferi Lu, Tanis was more worried about the older-looking Gandalf.

After all, he knew Neferi Lu's strength, and it was still a fantasy for these orcs to hurt her.

Before Gandalf could say anything, Neferi Lu spoke up, "I don't think you need to worry about his injuries. Of the bodies lying on the ground, apart from those killed by the Azalea and the Thunder Pot, he killed half of the remaining Orcs by himself with his staff and sword."

Tanes breathed a sigh of relief: "I'm glad you're all okay."

Then Neferi Lu looked at Gandalf, her crimson eyes filled with an expression that was at a loss for words. After much hesitation, she finally said with a hint of apology, "The breeze created by your swinging of the weapon tells me that you are undoubtedly an outstanding warrior. Although this is the first time I've seen a wizard wield a staff to knock off an enemy's head, I did underestimate your strength before."

Gandalf laughed kindly, not looking at all tired from the intense battle he had just experienced.

He said, "You don't have to apologize to me, Neferi Lu. Compared to me, you are a truly great warrior. I saw you in the battle just now, constantly paying attention to my situation, ready to help me if I was in danger."

Then Gandalf thought for a moment and gave Tanis a curious look. "The pots you gave me are indeed more powerful than I could have imagined. If only the human kingdoms had pots like these when they fought against the Orcs, it would save them a lot of casualties and unnecessary losses."

As a wise wizard, Gandalf saw at a glance the use of the Thunder Pot on the front line of the Orc battlefield.

But he was too embarrassed to ask directly for the recipe of the thunder kettle. Gandalf thought it might be the other party's secret and it would not be appropriate to ask it out.

Tanis was not a person with low emotional intelligence. He heard the euphemism in Gandalf's words and shrugged his shoulders and said, "Making a thunder kettle does not require complicated technology. On the contrary, it may be simpler than you think."

Then he looked at Gandalf expectantly and continued, "But the raw materials for making the Thunder Kettle are only available in my homeland, and I don't know if there are any alternative materials in this world. It is made of a ritualized Cracked Kettle, two mushrooms, Thunder Flowers, and gravel."

Gandalf pondered for a moment and said, "It sounds like the two most crucial points are the Cracked Pot and the Lightning Flower used in the ritual? Mushrooms and gravel are more common. Let me think, are there any plants in Middle-earth that can emit lightning, or props that can replace those used in magical rituals..."

But to Gandalf's surprise, Tanis said to him in surprise, "Mushrooms are indeed common in the border area, but 'gravel' is a rarity. It's a sharp stone that can only be found in places attacked by ancient dragons. It is said that it is a fragment of dragon scales that fell from the ancient dragon's body. The Thunder Kettle has such great power, and the gravel contains the weak power of the ancient dragon, which is the key to its power."

Gandalf's expression froze, the apples of his cheeks twitching a few times. He opened his eyes wide and said belatedly, "Wait, so you're using the precious thing you made from dragon scales to destroy these Orcs that are everywhere?"

Neferi Lu was listening to the conversation between the two. After hearing Gandalf's surprised words, she took the initiative to speak in her neutral voice: "Tannis is a pragmatist. As long as he can quickly eliminate the enemy, he doesn't care how valuable the consumables are."

Tanis nodded in agreement with Neferi Lu's assessment of him. He said to Gandalf, who wore a look of regret, "If props are lost, you can always find new materials to make them, but if people are gone, they're gone for good. The fact that you and Neferi Lu were able to eliminate these night raiding Orcs without a scratch in such a short time proves that the Thunder Kettle has been effective."

Gandalf looked at Tanis and sighed, "If only the kings of those human kingdoms could be as open-minded as you, then my lobbying work in Middle-earth would be much easier."

Tanis didn't know what the complicated plot between the human kings Gandalf mentioned was, but he decided not to care. Instead, he continued with the idea Gandalf had mentioned about reducing casualties. "Gandalf, although the Thunder Kettle is difficult to make, if you just want to achieve a similar effect, you don't necessarily need the props made by the Crackling Kettle. Simple gunpowder will do. Put the gunpowder and a large crossbow into a metal kettle, and use the explosion to launch the crossbow."

Gandalf shook his head immediately after hearing this. "I'm very sorry, Mr. Tanis, but I'm afraid this method won't work. I haven't heard of such a thing as 'gunpowder', at least not yet. Do you know how to make it?"

Tanes was speechless for a moment.

He did know how to make the Flame Pot, but like the Thunder Pot, the Flame Pot required a Cracked Pot that had been used in a ritual, and Tanes didn't know how to make the Cracked Pot.

As for gunpowder, Tanes's understanding of this thing was the same as that of the cracked pot. He knew how to use it, but he had no idea what the raw materials were or how to make it.

And Gandalf apparently didn't associate the fireworks he set off in Hobbiton with gunpowder.

Because the power gap between the two is too big.

Gandalf saw that Tanis did not reply immediately, so he realized that he did not know the answer, so he said, "But you also gave me an idea. I will follow your idea to find a replacement, Mr. Tanis."

"Although I don't want to disturb your conversation, it's already very late. We still have to focus on dealing with the corpses of these Orcs and Wargs and cleaning up the battlefield to prevent these corpses from attracting more wild beasts or spreading diseases. And when I sleep at night, I don't want the wind to be filled with the stench of their blood." Nepheli Lu's voice interrupted the conversation between Tanis and Gandalf.

She saw Roger coming from the eastern battlefield where she was in charge, and then she reminded them both.

Tanes replied weakly, "You're right. We need to clean up the battlefield..."

At this moment, he missed the time when he was in charge of killing but not burying at the border.

Gandalf came over at this time, leaning on his staff, and handed the ceremonial straight sword in his other hand back to Tanis: "This sword is very sharp and very handy. Thank you for lending me your weapon, Mr. Tanis."

Tanes waved his hand, and instead pulled out another ceremonial straight sword from his space backpack and pushed it to Gandalf. "Since you find this one useful, I'll give you the other one as well. Don't be so rude, I have plenty of ceremonial straight swords, and I don't use them often myself. Since it has found someone who likes to use it, I'll give it to you as a gift."

After hearing what Tanis said, Gandalf had no choice but to accept it.

As he fastened his ceremonial sword around the waist of his grey robe, he said, "The bodies of the wargs may be left alone. These foul creatures vanish naturally after death. But the bodies of the orcs must be disposed of. I will also help."

Roger happened to approach at this time, and he said with a strange expression: "This is exactly what I want to talk about. The corpses of these orcs and wargs you mentioned seem to be being absorbed by the golden tree..." Hmm, the tree-returning phenomenon?

Tanes immediately raised his head and met Roger's strange eyes.

It was obvious that the two people who had explored the phenomenon of dead births together had the same idea.

Gandalf's puzzled voice came: "Being absorbed by the golden tree, what does this mean..."

Then he suddenly stopped talking before he finished asking the question.

Because he didn't need Tanes or Roger's explanation, he saw the answer with his own eyes.

Nearby, in the weeds, lay the bodies of the Orc and the Warg whom he had slain only minutes before, and their bodies were bathed in the brilliant light of the wondrous Golden Tree.

But the sharp-eyed Gandalf soon discovered that the corpses were not only shrouded in golden light, but were assimilated into the golden light. The Orcs and Wargs' cold flesh and blood were turning bit by bit into translucent golden particles, which were being attracted towards the golden tree in the night sky.

Gandalf only had to observe for a moment before he realized that it was not the bodies of the Orcs and Wargs that turned into golden particles, but their evil souls.

It's just that these evil souls have their dark side eliminated under the cover of golden light.

The corpses disappeared neither quickly nor slowly. The bodies of the orcs and wargs that arrived first had completely turned into golden particles and were absorbed by the golden tree.

Tanes took off the helmet of the White Wolf War Ghost and carefully observed that the golden particles were attracted by the golden tree. He immediately strode to the golden tree, reached out his hand to touch the hard but warm trunk, and immersed his spirit in it.

The night is as dark as ink, and the stars dot the deep sky.

Brilliant golden particles rose silently from the corpses of the orcs and the wargs. They floated lightly in the night wind, interweaving and swirling in the air, forming streams of golden light, like tiny stars.

Afterwards, these "rivers of stars" slowly and gracefully converged towards an enormous golden tree in the distance, making the golden tree's light even more brilliant.

The picture was imprinted in Gandalf's blue eyes, bringing him an indelible golden memory.

"I don't know how to describe this scene, but it is definitely the most magical scene I have ever seen." Gandalf's beard moved slightly, and he murmured as he looked at the corpses of the orcs and wargs that had completely disappeared from the ground.

At this moment, the golden tree not only grew several centimeters taller at a speed visible to the naked eye, but also dropped a large amount of golden blessings from its branches, surrounding the ruins of the buildings within a radius of about 40 meters.

When the golden blessing light dissipated, the ruins of the buildings that appeared in Gandalf's eyes had completely changed into a strange appearance.

Around the golden tree, four or five brand new and spacious outposts are arranged in an orderly manner on both sides of it. The original weedy and muddy ground has been paved with stone slabs to become a stone road convenient for carriage transportation.

There are three large tents that are half-opened and scattered along the stone road near the outpost. In front of each tent there is a burning bonfire and a military flag firmly driven into the soil.

The flag was made of dark yellow cloth embroidered with patterns of lions and trees.

The cloth used to build the tent was also dark yellow, and inside it were piled with chopped firewood, well-sealed wooden barrels, and weapon racks that emitted a cold and icy light.

There were no weapons on the weapon racks, as they were all held in the hands of their respective owners.

Twelve soldiers, wearing helmets made of iron and chain mail, and tubular outer armor with a painting of a golden tree from the distant past and the "Prime Minister's Beast," the symbol of the Golden Clan, and holding weapons ranging from one-handed swords and pickaxes to two-handed greatswords, were led by a tall and burly knight. They knelt on one knee and lowered their heads towards Tanes, who was still stroking the golden tree.

They remained silent, waiting quietly for Tanes to give them orders.

The ruins of the building that were previously wrapped in the golden blessing seemed to have been disrupted and then reorganized in an orderly manner by an invisible hand, turning into an unfamiliar and excellent pass.

However, this strangeness was only to Gandalf, but to Tanis's two comrades and friends, Roger and Nepheli Lu, they looked very familiar.

Because this is one of the passes to enter the city of Stonewell, it was once destroyed by time at the border, so its name is the very common "ruins before the pass".

Roger looked at the soldiers kneeling before Tanes and said, "Are those Greg's king's army?"

Neferi Lu nodded. "Judging from the insignia on their armor, it's them. However, they don't have the same scary, mummified-looking faces as they did at the border."

"What other surprises can you bring me, Mr. Tanes? This time you conjured up a team of elite soldiers on the spot. Next time are you going to conjure up a castle for me?" Gandalf muttered.

Roger, who was standing by, heard Gandalf's muttering and jokingly said, "Maybe it's not just a castle. Maybe he can even conjure up a dragon for you."

Gandalf closed his eyes and said, "My heart may not be able to accept it."

Tanes' thoughts came back from the golden tree, or to be more precise, from the Elden Ring.

Absorbing the souls and corpses of orcs and wargs is what the Elden Circle is doing.

But thanks to this, Tanes learned that the golden tree could also accelerate its growth by absorbing the souls of those who died nearby.

However, this may be a bit bad for the Orcs and the Wargs, because Tanes is already thinking about how to lure them over and kill them, and then continue to use their souls to cultivate the golden tree.

　I was forced to go out for a day today, and I was a little busy, so the update was a little late, please forgive me (kowtow)
　　
　
(End of this chapter)